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Authors: Anne Forsyth

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BOOK: The Baker's Daughter
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‘Father!'

‘I'm not taking her back, mind,' he said hastily ‘But I've been talking to Miss Nairn at the school and she'd be prepared to take Jeannie on as a cleaner, and maybe a job in the school kitchen. So you can tell her, she's to
go
up there, Monday, after four o'clock, and Miss Nairn will see her. She'll have to behave, mind, and any sign she's light-fingered, she'll be up in the Sheriff Court.'

‘Oh, Father!' Rona was overjoyed. ‘I know she won't let you down.'

‘She'd better not. Well, I'm away to my bed.'

Angus turned away. The way her face lit up when she was happy, and her sudden smile—Rona was so like her mother, he thought with a sigh.

AUNT LIZZIE RETURNS

‘Your aunt Lizzie says Maisie's a lot better,' said Angus, scanning the letter he held.

‘Lizzie will be coming home in about ten days' time.'

Doug looked up from his plate of porridge. ‘So we've ten days left of freedom?'

Rona was pleased to see that he had recovered his spirits. He spent a lot of his free time at the football pitch with some of his friends, and there had been no more mention of Neela.

Angus looked at him reprovingly. ‘That's no way to talk of your aunt,' he said. But he added, ‘We'll be pleased to see her back, of course. Not that you haven't done a grand job,' he told Rona.

Rona
beamed. Her father was slow to praise, but she knew she'd done her best. Never mind that the grate wasn't black-leaded the way Aunt Lizzie kept it or that her ironing was slap-dash, and the windows could do with a good clean.

Rona wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she too would be quite glad to see Aunt Lizzie back. She could be bossy and overbearing, but she ran the house like clockwork. Even though life had been more easy-going without her, Rona knew they couldn't have managed without Aunt Lizzie since Mother had died. Oh, wouldn't it be a relief not to have to toil away at housework, especially in these lovely summer evenings.

I wish I could have a holiday, she thought as she made her way home after an evening out with Callum.

As she pushed open the front door, Rona heard a familiar voice.

‘And here you are—where do you think you've been till this time of night?'

‘Aunt Lizzie—you're back!'

Her aunt was setting the table for breakfast.

‘I got back earlier this evening. Your father's away to his bed, and Doug—he'll be out somewhere.'

‘It's good to have you back.' Somehow Aunt Lizzie looked right, there in the kitchen.

‘Well, I can tell you, I'm not sorry to be back. Except that . . .' Aunt Lizzie didn't finish
the
sentence and Rona wondered what she had been going to say.

Rona realised that she was tired. It had been a busy spell with Aunt Lizzie away and being short-handed in the shop. Still, Angus had been true to his word. He had gone along to the Labour Exchange and hired a new assistant.

Elsie had recently left school and was full of enthusiasm. ‘My, you're lucky to have a father who's a baker,' she told Rona. ‘What a grand job—working here all the time.'

She dabbed up a few crumbs of a fruit scone. ‘If I couldn't work in a sweetie shop, I'd choose to work in a baker's.'

She was a cheerful sort of girl, and sang as she went about her work. ‘I'll just have a wee taste,' she would say, and Rona began to be alarmed that her new assistant seemed to be tasting a great deal.

‘You'd better not let my father catch you, or Aunt Lizzie,' she said with a glance towards the cash desk.

‘But I thought,' began Elsie, ‘it's like a sweetie shop. They let you try everything for the first few days, until you're sick and don't want to eat any more.'

‘It's not like that here,' said Rona firmly.

‘Oh well, maybe Mr Maclaren would give me a few stale cakes at the end of the day?' she said hopefully. ‘I'll not mind if they're a bit hard.'

‘Well,'
Rona was doubtful. But she had to admit that the customers liked Elsie and her enthusiasm.

‘You've not tried the pancakes,' she would say in a confidential tone, leaning over the counter. ‘Just the thing for your tea.'

And the customer, who had not thought till now, of buying pancakes, found herself going out of the shop with pancakes and scones as well as the tea bread she had come in to buy.

But, despite the extra hand in the shop, and Aunt Lizzie's return, Rona began to feel extra tired and out of sorts.

Once or twice she had snapped at Callum, and her friend, Nancy, looked at her sternly. ‘You're needing a holiday,' she said. ‘Why don't we go away, us two. I've a week due me in August.'

She went on, ‘I've never been to a holiday camp. What about it? There's dancing every night—it would be great fun. You never know who we'd meet.' She grinned, then she looked serious. ‘You'd never catch my father letting me go. But if I went with you?'

Rona's face brightened. ‘That would be wonderful,' she said. Her mind drifted towards a week of sunny days and lazing around the swimming pool and waltzing in the ballroom every evening—and maybe walks under the stars with someone.

‘Hey,' said Nancy, ‘wake up. What about it?'

‘I'll ask Father,' Rona promised. ‘But I don't
expect
him to agree. His idea of a holiday is a few days in a caravan in the rain, if you're lucky. Or a stay at Aunt Maisie's where there's no-one under sixty.' She looked gloomy. ‘But I'll try it anyway.'

Meanwhile, things were going well for Angus. The business was thriving, Rona had worked hard, and the new girl—well, she seemed to be settling down.

And the whole town of Kirkton, in fact the whole country, was agog. For it wasn't long till the Coronation, the crowning of the new Queen, Elizabeth II.

AN ENTERPRISING IDEA

‘So, Mr Maclaren. We'll confirm the numbers early in the week. All the primary children and maybe a few bags over just to be on the safe side. I don't think,' smiled Miss Jessop, ‘we'll have many absentees that day.'

‘A grand occasion—the Coronation parade—and you may be sure we'll do you proud.'

‘I'm sure you will, Mr Maclaren,' said the deputy headmistress. ‘After all, it's not every day we have the crowning of a queen.'

‘Just so.' Angus held open the door for her. ‘Good day to you.'

‘That's a good order,' he told Rona later.
‘The
bairns get their bags when they've marched along the High Street and down to the park. Sausage rolls, scones, iced buns, and they'll get a drink of lemonade and an ice-cream. Oh, it's going to be a grand day. I just hope it keeps fine.'

Father was in a good mood today, thought Rona. For months, there had been growing excitement about the crowning of the new Queen.

There were souvenir mugs and tea towels, and biscuit tins. There was to be a Coronation parade with all the school children waving flags and finishing up in the park for their tea.

Some people had bought or hired television sets for the great day, June 2nd, and were arranging parties for families and friends, to crowd round the set and watch the flickering black and white scenes from Westminster Abbey.

The shop across the road from the baker's that sold wireless sets had a larger television set and a few old folk had been invited in to watch the event.

Aunt Lizzie was eager to see the Coronation on the screen. ‘I think I'll have to listen on the wireless, and go and see it when they show it at the picture house,' she said. Meantime, she contented herself with reading everything she could about the event.

‘It would be grand to be there,' she said wistfully. ‘I wouldn't even mind sleeping out in
the
Mall, seeing all the flags, and waiting for the procession.'

Rona smiled to herself. Since Aunt Lizzie had returned she was a little quieter, not so sharp-tongued. There had even been the occasional word of praise for Rona's efforts.

And who would have thought that Aunt Lizzie would become so sentimental over a Royal occasion?

Angus—now he wasn't one for display. However, there was no harm in asking.

‘Father,' Rona said, hesitantly, ‘do you think I could decorate our window, just for the Coronation?'

‘Ah, well,' said Angus slowly. ‘We're not needing to. Folk won't stop buying pan loaves and tattie scones. They'll come to the shop anyway.'

‘But everyone else is going to have a window display,' Rona protested. ‘Gibson's the ironmonger, and the toy shop and the bookseller, and Miss Douglas at the haberdasher's.'

‘Well, if you like,' he conceded. ‘But mind and keep it tasteful. And don't go spending a lot of money,' he added.

‘Oh, thank you,' said Rona. ‘Could I get some money for ribbons, and that sort of thing?'

A little reluctantly, Angus agreed.

Rona started happily making plans. Oh, she would keep it simple, but colourful, she
decided.

She raided Aunt Lizzie's collection of pictures of the young Queen, and bought as many yards of red, white and blue ribbon as she could afford.

She spent an evening tracing the outline of a crown on to paper, then laboriously cut it out in cardboard and covered the cardboard with gold paper she'd bought from the stationer. With the aid of a school compass she'd long put away in a cupboard, she made star shapes, cut out the stars and covered them too in gold.

The Queen's picture was pasted on to a piece of card and edged with gold braid Rona had begged from Aunt Lizzie's workbox.

But it needed something extra, she thought, as she started to decorate the window.

‘It looks grand,' said Callum loyally.

But Rona was not satisfied. ‘It needs, I don't know—something special—I mean a link to us, to the baker's,' she said, wishing that Father had agreed to produce shortbread in Coronation tins.

‘You should enter for the competition,' said one customer, as she watched Rona crawling about the window. ‘You get the forms at the town hall, and the Provost's judging.'

Rona looked thoughtful, and in her lunch hour she went along to the town hall and completed the form. She would tell Father later.

On the way back, she gazed into some of
the
window displays. The ironmonger had scrubbing brushes and shiny metal pails surrounding a picture of the young Queen.

‘I doubt she'll need to scrub her own floors,' thought Rona with a grin.

The stationer's had display of books about the Royal family, postcards and photographs. Nearly everyone had ribbons and bunting and Royal pictures.

The window Rona liked best was the toy shop across the way. A toy train chugged across the back of the window and at each side stood wooden soldiers painted in red, white and blue. At the front of the window were three teddy bears, wearing red white and blue bows, with their paws raised in salute.

The baker's window looked bright, thought Rona, but somehow there was nothing special that would catch the eye of the judges. ‘Father,' she said, ‘do you think I could have some shortbread biscuits and ice them?'

He looked doubtful. Then, ‘Just a few,' he said. ‘This'll be for your window?'

‘Yes, please.'

Angus didn't say anything else—he was secretly quite proud of Rona ever since one or two customers had commented on the window.

Rona spent a long time after work getting the icing to just the right consistency, and setting out the piping tubes she wanted to use.

She thought for a bit what message she should choose.
Loyal Greetings
—that would
take
a great deal of effort, and quite a few biscuits. She would have liked to have written,
Long live the Queen
, or
Elizabeth II
, but she discarded these ideas.

Finally she got out one of the silver bases that were used for wedding and birthday cakes so that she could fix the biscuits on to the base. Finally, she decided to keep it simple.

She piped the letters laboriously, trying to keep her hand steady as she'd watched her father when he was decorating a cake.

She waited till the icing had dried, then secured the biscuits to the base and placed it carefully in front of the window.

It was simple, she thought, and effective and it said what everyone thought about the Coronation and the new Queen.

Well, now, she thought, she had done her best—she would just have to wait for the judges' decision.

Quite a few people stopped to admire the window.

‘Your lassie's done a good job,' said one woman to Angus. ‘Makes a fair difference to your window.'

‘Aye.' Angus was reluctant to admit it, but it had been good for business. Customers kept coming into the shop, asking for the Coronation biscuits. ‘We'll have a few more of these,' he said to Rona. ‘Folk seem to like the iced biscuits.' So he produced a batch with
EIIR
and a few with crowns. ‘They're selling
like
hot cakes,' he said to Lizzie with a rare attempt of humour. ‘Not a bad idea of Rona's.'

A DAY OF CELEBRATION

Two days before the Coronation, the judges came round. Rona watched from inside the shop at the two men who stood in front of the window with notepads. She wished she could see what they were writing. A
Highly Commended
would be nice, a third or a second even better.

Next day the awards were announced. As Rona had expected, the toy shop got first prize. Well, she told herself what else? Those bears with their red, white and blue bows were really appealing. Every day there had been crowds of small children oohing and aahing in front of the window until they were dragged away by their mothers.

But then, the girl from the town clerk's office popped her head round the door, as she waved a card. ‘Second prize, Mr Maclaren,' she called out. ‘Well done!'

BOOK: The Baker's Daughter
4.22Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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