by Sam Michaels
‘Oh dear, how unfortunate. So you’ve been fending for yourself on the streets?’
‘Yeah, for weeks now. I knocked on some of the big fancy houses and begged ’em to give me domestic work but the snooty cows shut the door in me face.’
‘Well, you do look a bit of a street urchin. Here, take my handkerchief and wipe the muck off your face.’
‘Thanks. You’re very kind.’
‘I know what it’s like to be penniless. I’m an actor, in this theatre tonight, actually. But when there’s been no work available, I’ve been without a salary.’
‘You look rich now.’
‘I can’t complain but money doesn’t buy you happiness, my dear.’
‘It helps though.’
‘Yes, it does, but I’d gladly forfeit all my money for one more dance with my dear departed wife.’
Charlotte had crunched and swallowed the sweets now, and offered her most seductive smile to the man. ‘Perhaps I could give you a bit of happiness – it wouldn’t cost you much.’
The man looked up and down the street, then asked, ‘Are you propositioning me, young lady?’
‘If you like. I bet an old fella like you would love to get his hands on my firm breasts,’ she husked and thrust her chest towards him.
‘I think you’ve misread my intentions. At my age, I’m lucky to raise a smile. Now, if I were you, I’d clear off from round here. The police don’t like ladies of the night frequenting this area. It lowers the tone, you understand.’
‘Sod you,’ Charlotte snapped at his rebuke. ‘If you ain’t interested, then bugger off. A few measly sweets and an ’ankerchief ain’t no use to me. Go on, get on your way and stop wasting my time.’
‘How rude!’ the man said and marched off.
For a fleeting moment, Charlotte had thought her fortunes were about to change but the old gentleman hadn’t been interested and she was left desperate again. She thought of Tobias. At least in prison he had shelter and food and wasn’t forced to sell his body so he could eat. Seemed he had it easy compared to her. Charlotte spat bloody saliva to the ground, her thoughts full of venom. Tobias was an idiot. He was such a fool. How could he have messed up something so simple? If it wasn’t for him bungling her well-considered notion, she wouldn’t be in this mess now and Georgina bitch-face Garrett would be dead. If she came face to face with Tobias now, she’d give him a piece of her mind!
But part of her still missed him. Not the sex though. She’d never enjoyed that with him, so it had been even worse the first time she’d prostituted herself. It had been down an alley with an old drunk. The fumble had been quick and left her feeling vile, but after that first experience, she’d hardened to it. She’d learned to shut off her feelings. It was easier that way. She didn’t have to hate herself.
Crowds coming to the theatre performance began to flock to the hall so Charlotte moved a little further up the street and stood on a corner. She leaned against a wall and caught the eye of a bloke pushing a barrow-cart. He smiled awkwardly at her.
‘You looking for a good time?’ she asked in the same way she’d heard other prostitutes talk.
The man looked nervous but approached her. ‘How much?’ he asked.
Charlotte was about to answer but heard the shrill noise of a policeman’s whistle. The man ran off and Charlotte froze on the spot, like a wild rabbit caught in torchlight.
‘What have I told you lot about soliciting round here?’ the policeman asked and grabbed Charlotte’s arm.
‘I ain’t,’ she screeched and tried to yank her arm free, aware that she was causing a scene and being watched by the theatregoers.
‘Don’t come the innocent with me, missy. You’re all the same, the lot of you whores, thieves and bloody liars. You’re coming down the station with me and we’ll see what the judge has got to say about it in the morning.’
Charlotte stopped struggling and willingly went along with the copper. A night in the cells wouldn’t be too bad. It felt more inviting than the cold streets and she’d likely be fed and watered too. ‘All right, officer, you’ve got me. I was touting for business,’ she confessed and looked forward to a decent night’s sleep.
18
The following evening, Benjamin looked around The Penthouse Club for Aubrey but his trusted friend was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Aubrey’s new boyfriend, Cuthbert, the blond bombshell, as Aubrey liked to refer to him. Mind you, Benjamin thought Aubrey would’ve been mad to brave the atrocious mid-November weather outside. The rain had been relentless all day with no sign of stopping. Benjamin resigned himself to the fact that they’d probably have a very quiet night in the club.
‘Blinkin’ weather, it’s raining cats and dogs out there,’ Ivy moaned and removed her felt hat and shook her damp locks.
‘Do you mind,’ Benjamin said, ‘don’t do that in here. Go and dry yourself off out the back.’
‘Bugger that, it’s freezing out there. Anyway, I’m all right now. I expect it’ll be a quiet one tonight.’
‘Yes, I’m sure of it, I was just thinking the same. Did you enjoy your evening off yesterday with Mr Hartley?’ Benjamin asked. Mr Hartley was the oldest queen in The Penthouse and one of its founding members. The man had taken a shine to Ivy and she’d become a good companion to him.
‘Oh, yes, it was wonderful. Mr Hartley took me to that variety theatre in Chelsea. My jaw ached from laughing so much, but…’
‘But, what?’
‘I dunno if I should say anything to Miss G, but I’m sure I saw Charlotte Mipple getting a tug from the Old Bill.’
‘Really? What was she doing in Chelsea and why was she being arrested?’
‘From what I could see, it looked like she was being done for being on the game.’
‘Charlotte Mipple… surely not!’
‘Yeah, and she looked a right tramp and all. I reckon she’s been living rough and doing what she has to do to get by.’
‘Well, I have absolutely no sympathy for the girl. It could have been me in hospital instead of Dina. In fact, I’d probably be dead. I have a very delicate constitution, you know. Charlotte can rot in hell for all I care. Serves her right.’
‘But do you think I should mention it to Miss G?’
Benjamin rested his elbow on the bar and his chin on his hand whilst he thought about it. ‘No, I wouldn’t, not at the moment. Miss Garrett is still very much out of sorts. Charlotte Mipple being homeless and prostituting herself is of no consequence to Miss Garrett.’
‘Fair enough, I won’t say nothing then,’ Ivy said looking around the club, and then asked, ‘No Aubrey tonight?’
‘It appears not. I think this frightful weather has put him off venturing outside.’
‘Like I said, a quiet one tonight then. Shall I put the wireless on for a change?’
‘Oh, no, Ivy. I can’t stand to listen to any more of those wretched bulletins. It seems Germany is gaining strength and momentum with each passing day. Hitler has taken control of half of Poland and it will only be a matter of time before he marches through Europe.’
‘Don’t say that. I try not to listen to all the war stuff but you can’t get away from it. Everyone down the market is talking about it. I wish they wouldn’t, it scares the life out of me. But at least one of them Jerry submarines was blown up on Sunday. Old Ted on the flower stall said a mine got it in the Dover Straits. I still wish they wouldn’t talk about it though.’
‘Quite, Ivy, quite. If it’s not being blared from the radio then it’s splashed across all the newspapers.’
‘Mr Hartley got us a taxicab yesterday and we passed a load of army trucks. What with the barrage balloons and ack-ack guns, I don’t think Hitler’s planes stand a chance of bombing us… do they?’
Benjamin held back from sharing his thoughts with Ivy. The girl was worried enough and he didn’t want to add to it. But if Hitler invaded France and defeated the troops Britain had sent, Germany could easily launch an air attack on Britain from the Fren
ch airfields. Chamberlain must have thought so too. That’s why there was so much preparation already in place. Granted, it appeared all sides were mostly staying behind their lines, but it was only a matter of time before this ‘phoney’ war became real.
‘Will they bomb us, Benjamin? What do you fink? Will the Jerries attack us from the air?’ Ivy asked again, her voice high-pitched and fretful.
‘I shouldn’t worry, dear. They might try but you’ve seen the anti-aircraft machines with your own eyes. So, enough talk of the dreary war and get on with stocking up the bar, madam.’
Charlotte adjusted her hat in a mirror behind them and set about the task Benjamin had set her. There were only five customers in the club so far, none of whom needed serving. Benjamin rolled a pencil in his fingers. He missed Aubrey’s company and assumed he’d be seeing less and less of his friend now that Aubrey was smitten with Cuthbert. He felt a tinge of jealousy. Not that he wanted Aubrey for himself or resented the man having a relationship, but Benjamin had never found anyone special. He’d had the odd fling here and there but true love had evaded him. He’d have thought that managing The Penthouse Club would have offered him a varied choice, but not thus far. Maybe he was too picky? Had he set his standards too high? Aubrey always told him he was finicky. Yes, he probably was, but there had to be someone in the world for him – someone he deemed worthy of his love. But after witnessing how upset Georgina had been since losing Lash, he decided that maybe to love was too painful to cope with when the love was lost and it simply wasn’t worth the agony.
*
Jack Garrett had taken the train to Liverpool and now stood in the shadows outside Kevin Kelly’s house. He’d been there for hours, hiding behind some bushes and waiting for any sign of movement. Apart from the man’s wife going out and returning laden with shopping bags, there’d been little else happening. The bushes shielded him from view of Kelly’s men and gave him a good viewpoint of the front door. But with the sun beginning to set, Jack thought he might be bedding down there for the night. And though it was bitterly cold, he didn’t care. He was prepared to wait for as long as it took to gun down the man who’d violated his daughter.
His hand clasped around the cold metal gun in his coat pocket. He’d acquired it from one of Georgina’s men and insisted the man promise not to mention it to her. It was loaded and ready to shoot. All he had to do was aim and fire. But he’d never shot a gun before and hoped his aim would be good. At least sufficient to mortally wound Kelly. Though he was under no illusion. He’d seen the protection the man surrounded himself with and knew that the moment he fired, each of Kelly’s men would shoot back at him. But he’d vowed to Sissy on her deathbed that he’d protect their girl and if this is what it took, then so be it.
Jack’s eyes fixed on Kelly’s front door and he willed the man to come through it. His stomach churned at the thought of what Kelly had done to Georgina and he tried to dismiss the image. It was bad enough that Kelly had broken her heart but to rape her too, it was uncalled for and he knew Kelly’s actions had nothing to do with sexual pleasure. The man had been exercising his power but he’d left his spawn in Georgina’s belly, taunting and torturing her with every beat of its unborn heart. That creature inside her would be Jack’s grandchild but he knew he could never love the child, not in the way he did Alfie. And he doubted Georgina would either. Though there was always the possibility it was Lash’s baby and that was why his daughter would never get rid of it.
Jack sighed heavily. He’d resigned himself to never seeing the child, or Alfie or Georgina again. And though his daughter had begged him not to react to what she’d told him, Jack couldn’t ignore what Kelly had done. And he had to stop the man from coming for her. Lash wasn’t there to look after her anymore so it was down to him. He didn’t expect to be returning to Battersea and had bought a one-way train ticket. This was it. On Kelly’s drive. Jack would die but he took solace in knowing he was taking Kelly with him. He knew Georgina would be heartbroken, but he thought her strong and capable. She’d mourn for a while but she’d pull her socks up and get on with it, safe in the knowledge that Kevin Kelly could never hurt her again.
A lone tear slipped from Jack’s eye. ‘You silly sod,’ he whispered to himself but it upset him to think of the pain his daughter would suffer when she’d discover that he was dead. But at least she’d know her dad did this for her. The ultimate sacrifice, just as Sissy would have expected from him.
The door of Kelly’s house opened and Jack’s body stiffened. His pulse raced. Was this it? Was this the moment he’d been waiting for? With his eyes fixed firmly on the door, he eased the gun from his pocket.
Yes, Kevin Kelly emerged, looking smug and without a care in the world. Jack sprung forward, the gun by his side. He marched across the drive, the gravel crunching under his foot, and ignored Kelly’s men aiming their weapons at him.
‘Kevin Kelly,’ he shouted as he approached.
The man stopped feet away from his car and turned to look at him.
‘This is from Georgina,’ Jack said and pulled his arm up in front. As he squeezed the trigger, he saw Kelly’s eyes widen and then heard several almighty booms.
Something, a bullet, hit Jack’s left shoulder. It felt as if he’d been whacked with a sledgehammer, then again in his thigh.
He saw Kelly fall to the ground but he couldn’t be sure his bullet was in the man and fired at him again.
Jack felt another blow, this time in his chest, and another. Each shot made his body jerk though he stayed on his feet, but only just, and fired for the third time.
Kelly’s men were running at him now, still shooting. His ears rang with the noise of gunfire and he could feel his strength waning. He fell to his knees, unaware that blood was pumping from several holes in his body. His focus was becoming blurred but he could see Kelly’s white shirt was now bright red and the man had stopped moving.
Jack tried to aim his gun again but his arm wouldn’t hold still. It waved around uncontrollably and he used the last of his strength to fire again. Unsure of where the bullet went, he fell forward, his face landing in the gravel and the last thing he saw was Kevin Kelly’s lifeless body. ‘I did it,’ he thought. ‘I got him, George.’
He heard the crunch of the small white stones as footsteps approached.
‘Is he dead?’ a voice said.
‘He is now,’ said another and Jack’s body jerked a final time as a bullet penetrated his back.
I’ll see you soon, Sissy, my love, he thought, and then his world went black.
19
One year later. October 1940.
Georgina held her baby girl close to her chest, trying to block out the sound of the air raid siren. ‘It’s all right, Selina, it’ll stop soon,’ she soothed, and rocked her body from side to side.
The squall of the sirens had become almost a nightly occurrence as Hitler’s Luftwaffe dropped bombs across the city of London, razing houses to the ground, burning warehouses and killing many.
Georgina heard a loud knocking on the front door and found Mary, her lifelong neighbour, standing on the doorstep.
‘Come quickly, Georgina. They’re close tonight – you can’t stay in here,’ Mary urged.
‘We’re fine, thanks,’ Georgina answered over the sound of her daughter’s crying and the wailing siren.
‘No, pet, you’re not. Get yourself and that bonny bairn in my shelter. Come on, make haste.’
A loud explosion nearby made Georgina jump and the smell of brick dust and burning timbers wafted in the air. ‘All right,’ she told Mary, ‘I’m coming. Let me just grab a few bits.’
‘No time, pet. Come now.’
Georgina pulled the front door closed behind her and hurried through Mary’s house and into the small back garden. When she entered the air raid shelter, she was surprised at how comfortable Mary had made it. There were two deckchairs, a camp bed, a kitchen stool and several blankets. Colleen was in one of the deckchairs and jumped up to offer it to G
eorgina.
‘No, you stay there, thanks,’ Georgina said and sat on the stool.
‘Pull a blanket over your knees, pet,’ Mary said in her strong Irish twang. ‘It gets chilly in here and I’ve got a feeling we’re in for a long one tonight. But not to worry, I’ve got a flask of tea and some broken biscuits. Here, let me take the bairn. I’ve a way with me that comforts them. Probably my big bosoms. They think they’re gonna get a good dinner.’ She chuckled and reached for Selina.
Georgina handed over her bawling bundle and within seconds, the baby stopped crying.
‘See, what did I tell you. Your gran would have told you, God rest her soul, that she never heard my bairns crying through the walls. Not like you. Ba Jesus, girl, you used to scream the house down, twice a night.’
‘Sorry about that,’ Georgina said and smiled warmly at the rotund woman.
‘Aw, will you look at this little angel. She’s the spit of her father, God rest his soul and all. I swear, Georgina, I’ve never seen a baby with such a mop of black hair. She’s a bonny lass, so she is, exotic-looking, I’d say.’
‘Yes, she is very much like her father, and Selina is the name Lash chose for a girl when I was carrying Alfie,’ she said fondly, remembering the day she’d given birth and had cried with relief when she’d held her girl and seen Lash’s eyes looking back at her. She’d known instantly that the baby was a part of him and an unconditional mother’s love had rushed in and filled her heart, replacing all the hatred she’d held for Kevin Kelly.
‘You can tell me I’m speaking out of turn, but do you not think it would be wise to send the girl to be with her gypsy family? She’d be with her brother, safe away from all these bombs falling.’
Even in the dim light of the torches in the shelter, Mary’s hair shone bright red and her orange freckles made her green eyes stand out. Colleen looked the double of her mother only not as round and her complexion was slightly creamier. Georgina looked from one woman to the other, searching for an answer, but nothing came.