Glynis Peters - The Secret Orphan

As she folded the clothes in readiness to pack, Sally started to hum a song.

‘I know that one! It’s your name! Sally. I think it should be renamed Elenor of the Alley.’

More laughter followed.

‘Is everything all right in there, Miss Cardew?’

Mrs Green called through the curtain.

‘Come in, I’m ready.’

Approving and advising, Mrs Green made a note of the selected purchases. Elenor stroked the velvet trim of her new Sunday best outfit, reluctant to see it removed for packing.

‘I think I will wear the navy skirt with the jumper, stockings and these shoes.’

Elenor lifted a smart black lace up shoe with small thick heel from a box.

Mrs Green gave her a smile.

‘A sensible choice both in outfit and shoe. I like the wine colour of the other skirt too, both will suit you fine. Talking of the cooler weather, are you ready to try on the coats I’ve chosen? I’ve strict instructions from Mrs Matthews and I do think she is right – fashion comes and goes, but a traditional woollen coat in black will be both serviceable and smart and will last several years. We can top it off with a more modern hat, neck scarf and gloves which will bring no objection, I’m sure. I have just the items in mind.’

Elenor looked at the three coats.

‘They’re all the same.’ She said.

Sally pointed out the buttons and back pleats of one.

‘I think this is the one for you. Look how it hangs. Try it on.’

In the mirror a different person looked back at Elenor. She turned and twirled, allowing the coat to rise and fall back into place.

Mrs Green placed a green hat with a down-turned brim on Elenor’s head.

‘This is a little old-fashioned but will satisfy your aunt. To modernise it, you can pull it at an angle over one brow and trim it with grosgrain ribbon. Try the gloves. These are a size small and should fit your petite hands.’

She handed Elenor a pair of suede gloves in the same green as the hat. She clasped her hands in front of her face when she looked in the mirror again.

‘Is it really me? I can’t thank you both enough.’

‘It is Mrs Green with the keen eye, I just do the basic assisting.’

Mrs Green gave a small cough of acceptance.

‘I don’t think my aunt will object to me adding a few extras to her account. Essential ones, of course. I need a cream for my hands. They are sore and chafed.’

Mrs Green gathered a few of the items from Sally as Elenor spoke.

‘We have just the thing. Sally will fetch the cream. It is by Yardley and contains lavender and will help them heal. Your aunt uses the brand, but it will be nice for you to have your own pot. I think you will need help carrying these home – I’ll arrange for a car to take you. I will need a signature for the account before you leave. It has been a pleasure, Miss Cardew, and I do wish you well in Coventry.’

‘Thank you. You have been so kind.’

After a final twirl in the mirror, a new Elenor Cardew stepped out onto the shop floor, one with the confidence of a well-dressed young woman. At the counter she signed beneath a sum of money which would have purchased a prize bull and applied a small amount of cream to her hands before slipping on her gloves. She made her way to the front entrance where she was informed a taxi driver waited for her.

She mastered the art of the rotating door and laughed as she stepped onto the pavement.

Victoria rushed down the pathway as the driver unloaded Elenor’s bags from the car.

‘Gracious me, look at all these bags. Mrs Matthews is resting but I’ve strict instructions to wake her when you return.’

‘It has been a wonderful experience. Oh dear, I …’

She watched Victoria pay the driver and when he disappeared she shared her concern.

‘The fool I am. I didn’t think of payment. Thank you, Victoria. I will pay you back when I have my allowance.’

Victoria held the door open with the heel of her shoe to allow Elenor into the hallway, both struggling with the bulging bags.

‘No need. There is always money by the door for just such an event. Your aunt insists upon it, she said your uncle used to spend so much time scrabbling around for money, it frustrated her. The dish is never empty.’

‘Well, thank you for the lesson. On my farm he would have been offered eggs.’

Victoria laughed.

‘He might well have given you a wide berth the next time you hailed him down.’

Still laughing, Elenor climbed the stairs behind Victoria. They tiptoed past her aunt’s room and deposited the bags on the bed.

‘I’ll give you ten minutes and then I’ll rouse your aunt,’ said Victoria.

With care, Elenor lifted her precious purchases from the bags and put them away.

Not wishing to keep her aunt waiting, she ventured downstairs.

‘There you are.’

Her aunt sat sipping tea, and Elenor poured herself a cup from the pot sitting on the table.

‘I must say you have chosen well. Very smart. Not too flimsy, well done. Mrs Green is a wise woman.’

Her aunt’s head bobbed up and down with approval when Elenor set down her cup and gave a twirl.

‘I don’t know how to thank you Aunt Maude. The whole experience was a little overwhelming, but Mrs Green and Sally were kind. I have the same in a wine red, and the most beautiful coat, oh, and gloves and hat in green, sensible just as you asked. I did purchase a Yardley cream for my hands, I hope you approve.’

‘Under the circumstances I do not mind. And not wanting to linger on a delicate subject, I’ll assume Mrs Green added undergarments to my account?’

Elenor thought it funny how she was happy to stand in a cubicle discussing underwear with a stranger but felt her face burn and flush when the items were mentioned by her relative.

‘Um, yes, she did, thank you.’

‘Did you enjoy browsing the store?’

Elenor giggled.

‘I became rather confused by the doors and stood on a gentleman’s foot as I made my escape backwards. He was kind enough to help me inside. He said he was from Canada? I pretended I knew where it was, but I don’t.’

Elenor picked up her cup and quenched her thirst. Across the brim she watched her aunt smile.

‘It is good to hear, Elenor. I am sorry to have not witnessed the event, or to have saved the poor gentleman from a sore foot. I will have Victoria’s husband fetch an encyclopaedia for you to read up on Canada, and anything else you may find useful.’

Elenor smiled back. ‘He was an elderly pilot. Can you imagine it, flying in the sky? I’m afraid my bravery stays firmly on the ground attempting rotating shop doors.’

‘You are not alone, young lady. I am fearful of all things mechanical and would never put my trust in a metal bird. We do have to be grateful to the brave pilots for when they gave their lives in the Great War. Bravery, such bravery.’

Aunt Maude sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. Elenor sipped her tea in silence until the gentle snoring of her aunt indicated the afternoon’s conversation had come to a close. With slight disappointment, yet with the sense a barrier had been removed between them, Elenor tiptoed from the room and went to the kitchen in search of Victoria.

A male voice and whispers from Victoria told Elenor the housekeeper was reunited with her husband. She stepped into the kitchen.

‘Ah, Mr Sherbourne, you have returned I see. It is a pleasure to meet you at last.’

Elenor moved towards the man who stood beside Victoria. He was not as tall as she had expected – although she wasn’t really sure what she’d expected – and had a mop of unruly brown hair, almost as if curls had never quite formed. He stared at her with narrow brown eyes, almost untrusting, curious or suspicious. His presence unnerved Elenor and she wasn’t sure why.