Jenni handed Sally a long list of suppliers. It extended to more than two pages of neatly typed names and addresses.
‘These are manufacturers and suppliers here in Britain,’ she told Sally. ‘I have not included the American suppliers I used. I will still do the ordering back home, but I shall rely on you to let me know what is needed and whatever mistakes I make. Don’t be shy, because unless you tell me, I can’t know. I feel we should source as much as we can from British suppliers…’
‘The Mexican silver has gone really well,’ Sally reminded her.
She felt as if she was walking through fog. Jenni had been bombarding her with information for the past hour and she was trying to keep up with everything she’d been told. One thing she had gathered was that she had the use of this office, which Jenni was sharing with her brother.
‘Ben won’t be here most of the time,’ Jenni told her. ‘Those filing drawers are for the orders and Ben often dives in to look at things, so don’t expect them to be where you left them. My brother has his own system, which is to put the files down anywhere.’ She smiled with a kind of fond exasperation. ‘I think you may do much better with sourcing new lines over here in future, Sally. We’ll visit as many of those firms I mentioned as we can before I leave for New York – but if you really need to ask me something, send me a telegram. I’ll cable you by return. Mostly, you and my brother can settle things here…’ She looked at Sally and grinned. ‘I know I’m a pushy bitch, Sally. I’m expecting too much too soon, but I need to get home…’
‘I’ll catch up,’ Sally said and laughed at her employer’s colourful language. It certainly made her feel at ease, because Jenni treated her like an equal rather than an employee. ‘I can make contact with the salespeople, either by visiting or the telephone…’ She eyed the instrument dubiously. Sally had never needed to use a telephone, though Jenni had explained how to and it sounded simple enough.
‘Sit down at the desk,’ Jenni invited and, when Sally did so, pushed the instrument towards her. ‘Now, pick up the earpiece and hold it to your ear as I showed you. The girl on the exchange will take the number and put you through.’
‘Who shall I ring first?’ Sally’s nerves jangled for a moment.
‘Why not try that jewellery manufacturer in Hatton Garden? Make an appointment for this afternoon and we’ll go together, see if we can source a new line in silver jewellery.’
‘Yes, I will.’ Sally picked up the telephone. She spoke into the mouthpiece and gave the number she wanted. ‘Good morning,’ she said in a firm but polite voice as it was answered, ‘I am the jewellery buyer for Harpers of London and I wish to speak to your head of sales…’
Jenni nodded encouragingly as Sally spoke. She made an appointment for two that afternoon and thanked the person on the other end, replacing the earpiece on its hook.
‘Good start,’ Jenni made a sign of approval. ‘Now, look at number three on the list. They have representatives. Ring them and ask someone to call tomorrow.’
Sally did as she asked and then did the same with half a dozen other suppliers, who stated they had representatives who would call.
‘That will do for now,’ Jenni told her. ‘I think we’ll have sandwiches and some coffee and then get off to Hatton Garden. I’ll let Miss Summers know.’
She went to the office door, called the secretary, and ordered sandwiches and coffee and her car for one o’clock.
‘We could have got the underground to Hatton Garden,’ Sally told her when she came back and drew up a chair at the desk.
‘You will make your own arrangements next time,’ Jenni said, ‘but I hate the subway at home. It smells and it’s dark. Give me a comfortable car with a chauffeur any time.’
Sally laughed. ‘I never had that luxury until I met you, Jenni. It was a treat to go on the underground for us kids from the orphanage.’
‘It’s sad that you never had a family,’ Jenni said, looking sympathetic. She hesitated, then, ‘Do you think you will like this new job? My brother was carried away with the idea, but we did rather dump it on you.’
‘It was a shock, but I’m getting used to the idea. I’ll tell you more in a few days,’ Sally said. ‘I’m still trying to get it all straight in my head at the moment…’
‘I know it’s a lot to ask,’ Jenni agreed. ‘It took me a while to find my feet back home. I don’t mind telling you that I’ve made a few mistakes here, Sally. I didn’t buy enough of that jewellery you’ve been selling and I bought too many expensive suits. I thought British men looked smart and would be sure to buy at least a couple of suits a year, but I’ve since discovered that only the wealthy ones have more than one suit…’
‘Someone once told me that even the aristocratic men buy just a few good clothes from their tailors and keep them forever,’ Sally said with a smile. ‘It’s men in business that buy the suits, but they don’t want the kind you stocked; it’s normally pinstripe or good wool tweed for them, something that lasts. Your idea of buying a good suit off the peg is new here, Jenni. The thirty-shilling tailors are usually busy. Some of our stock is priced at five pounds and above, and for most ordinary men that is a fortune. Only the gangsters can afford our prices.’
‘That’s why I’m taking some of the more expensive suits back to New York with me when I leave,’ Jenni said and glanced at her wristwatch. ‘I should have been on board the ship by now.’
‘Do you regret staying on for a while to help Mr Harper?’
‘Yes and no.’ Jenni made a wry face. ‘I regret I don’t get to travel in that glorious stateroom, but my brother needs my help, so the answer is no, I’m glad to help him. Maybe I’ll get to travel on the Titanic another time – coming this way perhaps. It won’t be quite the same as the maiden voyage, but it’s still a wonderful ship.’
‘Fabulous,’ Sally agreed. ‘I’ve only read about it in the paper, but I’d love to be on it.’
‘I’d like to take you to New York one day,’ Jenni said and laughed as she saw Sally’s reaction. ‘However, it’s these suppliers here that we need to get sorted… Come in…’ She answered the knock at the door and the secretary brought in a tray of sandwiches and a pot of coffee.
‘I know you like yours black, Miss Harper, but I wasn’t sure about Miss Ross – so I brought milk and sugar…’
‘Thank you. I do take milk and sugar, Miss Summers.’
‘Cucumber and cress and smoked salmon with cucumber,’ Jenni remarked, examining the sandwiches after the secretary left. ‘Eat what you wish, Sally. You’ll need something inside you. We may have a battle on our hands. The first lesson in dealing with a new supplier is to refuse their first price, even if it sounds cheap. We want at least ten per cent off whatever they say…’
Sally ate some of the sandwiches and drank two cups of coffee. Jenni did the same. She was slim, but she didn’t hold back when it came to eating and Sally assumed she used up a lot of nervous energy because she was never still for five minutes. Jenni didn’t sit so much as perch and she was up and down all the time, throwing out her arms to express her ideas, full of energy and the joy of living. It was the first time her American birth had really showed up the differences between them, because most English women were far more reserved.
They left before one o’clock so that they would arrive on time for their appointment. It wasn’t the first time Sally had been to Hatton Garden. Since leaving the orphanage, she’d used the public transport, trams, underground and buses to see as much as she could of London, but it was the first time during working hours. Passing some bullion dealers, she looked at the heavy iron bars on the window. You had to ring a bell for admittance at most of the workshops and wholesalers here.
Sally was wearing her best jacket over a smart grey skirt with a white blouse that had a lace collar. She’d wanted to make a good impression and knew she would need to spend some of her wages to buy herself better clothes. As the buyer for Harpers, she needed to look the part and wasn’t restricted to a uniform like the salesgirls.
They were greeted by a man in a suit: grey pinstripe, the trousers a little shiny, his black shoes polished so hard, Sally thought he must be able to see his face in them.
‘Mr Heinrick?’ Jenni asked. ‘I’m Miss Harper and this is our buyer, Miss Ross. She is the one who will be dealing with you in future – should we wish to stock any of your lines.’
‘Miss Ross, we spoke on the telephone.’ He offered his hand. ‘It was good of you to phone. So many others come without an appointment and it is not always possible for me to speak to them personally.’
‘We are looking for a range of good-quality silver we can sell at a reasonable price,’ Sally said. ‘What can you show us please?’
Jenni gave a little nod of approval but said nothing, leaving it to Sally to lead the way. Mr Heinrick took them through to the workrooms, where four men were working on handmade silver items. It was fascinating to watch the silver being worked and for a moment Sally was mesmerised, but then she saw a man engraving a bangle and approached his bench, watching as he finished his work and then began to polish the silver. He held it up for her to admire. She saw at once that it was the equal of the silver she’d been selling but more reserved in taste; some of the Mexican silver had been rather flamboyant but perhaps that was why it had sold so well.
‘Lovely,’ she said. ‘How many of these do you make in a day?’
‘Depends on the order,’ he said evasively and looked at his boss.
‘We could manufacture about a hundred a day if every piece was same, but we work on orders. We are a bespoke firm, Miss Ross – that is why our prices are higher than some of the other jewellers in the Garden.’
‘What would the price be to us on a bangle like this?’
‘Again, it depends. Individually, I should charge fifteen shillings for a bangle of this quality, but if you ordered twelve, the price could come down to eleven shillings per bangle.’
Sally examined it. She knew she needed to sell it for nineteen shillings and sixpence if she wanted to entice the customers. ‘I need ten shillings a piece if I order a dozen,’ she said. ‘Now, show me something with stones set in the silver please.’
Mr Heinrick wrote something on his pad and someone brought a velvet lined tray with bangles displaying various stones set into the silver. Sally noticed at once that the quality was better than the Mexican silver and nodded.
‘How much for these individually, and if I took a dozen?’
‘It depends…’ he began and then, as Sally frowned. ‘Very well, Miss Ross – to you the price for a dozen assorted semi-precious stones, including amethysts, garnets and peridot as well as turquoise, will be fifteen shillings each. If you should require sapphires or ruby with diamonds, the price rises to between thirty shillings and two pounds and that is the best offer you will get in the Garden.’
‘Good.’ Sally smiled. ‘We shall need twelve of the plain and twelve of the bangles set with semi-precious stones in our first order…’ She glanced at Jenni and saw her nod of approval. ‘I’d like to see some silver brooches – with a strong design, Art Nouveau would be good. I like enamelling if you have anything to show us…’
It took nearly two hours to go through all the stock and to sort out the prices. By the time they’d finished, Mr Heinrick had an order worth nearly two hundred pounds and they had a parcel of lovely jewellery.
‘You amazed me,’ Jenni said when they were sitting in the car on their way back to the store. ‘I would have thought you’d been buying for a store for years if I didn’t know better – how did you know what to price the goods at?’
‘Because I knew what they needed to be if we were to double up on the profit,’ Sally told her. ‘Unless we can double and still sell at the same price as the Mexican silver, we might be stuck with some of it for ages.’
‘I’ll have some more of that Mexican silver sent out as soon as I can,’ Jenni said. ‘But I’ll also be placing an order with Mr Heinrick to take back with me to America – I thought the quality was better than anything I bought…’
‘The Mexican silver was something different,’ Sally said, beginning to feel confident, ‘that’s why it sold so well for a start, but we’ll need variety to keep customers returning for more. I’ll find a few more suppliers, but we’ll see how this stock goes first…’
‘Had I known you could manage so well I might have sailed with the Titanic…’ Jenni looked wistful as she glanced at her wristwatch – it was platinum and diamond with a diamond-set strap and obviously expensive.
‘I fear it’s too late, it must have sailed by now,’ Sally said. ‘Anyway, I don’t know anywhere near as much about women’s clothing – and we have three suppliers to meet tomorrow. They all agreed to send representatives in to see us. I think it will need both of us to make the decisions over the restocking…’
‘Yes,’ Jenni agreed. ‘That is one we need two heads on – and Ben too, if he can spare the time – although my brother has a friend visiting at the moment. Dolores is an actress, Sally, and beautiful – though my uncle would have thought her vulgar. Some folk make the mistake of thinking that all Americans are vulgar, but some of us know how to behave…’
Sally laughed as she was meant to. For a moment, she felt like pinching herself. It wasn’t five minutes since she’d been serving behind the counters with Maggie and Beth, and now she was on first-name terms with her employer and being taken all over London in her expensive hired car. Her thoughts went to her friends, because she liked Beth, Maggie and Mrs Craven, and hoped she wouldn’t lose touch because of her promotion…