began to set out the cups and saucers and pour out the tea, but it was not until Mrs Forrester was noisily sipping that she spoke again.
‘Do you think that you can handle your new position?’ she questioned bluntly.
Without hesitation, Amy said, ‘Yes I do, ma’am, although I am very aware that I still have a lot to learn.’
‘Good – that’s exactly what I thought, which is why I’ve come up with an idea.’
Amy remained silent but stared at her curiously.
‘As you may be aware, I lived for some years in London in Samuel’s townhouse, until I came to Forrester’s Folly,’ the old lady went on. ‘In actual fact, I was the one responsible for opening Samuel’s shop there. And I also helped Adam to open his shop there too.’
Amy hadn’t known that and she listened with interest.
‘It was in London that I learned a lot. Now there’s a place to learn. Puts this backwater to shame it does, for fashion. Anyway – I got to thinking and I reckon that a month in London would do you the power of good. Let you see how the other ’alf live. Samuel ’ere agrees wi’ me, so what I’m proposing is we all go. It won’t be a holiday, mind – you’ll spend a lot of time working there, getting some new ideas into your ’ead. What do you think?’
Amy was speechless and the cup she was holding began to rattle in its saucer.
‘It will also give us a chance to get you some more fashionable clothes – not that yours ain’t perfectly clean and respectable, o’ course,’ the old lady added hastily, not wishing to cause offence. ‘But as the head o’ the design department, part of your duties will be meeting with the buyers and suchlike, so we’ll need you to look the part.’ Her piercing blue eyes bore into her but Amy could only nod speechlessly.
‘Good, good. That’s settled then.’ Taking Amy’s silence for agreement the woman nodded with satisfaction. ‘You get off ’ome now and clear it wi’ your gran, and then we’ll set a date, eh?’
Again, Amy could only nod soundlessly and Samuel, who had been listening to the interchange with amusement, quickly stepped in. ‘All right, Mother, that’s enough for now. I think you’ve made poor Amy quite lose her tongue.’
Turning his attention to the dumbstruck girl he said kindly, ‘Off you go, Amy. Take the rest of the day off and talk it over with your gran as my mother has suggested. But do please assure her that you will be very well chaperoned and well taken care of. If she has no objections to you going, I thought we might take the train from Trent Valley station to Euston in London, and then we can go from there to our family house by pony and trap. My wife and mother will be accompanying us, and if you have never visited London before I think I can safely predict that you will find it most interesting, as my mother has already said.’
‘Y … yes, sir.’ Amy’s voice came out as little more than a squeak. Everything was happening so fast that she could barely take it in, and suddenly she longed to escape so that she could put her thoughts into some sort of order before seeing her gran.
On legs that seemed to have developed a life of their own, she stood up and, after excusing herself, set off for home. Her mind was so full that she even forgot the formidable Eugenie as she almost floated across the well-tended lawns. It wasn’t until she reached the shelter of the bluebell woods that her footsteps slowed and she hugged herself with excitement. Not only was she now the head of the design department but she was going to London too. London! To Amy, who had never been further than her hometown it seemed like a world away. Oh, she had seen pictures of it in books that Toby had shown her, but the thought of actually being there made her dizzy. Her lively imagination was running riot. Suddenly throwing back her head she laughed aloud and clasping her arms about the trunk of a great tree she hugged it fiercely as if it could share her joy. Then, gathering up her skirts in a most unladylike manner, she sped from the woods at breakneck speed, intent on getting home and sharing the news with her gran.