Annie's Promise by Margaret Graham Page B

you’re the one who’s been going on about it, pet. About needing it now and we might net nothing from the tour. At least we know we’ve got this.’
    Annie rolled the words around in her mind. Stupid mistake, yes it had been, and hers too, but this would be as much of a mistake and she couldn’t let it happen. Tom leant back against the draining board, looking at the clock.
    ‘How did you get off work?’ she asked, drying the tray, putting it way. She sat down again and tested the hot scones with the tip of her finger.
    ‘They can dock me pay, this is important.’ His face was drawn, his eyes anxious.
    A headache was beginning to pound down one side of her head and neck. Georgie was pushing his bait tin round and round.
    ‘Look both of you,’ Annie said, still calm, still quiet. ‘I’ve taken months to build up the traders. They’ve always been loyal, always paid, we’re their sole suppliers. If we withdraw their stock they’ll have nothing to sell, they could go broke, our name’ll go down the Swanee. Manners will have us in the palm of his hand. If something goes wrong we’re finished, we’ll have nowhere to go, we’ll have ditched everyone else. We must say no – we must wait. I don’t want to any more than you but it’s just too dangerous.’ She turned the scones over, there was flour on her fingers and the smell of baking filled the kitchen.
    Georgie rubbed his hand over his eyes, his movements quick, irritable. ‘Don’t be daft, Annie, what could go wrong? We’ll have a contract for God’s sake, we’ll be covered.’
    ‘Isaacs had a contract too. They rejected the order, said it was of insufficient quality.’
    ‘Ours won’t be,’ Tom chipped in.
    ‘ “Said” being the operative word. There was nothing wrong with the stock, it’s all just part of the game.’
    ‘It’s not like you not to gamble, not to go for the big one. It won’t happen anyway, I’ve checked him out, he’s bona fide,’ Georgie said, his voice louder now. Annie swung round on him.
    ‘It’s more than a gamble, it’s letting down the small men, it’s exposing us and we can’t do it. Manners can just go and bully some other idiots. Anyway, he’s probably bluffing.’
    Georgie pushed the tin round, faster and faster. ‘Manners doesn’t bully, and he doesn’t bully idiots, or am I one, is that what you’re trying to say?’
    Annie flushed, shaking her head, wanting to pound the table. ‘Of course I’m not, I’m just – ’
    ‘We need this,’ Georgie broke in, his voice cold. ‘We hooked in – I hooked in. So I’m saying we’re going for it, we’ve got to.’ His jaw was set, his eyes narrowed. ‘I’m telling you, Annie, we’re going for it, it’s too important to bugger up. We’ll just have to risk losing the traders, it won’t matter when we’re in the shops, we won’t need them. It’s notdangerous, it’s foolproof, we’ll have a contract. The stall holders are businessmen, they’ll understand. Who did they dump to take you on? What d’you think, Tom?’
    Tom was looking from one to the other. ‘I don’t know that I like the idea of the traders copping it. Annie’s got a point, Georgie.’
    He was looking at Annie now.
    She felt the scones again. There were currants in six of them, which would Sarah prefer? But the anger was boiling up.
    ‘As a matter of fact, Georgie, they didn’t dump anyone to take us on, the old man died and we won the orders on merit, on my workmanship.’
    ‘How’s the old stock?’ Tom broke in. ‘Can we take that out to replace the exclusives so we don’t let them down?’
    Annie shook her head, waiting until she was calmer. ‘I’ve thought of that but there’s not nearly enough though there are the new season’s designs. I was just wondering if we could pick one, make those up, take them out cold, no samples, do a straight exchange but I’d need to set the homeworkers on. We’d need to pay them over the odds to work round the clock so I