Betty Neels - A Christmas Wish

‘The upshot is, Haso, that your protégée is at Nel’s school, working out the rest of the term, and if she proves satisfactory she is to be taken on on a termly basis and allowed to live in a small annexe of the school. Very poky, so Nel tells me, but there is room for her mother if she cares to go and live there. The salary is barely adequate but, as it has been pointed out, she has no qualifications. I hope this news will relieve you from further feelings of responsibility towards Olivia who, from Nel’s account, is well-liked and apparently happy. Do phone when you can spare the time, and tell me how Rita is. Still as pretty as ever, I’m sure, and such a delightful companion. I hope you found time to see something of her.’

He smiled as he put the letter down, aware that it was Lady Brennon’s dearest wish that he should marry Rita. What could be more suitable? They knew each other well, her husband had been his closest friend and he had a strong affection for Nel. It was all so suitable, and he supposed that it would be a sensible thing to do. His thoughts strayed to Olivia; when he went to school to collect Nel he would make a point of seeing her. He supposed his interest in her had been heightened by the injustice of her dismissal. Now that she was settled he could dismiss her from his mind, where she had been lurking for the past few weeks.

Lady Brennon’s letter had reached Mrs Fitzgibbon at an opportune moment; there had been another letter in the post that morning, for Olivia, regretting that the post of assistant in a West End florist’s had been filled. Olivia, listening to her grandmother’s diatribe on the inability of young women to find suitable employment, allowed most of it to flow over her head—she knew it by heart now. Instead she wondered about Mr van der Eisler. Back in Holland, she supposed, and best forgotten.

A silence from her grandmother made her look up. The old lady was reading the letter in her hand, and when she had finished it she re-read it. She spoke. ‘It is a good thing that I have a number of connections with those of a good background.’ She put the letter down. ‘This is a letter from an old friend who by some remote chance has written to me—you need not concern yourself as to the details.’ She waited for Olivia to say something but, since she had no intention of concerning herself, she went on writing a note for the milkman and remained silent. ‘There is a position at a girls’ school outside Bath—making yourself useful, as far as I can see. The current holder has had to leave for some family reason and the headmistress is anxious to find someone suitable at the earliest possible moment. She suggests that you telephone and make an appointment. The headmistress is coming to London—let me see—tomorrow.’

Olivia felt her grandmother’s beady eyes fixed on her. ‘Just what kind of a job is it, Granny?’

‘How should I know? You must bestir yourself and go and find out for yourself.’

‘After I have talked to Mother. She’ll be back presently, we can talk about it then.’

Mrs Harding thought it might be quite nice. ‘Of course I shall miss you, love, but you’ll have the school holidays.’

‘Yes, Mother. If it were possible, would you come and live there if I get the job—I dare say we could rent a small house nearby.’

‘Oh, darling, that would be lovely, to live in the country again.’ They were in the kitchen with the door shut but all the same she lowered her voice. ‘I’m sure Granny would like to have the flat to herself again. Do go and see this lady.’

So Olivia went, and since it was a fine day and quite warm she wore her jersey dress—like most of her clothes not the height of fashion but still elegant. She hoped the headmistress would like her, for although she didn’t like leaving her mother she would be able to send her money and they might even take a holiday together. Her grandmother, she felt sure, would be only too glad to be rid of them both.

The headmistress, Miss Cross, was middle-aged, plump and good-natured and, when Olivia explained that she had no experience of any sort other than filing documents, waved this aside. ‘Come and see how you get on,’ she suggested. ‘There are still several weeks of this term—almost a month. If you like the work and we like you, then I’ll employ you on a termly basis. You’ll live in, of course—there’s a small annexe you’ll have to yourself. I don’t know if you have a dependant? I’ve no objection to a mother or sister living with you. The salary is fair, I consider, and you get your meals while you’re on duty. You’re not married or anything like that?’

‘No, Miss Cross.’

‘Then you ought to be, a lovely creature like you! Start on Saturday. Let me know what time your train gets to Bath; I’ll have you met.’

Coincidence, good luck, fate—call it what you will, reflected Olivia, now something or someone had allowed her to fall on her feet. She had been at the school for two weeks and she was happy. She wasn’t sure just what she could call herself, for no two days were alike, but being a practical girl she took that in her stride. She plaited small heads of hair, inspected fingernails if Matron was busy, played rounders during the games hour, took prep with the older girls, drove Miss Cross into Bath whenever she needed to go, washed the same small heads of hair, comforted those who had grazed knees and in between these tasks filled in for anyone on the staff who happened to be absent for any reason. It was a good thing that she had been good at games at school, for she found herself on several occasions tearing up and down the hockey pitch blowing her whistle. She had enjoyed it too.

The annexe had been a pleasant surprise. It was small, certainly, but there was a living-room with an alcove used as a kitchen, a shower-room and, up the narrow staircase, two bedrooms just large enough to contain a bed, a chest of drawers and a chair. Whoever had had the place before her had been clever with orange boxes, disguising them as bedside tables, bookshelves and an extra seat with a cushion neatly nailed on to it.

If Miss Cross was to keep her on then there was no reason why her mother shouldn’t come and stay with her, even live with her. The school was in the country, but there was a good bus service into Bath from the village.

Olivia, on this particular Saturday morning, was rounding up the smallest of the girls ready for their weekly swimming lesson in the heated swimming-pool in the school’s basement. The sports mistress would be in charge but Olivia was expected to give a hand, something she enjoyed, for she was a good swimmer and teaching the sometimes unwilling learners was a challenge. She marched them through the school and down the stairs to the basement, saw them into their swimsuits, counted heads, and handed them over to Miss Ross, a small woman with a powerful voice, before going off to get into her own swimsuit.

While Miss Ross got on with the actual teaching Olivia patrolled the pool, swimming slowly, making sure that the children were under her watchful eye, encouraging the faint-hearted to get their feet off the bottom of the pool and applauding those who were splashing their way from one side to the other. Once they were all out of the water she wrapped herself in a robe and went round checking that each child had showered, finding mislaid garments and then collecting up the sopping wet swimsuits. Only when they were all once more dressed and handed over to Miss Ross could she shower and dress herself, before hurrying back to the school to the recreation room where she was expected to dispense hot cocoa and biscuits. It should have been her half-day but the junior housemistress had gone to a wedding, which meant that Olivia would have the charge of fifteen little girls until they were in bed and hopefully asleep. On Sunday it was her turn to shepherd the whole school, under the guidance of Miss Cross and two of the senior teachers, to the village church.