Lily of Love Lane Page 6

  ‘Would you go up to the city anyway?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Yes, indeed I would. I’m very happy to collect you in my car – that is, if you can come?’

  Lily didn’t want everyone peering out of the windows. She knew that a motor car of any description would draw attention, let alone someone of Charles Grey’s appearance climbing out of it.

  ‘If Reube gives me the time off, I’ll walk up to the top of Westferry Road. You’d be going that way to the city, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I would.’

  ‘I’ll wait on the corner.’

  He frowned, then gave a slow smile. ‘As you wish.’

  Lily could do nothing but nod, as he stared into her eyes, causing her to feel faint again. Giving her the briefest of bows, he turned and slipped quietly away.

  Lily stood there, bewildered and excited. She could hardly believe Charles Grey wanted to see her again even if it was only in a business capacity! She just hoped Reube would allow her a whole day off.

  Lily turned back to the stall, Reube was still in full flow about how he had fought off the gang and given one a black eye. No one it seemed had heard what Charles Grey had quietly said to the thugs.

  The next day they replenished the stall with new stock, a few vases, a set of brass candlesticks and some small china ornaments. Reube had been talking non-stop about the fight and had found a large stick to hide under the stall.

  ‘This’ll scare them off,’ he told her. ‘Just let them try threatening me again. If I knew where to send the bill I’d charge them for the damage.’ Reube smiled at a woman who was looking at the candlesticks. ‘They’d look nice on your joanna, missus,’ he said, ‘a bit of class those are.’

  ‘I ain’t got a piana,’ the woman replied.

  ‘You’ve got a shelf, I’m sure.’

  ‘And it’s filled, ducks, I was only looking.’ She saw the box of broken china that Lily had managed to salvage.

  ‘You can have that lot for a bob.’

  ‘Sixpence and throw in that teapot.’

  ‘You drive a hard bargain, madam.’

  The woman laughed, throwing a sixpenny piece on the stall.

  Reube placed the teapot in the box with the china and handed it over. ‘You got a bargain there, as it was once bone china before them bloody Blackshirts broke it.’

  ‘I heard about that,’ his customer replied. ‘How yer fought ’em off after having badly damaged your ankle a week or two back. You’re an ’ero mate, you are.’

  ‘Word gets round, don’t it?’ Reube said to Lily when she had gone. He looked very pleased with himself.

  Lily smiled. ‘I suppose it’s no use me saying we should let the police know.’

  Reube almost fell backwards. ‘Hey now, Lil, what you on about? The rozzers are worse than the gangs. We’ll handle things our own way.’

  ‘I hope they don’t come back again.’

  ‘Don’t worry, gel, I’ll be here to protect you.’

  Lily wondered if Reube was beginning to enjoy his new status as a hero as he’d been round every other stall on the market and told his story, gaining new respect from the men.

  Lily served an elderly gent with a set of tarnished teaspoons while Reube saw to another customer. Then, still smiling and with his usual light step, he went over to the café, bringing back two chipped enamel mugs, filled with coffee.

  ‘Wet your whistle, Lil.’

  They sat down on two small wooden stools. Lily had decided to ask Reube about next Saturday. Last night she had gone through all her clothes, which weren’t very many. All she had was her best beige tweed coat and bar strap shoes which she had worn the day she had gone to Dewar Street. But she had found a small black fur on the stall and taken it home to sew on the collar.

  Reube suddenly lent forward. ‘Here, who was that gent you was talking to yesterday?’

  Lily knew this was the right time. ‘His name is Charles Grey. He’s the man who bought the aspidistra the day you sprained your ankle.’

  ‘Oh, that was him, was it? What did he want?’

  ‘He was looking for things for his house,’ she said, hoping this would satisfy Reube.

  ‘Did he see anything he fancied?’

  ‘No. Those Blackshirts didn’t help.’ She wanted to say that it was Charles Grey’s words that had scared them off. But now everyone thought Reube was the hero, she couldn’t.

  He considered this as he gulped his coffee. ‘You never know, he might come back. Got a few bob, so Ben said.’

  ‘He said he’s going up to the city next Saturday.’

  ‘What, to buy stuff?’

  Lily nodded. ‘He asked me to go with him and help him choose.’

  Reube lowered his mug and stared at her. ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘Because he liked what we sold him and where I said to put it.’

  ‘But you ain’t exactly an authority, gel,’ Reube smirked, shaking his head.

  ‘I know. But it’s a woman’s touch he wants I suppose. He’s a widower, ain’t he?’

  ‘Course! I’d forgotten.’

  ‘So I can go then?’

  ‘You’d be losing money not working. And you only just started Saturday afternoons.’

  ‘He said he’d pay us for the trouble.’

  A glint suddenly appeared in Reube’s eyes. ‘He’d pay, eh?’ He tilted back the peak of his cap with his mug. ‘I dunno if I’ll manage on me own. Ben’s all taken up with this new motor of his.’

  ‘Pedro would help out.’

  ‘Yer, I ’spose. How much did he say he’d pay?’

  ‘He didn’t, but he’s not the sort to skimp.’

  Reube knitted his brow. ‘Well, it might be beneficial to us, seeing as he’s got this house to fill. I ’spect it was only the Blackshirts that put him off. You could tell him we’re getting in a lot of new stock, even bring him back here to have a look.’

  Lily nodded. She was beginning to feel a small thrill inside her that was making her quite light-headed.

  ‘All right then, I’ll fix next Saturday up with Pedro.’

  ‘Thanks, Reube.’

  ‘Just as long as he pays for your time and my loss, mind,’ Reube warned her, but as the customers began to take his attention, the subject of Charles Grey was forgotten.

  As she worked, Lily’s thoughts turned to next Saturday, wondering where they would go and what they would buy. Would she be able to choose the most tasteful things for the house? She could recall every inch of it; if she were to live there she knew exactly what she would put in it!

  As she sat on the stool beside Reube, with the winter sunshine falling on their heads, she thought about Hattie. Should she tell her friend about this tomorrow?

  Only last night the doctor had to give Sylvester an injection of morphine. Hattie said he’d been very poorly and she didn’t think she could get out for a walk tomorrow.

  Lily felt sorry for Hattie, but she was selfishly excited about her own good fortune. She went to sleep thinking of the tall, dark and unsung hero at the market.

  ‘Why didn’t you ask him to fetch you?’ her mother enquired a week later. Saturday morning had arrived and Lily was dressed and ready to go out. ‘He could have come in and had a nice cup of tea.’

  ‘I thought it better to meet him on his way to the city. After all, if Reube didn’t have Pedro to help him, I wouldn’t go.’

  ‘Well, you’re in luck with the weather, love,’ Lily’s father glanced over his newspaper. ‘It’s nice and sunny.’

  ‘But there’s a wind,’ chipped in her uncle.

  ‘I’ll enjoy a brisk walk.’

  ‘Do you want me to stroll up with you?’ her dad asked.

  ‘No, it’s all right, Dad.’ Being escorted by her father was the last thing Lily wanted to happen. She loved her family dearly but wished she could have gone out without so much fuss.

  ‘Where do you think you’ll pick up these pieces?’ her mother asked as she sat down in the armchair and began to crochet
.

  ‘I don’t know, Mum. I’ll leave that to him.’

  ‘Funny he should ask you,’ commented Uncle Noah as he took his place by the fire. ‘And not Reube.’

  ‘I do know a little about furniture.’

  ‘Yes, course you do,’ agreed Bob Bright frowning at his brother-in-law. ‘You’re a bright lass.’

  ‘And you look very nice, dear.’ Her mother’s eyes went over her critically. ‘Where did you get that bit of fur round your neck?’

  ‘From the stall. It was left over from something or other. Reube didn’t want it.’

  ‘Well, you’ve made a nice job of doing up that old coat.’

  Lily smiled uncertainly at the backhanded compliment, did her coat look old? She hoped that the beige tweed wouldn’t be recognizable to Charles Grey with the fur collar she had attached to it. And on an inspired idea, she had removed the petersham trim on her hat, replacing it with the blue band from her old cloche.

  ‘I’d better go now.’ She was eager to leave, but apprehensive that Charles Grey might not remember their appointment. Was meeting her just something he had said on the spur of the moment? Would she be waiting for hours on a chilly corner?

  ‘Have you got a clean hanky?’

  ‘Yes, Mum.’

  ‘Well, have a lovely time.’

  ‘I’ll see you later.’ Lily opened the parlour door and smiled at the three faces looking up at her. They were all a little baffled as well as curious. ‘I won’t be late.’

  As she walked down Westferry Road she wondered if Hattie had seen her walk past.

  Lily quickened her steps. Her heart told her that whatever price she paid to meet Charles Grey, it was worth it. Her head was instructing her not to forget her friends or family, Charles Grey had only said he needed her advice. But he had also added that he would like her company too!

  Chapter Five

  A large ruby red car with a black shiny roof pulled into the curb. Charles Grey climbed out of it and came towards her. Lily’s breath caught. He was so handsome! Although an older man, he dressed with such style. Today he wore a double-breasted navy blue blazer, despite the cold, his grey flannels were perfectly creased and his shiny leather brogue shoes matched his driving gloves. His very dark hair looked shorter, was perfectly groomed and swept back from his head. As usual, the smile he gave her made her go weak at the knees.

  She smiled shyly, placing her hand on the rim of her hat to keep the breeze from taking it. Her blue eyes were wide with anticipation and her pulse was racing as he took her arm and escorted her to the passenger door. ‘I hope I’m not late.’

  ‘No, not at all.’

  ‘You were given the time off?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘May I say how lovely you look, Lily?’ His eyes roved over her with undisguised admiration and Lily blushed deeply. She sat inside, inhaling the wonderful leathery smell; all the seats were covered in real leather. The panel in front of her was a shiny walnut effect with two round dials inset by the big steering wheel. The windscreen was so clean that you could see everything perfectly through it. Unlike Ben’s lorry where the dirt and dust had become a permanent feature.

  ‘Are you comfortable?’ he enquired as he began to drive.

  ‘Yes. Very, thank you.’

  ‘I have a rug and overcoats in the back should you want one.’

  ‘No, I’m quite warm. This is a beautiful motor car.’

  ‘I’m glad you like it. It’s not top of the range, but a good workhorse.’

  ‘You should see Ben’s lorry,’ she smiled. ‘I’d call that a workhorse, not this.’

  ‘Ah, the young man who escorted you to my house?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I didn’t see him at the market on Friday.’

  ‘No, he was working. You remember, he delivers all over the country.’

  ‘Are the James brothers in business together?’

  Lily nodded. ‘I suppose you could say that. Reube runs the stall and Ben’s going to buy one of them great big charabancs.’

  ‘Really?’ Charles Grey turned to glance at her. ‘What an enterprising pair they are. How long have you known them?’

  ‘All me life. They live opposite in Love Lane.’

  ‘So, you live in Love Lane – I’m afraid I don’t know it.’

  Lily smiled. ‘It’s just an ordinary road on the island. But we all grew up together there. My best friend, Hattie Parks, lives next door. She sees a lot of Reube.’ She paused. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they get married.’

  He nodded thoughtfully. ‘And what about young Ben? He seems to think a great deal of you.’

  Lily shook her head. ‘He’s like me big brother. Sometimes we go dancing. He’s a very good dancer, actually.’

  ‘A man of many talents.’

  Lily frowned. ‘Don’t tell him that. You’d never hear the end of it.’

  After a while, she began to relax. She was amazed at the way Charles Grey drove. The car was smooth and didn’t have any clunks and bangs like the lorry. It made conversation much easier. Lily couldn’t take her eyes from the scenery. She had gone up West by bus many times. But today was different. Or was it just that she felt different, she wondered? As she glanced at her good-looking companion, she was more than curious to know his plans.

  As he drove, Charles told her more about himself. He described how he had once lived up north and married, then brought his wife to London, where she had sadly died. He had been alone for two years, and for a living, dealt in fine quality furniture.

  ‘Is that why you came to the market?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Yes, I keep an eye out for interesting pieces.’

  ‘We don’t have much that’s of great value,’ Lily confessed, ‘as it’s often broken or chipped, like the chamber pot.’

  He smiled. ‘Yes, but often I can have a piece restored if it’s not badly damaged.’

  ‘Like the dealers that come from up West. They think we don’t know how valuable some things are. I often tell Reube we’re selling too cheaply but he likes to turn a profit.’

  ‘Sensible man,’ he agreed.

  ‘I could always put a piece by for you. I mean . . .’ Lily felt she was presumptuous to suggest it, but added hesitantly, ‘that is, if you come our way again.’

  He looked into her eyes. ‘I’m sure I will.’

  He didn’t refer any more to his dead wife although Lily was hoping he might. She was even more certain now that he must have loved her very much.

  When they arrived in Oxford Street, the traffic almost came to a standstill. From Shoe Lane to Ludgate Circus, taxis, buses and motorized vehicles had jammed the way. But Lily was content. There was time to look out of the window at the busy shops. Marshall & Snelgrove’s in particular displayed eye-catching new fashions above which the advertising slogans were waving in the breeze. ‘A full shingled head for twenty five shillings.’

  ‘Look!’ Lily gasped. ‘I’ve always wanted to sit in one of those places and have my hair waved!’

  ‘But that would be a sin,’ Charles replied as he gazed at her, his dark eyes intense. ‘I haven’t ever seen a more beautiful head of hair than yours, Lily.’

  She laughed in embarrassment. ‘You haven’t seen what’s under my hat.’

  ‘I’ve seen enough.’

  She blushed as she looked back through the window. Did he really think she had beautiful hair? She was always trying to straighten it, but it was easier to let it fall in its own way.

  ‘Shall we look around the stores first?’

  Lily hadn’t expected to be taken to the big shops. But before she knew it, he had parked the car in the Brompton Road and escorted her to the grand terracotta building that was Harrods. Lily was shocked to see the hundreds of items on sale there. Everything from pens and paper to jewellery to household goods, perfumes and fashions. She was so excited as they passed through the glass and marble halls that she could hardly speak. All the women were fashionably dressed and the men all seeme
d to have handlebar moustaches. She would have been very self-conscious in her old coat and hat, but she remembered how Charles’ eyes had gone over her when he had first seen her. He hadn’t been able to disguise his approval. Every so often she straightened her back and copied the posture of the other young women who seemed to glide through the store.

  After Harrods they went into the arcades. Here there were small salons with fashions from Paris and Italy. Lily couldn’t take her eyes off the beautiful designs and colours and every jeweller seemed to have a more varied and sparkling display than its neighbour.

  ‘Before we look round the furniture shops, I suggest we go somewhere to eat,’ Charles said as Lily was trying to absorb every single detail. She had come up to the city before but only with Hattie, Reube and Ben. They’d usually gone to one of the parks where they listened to the bands playing. The shops were for the wealthy and to visit them meant you had to spend money.

  ‘Where would you like to go?’ he asked her.

  Lily was shocked to be given a choice. ‘I’m not sure. But I’ve always wanted to go back to Lyons. Uncle Noah took me once when I was little.’

  ‘Then Lyons it shall be.’

  Lily thought she must be dreaming as she was escorted into the gold fronted teashop, J. Lyons. The fascia was embellished with Victorian decoration and Lily noticed a discreet sign on the wall announcing the first Lyons teashop had been opened in 1894.

  Inside, Lily closed her eyes and inhaled the mouth-watering aroma of the bakery. ‘I’d like to tidy up first,’ Lily said, noting a sign on the wall indicating the cloakrooms. She wanted to make sure she looked presentable before going in to the restaurant.

  ‘Certainly,’ he said quietly, smiling down at her. ‘But I assure you, that you look quite lovely.’

  Lily blushed and hurried off. Charles had paid her so much attention, but she wasn’t used to compliments and wondered if he really meant what he said.

  The cloakroom was a mixture of pretty colours, feminine and delicate. The ornate mirrors were decorated with bowls of small white roses. There were luxurious towels for customers to use and little round bars of soap that smelt of flowers.