"Be honest, Mr Dudley, when have you ever known me to be late?" "It's not you I'm checking on, Sam." "It's me watch." "Seems to have stopped." "Get yourself a new one, sir." "I've had this watch many years ` I'll have it mended." "If I were you, sir, I'd want to be standing there with a shiny new timepiece, every little tick as reliable as you are." "Perhaps we should let you loose on a promotion for pocket watches." "That would be an honour and a privilege, sir." "Oh, would there be a bonus in it?" "What do you make of it, Myrtle?" "What do I make of it, sir?" "A moment to cherish." "The first day of our splendid new Food Hall." "Customers who come along Tollgate Street will be met by all manner of culinary delights." "Do you mean food, sir?" "This building has stood derelict for a year and more, a mark of hesitation and failure." "Now it stands as a declaration of intent, an assertion that Tom Weston means to raise The Paradise to new heights." "Well, I'm pleased that you're so pleased, Mr Weston, sir." "Why aren't you at work, Myrtle?" "I was." "I-I mean, I will be." "I am." "I just got caught up in all your declarations, sir." "Share our commission?" "At the end of every week we will divide the total amongst all of the girls, yes." "Why would we do that?" "Those of us who work hardest, who take a care to pamper our regular customers, you'd be taking the earnings out of our purses." "But if we pool the money, if one of us is sick or has a run of bad luck, then there's a safety net." "If we feel that we're working for each other, then I believe we'll earn more." "Do we have to?" "But Susy, you earn the least commission of all." "It might be nothing but it is my nothing." "Isn't the competition, the jealousy and fear, isn't that what spurs us on?" "I don't believe we have to compete." "We all love our work." "I suggest we have a vote." "A vote?" "What if you lose?" "Won't that undermine your authority?" "I don't see it that way, Clara." "If it's a good idea, it will win." "If it's not, then it won't." "Raise your hand, please, if you think we should share the commission." "Thank you." "It was Dudley's suggestion." "We've placed the counter prominently and stationed decorative clocks to draw the eye." "The rest is in Sam's capable hands." "The point is, is to make the gentlemen feel behind the times without a little ticker in their pocket." "It's not whether they can afford it, it's whether they can afford to live of being in fear of being late." "Jewellery." "Just as I have opened the Food Hall, you feature a prominent display of jewellery." "These are not ornaments, Mr Weston." "They are practical pieces, functional instruments." "Functional instruments of gold and silver, decorated with jewels." "If I may, what we need, gentlemen, is something to fascinate the customers." "Perhaps, one watch for them to marvel at, something truly extravagant, so they will dwell long enough for me to work my magic on them." "Clara?" "Mmm?" "I can't help wondering why you voted to share the commission." "I'm no fool." "Put me hand up against you, I'd have lost and be left looking like a trouble-maker." "I don't believe that was your reason." "Then what was it?" "The other girls didn't like the notion and you didn't want to leave me stranded." "Think I have a heart of soap?" "You still don't know me, Denise." "Then you know it's a good idea." "Do you want the truth?" "You asked us to vote." "I was grateful for that." "Good." "Because we're going to have another vote." "Oh, Lord!" "What about this time?" "I don't know." "I'd like each of the girls in turn to make a proposal and we'll vote on it." "I would appreciate if you would go first, Clara." "If you watch a man with a fine watch, what do you see?" "He is a man with time on his side." "A man who won't be watching the clock." "Time waits for no man." "Once a week we go swimming together." "A girl's day out." "We can all watch Susy sinking and have a laugh." "If the new Food Hall is a success, sir," "Mr Weston will have a taste for more expansion." "He's already said as much to me." "Are we to wait until he is beyond reach?" "We must put more pressure on them." "What we need, sir, is for Mr Weston to feel that being here is a humiliation to him." "If he senses that his wife still favours you..." "It makes my skin crawl to do this." "Mrs Weston enjoys all the benefits of privilege, does she not?" "You and I have carved our lives from nothing." "Sir." "The same woman stripped you of everything you had worked for." "The same woman did not flinch, driving you from this town." "I ask you to consider - why does she summon you back here?" "Do you think she is brimming with good intentions towards you?" "No." "We have a limited time to act." "You must focus your mind only on what must be achieved." "We need something else." "Something more." "Something to cut into Tom Weston." "You have an idea in mind, sir?" "Perhaps." "What is it?" "I'd rather not say." "There is no room for hesitation." "You must go after her, Moray, with all those charms you're famous for." "I realise that this is something I need to ask your husband about, but I felt obliged to seek your permission first since it's such a personal matter, such a tender issue to you." "What could be so sensitive?" "Your father's watch." "I can't shake off the idea that it would make the most magical centrepiece for a display..." "My father's watch?" "Yes, yes, it's such a thing of beauty that it would draw..." "It is precious to me beyond reckoning." "Do you suppose I would dangle it before any passing drayman in the hope that he will come into your store?" "I had no wish to cause offence, Katherine." "And you made no effort to exercise consideration." "I'm glad that I did not ask your husband..." "Tom does not have it." "I'm sorry." "I simply thought that, erm..." "I remember your father saying since he had no sons, he would leave it to the man you married." "Yes." "Well." "That may have been something he considered at one time." "Erm..." "I hope you can forgive my clumsiness, Katherine, but I intended for the display to show respect..." "I would appreciate it if you would address me as Mrs Weston." "Of course." "Mrs Weston." "Of course." "Denise." "Come in." "You wanted to speak with me, Mr Weston, sir?" "Since you've become Head of Ladieswear there is a matter that is of growing concern to me." "I'm sorry to hear that, sir." "It seems you're introducing more modern, one might even call them democratic methods." "Sir, I only want..." "Most impressive." "My concern is why the other departments so patently lag behind." "I intend to gather all the heads of department together so that you might address them." "Perhaps you can infuse them with a touch of your magic." "Sir, I am not sure that it is my..." "What, you don't like the idea?" "What could be better?" "I will gain the benefit of your youthful ebullience and you will enjoy the recognition you deserve." "Surely, Denise, you can let yourself bask just a little in the admiration of your peers?" "Well, I..." "Good." "I will make the arrangements." "I have been asked to make a presentation to the heads of department about how we do things in Ladieswear." "Why would Mr Moray want you to do a thing like that?" "It was not Moray who asked, it was Mr Weston." "What I thought was, we could do it together - show them." "Do we have to vote on it?" "I'll vote." "I'll vote yes." "I never get to show off." "It's not about showing off, Susy." "It's a presentment." "Clara?" "Why would Mr Weston ask you to do such a thing?" "He said he wants to introduce modern ways of working." "Oh, that must be it, then." "What does Mr Moray think about this?" "I haven't told him yet." "Cat." "Pigeons." "All young girls are the same." "When we are ten, we want to be eleven, when we are eleven, we want to be twelve." "I insist you delight in the age that you are, Flora." "I was saying quite the same thing to Denise today." "Denise?" "Mmm." "Her youth is her defining asset in her role in the store." "All that enthusiasm." "One can hardly put a cap on it." "I've determined to make the most of it." "Oh?" "And how will you do that, darling?" "I will let her serve as an example to others of how to do their jobs." "She's quite something." "I'm sure you will no doubt charm and educate every one of us, Denise." "All I will do is share a few things I have tried which seem to make our work easier." "I only hope the more senior members of staff don't see you as placing yourself above them." "But it will be a wonderful day for you, of course." "Her colleagues won't think badly of Denise." "We know her enough." "We all realise that she only wishes to be of benefit to the store." "I'm sure it will be done in the spirit of companionship." "I for one will be interested in what methods she has introduced." "Mr Weston would not countenance any doubts." "You've already accepted?" "Yes." "I..." "He asked me and..." "Then you must make the most of the occasion." "Mrs Weston." "I have had a change of heart." "My father's watch." "I appreciate now that your intention is to honour my father by putting it on display." "I see no good reason not to concede to your wishes." "Then I am most grateful." "Sam?" "Sam, it seems we have your centrepiece for you." "It is over a hundred years old." "My father inherited it." "To be honest, as much as I cook up a tale for the customers," "I always thought a watch was just a watch." "I know I asked for something magical, sir, but that'll have them queuing up just to take a look at it." "My father taught me to read the time with this." "It was the high point of every day." "It has me bewitched." "You remind me of when I was a child, Sam." "I used the self-same words about it." "It had me bewitched." "My father used to hypnotise me with it." "He would swing it gently before my eyes and speak softly and convince me he had induced a trance over me." "It is little wonder that I should treasure it so." "We will treasure it just as much, ma'am." "There is one aspect of this matter for which I would ask your consideration, Moray." "Mm?" "My father's wishes - that the watch be passed on to the man I marry." "Tom does not know." "I would appreciate it if you made no mention." "Why, yes, yes, of course." "It's not my place to tell him." "I realise how deeply attached you are to it, Mrs Weston." "Please, call me Katherine." "I never laid my eyes on anything quite so marvellous." "How much do you suppose it's worth, Mr Dudley?" "It would keep the two of us in wages for the rest of our lives, Sam." "Aye, but you get the feeling that this is worth more than pounds, shillings and pence." "I hope you are not meddling in Moray's affairs again, Jonas." "As you can see, Mr Dudley, I'm simply going about my duties." "It is what I cannot see that concerns me." "I have watched Moray with Mrs Weston." "Why is he so cordial, so intimate with her?" "What is going on?" "I cannot speak on Mr Moray's behalf, sir." "The more polite your tongue, the more slippery you are at avoiding my questions." "I mean no offence." "Yet you have no wish to be open and honest with me, either." "I know that it is you leading him down this path and since I can prise no information from either of you, I will say this." "Do you suppose you know best?" "I ask you to consider the circumstances, sir." "Who owns The Paradise?" "Is there justice in what you see?" "Do you believe life will get easier for any of us while Tom Weston holds the whip?" "Especially for Mr Moray." "Can you feel your eyes drawn to it?" "Like you can't stop looking at it?" "That's not the beauty of it, of course." "Well, it is a handsome thing!" "But what we have here is a power beyond explanation." "May I fall down and die." "Does it not feel as though time itself has stopped?" "Do you own a watch, sir?" "You look like a man who knows the importance of time, who wouldn't have any old piece of tin in your pocket." "Am I right or am I right?" "This watch here, it's not a matter of whether a fella can afford it." "It's whether a fella can afford not to own it." "If there's an issue we need to decide upon, we vote on it." "I didn't want to share my bonus but when it was voted in, then I did." "I think I work harder now because if the girls are earning commission for me," "I ought to make commission for them, too." "We even had a vote about whether we would talk to you all today." "As a shop girl, I did my best work when I felt involved, part of a team." "I think if we all enjoy ourselves, then customers will enjoy coming here." "I think that's everything." "Thank you for coming today." "Perhaps we should have a vote to see if our little presentation's over." "Splendid!" "What Miss Denise and her girls have illustrated for us today is that we must not rest on our laurels." "What has brought success in the past will not do today." "Clearly, we would do well to see that today's presentation leads the way." "Is she not formidable, Moray?" "They all were, sir." "They all were." "Everybody was so kind to me." "They were full of questions and congratulations." "What did you think, sweetheart?" "Tell me." "Tell me honestly." "Your opinion's the only one that matters." "I..." "I delight in seeing you light up this place, Denise, but we must not forget, it is not meant to be this way." "We are not meant to be under their mercy or favour." "This place should be ours." "Do you see?" "Of course." "Sometimes I get carried away." "I must do my best." "That is why we must go to any lengths to make The Paradise mine again." "And then you will be my leading lady." "I was a selling machine today, Edmund." "I wish you could have seen us." "You're always a selling machine, Sam." "Every man has to be good at one thing." "I was peddling like it was the end of the world!" "And you want to know why?" "My lucky charm." "What are you doing with that in your pocket?" "It's worth a fortune." "I thought, for a few hours, while the shop's closed, no-one will notice." "See what it feels like to have something precious in my pocket." "And to be honest, it feels marvellous." "It's not like you, Sam, to flirt with trouble." "I know." "I put a black cloth over the spot in the cabinet." "No-one will even notice it's missing." "But what if you drop it or you lose it?" "I saw it there, spellbinding," "I couldn't resist it." "The feel of it." "The idea of it." "You have to admit, Edmund, it's a thing of beauty, a living wonder." "It's certainly splendid but I wouldn't thank you for having that in my pocket." "Just by having it here, I feel an inch taller, more handsome, more fearless." "King of the world." "There's a name for that." "It's called temptation." "The thing is to resist it." "Ah, you're old, that's all." "Lost your daring, man!" "Ask me what time it is." "What time is it?" "Sam's time, that's what." "Sam's time to be on top." "He is toying with me." "He knows that if he can heap praise and advancement onto Denise that it will torment me." "Then you have a choice, sir." "You can let him win the day, or you can meet him with as much cunning and daring." "If you manage to plant into Mr Weston's mind the clear idea that his wife is pursuing you, he will want someone to talk to." "I have already established some trust between he and I." "If I let him see that I hold a festering resentment towards you, he might begin to confide in me." "What is it, Jonas?" "Oh, forgive me, sir." "I should not let my frustration show in such a manner." "If I may, I will return to my duties." "Something has upset you?" "I appreciate your concern, sir, but I cannot trouble you with my grievances against my employer." "It was petty of me to behave in this way." "If I may..." "Moray?" "What has he done to disturb you?" "I have served that man for some years with loyalty and dedication beyond the call of duty." "Do I not deserve the reward of my employer's trust?" "I don't know why it matters so much to me to be trusted, sir, but it does." "It seems to me you have the equation the wrong way around, Jonas." "You should ask yourself if Moray is worthy of your loyalty." "She told me herself" " Katherine Weston." "That watch has powers." "Hypnotic powers." "Her family, in her family, going back, they used to mesmerise each other with it." "Her father was the master of it." "How else do you suppose he got his riches?" "Powers." "Incredible powers." "Save your patter for the customers, Sam." "As I stand here." "Well, sit here." "I felt it myself." "I believe him." "What is hypnotic, Sam?" "Hypnosis, Susy, well, it's a kind of sleep." "Well, not sleep exactly." "It's like..." "Ah, it's not like being asleep." "It's like being here but not being here." "That's what Susy feels like at the best of times." "It's like being dazzled, kind of thing." "What, like being drunk?" "What do you know about being drunk?" "No." "Hypnosis, it's..." "Being hypnotised is like being in a world where everything is possible." "If you want to dance you'll be like a ballerina." "If you want to sing, you'll warble like a songbird." "It's like being in a kind of wish." "We should all do it all the time." "Oh, I want to be hypnotic." "Hypnotised." "Can you?" "Can you hypnotise me, Sam?" "Careful, Susy, he'll put you under then tell you to give him your wages every week." "If you are looking for an out of body experience, you have come to the right fella, Susy." "Tonight." "After we close." "Can we all come?" "Why not?" "Go on, then." "In the Great Hall." "After we close." "I wanted to say well done, Myrtle." "To me, sir?" "The breads, pies, pastries you've cooked for the new Food Hall are mouth-watering." "The sales are extraordinary." "Are they, sir?" "I mean, thank you, sir." "Oh, yes." "Now we must step up the splendour." "Perhaps something special from your kitchen to make the Food Hall the talk of The Paradise." "That sounds marvellous, sir." "So what will you provide me with?" "What did you have in mind, Mr Weston?" "I had in mind that you would offer me something truly irresistible." "Something to put in the front window, Myrtle." "Something that might outshine even a jewel." "I will, sir." "Let me just scratch my head for a while, see what I can come up with." "Of course." "We'll speak again soon." "Katherine." "Oh!" "Your father's watch has proven to be quite a success." "You were right, of course." "I should have known you would be." "Well, it's such a magnificent treasure," "I can understand why you might want to keep it to yourself." "Oh, but I did not always wish to keep it." "I know it is difficult to say, and to hear, such a thing." "But it seems to me now it is better to tell the truth." "We have been through so much together, you and I." "Surely we have no room for pretences any more." "I have a confession to make." "Why I have never passed the watch on to Tom." "My father wanted you to have it." "Is that true, Katherine?" "Your father did not exhibit such a fondness for me." "It is true." "Almost true." "I wanted him to give it to you at our..." "I can't seem to let that idea go." "Perhaps that is why I can't face giving it to Tom." "I know you can never forgive me for what happened, for what I did to you, and to your..." "Don't spoil it, please." "It feels unfair to Tom to feel this way." "Which is why I have decided it is best he never knows that my father intended his watch to go to my husband." "I understand." "Have you noticed?" "We have fallen into promenading along the street, as we used to." "Some things are never lost." "Mrs Weston." "Sit with me, Clara." "I was hoping to speak with you privately." "Why would you wish to speak to me, ma'am?" "You are perhaps closest to Denise." "I have been concerned how she might be feeling about the watch." "The watch?" "I don't know that she's greatly aware of it, Mrs Weston." "What I mean is, that I should entrust Moray with such a precious thing from my family." "My understanding is that it was here for a promotion, ma'am." "Yes." "Yes, that is so." "But these things can easily be misinterpreted, given the kind of man Moray is, as both you and I know." "And what kind of man is that?" "A man ruled by his passions." "I would not like anyone to think I had encouraged him." "By anyone, you mean Denise?" "Why would you be concerned for Denise's feelings?" "There comes a point when our fellow-feeling for another woman is what touches us most." "Frankly, since Moray has hurt both you and me, Clara, our sympathies go, do they not, to the woman who loves him now..." "..who trusts him now?" "Ma'am, are you telling me that he has..." "You know the kind of man he is as well as I do, Clara." "Now, I want you to relax, Susy." "Relax." "Relax." "Relax." "Perhaps if you just breathe gently." "Now..." "I want you to look at the watch." "I want you to believe in the power that is in this watch." "It is the only thing that your eyes can see, the only thing in the world." "Let your eyes follow the watch." "You can feel your eyes growing heavy, tired." "You can feel you want to close your eyes." "Let your eyelids fall, closed." "Closed." "You can still see the watch, Susy, because the watch is in your mind." "It feels wonderful." "It is the best you have ever felt." "Now I want you to hold out your hands for me, Susy." "I'm going to put a pencil in between your fingers." "Can you feel that?" "Now the pencil is becoming stuck to your fingertips." "The watch wants you to feel how stuck the pencil is." "You want to let go of it but you can't because it's stuck to your fingertips." "It won't drop." "Now I'm going to take the pencil from your fingertips, Susy, because the watch wants you to let it go... now!" "When I whistle a tune, Susy, you will open your eyes ` slowly ` slowly - and when you open your eyes you will have only one thought in your mind." "I must buy Sam a beer." "I will buy Sam a beer." "Sam is a fine lad." "Sam is a handsome beast." "A girl could fall for a lad like Sam." "Buy Sam a beer." "Are we going over to the Three Crowns tonight?" "I want to buy Sam a beer." "Jonas, thank you for coming out here at night." "Shall we have a drink?" "I never realised how handsome Sam is before." "I've quite fallen for him." "I see in you, Jonas, a man who wishes only to be of service to his employer." "Sadly, we have established, have we not, that Moray is undeserving of your loyalty?" "I know how you feel." "My wife and I have in good faith brought Moray back here, given him a position of responsibility and trust, yet I have the feeling he's plotting to take The Paradise away from us." "Well, if he is, sir, he's keeping it well hidden." "The point is, Jonas, I value and trust your dedication to the store." "I do have to admit, sir, that what The Paradise sorely needs is a man, like you, to restore some honour to the place." "A soldier of distinction - how can we not follow you?" "To think that I am working for a man who served his country so heroically." "How do you know about my time in the army?" "Forgive me, Mr Weston." "Military history is a passion of mine." "The Indian Mutiny was a barbaric business and for me to find myself sitting next to a man who was there, an officer who led the fight, was decorated for his courage... it would be a great honour to serve you in any way you consider, sir." "Keep a watch on Moray." "Find out what he is contriving." "Ah, it's a wonderful piece you've chosen." "Spectacular." "Well, enjoy and thank you." "Shall we walk out tonight?" "Aye, we'll probably all go over to The Three Crowns, I suppose." "Well, no, I don't mean all." "I mean just you and me." "Susy, all that carry on with the watch, it was just a lark." "You're such a handsome beast." "Susy." "Hypnosis - it's nothing more than a joke." "That watch has no power." "It's just a watch." "You tell the time with it." "I could fall for a lad like you." "Can I just say, slow down?" "You're not in love with me." "Nothing happened." "You might think that something happened but that's just because, well, it's the kind of person you are." "So if you could just get it into your mind that that watch did not make you fall in love with me." "Oh, there's Mr Dudley, you'd better get back to your department." "See you tonight." "Sure." "Any chance of a cup of tea, Myrtle?" "I daren't go to the pub tonight." "Susy seems to think that that damned hypnotism was real." "She keeps making eyes at me and pestering me like a devoted puppy." "Oh, Sam, you're just the lad I need." "Mr Weston has asked me to do something special for the Food Hall and there's not a notion in my head." "I'm no cook, Myrtle." "No, but you could mesmerise me with the watch so that something might appear." "Didn't I just say?" "It's nonsense." "I was pretending." "It was a joke." "Ha-ha!" "Yes, I know that." "But will you try?" "Hello, Sam." "Denise, your presentation was quite an inspiration." "Everyone is talking about it." "Thank you, sir." "Yes." "It occurs to me that you might spend a day in each department, infuse them with that joie de vivre that seems to spill out of you." "Er, isn't this something we ought to discuss before implementing policy on the hoof, sir?" "In my experience of running a store, one must consider such things amongst management before speaking to the staff." "Hmm." "What do you think, Denise?" "Sir, if I may..." "You may not." "Denise?" "It is not for me to decide, sir." "I'm not asking you to decide." "I'm asking for your opinion." "It could only work, sir, with the consent of the other departments." "Of course." "You can start in the kitchens." "I can't see Myrtle objecting, can you?" "Every opportunity he can find he is lavishing praise and promotion onto Denise." "Moray, now more than ever you must show restraint." "He is a bully." "We all know what a bully he is." "A spoiled child who must have his own way." "I implore you, do not rise to this." "Do not scheme against him." "I will not let him crush me." "You're up to something." "I know it." "Why won't you tell me...?" "Dudley, just trust that I know what I'm doing." "I cannot." "Loyalty is not a one-way track." "I have tried to encourage you to tell me what is going on." "You refuse." "That means you do not trust me." "Dudley..." "Yet you choose to lay your faith in Jonas." "It's for the good of all of us." "Then why is that not what I see in your face?" "In charge?" "You?" "My kitchen?" "Not in charge, no." "Simply, for one day, we might have some fun together." "I don't wish to do this if you don't want me here, Myrtle." "What if one day becomes two?" "What then?" "Mr Weston wants a display for the window." "I thought..." "Myrtle Cake." "Myrtle Cake?" "Your recipe." "Eighteen eggs." "We could decorate the window - at one end, chickens." "Live chickens, feeding on corn." "And next to that a mountain of eggs." "And then, on a beautiful stand - Myrtle Cake." "Myrtle Cake." "You could decorate it with all manner of sweets and ornaments." "We might sell the recipe." "And for those customers who buy the cake, they could come into your kitchen and hear your tales of how you learned to make the cake." "Did you tell Mr Weston this idea?" "Not yet." "We might tell him together." "Here!" "If you're going to be working in my kitchen you'll need an apron." "You know what we might put in this Myrtle Cake?" "Lemon and treacle and ginger to give it that bit of Myrtle spice!" "So busy taking over the world, Denise, you ought to be careful you don't miss out what really matters." "What do you mean?" "Well, you love it all so much, don't you?" "They could drop you anywhere in the store, anywhere in the city, and you would make it sing to your tune." "What's wrong with that?" "Nothing." "There is really nothing wrong with that." "What are you trying to say to me, Clara?" "Friends tried to warn me the way I lived me life would catch up with me but I had to learn it for myself." "Perhaps we all have to learn it for ourselves." "I hear my father's watch has caused something of a stir, Sam." "More of a splash than a stir, I would say, ma'am." "Might I ask - when you told us about the watch, you know, the hypnotism and your father saying that as a child he could put you under his spell, that was all jest?" "Yes, of course." "My father was quite the tease." "That's what I thought." "He was fooling with me, that's all." "Except, there was that one time he convinced me that under the influence of the watch I had spoken a foreign language." "Greek, I believe." "Greek?" "Yes, but it was all rather good fun." "There was that one incident that did rather astonish me." "As a child, I refused to eat cabbage, yet on one occasion, my father dangled the watch in front of me at the dinner table and I ate a plateful without complaint." "Cabbage?" "I rather enjoyed it, too." "I suppose a child's mind is open to suggestion." "Yes." "That's it." "Oh, and there was such a mystery about the watchmaker who made it." "He had six fingers on his left hand, apparently." "And he could see into the future." "My father loved to tell me these stories." "They used to frighten the life out of me." "Six fingers." "Excuse me a moment, sir." "You will think I am keeping an eye on the family heirloom, I'm in here so often." "Not at all." "It's a pleasure to see you." "In truth, I wanted to..." "I think I said rather too much the other day." "No, no, no, no." "I'm glad that we spoke, Katherine." "It has eased my mind to know that the fondness between us is not lost." "Yes." "I feel the same way." "When two people have been as close as we were, then it hurts too much for there to be any ill will." "Yes." "Perhaps we could meet from time to time, for coffee?" "I would like that." "Well, then, we must." "Perhaps..." "Tom can be so unreasonably jealous sometimes, it would be unhelpful for him to know." "If that is what you prefer, then, of course, I will respect your wishes." "Moray!" "Would you be so kind as to join my wife and I for dinner?" "If you wish, sir." "What I mean is, I am grateful for the invitation, if a little surprised." "I have some news." "Good news is always best delivered with a glass of champagne." "Good news for me?" "You have me curious, sir." "The news is for Denise." "Will you invite her or shall I?" "Hello, Sam." "I've just got to run back to the store." "If he has news, then why doesn't he simply tell us?" "Why invite us to the house?" "The thought of dinner with them is excruciating." "You said yourself, we must keep good relations with them and that is what we are doing." "I don't trust him." "I don't suppose he trusts you either." "What do you mean?" "He knows you want The Paradise back and that you are looking for ways to do that." "We must be wary, Denise." "Whatever this news is, there will be a trap in it." "John, perhaps this evening is an opportunity to prove to them how devoted we are to one another and that together we're not afraid of them." "Yes." "Dinner?" "Here?" "The two of them?" "I thought it might be rather fun." "You might have asked me." "And you might have asked me before you took to promenading along Tollgate Street with Moray, for all the world to gaze upon and wonder." "I see." "I have learnt by being about that place that she has quite an appetite." "Denise is bubbling with ambition." "It pleases me to foster that." "She shows every sign of outshining him." "Moray may prove to be not man enough for her." "I like the idea of entertaining her here." "I suspect she will have a taste for a little glitter." "Mr Weston, as I suggested to you, sir, was injured in battle." "Hurt badly it would seem." "Returned home from India, retired from the army." "Then might that not explain...?" "Tom Weston was serving his country while I was here selling the latest fashions." "Is it any wonder he holds a grudge against men like me?" "Is it not shameful of us to inflict further turmoil on the soldier who's suffered beyond anything I can imagine?" "If you pity the man you will never defeat him." "Sir, if I may." "Mr Weston must learn about the watch, sir." "I can find an opportunity to present him with the knowledge that his wife has concealed from him her father's intentions." "No, Jonas." "Not after reading this." "I don't want him to know." "I tell you, Edmund." "I didn't put it in my pocket." "But you must have put it there." "You've forgotten." "That's worse, isn't it?" "I put it in my own pocket and I didn't even realise I was doing it?" "It's like the watch put itself there." "Sam, lad, this is wild talk." "That thing." "Right, there's this fella who works in the bay " "Lee, Raymond Lee" " Lee the Flea." "I never liked the bloke and he was rattling on me yesterday, on and on." "I'm standing at my counter, I'm cursing in my head." "Now today, what do you think?" "He's taken sick to his bed." "How does that happen?" "It happens because sometimes people get ill." "No, no." "It's the watch." "I know it is." "I've got Susy following me around like a sop." "I can't shake her out of it no matter what I do." "Well, if it's bothering you that much, why don't you ask Mr Dudley to take you off the watch counter?" "I will." "I will." "That's..." "That's what I'll do." "It is so laudable, is it not, Moray, for a girl to come from a lowly little town like..." "Where is it, Denise?" "Peebles, sir." "Peebles." "Even the word is a treat on the tongue." "Katherine and I have no idea what it means to come from such beginnings and to prove oneself in the city." "I suppose it's no small feat to prove oneself in the armed forces, Mr Weston." "Yes." "There is that." "But for a woman, a young woman in a man's world, and to do it all with such..." "What shall we call it, Moray?" "Eagerness?" "Oh, come!" "That is not what I meant at all." "I mean with such effervescence." "We were wondering what the news might be, sir." "Does he appreciate what a fortunate man he is, Denise?" "I hope he does." "Yes." "And I am very fortunate to work with John." "He's always encouraged me." "Do you, Moray?" "Do you realise quite what a woman you have on your hands?" "I'd be a fool not to, sir." "News indeed." "We want to send you to Paris, Denise." "On a reconnaissance mission." "To visit Le Bon Marche and to fill your eyes with the latest French fashions." "Well!" "That is rather..." "I don't quite know what to say." "Thank you!" "Spend a week there." "Immerse yourself in all things Parisienne." "We want our Head of Ladieswear to be versed in La Mode Illustree." "Do you think you are ready for such a trip?" "Yes, sir." "Denise in Paris!" "'Don't you see what he is doing to us, darling?" "'" "He's feeding you with prizes so that you feel happy here, so that you accept the way things are." "I could learn so much in Paris." "It's not that I want to stop you from going." "I want you to see what he's doing." "I'll find a reason to say no." "I'll tell him I'm sick or that the travelling will make me ill." "It is for us that I am doing this, Denise, so we can be together in The Paradise." "I know." "I always wanted it to be me out front but it feels better for it to be my baking what's in the limelight." "Thank you, Denise." "Mr Dudley, sir, with your permission, sir," "I would like to be taken off the watch counter." "But the watches are our best-selling item." "You're working wonders." "But still, if you will, sir." "I'd appreciate the move." "You've never earned so much bonus." "Why would you turn your back on that?" "Watches aren't for me." "I prefer to go back to silks." "I'll give it some thought." "Could you give it some thought now, sir, while you're standing here?" "It creates a bad impression if staff are hopping about from counter to counter." "I want you to see it through with the watches." "If I were to plead with you sir?" "But for what reason?" "Give me a sound reason and I will give it some consideration." "Very well, Mr Dudley, sir." "Come in." "I want you to tell him." "Tell Tom Weston that Lord Glendenning intended his watch to be left to Katherine's husband but she's kept this from him." "You're still doing the watches then?" "I asked Mr Dudley to move us but he refused." "Look at it." "Hangs there like it's mocking us." "Sam, you need to calm down." "You're letting your mind run away with you." "How can I calm down when the thing's right there?" "It wants to possess us." "I hate it." "Sam, stop it!" "I'm getting such urges in my mind, hat I want to throw it in the river, go down to the bridge, put it in a bag with a stone and toss it into the water, be rid of it." "Then I might be at peace again." "Sam, if you do that you'll end up in prison." "This is a valuable watch." "It's Katherine Weston's watch." "I don't want to do it." "But I can't stop thinking it." "Well, perhaps it'll go back where it came from soon, eh?" "Will you join me in a drink, Jonas?" "I..." "I should be getting on with my duties, sir." "I'm your employer." "Your duty at this moment is to enjoy a drink with me." "What's the matter with you?" "Did you find out what Moray is up to?" "I have no intelligence on Mr Moray's finances, sir." "You chose your words too carefully, Jonas." "What are you concealing from me?" "You have something on your mind." "I can see it." "It is not for me to tell a man such things, sir." "What things?" "It is dangerous when a husband learns..." "My wife?" "What is it?" "I insist you tell me what you know." "Please, sir!" "Tell me." "The watch, sir." "I saw your wife talking to Mr Moray." "What about the watch?" "Her father bequeathed that the piece was to be passed on to the man she married." "Now you see, sir, why this is impossible for me to tell." "Carry on." "She has decided not to tell you of her father's wishes." "You heard her telling Moray this?" "She asked him to keep it a secret, between them." "I see." "Mr Weston, I'm afraid I can't accept your kind of offer of a trip to Paris." "I promise you, gentlemen." "When I closed up my counter it was there." "But it is not there now, Sam." "No, sir." "I've checked my pockets and it's not there." "Why would you want to check your pockets?" "What, what I mean is, right the..." "The thing is strange, sir." "One night - and I know this is going to be difficult to believe " "I put it away and I went to my room and it was, it was in my..." "Gentlemen, I have no wish to want that watch." "That damned watch is bewitched." "Mr Weston took the watch." "I saw him take it." "Then it's gone." "I'm a free man again!" "How do I stop her following me all the time and looking at me like I'm the God of Love?" "And saying, "Hello, Sam," every time I see her?" "You'll have to hypnotise her again." "I didn't hypnotise her in the first place." "And the watch is gone now." "Susy would believe it if you told her you'd hypnotised her with a feather duster." "Leave it to me." "When you wake up you will think that Sam is just a lad, like all the other lads, plenty of chat, but you could never marry him." "I had the strangest feeling." "I..." "I thought I was in love with Sam." "Isn't that silly?" "Do we have to tell him that you're not?" "It's gone lazy on me again, Sam." "May I suggest, sir..." "Get it fixed." "Hello, Sam." "The Food Hall has been a great success." "I had not imagined I might be so engaged by how cakes and buns might sell." "Would you care to visit the Food Hall today, Flora?" "Yes, Papa." "What time shall we go?" "Perhaps later this morning?" "Yes." "I found her sitting in my chair as though she were trying out the throne." "'I cannot bear one more day!" "'" "Tom will destroy you." "Denise will destroy you." "You think we should defy Moray?" "Let's call it helping." "Without his knowledge or consent." "'I'm not sure that acting secretly is the best way, Denise.'"