by Carol Rivers
‘Yes, Bing asked me to marry him,’ Marie answered quietly.
‘And you agreed?’ Vesta swallowed, trying to hide her shock that Marie hadn’t been moping about missing her.
‘Yes, I did.’
‘Is that the ring?’ Vesta stared at Marie’s hand.
‘It was a Christmas present.’
‘I thought you didn’t want to get married.’
‘I didn’t once.’
Vesta narrowed her eyes. ‘I suppose you blame me for ruining your career.’
To Vesta’s surprise, Marie only smiled. ‘I fell in love and that changed things.’
‘So it seems. Congratulations.’ Vesta forced a smile on her lips but the emotions inside her were painful. Marie was her twin and they always shared everything. Well, they couldn’t share men, of course, but being the last to know about Marie’s engagement made her, once more, feel left out. ‘I hope you’ll be very happy.’
‘Thank you.’ Marie looked down and touched the ring, as though she was thinking of Bing.
Ada reached out to squeeze Vesta’s hand. ‘Now, dear, tell us more about yourself and of course . . .’ Her mother hesitated. ‘Teddy. Are you still seeing him?’
‘What a daft question, Mum!’
‘I only asked. We know so little about what goes on in your life. Does he sing at the Blue Flamingo too?’
Vesta rolled her eyes. ‘You know he does.’ How many more questions were to be fired at her, she wondered. ‘We have important people to please, like I said. So Teddy acts as a host when Wally and Leo are busy. Like at the Christmas party I told you about, Teddy introduced me to lots of famous people. Have you heard of William Dearlove?’
Vesta was disappointed when they all shook their heads. None of her family appreciated how much she’d come up in the world. ‘He’s a director,’ she explained, ‘a very well-known one in the world of theatre. Bill says I’d make a good actress. I’m going to read for him soon.’
‘Who’s Bill?’ asked Ada.
‘William Dearlove. Bill’s what he’s called by his friends.’
Ada’s expression was bewildered. ‘But you don’t know anything about acting.’
‘Me and Marie were always putting on shows.’
‘Yes, but you was only kids.’
‘That doesn’t mean I can’t do it.’ Vesta thought of all the occasions in her life that Ada had discouraged her. Now she was doing it again. Well, it wasn’t going to work. She was free to do as she wished and that was the way it was going to stay. She could look after herself now. After all, she’d managed to put things right between herself and Teddy, and keep Bill as a friend too. In fact, he’d called round the house this week when Teddy was at work, to see how she was. At first, she hadn’t wanted to let him in. She didn’t want to talk about that night at the manor. But he hadn’t mentioned it. Instead, he reminded her he was going to do all he could to help her.
‘Bill is going to get me elocution lessons,’ she said, tossing back her blonde waves. ‘As he says I have promise.’
Ada’s mouth opened on a gasp. ‘But he don’t know you and you don’t know him. Why’s he doing that?’
‘I told you, I show promise.’ Vesta wondered irritably what more she had to say to make an impression.
‘But why should he be interested in a young girl who ain’t never acted before?’ Ada persisted.
Vesta was close to tears. It was only her pride keeping them from falling. Why did her mother always have to spoil things?
‘Your mother only cares, love, she’s not having a go,’ Hector interrupted. ‘We’re sure you could do anything if you really wanted.’
‘Stop that, Hector,’ Ada admonished. ‘It was you that gave her all them big ideas before.’
Vesta saw her father’s shoulders droop. It was still Ada who always had the last say. Her father never seemed able to defend himself.
‘Here’s the tea,’ said Elsie, coming in with a tray. Setting it down on the table, she arranged the cups, saucers and plates. ‘There’s a slice of Christmas cake for everyone. So you won’t go hungry, Vesta.’
That all sat in silence as Elsie served the cake. Vesta looked at Marie and the ring on her finger. She felt the painful stirrings of envy. She wanted Teddy’s ring on her finger. But would she ever get it? ‘So when’s the big day, Marie?’ she asked curiously.
‘We haven’t decided yet.’
‘Are you still going to work at the factory when you’re married?’
‘Your sister got promotion,’ Ada said before Marie could reply. ‘To the offices.’
Vesta was shocked. ‘You can’t type or do shorthand.’
‘No, I check in the goods, mostly, from the barges. Then take the paperwork to the offices.’
‘How did you manage that?’
‘I filled in Flo Davis’s place.’
‘Flo Dav—’ Vesta stopped. She glanced at Ada, who didn’t know anything about the girl who said she was having Teddy’s baby. She met Marie’s eyes, who looked away quickly.
‘Where are you living, Vesta?’ Ada asked. ‘We haven’t got your address. You left without giving me one.’
‘You know very well I’m with Teddy.’
Everyone was silent again. Vesta glared at them defiantly. ‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘You’re only eighteen,’ Ada cried. ‘You don’t know what life is about.’
‘Would you still say that to me if I was married and had a couple of kids hanging round my ankles?’
‘Vesta, come home to where you belong,’ her mother begged. ‘You can’t live in sin.’
‘Mum, that’s an old-fashioned idea. One day me and Teddy will be married. But it’s my career that comes first.’ Vesta pushed away her tea and stood up. ‘I’ve got to go now.’
Ada tried to stop her putting on her coat. ‘Please don’t leave.’
‘Ada, calm down,’ Hector said, as Vesta walked to the door.
‘Don’t let her go. You’re her father. Put your foot down.’
Hector stood in the middle of them. ‘Vesta, don’t leave like this. Let’s try to work things out.’
‘It’ll only end up in a row,’ Vesta grumbled. ‘As long as I’m with Teddy, Mum will never be happy.’ She shrugged him off and grabbed her bag.
‘At least leave us your address, love, somewhere we can write to.’
‘Just write to the club.’ She didn’t want her family turning up on their doorstep. Teddy would go mad.
Vesta hurried out. She didn’t look at Marie as she knew the pleading expression in her eyes would drag her back. She loved her sister, father and mother, but she had her own life to lead. And it wasn’t the life they wanted for her. If Ada had her way, she would be leading a drab and boring life that would eventually drive her crazy.
Marie caught up with her on the steps. ‘Vesta, come in the bedroom. It will be better on our own.’
‘Mum wouldn’t like that.’
‘It will take time for her to understand.’
Vesta drew away. She didn’t want to speak to Marie alone. She might let out her big secret. And even Marie wouldn’t understand about Bill. ‘I have to go now. Here’s Teddy.’ Vesta hurried down the steps as his car drew up. She opened the door and sat in. She couldn’t resist calling back, ‘After all, you wouldn’t want Teddy darkening the doorstep, would you?’ But the moment she said it, she was sorry. She had wanted to hurt and she had. Marie was staring after her with watery, sad eyes.
Vesta forced back the tears as Teddy drove off with a powerful roar.
It was early evening when Bing and Marie walked down to Island Gardens. His arm lay lightly around her shoulders as they gazed over the dark waters of the Thames. On the other side of the river, the lights of Greenwich sparkled like tiny diamonds. The air was cold but not frosty and the sky above a cloudless dark blue.
‘So Vesta turned up after all,’ he murmured after listening to all Marie had told him. ‘That was a surprise.’
‘I thi
nk she felt guilty about Christmas.’
‘Your mum must have been upset when she left.’
‘Yes. She doesn’t approve of them living in sin.’
‘Your mum ain’t religious, is she?’
‘No, but it’s what people will think.’ She leaned her head against his shoulder. ‘Things might have been different if Vesta had listened to Flo Davis.’
‘Teddy would never admit to being the father of her child.’
‘No, I suppose not.’
‘Talking of living in sin,’ Bing said slowly, ‘what would you say to a spring wedding?’
‘What, ours?’
‘My boss is letting out rooms in his house in Manchester Road and has given us first refusal. If you give the nod, I’ll move in and do it up, ready for, say, April or May.’
‘I don’t know. Mum might be lonely.’
‘We could wait for ever for others to get sorted.’ He bent to kiss her, his hands moving over her back and pressing her against him. ‘I have a new song to sing you but I’m gonna save it till the day we’re married.’
As a lone vessel hooted somewhere out on the river, he kissed her again; a kiss that reminded her just how much she loved him.
Chapter 30
It was a Saturday in the middle of January when Pedro stormed into the dressing room.
‘Where’s our money?’ demanded Shirley, as she put on her coat. ‘We’ve not had a penny for weeks.’
Pedro ignored her.
‘Come with me,’ he told Marie.
She quickly did up her blouse. It wasn’t often that Pedro ventured into the dressing room, and she wondered what he wanted.
‘What are you up to?’ demanded Rose, standing in his way. ‘Are you paying her before us?’
‘No, you silly cow. It’s nothing to do with that.’ Pedro pushed her back and glared at Marie. ‘Hurry up!’
Marie picked up her coat and bag. She knew they were all staring suspiciously after her.
Striding through the empty club, Pedro led the way to the small room behind the bar. A long wooden draining board was cluttered with unwashed glasses. Stacks of wooden crates stood next to an opening in the floor. Marie saw the draymen’s boards beneath. It was the entrance to the cellars.
‘Is Dad down there?’ she asked anxiously.
‘He’s so drunk he’s fallen over.’
‘Me dad wouldn’t do that.’
Pedro pointed a finger in her face. ‘If he’s not up them stairs quick he gets locked in for the night.’
Marie went to the trap door. She didn’t want to go down in the dark. The smell was awful.
‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ Pedro demanded.
Stepping down to the first wooden stair, she held on to the draymen’s boards. The only light below came from a lantern nailed to a pillar. As she descended, the air reeked of decay. There were scuffling noises all around and she knew there must be rats.
When she reached the bottom, she stood still. Cobwebs hung from the pillars and cast deep shadows. To her right a big barrel was turned on its side. Her father was sitting beside it on the wet sawdust.
‘Dad, what happened?’ She went on her knees beside him.
‘The barrel fell on top of me and the ale spilled out.’
‘Pedro said you’d been drinking.’
He shook his head wearily. ‘No, my strength just gave out. That’s why I dropped the barrel.’
Marie pulled his arm round her shoulders. ‘I’ll help you to stand.’
Marie managed to help him to his feet, but he soon sank down again. ‘It’s no use, my dear. My legs are too weak.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll go and get Bing.’
He grasped her hand as she went to leave. ‘Be careful. Pedro is unpredictable.’
She nodded, giving a brief smile. ‘Bing will know what to do.’
‘Well, where is he?’ Pedro demanded when she climbed out of the cellar.
‘I need help to lift him.’
‘If he’s too drunk to get himself up those stairs, a night on his arse sobering up will teach him a lesson.’
Marie wanted to slap his face. Her hands folded into fists as she said defiantly, ‘He’s not drunk. He’s exhausted. The work you make him do is too heavy.’
‘He’s lucky to have a job.’ Pedro gripped her arm and pushed her out of the room.
‘I’m going to get a friend to help.’
Pedro just shrugged. ‘You’ll have to be quick as I’m closing up and the trap door’s going down.’
With a smirk on his face, he returned to the room.
Marie felt her blood run cold. She turned and ran out. Her heart was thumping as she hurried into the cold night. She looked around for Bing’s car and saw the dark shape under the lamplight.
‘Bing, is that you?’
A car door banged. ‘Marie, what’s wrong?’
‘Dad’s fallen over in the cellar,’ she gasped. ‘I tried to help him, but he’s so weak he can’t walk.’
‘Didn’t anyone help him?’
‘Pedro accused him of being drunk. He said a night down there would teach him a lesson.’
Bing slipped his arm around her. ‘I’ll soon put a stop to his tricks. Where is the cellar?’
‘In the room behind the bar on the floor by some crates. There’s a trap door the draymen use for the barrels.’
He nodded, pushing her towards the car and opening the door. ‘Get in and keep warm. I won’t be long.’
‘Please be careful,’ she shouted from the open window. She didn’t want Bing to get into trouble like Charlie had. But, neither did she want her father locked in a cold cellar all night.
Bing made his way through the narrow door and down the steps into the Duke’s. The room was deserted and in darkness, except for a pale light shining from a room behind the bar. A tall man, wearing a dirty half-apron, appeared in the doorway.
‘Who the hell are you?’ he demanded, as Bing strode towards him.
‘A friend of Hector Haskins.’
‘Then you ain’t welcome here.’
‘Don’t worry, chum, I ain’t planning to stay.’
The man, who Bing took to be Pedro, reached behind the bar. The blade of a knife glinted.
Bing froze. ‘I’m not after trouble,’ he said, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up. ‘I just want the old man.’
‘He ain’t going nowhere.’
Bing stared steadily into his dark eyes. ‘Don’t sound like a bright idea to me.’
‘You’ve got a big mouth, mister.’
‘So they tell me.’ Bing watched the tip of the knife point towards him. He wondered how handy Pedro was with it.
‘You ain’t a copper, are you?’
Bing shrugged. ‘No, I take care of my own business.’
The barman moved forward, the knife at waist level. Bing stepped back, lifting his hands from his sides. ‘Listen, Hector’s ruffled your feathers, right? But do you really want to land yourself in hot water with your boss?’
‘What do you know about that?’ Pedro demanded sourly.
‘Enough to guess that, if the old man died, Wally wouldn’t thank you for the trouble of dumping him. Wally’s a busy man and a corpse turning up on his doorstep will give him aggro.’ Bing held his breath. He could almost hear Pedro’s mind working. ‘Or you could step aside and let me take him.’
Bing glanced left and right. What escape route was there if Pedro should attack him? He looked for a chair he could grab to defend himself with, but they were all stacked by the tables.
To his surprise, Pedro retreated a few steps. He jabbed the knife towards the room. ‘Don’t try nothing clever or you’ll both regret it. I’ll give you five minutes.’
Bing made for the room and, as Marie had said, found the trap door by a stack of crates. As he lifted it, the stink made his eyes water. A wooden flight of steps ended in semi-darkness on the cellar floor.
‘Hector?’ he yelled, as he made his way down. A lan
tern flickered and gave light to the shadows. He looked up the stairs. Was Pedro planning to trick him?
‘Help!’ a voice shouted, and Bing hurried the last few steps. Making his way to an overturned barrel, he found Hector beside it.
‘Bing, is that you?’ Hector asked weakly. ‘Thank God. I thought that Pedro had done something to Marie.’
‘No worries there, she’s safe in the car,’ he whispered. ‘And you’re gonna be sitting beside her in no time at all.’
‘Be careful of Pedro.’
‘I’ve clocked him, don’t worry.’
Hector’s face was ghost-like in the eerie gloom. ‘I’m afraid I’m too weak to walk very far.’
‘Don’t worry, it’s a fireman’s lift for you.’
Before Hector could reply Bing thrust his hands under Hector’s limp body and hauled him up. Without pausing, he shoved his shoulder into Hector’s middle. One good pull and he was over his shoulder. Standing up straight, right arm locked on Hector’s legs, he made his way back to the stairs. The smell of the rats and filth choked him and he paused for one last breath.
The stairs creaked as he went up. A rat shot out from the crumbling walls. He took a sharp breath as his knees and thighs knotted. Cuffing the sweat quickly from his eyes, he found himself at last in the room above.
Pedro was waiting for him, and he pressed cold steel to Bing’s throat. ‘I don’t know who you are, but you’re trouble.’
The palms of Bing’s hands filled with sweat. He felt the tip of the knife slide up to his jaw. He waited for the rip of skin, knowing that, with Hector on top of him, he was helpless.
Pedro laughed. Then, kicking hard at Bing’s backside, he sent him sprawling. It was only by luck that Bing didn’t fall, managing to steady both himself and Hector. The effort cost him dearly as, winded and half-blinded by the sweat in his eyes, he shuffled his way out and across the room.
One day, he promised himself, he’d pay another call here and it wouldn’t be to shake the man’s hand. But it was Hector he was concerned for and, finding the short flight of steps, he fumbled for the latch and let himself out.
Chapter 31
Vesta walked around the room that she was rapidly beginning to tire of. Once, she had admired Teddy’s taste, now she was beginning to see its flaws. The dark-coloured drapes shut out what sunlight could creep through the small windows, and the bare walls were bereft of family photographs or pictures. Teddy seemed to have no family or friends, and now, it seemed, she didn’t either. She missed working at the Blue Flamingo and meeting people. But Teddy insisted she was destined for better things, which was why he approved of Bill.