by Rosie Archer
‘I don’t want you to think I’m some hard-faced bitch because I have no tears yet for Alfie.’ She put the tray on the table, then sat down on a kitchen chair.
He took a deep breath. He didn’t think that at all – in fact, he marvelled at her control, and the clear and concise way she spoke to him. No wonder the garage bloke wanted to keep her for himself. ‘I don’t, and that’s not the only reason I’m here.’ Say exactly what you need to say and no more, he admonished himself. His eyes followed her movements as she began pouring the tea. She pointed towards the sugar and milk. He chose only milk.
‘There’s more?’
‘Alfie told me she could sing. Last night I heard those three girls lift the hearts of all those people in the hall. How old is Rainey?’
‘Seventeen, same as Ivy the dark one. The blonde is older—’
He interrupted: ‘The man I was with, Herbert, is an impresario. He and his wife run a theatrical business, and their acts play all over the world.’
‘Stop. You’re trying to tell me he wants to put my daughter on the stage?’
‘Herbert and his wife are like parents to me and . . .’
Jo began laughing. When she stopped, she said, ‘Let me get this right. You want me to let you take my girl and send her halfway around the country, singing?’
He nodded.
‘Have you been talking to any of the girls?’
Now he was confused. ‘No,’ he said.
‘Drink your tea,’ she admonished, leaving hers on the table and going out into the scullery. He heard her open the oven door and put something down. Then she came back into the kitchen, throwing an oven glove onto the table. ‘Sorry, I didn’t want my bread pudding to burn.’ She picked up her cup and drank the contents. ‘Right, you start at the beginning.’
‘Can I first ask a personal question?’ He took a deep breath, then blew out his cheeks, expelling the air. ‘Syd? Are you and he . . .’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know what it’s got to do with you but we’re very good friends. He’s helped me to stand up for myself . . .’ Her voice tapered off. ‘Without his help I’d never have regained the confidence I’d lost after . . . after . . .’ She took a deep breath. ‘Put it this way, a year ago I would never have had the courage to talk to you like this.’
She turned away from him, seemed to regain her composure, then looked at the mantel clock. ‘My Rainey will be home soon. I don’t want you here when she comes in. She’s a child who’ll jump at the chance you say you can give her. But I’m not so easily hoodwinked. I want to think about your offer. She’s a minor, remember. I’d like it if we can talk some more. Another time, another place?’
Blackie felt as though his heart was about to explode with happiness.
Chapter Thirty-three
‘Of course it’s a golden chance for the three of them, but how do you know it’s not some kind of trick?’
‘You trust me, don’t you, Maud?’
‘You, yes. That chap with the odd-coloured eyes could be sending pretty girls into white slavery.’ Maud banged a cushion into submission. The two of them were alone in Maud’s kitchen.
‘I thought of that,’ said Jo, ‘which is why I’ve been doing a bit of detective work. I went to see Alice Wilkes. That dog’s moulting and I got covered in white hairs. Anyway, I asked about the studio Blackie mentioned and she was dumbstruck.’
Maud’s eyes were wide.
‘She said that Herbert never told her he was married that night when we were all under the stage but his wife is famous and responsible for some of the best-known artists in the country. And, yes, they brought Blackie up . . .’
‘Well I never!’ Maud said. ‘But is he the right Blackie? He could be an imposter.’
‘Apparently not. Mrs Wilkes was thrilled to bits about the possibility of the girls going on to bigger things. She showed me Mrs Walker’s name in the phone book. She said, if I wanted, I could telephone her and verify Blackie’s character there and then.’
‘Did you?’
‘She did! I was a bit too nervous but when the woman said Blackie had spoken about the girls, Mrs Wilkes passed the phone to me.’ Jo heard Maud’s intake of breath. ‘Well, I told her I thought the girls were too young to go gadding about.’
‘You never!’
‘Yes, I did. Guess what she said?’
Maud shook her head.
‘She said she agreed with me and she thought it would be a good idea for me to be their chaperone.’
‘You mean, you go an’ all?’
Jo nodded. ‘I told her I have to work and she said I’d get paid as soon as the trio started earning money.’
Maud threw her arms around Jo. ‘Have you said anything to Rainey?’
Jo shook her head. ‘The three of them want this so badly it hurts them. But I need to know everything is above board, and that you agree, and that Della, Ivy’s mum, is all right with everything. I’m going to meet Blackie to find out exactly what’s going on and what’s required of us all.
‘I’d told Rainey I’d do everything I could to help her but she couldn’t sit on her bum and wait for it to happen. I told her to get a job. She said she didn’t want to work in an office. All that studying and passing exams and she says office work isn’t for her!’
Maud said, ‘I never liked Bea working in Woolies with them other girls.’ She found another cushion to fluff up.
‘Hopefully they’ll get good money if they become established but they can’t afford not to work until that happens. When I tell Rainey what’s going on, and I’m not breathing a word to her until I know all the ins and outs, I’ll tell her she’s to carry on working wherever she can until Blackie is positive they have a proper act and someone somewhere is willing to pay them.’ She paused. ‘Well, tell me what you think.’
‘You’ve got it covered. But we need to talk to Della, see what she says.’
Jo said, ‘Of course. If those girls are willing to train with Madame Walker between working it’ll prove they really do want to sing.’
Maud agreed. ‘Best to keep it all to ourselves at present. I know Eddie won’t like Bea gallivanting about. Not after what happened down the Fox.’
‘If you want my opinion, Maud, your Bea has seen the error of her ways. Anyway, I’ll keep my eyes on what’s going on. Now, isn’t it about time you put the kettle on?’
As Maud moved towards the scullery, she added, ‘Your Syd’s going to have a lot to say about this. You know how fond he is of you.’
‘I’m going to do what’s best for my Rainey. Me and Syd aren’t joined at the hip, Maud. He’s been a Godsend to me this past year, and it’s because of him I’ve learned how to stand up for myself, but if he doesn’t like me meeting Blackie to discuss things, that’s up to him!’
*
When she was walking home Jo thought of two people she had to share the secret with: the Harringtons. There was plenty of time to do that, though, after she’d met Blackie tomorrow night and talked some more. Perhaps Mr Harrington would allow her to work shorter hours. The girls had to come first and she needed to keep a watchful eye on them at all times. Jo loved her job in Alverstoke but she loved Rainey more, and until money came her way she had to keep working.
She pulled her coat tighter around her waist. It was going to be a cold evening. She hoped the enemy planes wouldn’t come again tonight.
*
Jo sat across the table from Blackie, staring into his mesmerizing eyes.
He’d picked her up by car from her house, and for once she was glad Rainey was out with her two friends. They’d gone to Bea’s to listen to the gramophone. Her brother had bought Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood’ for her and she played it continually. She had pushed back the bedroom furniture and they had practised the jitterbug. Maud had told her they were doing a better job of helping the downstairs ceiling fall down than ol’ Hitler’s bombs.
It had been a long time since Jo had sat in a posh restaurant. Here in Southsea
, sitting at a table looking across the sea, she felt as though she was in another world.
A chandelier lit the white-clothed tables set with shining cutlery. A four-piece band played in a corner. A few couples were dancing to the music. She could smell a profusion of expensive perfumes. Jo was glad she’d put on her long black dress. It was the first time she’d taken it out of the cupboard since she’d lived at the house. She was happy it still fitted her, if a little too tightly, but she’d had to wear her everyday coat because it was the only one she possessed. She’d felt self-conscious handing it to the cloakroom girl to hang among the fur coats and stoles.
They’d already eaten. Jo couldn’t remember when she’d last had such a succulent serving of liver and bacon hot-pot, with dumplings cooked separately. She knew he wouldn’t start talking about the girls until he felt he had wined and dined her sufficiently. He glanced at his watch. Jo couldn’t help herself. ‘Fed up with me already?’ She smiled at him.
Those glorious eyes crinkled at the corners and he answered, ‘Far from it. I’ve asked Madame to join us and she should be arriving soon.’
Jo’s heart began to race. So, this was no trick: her daughter was at last going to realize her ambition. As if on cue a handsome woman with her hair piled in becoming curls, wearing an expensive woollen two-piece, was shown to their table by the head waiter. Herbert accompanied her.
‘Don’t get up,’ said the woman. ‘We aren’t staying long.’ Herbert gave Jo a huge smile. Blackie stood to give Madame a hug, then the waiter pulled out a chair and seated her. She turned to him. ‘A bottle of something good, please, and put it on my account.’
Jo was in no doubt she was well known in this establishment.
‘Let’s get straight to business,’ the woman said. ‘You know my husband and this dear boy.’ She nodded at Blackie. ‘He’s told me all about the girls and yourself.’ Jo wondered how that was possible: she’d been careful not to reveal too many facts about her past. She let the woman’s words pass.
‘Blackie thinks your girl and the other two have immense possibilities for a singing career, entertaining troops.’ Jo was about to say this hadn’t been talked about at all, when the woman added, ‘Before I put my name on a dotted line, I’d like to see the goods, so to speak. It’s not that I don’t trust my dear Blackie’s judgement but it is, after all, my reputation at stake.’ Jo’s head was still whirling with the phrase ‘entertaining troops’. ‘I don’t intend to spend money that’s not going to give me a good return.’ Her sharp eyes bored into Jo’s. ‘You do understand, don’t you?’
Jo’s mouth was dry. She took a sip of the wine the waiter had poured. When these people got their teeth into something, they were like a dog with a bone, she thought. She took another sip and a deep breath, then said, ‘These are young girls with little experience of the world and I don’t want them to be taken advantage—’
Madame interrupted, ‘But I thought you were to act as their chaperone? I rarely move from Southsea, these days, so if you’re backing out I shall have to hire someone else.’
‘No, no!’ Jo said. ‘Of course I agree.’ She thought she saw a look of relief cross Madame’s face. ‘Everything is moving so fast I can’t keep up. The girls need the security of work now. Their families, me included, can’t afford to keep them on the off-chance they might eventually make money singing.’
‘Good! Working for an employer will instil some backbone but I need to see them perform. So, shall we say Thursday afternoon at three, my new studio?’ She looked at Blackie. ‘You can deal with everything, can’t you, dear boy?’ She stood up, then turned to Jo. ‘I see you and I are going to get on well.’ Herbert gave Jo another smile. She realized he hadn’t spoken a word throughout their meeting. He and Madame left.
Jo swallowed the rest of her wine. ‘Well, I think you and I had better talk,’ she said to Blackie.
Chapter Thirty-four
‘You’d better come in,’ Jo said.
Blackie looked at his watch. ‘It’s getting late.’
Jo opened the door of his car and stepped out onto the pavement. She could hear the gramophone softly playing dance music. ‘They’re still up.’ She rattled the letterbox loudly.
Blackie joined her at Maud’s front door as Maud opened it. When she saw Jo, she smiled. ‘Come to take your daughter home?’
‘Yes. But I hoped the three girls would still be here. Blackie would like a word with them, and you, of course.’
Maud motioned them in from the cold and led them down to the warm kitchen. ‘Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll fetch the girls down from Bea’s bedroom.’ She went up the stairs.
Blackie sat at the table, stretching his long legs in front of him, and Jo shrugged herself out of her coat and took the armchair near the fire.
‘Eddie not in?’ Jo called.
‘Out with some girl. They’ve taken Granddad for a pint,’ Maud shouted back. Jo heard voices, the gramophone’s silence, then chatter and bustle as Rainey, Bea and Ivy tumbled into the kitchen.
‘’Lo, Mum,’ said Rainey. Jo saw her glance warily at Blackie. He didn’t seem at all perturbed, but gave her a dazzling smile. Rainey perched on the arm of the other armchair that Ivy and Bea had claimed. ‘I remember you. You sheltered from the bombing with us beneath the stage at the David Bogue Hall.’
Ivy chimed in, ‘There was an older man with you . . .’
‘That’s right,’ Blackie said. He turned towards Maud, who’d subsided onto a kitchen chair. ‘Do you mind if I talk to the girls, Maud?’
Maud shook her head. ‘Not at all. It’ll be good to get it out in the open.’
Jo saw Bea frown at her mother’s words, and said quickly, ‘It would be better if your mother was here as well, Ivy, but I’ll go down to the café first thing in the morning to talk to her.’ Now Ivy looked mystified.
Blackie said, ‘To cut a long story short, my name’s Blackie Wilson. The man I was with under the stage is Herbert Peters, the husband of Madame Nelly Walker.’
‘I know who she is. She puts people on the stage.’ Ivy’s voice rose. ‘Quite so,’ agreed Blackie. ‘Herbert and I heard you three sing and we’d like to manage you. Your voices together are like nothing we’ve heard before and we think you could do a lot for the war effort, cheering the troops.’
Blackie’s voice was lost beneath the screams and shouts of the three girls.
Jo saw him looking at her, a smile on his handsome face. She smiled in return, allowed the noise to continue for a while, then stood up and shouted, ‘Quieten down!’
Faces turned towards her, voices hushed.
‘Right! I take it that you girls are in agreement?’ Before she’d got the last word out the noise started up again, so she put up her hand to silence them. ‘There’s a lot to be talked through and we’ll get to it all in good time.’ She looked at Ivy. ‘You need your mum’s permission, so nothing will happen without that. If all this goes ahead as planned, it could be a while before you actually earn money. You need jobs to tide you over.’
‘Not in an office,’ said Rainey.
‘Not necessarily in an office,’ admitted Jo.
‘The armament factory’s hiring,’ said Maud. ‘They always need people for shift-work and the money’s good.’
‘I’m not going back to Woolies,’ Bea put in. ‘But I wouldn’t mind Priddy’s. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could work together? Wherever we work we can tell them we’re only staying to earn money until we become famous.’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Rainey. ‘They wouldn’t hire us, and we’d make enemies among the other workers.’
Jo broke in: ‘I would hope you’ll give your all to any job at the same time as rehearsing the stagework.’
Blackie put his hand up. ‘First and foremost, Madame Walker needs to hear you sing. Thursday afternoon at three o’clock. If she doesn’t think you’re worth it, you can forget about fame and fortune. Meanwhile, Jo will answer any questions you have. But if Madame does take yo
u on you’ll find yourselves working harder than you’ve ever worked in your lives.’
There was a sudden silence, broken by Maud, who’d risen to poke the ashes in the range. Blackie watched her, then stood up. ‘I think we should go back to our homes and think things over,’ he said. ‘It’s getting late.’ Jo nodded, glad he had made that decision. ‘Do you want a lift, Ivy?’ he asked.
‘Please,’ she replied.
Jo stood up, gathered her coat from the back of the chair and said, ‘I’ll be round in the morning early, Ivy, to talk to your mum.’ She’d guessed that Della wouldn’t be at home now.
‘Do you think she’ll give her blessing, Ivy?’ Blackie looked concerned.
‘She’ll worry about the future. She hoped I’d work in an office.’ She sighed. ‘But she knows I want more from life.’
‘I won’t get a wink of sleep tonight,’ said Bea.
As Blackie made his way to the door, he said, ‘Remember, it all depends on how you present yourselves to Madame on Thursday.’
In the back of the car Ivy and Rainey talked excitedly. Jo heard them mention Priddy’s, the armament factory, but mostly their chatter was about songs and what clothes to wear. Jo caught Blackie looking at her and mouthed, ‘Thank you, for everything.’
Blackie pulled up outside the closed café. Before he’d opened the door for Ivy to get out, Jo saw Bert appear in the doorway. ‘I was getting worried,’ he began. He was still wearing his greasy apron.
Ivy jumped out of the car and ran to him. ‘I’ve got something to tell you,’ she said, tucking her arm through his and guiding him back inside.
*
Jo relished the silence as Blackie drove her and Rainey home. Silence that was broken when Rainey spoke.
‘So,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘you and Madame Walker’s husband, Herbert, happened to come to the David Bogue Hall on the night of our production of Snow White , heard us three sing and that’s how it’s all started? It’s like a fairy-tale – like Lana Turner being discovered buying a soda in the Top Hat Malt Shop and now she’s a famous actress!’