A Beautiful Rival by Gill Paul

Author:Gill Paul [Paul, Gill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2023-07-10T17:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 27

Elizabeth

January 1930

Elizabeth’s flagship salon in the Aeolian Building opened in January 1930, three months after the Wall Street crash. Her stomach was in permanent knots: What if no clients came? What if she went bankrupt?

She’d put all her energy and imagination into the salon. There were several exclusive treatments available: her Youth Mask with diathermy electric currents to rejuvenate skin cells; the Ardena Bath, in which clients were coated in a thick layer of paraffin wax to induce perspiration and weight loss; a giant roller that could pummel away excess pounds; and her specially designed exercise and weight-loss programs. Edna ran an article in Vogue, entitled “The Elixir of Youth,” and bookings began to trickle in. That was a relief, but still the tangle of anxiety in the pit of Elizabeth’s stomach made it hard to sleep.

She appointed Edith Brown to manage the new salon. It was a responsible position, but Edith was remarkably efficient and organized, and she had a polite and winning manner with clients. Together, Edith and Laney made sure everything worked smoothly in all her New York salons. Deliveries arrived on time, staff was hired and trained, the floors and fittings were sparkling clean, and flowers were replaced as soon as they started to droop.

Teddy Haslam sent encouraging news from London: revenues were holding up there, despite the crash, and he was optimistic about the outlook. Gladys reported that bookings in Paris seemed unaffected. Thank goodness she could rely on them.

Tommy remained a thorn in her flesh. He kept overstepping his authority and trying to dictate what should happen in areas of the business that were none of his concern. He objected to her launching a new face cream, which Fabian Swanson had devised. It was lavender-colored and remarkably good for calming irritated skin. She came up with the name Eight Hour Cream after one of her staff tried it on her son’s grazed knee and claimed it was healed eight hours later.

“It’s not the right time to introduce a new face cream, when men are losing their jobs all over the city,” he argued. “It makes you look out of touch.”

“It’s exactly the right time, dear,” she replied. “Women might be cautious about treating themselves to a new gown but all my clients can afford a new skin cream.”

She noticed that he was paying some of their top salesmen seventy-five dollars a week, and sent a stern memo: “When men are losing their jobs, we can afford to pay less. No one will complain for fear of being bounced. Cut all sales salaries to seventy dollars at most.” He objected but had no choice but to comply.

Her brother, Will, lost his job in the city and she agreed, very reluctantly, that Tommy could hire him. She had always done her best to keep the two apart because they got on rather too well for her liking. As she had feared, they were soon hanging around speakeasies most evenings after work. Tommy staggered home in the early hours, crashing and banging in the hallway, then had a foul hangover the following day.

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