Читать книгу Songbird - Josephine Cox - Страница 12

CHAPTER THREE

HE HAD ALWAYS been confident that Madeleine would return to him. But on this particular night, he had no inkling that she was about to make a surprise entrance.

Alice Mulligan knew though, and she had done everything in her power to dissuade the girl from coming back to a man who had proved time and time again that he could make her life a misery. But her young friend was utterly besotted with their boss.

Steve Drayton had never accepted any of the blame for the couple’s rows. And this time, as usual, he believed himself to be the injured party.

Turning to Alice, the manageress of his club, the Pink Lady Cabaret Bar off Soho Square, he murmured, ‘If I find out she’s left me for another bloke, I swear to God … she’ll live to regret it.’ He stared at the little Irishwoman suspiciously. ‘You know something about this, don’t you? Thick as thieves, you two are. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’d known where she was all along. All right – out with it! Where is she? Is she with another man? Is that why you’re afraid to tell me?’

When Alice chose not to answer, but merely carried on removing notes from the cash register to transfer to the office safe, he grabbed her by the shoulders and almost lifted her off her feet. ‘Answer me, woman!’ he hissed. ‘Where is she?’

‘Well now, you’d best ask her that yourself, hadn’t you? You being the big boss-man an’ all.’ Small in stature but big in courage, Alice had been around the block a few times and was not one to be intimidated by the likes of Steve Drayton.

‘Don’t you get clever with me,’ he growled. ‘No one’s indispensable, lady!’

With a flick of her head, Alice gestured to the door. ‘Like I said, she’s here now, so you can ask her yourself, can’t you?’

The open street-door sent a rush of cool air through the smoke-filled haze of the nightclub. Curious, he glanced up, and there she was: the Songbird, star of the show – his woman.

Though secretly relieved to see her, Steve was inwardly seething with anger, vowing that he would make the bitch pay for humiliating him. But he was cunning enough not to show his feelings here, in front of all these adoring people. Madeleine was a valuable asset, the reason why his club had flourished. In the early days, when he had let his gambling habits get the better of him, her charismatic appeal and popularity as a singer had brought him back from the brink of financial ruin. He still owed money to some undesirable types, but was reluctant to settle his debts. Steve Drayton never liked to pay what he owed. Arrogant and selfish, he played on his sexual appeal to get what he wanted – from women – and sometimes from men, too.

In the three weeks or so since Maddy had gone on the trot, his takings had dipped to an uncomfortable level. Deeply concerned, Steve had searched high and low, had even put the word out on the streets, but to no avail. The girl had simply disappeared.

Meanwhile, Steve had recruited other entertainers but they were no substitute for Madeleine. She had a certain special something – the punters came back to hear her time and again. ‘Songbird’ was what all the regulars called her. Or, ‘our own Pink Lady’ when she wore one of her glamorous pink stage dresses. Her accompanying musicians, pianist and bass-player Dave and Dino, were very grumpy without her. In desperation, with clients and money rapidly dwindling, Steve had been forced to sack the odd cleaner and even one of his two chefs but that was merely throwing out ballast to keep the ship afloat.

The truth was, only the loyal and the believers had continued to frequent his bar, in the hope that she would be back.

Well, here she was, and now the atmosphere was charged with excitement. But for all that, he was determined to teach her a lesson.

Shoving Alice aside, he gave a cynical smile. ‘Here she comes, strolling in as though she hasn’t a care in the world.’

For what seemed an age, Madeleine paused to glance across the club, her dark eyes seeking him out. And then she was moving towards him, and despite himself, he felt his pulse quicken.

In that darkened room with the soft music playing in the background, all eyes were turned on the woman.

Of petite build and with a certain quiet beauty, she wended her way between the clients, acknowledging their greetings with a ready smile and a friendly word and, much to the annoyance of the man who laid claim to her affections, occasionally accepting a kiss on the cheek.

Steve Drayton’s hungry eyes followed her every step of the way. In spite of his violent temper and his liking for anything in a skirt, the sight of Madeleine could still thrill him like no other. With her mass of rich chestnut hair tumbling to her shoulders, and that lazy, swaying walk which had first attracted him to her, she could turn any man’s head.

She was uniquely talented, yet even now, when she could see how much they thought of her, Madeleine did not seem to realise just how good she was. In truth, she possessed a kind of childish innocence that shone from within. Up there on the stage, when the music filled the room and her voice cut to their hearts, she was magnificent. When the music had died down and her voice was still, she became shy and hesitant, almost naïve in her trust of others. She had fallen under Steve’s spell after auditioning for the club two years ago. Between boyfriends, and feeling lonely, she had found herself in her new employer’s bed by that first nightfall.

Now, as she stopped to chat with a regular, Steve stared at her and felt the familiar arousal, though it still rankled, the fact that she had walked out on him – without even a phone call to let him know what was going on. No woman had ever done that to him before.

He turned to Alice. ‘I knew she wouldn’t be able to stay away for long. Didn’t I tell you she’d be back?’

‘Mebbe so, but she’s a damned fool, so she is!’ As Irish as the Blarney Stone and wick as a leprechaun, Alice Mulligan was herself a force to be reckoned with. ‘It’s a mystery to me how she ever puts up with you.’

‘Women are no mystery to me,’ Steve boasted. ‘I’ve always been able to twist ’em round my little finger.’

‘You’re too clever for your own good, that’s your problem, mister.’ Being a woman of some fifty years, Alice had lovely skin and a slim figure that looked good in her smart business suit. Her blue eyes were alive with vitality. ‘When you said she’d be back, I hoped you might be wrong,’ she sighed. ‘But here she is, an’ may God and all His Saints help her.’

In truth, Alice was not at all surprised to see the younger woman here tonight, because it was not the first time today that Maddy had walked through these doors, though Steve Drayton didn’t know that.

‘She must have lost her mind, to make her way back here,’ Alice said, closing the till and putting a rubber band round the notes. Earlier on, she had said the very same thing to Maddy. ‘It just goes to show what bloody fools we women can be!’ she added cynically. If only Maddy could see through this bully.

‘My girl is nobody’s fool,’ Steve argued. ‘She knows which side her bread is buttered, and come to think of it, so do you. But I can see it’s put your nose right out of joint, now she’s done the sensible thing and come home to me.’ His mood darkened. ‘The truth is, you never thought I was good enough for her.

Undeterred, Alice ignored his last remark and looked him in the eye. ‘That’s because you’re not good enough for her! And ye never will be.’

Steve helped himself to a large Scotch from the bar, and added a handful of ice. ‘I don’t give a sod what you think.’ He glanced over at Maddy. ‘She thinks differently, and that’s enough for me.’ He preened himself. ‘Besides, she won’t get better than me, however hard she tries.’ … Steve didn’t believe in God, but he did believe in ‘An eye for an eye’. Two could play at that game of ‘now you see me, now you don’t’.

‘Well, all I can say is, she must be a divil for punishment. Gawd! When I think of the way you treat her …’ Alice tossed her head.

‘She can’t do without me,’ he declared smugly. ‘In fact, I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll have her back or not.’

‘Oh, but you will, me boyo.’ Alice had no doubts about that.

‘Really, and why is that then, eh?’

‘Because without her, the punters would soon stop coming and you’d be broken like a twig underfoot. Besides, one time when you were drunk out of your skull, you actually spoke a few home truths, so ye did.’

‘Is that so? And what might they have been, then?’

‘You said she was a feather in your cap, for all the other men to envy.’ Alice had no liking for this self-centred man. ‘Deep down you don’t love her at all,’ she scoffed. ‘That poor girl is just another acquisition for you to show off.’

‘Hmh!’ Swigging down his Scotch, Steve pressed his glass against the optic for another shot. He searched Madeleine out, to smile lovingly on her. ‘Since she walked out on me …’ his voice grew softer ‘I … might tell you, I’ve really missed her.’ It was the truth. The man sometimes wondered if he had foolishly fallen in love with Maddy; it scared him, brought out the violence in him.

‘Missed the money she brings in, more like!’ Alice snapped, completely unsympathetic. ‘Deep down, yer a bad bugger, only she can’t see it. You don’t deserve a woman like that, kind and giving; the loveliest thing who ever walked onto a stage. There’s not a man in the crowd who wouldn’t give his right arm for a woman of her calibre.’

Alice threw Steve a contemptuous glance. ‘And then there’s you – a bully and a womaniser – treating her like the dirt under your feet.’ She was angry with Madeleine for coming back, and proving him right. She had no liking for this man who provided her wages; though she earned every penny twice over.

Since the nightclub had opened eight years ago, Alice had worked tirelessly, shown her true worth and earned her boss’s trust. As a result, her wages had increased in line with her responsibilities.

To her credit, Alice had fought her way up from the bottom; in turn she had cleaned the toilets, scrubbed the floors, worked as a cloakroom attendant and then behind the bar, had also served at tables and run errands. Eventually she had risen from taking money as the clients arrived, to being entrusted to bank the takings. And now she was a fully-fledged manageress.

From the start, she was honest, reliable and knew how to keep her mouth shut when necessary, as long as there was nothing criminal or harmful involved. Though when she heard how a certain client had been beaten so badly he ended up in hospital, that was a turning-point in her loyalty. From that moment she kept herself to herself and never showed interest in any of Steve’s shadier activities.

While Steve Drayton valued and respected her, she could never respect him; he reminded her too much of her own cheating husband, Eamon. It was five years now since she’d walked out on him, and good riddance to the man! Childless, she had taken young Maddy to her heart and loved the girl as her own blood. After seeing how badly Steve treated every woman who took a shine to him – and there were many – Alice had grown to dislike and distrust him; especially these past two years, since Madeleine caught his eye.

Steve might love her and he might not. Alice could not be sure. But it was a strange, destructive love, for he seemed determined to make the young woman’s life a misery.

Steve interrupted her reverie. ‘I do love her,’ he said, answering her unspoken question. ‘The trouble is, when I get drunk and senseless, I find myself agreeing with you, that she’s too good for me – and then I get insanely jealous. Like you said, any man would want her, and maybe even give her a better life than I do.’

He dropped his gaze to the floor. ‘The thought of losing her sends me wild,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Then I hit out and hurt her.’ He swished the ice cubes in his glass, and she could barely catch his last few words as he whispered, ‘I swear I don’t mean to.’

He watched as Madeleine lingered to chat with another one of the customers. There was no denying, she was a special woman, and Alice was right … he did not deserve her.

‘I’m not surprised she cleared off,’ he conceded regretfully. ‘The last time we had a set-to, she took a terrible beating – and all for something and nothing. A fella at the club put his arm round her as she walked out and as usual, I laid the blame on her.’ He shrugged. ‘Yeah, that’s what it was all right – something and nothing.’

He sighed self-indulgently and took another measure of whisky. ‘Mind you, we were busy making up till the early hours, and I can tell you here and now, your precious Maddy didn’t have no complaints about my performance that night!’

‘You’re an arrogant divil.’

‘Yes, so you keep saying.’

Straightening his shoulders beneath the beautiful cloth of his Jermyn Street suit, Steve drew himself up to his considerable height. ‘She always comes running back. It only goes to prove how bad she wants me.’ He flicked open a box of Dunhill cigarettes and lit one with a gold lighter. ‘Want one?’ He offered the box to Alice, who ignored it.

‘Why don’t you marry her?’ Alice was known to come straight to the point.

He laughed. ‘I never marry my women. Can’t trust a single one of ’em. My old mother taught me that, the poxy tart. God knows who my father was – she had more men than you’ve got spuds in Ireland, love. No, there’s no woman alive who’ll get me shackled to her.’

‘Have you told her that?’

‘I don’t have to, she already knows my opinion – that women are good for one thing only.’ Swinging round to face Alice, his mood suddenly darkened, as it so often did. ‘I think it’s time you got back to work,’ he hissed. ‘Before I get to thinking I might be better off with somebody who doesn’t ask so many questions! Bloody women, it’s nothing but yap, yap, yap.’

Despite her recent vanishing act, Steve was satisfied that he had his Maddy exactly where he wanted her; his little songbird on a string. And it didn’t matter what he did to her, because she always ended up singing along to his tune.

Still weaving a path through the dining-tables, Madeleine was stopped many times by clubbers who were delighted to see her back, from what they had been told was a well-deserved holiday away from the hustle and bustle of Soho.

With a sweet smile, she thanked them and moved on towards her tormentor; the man she could neither live with, nor without. She loved him, she hated him, and now as she glanced at him across the room, she wanted him as much as ever.

Not overly handsome, Steve Drayton was a big man. Fit and toned, with a quick mind and an instinct for making money, he had built the Pink Lady up from nothing. There was an aura of power about him that was very sexy, and a certain kind of look from his narrow hazel-coloured eyes that could turn Maddy’s blood to water. Sometimes he was so good to her; at other times, he became a devil.

Though apprehensive, she was glad to be back, to realise that he still wanted her. And yet there was always that niggling doubt that he might throw her aside; that he would find someone else, younger than her thirty years, and she would have no part in his life. In her heart she knew that might well be for the best, but she hoped it would never happen.

Now though, she had something to tell him. Something that might seal their future together, once and for all.

As she drew nearer, the doubts set in. He was such a volatile man, so unpredictable. How would he react? The moment she was standing before him, her courage began to waver.

‘So! Here you are at last, eh? Took you long enough to make your way back, didn’t it?’ he said smoothly, in the softest tone that made her shudder. ‘You needed to punish me, was that it?’ He traced her jawline with his finger and she felt hypnotised by his touch.

‘That’s not true, Steve, and you know it,’ she whispered.

‘So why don’t you tell me what the truth is, then.’ He stepped closer, his eyes boring into hers. ‘You’ve not been singing else-where, or I would have heard. So where have you been hiding? Got a bit on the side, is that it?’

‘Will ye leave her be!’ Sensing trouble, Alice quickly intervened. ‘Go easy on her, for heaven’s sakes,’ she urged in a low voice. ‘There’s a million an’ one eyes trained on the pair of youse.’

Steve’s display of temper had not gone unnoticed by the regulars, some of whom did not believe the holiday story. They had seen the way he acted with her, controlling and possessive. So who could blame them for hoping she might have escaped, found a new life, a new man, one who might cherish her the way she deserved.

Impatient, they called out to her now. ‘Come on Madeleine, we’ve missed you! Get up there and strut your stuff!’

The clapping rose to a deafening crescendo. ‘We want Songbird! We want Songbird!’

‘All right, all right!’ Laughing, she gestured towards the stage. ‘I’m on my way.’

As she turned from him, Steve caught her by the arm. ‘What do you mean?’ he demanded. ‘Surely you’re not thinking of performing tonight?’

‘Why shouldn’t I?’

‘Because you’ve only just walked in, dammit! We need to go somewhere quiet, somewhere we can … talk.’ Although he had other things on his mind than talk. ‘You’ll want to rehearse – decide the songs, organise the musicians. It all takes time.’ He gave a lazy smile. ‘Besides, we’ve already booked a comedian for tonight.’

‘He’s been cancelled,’ Alice interrupted.

‘Cancelled!’ Steve swung round to face her. ‘What the hell are you talking about, woman? Who cancelled him?’

‘I did. And if ye want to make something of it, I’m ready.’ The little woman had a look in her eye that Steve knew all too well. If it wasn’t for the fact that Alice ran the club in his absence, was totally trustworthy and knew how to keep her mouth shut about his business deals, he would have thrown her feet first out the door long ago.

Instead he issued a stark warning. ‘Be careful, lady. You don’t want to overstep the mark.’

There were many ways of being rid of people like Alice, and he knew them all.

Defusing the situation, Madeleine told him hastily, ‘It’s not Alice’s fault. It was me – I arranged it all. And now the boys are backstage, ready when I am.’ She smiled, pleased with herself. ‘You see, I haven’t just walked in,’ she admitted. ‘I was here this afternoon while you were at the races. Me, Dave and Dino rehearsed all afternoon.

‘You did what! And why the devil wasn’t I told?’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I asked them not to let on,’ she replied boldly. ‘We timed it for when you wouldn’t be here. I’m sorry, but, well … we all thought it would be a nice surprise for you.’ She peeped at him from her soft dark eyes. ‘But it’s all right, isn’t it, Steve?’ Most times she could wheedle her way round him, and thankfully this proved to be one of those times.

He studied her a moment, wanting to hit her, aching to love her. ‘You’re a witch!’ His desperation to have her was all he could think of. ‘Well, all right. But I won’t pretend I’m not rattled at being hoodwinked.’ The sound of hand-clapping and foot-stamping was deafening. ‘Your fans are getting restless. You’d best go.’ He took another moment to study those mesmerising dark eyes, then warned her, ‘Don’t think you’ve got the better of me. I can take you or break you.’ But his cutting remark was a lie, and they all knew it.

Without a word and giving him no time to change his mind, Madeleine hurried away to the dressing-room,

Steve took his drink to the small table at the side of the stage which was reserved for him. On the way, he paused to exchange a word or two with his clients.

‘She’s back then?’ The well-dressed man who spoke was a known thug. ‘If she were my woman, I’d never have let her get away in the first place. Not losing your touch, are you?’

‘You’d best mind your tongue.’ After Madeleine’s sudden disappearance, Steve Drayton had been made to suffer many such comments. ‘You’ll never see the day when I lose my touch,’ he retaliated. ‘Keep them on a string but cut them a bit of slack now and then … they’ll always come running back. Steve Drayton will never be short of women. What’s more, I’ll still be making money, long after you and your kind are finished so you’d do well to remember that!’

Moving away, he placed his drink on the table, lit up a Dunhill and settled back in his chair, the beginnings of a smile crossing his face as he swept his gaze over the many customers, so flush with money he could almost smell it.

He was no fool. Since Madeleine had been gone and the clients had begun to drift away, the vultures were circling, biding their time in the hope that he might be forced to sell. The club was in a prime location, and in excellent nick. There were many competitors who would just love to walk in and take over.

Yes, it was true, Madeleine was the star attraction and there was no one else like her; she was the one who drew people from every corner. He had been in business long enough to know she was the magic money-spinner who kept him at the top. But he mustn’t let her know that. Nor must he let her forget that it was he who had given her the chance to show what she could do.

Over the past two years he had built her up. And if she didn’t play his game, he thought fiercely, he could so easily knock her down again.

He would too. Without a second thought.

Looking about, Steve was pleased with what he saw. Every manjack here was thrilled that Madeleine Delaney was back in town!

Like himself, they were settling down, confident that they were about to enjoy a very special performance.

And as usual, they were not disappointed.

It was twenty minutes before Madeleine appeared onstage. Prior to that it was organised chaos behind the scenes, with Alice helping her choose from the three dresses she had brought earlier. ‘You’ll be wanting to knock ’em dead tonight.’ Alice was beside herself with excitement. ‘Ooh now! This is the one to send ’em wild!’ Whipping the shocking pink dress from its hanger, she held it against the girl. ‘What d’ye think, me darling?’

Madeleine thought Alice had chosen well. ‘OK, let’s go for that one,’ she agreed. ‘Pink dress, black belt and shoes …’

‘And that sparkly diamond clip in your hair?’ Alice suggested.

The two women worked methodically in front of the big illuminated mirror, with make-up, perfume and hairspray until finally, Maddy Delaney – the Songbird – was ready to face her public.

When she emerged onstage, the punters went wild, and who could blame them? In the sexy knee-length gown with its sweetheart neckline, long skinny sleeves and back kick-pleat, she was both classy and glamorous.

Her long thick locks were swept off-centre to the top of her head, so as to cascade naturally down one side; the diamond clip accentuated the depth and sparkle of her eyes, and the stiletto heels gave her legs a long, slender appearance.

When the music started up and her pure, powerful voice rose to the rafters, the crowd fell silent. Maddy had chosen to sing The Beatles’ new hit, ‘Yesterday’ – a song which the public all over the world had taken to their hearts. The hush was complete as she sang to a sea of upturned faces about the sorrow of lost love and loneliness.

Each haunting song that followed was a story, and when finally she bowed and thanked them, the audience gave her and the musicians the rapturous applause they deserved.

And so, the evening was finally over. As Steve Drayton watched the punters go, a celebratory cigar drooping from his mouth, his hands were itching to count the takings. ‘I reckon we’ve done all right,’ he boasted, as Alice closed the outer door. ‘Now that Madeleine’s back, there’ll be no holding us.’

‘If you want her to stay, you’d best mend your ways,’ Alice declared. ‘You almost lost her because of your bullying. Next time, it might well be permanent.’

None too pleased at her unwelcome advice, he bit back, ‘When I need your opinion, I’ll ask for it. And if I find you’ve been trying to turn her against me, well now …’ He nodded affirmatively. ‘I’ll have no choice but to deal with it … if you know what I mean?’

Alice knew well enough what he meant, but she played him at his own game. ‘Whatever makes you think I might try and turn Madeleine against you?’ she asked sarcastically. ‘When you’re doing a perfectly good job of it yourself!’

‘This is the last warning, Alice. Just keep your nose out of my business.’ He caught the defiant look in her eye and shook his head. ‘You need to listen to what I’m saying! Oh, I won’t deny you’re worth your weight in gold here. But like I said before, you are not indispensable.’

‘I never thought I was,’ Alice said, beginning to empty the till. ‘Though you won’t find better than me.’ We’ll ‘Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn’t. We’ll just have to see, won’t we? So now, if it doesn’t go against your high principles, d’you think you could close up and see yourself off these premises? I’ll cash up tonight. Tell everyone they can go home – you’ve all done very well tonight.’

Steve sank into a reflective mood as he mechanically counted the takings. The sight of Madeleine on stage, her slim curves draped in silk, had reminded him of what he had been missing; twice he’d been to the flat he’d bought for her in Battersea, but there was no sign of her, and so he began wondering where she was, and who with. And yes, there had been others to satisfy him in Madeleine’s absence, but they were just filling in, until she came back … as he knew she would.

Hearing a noise behind him, he swung round. ‘What! Are you still here?’ Alice had become a thorn in his side, and if he had his way, it would be a mere matter of time before she was permanently removed.

On his words, Alice picked up her handbag which she’d left by the till and hurried away. There was no need to antagonise him further, she wisely decided. But she vowed to make Madeleine see sense; if not today, then soon.

Before something really bad happened.

With that in mind, she set off in search of Raymond, a shy, bumbling giant of a man who worked like a dog, and was solely responsible these days for keeping the club clean and shipshape.

Being another fortunate ‘find’ for Drayton, Raymond kept himself to himself, avoiding company and speaking only when spoken to. An orphan raised in a strict children’s home, he had been a wanderer sweeping the streets when Drayton came across him. Within a week, he had him working at the club.

Poor Raymond was forever grateful to his new boss. Given a windowless room where he could lay his head, free food from the club and a measly wage on a Friday, he thought himself a fortunate man.

‘Ray, where are you?’ Alice looked about, but could see no sign of him. Going to the bar, she asked one of the barmen there, ‘Jack, have you seen Raymond anywhere?’

Jack was genuinely friendly, honest as the day was long, and deeply fond of Madeleine – not in any sexual way, he was not that way intended – but he was prepared to stand up and defend her. Alice had seen the way his boyish features tightened whenever he saw Drayton bullying her. Hard-working and ambitious, Jack nevertheless remained untainted by the world of Soho; in fact, he wanted to run his own club one day.

In answer to Alice’s question, Jack gestured to the far side of the room. ‘Last time I saw him, he was clearing the back tables.’

Alice thanked him. ‘The boss is especially keen to have the club emptied and locked for the night.’

‘Why? What’s got into him? Most nights he’s here till all hours, him and his cronies, gambling and drinking. What’s so different about tonight?’

‘Sure, it’s no good asking me!’ Alice rolled her eyes to the heavens. ‘Best do as he says though. Ye know what a vile bugger he can be.’

‘Alice …’ Jack lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘He doesn’t know, does he?’

‘If you mean, does he know Madeleine was with you all that time, the answer is no – at least I don’t think so. He hasn’t said anything.’

Jack was concerned all the same, ‘You and I both know, he’d go mental if he found out. Not because anything would have happened between me and Madeleine.’ He smiled a sad little smile. ‘He knows the way things are with me. It’s just that I care about her! When I caught her crying in the back alley that night, I knew she needed to get away from him … if only to send him the message that she’s not his sole property to do with as he pleases!’

Alice understood his frustration. ‘The trouble is, she loves him – though God only knows why.’

‘I’m well aware of that,’ Jack sighed. ‘It was plain enough – the way she kept mentioning his name, even wanting to get back to him from the minute she came in through the door.’

‘Well, it was Drayton who put her up there in front of the crowds,’ Alice conceded. ‘Unfortunately, she seems to think she owes him for that for all eternity, when all the time any self-respecting club-owner would have cut his arm off for the chance. Anyways, all we can do is hope she comes to her senses, sooner rather than later.’

‘I did right, didn’t I?’ Jack asked worriedly. ‘I mean, offering her my spare room for a while?’

‘Of course you did the right thing,’ Alice assured him. ‘No way should we have let her come to me because, as we suspected, it was the first place he came looking.’

Jack pursed his lips, folded a bar-towel and placed it over the pumps. ‘For her own sake, I wish she could see him for what he really is. A complete bastard!

He knew how fond Alice was of her. ‘She’s too trusting, and he knows it.’ The anger trembled in his voice, ‘I tell you, Alice, if it wasn’t for her asking me not to, I’d have tackled him long before now. But she won’t have it. As it was I pleaded with her to stay on at my place – even offered to move out for as long as she wanted. I tried all ways to stop her from coming back here to him, but she wouldn’t be told.’

Alice chuckled. ‘That’s the way she is – headstrong and independent. But I’m keeping an eye on things, don’t you worry.’

‘Alice, promise me. If he hurts her, you will tell me, won’t you? I can’t abide bullies.’ Jack’s face darkened. ‘I swear to God I’ll swing for him if he touches her again.’

‘I will.’ Alice could lie convincingly when necessary.

And she was lying now.

The last thing she wanted was to involve Jack any deeper. He was a sensitive young man, albeit strong and able, and no doubt in a fair fight he could easily take on a man like Drayton. But there were others – ruthless criminals and villains who, if paid enough, would snuff his life out like a candle.

Alice could never risk that happening.

Losing no time, Jack went away to instruct the others, ‘The boss wants us off the premises – like now.’

‘Why the hurry?’ The old barman had been with Drayton these past four years.

Jack shrugged. ‘Who knows?’

‘Another closed game with his mates, is it … losing their ill-gotten gains at the table.’ The man gave a snort of disgust, ‘Bloody fools. More money than they know what to do with.’

Having located Raymond, Alice asked, ‘How long before you’re done?’

Six foot tall, with shoulders wide and strong as an oak door, Raymond often doubled as a bouncer, evicting the undesirables. ‘Half an hour tonight,’ he answered shyly, avoiding Alice’s eye. ‘Back at eight in the morning to finish off.’

Alice nodded, and then gave a stifled yawn. ‘It’s been a long tiring day, and I need my sleep.’ Bidding him farewell, she hurried away to get her coat.

Before leaving, she intended to have a quiet word with Madeleine. She was deeply suspicious. Steve Drayton was acting out of character and it worried her. What with Maddy taking off the way she did, without so much as a word, and then turning up out of the blue like that … and all he had done was give her a gentle chiding. It was not like Drayton to suffer public humiliation quietly. There would inevitably be some kind of retribution.

In her dressing-room, Madeleine had changed into a robe and was seated before the mirror, removing the make-up from her face.

Engrossed in what she was doing, she did not hear him come in. It was only when he stepped forward that she saw his image in the mirror.

‘God Almighty, Steve!’ she exclaimed. ‘You scared the daylights out of me.’

Before she could turn round, he was on her, his long lean fingers toying with her hair, caressing her slender shoulders, then sliding down towards her breasts. When she raised her head, he leaned forward to kiss her on the neck.

Suddenly, without warning, he clenched his fingers about her throat and squeezed.

When she began to struggle, he increased the pressure until she could barely breathe.

Then, just when it seemed she might pass out, he released her.

‘You’ve been a bad girl,’ he murmured. ‘You walked out on me without a word.’ He tutted. ‘That was so cruel.’

Cursing her to hell and back, he began to pace the floor, madly ranting on about what she had done to him. ‘Weeks you’ve been gone, and not one word! I went to the flat twice, and it was empty, so I knew you hadn’t been staying there. Then you just walk back in, as though nothing has happened. Did you never think how I felt? Christ! I was almost out of my mind, not knowing what was going on, not to mention being slagged off by the regulars with their smartarse remarks. “Where’s your woman? Frightened her off, have you?” Laughing at me behind my back!’ His face looked wild.

‘I’m not your woman,’ Maddy said hoarsely. Shaken by the brutal way he had gone for her throat, she recalled Alice’s warning that, ‘One of these days he’ll lose control, and Lord only knows what he might do!’

Her open defiance stopped him in his tracks. ‘What – did – you – say?’ he whispered.

Holding her head high, she shakily repeated the words. ‘I said, I’m not your woman.’

‘Is that so?’ Throwing his head back, he startled her by laughing out loud. In an instant, the laughing stopped. ‘So, if you’re not my woman,’ he demanded, ‘whose woman are you?’

‘I’m my own woman,’ she answered. ‘That’s who I am.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he sneered. Dropping into the nearest chair, he regarded her with suspicion. ‘Explain!’

Sensing the onset of a fierce argument, Madeleine chose not to answer. Instead, she put her hands up to her neck, remembering what he had done; remembering what Alice had warned so many times.

‘I’m talking to you, bitch!’ He was out of the chair and standing before her. ‘Answer me!’

Ignoring him, she hurried to the door. ‘I had something important to tell you,’ she confided angrily, ‘but I can see you’re not in the mood for talking. Not to worry. It can wait till tomorrow – if I can still speak, that is, let alone sing.’

‘Where the hell do you think you’re going?’ In two strides, he was across the room, where he slammed shut the door and thrust her against the wall. ‘Don’t fight me, sweetheart,’ he murmured. ‘You know I don’t like you to fight me.’ His tongue was rough against her skin as he licked the length of her neck, where the marks of his fingers still showed, and downwards, towards the rise of her breast.

Against all her instincts, Madeleine felt herself succumbing to his touch. ‘No! Let me go,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t want …’ But her words fell on deaf ears.

Even as she protested, she could not help but love him. Yet it was an uncomfortable love, a love that she knew deep down was not returned in the way she needed it to be, and never could be. Steve Drayton was too damaged a person to know what love meant.

Yet she would have given anything for him to love her completely, to care for her as a woman. And especially now, when she desperately needed him to see her as a future wife.

‘Don’t ever tell me you’re not my woman.’ The tip of his tongue encircled her ear. ‘You will always be my woman,’ he murmured passionately. ‘And God help anyone who tries to come between us.’

‘Steve?’ His nearness was intoxicating.

He stroked her breast, curving it into the palm of his hand. ‘Ssh.’

She stiffened against him, making him draw back slightly. ‘Do you love me? I mean, really love me?’

‘You know I do, otherwise why would I go crazy when I see other men ogling you?’ Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her full on the mouth. ‘I’d kill anyone who tried to take you away from me.’

‘But are you in love with me?’

He laughed. ‘Haven’t I just said I love you?’

‘Yes, but there is a difference. I mean, you can love a mother or a sister, but being in love is something else.’

‘You’re talking in riddles.’

When he began peeling off her robe, she held him away. ‘No, Steve. I really need you to listen to what I have to say.’ The time was right and she had to tell him now – while she had the courage.

‘What the hell’s wrong with you?’ His need of her was driving him crazy. ‘I know you want it as much as me, I can feel it.’ He slid his open palms over her buttocks. ‘Come on, stop teasing.’

Maddy laid her hands over his. ‘No, Steve! Not until you’ve heard what I’ve got to say.’

Inching away, he looked at her for a moment, at the tears in her eyes, and the nervous way she was fidgeting with her fingers. It puzzled him; a wave of paranoia swept over him. What was she hiding? Why did she look so guilty? ‘What’s going on?’

For weeks, she had dreaded this moment, but it had to be faced – and so had the consequences.

‘I’m pregnant,’ she confessed. ‘That’s why I went away – I needed time to think.’ At the look of horror on his face, she began to gabble, ‘I thought you might be angry. I was planning to get rid of it … I even went to see somebody – an abortion clinic in Harley Street. In the end though, I couldn’t go through with it! I couldn’t kill an innocent baby … our baby.’

Seeing the look of astonishment on his face, she took hold of him, pleading, ‘It’ll be all right, Steve. You said you loved me. We can get married and be a family.’ She giggled nervously. ‘It’s what I’ve always wanted.’

For what seemed an age he stared at her in disbelief then, with one mighty swipe of his fist, he sent her flying across the room.

‘You’re nothing but a slut!’ he shouted. Grabbing her arm, he yanked her to her feet, twice slapping her hard across the mouth. ‘A filthy little slut! What d’you take me for, eh? I’m no fool, I know why you went away. You’ve got yourself a new man, haven’t you, eh? And now he’s got you knocked up and the pair of you think you can offload his bastard onto me?’

‘No!’ Taken aback by his violent reaction, Maddy tried to explain. ‘There is no other man … there’s only ever been you. I swear to God, Steve, it’s your baby. Yours and mine.’

Picking up her hair-drier, he sent it crashing into the mirror, shattering it into a million airborne fragments. Some of the glass splinters cut her face and arms, sending sprays of blood across the wall.

Turning to her, Steve spat out, ‘It sickens me to touch you! You dirty little cow, shaming me in front of everyone. I expect they all knew what was going on – and all the time they were laughing at me behind my back. Bastards, all of you!’

He was like a madman. ‘GET OUT OF HERE – OUT OF MY SIGHT, AND OUT OF MY CLUB! GO ON – CLEAR OFF OUT OF IT!’ As he slung her out the door, his voice was raised to the rafters. ‘He can have you. Who’d want to touch you now? And when I find out who he is, that bastard you’re carrying won’t have a father. Make no mistake, I’ll find out who you’ve been with if it’s the last thing I do. D’YOU HEAR WHAT I’M SAYING! Nobody makes a fool out of Steve Drayton and gets away with it!’ He stormed off into his office, trampling on the broken glass, and kicking it across the room.

From the cloakroom, Alice heard the commotion and came running. Horrified at the sight of Madeleine spattered in blood, she took her by the arm, and led her away. ‘I knew this would happen, I could see it coming,’ she muttered to herself. Glancing up, she saw Drayton peering at them through his office window. ‘Look what you’ve done to her, you lunatic!’ she cried. ‘You should be ashamed! Only a coward would hurt a woman like this!’

Afraid that Alice might enrage him further, Madeleine stopped her. ‘Alice, don’t! He’s gone crazy.’

‘He’s always been crazy,’ Alice said loudly. ‘It’s just that you’ve never believed it.’ Taking her behind the bar, she ran the cold tap and with a clean bar-towel, dabbed at the cuts until they were cleaned, then she went to the first-aid box and smeared them with antiseptic ointment. ‘Thank goodness they are only superficial,’ she consoled her friend. ‘But they’ll take a while to heal, nevertheless. In a minute or two, we’ll get a taxi and go to University College Hospital, to get them seen to properly.’

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Drayton in his office, pacing up and down like a wild animal. ‘Whatever sent him off on the rampage like that?’ she asked worriedly.

Maddy blamed herself. ‘I should never have gone away for all those weeks. I thought it might make him value me more; instead, it made him think I had a lover.’ She was shivering with shock, she was grateful when Alice took off her coat and wrapped it round her.

‘But that’s ridiculous! You’ve always worshipped the ground he walks on – though why, I’ll never know. Look! I’ll tell him how it was, that after the big row you had, it was me who persuaded you to put some distance between you for a time. I’ll tell him there was never any other fella, that there was nothing underhand going on.’

Jerking away, Madeleine shook her head, and the pain made her cry out. ‘I don’t want you to go anywhere near him,’ she said. ‘He wouldn’t listen anyway.’

‘Oh, he’ll listen to me. We’ve clashed many times, and he’s threatened to be rid of me – but I’m still here. That’s because I keep this club operating smoothly where previous people have almost run it into the ground, robbing him blind in the process.’ She squeezed Maddy’s hand gently. ‘Unlike you, my girl, I’ve learned to stand up to him.’ She dialled the local taxi firm. ‘A cab will be here in a minute.’

Madeleine kept a hold on her. ‘No, Alice. Leave him be for now. It was my fault for telling him tonight, after me just turning up without warning. I should have told him tomorrow morning in the light of day maybe, when he might have been more rational.’

Alice’s curiosity was growing. ‘Told him what? It must have touched a nerve, whatever it was, for him to blow up like that.’

Madeleine was still dwelling on Steve Drayton’s reaction. ‘I hoped he might be pleased,’ she said, and began to sob.

Exasperated, Alice tried again. ‘So, what was it you told him?’ Then the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. ‘My God! You’re pregnant!’ She understood it all now. ‘I should have known, what with you refusing food and cutting out the alcohol. Yes, and the other week, Jack told me you’d been sick all morning.’ She recalled the moment. ‘You’d been looking peaky of late, so I did wonder.’

Sobbing, Maddy admitted that yes, she was pregnant, but, ‘Steve refuses to accept that he’s the father. He’s convinced I’ve been with somebody else … called me a dirty little slut.’

‘You’re well shot of him,’ Alice said gently. ‘And don’t you worry, everything’s going to be all right.’ Her face was wreathed in the widest smile. ‘Oh Madeleine, you’re going to have a baby – isn’t that wonderful?’

At the Emergency department of the local hospital, a nurse cleaned the cuts again and removed a tiny sliver of glass from the biggest one. She warned Maddy to only wear her stage make-up for the shortest time – to take it off as soon as possible, to allow the skin to breathe and to heal.

After a cup of tea and some biscuits, Maddy was feeling a lot better. Alice’s excitement was infectious, and by the time they’d taken another taxi to Whitechapel, where Alice lived, Maddy had promised herself that everything was going to be all right.

Alice herself was not so sure. In spite of promising Maddy that things would sort themselves out, she had a murmuring dread that more trouble was bound to come out of all this.

Yet, even now, after witnessing the violence he was capable of, neither Alice nor Madeleine fully realised the true evil that was Steve Drayton.