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Authors: Roberta Grieve
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doesn’t seem to understand that he can’t just jump in. He has to start at the bottom and learn the ropes,’ Stanley had said at dinner the other day.
Louise hoped he would soon knuckle down, if only to take some of the pressure off her father, who she was sure was suffering from overwork.
Stanley looked up from the papers he was studying and his face lit up in a smile at the sight of his daughter. His heart contracted painfully as she pulled her hat off and shook her hair free, then perched on the corner of his desk. She was so like her mother it sometimes hurt just to look at her. Although he loved Dora, he had never forgotten his sweet Mary – how could he, when every day Louise was there to remind him?
Stanley loved both his daughters and would do anything to make them happy, but just recently he’d begun to worry that he had indulged Sarah too much. In her single-minded pursuit of a singing career, he feared she was in danger of turning out to be as selfish as her mother. He wasn’t blind to Dora’s faults; he loved her in spite of them. But it hurt him to see Sarah going the same way. Still, he was sure Louise would never be a disappointment to him.
He sighed and reached for her hand. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure then, my dear?’ he asked.
‘I needed to get out of the house. So I thought we could walk home together. We haven’t had our Sunday walks lately and I miss them.’
Stanley patted her hand. ‘I do too. Let me finish going through these papers and then we’ll walk home along the seafront.’
Louise smiled and got up from the desk. ‘Where’s Miss Baines?’ she asked.
‘I let her go early – her mother’s not well,’ Stanley replied.
Louise smiled sympathetically and went to sit by the window as he bent his head to his work.
But his mind wasn’t on the details of the house he’d recently surveyed for a client. He was still puzzling over what had gone wrong with his business. How could they be losing money when they still had so many contracts underway? He hadn’t lost that much in the stock market crash and anyway, things were recovering a little now. But surely his problems were not just due to Dora’s extravagance, or to the expenses incurred in launching Sarah’s musical career.
He would just have to go through the books again. But the thought depressed him. Last time he had attempted to discuss their finances with his partner, William became quite tetchy, as if he thought Stanley were accusing him of some impropriety. That was the last thing on his mind; he and William had been friends for years and, up until now, their partnership had been a happy one.
It was no good. He couldn’t concentrate on the survey, couldn’t summon up any interest in dry rot and cracked guttering, faulty drains and loose window catches. He threw the papers down with a sigh and stretched.
‘I think I’ll call it a day, Louise. Maybe this will make more sense in the morning,’ he said.
He shrugged himself into his jacket, helped Louise on with hers and took his hat off the stand in the corner. As he closed the office door behind them a voice from across the hall called out.
‘Just off, Mr Charlton?’
Stanley put his head round the door. ‘Yes, make sure you lock up securely when you leave.’
‘Don’t worry, Mr Charlton. You can depend on me,’ the young man replied.
As they walked down the steps, Louise took Stanley’s arm. ‘I didn’t hear James come back. He rushed out just as I came in, nearly knocked me over.’
‘I expect he had another row with William. They don’t see eye to eye and I’m beginning to think it was a mistake, taking him on. James has his own ideas about how we should run things but William doesn’t agree.’
Still, it was about time the young man grew up and started accepting some responsibility. Stanley was in full agreement with his partner on that. Once more he sighed and wished that Louise had been a boy. She would have been a real
Louise hoped he would soon knuckle down, if only to take some of the pressure off her father, who she was sure was suffering from overwork.
Stanley looked up from the papers he was studying and his face lit up in a smile at the sight of his daughter. His heart contracted painfully as she pulled her hat off and shook her hair free, then perched on the corner of his desk. She was so like her mother it sometimes hurt just to look at her. Although he loved Dora, he had never forgotten his sweet Mary – how could he, when every day Louise was there to remind him?
Stanley loved both his daughters and would do anything to make them happy, but just recently he’d begun to worry that he had indulged Sarah too much. In her single-minded pursuit of a singing career, he feared she was in danger of turning out to be as selfish as her mother. He wasn’t blind to Dora’s faults; he loved her in spite of them. But it hurt him to see Sarah going the same way. Still, he was sure Louise would never be a disappointment to him.
He sighed and reached for her hand. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure then, my dear?’ he asked.
‘I needed to get out of the house. So I thought we could walk home together. We haven’t had our Sunday walks lately and I miss them.’
Stanley patted her hand. ‘I do too. Let me finish going through these papers and then we’ll walk home along the seafront.’
Louise smiled and got up from the desk. ‘Where’s Miss Baines?’ she asked.
‘I let her go early – her mother’s not well,’ Stanley replied.
Louise smiled sympathetically and went to sit by the window as he bent his head to his work.
But his mind wasn’t on the details of the house he’d recently surveyed for a client. He was still puzzling over what had gone wrong with his business. How could they be losing money when they still had so many contracts underway? He hadn’t lost that much in the stock market crash and anyway, things were recovering a little now. But surely his problems were not just due to Dora’s extravagance, or to the expenses incurred in launching Sarah’s musical career.
He would just have to go through the books again. But the thought depressed him. Last time he had attempted to discuss their finances with his partner, William became quite tetchy, as if he thought Stanley were accusing him of some impropriety. That was the last thing on his mind; he and William had been friends for years and, up until now, their partnership had been a happy one.
It was no good. He couldn’t concentrate on the survey, couldn’t summon up any interest in dry rot and cracked guttering, faulty drains and loose window catches. He threw the papers down with a sigh and stretched.
‘I think I’ll call it a day, Louise. Maybe this will make more sense in the morning,’ he said.
He shrugged himself into his jacket, helped Louise on with hers and took his hat off the stand in the corner. As he closed the office door behind them a voice from across the hall called out.
‘Just off, Mr Charlton?’
Stanley put his head round the door. ‘Yes, make sure you lock up securely when you leave.’
‘Don’t worry, Mr Charlton. You can depend on me,’ the young man replied.
As they walked down the steps, Louise took Stanley’s arm. ‘I didn’t hear James come back. He rushed out just as I came in, nearly knocked me over.’
‘I expect he had another row with William. They don’t see eye to eye and I’m beginning to think it was a mistake, taking him on. James has his own ideas about how we should run things but William doesn’t agree.’
Still, it was about time the young man grew up and started accepting some responsibility. Stanley was in full agreement with his partner on that. Once more he sighed and wished that Louise had been a boy. She would have been a real
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