Rose Gardner's Florist (The Providence Street Shops #2) - Bonnie Dee Page 0,21
of William Carmody, Rose somehow imagined the customer would be him. Her spirits rose.
Instead, she received a gut punch of shock. “Mum! What are you doing here?”
“What? Too good to greet yer old mum properly?”
“Of course I’m pleased to see you, but it is such a surprise. You haven’t come to visit once since I opened the shop.”
“Well, I’m ’ere now.” Mum tucked back a hank of her hair, once as red as Rose’s, now faded and streaked with gray. She glanced around. “Lots o’ flowers. You sell this many in a day?”
“No. But I have to offer variety and appear well-stocked. It is what the customers expect.” She felt a defensive need to explain herself. “One must expect to lose some stock. It’s the nature of the business.”
“Oh, must ‘one,’” her mother mocked. “Whaddya do with the blooms at end o’ day, toss ’em in the rubbish bin?”
“An old friend from the market picks ’em up. Remember Gram’s friend Mary Pardo? She ’as a bit o’ luck sellin’ nosegays outside the opera house.” Like shedding a layer of skin, Rose returned to the bones of her being, a Cockney lass aping her betters and pretending to belong in their world. “What can I do for ya, Mum? Why’ve you come?”
“Ain’t you friendly tho’? Afraid one of yer fancy customers might see me?”
It was precisely that fear which made her dart glances at the door. “Of course not, Mum. I’m ‘appy you finally came, but I expect you want somethin’?”
“There’s a coal bill needs payin’.” Her mother’s gaze drilled through her like a sharp stave pinning a flower into place.
What sort of coal bill could there possibly be during a steaming hot summer? But Rose did not dispute the claim. “I can contribute a little to help with that.”
“And yer sis is up the duff from one o’ them Barnes boys.”
“Arietta is pregnant?” Sadly, it was not a surprise. “Which Barnes? Sam or Job?”
“Naw, the other. The one who went for a soldier come ‘ome for ‘is dad’s funeral and set his eye on our Arietty.”
“Gus? But he’s so old! He must be near forty and Arietta is only fifteen.”
Mum clicked her tongue. “Almost sixteen, and so was I when I wed yer dad. What’s yer point?”
“Are you sure she wants this?”
“Don’t matter what she wants. It’s done now, innit? Anyhow, the fella’s a sergeant an’ makes a good wage. ‘E’ll be takin’ ‘er to back to Inja. So there’s Arietty sorted.”
Her little sister swept away to a foreign land, likely never to be seen again. Though the two of them had nothing in common except blood, Rose prayed Arietta would be happy with her lot. “When is the wedding? I’d like to see her before her big day.”
Mum wagged an arthritic finger. “Don’t you be interferin’, puttin’ codswallop romantical notions in her ‘ead. Tis for the best.”
“What do Dale and Danny have to say about it? I expect they wanted to beat Gus’s hide.”
“’E offered to put a ring on ‘er finger right away, which is right and proper. Yer brothers knew it and so did yer Da. You ought to be celebratin’ too. Didn’t you say you wanted the girl out o’ the factory?”
There was no arguing that. But she should have asked her sister to work for her. She might have saved her from both frying pan and fire. Instead, she’d been more concerned with Arietta’s rude manners. She hadn’t wanted her coarse sister to deter clients. If she’d only guided and mentored Arietta as Hattie had done her, the girl might not be in this fix.
“Gus must return to ‘is regiment. Took leave only long enough to put his Dad in the ground and find a good English girl to take back to that heathen land. If ya want to see yer sis, you’d best do it soon.”
“I could come to supper tonight. Is there anything I can bring?”
“A ham would be nice, and a smoked mackerel as well?” Mum created a shopping list on the spot.
“Will Dale and his family be there?” Rose assessed the number of mouths she had to feed.
“I’ll tell ‘em to come by six.”
“I can’t make it that soon, Mum. I have to close the shop and buy the groceries. How about seven?”
“Whot about that coal bill then? Can ya spare a quid?”
Much more than a hod cost, but Rose gritted her teeth and retreated behind the counter to withdraw some money from the till.