The man eyed them up and down. ‘We don’t have any vacancies at the moment.’
Annie watched him, her lip curling indignantly. ‘Thank you for that information but we already work here.’
The man looked at them again. ‘I can assure you I know everyone that works here and I certainly don’t know you two.’
Annie clenched her lips tight.
Rose could feel her temple throbbing. ‘Might I suggest you find Stan, I mean Mr Tyler, and Kitty Smythe because I’m sure they will want to see at least one of us.’
The man didn’t move for a moment, his indecision running over his face.
Annie pasted on her best smile. ‘It might have helped if you’d asked us for our names before making assumptions about us.’
The man bowed his head slightly. ‘Perhaps we need to start again.’
The door from the stalls swung open.
‘Annie, you’re back, how wonderful.’ Stan beamed as he strode across the foyer. ‘It’s lovely to see you too, Rose.’ He put his arm around Annie and gave her a hug.
Annie was thrown against his chest, his woollen jumper soft against her cheeks.
Stan stepped back and studied Annie. ‘How are you feeling? I was so sorry to hear about your ma.’
Annie nodded. ‘I didn’t realise you knew it was my mother. I’m sorry, I should have written to you to let you know how things were but to be honest, with the family situation, I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back.’
Stan raised his eyebrows. ‘You might not have known but Peter did, and he came to see us. I believe Dorothy wrote to Kitty as well, she told her you would be back but sent her apologies because she wouldn’t be returning.’ He moved aside and gave Rose a hug too before stepping back smiling.
The older man stood and watched them all; he had clearly made a mistake.
Annie shook her head. ‘I don’t know how she knew… but I suppose it doesn’t matter now because I’m here.’ She paused for a moment. ‘It turned out Dorothy is my aunt so she’s staying at home with my father and grandfather. I can’t believe we were working together for all those months and I didn’t know who she was.’
‘One thing you learn in life is that people only tell you what they want you to know.’ Stan smiled. ‘I’m so pleased to see you both, and Kitty is going to be thrilled.’ He looked across at the older man that hadn’t moved away. ‘I take it you got the message that Matthew Harris has been let go?’
Annie nodded.
Stan frowned and stuffed his hands inside his trouser pockets. ‘That’s good, I didn’t want you worrying about coming back, and I certainly won’t be recommending him for work.’ He turned again to look at the man beside him. ‘I see you’ve met our new Musical Director.’
Rose chuckled. ‘I wouldn’t go that far, he was in the process of throwing us out.’
The older man raised his eyebrows. ‘I wouldn’t say that, but yes I didn’t ask their names or who they wanted to see, so I must apologise for my rudeness.’
Stan laughed and swung his arm out. ‘Well, it’s good to see you and Mr Atwell have met, even if it does sound like you have some making up to do, George.’ He looked down at Rose’s case. ‘I see you’ve come straight here from the station so let me show you where everything is while George gets back to his piano.’
George looked sheepish at the girls. ‘Please accept my apology and I hope it hasn’t left any bad feeling.’
Annie smiled at him. ‘Don’t worry, Mr Atwell, these things happen.’
‘Please call me George.’
Annie glanced over at Stan before looking back. ‘Thank you but I would prefer to be respectful and use your full name.’
Mr Atwell raised his eyebrows. ‘And what do I call you both?’
Rose chuckled. ‘Just Annie and Rose will do.’
Stan nodded; he turned and walked back towards the door to the stalls. ‘Come on then you two, Kitty is going to be one happy woman when she sees you.’
Annie giggled. ‘I have missed her. I never thought I would be this happy to be back, especially in light of everything that’s happened.’
Stan led them through a door marked Private, along a corridor and down some stairs. Disinfectant hung in the air, giving it a recently cleaned smell. He finally came to a halt outside a closed door. He gave a gentle knock and called out, ‘It’s Stan.’
Kitty’s familiar voice rang out. ‘Come in.’
Stan turned and beamed at the girls. ‘Ready?’
Rose and Annie nodded.
Stan turned the handle, the girls waited for the expected squeaks but none came, he pushed the door open wide. ‘I have a surprise for you.’
Kitty looked up from the papers that were on her lap. ‘Ooh, I love a surprise.’
Stan moved aside to allow the girls to walk in.
Kitty squealed with delight, simultaneously throwing her papers down onto the sofa. ‘Oh my goodness, I was hoping you would come back as Dorothy promised.’ She jumped up and ran at the girls throwing an arm around each. ‘This has made my day, you have no idea how pleased I am to see you.’ She leant back and stared at Annie. ‘You don’t look too bad all things considered.’
Stan chuckled. ‘I think that’s meant to be a compliment.’ He sat himself down on the chaise longue. ‘They’ve met George Atwell. I think he tried to throw them out.’ He groaned.
Kitty was giggling. ‘He’s all right. I told Stan to hire an ugly old man who is more concerned about his music than anything else.’
The girls laughed.
Kitty hugged Annie again. ‘He gets on my nerves a little but he’s good and there’s no nonsense about him, which is what we want. I’m so glad that business with Matthew didn’t put you off coming back.’ She stepped back again and waved her arms around. ‘Look how tidy this room is. Haven’t I been a good girl?’
Annie smiled as she peered around the room, deciding all the dressing rooms in all the theatres must look alike. ‘It is extraordinarily tidy.’
Stan laughed. ‘No brandy either. In fact, she even threw some wine down the sink the other day.’
Kitty raised her eyebrows. ‘Take no notice of Stan, I don’t make a habit of tipping any alcohol down the sink but I’m not buying it now.’
Stan laughed. ‘Are you going to take all the credit or are you going to tell the truth?’
Kitty scowled at him. ‘Well, I did want Annie to think well of me for a little while longer.’
Annie giggled. ‘I do think well of you. Do you know what’s the best thing about this room, and it’s not the tidiness?’
Kitty looked around her and shook her head.
Annie walked over to the dressing table and picked up the framed photograph. ‘This, I’m so pleased you have it out for all to see.’ She looked over at Rose and turned the photograph around for her to see. ‘This is Kitty, when she was a child.’
Rose stepped forward to take the photo. ‘What a lovely picture, you’re beautiful and you look so happy.’
Annie nodded before turning back to Kitty. ‘So, what do you have to tell me?’
Kitty tilted her head and looked a little sheepish. ‘Well, I cannot tell a lie, it isn’t me that has kept the room tidy. I’ve had help.’
22
Annie’s happiness was suddenly whipped away. ‘Have you replaced me? I… I understand if you have, after all I did just disappear without warning.’ She blinked rapidly, trying to stop her tears from falling.
Kitty stepped forward. ‘No, darling, you can’t be replaced, you’re like the family I never had. Stan managed to track down the dresser for me, you know the one I wrongly sacked.’ She looked over at him and smiled.
Relief spread across Annie’s face as she watched the two of them give each other a lingering look. What was that look, was it love? Annie looked at Rose; did she also feel like they were intruding on something?
Rose shrugged, and gazed back at the photograph.
Kitty suddenly pulled away from whatever held
them transfixed. ‘Anyway, to cut a long story short, he found her. I apologised for not believing her and she needed a job for a couple of weeks so I asked her to be my dresser while you were away.’
Annie felt a rush of jealousy course through her body. Colour filled her cheeks.
‘Don’t worry; she wasn’t a patch on you. As I said, you are irreplaceable. However, what was good is that I got to put right the wrong that I did and that’s all thanks to you and Stan.’ She smiled. ‘I quite like being nice to people.’
Annie laughed, pulling her eyes away from them both. ‘She certainly did a good job for you.’
Kitty smiled. ‘She did but she didn’t make coffee as good as you, so I couldn’t have kept her.’
Rose put the photograph back on the dressing table before looking across at Stan. ‘Thank you for keeping our jobs for us, we both really appreciate it.’
Kitty smiled. ‘I wouldn’t have had it any other way, and actually it was worth it just to upset Miss hoity-toity Hetherington.’
Stan stood up. ‘Talking of which I had better show you, Rose, where the sewing room is. Whether Jane likes you or not, I’m sure she will be glad to have you back.’
Rose picked up her case ready to follow Stan.
Kitty waved her hand at Rose. ‘Leave your case here for now, you can collect it on the way back.’ She looked over at Annie. ‘Shall I make you a cup of tea?’
Annie smiled. ‘Is that a hint?’ She watched Stan and Rose quietly leave the room before glancing back at Kitty. ‘Is there any news? You know, have I missed anything exciting?’
Kitty sat back down on the chaise longue and picked up her papers. ‘I don’t think so. I’m just reading through some lines but other than that I do believe it’s all as it was when you left, except without Matthew Harris, of course.’
Annie tilted her head as she watched Kitty look busy. ‘If there’s definitely no news, I might as well put the kettle on then.’ She walked over to the sink and turned on the tap, water spraying everywhere. She quickly turned it off again. ‘Do they make these taps like this on purpose? I always get so wet and all I want to do is fill up the kettle.’ She dabbed at her blouse with a towel that was sitting on the side.
Kitty looked over. ‘Try turning it on slowly.’
Annie put the towel down and picked up the kettle and tried again. At first the water trickled into it, before the pipe clunked and the water suddenly splattered out into the kettle. ‘Am I making tea or coffee?’
‘Coffee for me, please.’
Annie turned to face Kitty. ‘You know it feels like I’ve been gone ages so I thought I would have missed so much.’
Kitty stood up and elegantly walked to the door to her room and closed it. ‘All right, I shall tell you.’
Annie’s eyes lit up. ‘Tell me what?’
Kitty’s eyes screwed up. ‘As if you didn’t know. Mind you, I don’t know how you do because no one else does.’
Annie kept her eyes firmly fixed on Kitty. ‘Know what?’
Kitty’s face lit up. ‘If I tell you, it must stay between us.’
‘Of course.’
Kitty was almost fit to burst. ‘Stan has asked me to marry him.’
Annie couldn’t control the smile that spread across her face. ‘I knew it. I knew it. I take it you said yes?’
‘Once I got over the shock and I thought about how much he’s been in my life, looking after me without any fuss or drama, I couldn’t say no.’ Kitty beamed. ‘I’m so excited. I owe everything to you, thank you.’ She jumped up and once again embraced Annie.
Annie patted her back. ‘I am absolutely over the moon for you but it’s not all thanks to me at all.’
Kitty stepped back shaking her head. ‘Firstly, you got me off the brandy. Secondly, you spoke to me as a person, you were always honest with me and, thirdly, probably the most important one, you never asked for anything in return.’
Annie could feel her eyes welling up. ‘And neither did Stan.’
Kitty beamed. ‘Exactly.’
‘But do you love him? It would be wrong to marry someone who is head over heels about you if you don’t feel the same.’
Kitty looked down at her hands, bare of any jewellery. ‘You know I wasn’t sure at first, mainly because he’s been in the background for so long, but the more I thought about it the more I realised that if I didn’t say yes to marrying him and he disappeared out of my life then I would miss him beyond belief.’ She looked up. ‘I had just never thought of us as a couple until not long before you got locked in the cupboard.’
Annie beamed. ‘I’m thrilled for you both, many congratulations.’
Kitty frowned for a split second. ‘Are you sure? You can tell me if you think I’m doing the wrong thing.’
Annie shook her head. ‘On the contrary, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to break his heart and you were doing it for the right reasons.’
Kitty suddenly looked very serious. ‘He’s too kind for me to do that.’
Annie smiled. ‘He is, and you just have to remember that in the future. Have you set a date?’
‘No, there’s no rush. It’s just lovely to know it’s going to happen.’
*
Rose looked out of the dining room window. ‘It’s strange being in the house without Mr Bradshaw and Joyce. I wonder what’s keeping her.’
Annie took another bauble off the Christmas tree. ‘I expect she’s catching up with Simon.’ She carefully placed the bauble in a box. ‘Come and help get the decorations off this tree, all the pine needles have dropped onto the floor. This should have been done weeks ago, I’m surprised Joyce didn’t do it before she came up home.’
Rose walked over and flopped down onto the floor. ‘I expect she didn’t give it a thought. Remember they didn’t have a tree up for years.’
‘No, well, if we can get this done it will be a good thing.’
They both worked away quietly, each locked in their own thoughts for a few minutes.
Annie looked up from the bauble she was wrapping in newspaper. ‘It was strange seeing Peter and Dorothy in my home.’
Rose smiled. ‘I can’t believe that Dorothy is your aunt and we didn’t even realise it, but it does explain why Arthur kept looking at you. There’s definitely a family likeness there.’
Annie chuckled. ‘You never noticed anything until we were told, so there couldn’t be that much of a likeness.’
Rose smiled. ‘That’s true, but there was enough for Arthur to notice. I told you it was something about you that caused his attitude to change.’
‘It’s probably just as well we didn’t know Dot was his wife, because I’m sure we would have told Joyce and put our foot in it, causing all kinds of commotion.’
‘I shall miss Dot at work.’ Rose reached up and took another bauble off the tree. She stared at it for a moment. ‘I hope they do manage to get together again especially if it was only their grief that tore them apart.’ She turned the glass ornament in her hand. ‘These are quite beautiful.’
Annie gave her an anxious look. ‘For goodness sake don’t drop it.’
‘I won’t.’ Rose put it on the paper and started wrapping it up. ‘Now we are on our own, what did you really think about Peter turning up at your home?’
Annie immediately felt the colour rise in her cheeks. ‘I was shocked because he was the last person I expected to see. In fact, I had been trying to come to terms with not coming back to London and not seeing him anymore.’ Her eyes glistened. ‘I remember him saying on Westminster Bridge something about life taking over sometimes and decisions are made for you.’
‘So, is it love then? Should we be planning a wedding?’
‘All I know is the thought of not seeing him again upset me but it’s too soon to be talking weddings. We haven’t even kissed yet.’
‘Well, you need to sort that out.’ Rose’s smile gradually faded. ‘You do know your ma would have approved of Peter and you living your life.’
> Annie could feel her throat tighten. ‘I know. I can’t believe I’m never going to see her again.’
Rose reached out and covered Annie’s hand with her own. ‘She’s in your heart so she’ll always be with you, and don’t forget that if you’re a good girl you will meet her again one day.’ She smiled. ‘That’s where it all falls down for me, being a good girl.’
Annie smiled. ‘You’re not as bad as you make out. Talking of which, I haven’t asked you how your family are?’
Rose’s lips clenched. ‘Apart from the disbelief at your mother passing away so unexpectedly, they were fine.’
‘How about Sam?’
Rose smiled. ‘I don’t want to break your heart but he’s been on a few dates with Fran. I think he’s quite smitten with her.’
‘I know. Sam and I had a long chat after ma’s funeral; he wanted me to hear it from him. He apologised for everything, as did I, but he said I’d been right to call it all off and follow my dream. He told me about Fran and how she wanted the same things he did. It was Fran who made him realise that he was trying to do the same thing, except his dream was a farm of his own. We hugged, I was so happy for him.’ Annie smiled. ‘I didn’t want to be the girl that broke his heart.’
Rose chuckled. ‘No, I think you’re all right there.’
The front door thudded shut. The girls turned to look towards the dining room door.
‘It’s only me.’
The girls smiled at each other. Joyce was back. ‘Hello, you,’ they chorused.
Joyce wandered in, still unbuttoning her coat as she walked through the doorway. She watched them kneeling on the floor wrapping the Christmas decorations in paper. ‘I’m so sorry, I should have done that before I left to come and see you.’
Annie tilted her head. ‘That’s all right. It’s good to be reminded how beautiful they are.’
Joyce nodded. ‘Goodness knows where we’ll be next Christmas. Living on the street I expect.’
Rose looked at Joyce frowning at the tree. ‘Don’t worry, Joyce, it will all come right in the end. You just have to keep the faith.’
Joyce shrugged. ‘Forgive me, but mine has been shaken a bit in the last few years.’
a heartwarming WW1 saga about love and friendship (The West End Girls Book 1) Page 32