Emmy shuddered at the image he had conjured up. ‘I certainly hope not, although I won’t know about it anyway, seeing as it’s my day off.’
After a while they rose and walked on until they came to a little café where they sat outside to enjoy a glass of lemonade.
‘What will you do for the rest of the afternoon?’ Emmy asked as she stared at his handsome face. She couldn’t believe how thrilled she felt to see him.
‘Oh, there’s no peace for the wicked,’ he said. ‘I have so much revision to do for my exams that I’ll probably have my head stuck in a book until bedtime. Speaking of which, I shall have to make a move soon unfortunately because my landlady will have my lunch ready and she can be a right old harridan if any of us are late.’
‘Well, we can’t have that.’ Emmy’s eyes were twinkling. ‘Come on, I’ll walk back to the park gates with you.’
He offered his arm again and as she slipped her hand through it, she was suddenly very conscious of the warmth of his skin through his sleeve and she felt herself blushing.
At the gates, Jake promised to visit again the following Sunday provided he wasn’t on call at the hospital before hurrying away. Emmy watched him go, feeling confused.Pull yourself together, girl, she silently scolded herself as she thought of the butterflies that had fluttered in her stomach when she first saw him that morning,he is your cousin, there can never be anything between you.She turned about in a flurry of silken skirts and headed back to her aunt’s feeling very annoyed with herself.
That evening, Emmy sat at the top of the stairs peeping through the banisters to watch her aunt’s visitors arrive. And what a strange crew they were. The first to enter was an elderly lady wearing the most enormous hat trimmed with peacock feathers that Emmy had ever seen. Aggie announced her to her aunt as Mrs Cuttingham. She was soon followed by a middle-aged gentleman who was so plump that his brightly coloured waistcoat strained across his stomach and he seemed to waddle rather then walk. Aggie greeted him as Mr Perry. Over the next few minutes yet more strange-looking people joined him. One lady in particular caught Emmy’s eye. When she arrived, Emmy glimpsed a fine carriage and four with a liveried groom through the open front door and so she wasn’t surprised when she heard Aggie announce the regal-looking woman to her aunt as Lady Medville. It seemed that people from all walks of life were attending the meeting and, thoroughly curious now, Emmy almost wished that she could join them.
But her aunt hadn’t invited her and she didn’t wish to intrude, so when it seemed that everyone had arrived, she went to her room to write to her mother and Abi to tell them all about Jake’s lovely surprise visit. She had already written to them once when she had first arrived but as yet she had received no reply. Although she was settling far better than she had expected, she was still deeply concerned about her father and thought about him all the time. She was also missing her old home and Abi’s constant chatter and found that the evenings were the worst time. Her aunt tended to retire early and it was hard to fill the empty hours until bedtime and so because the nights were light, she had taken to strolling around the local area to get to know her way about.
In her new home behind the Black Cat, Abi was getting changed ready to go down to the club and start work. It had been a strange few days. At home her parents had ensured she led a very pampered, sheltered existence but the one she was living now could in no way be classed as that. She had quickly adapted to her new way of life, staying up until the early hours of the morning and sleeping in till lunchtime when she would rise to spend an idle afternoon with the rest of the girls. Now as she thought back to her first evening there, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She had been as nervous as a kitten when Lilly had first led her into the gloomy smoke-filled club but it was soon evident that she was going to be very popular with the clients, and within a few hours she had started to enjoy herself. Admittedly she had been very self-conscious in the low-cut gown that Lilly had allowed her to borrow but the admiring glances she’d received when Lilly had first introduced her to the gentlemen customers had soon dispelled her shyness. Unlike the other girls, who wore rouge and coloured their lips, Lilly had requested that Abi should remain natural with her glorious brown hair loose about her shoulders. She was the youngest girl working there and because of that it was soon clear that she would be in high demand. She too had written to her mother within days of arriving to assure her that she was safe and well and had found employment, but she had been careful not to include her address. The last thing she needed was an irate mother turning up on the doorstep to try and drag her home!
Once she was happy with her appearance, she stepped out on to the landing and almost collided with Maria, who was also making her way to work.
‘You off downstairs an’ all, are yer?’ Maria said amiably as she patted her hair, which was piled into ridiculously high curls on the top of her head. Her face was heavily rouged and the perfume she was wearing was so overpowering that it almost took Abi’s breath away. Before waiting for a reply, she went on, ‘Gettin’ the ’ang of it now, are you?’
Abi nodded. ‘Oh yes, it’s quite easy really. The customers who frequent this place don’t seem to be short of money and once they’ve had a few drinks it’s quite easy to persuade them to buy more.’
‘Hm, so you ain’t been tempted to invite anyone to your room yet?’ Maria grinned. ‘You could double the money you earn if you did.’
Abi blushed and shook her head as they lifted their skirts and made their way downstairs. Already they could hear the buzz of conversation and music coming from the club; it sounded like it was going to be a busy night.
‘No, I, er .?.?.’ Her voice tailed away and Maria giggled.
‘Well, you’re new to it as yet but I’ll guarantee someone will catch your eye who’ll tempt you.’
Abi didn’t reply. She enjoyed the flirting and the attention that was being heaped upon her, but she had no intention of allowing any of the men she had met to go any further with her.
They went through the door to the club and immediately the smoky atmosphere made Abi’s eyes water. They had gone no more than a few steps when a middle-aged, bald-headed man caught Abi’s eye and beckoned to her.
‘Would you care to join me for a drink, my dear?’ He was well spoken and the cut of his clothes told Abi that here was a man who had money to spend.
‘I’d love to,’ she simpered as she sat down next to him. ‘But I should warn you, I only drink champagne.’
Lilly, who was looking on, gave her a nod of approval as the man raised his hand to beckon one of the waitresses. ‘A bottle of your very finest champagne for this charming young lady,’ he told her.
Abi settled her skirts around her and batted her eyelashes becomingly.
To Abi’s delight by midnight her companion had polished off four bottles of the club’s very finest and most expensive champagne. She would receive a quarter of the price of every bottle she persuaded the customers to buy so she was more than happy, but he was now slurring his words and becoming more flirtatious and demanding by the minute. ‘So how old are you, my likkle preshious!’
‘I’m sixteen, sir,’ she told him demurely.
‘Ah, shweet sixteen an’ never been kished. How much would it cost me to change all that? Perhaps we could go to your room for a little private party of our own, eh?’ he said with a wink and a lewd smile.
‘I’m sorry, sir.’ Abi was desperately trying to catch Lilly’s eye – she was an expert at keeping the men in their place. Thankfully Lilly noticed her silent pleas from where she was standing at the bar and strolled over.
‘How are you, Mr Brewer?’ she asked pleasantly. ‘I see you’ve met our newest hostess. But you do look tired, if you don’t mind me sayin’ so. Why don’t yer let me get George to ’elp you outside an’ find a cab.’ As she spoke, she raised her hand and instantly one of the men who she employed to keep order in the club appeared at her side. ‘You can always come back an’ see our little Abi another night.’ She gave him a dazzling smile. It was her rule that unless it was absolutely necessary you never upset a paying customer. ‘I’m sure you’d love to see ’im again, wouldn’t yer, Abi?’
‘Oh yes, I’d like that very much,’ Abi lied as she tried to avoid his wandering hands. Then George, a great giant of a man with hands like hams, almost lifted Mr Brewer from his seat and all the man could do was raise his hand in farewell as he was led from the club.
‘He was trying to touch my .?.?.’ Abi gulped and pointed self-consciously at her chest.
