by June Tate
When she finished her act, she pretended not to see Ned’s wave and walked towards the bar. Soon he was standing beside her. He placed a hand around her waist and she angrily pushed it away. ‘I told you once before I don’t like being mauled!’
Ignoring her comment he said, ‘How would you like to work for me?’
Lily wasn’t expecting this. ‘What?’
The Chief Steward looked around the club. ‘I wouldn’t mind a little place like this. Set me up nicely for my retirement. Perhaps Vittorio would sell it to me.’
She burst out laughing. ‘This place isn’t for sale, Mr Saunders, and I would rather starve on the street than work for you.’
He watched her walk away, his body rigid with anger. ‘Little jumped-up bitch!’ he muttered under his breath.
Upstairs, Lily walked into the bedroom, tired out and longing just to creep into bed and sleep. She prayed that Vittorio would be as tired. Laid out on the bed was an exquisite ivory-coloured nightdress and matching negligée. She stood, staring with disbelief and delight, and inspected the gowns, which were obviously expensive.
She ran a bath and soaked in the hot water, scented with crystals. What a very strange man Vittorio was, she mused. But lately he seemed to have changed towards her. After that night when he’d taken her so roughly, he’d become more gentle. She knew she wasn’t in love with him, but there was something indefinable between them. She respected him and they shared a deep affection. In business he might be a hard man, but not with her. In their own way, they were happy together.
She dried herself, then slipped into the nightdress and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The satin clung to her body, emphasizing her curves. The thin straps topped a lace bodice which showed the soft contours of her breasts. She slipped on the negligée as the bedroom door opened.
Turning, she looked shyly at Vittorio as he walked towards her. He undid his tie, took off his jacket and, to her surprise, threw it casually over the back of the chair. He removed his shirt, then putting out his hand, slowly drew her into his arms.
‘You look adorable, my dear,’ he said in a deep husky voice.
‘I don’t know what to say, Vittorio. I know you usually like me to wear black when I’m in bed.’
He drew her closer. ‘You look tantalising in black, but tonight I wanted you to look more virginal. Don’t say anything. Just kiss me.’
Coiling her arms around his neck, she put her lips softly on his. He responded gently, moving his mouth over hers, exploring the contours of her lips. His hands caressed her back, pressing her body into his.
She ran her fingers through his hair, over his bare chest, feeling the taut muscles there, returning his kisses until she felt her skin quiver at his touch.
He released her, and slipped the negligée from her shoulders. As it fell to the floor, he took her hand and led her over to the bed. Lily lay waiting, wondering what was to happen next, but Vittorio just looked at her as he stroked her soft breasts.
She was unnerved. What was going on here tonight? Vittorio had never been quite like this before. There was a different look in his eyes.
He held her closer. ‘You know, Lily darling, I’m going to really miss being around you. I didn’t realise how much until tonight.’
‘You won’t be far away. I’ve only to walk upstairs to the office.’
‘It’s not the same, but I don’t have a choice. Rachel is right – with me about, the club doesn’t have a chance.’
He bent his head to kiss her again. This time Lily could feel the passion in him as he teased her with his tongue. His hand slipped beneath her gown.
‘Shall I take it off?’ she asked breathlessly.
He shook his head. ‘Not yet. I love the feel of the material, it’s very erotic.’
As they kissed, Lily thought she would go crazy with the need for him. His fingers touched all the places that set her on fire, making her yearn for him to be inside her.
‘Now! Now!’ she begged him, but he made her wait. Then he was astride her, entering her, slowly. She arched her back to meet him, and clung to him with all her strength and longing.
At the moment of climax, Vittorio did not withdraw. With a deep moan, he shuddered and came inside her. He lay on top of her, smothering her face with kisses. ‘Lily, oh Lily,’ he murmured. Their bodies still entwined, he rolled over, pulling her on top of him.
She smoothed his forehead, feeling the beads of sweat on her palms. Looking at him she asked, ‘What is it? Tonight was different. You were different. You didn’t withdraw as you usually do.’
‘You’re mine and I wanted to be a part of you. For us to be one. Truly. I’ll kill any man who tries to come between us. You know that, don’t you?’
‘Don’t be foolish, darling. I don’t want anyone else.’
Lying in his arms, Lily relished her feeling of contentment. She had spoken the truth, she realised; she didn’t want anyone else, not any more. Tom was no longer the man of her dreams. He would always have a place in her heart, but that place belonged in the past.
She’d given herself willingly to Vittorio. Wantonly. Enjoying every moment. Now she snuggled against him and fingered the square emerald and diamond ring hanging on the chain around his neck. ‘Tell me about your mother, Vittorio.’
He looked at her with a tender expression in his eyes. ‘She was the one person I’ve ever loved. She was warm and tender. You would have liked her, Lily.’ He paused, lost in thought. ‘She died when I was five. It’s a terrible thing for a child to lose his mother.’
Lily held him close. This was the first time he’d ever let down his defences and told her anything about himself. And sad though it must have been for him, her own mother had never loved her, so in a way, he’d been lucky. At least he had the memory to cherish, which was more than she did.
Chapter Twenty-One
It took almost six weeks to complete the redecoration of the upstairs rooms of the club, but Lily and Vittorio were both pleased with the result. The décor was exclusive and tasteful, which was ideal for their purpose. In the publicity released about the change of ownership, it was clearly stated that Vittorio Teglia had sold the business, and would have nothing more to do with running the Club Valletta. It had also taken several weeks for Rachel and Vittorio to reach an agreement about the price she should pay for a share of the club.
‘Christ, Rachel,’ he complained, running a hand through his thick dark hair. ‘You are a hard woman to do business with.’
She looked at him calmly. ‘So what’s so difficult? If you had listened to me from the beginning, this could all have been sorted out days ago.’
‘Yes … to your advantage, if you’d had your way. Now it’s settled, to all intents and purposes, you and Lily have gone into a partnership with a hotel company backing you. No one will be able to trace it to me – I’ve made sure of that. You and Lily will get forty per cent of the profits between you, and the rest will be paid into the company account. The public, however, don’t know the details. As far as they are concerned, you are the main shareholders.’
He poured them both a drink and handing Rachel a glass, he said, ‘Here’s to our success. We’d better call Lily in and give her the good news.’
Lily was delighted and excited. ‘I can’t believe it. But thank goodness I don’t have the books to worry about. That would be too much.’
Before Vittorio had the chance to say anything, Rachel put in: ‘I don’t mind doing them.’
The Maltese looked across at her. ‘No!’ he said. ‘I’ll be keeping them as I’ve always done. You have only purchased a small share, Rachel – you seem to forget that. I’ll keep a copy for you to see at any time, and each month you’ll be given a statement of the figures, OK?’
She shook her head in admiration. ‘My life, you’ve got it all worked out, haven’t you?’
‘Of course I have.’ Turning to Lily he said, ‘In time, I’ll teach you how to do them. But for now, you’ve got enough on your pl
ate. The rest you’ll learn later.’
‘It’s all a bit much to take in.’
‘The important thing in business,’ Vittorio told her, ‘is the costing of it all. We have to work within a budget or we’ll be in trouble. Isn’t that right, Rachel?’
‘It’s the secret of success.’ She smiled benignly at them. ‘We are all starting out on a new road – for you, my friend, even more so.’ She grinned wickedly at Vittorio. ‘A legitimate business, already! Who’d have thought it?’
‘I just hope that the police will. I don’t want any trouble from them.’ He lifted his glass. ‘To a new way of life.’
Rachel and Lily planned advertising posters to be distributed around the town and advertisements to be run in the local paper, declaring that the Club Valletta was under new management. Vittorio had approved their idea and encouraged them. He was no longer in the building during the day, but occupied with setting up and staffing his new finance business in the centre of Southampton.
Lily was thankful that, in the restaurant, the ordering of supplies remained in the chef’s capable hands, while the dining room also remained the responsibility of the friendly head waiter. She spoke to both of them, laying out her hopes for their future. She had a happy knack for motivating people, filling them with the same enthusiasm as herself. There was a new air of excitement about the place.
Sandy, who by now was established as the day-time pianist, remarked on it when he saw Lily. ‘You know, darling, I think this place is really going to take off.’
‘Do you think so?’ Lily said eagerly. ‘I do hope you’re right.’
He patted her hand. ‘You haven’t failed yet, my dear. Not since I’ve known you.’
‘And what about you, Sandy? Are you happy here?’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Sweetie, I’m in seventh heaven. The barman and I are having a torrid affair.’
‘Sandy!’ she exclaimed, and burst out laughing.
He put his fingers to his lips. ‘Shh. It’s all very cloak and dagger. We both want to be discreet. We don’t want The Maltese to find out.’
‘He’d better not,’ she warned.
‘There’s no need to worry. Neither of us can do without the money. He’s a nice boy though, don’t you think?’ Sandy was obviously smitten.
‘I don’t want to hear. I don’t know anything about it, understand?’ she said as she walked away, shaking her head.
There was to be a special gala evening to celebrate the grand opening of the revamped Club and Hotel Valletta. Lily hired various vaudeville acts to appear, and planned to end the show with her own performance. The preparation was hard work, but Lily enjoyed it, apart from the fact that she’d not been feeling at her best lately. She’d had one or two occasions when she thought she’d faint away and now she was feeling nauseous in the mornings.
The day before the opening, Lily received two visitors. The first was Detective Inspector Chadwick. He looked around the dining room then gazed at Lily suspiciously. ‘Looks very nice, Miss Pickford. And where does our friend Vittorio Teglia fit into all this?’
‘Mr Teglia has sold out to Rachel Cohen,’ she lied. ‘She and I are partners.’
‘So I’ve been told, but you don’t expect me to believe that The Maltese doesn’t have a finger in this pie somewhere.’
With a haughty look she said, ‘I don’t care what you think, Inspector. Mrs Cohen has a legally signed bill of sale.’
He walked towards the door. ‘I would like to believe you, Lily. But we’ll be keeping an eye on things to make sure.’
‘Any time you want to call in, please do so. I can give you my word this place is being run on the right lines.’
‘Does this mean that you and Mr Teglia have terminated your relationship then?’
‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no. We are still close. But his business and mine are no longer connected.’
‘Mmm,’ he said. ‘That makes me very nervous. I’d like to see you succeed because I think, despite your relationship with Teglia, that you’re a decent woman. Just make sure you keep your nose clean, all right?’
No sooner had he left, than Ned Saunders put in an appearance, demanding to see her. Not wanting to be in the confines of the office with the lecherous Chief Steward, she went to see him in the bar.
The predatory look in his eye made her skin crawl.
‘So … no wonder you told me the club wasn’t for sale. You already knew that Vittorio had sold out. Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘It was none of your business!’ she retorted.
‘Sparky little thing, aren’t you? Well, me and your old man had a business arrangement. When I’m in port I supply him with meat and spirits and any other things that might be on offer. I assume that arrangement will stand?’
She looked at him coldly. ‘Then you assume wrong, Mr Saunders. I have made my own arrangements and I’m afraid you don’t fit in with them at all.’
He stood there, blustering with anger. ‘What do you mean? It’s first-class goods!’
‘I run this business on a strictly legitimate basis. Your goods have no place here any more.’
His mouth narrowed. ‘You little whore. To think I was going to offer to take you on too!’
Lily started to laugh, which made him even more angry. ‘You think I’d look twice at you? My, what an inflated idea you have of your own importance. You have nothing to offer me that I would be the least bit interested in, thank you. Now, I’m a busy woman and I must ask you to leave.’ She told the barman to show him to the door.
Then she bolted to the ladies’ room, where she was violently sick.
That evening, she told Vittorio that Ned would no longer be doing business with them.
‘What? Has something happened to him?’
‘No. I told him his goods were no longer required.’
‘You did what?’ He was furious.
Lily stood her ground. ‘How can we be legitimate and take his dodgy gear?’
‘You never make these kind of decisions unless you consult with me first. Do I make myself clear?’
Lily said quietly, ‘He was angry that he didn’t know the club was for sale. He wanted to take it on … and me with it.’
‘He what?’ Vittorio’s face was pinched with anger.
‘He’s always fancied me from the first day I was here. You know that. Remember when we all had lunch together?’
‘Yes. I remember.’
‘When he touched me under the table?’ she added, pushing her point home. Making sure that Vittorio would never again accommodate Ned. ‘Now do you understand why I sent him packing? He would always be pestering me when you weren’t around. You wouldn’t like that, Vittorio, would you?’
He glared across the desk at her. ‘No, I wouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean you can take over like this. Don’t ever do anything like this again without you ask me first, all right?’
‘Of course.’ Smiling inwardly with triumph, she left him alone to fume.
At last it was opening night. Outside, the name of the club was emblazoned in lights. A smartly uniformed doorman stood ready. As Lily had predicted, he gave an air of respectability and look of class to the place.
People soon started to arrive. She noticed that there were not many ladies in the gathering but hoped that eventually, as the clients realised that this truly was to be a legal establishment, they would feel free to bring their womenfolk.
Rachel, beautifully gowned, stood at the bar, her face flushed with excitement. As the dining room began to fill up and Harry’s band played quietly in the background, waiters scurried about taking orders. Rachel turned to Lily, who had paused beside her, and said, ‘This is only the beginning, my dear. In a month or two, there will be a waiting list to book a table here, you see if there isn’t.’ She stared at Lily with a worried frown. ‘Are you all right, darling?’
Lily dabbed at her top lip with a lace-trimmed handkerchief. ‘I’m fine, why do you ask?’
Shaking her head, Rachel said, ‘You look a bit pale.’
‘It’s the excitement, that’s all.’ She walked away and began to work the tables, seeing that the clients were comfortable and satisfied.
Rachel watched her carefully, a knowing look in her eyes.
As she spoke to the clients Lily was aware of a few whispers from the females. She heard the words ‘mistress’ and ‘Maltese’ murmured in conversation, but she didn’t let this faze her at all. She just smiled at the women and took note of the way they admired her gown and her jewels. There were looks of envy from some and hostility from others. None of this gave her a moment’s worry. She was not a fool and knew her notoriety would work more in her favour than against. There would be a few who disapproved, but enough of them would be fascinated to swell the business, until the time came when it wasn’t important any longer. People would come because the food was excellent and the entertainment first class. And expensive – which would make it select.
As Lily took the stage to thunderous applause, she looked across at Harry, the band leader, and winked. Within the first few bars of her song, she knew she had the punters in the palm of her hand. Many newcomers were surprised at the sweetness and purity of her voice. She thought that perhaps a few might have expected lewdness, knowing her position in life. But if so, instead of being disappointed, they were won over by her professionalism and her talent.
She made a short speech as her act came to an end, thanking them for coming to the opening night and hoping they would be returning as regular clients.
After closing, Lily and Rachel, exhausted after the long night, sat with Vittorio in the office, counting the takings.
Rachel’s eyes were shining. ‘We’ve done really well, Lily.’ Turning to Vittorio she said, ‘You should be very happy.’
He gave his enigmatic smile. ‘I am. You did well, Lily. I watched you, swanning around the customers. I must say they all looked very satisfied. Good. It’s an excellent start. Do you want me to call a taxi, Rachel? You must be tired.’