Songbird

‘Don’t say that!’ Maddy didn’t believe in joshing about such things.

It was like tempting Fate.

Having made the tea, Alice brought the tray to the table. ‘And I’ll thank ye kindly not to eat all them custard creams,’ she warned drily. ‘There’s two for you, an’ two for me. And I won’t be pleased if there’s crumbs all over the table neither.’

Her banter had done the trick, and soon Maddy was brighter. ‘You’re such a good friend to me,’ she told the older woman, ‘letting me stay with you like this.’

Alice brushed away her comments, saying, ‘What are we going to do with you, that’s what I’m wondering. You can’t possibly go back to him – not after what he did. Like as not, if he takes another bad mood, he could finish you off. Think of the baby, my love.’

Maddy took a sip of her tea and sighed. ‘I’m sure he’ll be in a better frame of mind today,’ she said hopefully. ‘When he’s had time to think, he might realise what he’s done.’

‘Don’t you believe it, me darling! That’ll be the day, when Steve Drayton admits to being in the wrong. No.’ Alice was emphatic. ‘I can’t let you go back to him, at least not until we’re certain he really wants to take care of you and the child.’

‘Oh, if only he would …’ Maddy said wistfully. ‘Tell me the truth, Alice. Do you think there’s a real chance he might come to terms with the idea of a baby?’

Alice was silent for a moment, chewing on her biscuit and washing it down with another swig of her tea. ‘D’ye want the truth?’

Maddy nodded. ‘Please.’

Leaning forward, the older woman secured the girl’s full attention before saying bluntly, ‘I don’t think there’s a cat in hell’s chance of him accepting the baby.’

‘But he is the father!’

‘Oh yes, he may be the father, but he will never admit that the child is his. And I can’t see a child playing any part in his life. You know as well as I do, he’s a bad lot – along with the other villains he keeps company with. And not a single one of them has any scruples or conscience whatsoever.’

She paused, all manner of images going through her mind; of late-night visitors to the club, shady deals and vicious arguments, often ending in violence. Steve Drayton lived in a dark world, one in which she feared Maddy might get swallowed up.

‘We both know the rumours that circulate about him and his cronies, and you know what they say – there’s no smoke without fire. That’s no environment in which to bring up a child.’

‘I know all that,’ Maddy admitted soberly. ‘And I still can’t help but love him.’ She was well aware of all the warnings that Alice was sending out. ‘I wish I didn’t love him, but I do. I want to live with him and for us to bring our child up together.’

Dear God in heaven! What would it take for the girl to see the truth about Drayton? Alice insisted, ‘You must stay here with me for a while, until we know for sure he wants the two of you. Will you do that for me, if only for my peace of mind?’

For what seemed an age, the air was thick with silence.

Maddy had never seen Alice so agitated and, to tell the truth, she was beginning to wonder if her friend could see more badness in Steve than she could see herself. Oh, she knew he had a shady reputation, and she had witnessed at first hand how cruel he could be. But how could he not love her, when she loved him so much? She wanted to understand him, to heal his unhappy past, to restore his faith in womankind.

Her first impulse was to tell Alice that she was going back that very day. She had to reason with Steve, and the sooner the better. But something in Alice’s warning made her cautious. ‘Very well, I’ll promise not to come back with you today.’

‘And what about tonight? You’ve got to teach him a lesson! Don’t turn up. Hit him in his pocket – where it hurts most.’

‘I don’t know if I can let him down again.’ Maddy was in turmoil. ‘I’ve only just got back onstage. Me being away has already cost him money. Besides, it’s Saturday – his best night. The place will be full to bursting. I need to think on it.’

‘Well, while you’re thinking on it,’ Alice said, ‘think about the way he attacked you. Think how he beat you up, even after you told him you were carrying his child. And even though you might by some miracle talk him into family life, just think what the future would be like – never knowing when he might turn on you or the child. God knows, he’s capable of it.’

‘I know he’ll probably turn his back on me,’ Maddy answered quietly, ‘but I still have to try and win him round, for the baby’s sake, if not for mine.’

‘Then I’m not going to work.’

‘Why not?’

‘Sure, if I can’t make you see sense, and you insist on going in tonight, so soon after he’s done this to you, then you give me no choice. I’ll write my letter of notice and send it in. I can’t stand back and see him play you for a fool any longer.’

Maddy was horrified. ‘You can’t send in your notice! You love your work. Besides, it’s not so easy to find a job in the clubs. You know how they are a closed shop.’

‘Don’t you worry, me darlin’.’ Alice could see her little ploy beginning to work. ‘I’ll find a job, even if I have to move away.’

‘I can’t let you do it,’ Maddy said. ‘Promise me you won’t send in your notice?’

‘I’ve made my decision,’ Alice answered.

‘No!’ Maddy knew from experience that when Alice said something, she meant it. ‘I can’t let you lose your work and possibly your home, on account of me.’ She bit her lip. ‘I’ll do what you ask, then. I’ll stay here tonight and make him sweat.’

‘Well, all right then,’ Alice said, after a pause. ‘And I’m not saying you shouldn’t go back at all, because clearly you still have things to decide between the pair of youse. But not tonight. Let the bugger calm down and think it through.’

Maddy threw her arms round the little woman’s shoulders. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘But I may go in tomorrow. You do know I can’t stay away too long?’

‘I understand that, so I do. But if you were to go in tonight, he’ll think he can do whatever he likes and you’ll always be there at his beck and call. And when you do get to talk it out with him, be prepared for him to give you an ultimatum.’

‘What kind of ultimatum?’

Alice did not mince her words. ‘He could ask you to get rid of the baby.’

‘NO! I would never do that! I tried – and I just couldn’t do it.’ The idea went against every instinct in her body.

It was the answer Alice had expected. ‘Good girl.’ Reaching across, she took hold of Maddy’s hand. ‘Listen to me,’ she urged. ‘London is full of unsavoury characters and Steve Drayton knows each and every one of them; no doubt they’re all on his payroll. What I’m saying is … be on your guard. You’ve already seen a glimpse of what he’s capable of.’

‘I know.’

Sensing her hesitation, Alice assured her, ‘If you’re worried he might bring somebody else to take your place on stage tonight, I can tell you now, that won’t happen. While you were away, he trawled the clubs and agents, looking for a replacement. He managed to find two girls, but neither of them could hold a candle to you. In fact, they were so bad, Dave and Dino threatened to leave. Sure, there are talented girls about, but they’re all tied up in secure contracts.’

Up until then, it had not crossed Maddy’s mind that she might be so quickly replaced. Instead, she still harboured the illusion that Steve might yet feel proud at having fathered a child, and that in time he might even put a ring on her finger.

She relayed all this to Alice, but as ever Alice was noncommittal. ‘Let’s wait and see, me darlin’,’ she said encouragingly, ‘Who knows? Possibly you and the wee one can make him change his ways, after all.’

Deep down though, she knew it would never happen.

When Alice left for her duties at the club after lunch, Maddy reflected on their conversation. This time, she was less optimistic. ‘What if she’s right and I can’t talk him round?’ she asked herself. ‘What if he throws me out? What if he changes the locks on the flat and turns his back on me altogether?’

It was a frightening thought. She couldn’t put all her troubles on Alice, and she couldn’t afford a place of her own, as Steve only paid her a pittance, so where would they go, and the baby? How would they live?

A shocking thought rippled across her mind, and it brought her up sharp. Whatever happened, she would not have a termination. If Steve didn’t want her, she’d find a way to manage without him.

Yet the thought of making it on her own, with a baby in tow, was a terrifying thing. She was a singer; since the age of sixteen, when she was orphaned, she had always been a singer, scratching a living in shabby pubs and clubs until Steve had discovered and promoted her. It would be hard to sing in the clubs, as a single parent, impossible almost.

A sense of outrage coursed through her. ‘This is his baby, and he can damned well face his responsibilities!’

Determined either to win him over, or fight him tooth and nail, Maddy found herself regretting her promise not to go in tonight. What if ‘making Steve sweat’ just got him in such an awful rage that he went and did get himself another singer – and then she would never be able to talk him round!