Lizzie's War Read Free

us, she was always the best of Oliver’s girls at trimming the hats’ Lizzie agreed wistfully, ‘but I couldn’t approach her. Her husband works for Harry’s uncle and…’
    â€˜Not any more. Tilly said Oliver sacked him because he was a bit late with a delivery once. Their little girl was ill and he took her to the doctor and that made him late back…’
    â€˜Surely Oliver didn’t sack him for that?’ Lizzie was shocked despite the way he’d treated her. She’d liked Harry’s uncle when she worked for him, and he’d been straight with her – until he started to blame Lizzie for Harry’s death. And then she’d been sacked and had to start up her own business. Although daunting, it had turned out well, because now she could make the stylish hats she loved with no one to tell her it couldn’t be done. Working for Harry’s uncle had been a wonderful opportunity for her and she had been grateful to him, which made it feel worse when he’d turned against her.
    â€˜Tilly said he’s dreadful to work for these days, snaps at her all the time. I think she would jump at the chance to come here, Lizzie. You’d need her in the showroom if I married Bernie…’
    Lizzie was thoughtful; she didn’t particularly want to do anything that would give Harry’s uncle cause to dislike her more than he already did. Tilly was one of his best workers and he would have a right to be angry if Lizzie approached her.
    â€˜I know Harry’s uncle has never forgiven me for his death.’
    â€˜That is so unfair,’ Beth fired up instantly. ‘His death was an accident; Sebastian told you it came out afterwards that there was something wrong with the car’s brakes, and it was in a dangerous condition, not fit to be on the roads. At the time, some people thought it might be suicide, because Harry had been behaving oddly and they thought he was cracking under the pressure of flying dangerous missions, but you can’t think he killed himself, Lizzie?’
    â€˜I never have. I tried to tell his uncle it was an accident, but he wouldn’t speak to me. He thinks it was something I did that made Harry stay away… that I was going with other men… I couldn’t approach Tilly if she’s still working for Oliver – but if her husband is out of work perhaps I could find him a job here…’
    â€˜Oh, no, he’s working at the munitions factory now,’ Beth reassured her. ‘He asked Bernie for a job and he was glad to take him on. That wonky leg of his kept him out of the Army, but he’s strong and he can do the heavy lifting the girls at the factory can’t manage.’
    â€˜Oh, that’s good for Tilly.’ Lizzie felt pleased that Tilly’s husband had found another job. ‘You’d better go. Beth, or your mum will think you’ve had an accident…’
    Lizzie went through to the showroom as Beth left. Her friend kept it neat and was good at setting out the hats to make them look attractive. Beth loved hats almost as much as Lizzie did herself, but even so, she liked to keep an eye on the displays. Although they’d done well in the few months the showroom had been open, Lizzie knew they needed more new customers if the business was to grow.
    Ed was a marvel. He’d taught Lizzie most of what she knew about making hats, when he’d been the chief cutter at Oliver’s. He loved her flair for design and encouraged her to go for the more fanciful ideas that came to her at times, but without Ed’s advice and help, Lizzie might never have learned how to make her creations take shape. He was the one who had taught her how to get those delightful curvy brims and how to make some of the bolder designs hold their shapes. Together they had been a successful team and Lizzie had invited him to be her partner in the new business when Harry’s uncle threw her