Songbird

‘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!