The Songbird

by Val Wood

  ‘Alone am I, and meant to be – with no-one in the world to love just me

  My flame is gold, my heart is true – who will love me? No, not you.

  My kiss is warm – my passion tender but without true love –

  Light fades and lessens.

  It ebbs and wanes – and so – expiry –

  No more to glimpse its radiant glory.’

  Her light dimmed and she drifted flickering and fluttering like a spent candle flame until the Good Spirit arrived just in time and begged the children in the audience to save the Lambent Flame as she had been saved by her. ‘Tell her you love her,’ she begged. ‘Keep her light shining or we are all lost.’

  The children shouted and screamed. ‘We love you, Lambent Flame! Come back! Come back!’

  The stage lights were dimmed and the flame grew brighter as the spotlight, powered by the newest gas arrangements, flickered from yellow to white. Then came a flash and the Lambent Flame appeared in all her shining glory to the cheers of the audience.

  Down in the stalls, just out of the sight of the stage performers, Poppy’s father sat wiping his eyes and blowing his nose. He sniffed and took a breath. ‘Marvellous, isn’t she, Nan? Best of ’em all, even them seasoned players.’ He turned to her. ‘I wish – I just wish—’

  Nan patted his arm. ‘I know,’ she said softly. ‘You wish that Mary was here to see her. She would have been very proud.’

  Joshua swallowed and with the rest of the audience rose to his feet to applaud the company as they took their final bow. ‘I was going to say Tommy. I wish he was here. He knows nothing of any of this. He’d gone before Poppy started on her career.’

  Nan gave a vague smile and nodded, but before she could comment, Joshua went on, ‘Shame that Mattie couldn’t have come with us. Pity she couldn’t get ’time off. She’d have enjoyed it.’ He took his timepiece out of his waistcoat pocket and looked at it. ‘It’s onny just gone nine. She’d have been back at work by half past.’

  They eased their way out of the auditorium and Nan said, ‘Let’s wait for Poppy. We can walk back with her.’

  ‘She’ll be ages,’ Joshua said. ‘There’s sure to be folks waiting to talk to her.’

  ‘You should go backstage,’ Nan said urgently. ‘She’ll be expecting you. She’ll be disappointed if you don’t.’

  ‘I ought to get back to ’shop,’ he said worriedly. ‘I’ve a doubt in my mind about Lena and Albert. There’s summat not quite right.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Nan assured him. ‘Seeing Poppy is what is important right now. And,’ she added, ‘mebbe some of ’cast will come back for coffee.’

  ‘Mm,’ he said doubtfully. ‘If Lena hasn’t turned off ’coffee and shut up for ’night.’

  Nan’s mouth curved into a smile, but she put her hand up to hide it. ‘Never mind just this once,’ she urged, and edged him towards the stage door. ‘You can make up for it.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he said dismally. ‘It might be too late. I’ve lost a lot of customers. I’m going to have to rethink, Nan. I’m in a quandary. I called to see my supplier Turner who told me that Lena wanted to do some shifty deal, and he refused. She told him not to bother coming again, and went to Cassell, who I know is a rogue. But I can’t let Poppy give up. Not with talent like she’s got.’

  The stage door keeper knew Joshua and let them through, though there was a crowd of admirers waiting by the door to see the performers. They could hear laughter as they walked down the corridors, and the excited chatter of the children who had performed. Joshua knocked on the dressing room door and waited. Poppy opened it. She had already changed out of costume and was in her dressing robe. She still wore the golden face paint of the Lambent Flame but down it were long streaks where she had shed tears.

  ‘Oh, Pa!’ Her mouth trembled on seeing him. ‘What am I to do? How can I give up?’

  He put his arms about her. ‘You can’t,’ he said. ‘Don’t you worry your head now. We’ll think on some way round it.’

  They waited in the corridor while she changed into her outdoor clothes, her warm coat and hat and buttoned boots. When she rejoined them, she carried a bag containing her red dancing shoes. She always took them with her wherever she went, worried that they might disappear if she left them in a dressing room.

  It was bitterly cold. There was a hard frost and a tingling in the nostrils, which made them think that snow was on the way. Nan shivered; her coat was a summer one, not meant for winter weather.

  ‘Come home with us, Nan,’ Joshua said as they left the theatre. ‘Have a cup of chocolate to warm you up and then I’ll walk you back home. Or were you intending going to ’King’s Head?’

  ‘N-no, I don’t think so. I’ll give it a miss tonight.’ Nan seemed tense over something, anxious almost.

  ‘Did you enjoy the pantomime, Nan?’ Poppy wondered if Nan was worried about losing wages, or even her job, for missing an evening at the King’s Head.

  ‘It was grand, Poppy. I loved it. Your costume was – well, it looked just like a guttering candle flame with ’spotlight on it.’ Nan shook her head in wonder. ‘I just can’t work out how they do that with them new gas appliances.’

  ‘Nor can I,’ Poppy said. ‘And they say that when they bring in electricity it will be even more amazing.’ But I shan’t be part of that, she thought. Not if this is to be my last show. My final curtain.

  ‘What’s going on?’ As they turned out of George Street Joshua craned to see along Savile Street. ‘Summat’s up! Bobbies are out. They’re at my shop!’ He started to run. ‘Hey!’ He waved his arms. ‘Hey! What’s up?’

  Ahead of them they could see a crowd of people, a number of policemen and their bicycles, and a police vehicle, the Black Maria, all clustered round Mazzini’s shop.

  Poppy ran to keep up with her father. ‘What is it?’ she said breathlessly. ‘What’s happened?’

  Nan followed more slowly. She knew that Tommy and Mattie had informed the police about the goods in the Dagger Lane house, and that they had been keeping a watch on it to see what was being brought in and taken out. Tonight was to have been the night when they would swoop on the perpetrators, Lena, Albert and Mrs Spivey.

  ‘It’s all right, sir.’ A police sergeant, three chevrons on his sleeve, stopped Joshua in his headlong rush. ‘We’ve got ’em. Caught ’em red-handed. You’d have had an empty shop if we hadn’t come when we did.’

  ‘What? Who?’ Joshua looked on bewildered as Lena, Albert and the little woman who had only just started this week as a cleaner were handcuffed together and put into the Black Maria by two burly police constables.

  ‘We’ll get all ’other merchandise brought back to you as soon as we’ve ascertained that it belongs to you and not some other tradesman.’ The sergeant lifted his helmet and scratched his forehead. ‘Beats me why it wasn’t missed. There are enough provisions in that house to stock another shop.’

  ‘Provisions? What provisions? What house? I don’t understand!’

  Nan came up to stand beside him. ‘Lena and Albert have been robbing you, Mr Mazzini. I’d suspected it for some time but I’d no proof. But after I left because of Lena, Mattie was so mad that she decided to find out about them. She went to see Mrs Thomas.’

  ‘Mrs Thomas! What’s she to do with anything?’ Joshua stared after the disappearing carriage.

  ‘Right, Mr Mazzini, sir, we’ll be off.’ The police sergeant and a constable stood in front of him. ‘We’ll be round in ’morning to take statements from you and your son.’

  ‘Son!’ Joshua’s face grew red. He jabbed his finger towards where the police carriage carrying Lena and Albert was turning the corner. ‘He’s no son of mine, so don’t even think it!’

  ‘I wasn’t talking about Albert Parker, sir,’ the officer said. ‘That’s his proper name, by the way, not Rogers. I was talking about your son, Thomas Mazzini, who told us of the offence.’

  Joshua was stupefied; he looked at Poppy, who was as bewilde
red as he was, and then at Nan.

  ‘Let’s go in,’ Nan said quietly. ‘Then it’ll all be explained.’

  The crowd dispersed though, one or two lingered, talking excitedly together about the prisoners and who knew of them.

  There was an aroma of freshly ground coffee as they entered the shop and Joshua wrinkled his nose appreciatively. Mattie stood behind the counter putting out cups and saucers. She gave a saucy grin and raised her eyebrows at her mother. ‘Hello, Mr Mazzini,’ she said. ‘Guess what I’ve just found.’ She looked down and with her knee nudged something below the counter.

  ‘Hello, Pa! Hello, Poppy!’ Tommy stood up. He had a striped apron tied round his waist and a very bashful countenance. His face was flushed. ‘I hope I’ve done right, Pa. I’ve come home!’

  Joshua closed his eyes for a second whilst Poppy squealed in delight. Then he strode towards Tommy and put his arms out. ‘I’m so glad to see you, son!’

  Tommy came round the counter, a huge relieved smile on his face as his father hugged him. ‘I’ve missed you, Pa.’ His voice was muffled as he was lost in his father’s embrace. ‘I’ve really missed you.’ He looked up as he saw Poppy in tears. ‘And I’ve missed you too, Pops,’ he choked. ‘I really have.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Tommy told his tale, of rough seas, of harsh weather, of seasickness and of the difficulties of preparing food for the seamen when the ship was rolling and dipping in gigantic troughs.

  ‘I thought I was going to die time and again,’ Tommy said. ‘But ’other seamen just laughed at me. They said it was onny a capful of wind. They stood on deck singing, the gale blowing in their faces, and there I was, on my knees, puking up green bile.’ He shuddered. ‘I thought if I came out of it alive I’d never go near a ship again.’

  Then Mattie and Nan told jointly of their suspicions of Lena and Albert and of the confirmation when Mattie saw Mrs Spivey working in Mazzini’s. ‘I couldn’t work out how they were selling ’goods until I saw her. Then ’penny dropped.’ Mattie grinned. ‘She’s known all over the old town,’ she said. ‘She’s only just nicely out of jail for thieving. Now she’ll be back in and with some company. Lena and Albert are wanted in York, Huddersfield, Bradford and Bingley. Lena pretends that she’s a widow and searches out for somebody on their own in businesses like yours, Mr Mazzini. That’s what ’constable told me, anyway. And not just men,’ she added. ‘Apparently she’s pilfered from women too. She takes a house and fills it with stolen goods, and then moves on before anybody realizes what’s going on. Albert isn’t even her son,’ she said. ‘He just works for her. He’s her lookout, an accomplice. And by the way,’ she murmured. ‘The police found some bottles of laudanum.’

  Poppy nodded. ‘Mrs Thomas told me that she thought he was taking it. She said she could tell from the way he was behaving.’

  Joshua was bewildered. ‘I still don’t see what Mrs Thomas had to do with anything. Did she know Lena?’

  ‘No, that was just it! She didn’t know her. And Mrs Thomas knows just about everybody,’ Mattie said. Her eyes were sparkling and Poppy thought that maybe Mattie hadn’t had such excitement in her life before. She glanced at Tommy who was leaning on the counter with his chin in his hands, watching and listening to the animated Mattie.

  ‘But ’only reason Mrs Thomas got involved was because she was that mad about her bread!’ Mattie continued. ‘She said she’d been coming to Mazzini’s for years, so she was really peeved when Lena as good as told her she could go elsewhere. She was only too pleased to find out where Lena’s house was and what she was up to!’

  ‘Mattie told me what was going on.’ Tommy picked up the tale. ‘So we decided that before I came home I would keep watch. I saw Albert taking goods into their house and so I informed ’police. They put police officers in civilian clothing on watch, and with their own eyes they saw Lena and Albert taking bags of provisions out of our shop and transferring them to their house. They guessed that they would be moving on soon when they saw Albert talking to a York carrier and money changing hands!’

  ‘And we guessed, Ma and me,’ Mattie said, ‘that it would be tonight, cos Lena knew that Mr Mazzini was going to see Poppy in ’pantomime.’

  The doorbell jangled and they all turned. ‘Is this a private party or can we come in? We smelt the coffee.’ A crowd of performers came through the door. Aladdin, Abanazer, Widow Twankey and Miss Gosse were there, and it was Fred Vine who asked the question.

  ‘Come in. Come in!’ Joshua welcomed them with open arms. ‘Welcome to Mazzini’s. We’re having a celebration.’

  ‘In honour of your daughter?’ Miss Gosse asked. ‘Her performance was wonderful.’

  ‘And of my son,’ Joshua beamed. ‘I’m going to change the sign above the shop to Mazzini and Son! We shall redecorate and restock—’

  ‘New tablecloths?’ Poppy added.

  ‘Curtains?’ Nan suggested. ‘These ones are faded.’

  ‘What about a theatre theme?’ Miss Alice Maiden who played Aladdin asked, getting into the spirit of the conversation.

  ‘Yes!’ Fred Vine agreed. ‘Paint this wall like a stage, with drapes and say a palm tree.’

  ‘A clown!’ Poppy laughed. ‘And a juggler!’

  ‘Whoa!’ Joshua said, glancing at Tommy who was making more coffee, whilst Mattie was searching in tins for biscuits, but finding only a few. ‘Tonight, coffee is on the house.’

  The theatre performers cheered. It wasn’t often they were given something for nothing, one of them remarked.

  ‘But I want you to tell everybody in ’theatre world that Mazzini’s make ’best coffee and cakes you’ve ever tasted.’

  ‘But we’ve not had any cake,’ said Abanazer, who was only a young man and very handsome. ‘How can we say it until we’ve tasted it?’

  ‘You will,’ Tommy said. ‘Come on Monday night and I can promise you cake!’

  ‘We can’t come on Monday night,’ said Miss Gosse. ‘We’ll all be going home for Christmas. But we’ll come again as soon as we can.’

  After everyone had gone and the shop was closed, they cleared the tables, washed the coffee cups and made everything ready for the next morning.

  ‘Did you mean it, Pa? About redecorating and everything?’ Poppy asked.

  ‘Aye, I did,’ her father said. ‘We’ll have a clean sweep. Get rid of any trace of that woman and her so-called son.’

  ‘We’ll need some more help then.’ Tommy winked at Poppy before adding, ‘Unless our Poppy’s stopping at home.’

  Poppy held her breath until her father said, ‘No, Poppy can’t stop: she’s got a career to make. She’s going to take singing lessons, did you know?’

  Tommy shook his head. ‘So if Poppy isn’t staying, I vote that Mattie comes to work here – if you will, that is.’ He glanced at Mattie, who was sweeping up crumbs from the floor.

  She straightened up, her eyes bright. ‘If you’ll have me, Mr Mazzini. I’d like to.’

  Joshua hesitated. ‘I can’t pay as much as you’ll get at ’mill,’ he said. ‘But you could have extras like bread, and your dinner here.’

  She beamed at him. ‘I’ve been stood off at ’mill,’ she told him. ‘There’s no guarantee that they’ll take me back after Christmas.’

  ‘So how’ve you been managing?’ Joshua turned to Nan. ‘What have you done for money?’

  She gave a little shrug. ‘I’ve allus been a good manager,’ she said. ‘Ever since I was widowed. I had to be. I’d a child to bring up and no man to support me.’

  ‘Will you come back?’ he asked humbly. ‘It’s not been ’same since you left.’

  Poppy felt a sudden joy. She could go away without any worry if Nan and Mattie were here. They wouldn’t cheat or steal; they’d only work for the good of Mazzini’s. Then she felt a little prickle of merriment. She’d noticed covert glances between Mattie and Tommy, each looking at the other when they thought they weren’t aware of it. Oh, what if, she thought. Just suppose! Yes, of
course. Mattie is sweet on Tommy. She wouldn’t admit it, of course. She’s always had that jocular manner to show that she was carefree and indifferent. What was she hiding? Poppy smiled to herself. A warm and loving heart, that was for sure.

  Tommy walked Nan and Mattie home. His father had said that he would but Tommy insisted. When they had gone, Poppy and her father locked up the shop. Tommy had his own key again, but Joshua was going to have the locks changed, just in case Lena ever came back. ‘Shelves do look bare,’ he said. ‘I kept going over my books time and again, wondering why we weren’t making a profit. I never guessed that them two were robbing me hand over fist.’

  ‘Pa!’ Poppy said thoughtfully. ‘It’s nearly Christmas.’

  ‘Aye,’ he sighed, ‘I know, and there’s nowt ready. No pudding made, no goose ordered.’

  ‘Well, I was wondering,’ she said. ‘What about us having an Italian Christmas instead? We don’t have to have Christmas pudding. We’re part Italian, after all!’ She told him of eating at the Marinos’ restaurant. ‘And we can invite Nan and Mattie, can’t we?’

  ‘Well, yes, of course. It’s to be expected. They’ve allus had their Christmas dinner with us.’ He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘I wonder what Lena had in mind? Do you think she’d have stayed over Christmas if she hadn’t been rumbled?’

  Poppy shook her head. She couldn’t imagine what Lena had in mind. Something devious, no doubt. ‘And another thing, Pa. Could we invite Miss Maiden? She plays Aladdin. And Abanazer, as well. They neither of them can get home in time for Christmas and then back for Boxing Day.’

  ‘Why not?’ Joshua said. ‘We’ll eat in here.’ He looked round the shop. ‘Plenty of room – put ’tables together. And,’ he added, ‘I’ll invite Mr and Mrs Chandler. They’ll be on their own with Charlie away.’

  ‘Yes,’ Poppy said softly. How wonderful it would be if Charlie came home for Christmas. It would make everything just perfect.

  Tommy agreed, and was all for having a different Christmas dinner. ‘Let’s have wild boar instead of goose,’ he said, when Poppy put it to him the following morning. ‘That’s if Brown’s can get it for us in time. Wild boar with apple,’ he said. ‘Mmm. Wild boar with apples and rosemary, and onion soup flavoured with cinnamon to start. Yes, I’ll enjoy doing that. I’ll have to think about a pudding, though.’