‘I’m sure you have a wonderful career ahead of you,’ he told her and she blushed prettily, feeling heady with success. It was a glorious feeling and she didn’t want it to end.
‘Now then – out, you gentlemen,’ Ruby ordered bossily when the champagne bottle was empty. ‘I need to help Kitty get changed now, if you please.’
‘And then, if I may, I would love to drive you home,’ Richard told her.
Kitty looked at Ruby for permission. The evening was just getting better and better.
‘I don’t see why you shouldn’t.’ Ruby nodded. Suddenly she was glad that she had left it too late to have an abortion all those years ago. Kitty could well turn out to be an asset.
Once they were alone, Ruby smiled at her daughter. ‘You did really well. That audience was in the palm of your hand by the time you’d finished – and that’s no easy task in this place, believe me. How did you enjoy it?’
‘I loved it!’ Kitty smiled back at her through the cracked mirror as Ruby undid her gown at the back.
‘I can understand that. Success gives you a heady feeling. But this is only the beginning. Everyone has to start somewhere but there are better places in store for you, I’m sure of it, if you listen to me and Max.’
‘Oh, I will,’ Kitty assured her ardently and soon they were ready to leave.
Richard was waiting for her in the corridor with the prettiest bunch of flowers she had ever seen, tied up with pink ribbon, and as he led her outside with her arms full of the lovely blooms she saw Max and Ruby talking to the manager. He appeared to be paying them, but money was the last thing on her mind at that moment. Having Richard take her home would be the perfect end to the night and she followed him willingly.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As Mabel flicked aside the bedroom curtains the following morning, the spring sunshine streamed into the room and Kitty woke and stretched lazily. Then as she remembered the night before she purred like a little cat and pulled herself up onto the pillows.
‘Morning, Miss Kitty.’ Mabel carried a laden tray over to the bed and plonked it across her lap. ‘I thought you might like a cuppa in bed, seeing as you had such a late night. Miss Ruby is already up and about, can you believe it? And Mr Thomas is here too, with the newspaper. There’s a write-up about you in the Daily Express. Apparently, you went down a treat. Well done, miss.’
‘Thank you, Mabel.’ Kitty couldn’t stop smiling. Last night after the show, Richard had taken her for supper to a very swish restaurant before driving her home, and when they said goodnight he had kissed her lightly on the lips, making her tingle all over.
Mabel had poured her a cup of tea but now Kitty was keen to see the report in the newspaper so she merely gulped at it then flung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her robe.
‘I haven’t got time to get dressed just yet,’ she told Mabel with a radiant smile and before the girl could say a word she had disappeared off through the door faster than a rabbit down a rabbit-hole.
Ruby raised an eyebrow at her state of undress when she erupted into the day room, but Max smiled indulgently as he passed her the newspaper. And there it was on page three, in big bold letters:
The Nightingale Enchants Her Audience
Miss Kitty Nightingale wooed the audience with her debut performance at the Palm Beach Club in Soho last night. Great things are forecast for the young singer. Her agent Max Thomas has said that she is a star in the making, and after her performance last night no one is doubting it.
Kitty gasped and by the time she had finished reading she was beaming from ear to ear.
‘That’s all well and good, young lady, so long as you don’t let it go to your head,’ Miss Fox commented sourly.
‘Now then,’ Max chided. ‘Don’t go spoiling it for her. Success is sweet, let her savour every minute. I’ve already been approached by one of the managers from a theatre in Drury Lane this morning and I’ve no doubt he’ll be the first of many. You’ll go far if you follow my advice, Kitty.’
‘Oh I shall, Mr Thomas,’ she said excitedly.
It was at that moment that the maid tapped on the door to bring Ruby her mail. The postman had just called by, and for the first time, Kitty didn’t even think of checking through it to see if there was a letter for her. She had more important things on her mind now, like becoming famous!
‘So what will happen now?’
‘Well, I shall wait to see what offers we have, then choose the one I think best,’ he said. ‘But this means you will need another stage gown. It doesn’t do to be seen in the same one too many times. It’s a pity you and your aunt aren’t the same size as there are any number she could have lent you, but I’m afraid they would all be far too big for you.’
Ruby struggled to keep her smile in place at the reference to her weight. It was a touchy subject just lately. But then, as she kept insisting, ‘I am not fat, I am merely rounded, and men prefer women with curves!’
‘What I can say is I’m fairly confident you will have bookings coming out of your ears from now on,’ Max went on. ‘It’s just a matter of setting them all up now, so bear with me. I want your next performance to be well publicised in order to pull the audiences in, and I’m sure our reporter friend Guy will help us with that. He was quite smitten with you – but then so were half of the men there, from what I could see.’
Kitty preened then tried to suppress her glee as she noticed Miss Fox looking at her disapprovingly. Max stayed only long enough to arrange another shopping trip for the following day and as soon as he had gone Kitty went up to her room to get dressed while Ruby went back to bed. It was far too early in the day for her to be up and about, she declared, and she needed her beauty sleep.
Kitty was too keyed-up to be bothered with any breakfast so after coming back downstairs she wandered out into the garden as she did most days, and found young Arthur setting a row of spring cabbages in the garden patch.
‘Cook was sayin’ when I went in for me breakfast that you’re a star now,’ he said, staring at her adoringly.
She giggled. ‘Not a star yet, Arthur. But hopefully I’m on my way.’
Arthur looked down and she suspected she saw nits run across the parting in his hair, poor little chap. He was so small and undersized through poor nourishment it was hard to believe that he was almost fifteen years old. She asked him to hold out his hand then gave him the sixpence she found in her pocket. The coin would go a long way towards feeding his family tonight. Even so, the boy had his pride and he told her, ‘Yer don’t have to keep giving me money, miss.’
Kitty shrugged. ‘My aunt gives me a small allowance each week, which I never spend, so why shouldn’t I? I’m sure you can find something to spend it on, eh?’
He nodded solemnly. In actual fact that sixpence would go on basic food such as potatoes and flour to feed his family, but he didn’t admit that. They spent a little more time chatting until Kitty went back inside feeling rather restless. Now that her first performance was over she was experiencing something of an anticlimax. I’ll go for a walk, she decided. She wondered if she could find the way back to the market she had visited with Mabel. It was a fair way to Fulham but she had tried to remember some of the landmarks in various places and she supposed that if she did get lost she could always hop in a cab and get that to bring her home. She doubted she would see Ruby again before early afternoon and she had nothing else to do.
Kitty set off and was soon at the gates of the nearby park, which she visited regularly now. It was the only place where she didn’t feel hemmed in by buildings, and it always reminded her of home. Moving briskly on, she followed her nose and after a couple of false turns she finally saw the market ahead. It was a beautiful day and she strolled amongst the stalls enjoying her freedom.
Eventually she stopped at a cart that was selling lemonade and bought herself a cup. It was as she was enjoying it that she noticed a young woman huddled in the doorway of an empty shop. The girl’s head was bowed so
Kitty couldn’t see her face clearly but still there was something about her that seemed familiar … And then suddenly the young woman stood up. Her dress appeared to be of a fine quality although it was creased and grubby. She was very tall for a woman and big-boned, and her light brown hair had come loose from its pins and straggled around her face. And then it hit Kitty like a thunderbolt. She would know those soft grey eyes anywhere, even after all these years. It was Maggie, the girl that the Daweses had taken to live with them while she and Kitty were still small.
Maggie obviously recognised Kitty in the same instant and stood quite still as if she had been turned to stone.
‘Maggie.’ Kitty was breathless. ‘I thought it was you. What are you doing here?’
Maggie shrugged as she scraped the toe of her boot along the cobblestones. It was then that Kitty saw how red and puffy her eyes were and realised that she’d been crying.
‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked, then berated herself for being a fool. Of course there was something wrong! A blind man on a galloping horse could see that. She glanced around for a sign of Mr and Mrs Dawes before going on, ‘Are you alone?’
Maggie remained stubbornly silent but even standing away from her Kitty could hear her stomach rumbling. ‘Have you eaten today?’ she asked warily as she placed her hand on Maggie’s arm.
The girl sprang away from her as if she had been scalded and pressed herself against the wall of the warehouse they were standing beside.
‘What’s it to you?’ she cried hoarsely, suddenly wondering if this had been such a good idea. ‘Go away and leave me alone.’
‘No, I won’t.’ Kitty could be stubborn too. ‘Not till you tell me what’s going on.’
Maggie looked at her suspiciously for a moment before muttering, ‘I’ve run away, if you must know! And don’t try to persuade me to go back because I won’t. I’d rather die than go back there.’ She shuddered. ‘I … I came here because I didn’t know where else to go, although I doubted that I would find you.’
‘All right, all right,’ Kitty soothed. ‘But just tell me … have you somewhere to stay?’
For a moment, she thought Maggie was going to ignore her but then the other girl slowly shook her head as tears trickled down her cheeks.
‘N-not yet.’
‘And have you any money?’
Another shake of the head was her answer.
‘Right then. First off, let’s get you something to eat,’ Kitty said in a voice that brooked no argument, and taking Maggie’s arm firmly she led her over to the stall that sold jacket potatoes. When she had purchased the largest they had, filled with cheese, she handed it to Maggie and the girl gobbled it down greedily. Kitty then bought her a mug of steaming tea and when Maggie had drunk that too she looked slightly better.
‘Right, now we need to find you somewhere to stay,’ Kitty said thoughtfully and Maggie started to cry again.
‘Why would you do that for me? I was horrible to you when we lived at Treetops together.’
Kitty smiled. ‘We were just little children back then,’ she reminded her. ‘And until you went to live with the Dawes family we had been brought up together as sisters. I missed you terribly for a time when you left, so did Ben.’
Maggie looked amazed and seemed to relax a little. ‘Believe it or not, I missed you too,’ she said. ‘We heard that you’d come to live in Chelsea with your real mother. It must be nice for you.’
Kitty grinned ruefully. ‘It is, but I have to call her Ruby or Aunt.’ When Maggie raised a puzzled eyebrow, she went on, ‘It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it one of these days.’ It was then that she had an idea, and grabbing Maggie’s hand she began to haul her along, saying, ‘I know who might be able to put you up for a while. Come with me.’
They walked back to the house in silence. Kitty noticed that Maggie seemed tired and dispirited, but then that was to be expected after what the girl had been through. She entered the kitchen garden from the gate at the back of the house and just as she had hoped there was young Arthur hoeing amongst the vegetables.
‘Psst! Arthur – over here!’
He glanced up, somewhat surprised to see Kitty standing over by the shed where he stored his tools and beckoning to him. They couldn’t be seen from the kitchen window from there so he laid down his hoe and hurried across, noting that another young woman was with her.
‘Do you think your mother might be interested in taking in a lodger – just for a few days?’ she asked, getting straight to the point.
Arthur scratched his head. ‘Well, we ain’t really got the room,’ he answered truthfully. But Kitty wasn’t going to give in that easily.
‘I just need somewhere for my friend here to stay,’ she went on. ‘And I’d pay well. Five shillings for two nights for a start-off. How does that sound?’
Arthur’s eyes almost popped out of his head at the promise of such an amount. He already had the sixpence from this morning. With eggs at a penny a dozen and a loaf at the same price it would mean he and the family could eat like royalty for weeks. His mum might even be able to pay off a bit of the rent arrears.
‘She’d have to kip down wiv me sisters in their room,’ he said cautiously. ‘An’ we ain’t very posh.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t mind that at all,’ Maggie piped up. She liked the look of Arthur, and anything was better than the prospect of another night in a shop doorway. London absolutely terrified her.
‘All right then. But you’ll have to wait here till I’m finished work. And it’s a rare old walk to my house, I warn you.’
‘Good, that’s settled then.’ Kitty beamed her thanks at him. ‘Now I’ll go and get you the money and coax Cook into giving me and Maggie something to eat.’ The baked potato had, she knew, barely touched the sides, and she was sure that Maggie was still ravenous.
Maggie followed her down the path and as they entered the kitchen the cook raised her eyes.
‘Ah, Cook,’ Kitty said breezily, pulling out a chair for Maggie at the kitchen table. ‘This is my friend, Maggie. We used to live together and we just bumped into each other. Is there any chance of you rustling up a meal for her?’
‘I dare say I could manage that, if she doesn’t mind a slice or two of cold pork and some of my home-made pickle,’ the woman agreed. She liked Miss Kitty, there were no airs and graces about her, unlike her aunt who insisted on being waited on hand and foot like royalty.
Within minutes of the woman placing a meal in front of Maggie, she had cleared the plate. She looked very tired, so Kitty then suggested, ‘Come up to my room for a while.’ She didn’t think that her mother would object to her entertaining a friend and she was hoping that Maggie would be able to have a rest before moving to Arthur’s for the night. Then once she was gone it would be time to speak to Ruby and put the second part of her plan into operation. She just hoped that Ruby would agree to it, but only time would tell now. If her mother turned her down, then Kitty wasn’t sure what she would do.
Maggie trudged up to her room but made no comment as she looked around at the luxurious surroundings. Her eyes were dull and lacklustre, and Kitty sensed that it must be something really bad that had made her run away from Witherley. But she didn’t question her. Maggie clearly wasn’t ready to talk about it yet but perhaps she would confide in her, given time.
‘Why don’t you pop onto the bed and have a rest for a while?’ she suggested and Maggie kicked off her shoes and gladly did as she was told, feeling safe for the first time since she had left The Gables after that awful confrontation with her so-called father. Kitty pottered about quietly and when she looked towards the bed minutes later, she saw that Maggie was fast asleep so she tiptoed from the room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘Maggie, wake up. Arthur is about to leave now.’ As Kitty gently shook Maggie’s arm, the girl started awake and flinched away from her. Then as she saw who it was, she let out a deep sigh of relief.
‘Sorry. I … I’ll come straight aw
ay.’ She slithered off the bed and put on her shoes before following Kitty downstairs and out into the garden. Arthur was there waiting for them, holding the handlebars of his rusty bicycle.
‘I’m afraid it’s a couple of miles to where I live,’ he warned them again, but Maggie told him that didn’t matter.
‘Here’s the money I promised.’ As Kitty slipped the coins into Arthur’s hand his eyes lit up. ‘And here’s a little more for you and Maggie to get the omnibus home. I don’t think she’s up to walking too much further today. My friend needs a good night’s sleep.’
Maggie smiled at her falteringly, wondering why Kitty was being so kind to her and wishing she herself had been nicer to the girl all those years ago.
‘Ta, Miss Kitty.’ Arthur felt like the cat who had got the cream as he thought of his mother’s face when he gave her such a goodly sum of money – behind his father’s back, of course. He was quite sure that she wouldn’t mind having an extra person in the house for a while, for despite being as poor as a church mouse, Clemency Patridge had a heart as big as a bucket.
Kitty squeezed Maggie’s hand encouragingly then and promised, ‘I shall be in touch very soon, hopefully with a long-term solution to your problems, but in the meantime, I’m sure Arthur’s mother will look after you.’
‘Thank you,’ Maggie replied in a choky voice then she marched purposefully towards the gate before she burst into tears at this unexpected kindness.
Once they were gone, Kitty turned and went to get tidied up before dinner.
The three women were enjoying dessert – a delicious apple turnover served with thick cream – when Kitty asked casually, ‘Do you still think I may need a maid, Aunt?’
Ruby looked mildly surprised. Kitty had always seemed so averse to the idea whenever it had been mentioned before.
The Little Angel Page 18
