Read Online Clifton Chronicles 02 - The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jeffrey Archer
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and followed her to what she assumed must be the lower deck, but as she had no idea where aft was, she joined a queue at the information desk.
Behind the counter stood two girls, dressed in dark blue uniforms and white blouses. They were attempting to answer every passenger’s query while keeping smiles etched on their faces.
‘How can I help you, miss?’ one of them asked when Emma eventually reached the front of the queue. The girl clearly assumed she was a passenger, and in fact Emma had considered paying for her passage to New York, but had decided she was more likely to find out what she needed to know if she signed on as a member of the crew.
‘Where will I find the purser’s office?’ she asked.
‘Second door on the right down that companionway,’ replied the girl. ‘You can’t miss it.’
Emma followed her pointing finger, and when she reached a door marked Purser she took a deep breath and knocked.
‘Come in.’
Emma opened the door and stepped inside to find a smartly dressed officer seated behind a desk that was strewn with forms. He wore a crisp, open-necked white shirt which had two gold epaulettes on each shoulder.
‘How can I help you?’ he asked in an accent she’d never heard before, and could hardly decipher.
‘I’m looking for a job as a waitress, sir,’ said Emma, hoping she sounded like one of the maids at the Manor House.
‘Sorry,’ he said, looking back down. ‘Don’t need any more waitresses. The only available position is on the information desk.’
‘I’d be happy to work there,’ said Emma, reverting to her normal voice.
The purser gave her a closer look. ‘The pay’s not good,’ he warned her, ‘and the hours are worse.’
‘I’m used to that,’ said Emma.
‘And I can’t offer you a permanent position,’ continued the purser, ‘because one of my girls is on shore leave in New York, and will be rejoining the ship after this crossing.’
‘That’s not a problem,’ said Emma without explanation.
The purser still didn’t look convinced. ‘Can you read and write?’
Emma would like to have told him that she’d won a scholarship to Oxford, but simply said, ‘Yes, sir.’
Without another word, he pulled open a drawer and extracted a long form, passed her a fountain pen and said, ‘Fill this in.’ As Emma began to answer the questions, he added, ‘And I’ll also need to see a reference.’
Once Emma had completed the form, she opened her bag and handed over Maisie’s letter of recommendation.
‘Very impressive,’ he said. ‘But are you sure you’re suited to being a receptionist?’
‘It was going to be my next job at the Grand,’ Emma said. ‘All part of my training to be a manageress.’
‘Then why give up that opportunity to join us?’
‘I have a great-aunt who lives in New York, and my mother wants me to stay with her until the war is over.’
This time the purser did look convinced, as it wasn’t the first time someone had wanted to work their passage in order to get away from England. ‘Then let’s get you started,’ he said, jumping up. He marched out of the office and led her on the short journey back to the information desk.
‘Peggy, I’ve found someone to replace Dana on this voyage, so you better get her started straight away.’
‘Thank God for that,’ said Peggy, lifting a flap so Emma could join her behind the counter. ‘What’s your name?’ she asked in the same almost impenetrable accent. For the first time Emma understood what Bernard Shaw had meant when he suggested that the English and the Americans were divided by a common language.
‘Emma Barrington.’
‘Well, Emma, this is my assistant, Trudy. As we’re so busy, perhaps you could just observe for now, and we’ll try to fill you in as we go along.’
Emma took a pace back and watched as the two girls handled everything that was thrown at them, while somehow managing to keep smiling.
Within an hour, Emma knew at what time and where
Behind the counter stood two girls, dressed in dark blue uniforms and white blouses. They were attempting to answer every passenger’s query while keeping smiles etched on their faces.
‘How can I help you, miss?’ one of them asked when Emma eventually reached the front of the queue. The girl clearly assumed she was a passenger, and in fact Emma had considered paying for her passage to New York, but had decided she was more likely to find out what she needed to know if she signed on as a member of the crew.
‘Where will I find the purser’s office?’ she asked.
‘Second door on the right down that companionway,’ replied the girl. ‘You can’t miss it.’
Emma followed her pointing finger, and when she reached a door marked Purser she took a deep breath and knocked.
‘Come in.’
Emma opened the door and stepped inside to find a smartly dressed officer seated behind a desk that was strewn with forms. He wore a crisp, open-necked white shirt which had two gold epaulettes on each shoulder.
‘How can I help you?’ he asked in an accent she’d never heard before, and could hardly decipher.
‘I’m looking for a job as a waitress, sir,’ said Emma, hoping she sounded like one of the maids at the Manor House.
‘Sorry,’ he said, looking back down. ‘Don’t need any more waitresses. The only available position is on the information desk.’
‘I’d be happy to work there,’ said Emma, reverting to her normal voice.
The purser gave her a closer look. ‘The pay’s not good,’ he warned her, ‘and the hours are worse.’
‘I’m used to that,’ said Emma.
‘And I can’t offer you a permanent position,’ continued the purser, ‘because one of my girls is on shore leave in New York, and will be rejoining the ship after this crossing.’
‘That’s not a problem,’ said Emma without explanation.
The purser still didn’t look convinced. ‘Can you read and write?’
Emma would like to have told him that she’d won a scholarship to Oxford, but simply said, ‘Yes, sir.’
Without another word, he pulled open a drawer and extracted a long form, passed her a fountain pen and said, ‘Fill this in.’ As Emma began to answer the questions, he added, ‘And I’ll also need to see a reference.’
Once Emma had completed the form, she opened her bag and handed over Maisie’s letter of recommendation.
‘Very impressive,’ he said. ‘But are you sure you’re suited to being a receptionist?’
‘It was going to be my next job at the Grand,’ Emma said. ‘All part of my training to be a manageress.’
‘Then why give up that opportunity to join us?’
‘I have a great-aunt who lives in New York, and my mother wants me to stay with her until the war is over.’
This time the purser did look convinced, as it wasn’t the first time someone had wanted to work their passage in order to get away from England. ‘Then let’s get you started,’ he said, jumping up. He marched out of the office and led her on the short journey back to the information desk.
‘Peggy, I’ve found someone to replace Dana on this voyage, so you better get her started straight away.’
‘Thank God for that,’ said Peggy, lifting a flap so Emma could join her behind the counter. ‘What’s your name?’ she asked in the same almost impenetrable accent. For the first time Emma understood what Bernard Shaw had meant when he suggested that the English and the Americans were divided by a common language.
‘Emma Barrington.’
‘Well, Emma, this is my assistant, Trudy. As we’re so busy, perhaps you could just observe for now, and we’ll try to fill you in as we go along.’
Emma took a pace back and watched as the two girls handled everything that was thrown at them, while somehow managing to keep smiling.
Within an hour, Emma knew at what time and where
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