by E M Jones
“Right, come on then.” Lizzie increased her pace with renewed purpose and pulled slightly at Ted’s hand so his large frame kept pace with her. Lizzie’s form, although small, moved forward powerfully. The hot summer air parted as she pushed on. She held her head up and forward, towards Soho, where she might discover something that would help Dina. She felt like one of the new steam trains she had seen propelling their way on a single track.
Keeping Dina’s image in her mind’s eye, she waded through the heat and activity of the night. She ignored the laughter and howling, and several “Hello, darling”s that might have led to profitable meetings, and walked on. The only thing that intruded on her consciousness, apart from the image of Dina, was an awareness of Ted nearby, his large frame supporting her as she pushed on to find Dina.
On the corner of Great Windmill Street, Lizzie saw what she had been looking for: a sculpture of yellow hair on top of a large woman wearing scarlet, green, blue, yellow and orange, each colour a different fabric, creating a blancmange-like figure who towered over a small, petrified man.
“Georgie!”
The blancmange turned, and the small man took advantage of the space this created between the wall and his predator and skittered away, mumbling his apologies.
“Lizzie.” Georgie’s hair wobbled as she turned to Lizzie with a scowl. “Why, you’ve just lost me at least two pounds—you’ll have to pay me back. What are you doing here ruining a girl’s hard work?”
“Sorry, Georgie. I do owe you. Do you think you would have got anywhere with him?”
“He’s been after me for weeks. Finally came over today. I had him in a corner. Don’t worry, he’ll be back—I think he finds me exotic.”
Lizzie laughed with Georgie. “You are exotic. Sorry again. Anyway, look, I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important. It’s about Dina.”
“Oh, yes. Sir Glynne’s favourite.” Georgie’s faint envy for Dina dispersed as her face moulded into a wowing smile. She lifted her head and directed her attention above Lizzie’s head. “Well, hello, sir. How are you this evening?”
Lizzie’s hand pulled slightly as Ted shifted his weight, looking at Georgie. “I’m very well, thank you.”
“You are welcome to pay Lizzie’s debt on her behalf. Who are you?”
A swell of dismay rose in Lizzie’s stomach as Ted released Lizzie’s hand and reached in his trouser pocket. Involuntarily, Lizzie turned away. Laughter cut across, and she snapped back towards Ted and Georgie. The blancmange was wobbling again as she held two pound notes in her hand. “Thank you, sir.”
Lizzie grinned with relief and felt like a fool for doing so.
“I’m Ted, a friend of Lizzie’s.”
Georgie smiled openly at Ted and Lizzie. “Well, nice to meet you and lucky Lizzie. Now, how can I help?”
“Is there somewhere quiet we can talk for a bit, Georgie? It’s Dina—she’s missing.”
Georgie’s face assumed the same determined fear that Charlie’s had when she’d read about the dead girl in the river. “Come with me.”
***
Georgie’s face was almost transparent under her paint, and the flesh beneath her eyes pulled her facial features downwards. Her outfit suddenly looked ridiculous as she spoke earnestly and fondly of Marie.
“Since Sir Glynne, she never really found another regular. You know how it is, Lizzie, or maybe you don’t yet. Nobody wants Sir Glynne’s leftovers. He got the best of her. And then, after getting used to that life, with him, it was hard for Marie to go back to working the streets with us. She worked hard, Lizzie, but she felt… she felt like she had failed.”
Lizzie looked at Georgie intently, trying to absorb every word and glance that might help find Dina.
“Like you, we work anywhere over the summer with the regulars away. We’ve been here mainly, and trade had been alright. Marie had had a few good nights, made some money and met some gentlemen new to town. That night, we’d come here a bit later because it’s been so hot. We’d had some wine to cool us. My small secret admirer was here, of course, watching me. Kath was with us and Marie had been in the company of some young men who we’d met last week. You know how things go, Lizzie—everybody tries to make a bit of money and get home safely. The last time I saw her, she was with a tall, well-spoken young man who’d had too much to drink but didn’t seem nasty with it. I gave her a wink goodnight as I made my way home with my companion.” Marie’s death hovered in the break in their conversation. “I don’t know what else I can say, Lizzie.”
“Did Marie mention anything odd, or a strange customer recently?”
“Strange compared with what, Lizzie? You know what it’s like. She was just getting on with things. She hadn’t been the same since Sir Glynne, but none of us will be young forever, and she made her way as best she could. She was still infatuated with him, or with the idea of being his mistress at least. Every time she had had a few drinks, she imagined she had seen his carriage everywhere we went. Every time she heard a common cab, she would look up and preen as if Sir Glynne had come back to fetch her. Just last week she said she’d seen his cab—it was probably a shabby carriage carrying nobody in particular home.”
The demise of Marie’s career rang like a parable in Lizzie’s ear, and Georgie’s outfit seemed an even more absurd shroud for her aging body.
“Dina’s tough, Lizzie; the way she took Marie’s place was masterful. If anybody will be alright, she will.”
Lizzie offered Georgie the best smile she could. “Thanks, Georgie. And if you hear anything—”
“You’ll be the first to know. Right, back to work. Can you see him?” Mirth returned to Georgie’s eyes as she cast her eyes behind Lizzie’s right shoulder.
“Ah!” Lizzie smiled fondly as she saw the small, petrified man at the end of the street looking over at Georgie.
“Exotic, you see.”
“Indeed. Thanks again, Georgie. See you around.” Lizzie and Ted turned in unintended unison.
“Take care, Lizzie.”
Leaving Georgie looking nonchalant as she waited for her admirer, Lizzie and Ted turned back towards Piccadilly Circus. The activity in the warren was slowing down as tiredness and intoxication weighed down desire. They walked silently, the odd laugh and tumble the background to their thoughts.
“Nothing to help us there, Lizzie?”
“No. Poor Marie.”
“What are you going to do next?”
Did he mean this evening? About Dina? In her life? He had seen the Lizzie of the future in Georgie, and she did not care to imagine what he thought of her.
She lifted her head to meet his eyes. As she was growing used to, his face was open and kind.
Lizzie jumped and squeezed Ted’s arm as Charlie fell easily into stride with them, taking Lizzie’s arm. “Did you miss me?”
“Yes, as ever.”
“What did you find out?”
“Not very much. Marie’s been working around here since Dina became Sir Glynne’s companion. No odd customers, nothing unusual according to Georgie.”
“Ted, anything you noticed?”
“No, Lizzie’s said all there is to say.”
The three walked in time with each other down towards the river.
“Right. Tomorrow we could try the Pleasure Gardens, then. See if we recognise anybody from the other night.” Charlie’s plan for the next day refused to allow for the possibility that their search would come to an end. “Lizzie, are you game?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Ted?”
Ted glanced at Lizzie, who gave a slight nod. “Yes, I’ll help if I can.”
“Alright then. We need to get our rest. Ted, will you be walking us home?”
12
There had been a storm in the afternoon, and the walk to Cremorne Pleasure Gardens was fresher than on their previous visit. Lizzie and Charlie were dressed for work but still enjoyed the feeling of cooler air on their flesh. A faint breeze danced through the wisps
of hair Lizzie had left framing her face. She glanced to her right, feeling a little lost despite the familiar route.
Charlie turned to look briefly towards her. “How are you?”
Lizzie knew the question was really “What’s going on with you and Ted?” but appreciated Charlie’s tact. “I don’t know. I feel a bit strange. Like somebody’s taken my room and moved everything around without telling me. It’s still my room, but I feel out of place.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “What do you think is out of place?”
Lizzie looked around as if she might find that something. Then her head moved to her right as if pulled by a rope. She stood still. “Dina, I suppose. Dina is what’s out of place.” Lizzie resumed her walk and Charlie matched her pace.
“And apart from Dina? Anything out of place with you?”
Charlie looked at Lizzie with such care that Lizzie gave up on her silence. “Ted. Have you ever been in a situation like this, you know?”
“Well, I’ve never been in any kind of situation with Ted, thankfully, since that could get very complicated.” Lizzie smiled despite herself; Charlie always could cheer her up. “But yes, we’ve all been in confusing situations, Lizzie. We’re all human underneath our paint—as you well know.”
“What did you do?”
“Oh, you know. Followed them around like a spaniel for months and let them use me as they pleased, and then nearly died from a broken heart when they went off with their next fancy woman.”
Lizzie turned slightly to check Charlie was alright, though neither woman broke their stride. Charlie carried herself with her usual slight strut and looked directly forwards. Her short hair was untouched by the breeze, and her skirt swayed and riffled as she walked. She met Lizzie’s questioning eyes and smiled.
“It happens, Lizzie, and I, like many others, got over it. Look, I’ve survived to charm another dame on another day!” Charlie’s voice rose in the mock heroic tones of a music hall idol. She raised her arms in victory, attracting whistles from a group of swaggering young men. She turned towards them with a large, false smile, “Why, thank you, young sirs.”
Lizzie had walked quietly while Charlie expounded her tale of survival. She glanced once again at her, looking only at her eyes. Charlie’s exuberance was not matched by the gay glimmer her eyes often assumed. Her heroic sway calmed and her tone quietened under Lizzie’s glance. Without words, the two women walked on in rhythmic, purposeful steps, and the colder breeze laced between their legs.
“What should I do, then?”
They were nearing the gardens now, with the prospect of work returning to their minds. “Do what you want, Lizzie, and what you feel you can. Just make sure that you’re ready for your heart to be broken.” The loving warning passed from Charlie to Lizzie with a squeeze of her hand. “You’ll survive, Lizzie.”
With that, they grew quiet and increased their pace. The wind was woven faster by their legs as they saw the gates to the Pleasure Gardens.
“Right, we have to try to find out something to help us find her. Shall we split up?”
Lizzie was reluctant to release the safety she felt in Charlie’s companionship, but they would be more productive and profitable alone. “Yes. Let’s work until it’s dark, and then meet here to see what we’ve found out?”
“Yes, boss. OK, see you in a bit.” Charlie squeezed Lizzie’s hand again as they parted.
Lizzie’s comfort faded with the feeling of Charlie’s touch. For a moment, she watched Charlie bobbing into the crowd.
Lizzie jumped as her elbow was caught by a swaying arm entering the gardens. She scolded herself. It was time to try to do something to help Dina.
***
Mrs Henry had made Lizzie and Charlie some porridge that morning. This had never happened before. Lizzie and Charlie had shared a nod of appreciation across the kitchen table as Mrs Henry served this unusual breakfast.
“Did you find anything out, girls? Any news about Dina?”
Charlie grimaced. “Why don’t you sit down, Mrs H?”
“Oh dear.” Mrs Henry released her weight into a chair and landed ungracefully.
“It isn’t bad news, Mrs H; it’s just no news. We tried, but nobody knows anything. It’s like she’s just vanished.”
“Did you ask Johnny?”
“We did, Mrs H, and he was very helpful, but he doesn’t know anything apart from the fact that she left with a customer.”
“Anyone we know?”
“No. Posh chap. Typical of Dina.”
All three women moved their gaze slightly towards the empty chair at the breakfast table.
“Don’t panic yet, Mrs H. Lizzie and me are going to keep trying—aren’t we, Lizzie?”
Lizzie blinked awake. She had been picturing the last time she’d seen Dina in the kitchen, graceful in her cleaning as in everything she did. “Yes, of course. We thought we’d try Cremorne Pleasure Garden tonight in case we meet somebody who can help or who remembers anything.”
Lizzie and Charlie looked expectantly at Mrs Henry, who seemed dazed by her own thoughts. She raised her head and seemed to look through Lizzie and out of the back window into the yard. Bleak silence pushed the women’s hope to the edges of the room.
“Right, then. We better tidy the house before tonight and sort our frocks out.” Charlie rose from the table, and the scraping of her chair against the tiled floor moved Lizzie from her own thoughts.
“Yes, let’s make a start.” Lizzie spoke and rose with more force than she felt.
“Anything in particular you’d like us to sort out today, Mrs H?” Charlie bent her head to try to meet Mrs Henry’s fixed gaze.
The old woman looked up, briefly, as if at a stranger. “Yes, that’s right, girls. You get ready for tonight.”
Charlie and Lizzie walked towards the stairs, leaving Mrs Henry weighed down in her seat. Charlie reached for Lizzie’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. They looked back at the old woman, sat unmoving in her chair. She seemed fixated on something in the backyard next to the drab clothesline and the bucket Dina used to wash her hair.
***
Lizzie continued to feel like a jigsaw with missing pieces. The rain had helped, and the walk following the pouring summer showers had a cathartic effect on her thoughts. Once more, she scolded herself for her self-indulgence and committed to concentrating on finding Dina. Yet her firm resolve dissolved quickly. Her first potential customer had been a young man who seemed jovial and harmless enough. Lizzie had complimented and flirted as expected, but when they had wandered to a quieter part of the gardens for the final transaction, Lizzie had been struck by a sense of infidelity quite at odds with her profession. Hugh, her customer, had been charming and reasonable, yet all Lizzie could see was Ted’s face clouded by hurt and disappointment. As Hugh reached for her hand, she pulled back without thinking.
“What?”
“Sorry, I can’t.”
“What?” Hugh’s jovial demeanour soon turned at this rejection.
Lizzie started to turn, wanting to get away from Hugh and everybody else. He had caught her arm roughly. “Where are you going? I thought you were working.”
“I am. I mean, I’m not. Sorry. I have to go.”
She tried to walk away, but Hugh’s hold on her arm was strong.
“One of those, are you?”
Lizzie tried to stop the panic rising from her stomach. She remembered one of the first things Mrs Henry had told her: “Don’t ever wind them up and then change your mind and try to leave them. Then they do get nasty.” She forced herself to move calmly.
“Hugh, I’m really sorry. I’ve had these pains—they’ve come back; I think I might faint.”
Hugh looked through her lie, clutching her arm like an angry schoolboy. Lizzie ducked unconsciously, expecting a slap across her face, but the blow came in words.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find another whore who knows how to keep men happy.”
Lizzie took the insult; it was a
small price to pay for her foolishness. Hugh released her arm and spat behind her as she walked away.
She had walked alone around the gardens, caught between her need to earn some money and her fidelity to Ted. She caught a glance of Charlie with a gentleman in a green velvet jacket and was just resolving to try to find a new customer when she saw a familiar moustache above a tall, thin suit.
Lizzie walked towards Dina’s customer from The Alhambra. As she neared, she saw he was again breathing heavily and his tight face was swollen with alcohol, making him look like a puffed fish. Lizzie purposefully brushed his angular frame as she walked past.
“Oh, sorry.” Lizzie turned towards him and presented her most charming, demure smile.
His breathing grew louder and shorter. “Hello, dear.”
“Hello, sir. I am sorry.” Lizzie stroked his arm gently and felt his body jump slightly in response. “Can I do anything to make it up to you?”
Lizzie thought he might burst; his worn face seemed to expand beyond the ability of human flesh, and his chest rose to his chin.
“Well, why don’t we take a walk together? I’m Arthur. What’s your name?”
“I’m Lizzie. Come on then, Arthur.” She took his arm, and his body jerked again as she led him away from the crowds. “Have you been here before, Arthur? The gardens are delightful, aren’t they?”
“Y-yes. They are. Full of delights.”
“Would you like to come this way?”
Lizzie led him like a toddler to a path winding around carved shrubs with a few raindrops still sitting on their warm leaves. Arthur walked with an odd tremble between his steps when Lizzie brushed his side.
“I hope I’m not stealing you from somebody else this evening,” she said. “Do you have a sweetheart?”
“Oh no. I’m blessed with the ability to attract many beautiful women. I don’t like to tie myself down.” Arthur found a steadier stride as he painted himself as one of the main attractions of the gardens.
“Of course. Have you met anybody special recently? Didn’t I see you at The Alhambra with a tall, graceful woman?”
“Oh yes, indeed. That was Dina. She pursued me all night before I relented and let her experience my ardour.”
