’cos yer know by now roughly what to charge.’ Mary Ann grinned. ‘With a hole tuppence, without, thruppence.’
‘No, I couldn’t let yer do that, Mary Ann. Yer’ve done enough for me.’
‘I wouldn’t be doing it for you, girl, I’d be doin’ it for meself! It’s a long time since I was on the other side of the counter and I want to see if I’ve lost me touch in wangling a bargain.’ Mary Ann untied the canvas apron she wore around her waist to keep the money in. ‘Put this on, in case yer need change. And if yer’ll give me the shoe sizes, and the eighteen pence, I’ll go and see what I can do.’
‘The boys take a size four and seven, and I’m in a five. But skip mine – I’ll tell the boy I want to go to the pictures instead of a dance.’
Mary Ann lowered her gaze to Sadie’s feet. ‘Listen to me, love, if ever anybody needed shoes, it’s you. Those canoes on yer feet don’t bear inspection.’
Sadie giggled at the description. ‘Go on, I’ve got customers waitin’ to be served.’
‘Huh! Hark at you! Yer’ll be takin’ over from me next.’ Mary Ann waved to a customer as she made her way to a stall opposite. ‘My assistant will look after yer, Lizzie.’
There were a few people rummaging through the shoes on Tony Henshaw’s stall and when his eyes lit on Mary Ann they flew open in surprise. ‘Well, well! It’s not very often I have the pleasure of serving you, Mary Ann. Down on yer uppers, are yer?’
‘I’ll laugh at that when I’m havin’ me tea tonight.’ Mary Ann walked to the back of the stall where Tony was standing. ‘I’m not down on me uppers, but see that girl servin’ on my stall? Well, she is.’
‘I’ve seen her there for the last few weeks,’ Tony said. ‘She’s quite a looker, isn’t she?’
‘Keep yer eyes in yer head, Tony, she’s not sixteen yet. She’s a crackin’ kid, but she doesn’t have a very good home life … lazy mother and drunken father. The first time she came to me she just had the one dress to her name an’ I felt sorry for her. Took to her right away, I did. Anyway, I’ll tell yer the full story about Sadie some other time. Right now I need your help.’
‘Yer’ll not get three pair of shoes for eighteen pence, Mary Ann,’ Tony said after being given the details. ‘And don’t try and soft soap me ’cos I’ve got a wife and six children to clothe and feed.’
‘Ooh, it’s six children now, is it? Yer a busy lad, aren’t yer?’
‘I can’t sleep, yer see, Mary Ann, an’ I can’t stay awake all night doin’ nothing, now can I? And the wife just happens to be handy so it helps me pass the time away.’
‘Why don’t yer learn to play patience? Or, better still, tell yer wife to take a rolling pin to bed with her. There’s nothing knocks a man out quicker than a bash on the ’ead with a good old-fashioned rolling pin.’
‘Yer a hard woman, Mary Ann. If I was married to you I’d probably have nothing to do in bed but go to sleep.’
Mary Ann eyed him up and down, a cheeky twinkle in her eye. ‘I dunno, Tony, I do have me moments of reckless abandonment when my feller thinks it’s his birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.’
Tony chuckled. ‘Am I gettin’ the come-on, Mary Ann?’
She chuckled back. ‘Yer’d run a mile if I tried it on, wouldn’t yer, Tony?’
‘You ain’t kiddin’, Mary Ann – yer wouldn’t see me heels for dust. Yer see, it’s not me what can’t sleep, it’s the missus.’
Mary Ann clapped her hands. ‘Come on, Tony, hop to it! I want two pair of boys’ shoes sizes four and seven, and a pair of ladies’ high heels size five.’
‘All for eighteen pence? Not askin’ for much, are yer?’
‘Okay, I’ll put a tanner to it, so that’s two bob. Now see what yer can do for us.’
Sadie couldn’t believe her eyes when Mary Ann came back holding three pairs of shoes in her arms. ‘Yer didn’t get all them for one and six?’
‘No, it came to two bob.
‘No, I couldn’t let yer do that, Mary Ann. Yer’ve done enough for me.’
‘I wouldn’t be doing it for you, girl, I’d be doin’ it for meself! It’s a long time since I was on the other side of the counter and I want to see if I’ve lost me touch in wangling a bargain.’ Mary Ann untied the canvas apron she wore around her waist to keep the money in. ‘Put this on, in case yer need change. And if yer’ll give me the shoe sizes, and the eighteen pence, I’ll go and see what I can do.’
‘The boys take a size four and seven, and I’m in a five. But skip mine – I’ll tell the boy I want to go to the pictures instead of a dance.’
Mary Ann lowered her gaze to Sadie’s feet. ‘Listen to me, love, if ever anybody needed shoes, it’s you. Those canoes on yer feet don’t bear inspection.’
Sadie giggled at the description. ‘Go on, I’ve got customers waitin’ to be served.’
‘Huh! Hark at you! Yer’ll be takin’ over from me next.’ Mary Ann waved to a customer as she made her way to a stall opposite. ‘My assistant will look after yer, Lizzie.’
There were a few people rummaging through the shoes on Tony Henshaw’s stall and when his eyes lit on Mary Ann they flew open in surprise. ‘Well, well! It’s not very often I have the pleasure of serving you, Mary Ann. Down on yer uppers, are yer?’
‘I’ll laugh at that when I’m havin’ me tea tonight.’ Mary Ann walked to the back of the stall where Tony was standing. ‘I’m not down on me uppers, but see that girl servin’ on my stall? Well, she is.’
‘I’ve seen her there for the last few weeks,’ Tony said. ‘She’s quite a looker, isn’t she?’
‘Keep yer eyes in yer head, Tony, she’s not sixteen yet. She’s a crackin’ kid, but she doesn’t have a very good home life … lazy mother and drunken father. The first time she came to me she just had the one dress to her name an’ I felt sorry for her. Took to her right away, I did. Anyway, I’ll tell yer the full story about Sadie some other time. Right now I need your help.’
‘Yer’ll not get three pair of shoes for eighteen pence, Mary Ann,’ Tony said after being given the details. ‘And don’t try and soft soap me ’cos I’ve got a wife and six children to clothe and feed.’
‘Ooh, it’s six children now, is it? Yer a busy lad, aren’t yer?’
‘I can’t sleep, yer see, Mary Ann, an’ I can’t stay awake all night doin’ nothing, now can I? And the wife just happens to be handy so it helps me pass the time away.’
‘Why don’t yer learn to play patience? Or, better still, tell yer wife to take a rolling pin to bed with her. There’s nothing knocks a man out quicker than a bash on the ’ead with a good old-fashioned rolling pin.’
‘Yer a hard woman, Mary Ann. If I was married to you I’d probably have nothing to do in bed but go to sleep.’
Mary Ann eyed him up and down, a cheeky twinkle in her eye. ‘I dunno, Tony, I do have me moments of reckless abandonment when my feller thinks it’s his birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.’
Tony chuckled. ‘Am I gettin’ the come-on, Mary Ann?’
She chuckled back. ‘Yer’d run a mile if I tried it on, wouldn’t yer, Tony?’
‘You ain’t kiddin’, Mary Ann – yer wouldn’t see me heels for dust. Yer see, it’s not me what can’t sleep, it’s the missus.’
Mary Ann clapped her hands. ‘Come on, Tony, hop to it! I want two pair of boys’ shoes sizes four and seven, and a pair of ladies’ high heels size five.’
‘All for eighteen pence? Not askin’ for much, are yer?’
‘Okay, I’ll put a tanner to it, so that’s two bob. Now see what yer can do for us.’
Sadie couldn’t believe her eyes when Mary Ann came back holding three pairs of shoes in her arms. ‘Yer didn’t get all them for one and six?’
‘No, it came to two bob.
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