The Little Angel

by Rosie Goodwin

  Maggie shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. When I was about twelve I heard them having an argument one day and she told him that she didn’t think he should go into my bedroom alone any more because I was getting older and the servants might think it was unseemly. By then my nanny had left and I had a governess and a tutor who only came during the day. I was so relieved because I thought he’d stop then and do as she said, but after that he used to wait until she went out. She was involved with lots of different charities, as you know, and often went out at night – so he would sneak into my room then. And then on my thirteenth birthday he came and said that I was a young lady now and it was time to learn how to please a man, and he—’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Kitty said hastily. ‘You don’t have to go on.’ Kitty herself was very naïve – in fact, Richard was the first man who had ever kissed her – but she had heard enough from the other girls at Treetops and the odd snatches of conversation between the staff to know vaguely what went on between a man and a woman.

  ‘And you’ve had to endure this all that time?’

  Maggie loudly blew her nose. ‘Yes – but then suddenly I couldn’t stand it any more, and a few days ago when he sneaked out of my room after he’d … Well, the next day, after a blazing row, I just snatched what money was at hand and left. I walked and ran all the way into town and thankfully I found I had just enough for the train fare to London. I’d thought that once I was here I would be able to somehow find you in Chelsea and get a job and somewhere to live, but I soon discovered it wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought and I ended up sleeping in shop doorways. I don’t regret running away though,’ she said fiercely. ‘I’d do the same again if they ever tried to make me go back. Or I’d kill myself.’

  ‘You should have told someone what he was doing to you!’ Kitty’s shock had been replaced with fury now. How could a man who had forced Maggie to call him Father do such a dreadful thing to her? He was worse than an animal.

  Maggie laughed, a brittle laugh that held no humour. ‘What would have been the point? Mr Dawes was a well-respected member of the community while I was just a stray that had been lucky enough to be taken in by him and his wife. No one would have believed me.’

  ‘But it’s so unfair!’ Kitty stood up and began to pace the floor, her hands clenched into fists. ‘He should be punished and people should know what he really is.’

  ‘No,’ Maggie said softly. ‘It’s all behind me now and I hope I shall never have to set eyes on either of them again.’

  ‘Was Mrs Dawes cruel to you too?’ Kitty asked then.

  ‘Not cruel exactly but I always felt that she was trying to replace the little girl she had lost with me and I could never live up to her. I was too fat; I was too cheeky. From the day I left Treetops I never had a decent meal again. Mrs Dawes instructed the cook that I must only eat healthy food and she tried to dress me like a little doll. The trouble was, I wasn’t pretty enough to do justice to the clothes she bought for me. I was always too tall and big-boned whereas I was told her own daughter was dainty and petite like you. She was always more concerned about teaching me good manners than showing me any affection, and I learned very quickly that if I didn’t do as I was told I would be banished to my room until I apologised. As you may remember, I’m a stubborn so-and-so, so I seemed to spend half my young life locked away upstairs. Believe me, within weeks of moving in with them I would have given anything to be able to return to Treetops, but it was too late by then.’

  ‘Oh, Maggie.’ Kitty was crying herself now at the thought of all the poor girl had gone through. But then, straightening up, she told her, ‘You’re quite right. You must put all this behind you and go on with your life now. None of what happened was your fault so you certainly have nothing to be ashamed of, so try not to think about it any more. You’ll be perfectly safe here with me – and think what fun we’re going to have! You’ll see me perform at the Gaiety Theatre in Westminster soon and Max, that is Ruby’s agent, says that after that I’ll be in great demand.’

  ‘I’m not really surprised,’ Maggie told her. ‘You always were pretty and even as a little girl you were always singing. It must be very exciting.’

  ‘It is!’ Kitty’s eyes were glowing again now. ‘And better still is a gentleman I’ve met. He’s a photographer and he did the photos to advertise me outside of the club I performed at last week. He’s said that he wants to take some more of me and he took me out to dinner last night.’

  ‘What – just you and him? Didn’t your moth— I mean Ruby, mind?’

  ‘Not at all.’ Kitty giggled, pleased to see that she had taken Maggie’s mind off her own problems. ‘She seems to have quite a large following of gentlemen admirers of her own so she isn’t going to mind me having some, is she?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Maggie agreed doubtfully, for she couldn’t imagine that Sunday or Tom would have allowed Kitty to go out with a gentleman unescorted.

  Kitty helped Maggie to carry all the things she had sorted out for her up to her room, and once they had put them away she led her downstairs to introduce her to the cook and the rest of the staff. Shortly after, Maggie dined with them in the kitchen and they all made her feel so welcome that she began to feel a little better.

  ‘It’ll be a great help having you to assist Miss Kitty,’ Mabel told her cheerily as she speared a second lamb chop onto her plate. ‘Miss Ruby takes forever to get ready, and I’ve been running between the two of ’em like a blue-arsed fly, not knowing if I was on me arse or me elbow.’

  ‘That’ll be enough of that kind of language at my table, if you don’t mind, miss,’ Cook scolded and Mabel winked at Maggie, who tried hard not to laugh.

  Maggie stared down at her plate thinking how very different the atmosphere was in this house compared to that in The Gables, where she’d had to watch her ps and qs every second of the day. Perhaps things really would start to improve from now on, after all.

  She looked slightly brighter when she met Kitty later that evening and asked, ‘So what do I have to do in the morning and what time would you like me to come to your room?’

  ‘I think the staff have their breakfast in the kitchen at about seven o’clock then perhaps about nine o’clock you could come to my room and run my bath and we’ll decide what I’m going to wear,’ Kitty suggested. ‘Then after I’ve had breakfast we’ll go shopping for some clothes for you.’

  She was pleased to see Maggie looking slightly better although her red eyes betrayed the fact that she had been crying. Inside, Kitty was still seething. The way she saw it, Mr Dawes should be punished for the despicable things he’d done, but she was aware that she must respect Maggie’s wishes and even if she had wanted to expose him for the pervert that he was, how would she go about it? Sunday and Tom still hadn’t replied to any of her letters so she was becoming resigned now to the fact that she never would. Oh well. She had Maggie now, and Richard of course, and the future looked rosy. Even so, deep inside she knew that she was only putting on a brave face. She felt betrayed and abandoned, and wondered how her dear family at Treetops could have forgotten her so very quickly because she still missed them every single day.

  The next morning, Maggie and Kitty set off for the shops bright and early. Ruby, as usual, was still in bed but she had left what the girls considered to be a very generous amount of money with Miss Fox to cover the cost of anything Maggie might need.

  ‘Spend it wisely now,’ Miss Fox warned and with a cheeky grin, Kitty promised her that they would.

  They took the omnibus to High Street Kensington and were soon browsing around the store called Derry & Toms, which had been opened in 1860 by Joseph Toms and his brother-in-law, Charles Derry.

  ‘I really don’t want anything fussy, I’m not a frilly sort of person,’ Maggie said stubbornly, turning her nose up at the dress Kitty was holding up for her to see.

  Eventually she chose two day dresses. To Kitty’s mind they were far too plain but Maggie seemed happy with them. One was a dar
k navy blue and the other was an unobtrusive pale silver grey.

  ‘The grey one will be ideal for about the house and the navy one will be nice when I have to accompany you to rehearsals,’ Maggie stated. They went on to find her a pair of sensible black shoes, the only sort she would look at, a good quality navy coat and hat, and a selection of underwear and nightwear.

  ‘We still have a considerable amount of money left,’ Kitty said, counting out the cash in her bag. ‘More than enough to get you a fancier dress for going out in.’

  ‘And where am I supposed to go, to wear a fancy dress?’ Maggie raised an eyebrow. ‘I only know you in London and I am a servant now, remember.’

  ‘That’s not strictly true. You know Arthur and his family, and Mrs Partridge has already said she’d love you to visit her on your days off. And as far as I’m concerned, you’re my companion – that sounds much better and you could wear a pretty dress when you accompany me to the theatres on my performance nights.’

  ‘I think all eyes will be on you while you’re onstage; I’ll be hidden away in your dressing room,’ Maggie pointed out and Kitty didn’t really have an argument for that. ‘Besides,’ her friend went on, ‘we’ve spent quite enough money already and I intend to pay back every penny from my wages.’

  ‘Well, at least we can go somewhere nice for lunch before we head for home.’

  Maggie sighed but gave in gracefully as Kitty led the way to a very expensive little eating-house that Ruby had taken her to.

  They arrived home mid-afternoon laden down with boxes and bags to find Ruby entertaining Richard and Max in the drawing room.

  ‘Ah, here you are, sweetheart,’ Ruby cried girlishly. She was wearing a gown that displayed so much cleavage, Kitty was in fear of her breasts spilling out of it, but she went in to join them as Maggie carried all her new things up to her room in several journeys. Kitty was still inwardly reeling from the terrible secret that Maggie had confided to her. Now she knew why the other girl had always looked so sad and haunted. But as ever, her heart began to beat faster at the sight of Richard and when he patted the sofa at the side of him she went to join him willingly.

  ‘Are you all ready for your big night tomorrow?’ Max enquired through a blue haze of cigar smoke and Kitty nodded.

  ‘Yes. I have a class tomorrow morning here, to run through my songs and to practise two new ones.’

  Kitty knew she still had a lot of stagecraft to learn, along with extending her repertoire, and her new teacher, Madame Sophie, was well known for bringing singers on. She had taught Ruby too, back in the day.

  ‘Excellent, that’s the ticket. And I have some more good news for you as well.’

  ‘Really?’ When Kitty gazed at him quizzically, he chuckled.

  ‘Richard here has been showing some of the photos he took of you around and there’s been keen interest from a modelling agency.’

  Kitty frowned. ‘What sort of a modelling agency?’

  ‘Why, clothes modelling, of course. You must have seen the models in magazines wearing the latest fashions?’

  She nodded. ‘Well, yes … but I thought I was going to be a singer?’

  ‘You are, my dear,’ he assured her. ‘But there’s no reason why the two careers can’t run side by side. There’s a lot of money to be made from modelling. What do you think of the idea?’

  Kitty noticed that Ruby was watching her avidly and she shrugged.

  ‘It would be me taking the photographs, of course,’ Richard piped up and suddenly the idea was more appealing.

  ‘Then in that case I don’t see why not,’ she said quickly. It would mean she got to spend a lot more time with him at least. The money would be secondary, although she knew that lessons with Madame Sophie did not come cheap.

  ‘Good, then go and take your coat off and we’ll talk about it more tomorrow evening after your performance,’ Max told her with a charming smile.

  Kitty thanked him, then dashed upstairs to tell Maggie the good news. The girl was already in her room waiting for her but when Kitty told her about the modelling idea, she immediately asked suspiciously: ‘Have they told you how much you’ll be earning?’

  Kitty merely giggled as she took her hat off and tossed it onto the bed. Maggie instantly picked it up to put it away.

  ‘I don’t have to worry about all that,’ she said, ignoring a momentary flicker of disquiet. ‘My aunt is looking after that side of things for me. She is my manager, you see.’

  ‘Is she now?’

  Kitty laughed again as she rang the bell for afternoon tea. She was as dry as a bone after all that shopping even after their stop for refreshment, but things just seemed to be getting better and better.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Later that afternoon, after she had had a short rest, Kitty left her room to find Maggie speaking to Miss Fox on the landing.

  ‘I think your friend has been very sensible in her choice of clothes,’ Miss Fox said approvingly. ‘But now I really must get on.’

  With that she left them, and taking Maggie’s hand Kitty dragged her into her bedroom. She was still stinging slightly about Maggie’s muted response to her possible modelling prospects, but then Maggie was so cautious it was sometimes hard to believe that they were of a similar age. But then Kitty supposed that after what Maggie had been through she was bound to be wary of men, so she made allowances for her.

  She was becoming accustomed to being waited on now though, and was actually beginning to quite enjoy it.

  ‘So what sort of clothes did this Richard say you might be modelling then?’ Maggie asked once they were alone. It was clearly preying on her mind.

  ‘I’m not sure yet,’ Kitty replied patiently. ‘Dresses and such, I should imagine. Oh, it’ll be lovely to be decked out in the very latest fashions and Richard says—’

  ‘You seem to be very in awe of this Richard. How old is he?’ Maggie interrupted as she hung Kitty’s coat neatly away in the wardrobe.

  Kitty was exasperated. ‘Well, I don’t know! I haven’t asked him. About thirtyish, I should imagine.’

  ‘Good. He’s too old to be romantically interested in you then.’

  Kitty flushed as she sat at her dressing table and tidied her hair in the mirror. ‘He’s not that much older than me,’ she muttered sullenly and alarm bells went off in Maggie’s head. ‘In London you often see younger women on the arms of older men.’

  ‘Well, if you ask me that’s rather dangerous.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Maggie shrugged. ‘Older men prey on younger women and I’d hate him to take advantage of you.’

  ‘Oh, Maggie, you sound just like Miss Fox,’ Kitty sighed. ‘On a different subject, I think I might get changed for dinner. Why don’t you go do the same? You could wear one of your new dresses.’

  But the other girl shook her head, saying, ‘If you don’t need me for anything, I think I’ll pop down to the kitchen and see if Cook needs any help.’

  ‘But you’re not paid to do that sort of work, you’re paid to be my companion,’ Kitty argued.

  ‘Even so, you know what they say, idle hands make work for the devil and I’d rather keep busy.’ And with that Maggie left, leaving Kitty to gaze after her.

  The following morning, after Madame Sophie had gone, Kitty ran upstairs. Maggie was laying her clothes out ready for the evening’s performance – although Kitty wouldn’t change into them until she was in her dressing room at the theatre. Max had promised to take them there in his car and Kitty was starry-eyed.

  ‘You’ll have to help me with my stage make-up. Have you ever done anything like that before?’ she asked Maggie.

  Maggie snorted. ‘When would I have needed anything like that back in Witherley? The furthest we ever ventured was to church or into town occasionally. It shouldn’t be a problem though. How hard can it be to put a bit of make-up on?’

  ‘But it’s not ordinary make-up. It’s very thick and looks quite horrible close to, although it look
s good to the audience under the stage lights.’

  ‘I’m sure we’ll manage.’ Maggie folded Kitty’s new gown carefully into a long clothes bag then told her, ‘That’s about it then. We’re all ready for later, but what do you want to do until then?’

  ‘I know – let’s go on a river cruise. We’ve got a few hours. I can point out some places of interest to you from the boat.’

  Maggie seemed quite taken with that idea and shortly after, the two girls set out for Wandsworth Bridge, with Maggie looking very prim and proper in her new grey dress and Kitty in a much more stylish plum-coloured two-piece outfit. They joined the queue for a tour boat and were soon installed in seats on the deck of the Chelsea Belle. The hours slipped away and for the first time since they had been reunited, Kitty was pleased to see that Maggie seemed to be a little more light-hearted. As they cruised along the Thames, the guide pointed out the Tower of London and the girls discussed how terrifying it must have been for all the poor prisoners who had been incarcerated there in days gone by.

  Once the cruise was over they took the Underground back to Chelsea. It was the first time either of them had dared to try it out, and each was so glad at the reassuring company of the other. However, it was mid-afternoon now, and Maggie pointed out that Kitty should have a nice hot bath and rest before her performance that evening.

  They were still chatting animatedly about their outing and the places they had seen when they arrived back at Brunswick Villa, but their happy mood was interrupted when Ruby stormed out of the drawing room and said in a voice shaking with rage: ‘Just where the hell have you been all day? I was beginning to think you’d forgotten all about your performance this evening!’

  Kitty had never seen her angry before and her smile vanished. ‘We – I wanted to show Maggie around. And of course I haven’t forgotten about this evening. We’re back in good time, aren’t we?’

  Ruby swallowed and visibly brought herself under control. Fixing a smile on her face, she was suddenly all sweetness and light again. ‘Of course you haven’t. Forgive me, darling. It’s just that I get worried when I don’t know where you are.’