reminded him.
'That's one of the reasons I chose you.'
'Chose me?'
'Sure. You'd be the ideal person to take charge of the cocktail waitresses. Not only would I pay you six pounds a week, but if the place takes off, the tips alone would be more than you could ever hope to earn at Tilly's.'
'And would I be expected to dress like that?' asked Maisie, pointing to one of the waitresses who was wearing an off-the-shoulder red blouse and a tight-fitting black skirt that barely covered her knees. It amused Maisie that they were the same colours as the St Bede's uniform.
'Why not? You're a great-lookin' broad, and the punters will pay good money to be served by someone like you. You'll get the odd proposition, of course, but I feel sure you can handle that.'
'What's the point of a dance floor if it's a men-only club?'
'Another idea I picked up from the States,' said Eddie. 'If you want to dance with one of the cocktail waitresses, it'll cost you.'
'And what else does that cost include?'
'That's up to them,' said Eddie with a shrug of the shoulders. 'So long as it doesn't take place on the premises, nothing to do with me,' he added, laughing a little too loudly. Maisie didn't laugh. 'So what do you think?' he asked.
'I think I'd better be getting home,' said Maisie. 'I didn't have time to let Harry know I'd be late.'
'Whatever you say, honey,' said Eddie. He draped an arm around her shoulder and led her out of the bar and back up the stairs.
As he drove her to Still House Lane, he told Maisie about his plans for the future. 'I've already got my eye on a second site,' he said excitedly, 'so the sky's the limit.'
'The sky's the limit,' Maisie repeated, as they drew up outside No. 27.
Maisie jumped out of the car and walked quickly to the front door.
'So will you need a few days to think it over?' said Eddie, chasing after her.
'No, thank you, Eddie,' said Maisie without hesitation. 'I've already made up my mind,' she added, taking a key out of her handbag.
Eddie grinned and put an arm around her. 'I didn't think it would be a difficult decision for you to make.'
Maisie removed the arm, smiled sweetly and said, 'It's kind of you to consider me, honey, but I think I'll stick to serving coffee.' She opened her front door before adding, 'But thanks for asking.'
'Anything you say, doll, but if you change your mind, my door is always open.'
Maisie closed the door behind her.
Chapter 14
MAISIE FINALLY SETTLED ON the one person she felt she could seek advice from. She decided to turn up at the docks unannounced and hope he'd be around when she knocked on his door.
She didn't tell either Stan or Harry who she was visiting. One of them would try to stop her, while the other would feel she'd betrayed a confidence.
Maisie waited until her day off, and once she had dropped Harry at school, she took a tram to the dockyard. She had chosen her time carefully: late morning, when he was still likely to be in his office, while Stan would be fully occupied loading or unloading cargo at the other end of the dock.
Maisie told the man on the gate that she'd come to apply for a job as a cleaner. He pointed indifferently towards the redbrick building and still didn't remember her.
As she walked towards Barrington House, Maisie looked up at the windows on the fifth floor and wondered which office was his. She recalled her encounter with Mrs Nettles, and the way she had been shown the door the moment she mentioned her name. Now Maisie not only had a job she enjoyed and where she was respected, but she'd had two other offers in the past few days. She didn't give Mrs Nettles another thought as she walked straight past the building and continued along the quayside.
Maisie didn't slacken her pace until she could see his home. She found it hard to believe that anyone could possibly live in a railway carriage, and began to wonder if she'd made a dreadful mistake. Had Harry's stories of a dining room, a bedroom and even a library, been exaggerated? 'You can't stop now you've come this far, Maisie Clifton,' she told herself, and knocked boldly on the carriage door.
'Come in, Mrs Clifton,' said a gentle voice.
Maisie opened the door to find an old man sitting in a comfortable seat, with