have helped my father with the bookkeeping at the plantation since I was twelve,” she told him confidently. “We could not afford a proper secretary but I can type sixty words a minute, and before I left home I was getting even faster.”
Sir Philip looked impressed.
“There are four main qualities I require in my staff. The first three are flexibility, willingness, and sobriety,” he said.
May nodded at each of the conditions.
“And the fourth,” Sir Philip continued, “is probably the most important of the lot, and that is discretion. In my job I am entrusted with a lot of confidences, some of which I am compelled to share with my secretary, and some of which will by default become apparent to my chauffeur. Since you are applying to fill both of these roles I think you will understand why I labour the point a little?” He smiled at her. “And you are single, I hope? Not that I don’t approve of romance, you understand, but it tends to interfere with the working schedule.”
This time May shook her head, and then, in order to dispel the idea that she might have been disagreeing with him, she changed the shake to another nod. Despite her age, Sir Philip found something beguiling about the eagerness of this young woman with her flopping hair. She had no references for him to follow up and he had only her word. But his instincts led him to a quick decision. Stubbing out his still unlit cigar Sir Philip’s voice became persuasive.
“Well, Miss Thomas, it has been a pleasure to speak to you. I know it is rather short notice but do you think you could start the job at once? We have had a bit of trouble with the previous incumbent in the job, and he had to be asked to leave rather smart-ish,” he explained, “which is why we are in a bit of a pickle. We’ve even run out of matches, as you see! Anyway, perhaps you would like to telephone to your family. Do they have a telephone?”
Telephones are part of the British way of life, May thought to herself, realising how readily they and so many other things that she had not been used to at home were becoming part of her new existence. She hoped that Nat would still be in the workshop and that she might catch him if she hurried. Sir Philip had already mentioned making arrangements for her uniform. His tailor could make her something in a twinkling of an eye. Trousers or skirt? Any preference? Yes, yes, Sir Philip had agreed, trousers: far more practical. He certainly thought of everything.
The high-pitched hissing of the switchboard, announcing that her time was up, sounded in the earpiece before May could fully explain to Nat what had happened during the preceding hour but Nat had heard enough to shout to Sarah who was in the workshop that day.
“May’s landed the job! They didn’t even ask for references!” and May heard a distant but exultant “Hurrah for May!” before the operator told her that her time allowance had expired and she must replace the receiver.
Very early the following morning, before it was even light, May woke up in the tiny bedroom in Sussex that she was now entitled to call hers. She shook smooth the dark red and green paisley eiderdown, and pulled it up over her. The eiderdown had slithered off her bed during the night and landed in a heap on the floor, leaving behind just a thin sheet for covering and a blanket that was more holes than darning. The seams of the eiderdown were weak with age and curled up feathers had floated out all over the carpet. May could see from her raised position in bed that a few of them had attached themselves to the dark velvet of Aunt Gladys’s hat, which was lying on top of the chest of drawers.
The room appeared not to have been used for a while as a musty smell floated up from the dark carpet. May wished sometimes that her nose were not so sensitive. The clove-studded oranges in Sir Philip’s study had been delicious, the cigar smoke in Sir Philip’s study a little headache-inducing, but dampness smelt depressing. The floor-length soap-scented cotton nightdress, lent to her last night by Mrs. Cage, was covered in tiny pink roses and must have shrunk in the wash judging by the way it clung to her slim hips. May longed for a cup