The Loner (38 page)

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PAM 6429

HarperCollins Publishers

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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
talented 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 demure, almost naive in her trust of others.

“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 ye!”

He gave a smug little smile. “Women are no mystery to me,” he boasted, “I’ve always been able to twist ’em round my little finger.”

“You’re too clever for your own good, so ye are!” Being a woman of some fifty years past, her once pretty features were now weathered and worn, though her wild shock of auburn hair and sparkling blue eyes were alive with vitality. “When yer said she’d be back, I hoped you might be wrong. But here she is, an’ God help her.”

In truth, Alice was not altogether surprised to see the younger woman here tonight, because it was not the first time today that Madeleine had walked through these doors.

“She must have lost her mind, to make her way back here.” As was her way, she had earlier told Madeleine the very same.

“It just goes to show what bloody fools we women can be!” she added cynically.

Steve shook his head. “Madeleine is nobody’s fool,” he argued. “She knows where her bread is buttered, and come to think of it, so do you. But I can see it rankles with you 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 looked him in the eye, “That’s because you’re
not
‘good enough’ for her! And ye never will be.”

He gave her a cursory glance, “I don’t give a sod what you think.” He glanced at Madeleine, “
She
thinks differently, and that’s good enough for me.” He preened himself, “Besides, she won’t get better than me, however hard she tries.” He prided himself on his achievements.

“Well, all I can say is, she must be a divil for punishment. Gawd! When I think of the way you treated her…”

“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.” Alice had no doubts about that.

“Really, and why is that then, eh?”

“Because without her, the clients 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
be then?”

“You said she was a feather in your cap; a trophy on your arm for all other men to envy.” Alice had no liking for this self-centred man. “Deep down you don’t love her at all. She’s just another ‘acquisition’ for you to show off!”

“Hmh!” Choosing to ignore her ranting, he searched Madeleine out, to smile lovingly at her, “Since she walked out on me…” his voice grew softer, “I might tell you, I’ve really missed her.”

“Missed the money she brings in,
that’s
what you’ve missed!” Feisty as ever, Alice could give as good as she got, “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 ever walked a stage. She can twist any audience round her little finger, and there’s not a man in the crowd that wouldn’t give his right arm for a woman of her calibre.”

Alice threw him a derisory 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.

Since the nightclub opened eight years ago, she had worked hard, shown her true worth and earned his 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 behind the bar; served at tables and run errands. Of late she had risen from taking money as the clients arrived, to being entrusted to bank the takings.

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 his shadier activities.

While Steve Drayton valued and respected her, she could never respect him. In fact, after seeing how badly he treated every woman who took a shine to him, Alice had grown to dislike and distrust him; especially these past two years, since Madeleine caught his eye.

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

All they really knew was what they had been told; that she was having a well-deserved holiday, away from the hustle and bustle of the London club-land.

Steve Drayton was a big man. Fit and toned, with a quick mind and an instinct for making money, he had built this club from nothing. Not particularly handsome, his best features were his thick dark hair and narrow hazel-coloured eyes.

Though apprehensive, she was glad to be back, to know that he still wanted her. And yet there was always that niggling doubt, that he might throw her aside; that he would fnd someone else 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.