The Teashop Girls

by Elaine Everest

  Silvano gave a big sigh. ‘If only you’d stop your wittering on, I’ll tell you my news.’

  Rose stopped talking and glared at him.

  ‘Right, I know I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t say sorry for the other night. I had things on my mind, as you can see,’ he said, indicating his uniform jacket with a flourish of his manicured hand.

  ‘That was no excuse for forgetting my name, then pawing me like that. It’s not as if you pay me for singing with your band. So I want something out of our deal,’ Rose pouted.

  ‘And that’s why I’m here,’ he said, leaning across the table and taking her hand to give it a squeeze.

  ‘Well, tell me then, and hurry up about it,’ she said, glancing from left to right in case someone was watching. She didn’t feel it was quite proper for him to be hanging onto her hand like this in a public place. She tried to pull away, but he was holding on tight.

  ‘Have you heard about ENSA?’

  Rose nodded. ‘Who hasn’t? Every Night Something Awful,’ she grinned.

  He ignored her comment. ‘I’ve been invited to organize a touring party to entertain the troops,’ he said proudly.

  ‘I take it you were called up?’ she said. She knew he lived in fear of joining the services, which would put paid to his leisurely life along with the wheeling and dealing he was partial to.

  Silvano wriggled in his seat. Rose knew him far too well. ‘You could say they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. My group of entertainers will be touring France before too long. That’s why I wanted to speak to you.’

  Rose’s eyes lit up. With a bit of luck, Silvano’s replacement as bandleader would give her more opportunities to sing. She might even get paid enough to stop working at the Lyons teashop. ‘Hurry up and tell me, before my boss catches on that I’m not serving my customers,’ she hissed, at the same time crossing her fingers that he was the bearer of good news. There again, if she was offered a job with the new bandleader she could tell old Butterworth where to shove her job. Deep inside Rose still yearned to sing for a living, even though she knew it didn’t make sense for girls like her to do such work.

  ‘I’m taking the band with me on tour. So if you sign up with ENSA, you may well find yourself with me all the time – if you get my drift?’ Silvano said this in the silky way he usually saved for the women who flocked to the edge of the stage when he was talking to his audience. He rubbed the palm of Rose’s hand with his thumb, holding on tightly as she tried to pull away. ‘You and me could see the world together,’ he winked seductively.

  Rose understood only too well what he was suggesting, and with a mighty tug she freed her hand from his grip and stood up quickly. The sudden movement caused her chair to topple over with a crash.

  All she’d ever dreamt of was being a singer for one of the big American bandleaders like Harry James, or perhaps Tommy Dorsey. Silvano wasn’t a bit like Harry James, but a job with him could be a stepping stone to greater opportunities. However, Rose had standards, and would not stoop to running off and living in sin as his mistress. News travelled fast in Ramsgate; not only would her name be tarred for life, her mum’s reputation would be ruined too. She’d not do that to Flora in a million years. She’d heard talk that Silvano was already father to more than one child, although he always strenuously denied such things.

  ‘What do you take me for, Sam Coggins?’ she shouted, reverting to his proper name. ‘I’m not some flighty bit who’d drop her drawers at the mention of travelling with you. You’d best take yourself off to the stage door and pick on some unsuspecting girl. I’m no strumpet, and you should know that, being a local lad.’

  Silvano looked around him in panic. It was well known that he had done his best to shake off his birth name, and that he came from humble beginnings as the son of a fisherman. ‘Shh – someone might hear,’ he said as he nodded and smiled at the people seated at a nearby table.

  ‘For Christ’s sake, keep it down,’ Lily hissed, hurrying over from behind the bakery counter. ‘Old Butterworth will hear you! And the mood she’s in, she’ll be giving you your marching orders. It isn’t worth it for the likes of him,’ she whispered, giving Silvano a dirty look before noticing he was in uniform. ‘You know you can get nicked for impersonating an officer?’

  ‘You can shut your mouth for a start,’ he sneered, standing up to face her. ‘I came in here to make a proposition to Rose, and it’s none of your business.’

  ‘We know the sort of propositions you make, Sam Coggins, and Rose isn’t that kind of a girl. Now, be on your way before I call the coppers.’

  Silvano pushed past the two girls and walked briskly from the teashop.

  ‘And you forgot this,’ Lily shouted, running after him and throwing his cap out the door.

  Rose righted the chair and sat down. She felt as though the bubble holding all of her dreams had popped, leaving her feeling empty and more than a little sad.

  Lily returned to her friend, looking worried. ‘Butterworth’s on the warpath, so look lively.’

  Rose knew she was in trouble going by the thunderous look on her boss’s face. She could see no way of wriggling out of it.

  As Clarice Butterworth was only a few feet away, Katie appeared with a glass of water. ‘Excuse me, Miss Butterworth, this is for Rose. She became rather faint after that customer made rude suggestions to her.’

  Lily tried not to smile as she went along with Katie’s story and picked up a menu from the table to fan the face of a stunned Rose.

  Miss Butterworth looked between the three girls, suspecting they were up to something. ‘You do look flushed, Neville. You’re not . . . er . . . you’re not with child?’

  ‘No, she isn’t,’ Lily and Katie both said in unison.

  ‘Rose is a good girl,’ Katie added, jutting her chin out in indignation.

  ‘I think she should go home and rest,’ Lily suggested, helping Rose to her feet. ‘She’s no help to anyone in this state.’

  ‘Get your things,’ Miss Butterworth snapped. ‘And I want you back here bright and early tomorrow morning. We have Mr Grant, the area manager, visiting again for an inspection, as well as a new salesman from head office. I want the tearoom looking spick and span.’

  Rose nodded without saying a word. If the truth were known, she did feel faint, but it had more to do with her disappointment at not being able to sing with the band anymore. Katie took her elbow and guided her around the potted palm to go to the staffroom. ‘I’ll see you at the cinema this evening,’ she whispered to her friend.

  It was Katie’s turn to look glum. ‘There’s no point. The theatres and cinemas are all closed. A customer just informed me; she said it’s for the duration of the war. It could soon be the dance halls as well.’

  Rose groaned to herself. The day was getting worse by the minute. No singing, and now no pictures and no dancing. She’d started to wonder what it took to become a nun when she spotted the man sitting at one of her tables. It was the army captain with the lovely grey eyes. Because of Silvano, she had missed the opportunity to finally speak to him. He looked up as she walked past the table and gave her a knowing smile. Please don’t say he’d been sitting there and overheard all of her conversation! She was far too embarrassed to stop and have a few words, instead dashing to the staffroom for her coat before leaving by the kitchen door.

  3

  Rose pulled her coat around her and huddled against the wooden bench as she stared out to sea. It was bitterly cold, and she knew it would be best if she headed home and had a cup of something hot to warm herself up. But Mum would be at home; she wasn’t due at the ARP station today, unless there was a sudden air-raid warning. There’d been so many false alarms lately. The last thing Rose wanted was to be quizzed as to why she wasn’t at work.

  She pulled her felt hat down to try and cover the tips of her cold ears. As usual, she’d left her knitted scarf and gloves behind at home when she’d hurried out the door, not wanting to be late for work.

>   Her life felt as grey as the day. There was hardly anyone about, and the few ships outside the harbour seemed to be waiting silently for something to happen – just as she was. She didn’t even have her singing to look forward to, now that Silvano was heading off to entertain the troops. Perhaps she should join him after all, she thought as she chewed at a fingernail and contemplated her dreary future. No, that wasn’t an option, a small voice inside her head told her sharply. He was only after one thing. Look at the amount of times she’d had to duck out of his grasp backstage when she’d sung with his band. If she were alone in digs and he started his funny business, God only knows what would become of her. She just had to face it; she was stuck here for the duration of the war. No doubt she would end up an old maid, like Miss Tibbs and Mildred Dalrymple. A small sob caught in her throat, and before she knew it she was sobbing into her handkerchief.

  ‘I say, I do hope there’s nothing wrong?’ a kindly voice enquired.

  Rose looked up, and her heart immediately skipped a beat. It was the grey-eyed army captain. He looked as handsome as he had in the fleeting moments she was with him in the dance hall. Broad shoulders under his greatcoat and a twinkle in his eye, even though he looked concerned. Trust her to be red-faced and not looking her best. She felt a terrible mess.

  ‘I didn’t mean to startle you,’ he said, showing concern. ‘I’ll be on my way and leave you to your thoughts.’

  ‘Please don’t go on my account,’ she said, not wanting him to disappear in case their meeting had been a dream. ‘I’m just feeling a little sorry for myself. It’s been a rather tiring day. Please – take a seat,’ she added, indicating the other end of the long bench on which she was perched.

  ‘I take it your boyfriend upset you. I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation in the teashop,’ he added, seeing her startled expression.

  ‘No – no, it’s not like that at all,’ she faltered, feeling shocked that he thought she was in some way attached to Silvano. ‘That man is . . . a nasty piece of work.’ It was one of her mum’s favourite sayings.

  ‘Please excuse my bad manners. I’m Benjamin Hargreaves . . . Captain Benjamin Hargreaves,’ he said, holding out his hand after removing a glove.

  Rose trembled as they shook hands. ‘I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Rose Neville,’ she replied in a quiet voice, no more than a whisper. She was feeling quite overcome by this man. She’d dreamt of him holding her hand, if only for a few seconds.

  ‘Rose Neville,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘Singer, Nippy and the woman who breaks men’s hearts.’

  She felt her cheeks start to burn. ‘Are you making fun of me?’ she asked indignantly.

  ‘No, not at all,’ he said, raising his hands as if to fend off her fury. ‘Are you not aware of how men watch you when you sing? Especially the band leader who is so enamoured of you,’ he added, his face twitching as he tried not to laugh at her affronted expression.

  ‘I just like to sing,’ Rose replied. ‘The music and the words take over. I feel as if I’m someone else – I can tell a story, and serenade all the servicemen and women who are far from home.’

  Benjamin watched her as her eyes took on a faraway expression. There was something about Rose Neville that fascinated him. A brave woman who could step onto a stage and sing her heart out in front of hundreds of people, and more than captivate him – and the next moment put someone like Silvano Caprice in his place. What puzzled him was why she was a waitress, albeit for the well-known Lyons chain. ‘You certainly love to sing,’ he said, not wanting to break the spell. ‘So why are you working as a waitress, if you don’t mind me asking?’

  Rose shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s a job I enjoy, and besides, there’s only me and my mum. A singing job would no doubt take me away from her. It wouldn’t be fair, not with everything in life being so uncertain. At least I can sing and be a waitress. I’m only really happy when I sing,’ she replied, giving him a shy smile. ‘You will think me daft, but I’ve never told anyone that before,’ she added.

  ‘Then I take it as an honour that you’ve shared such a confidence. But I must say, it seems a shame you aren’t making your living as a singer. You are as good as the women who front the big bands in London and America.’

  ‘You’ve heard them and seen them?’ Rose gasped in delight.

  ‘Before the war my work took me to America a few times, and I was fortunate enough to hear Bing Crosby and also Ella Fitzgerald. Then recently, in London, I attended a concert where Vera Lynn was entertaining the troops. Believe me when I say, you sing as well as they do any day. I’m not pulling your leg, if you’ll forgive the phrase. I really mean it.’

  Rose’s eyes shone. ‘Please tell me . . . did you hear Helen Forrest sing? She’s my favourite.’

  ‘Sadly not, but I do have a couple of her records, and I agree with you. She can belt out a song.’

  Rose laughed, and Benjamin smiled as he saw the woman beside him blossom as she relaxed in his company. ‘I’d love to hear her sing. It would be magic.’

  It was magic when I heard you sing, he wanted to tell her; but he thought it too forward to say aloud. ‘You’d go down a storm in London singing with the big bands.’

  Rose shrugged her shoulders. ‘As I said, I don’t want to leave my mum on her own, especially to run off to have fun – and it would be fun,’ she added wistfully. ‘No, I’m happy here.’ She spoke as if confirming something to herself, shaking her head until her felt hat was in danger of flying off.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Benjamin said. ‘I had no right to ask you such a question – we’ve only known each other a few minutes. I do apologize. Look, do you fancy a cup of tea? I don’t know about you, but I’m frozen to the core, and I swear this snow is getting heavier by minute. It will engulf us if we aren’t careful.’ He gave Rose a gentle smile. ‘Would you join me?’

  Rose only took a minute to decide. She was in no rush to let go of this delightful man she’d been dreaming about since that night at the dance. ‘I’d love to; but we’d best not go to Lyons teashop, as I’m supposed to have gone home sick.’ She grinned as he held out his hand to help her to her feet.

  ‘You’re not really ill, are you?’ he asked as he tucked her arm through his and they strolled along the seafront, past the barbed-wire fencing that stopped the public getting down to the sea below the harbour wall.

  ‘I was upset by what happened, but I’m not ill. That was Lily’s idea to get me out of trouble with Miss Butterworth. I’m not really one for getting out of working, Captain Hargreaves,’ she added, worried in case Benjamin thought she was the sort of person who would wriggle out of doing a day’s work.

  ‘I didn’t think that for one moment. And you must stop calling me Captain – I’m Benjamin. In fact, I prefer Ben, so please, let’s drop the formal names.’

  Rose grinned. ‘I will, and I’m Rose, plain and simple.’

  ‘Rose, you’re anything but plain.’ He smiled down at her as they stopped in front of a small cafe. ‘Will here do?’

  ‘It will do just fine,’ she beamed back as he opened the door and led her into the steamy interior. ‘Oh dear!’

  ‘Is there something wrong?’ he enquired as she stopped dead in her tracks. ‘It’s not that chap Silvano, is it?’ He looked around at the tables where people sat chatting. ‘We can go somewhere else, if you wish?’

  ‘No, I’m happy to stay here. I spotted someone who stays at my mum’s guesthouse. Miss Tibbs is a darling lady, but she will be home and telling Mum that I’m courting and all sorts before we’ve finished drinking out tea.’

  ‘Does that bother you?’ he asked, pulling back a chair for her to sit down.

  ‘No . . . but the ladies who live with us are awfully keen to see me walk down the aisle. I only have to be seen with a man and they can hear wedding bells and smell orange blossom.’

  ‘Then let’s give them something to talk about,’ he said as he bent over and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek.

 
Rose froze in her seat. Goodness knows what would get back to her mum now. She put a hand to her cheek and thought how gentle his lips felt on her skin, then gave herself a shake. For heaven’s sake, he was joshing. The kiss meant nothing, nothing at all. She picked up the piece of card that constituted a menu and tried to concentrate on the words. If she looked to the right, she just knew Ben would be watching her. Look left, and Miss Tibbs and her cronies would have put down their knitting and be twittering on about whether Flora Neville knew her daughter had snared herself an army captain – and her just a plain and simple Nippy from a Lyons teashop!

  ‘Why the glum face?’ Ben asked as he removed his army greatcoat and hung it over the back of an empty chair. ‘I say, I’ve not put you on the spot with the old lady, have I? I wasn’t thinking,’ he said apologetically. Inwardly, though, he was pleased to have kissed Rose, as he’d been aching to do since he first met her.

  ‘Don’t worry about it; Mum will understand. It’s not as if I’m a child. Why, some of the girls I went to school with are married and have children. My friend Katie is engaged to a sailor and hopes to be married soon, before he is shipped off to God knows where.’

  Ben was thoughtful and stared at the menu Rose passed to him without reading a single word.

  ‘A penny for them . . .?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘A penny for your thoughts; you seem to be miles away,’ she said with a frown. ‘Was it something I said?’

  Ben forced himself away from his thoughts. ‘It’s me who should be apologizing. Tell me, who is your friend’s fiancé serving with?’

  Rose frowned. ‘I have no idea, beyond him being in the Royal Navy and something to do with a medical unit. Katie’s relieved he won’t be caught up in any fighting.’ She watched Ben’s face closely. ‘You think differently, don’t you?’

  Ben nodded slowly before looking to left and right to see if they could be overheard. ‘Every man will be caught up in the fighting, as your friend puts it. Look, I shouldn’t be saying this. It’s not as if we know each other very well.’