A Sister's Shame (17 page)

‘If you’ve any complaints you’ll have to speak to Mr Scoresby.’ Teddy looked past her, to Rose and Sal, who were hurriedly packing their bags. ‘Where’s
Joanie?’ he demanded, looking round the room.

Marie’s heart gave a lurch. Bev closed the lid of her make-up box with a snap. ‘She buggered off whilst you were singing,’ Bev answered with a toss of her head. ‘The poor
cow was sick and couldn’t dance properly.’

‘What was wrong with her?’ Teddy asked.

‘Must’ve eaten something.’

Teddy frowned. ‘Her dancing was terrible. Mr Scoresby noticed.’

‘You’d dance terrible too, if you’d been on the lav all night.’

Teddy was silent for a moment, then walked up to Bev and pointed a finger. ‘I want to see her and quick. So make sure she gets the message.’

‘Yes, your lordship,’ nodded Bev as she ignored him and wiped off her lipstick. ‘Any other errands you’d like me to run?’

‘You’re a lippy cow,’ he growled, meeting her gaze in the mirror. ‘Just do as you’re told.’ The atmosphere in the room was tense as he turned and walked over
to Marie. His eyes went over her, slipping down to her breasts. Marie was glad she was wearing her old coat as it covered her figure.

‘You need a new image,’ he told her in a smooth voice. ‘Mr Scoresby likes his girls to set an example. I’ll take you up West to buy some quality clothes.’

Marie felt her skin crawl. ‘No thanks,’ she told him coldly. ‘I’m not one of Mr Scoresby’s girls. I’m just an employee.’

Teddy laughed. ‘Have it your way. But Mr Scoresby pays you, remember that. And handsomely too.’ He shrugged, walking back through the dressing room, kicking from his path the shoes
scattered over the floor. Then suddenly he stopped.

Marie saw Bev stiffen as she watched him warily.

Slowly turning, Teddy frowned at her. ‘Joanie’s never gone off early before. Are you sure she’s not pulling a fast one?’

‘She’s never had the shits so bad before,’ said Bev casually.

‘Does she still live in that dump at Whitechapel?’

‘No.’ Bev’s voice betrayed the first sign of fear. ‘That was Irene’s place. They shared a room together.’

‘Where is she living now?’

Bev rolled her eyes. ‘Christ, Teddy, how should I know? I ain’t her mother.’

Teddy glared at her. ‘You’d better pass on what I’ve said or
someone
will pay for it,’ he threatened, then left the room.

Bev sank down on a chair. Her face was white and her hands were shaking. ‘I could do with a fag.’

Rose and Sal came over. ‘You shouldn’t have spoken to him like that,’ said Sal, pushing her brown hair away from her face. ‘He knows something’s up.’

‘What else was I to do?’ demanded Bev crossly. ‘Neither of you two stepped in to back me up.’

‘No, because we’ve got more sense than you,’ muttered Rose, sliding her arm through Sal’s as though speaking for both of them.

‘He gives me the creeps,’ Bev mumbled, ‘but I won’t kowtow to him. He just likes to throw his weight around.’

‘Teddy isn’t like that!’ Vesta burst out. ‘You’re just upset because we’re getting new costumes and you’re not.’ She looked at the others.
‘None of you seems to give Teddy any credit for what he does. He has to manage all the acts as well as look after Mr Scoresby. And you, Marie, had the nerve to turn him down when he offered
to get you some decent clothes. I wish he’d asked me, because I would have grabbed the chance.’

Bev’s lips trembled as she looked at Vesta. ‘I ain’t jealous, love. The fact is, he scares me, although I put on a front. And he scared me even more tonight, wanting to find
Joanie so badly.’

‘He probably guessed she was drinking,’ said Vesta shortly. ‘You should have told him the truth.’

Bev laughed. ‘Yeah, you think so?’

‘Yes, I do.’ Vesta turned to Rose and Sal. ‘If Joanie has got herself into trouble, it’s not up to us to get her out of it. Tonight we could have all been blamed for what
she did. Even our dad.’ She crossed her arms and faced Bev. ‘As from now, Joanie has to look after herself.’

Bev got up slowly. She walked over to Rose and Sal. ‘Do you two feel the same?’

Rose went crimson. ‘She has got a point.’

Sal nodded. ‘If you and Marie had got caught, we could have lost our jobs.’

Bev gave a mirthless laugh. ‘So I take it that none of you is prepared to help me with the poor cow out in the alley?’

The two dancers shrugged. ‘Sorry,’ said Rose, glancing at Sal. ‘But we think Vesta’s right.’

Bev shook her head in dismay. ‘And to think, I once thought of you as friends, just like Joanie did.’ She turned and snatched up her bag, striding to the door.

Marie hurried after her. ‘Wait, Bev, I’ll help you.’

‘No, love.’ Bev smiled gratefully. ‘You’ve done enough. It took guts to do what you did, dragging Joanie up that passage with me. And I won’t forget that. Nor will
Joanie when she sobers up. I’ll see the poor cow’s all right, don’t worry.’ Bev threw a glance of contempt at the other girls as she left.

Rose and Sal soon began telling Vesta that they thought Joanie had always been after Wally, like Irene.

‘They made themselves cheap,’ pointed out Sal, her eyes narrowing vindictively, ‘and didn’t give a tinker’s cuss about us. So why should we help?’

Marie knew that Rose and Sal were finding excuses to make themselves feel better. But it was Bev who had been the one who cared enough to help a friend. Vesta had spoken her mind and the others
agreed with her. Marie felt distanced from her twin. She knew that things were changing.

The following Friday evening, a girl stopped the twins at the factory gates. ‘You’re Vesta Haskins, aren’t you?’ she asked.

Vesta nodded. ‘Yes, what do you want?’

‘I work over there, in Ellisdon’s offices.’ She nodded to the tall building at the side of the factory. Her pretty face was flushed as she looked at them, her dark brown hair
drawn back from her face and clipped over one ear. ‘I’ve heard you’re seeing Teddy Turner.’

Marie looked at Vesta, who had gone pale. ‘What business is that of yours?’ Vesta demanded.

‘He’s trouble, that’s what. I thought it was only fair to give you a warning.’

‘You must have the wrong Teddy,’ Vesta said, taking a sharp breath.

‘He works at a club up Poplar called the Duke’s.’

Vesta gave a soft gasp, as the girl stepped closer.

‘Listen, he’s bad news,’ said the girl in a whisper. ‘I wouldn’t believe it either once, when someone warned me. But now I’m expecting. He dumped me as soon
as I told him about the baby. Gawd knows what I’m going to do.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Vesta, regaining her breath. ‘The jealous cows here are just making mischief.’

‘Well, it’s up to you,’ shrugged the girl, ‘makes no difference to me.’

Marie called after the girl as she walked away. ‘Wait a minute, what’s your name?’

‘Flo Davis,’ she replied. ‘But I’ll bet he says he don’t know me.’

Marie took Vesta’s arm. ‘Go after her, Vesta. Give her a chance to tell you what she knows.’

‘It’s just gossip.’ Vesta pulled away. ‘She’s jealous, like all the girls who follow him around. This kind of bitchiness is one of the reasons why I hate
Ellisdon’s and want to leave.’ Vesta’s face was now flushed red. ‘If it wasn’t for Mum, I’d give in me notice right now.’

Marie watched the small figure disappear, but Vesta walked off in the other direction. Marie was torn; should she go after Flo Davis? But it was Vesta who should be asking the questions, not
her.

Finally the girl disappeared. Marie caught up with Vesta. She knew her sister had made up her mind to stick her head in the sand. Once she had done that, there was no persuading her to
listen.

That evening as they were getting ready to go to the club, Vesta turned from the mirror and looked at Marie. ‘You’re not going to say anything to Teddy, are
you?’

‘What about?’

‘That girl, Flo Davis, of course.’

‘It’s not up to me to ask him if he’s got a girl in trouble.’

‘I don’t believe her,’ Vesta shrugged. ‘And I don’t want to spoil our day tomorrow.’

Marie stopped brushing her hair. ‘What’s happening tomorrow?’

‘Teddy’s taking me to choose our costumes.’

‘When did he ask you to do that?’

‘I saw him on the stairs yesterday.’ Vesta frowned as she saw the startled expression on Marie’s face. ‘Don’t look at me like that. You had your chance, Marie. He
asked you first.’

‘Vesta, you should think about what Flo said.’

‘Why? Teddy has never overstepped the mark with me. Until I find something to complain about, I’ll keep me mouth shut.’

‘Can’t you ask if he knows a Flo Davis?’

Vesta looked angry. ‘I told you, no. Now, cheer up, for goodness’ sake. We’re getting ourselves new costumes and one of us, at least, will be there to choose them!’

When they arrived at the club a tall, leggy blonde was standing in the dressing room talking to Rose and Sal. She wore the sparkly blue outfit that looked to Marie as though it
might have been Joanie’s. Rose and Sal were laughing at what she said, whilst Bev sat at the mirror, applying her make-up.

‘This is Shirley,’ said Rose, taking hold of the girl’s arm. ‘Shirley, meet Vesta and Marie, our twins.’

‘Hello, Shirley,’ said Marie and Vesta together.

Rose and Sal laughed. ‘They always do that,’ giggled Rose.

‘Nice to meet yer.’ Shirley smiled, showing a row of rather uneven nicotine-stained teeth beneath her red lipstick.

‘Shirley is Joanie’s replacement,’ said Sal, glancing across at Bev.

‘Replacement?’ echoed Marie and Vesta.

‘Yes, as Joanie seems to have disappeared, the silly cow. So Teddy took on Shirley and we had a quick practice this afternoon and she’s done just fine.’

‘Oh, the routine ain’t no problem for me,’ said Shirley, waving her hand. ‘I used to dance at the Folies in Paris.’

‘Paris!’ Vesta exclaimed. ‘Did you really? Oh, that must have been so exciting.’

As Vesta talked with Shirley and the two girls, Marie went over to Bev. She seemed to be taking extra care with her make-up and wouldn’t look up. Finally Marie put her fingers gently on
Bev’s arm. ‘Did you get Joanie home safely?’ she whispered.

Bev became still, though Marie saw her hand shaking. ‘Yes, I let her stay at my place. Then she went out the next day and never came back.’

‘But where could she have gone?’

Bev slowly looked round. ‘Don’t ask no more questions, please.’

Marie gasped. ‘What’s happened to your eye? It’s all black and blue.’

‘I walked into a door.’ Bev turned back to the mirror. ‘Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll piss off.’

‘But—’

‘Do as I say,’ Bev muttered, not turning to look at her. ‘Talk to the others or they’ll oust you as well.’

‘I don’t care about them. It’s you I’m worried about.’

Bev stared at her in the mirror. ‘If that’s true, love, just leave me alone.’

Eventually Marie went over to their costumes and began to undress. What had happened to Bev? Would walking into a door have caused such an injury? It looked more as if someone had hit her.

When Teddy’s knock came and the girls lined up to do their number, Bev wouldn’t look at Marie as they filed out.

‘Shirley’s nice,’ said Vesta when they’d gone. ‘She’s danced at the Folies, you know. And met a lot of famous people.’

‘Did you see Bev’s black eye?’ Marie asked as she did up the side of her costume.

‘No. How did she get that?’

‘She said she walked into a door. But I don’t believe her.’

Vesta sighed. ‘There you go again, poking your nose into someone else’s business. She probably had a fight with her boyfriend and doesn’t want to say.’

Marie was thinking that someone may have picked a fight with Bev instead. But she knew it would sound as if she was accusing Teddy, whose last words to Bev were that if she didn’t give his
message to Joanie then someone would pay for it. And as Joanie appeared to have vanished, had Teddy followed up on his threat?

The chorus girls came back, Rose and Sal full of praise for Shirley’s dancing. When Marie and Vesta returned after performing their routine, Rose and Sal were still telling Shirley how
good it was to have a ‘proper’ dancer amongst them.

Marie looked across at Bev. There was sadness in her face. Marie was certain she knew more about Joanie, and it was only Marie who bothered to say goodbye to Bev when she left.

‘How do I look?’ asked Vesta the next day after work. She was wearing a floral dress and a black bolero that looked very pretty, with her blonde hair freshly washed
and waved around her face. They had rushed home from work so that Vesta could be ready to go out with Teddy by two.

‘You’ll need a coat,’ said Marie, frowning.

‘I’d rather freeze than wear that old thing.’

‘You probably will freeze as it’s October now.’

‘Yes, but Teddy’s car will be warm.’ Vesta rolled her eyes and put her hand on her stomach. ‘My insides are going over, I’m so nervous. And oh, I haven’t got
a proper handbag!’

Marie slid a small, hand-embroidered purse from the bottom of the wardrobe. ‘We got this from Cox Street last year, remember?’

Vesta snatched it. ‘It will have to do as I’ve got nothing else.’

‘Have you told Mum you’re going out with Teddy?’

‘No. She’s out all afternoon at the school, cleaning up after the jumble sale this morning. Now, are you going to wish me luck?’

‘I’ll tell you what Mum would tell you,’ Marie smiled. ‘Just behave yourself.’

‘Yes, and I’ll tell you what I couldn’t tell Mum,’ giggled Vesta, ‘that I won’t have any fun if I’m good.’ She pecked Marie on the cheek.
‘Bet you wish you was coming now!’

Five minutes later, Marie was looking out of the window as Teddy opened the car door for Vesta, then drove them away.

Half an hour later, another knock came.

A pair of brown, smiling eyes greeted Marie as she opened the door.

‘Bing, what are you doing here?’

He grinned from ear to ear. ‘You could sound a bit more pleased to see me.’ He looked very smart in casual dark trousers and sports jacket, with a white handkerchief corner poking up
from his breast pocket.