Welcome back to the Harpers Emporium for the fifth in the series by Rosie Clarke, Wartime Blues for the Harpers Girls. I have an extract for you today which should whet your appetite for this great historical fiction series. First, here's a little about the book:
LONDON 1917
As the Americans enter the War, there is renewed energy in
the war effort.
With husbands and sons fighting for freedom, the women of
Harpers are left to tackle the day-to-day affairs at home and work.
With Ben Harper away, Sally fears she is being followed by a
mysterious woman. Who is she and what does she want?
Maggie Gibbs collapses seriously ill in the frontline
hospitals and is brought back to England close to death. Can she be saved and
what does the future hold for her and her broken heart?
Marion Jackson’s father is on the run from the Police
already wanted for murder. She fears he will return to threaten his family once
more.
And Beth Burrows is pregnant with her second child, worried
and anxious for her husband Jack, who has been many months at sea.
As Christmas 1917 approaches what will the future hold for
Harpers, its girls and their men at War?
Extract
Chapter 1
London, April 1917
Sally Harper turned to speak to her husband Ben and saw that
he’d fallen asleep again in his chair. His newspaper lay beside him – the
headlines declaring that America had entered the war – and the cup of tea she’d
poured for him ten minutes earlier, untouched by his side. Despite several
warnings to Germany from the USA, its submarines had carried on attacking
neutral ships carrying cargo bound for Britain. The American President had
therefore signed the declaration of war. The news had delighted Ben, who considered
that his country ought to have joined long before this so that they could throw
the weight of the United States behind her allies in a common desire to bring
peace and stability. He considered himself British these days and thought the
way an Englishman would that the Americans had dragged their feet.
Sally had no idea where her husband had been for the past
couple of weeks but had immediately seen how tired he was on his return home
late the previous evening. He was sleeping soundly and though she ought to be
leaving for work soon, there was no reason why Ben shouldn’t snooze in his
chair if he wished. He worked long hours in his job for the British War Office.
She had hoped to have time to talk about what they needed to do for the best at
Harpers, the prestigious store he and his sister Jenni owned in Oxford Street.
Jenni had her own ideas, but Sally was their chief buyer and for once she
wasn’t in agreement with her sister-in-law. Normally, they got on really well
and were the best of friends, but just lately Sally had found that she didn’t
agree with some of the things Jenni wanted to do in the store.
Her unease was partly due to the fact that Jenni seemed
grumpy and distracted, which was probably down to problems in her own life
rather than disagreements between them. Jenni now lived in her own apartment
and had an entirely independent life after work. She was trying to negotiate a
divorce from her husband, who was a General in the American Army, and Sally
believed that it was proving difficult for her, though Jenni didn’t speak of it
much. The problem at the store was simply that Jenni believed they should just
fill the shelves of Harpers’ departments with whatever they could get,
regardless of quality, including substandard goods, but Sally was wary of
lowering standards too much. Yes, Jenni was right to say it was expected when
there was a war on. People had to accept less than they’d been able to insist
on in normal times and would be grateful for whatever they could get. While
Sally agreed to a certain extent, she still felt they had to be careful.
However, she was just the buyer and she needed Ben’s backup if she wanted to
fight her corner. Jenni was part owner so therefore her opinion carried a lot
of weight and if she insisted, Sally must, of course, give way. It would help
if she knew what Ben felt about it.
He’d carried on with his war work throughout these past
months, leaving Sally to run the store with the help of the manager, Mr
Stockbridge, and various supervisors, though Jenni was a big help now she was
living in London. It was her stubborn refusal to return to America that had
widened the rift between her and her husband, and her feelings for Mr Andrew
Alexander, a brilliant surgeon, that had made her ask for a divorce. Something
her husband seemed reluctant to grant.
Jenni’s problem with her husband was perhaps the underlying
cause of her recent moods, but the problem with Harpers was ongoing. As the war
bit ever deeper, and Britain was more and more reliant on home-produced goods,
it was becoming harder to find enough decent stock to fill their departments.
Of late, one or two of their regular suppliers had let them down, supplying
either poor-quality materials that Sally had had to return or sending only
partial orders. Sally wasn’t sure which annoyed her the most. Jenni said she
was too fussy and that they needed to keep their shelves stocked even if some
goods were not as good as they were accustomed to selling.
‘We’re in the middle of a war,’ Jenni was fond of reminding
her. ‘If a customer complains, remind them of that fact, Sally. It’s not your
fault the Government has ordered manufacturers to cut down on production of
certain goods – or that we can’t get enough imported goods these days.’
‘No, it’s the Kaiser’s and our Government,’ Sally had
replied the last time Jenni had brought it up. ‘Why they had to start fighting
and ruin everything, I do not know…’
Jenni had simply laughed at her frustration. ‘That’s men all
over! It’s centuries since your last civil war, not so very long since ours
back home in America – and that’s even worse, when you fight your own people.
Shortages are annoying, Sally but it isn’t like you to let it get you down?’
‘I know—’ Sally had sighed deeply. ‘I think it is just Ben
being away so much of the time – and Jenny has been a bit fractious recently.
It must be because she misses Ben. She is far more aware of the fact that he
isn’t home now than when she was just a baby.’
Their lovely little daughter was now a lively toddler of
three years and into all sorts of mischief. Named after her aunt, she was
everyone’s little darling. Sally was no longer able to take her to work and
settle her in a cot in her office, because she wanted to be into everything.
Pearl, her nurse, still came in a few days a week, but also worked three days
at the hospital, where the wards were overflowing with injured men sent home
from the war. Mrs Hills, Sally’s housekeeper, was very good with little Jenny,
but whenever she could, Sally tried to work from home. However, that was not always
feasible and sometimes she did take the little girl into the office. Jenny
loved it because all the staff fussed over and she was thoroughly spoiled, not
least by her adoring aunt and namesake.
‘She’s an absolute imp but adorable,’ Jenni had replied, because
she loved her niece and was always indulging her with little gifts and treats
of all kinds. ‘If Ben being away is getting you down, you should tell him,
Sally. I’m sure if he knew, he could cut down on these trips. I mean, have you
any idea what he does when he is away?’
‘None at all…’ Sally had frowned. ‘He says the official
title for his job is logistics controller – whatever that is.’
‘It means he’s buying and moving stuff on behalf of the
Armed Forces, as you well know,’ Jenni had replied with a frown. ‘But why can’t
he do that from an office in London?’
‘He says that he needs to prod officious store managers into
sending what is needed for the troops,’ Sally had said and made a wry face.
‘Ben says that if he simply puts a chit in for them to send ammunition to a
certain location, it might take weeks for it to be actually sent. By going
himself and overseeing the packing and transportation, choosing the men
escorting it himself, he gets results in a tenth of the time…’
Jenni had nodded her agreement. ‘Yes, I can see how that
would work. We like to get on with things back home, Sally. You English tend to
take your time – and the amount of red tape is maddening.’
‘Yes, Ben is forever complaining about that…’ Sally had
laughed. ‘You two are so alike in so many ways. Did you know that?’
‘We’re both Americans,’ Jenni had shrugged and then smiled.
‘And we did have the same father. I suppose we may think alike in many ways…’
‘You do…’
Jenni had just laughed, clearly pleased to be compared to
her brother.
Now, on this sunny morning, Sally’s thoughts were
interrupted as Ben opened his eyes and smiled at her. ‘You look pensive,’ he
said and yawned. ‘Something wrong, sweetheart?’
‘In a way… but it needn’t concern you, Ben…’
He held out his hands to her, indicating she should sit on
his lap. ‘Come and tell me what is wrong, Sally.’
‘Oh, just a little niggle concerning Harpers. It’s the
quality of some of the stock these days… it isn’t what we’re used to, Ben.’
‘Ah…’ He nodded but looked resigned. ‘I know just what you
mean. I made a stink about some boots that were delivered to an Army depot
while I was there. The leather was not up to standard and they will probably
fall to pieces after a couple of weeks of marching. I sent them back, but the
quartermaster was furious. He said he’d been on to the suppliers every day for
months to get them and what was he going to do now…’
‘What did you say?’ Sally was interested.
‘I went to see the factory myself and inspected what they
were doing. We sorted out the problem between us and we’ve been promised
replacements for next month.’
‘How did you manage that?’
‘Part bribery, part threats,’ Ben said. ‘It is a game we
play all the time, Sally. They will pass off faulty goods if they can, but if
you put your foot down hard, they normally come through. I threatened to take
the contract away from them unless they pulled their socks up sharpish.’
‘Could you do that?’
‘Yes.’ Ben’s mouth set hard. ‘I’ve done it before now. Men
need decent boots to march in, Sally – just as they need to get their
ammunition when they require it and to be sure that the rations they receive
are enough to keep them fighting fit.’
Sally nodded and smiled at him. She supposed she’d always
known that what he was doing was important work, but she’d never seen it in
terms of men’s lives before, but now she understood more of what he had to do.
‘No wonder you look worn out when you get home sometimes.’
‘It isn’t always easy,’ Ben said with a smile. ‘It involves
a lot of driving from one end of the country to the other and hundreds of forms
to fill in – and that’s when everything goes to plan. When it doesn’t, I have
to spend ages trying to find the right person and that is sometimes more
difficult than it sounds.’
‘And then I worry you with my trivial complaints…’
Ben pulled her on to his lap and kissed her. ‘Nothing you do
or say is trivial to me, my love. Is anything else worrying you?’
‘What happens if I can’t find enough of the right stock to
fill our shelves? Harpers is a big store, Ben, and our stockroom is getting
emptier by the week – soon we shan’t have any reserves.’
‘Remember what you did to raise money for the wounded?’ Ben
asked. ‘You bought seconds cheaply and sold them for very little, giving a
contribution to the fund for wounded men. Do something similar again… take the
poor-quality goods but at a lower price and make a thing of civilians
sacrificing for the sake of our men over there…’
Sally nodded, looking at him with respect. It was more or
less what Jenni was saying. ‘Yes, that could work. Those boots you rejected for
the Army for instance—’
‘Would probably last civilians for a few months – bought
cheaply enough they would be fine.’ He grinned at her. ‘I think a certain
factory manager would be delighted to sell them to you very cheaply, Sally…’
‘Good. I’ll get on to it in the morning,’ she said, smiling
and feeling much better than she had in a while. ‘Yes, I can just see the signs
we’ll put up – and for each pair of substandard boots we sell, we’ll give
something to the wounded fund again…’
About the Author
Rosie Clarke is a #1 bestselling saga writer whose most
recent books include The Mulberry Lane series. She has written over 100 novels
under different pseudonyms and is a RNA Award winner. She lives in
Cambridgeshire. Rosie’s brand new saga series, Welcome to Harpers Emporium
began in December 2019.
You can read my review of Rainy Days for the Harpers Girls here
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