The Christmas Rose: The most heart-warming novel of 2018, from the Sunday Times bestseller. Dilly Court
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Rose turned away and walked on slowly, giving him time to eat and digest before they reached the office.
‘Where’s yours?’ Eugene demanded when she placed the food in front of him.
‘You were right,’ Rose said airily. ‘I was so hungry I ate it on the way back. Ta, Guvnor, and thank you for the outfit. I’m warm and dry, so now I can sit down and have a go at that machine in the corner.’
Eugene pushed back his chair and stood up. ‘I’ve got to go out now, and I’ll probably have luncheon in the pub, so I won’t need the roll. You have it, or feed it to the birds if you don’t want it.’ He took his overcoat and hat from the clothes stand. ‘Write up an account of the affray in Eastcheap. Let’s see if you can master the typewriter and write a good article. I might slip it into tomorrow’s edition if you do well.’
‘Right you are, Guvnor.’ Rose waited for a minute or two after he left the office and when he did not return she snatched up the roll and bit into it, demolishing it in a speed that matched Scully’s. The food gave her the spurt of energy she needed to sit down and take on the new machine. This, she realised, was a test of her ability to master a new skill and her way with words. Her job depended upon both and she sat for a moment, admiring the floral decoration on the front of the machine. Then, controlling her shaking fingers with difficulty, she took a sheet of paper, slotted it behind the platen and wound it into position. She took a deep breath and began, using two fingers, to type out her account of what she had witnessed the previous day.
It was not as easy as Rose had first thought, and it would have taken her less time to write the article by hand, but she persevered. Eventually, after wasting several sheets of paper, she managed to turn out a piece with only a couple of mistakes. It was slow going, but she was beginning to learn the layout of the keys, and she was studying the result when Scully put his head round the door.
‘I’m sorry, Miss Munday, but Nicholls wants to see you.’
Rose stared at him in surprise. ‘I’m busy doing the work that the guvnor set me.’
‘You don’t want to get on the wrong side of Old Nick.’
‘What does he want?’
‘I dunno, miss. But you’d best find out.’ Scully lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘He’ll make your life a misery if you don’t do as he says.’
Rose placed the sheet of paper on the desk and stood up. ‘All right. I’m coming.’ She followed him into the main office and marched up to Nicholls’ desk.
‘You wanted to speak to me.’
‘You can stop playing with that new machine and do something useful.’ He jerked his head in the direction of a pile of documents. ‘Those need filing in that cabinet over there, but first I want you to run these proofs down to the print room.’
Rose faced him angrily. ‘I wasn’t taken on to work as a filing clerk or to run errands. I take my orders from the guvnor.’
‘You’re a novice, and a woman at that. If you don’t like it here you know what to do.’ Nicholls pushed the pile of papers towards her. ‘Now get on with it or I’ll have a talk with Mr Radley, and you’ll find out who’s boss round here.’
Rose glanced round at the other clerks, who immediately bent their heads and pretended they were too busy to take any notice. She met Nicholls’ hostile gaze with a straight look.
‘As it happens I’ve finished the task that the guvnor set me, so I’ll do what you ask, but we’ll see what he says when he returns.’
‘I suppose you’ll flaunt your titties and flutter your eyelashes like all females do when they want to get their own way. Well, it won’t wash with me, miss. If you want to work here you’ll have to do as I say.’
Rose tossed her head. It was not worth arguing with someone like Nicholls, but she had a feeling that the other men in the office were not on her side. In fact, her only friend was Scully, who was hopping from one foot to the other in an attempt to catch Nicholls’ eye.
‘I got nothing to do, Mr Nicholls,’ he said, blushing. ‘I could take the proofs down to the print room.’
‘Did I speak to you, Scully?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Then shut up and fetch me a cup of tea, a dash of milk and two sugars.’ Nicholls waved Scully away as if he were an irritating insect.
Rose felt sorry for the boy, but she knew that any attempt to stand up for him would only make matters worse. She took the proofs from Nicholls and made her way to the print room, where the men seemed to share Nicholls’ opinion of women in the workplace. No one spoke to her, and it was becoming obvious that surviving in a man’s world was not going to be easy. It would be so simple to quit in the face of such opposition, but she needed the money and she was determined to stay and prove them all wrong.
Eugene returned from his luncheon appointment in the middle of the afternoon and he was in a good mood, if slightly tipsy. His overcoat was pearled with raindrops and he created a minor storm as he shook it before hanging it on a peg.
‘Did you enjoy your meal, Guvnor?’ Rose asked, trying not to chuckle as he aimed his hat in the direction of the stand and missed.
‘Very pleasant, thanks, Munday.’ Ignoring the fact that his expensive topper was lying on the floor, Eugene went to sit behind his desk. ‘How did you get on with the typewriting machine?’
Rose placed the sheets of paper in front of him. ‘It will take a lot of practice, but I think it looks good.’ She waited anxiously, crossing her fingers, while Eugene scanned her work.
He looked up at last. ‘Not a bad attempt. In fact it’s very promising.’
‘Thank you, Guvnor.’
Eugene eyed her speculatively. ‘We might make a reporter of you yet, Munday. As to the typing, it could be better. I want you to work at it every day.’
‘Mr Nicholls thinks I’m here to run errands, Guvnor. I’m not complaining,’ Rose added hastily. ‘It’s just that I need to know exactly what my duties are.’
Eugene leaned back in his chair. ‘You’re paid to do as I tell you, Munday. You take your orders from me.’
‘That’s what I thought, but I think it might be best if you tell him so.’
‘When I want advice on running the paper I’ll ask you, Munday.’ Eugene took a notebook from his drawer and tossed it to her. ‘Type that up for me – I want to get it to the print room before five o’clock.’
‘Yes, Guv.’ Rose picked up Eugene’s hat and placed it on the stand before she took her seat.
‘Scully.’ Eugene raised his voice to a shout. ‘Get me a cup of coffee from the stall before the chap packs up.’
‘You could have tea and save him from going out in the cold,’ Rose said crossly.
‘Less of the cheek, Munday. It’s started to rain and I could have sent you instead of Scully.’ Eugene rose to his feet and marched into the main office. ‘Nicholls, I want a word with you.’
Rose worked hard all afternoon. She ventured into the outer office to get a fresh supply of paper and was met with silence and stony stares, especially from Nicholls, who glowered at her beneath lowered brows. She knew it was only Eugene’s presence that saved her from a verbal assault, but she did her best to ignore Nicholls and the other two clerks, who had obviously taken his side. She collected the paper and returned to the safety of her desk, earning praise from Eugene for finishing the document quickly and with the minimum of errors.
‘Take it to the print room,’ he