Death Treads the Boards

by Lesley Cookman

  ‘I got Will to walk her back to ours,’ she said. ‘She can stay in the sitting room tonight, until we decide what to do with her.’

  Dorinda felt her heart sink. ‘We?’

  Maude looked at her in surprise. ‘Well, she hasn’t got anyone else, has she?’

  ‘Look, Maudie,’ said Dorinda, with a firmness she didn’t feel. ‘She chose to leave us “for something better” she said, didn’t she? It isn’t our job to pick up the pieces when she failed to find it. And we don’t exactly owe her anything, after the business with Velda. She was lucky we let her stay.’

  Maude set her lips firmly. ‘I know that, Dolly. And I’m no more sympathetic than what you are, but when I said I’d seen some of those, I meant it.’ She looked down on a small family eating a picnic on the beach below. ‘Happy, they look, don’t they? Hard to believe that kiddie there could turn into an Aramantha. But she could.’

  ‘Come on, Maudie. What places? Don’t try and change the subject.’

  Maude heaved a sigh and turned around, her back to the beach. ‘Will and I got taken to a couple when we was up last winter.’ She shook her head. ‘Supposed to be proper old-fashioned music halls, but they weren’t. Dreadful places. Back rooms behind pubs, couple in the Arches, some in respectable-looking houses. All got up with a stage of sorts, and tables and chairs for the customers. Only they was all men.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Dorinda, ‘I begin to see. Was she expected to do anything except sing and dance – or wasn’t she even supposed to do that?’

  ‘Oh, yes. They had routines, if you could call ’em that. But if one of the customers picked her out, she was supposed to... oblige.’

  ‘That’s disgraceful!’ gasped Dorinda.

  Maude looked at her kindly. ‘For all you’re such a good business lady, you’re awful innocent, Dolly!’

  Dorinda felt her cheeks becoming hot. ‘I know things -’ She took a deep breath. ‘Go on, Maudie. I just...’

  Maude patted her arm. ‘I know, Dolly. Comes from a sheltered background.’

  They fell silent. Eventually, Dorinda turned and faced Maude. ‘Have we got room for her?’

  ‘In the show, you mean?’ Maude looked doubtful. ‘She could join the chorus, but there’s no room for solo spots.’

  Dorinda sighed. ‘And she won’t like that, knowing our Aramantha.’

  ‘If she wants us to take her in, she’d have to put up with it,’ said Maude.

  ‘I thought you wanted us to take her in?’

  ‘Yes, but more to protect her, if you know what I mean.’

  ‘But from what?’ asked Dorinda, swinging round to look at the sea again.

  Maude frowned. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘We’ll talk to her tonight,’ said Dorinda. ‘No sense in worrying about it now.’

  However, during the interval in the evening performance, Maude appeared in the dressing room looking harassed.

  ‘It’s Aramantha,’ she whispered in Dorinda’s ear. ‘She turned up banging on the door to be let in. What could I do?’

  ‘Wretched girl!’ hissed Dorinda. ‘Where is she now?’

  ‘Sitting in the back row of the auditorium. Sniffing and shaking her head. You know what she’s like.’

  ‘Do you want me to have a word with her?’

  ‘No.’ Maude stood upright, firming her lips. ‘I shall tell her to keep quiet, or out she goes. Is that all right?’

  Dorinda grinned. ‘Perfectly, Maudie.’

  When she resumed her seat at the piano, after acknowledging the audience’s appreciation with a bow, she allowed her gaze to sweep lazily over the back rows, where she finally picked out Aramantha, looking slightly cowed, with a rather militant Maude standing behind her. Satisfied, she struck up the opening number for the second half.

  At the end of the show, she made her way out to the foyer, exchanging goodnights with the last members of the audience. Maude, showing them out, jerked her head in the direction of the office. Dorinda went in.

  ‘What are you doing, Ethel?’ she said sharply.

  Aramantha, her hand in the desk drawer, started back so fast she fell against the back wall.

  ‘N-nothing, Dolly! I mean – Miss,’ she gasped.

  ‘Then come, sit here and show me your hands and pockets,’ said Dorinda, placing a visitor’s chair in front of the desk.

  ‘Ain’t got no pockets,’ mumbled Aramantha.

  ‘Take off your jacket,’ ordered Dorinda.

  Colouring a deep red, Aramantha awkwardly shrugged off her jacket. Dorinda heard Maude bolt the outer doors and called her in.

  ‘Search her, Maude.’

  ‘S-search..?’

  ‘She had her hand in the desk drawer when I came in,’ said Dorinda. ‘If that’s how she intends to treat us when we’re offering her sanctuary, I think we should tell her to go.’

  Aramantha’s face crumpled. ‘I weren’t...’ she began on a sob.

  ‘Weren’t what?’ asked Maude. She looked through the jacket and shook it out. ‘Nothing here, Dolly.’

  Dorinda softened her voice. ‘All right, Aramantha. What were you doing? And while you’re telling us that, you can tell us why you’re down here and what scared you.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Maude pulled over the other visitor’s chair, Dorinda took her own seat and they both looked at Aramantha, who looked back nervously from one to the other.

  ‘I thought I could come back,’ she said eventually, in a shaky voice.

  ‘You left us,’ said Dorinda. ‘We had to replace you.’

  ‘With that Jessie Jones!’ Aramantha’s face showed a spark of animation.

  ‘She’s Jessie Matilda now,’ said Maude. ‘Do you know her?’

  ‘I only know she got the sack ’cause of ’er pa.’

  Dorinda narrowed her eyes. ‘And how do you know that if you don’t work at a proper hall?’

  ‘Word gets ‘round.’ Aramantha hung her head.

  ‘And do you know her pa?’ asked Maude.

  ‘Course not!’ said Aramantha quickly.

  Yes, you do, thought Dorinda. Now, how, I wonder? She changed the subject.

  ‘Why did you want to come back? Yes, I know all about the sort of hall you were playing, and what you were expected to do, but you stuck it out for a couple of months, didn’t you?’ She glanced quickly at Maude. ‘And I don’t like to bring it up, but there was the business with Velda and the gentlemen, wasn’t there?’

  Aramantha held her gaze, but her eyes filled with tears and her lip trembled.

  ‘So come on, Aramantha. Why were you frightened?’

  ‘I was followed,’ the girl whispered eventually. ‘This bloke – dunno ’oo ’e was – was waitin’ outside. ’E started whisperin’ about sin and ’ow ’e could save me. An’ then one night – two nights ago, it was – ’e grabbed me, an’ -’ She broke off, her face contorting. ‘Disgustin’ it was.’ She shuddered. ‘An’ I got up, an’ all I could see was ’is ’ands -...’ She stopped and buried her face in her hands.

  After a moment, Maude put her arm round the girl’s shoulders and said quietly, ‘Did he hurt you bad?’

  Aramantha shook her head, taking her hands away from her face. ‘No – that was all I saw... ’e couldn’t – couldn’t -oh, it was disgustin’ I tell you. An’ then ’is bloody ’ands...’

  ‘And you didn’t tell anybody?’

  ‘No. Next mornin’ I just slung me things in a bag and come down ’ere.’ She looked up at Dorinda. ‘I’m sorry.’

  Dorinda smiled at her. ‘Never mind. Now, if you don’t mind sharing lodgings with the other girls, we could fit you into the chorus, but as you saw tonight, we’ve no room for any more solo spots.’

  Aramantha opened her mouth, caught Dorinda’s eye, and closed it again. She nodded.

  ‘Right.’ Dorinda stood up. ‘Now I’m going to get changed. You can wait in the foyer for us.’

  ‘Not on me own!’ Aramantha looked panicked.

  ‘I’ll come
with you,’ said Maude. ‘You’ll have to manage your own hair, Dolly!’

  Dorinda saw them out into the foyer, went behind the screen in the corner and slipped out of her silver pierrot costume. She just hoped Maude could rustle up a costume for Aramantha, not to mention something for the evening dress sections. It didn’t look as if the girl had brought anything with her.

  ‘Didn’t think it through,’ Dorinda muttered to herself through a mouthful of pins, as she tried to put her hair up.

  Finally ready, she went out into the foyer and found Maude and Aramantha surrounded by the rest of the company. Aramantha, she noted, was looking a lot happier and even rather smug.

  ‘Come along then, everyone, time to go home.’ Dorinda turned to Ted and Algy. ‘Will you see the girls back between you? Will has charge of Maude, me, and Aramantha.’

  The little group separated and turned to face her.

  ‘Is Aramantha coming back, Miss – Dolly?’ asked Betty.

  Dorinda smiled. ‘Maybe. Now come along, we need to lock up.’

  ‘But – but what about Jessie, Dolly?’ asked little Patsy nervously.

  ‘What about her?’ Dorinda smiled down at Jessie, who was clutching Patsy’s arm. ‘She’s doing very well.’

  A little sigh of relief went up, which told Dorinda clearly how much more her company liked their newest recruit than they had liked Aramantha, whose expression had gone from smug to petulant.

  Finally, Dorinda got them all out of the building and locked the front doors. She watched as Ted and Algy carefully herded their charges up the slope, keeping Jessie firmly between the two of them, although it didn’t appear that there was any great need for protection tonight.

  ‘What’s goin’ on?’ asked Aramantha, as Will walked his party up behind them. ‘You got problems again? It’s that Jessie, ain’t it?’

  ‘We’ve had problems with a few religious fanatics,’ said Dorinda dismissively.

  ‘Oh, them!’ scoffed Aramantha. ‘Don’t like no drinkin’ or enjoyin’ yerself, do they?’

  Maude looked across at her curiously. ‘Didn’ t they ever bother you where you was working?’

  There was a slight pause before Aramantha turned her head away, mumbling: ‘Couldn’t get in, could they?’

  Maude and Dorinda exchanged glances. As they reached the top of the slope, Dorinda was aware of Aramantha’s eyes darting swiftly from left to right, as she tried to tuck herself in between Will and Maude.

  ‘Something’s wrong,’ she murmured to Maude.

  When they arrived at their shared lodgings, Dorinda showed Aramantha into the small sitting room the landlady had set aside for their use.

  ‘You’ll have to sleep in here tonight,’ she said, ‘but we’ll see if we can’t find you something better tomorrow. Now, perhaps Maude would make us a cup of tea while you tell us exactly what you’re afraid of, and who you think might have followed you down here.’

  Aramantha gaped. Dorinda’s lips twitched.

  Maude, hastily turning a chuckle into a cough, took the kettle to fill it up in the kitchen before coming back to set it on the little spirit stove beside the fire. She found

  Aramantha perched miserably on the very edge of one of the upright chairs, and Dorinda comfortably relaxed on the couch. Will had disappeared into the bedroom.

  ‘Come on, then, girl,’ she said, standing, arms akimbo, in front of Aramantha. ‘Tell Miss Dolly.’

  ‘Ain’t nothin’ -’ began Aramantha..

  ‘To tell?’ suggested Dorinda. ‘Or to do with us? Come, now. Neither of those things are true, are they?’

  Aramantha slowly shook her head.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Maude sharply.

  Aramantha sighed and finally sat back on her chair. ‘Them Baptists – or whatever they are.’

  ‘So you did have trouble with them?’ said Maude.

  ‘The men used to come in. The women never.’

  ‘They used to stand outside? With banners?’ said Dorinda.

  ‘Only in the daytime. Nighttimes the men come in.’

  And you were scared they might be down here? You were nervous coming back here, weren’t you?’

  ‘You said you’d had trouble,’ began Aramantha.

  ‘Just with some women trying to prevent people from going down the slope,’ said Dorinda. ‘No men.’ She wasn’t going to mention Jessie’s unsavoury stepfather yet.

  Aramantha nodded, watching as Maude poured boiling water into the big brown teapot. ‘And no other trouble?’

  ‘No,’ said Maude, while Dorinda shook her head. ‘You were here last year – that was the most trouble we had.’ Aramantha had the grace to colour slightly, acknowledging her own part in the previous year’s problems.

  Maude poured tea and handed out cups. ‘I’ll go and find blankets in a minute,’ she said. ‘You’ll be all right here?’

  Aramantha nodded again, then looked at Dorinda. ‘That policeman still comin’ down here?’

  ‘Policeman?’ Dorinda looked blank. ‘Oh – Constable Fowler? His son’s been round after the religious women bothered us. He’s a constable, too.’

  ‘No.’ Aramantha looked sly. ‘You know. That one from London. The one ’oo fancied you.’

  ‘Inspector Colyer?’ put in Maude, diverting Aramantha’s attention from Dorinda’s suddenly pink face. ‘No, we haven’t seen him. Nothing for him to investigate, is there?’

  Aramantha dropped her eyes. ‘No,’ she mumbled, and Dorinda raised her eyebrows at Maude.

  ‘Come on then, Maudie’ she said. ‘I’m going to bed and you can fetch Aramantha some blankets.’ She patted Aramantha’s shoulder. ‘Goodnight.’

  Outside on the landing she whispered, ‘There’s more to this than meets the eye. What do you think we should do?’

  ‘Keep an eye.’ Maude shrugged. ‘Nothing much we can do, now you’ve said we’ll take her in.’

  ‘Oh, I thought it would end up my fault.’ Dorinda grimaced. ‘I can’t help feeling, here we go again.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  With a certain amount of difficulty, Dorinda fitted Aramantha back into the company, although in a less prominent position. Luckily, the former ensemble member had kept her old Silver Serenaders costume and had the sense to bring it, together with two evening dresses, down to Nethergate with her after all. Although not altogether pleased at her reduced status and inclined to be dismissive of Jessie, she caused less of a problem than Dorinda had feared, and for a few days the company appeared to be working as normal. Until, that is, Dorinda, Maude and Will arrived at the top of the slope from Victoria Place to find a banner strung right across it, tied to the railings.

  I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes Psalm 101.3

  After standing horrified and silent for a long moment, Dorinda and Will both lunged forward to tear the banner down.

  ‘’Ere!’ shouted a voice. ‘Wot you doin’?’

  Dorinda swung round in time to see a red-faced Constable Fowler Senior approaching on a wobbly bicycle.

  ‘Fred!’ shouted back Will. ‘It’s us! Come and look.’

  Constable Fowler dismounted clumsily, propped his cycle against the railings, took off his helmet and mopped his perspiring forehead.

  ‘Sorry, Miss,’ he gasped as he came up to them. ‘Couldn’t see it was you.’

  ‘Look at this, Fred,’ said Will. ‘Those women again, I reckon.’

  Constable Fowler peered at the banner and frowned.

  ‘I ain’t seen ’em since, Will,’ he said. ‘Reckon they come back?’

  ‘Somebody has,’ said Dorinda.

  ‘And done this,’ said Maude. ‘Calling us vile things. I mean!’

  ‘Give us a hand with this, Fred.’ Will was wrestling with the string at one end of the banner. ‘Get the other end.’

  When the banner had been removed, Constable Fowler solemnly folded it up and put it in the little satchel behind his saddle. ‘Evidence,’ he said seriously.

  ‘I don’t supp
ose you’ll catch who did it,’ said Dorinda. ‘Not unless you catch them red-handed.’

  ‘No, Miss.’ Constable Fowler shook his head mournfully.

  Dorinda was thoughtful as she, Maude and Will finally made it down the slope and into The Alexandria.

  ‘What’s up, Dolly?’ asked Maude as she and Dorinda went into the office while Will went off through the auditorium. ‘It doesn’t look as if they’ve done any damage.’

  ‘No.’ Dorinda sat down behind the desk and gazed out of the window.

  ‘What, then?’ Maude sat down on one of the visitors’ chairs. ‘You’re not happy about something.’

  Dorinda transferred her gaze to her friend. ‘Do you think it was those women?’

  ‘The banner? Looks like it.’ Maude turned and peered up the slope. ‘But where are they?’

  ‘They were warned off by the police. It makes sense that they should come round after dark.’ Dorinda shook her head. ‘But somehow it doesn’t ring true.’

  ‘Why? Who else would do it? And use Bible words?’

  ‘Aramantha’s scared of something, although she seems better now. Do you think...’

  ‘Nobody would have bothered to follow that silly girl down here,’ said Maude. ‘She’s not worth it.’

  Dorinda was amused. ‘She wouldn’t like that! But no, I agree. Then you could say the same about Jessie – why would anyone bother? But she’s genuinely afraid of her step-father.’

  ‘Well, it isn’t Aramantha’s step-father, is it? You leave it to Fred Fowler.’ Maude stood up.

  By this time, the rest of the company had begun to arrive, and Dorinda went through to the dressing room behind the stage to tell them what had happened.

  Aramantha snorted. ‘Tryin’ to scare us? What do they reckon they can do?’

  Everyone looked at her in surprise. She went rather pink. ‘Well, those women, weren’t it?’

  ‘You weren’t there though,’ said Dorinda. ‘What do you know about it?’