Page 44 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Daisy was exhausted. And even though she still wasn’t at all comfortable sitting in first class on the train, she sank into the seat with relief. The last couple of hours had been draining.
Up until then she’d actually been enjoying herself. Monique was funny and incredibly astute, but she was also very wise and Daisy found herself admiring the woman who had done her very best to put her at ease. Under her gentle guidance Daisy had learned which colours suited her and how to make the most of her figure without resorting to clothes that felt too tight or too revealing. She had tried on a huge variety of styles that had given her ideas for what to wear together and what mistakes to avoid and, most importantly, where Daisy might purchase similar things from ordinary high-street shops if she wanted to. Daisy had twigged almost straight away what Monique was trying to do of course, but she still felt touched that she was even bothering to try and bolster Daisy’s confidence. And whether or not Bea had asked her to do it was immaterial; the request, if there had been one, was not at all evident in the way that Monique treated her, and a huge contrast to the way that Lawrence had behaved.
He had been kept at bay for most of the time she had been with Monique, shooed out of the way in no uncertain terms and, although he left with ill grace each time, Daisy noted that on his return he had managed to amass even more purchases. Eventually though, he made it clear that, as he had brought Daisy to the shop, and paid for their day out, including Monique’s services, he felt he should be allowed to stay and see for himself the things Daisy had chosen. Monique had had no choice but to relent. When they left, an hour later, Daisy gave Monique a warm hug, whereas Lawrence simply reminded her to get in touch with him as she had promised. This at least made Daisy smile; if only he knew…
It was now nearly five and thoroughly dark, or as much as it ever got dark in the capital. A mean wind had sprung up, making it bitterly cold. The train was sweltering by contrast and Daisy was beginning to feel claustrophobic, both because of the lack of air and because of the atmosphere which had settled around her the moment Lawrence sat down. She could feel him watching her.
She waited until the train had pulled out of the station before turning to him in exasperation.
‘For goodness’ sake, if you’ve got something to say, say it, but stop staring at me.’
He adopted an amused expression. ‘I’m just wondering if you enjoyed your afternoon, that’s all,’ he replied. ‘You seem to get on well with Monique.’
‘It would be hard not to,’ she said. ‘She’s lovely. And I can see why she’s such good friends with Bea.’
Lawrence frowned. ‘They’re a terrible influence on each other, as you might imagine. Today was a bit of frivolous fun, obviously, but hopefully it has given Monique some valuable information.’
Daisy sighed. ‘Yes, let’s hope so. I’d hate for it to have been a complete waste of time…’ Honestly, did Lawrence have no insight at all?
He gave a satisfied smile. ‘Indeed… And I’m very grateful to you, obviously, for coming today and giving up your time. And for being such a good sport about it all. I hope it’s been useful for you too?’
Oh it had. It had confirmed to her without a doubt that there was absolutely no way she could ever work with Lawrence. And she really didn’t know where that left her.
‘It’s proved most enlightening actually,’ she said. ‘Although there is just one other thing you can help me with.’
‘Yes?’
‘Assuming that you do end up running Buchanans, I just wondered how you saw the future of the business. What changes you might put into place?’ She gave him a searching look. ‘And don’t pretend that you haven’t thought about it, Lawrence – I bet you have the whole thing planned down to the last detail.’
He gave her a smug look. ‘Of course. Like I said, Daisy, Buchanans is my birthright and I fully intend to make it mine. I’ve thought long and hard about what I will need to implement once I take control, but—’ He broke off to give a condescending laugh. ‘Forgive me if I don’t share my ideas with you. Not just yet anyway. I’d hate for anyone else to have the benefit of them.’
He was smiling but Daisy was under no illusion that he was joking and she wondered if Lawrence could even hear the final nail he’d just hammered into his own coffin. She stared out of the window wondering how he felt he could insult her like that and yet still retain her loyalty. Well, at least Bea had him sussed and, as the first few flakes of snow began to fall, she thought back to Monique’s words about how Daisy herself was helping Bea in her quest. Well maybe she could do a bit more than just that.
‘Why do you dislike your brothers so much?’ she asked.
Lawrence considered the question for no longer than a second. ‘Because they’re weak. And if you’re asking me if there will be jobs for them at the end of all this, the answer is no. I wouldn’t expect them to give me a job either, although I suspect that they both would: Bertie because he’s so keen never to upset anyone, and Kit because he doesn’t care enough to make a decision. In fact, he probably hasn’t even thought about it. Simply put, they don’t have it in them to run the business.’
‘Because they’re not like you, you mean,’ said Daisy. ‘And a person’s strength or weakness is only defined by how they measure up to your standards, is that it?’ She paused for a moment, letting her words hang in the air. ‘Which is odd because I’ve always found that real strength comes quietly, often when you least expect it.’
Earlier, on their outward journey, she had evaded Lawrence’s question about his father out of a desire to get along and enter into the spirit of the day without taking sides. But now it felt as if she had a duty to stick up for both Kit and Bertie. She turned back from the window.
‘You see, I get that when your dad died you felt the responsibility for the family passed to you. As the eldest male I guess that made sense, but that’s a pretty powerful place to sit for someone so young. And it made it so much easier for you to get your own way, didn’t it? To throw your weight around without considering what anyone else wanted because you could always hide it under the banner of someone needing to take charge. So maybe Bertie is the way he is because being the life and soul of the party allowed him some freedom from being constantly told what he could and couldn’t do from an early age. Perhaps he gave up trying to have his say and became the family mediator instead. Is that weakness? I don’t know… maybe it’s a particular kind of strength… I should imagine it’s incredibly wearing trying to keep the peace the whole time.’
Lawrence regarded her evenly. ‘Are you done, or are you going to give me your expert opinion on Kit as well?’
Daisy stared back. ‘I may as well,’ she replied. ‘I didn’t answer your question earlier because I didn’t want to be rude, but maybe I will tell you.’ She took a deep breath. ‘You said before that Kit doesn’t bother anyone, but there’s a very big difference between not bothering to speak to people, and choosing not to. I’m only just beginning to understand that and I think Kit chooses very carefully indeed. He’s already worked out he has nothing to prove, and it takes someone who is very comfortable in their own skin to do that. So, rather than expend his energy trying to make a point to someone who is never going to listen, he simply withdraws. You think he’s weak, but perhaps he’s actually the strongest of you three brothers. He chooses his battles instead of trying to fight them all. Interesting then that he still considers himself very much in the running where Buchanans is concerned.’
She dropped her head, momentarily astounded by her own words. She had thought she barely knew the brothers, but perhaps over the years she had picked up more than she had realised. Daisy had never been able to fathom why Bea had made her such a crucial part of the competition, but perhaps she saw something that no one else did – not even Daisy herself.
‘I asked for that, didn’t I?’
She squinted across at him. ‘Well, you did actually… But I’m sorry it came out rather more forcefully than I intended. I’m tired…’ She blew out her cheeks. ‘And boiling hot, it’s so stuffy in here… But I shouldn’t have said—’
‘Probably not, given that I’m expecting to be your employer soon.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘But at least I know you’re honest.’ His gaze flicked to the menu card on the table. ‘They’ll be serving dinner shortly, perhaps you might like to make your choice.’
It was pretty much the end of the conversation.
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