‘Very well.’ Ruby sighed as Max poured them both a glass of whisky from the cut-glass decanter on the sideboard.
Chapter Eighteen
The following evening, Kitty expectantly took her seat in one of the balconies next to Miss Fox at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The atmosphere was alive with chatter and laughter as the audience waited for the curtain to go up and the first act to appear, and the girl stared about in awe, thinking she had never seen so many people gathered together in one place before in her whole life.
Miss Fox watched her with an indulgent smile on her face. She had lost count of the times she had gone along to Ruby’s performances and it was all old hat to her now, but for the young girl at her side she realised that it was all new and no doubt very exciting. Kitty was looking very pretty in one of the new outfits her mother had bought for her, and with her fresh complexion and sparkling eyes, Phyllis Fox saw that she was attracting more than a few admiring glances from certain gentlemen in the audience.
And then suddenly the lights dimmed and the enormous red curtains on the stage swished aside to reveal the compère, Billy Ball, who was almost as well known as the acts he was presenting.
Silence settled as he announced, ‘Good evening and welcome, ladies and gentlemen. We have some wonderful acts for you tonight, so with no more ado, I am thrilled to introduce Ted West, the Ukulele Man! Let’s give him a big hand!’
There was loud applause as the musician came running on to the stage and immediately began to play a selection of rousing popular tunes. Kitty beamed as she tapped her foot in time to the music. The show went on and they were entertained by a male singer, a comedian and a ventriloquist. And then the compère returned to the stage to announce that there would be a twenty-minute interval, so plenty of time to visit the bar. It was then that Max joined them and took a seat at the side of Kitty.
‘I’ve taken the liberty of ordering some champagne for us all as I didn’t know your preference, my dear,’ he informed Kitty, who was all but glowing.
‘Thank you,’ she said shyly. Max was looking very handsome and she suddenly felt very grown up. The champagne duly arrived, delivered on a tray by a slightly harassed-looking attendant, and Kitty giggled as she sipped at it and the bubbles went up her nose. ‘Oh, it’s quite lovely,’ she informed him, very aware that Miss Fox was watching them like a hawk.
Almost before they knew it the lights were dimmed and the curtains swished aside again as the compère strode onto the stage to announce the second half of the show.
‘Your aunt will be on after the next act,’ Max whispered to Kitty as he leaned towards her. ‘At one point in her career she commanded star billing and would be the grand finale.’
Kitty nodded and waited impatiently. Eventually Ruby was announced by her stage name, and she glided onto the stage in the most beautiful gown Kitty had ever seen. It was in a deep lilac colour, heavily trimmed with guipure lace, and very low cut. It was also extremely flattering. Her hair had been curled and piled high on her head, and about her throat she wore an amethyst and diamond necklace and matching earrings that dangled from her ears and sparked fire in the stage lights. From the balcony, she looked surprisingly youthful.
Kitty leaned forward eagerly in her seat and hung on her mother’s every note, thinking how beautifully she sang as Ruby warbled her way through three songs. She could only imagine how exciting it must be, to be up there on the stage, the centre of everyone’s attention, and sighed dreamily at the thought of it. When she had done, Ruby curtsied and blew kisses as the audience applauded and Kitty leaped to her feet, clapping as loudly as she could. Then she watched in awe as her mother ran gracefully from the stage.
‘Oh, she was just wonderful!’ Kitty declared and Miss Fox sniffed. She was never one to give compliments lightly.
‘If you think that was good you should have seen her in her day,’ she remarked, then they all settled back in their seats to enjoy the rest of the show.
When it had ended, Max took them backstage and paused at a door with Kitty’s mother’s name on it. ‘This is your aunt’s dressing room,’ he told Kitty as performers bustled up and down the corridor. ‘Let’s see how she’s doing.’
He tapped at the door and entered with the two women behind him to find Ruby still in her stage outfit and full stage make-up, sitting with an elderly gentleman sipping champagne. A large bouquet of flowers addressed to ‘Miss Ruby Darling’ stood on her dressing table and she smiled as they entered.
‘Ah, here you are,’ she trilled. Then to the gentleman, ‘Do allow me to introduce you. This is my agent, Mr Max Thomas, my niece, Kitty, and my maid, Miss Fox.’
He stood and gave a gallant little bow. ‘How do you do. I am Mr Hector Smethwick.’
Max inclined his head and stifled a grin. It appeared that Ruby could still attract admirers even if they were rather elderly. Not that she’d mind that, so long as they had nice fat wallets. The man then bowed to Ruby, saying, ‘I shall take my leave now then, dear lady. I do hope you enjoy the flowers and I shall look forward to our dinner date. I shall collect you from your home promptly at seven o’clock on Wednesday evening. Goodbye for now.’ He nodded at them all.
When he had left the room, Miss Fox dropped onto a chair and snorted, ‘Crikey, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one, aren’t you? He must be sixty if he’s a day!’
Ruby shrugged carelessly as she sat at her dressing table and began to wipe the thick greasepaint from her face. Kitty was surprised to see that it didn’t look very nice at all close to, more like it had been plastered on with a trowel.
‘It has to be applied thickly because of the stage lights,’ Ruby informed her as if she had read her thoughts, and once it was all removed Kitty thought how tired she looked. Nothing at all like the glamorous vision who had appeared on the stage.
Then addressing Miss Fox, Ruby told her shortly, ‘As for Mr Smethwick, he’s very pleasant and ridiculously wealthy. He’s recently become a widower – so why shouldn’t I go out to dinner with him? I feel sorry for him as it happens.’
‘I bet you do,’ Miss Fox said sarcastically, but Ruby ignored her comment.
‘Wait for me outside, would you? The dresser will be coming in to help me get changed now.’
The three of them made their way outside to wait in Max’s motor car, and sometime later Ruby slipped through the stage door and came to join them.
Max drove them home and followed them inside, and as usual Ruby asked him, ‘I dare say you’d like a drink before you go?’
‘I’d love one,’ he answered. ‘And of course the lovely Miss Kitty must join us.’
Ruby flushed with jealousy as she saw the way he was smiling at the girl, but not wishing to appear childish, she shrugged. ‘As you wish.’
‘Actually I’m rather tired,’ Kitty responded quickly, ‘so if you don’t mind I’ll just turn in. But thank you so much for a wonderful evening, one I shall never forget.’
Just for a second Max looked annoyed but then taking her hand he kissed it gallantly. ‘I don’t mind at all, my dear. A young girl like you needs her beauty sleep and it was a pleasure to be in your company. Perhaps tomorrow I shall start to look around for some bookings for you. It would be a crime to let such a lovely voice go to waste. Then we must take you shopping for some suitable stage outfits and look at getting you a maid.’
Kitty looked shocked. ‘But I don’t need a maid,’ she said.
‘Perhaps not now, but you will when you are in the theatre. You’ll need someone to help you get changed and dress your hair. Your aunt has always had Miss Fox to help her if there was no dresser, but I was thinking someone nearer to your own age might be more suitable.’
‘Oh!’ Kitty didn’t argue. It would be a shame to spoil such a very special evening so she simply wished them all goodnight and ran up to her room, where she thought of all she had seen that evening and relived every second. But it didn’t stop her missing Sunday or stop her wondering what sh
e would have thought of her new way of life!
Once they were alone in the living room, Ruby rounded on Max. ‘I hope you are not getting any romantic inclinations towards my niece!’ she spat. ‘She is too young to be seduced, so keep your hands off her.’
Max snipped the end off a cigar and slowly lit it before blowing a plume of blue smoke into the air.
‘Don’t be so ridiculous, darling. Kitty is young enough to be my daughter, but if handled properly she could become a success and make us both rich. And I’m sure you wouldn’t turn your pretty nose up at that.’
‘Well, no, I wouldn’t,’ Ruby admitted grudgingly, ‘but if I am to be her manager I would want her fees paid directly to me and then I would pay her her share.’
And a pitiful share it will be, no doubt, Max thought, although he didn’t say it aloud. He had handled some of the biggest stars on stage and was well aware of the sums they were capable of earning, but he doubted that Kitty would ever become wealthy with Ruby as her manager. Even so, he knew that he must placate her, so he smiled at her disarmingly as he said, ‘I doubt Kitty is aware of just how lucky she is to have you as her aunt, my dear. With you to teach her all you know, she could well go to the top, which would be to all our advantages.’
At the compliment, Ruby’s good mood was restored and she simpered at him as she fluttered her eyelashes and tripped away to pour them both a drink.
Max had no illusions about Ruby. She was very spoiled and ridiculously vain. Over the years she had earned him a vast amount of money, but he had a funny idea that that might be as nothing compared to what Kitty might be capable of bringing in. He had no doubt that she could become a star, and he was genuinely excited about launching her onto the stage. But to achieve that, he would have to play his cards right – and above all, keep Ruby sweet.
The following morning at Treetops Children’s Home, Tom found Sunday hovering in the hallway. She started when she saw him and said guiltily, ‘I was just arranging these flowers.’ She then began to fuss with the blooms standing in a tall cut-glass vase on the hall table.
‘And very nice they look too,’ he said, sadly aware that in reality she was hovering, waiting for a sign of the postman, just as she had done each morning since Kitty had left.
‘Has the post come yet?’ he casually asked then, as he headed for his study.
‘Err … no.’ She lowered her eyes and added, ‘Perhaps we’ll have some word from Kitty today.’
‘Perhaps we will, pet. But don’t get worrying. She’s barely had time to settle in yet. I’m sure she’ll write as soon as she finds time.’
His wife nodded and Tom continued on his way with a frown on his face. He was beginning to wonder if Kitty would write, if truth be told. After all, she had been whisked off to a new way of life in London and she’d probably be enjoying herself. And, much as he hated to admit it, she certainly hadn’t taken much persuading when her mother’s maid had come for her. She’d been off to the bright lights like a shot from a gun! He supposed he couldn’t blame her really. Kitty had the world at her feet and looking back, he wondered if he and Sunday hadn’t kept too tight a rein on her when she’d lived with them. Perhaps they should have allowed her a little more freedom to go out and meet young people of her own age? The trouble was, because of her beauty Kitty had attracted attention wherever she went and Sunday had barely let her out of her sight for fear that some young rip might take advantage of her.
Well, it was all out of their hands now but he hoped that at some stage the girl would write to them. At least then they would know that she was all right and being well taken care of. He had suffered all manner of guilt since she had left because he hadn’t insisted on having her mother’s address, but it had all happened so quickly and Miss Fox had – quite rightly – made it clear that it was Kitty’s decision to make. She had been there one day and gone for good the next, and Sunday hadn’t been the same since. He’d always known that Kitty was special to his wife and because things were still somewhat strained between them, the loss of Kitty seemed to have driven them even further apart.
With a sigh, he entered his office and tried his best to concentrate on the open ledger on his desk, but for some reason the figures kept blurring into one another and in the end he gave up and wandered out to the stables as he too kept an eye on the drive for the postman. He was feeling desperately unhappy because with each day that passed, the rift between him and his wife seemed to get wider.
Chapter Nineteen
Could Tom have known it, in London, Kitty was also looking out for the postman each morning and with every day that passed, her spirits sank a little lower. There had still been no reply to the letter that she had written to Sunday and Tom, and now she was beginning to think they might not bother writing to her at all. After all, she had been just one of a number of children and young people they had cared for, so perhaps their time and attention was centred on the ones who were still at Treetops?
Kitty had taken to going for little walks alone out of sheer boredom and was now getting to know the streets surrounding her mother’s house fairly well. She had also ventured into the West End a few times and never tired of all the hustle and bustle, now that she was becoming used to it. She particularly loved the old flower-sellers who stood on street corners with their colourful baskets of blooms, and would often take a small posy home to her mother – not that Ruby ever seemed particularly thrilled with them. The house was always full of expensive hot-house flowers, which no doubt made the ones she offered look rather dull in comparison. But she wouldn’t be going out today, not alone anyway. Max had informed her that after lunch he would be taking her to buy something special to wear for her debut performance at a club in Soho the following weekend. Kitty had expected to be launched somewhere like the Prince of Wales Theatre where her mother had sung recently, but as Max had explained, she had to start small and work her way up.
‘I’m bringing along an acquaintance to see you,’ Max told her. ‘He is a very well-respected theatre critic who is always looking out for new talent. If you can impress him enough to get your name into the newspaper he works for, the managers of the music halls will be clamouring to book you, trust me.’
Kitty did trust him – completely – and now she was looking forward to the outing, although there was another aimless morning to get through first. She found the mornings the worst time, which was why she’d taken to going out exploring the neighbourhood. She rarely saw Ruby until early afternoon and often wondered how the woman could bear to spend so long in bed. The day was usually more than half over before she put in an appearance.
Kitty was sitting in the window strumming her fingers on the sill, watching the traffic in the street below as she tried to think what she could do to pass the time. And then it occurred to her. She could write to Sunday and Tom again. Perhaps her last letter hadn’t reached them. After all, letters did sometimes get lost in the post! Rising, she gathered together some paper and a pen and for the next half an hour she wrote, telling them all about her new life, but this time she was a little more honest than she had been in the first letter.
Dear Sunday and Tom,
I hope this letter finds you all well there at Treetops. As I write this I can picture you all rushing about doing everything that needs to be done, and in my mind I can see the children playing along the hallway. I am settling in here reasonably well although I do get a little homesick from time to time. My mother, who has asked if I would call her ‘Aunt’, is a very busy lady, so I tend to be on my own for much of the time and the house here is so quiet inside compared to Treetops, although the same cannot be said for the outside. I am still getting used to all the noise and the traffic, although I’m sure Tom would love seeing all the automobiles that are so much more common here than they are there up in Nuneaton.
On a happier note, my mother’s agent is taking me shopping for a new outfit for my debut performance at a club in Soho where I will be singing next week! He assures me that if
all goes well I might soon be appearing in the music halls and earning my own living. I’m very excited at the prospect. Perhaps I will be good enough to follow in my mother’s footsteps? I am a little disappointed that you haven’t replied to my first letter as yet, but I do understand how very busy you all are. It would be lovely to hear about all that’s going on at home, though, if you could perhaps spare the time? I often think of you all but now I should be thinking of getting ready to go shopping so I will end my letter and hope to hear from you very soon,
My deepest love to all of you,
Your Kitty xxxxxxxx
She then quickly wrote a little note to Ben too, saying much the same as she had to Sunday and Tom, and enclosed it with theirs in the envelope before sealing it and carrying it downstairs to place it on the tray with Ruby’s outgoing mail. Now all she could do was wait – but surely they would write soon?
That afternoon, Max arrived punctually and drove Kitty and Ruby into the West End, where he parked his car. Kitty’s face was flushed with excitement and as he peeped at her from the corner of his eye, Ruby noticed and clung possessively to his arm. From the way Kitty fluttered her eyelashes becomingly at any young man who dared to look admiringly at her, Max sensed that she had already discovered the power she could wield over men. But for all that she was still naively innocent and he was sure that she had never gone further than mildly flirting with anyone. He smirked. Handled properly, she would be putty in his hands – although he would have to tread carefully so as not to upset Ruby. But who knew what the future might hold?
The Little Angel Page 15