Sister's Trio Squad

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

'You were his "Wild Irish Rose"?" he asked, softly,

without a trace of mockery.

Nancy nodded.

Then I'm offering you a contract, Miss Nancy O'Don nell, will you come to London?"

'When?"

'Just as soon as you are ready.'

Even though she was overwhelmed by the opulence of the Adelphi Hotel, Lisa could not be persuaded to have even a small glass of wine, remembering the Dublin to Liverpool ferry and the way she had felt that morning. The sheer luxury and grandeur that surrounded her were intoxicating enough and this Mr Vinetti was the most handsome and charming man she'd ever met.

Margaret was not so overwhelmed and viewed Nancy's mentor with suspicion. She sipped the sweet white wine slowly. 'So you want Nancy to go to London? You think she has the talent for these "Stage Musicals"?"

'I do. Believe me Margaret may I call you that? Believe me, I understand your reticence and I respect you for it. You wouldn't think much of your sister if you let her go chasing off to London with a complete stranger without being concerned, now would you?'

'And where will she live? And what will she live on?' 'You sound just like Ma!' Nancy interrupted. She had intended to ask these questions herself. After all it was her life, her decision, not Margaret's.

'She'll live in what are known in the business as "digs", lodgings, and she'll have to work hard.' 'As I happen to be the person concerned here, I'd thank

you both not to talk about me as if I weren't even here!" Vinetti smiled at Margaret. 'And you're worrying about her? With that temper I'd worry about anyone who crossed her!'

Nancy opened her mouth, then closed it. Her temper had already lost her one opportunity. 'I'll find you work, in the smaller theatres. The "Empire"

chain probably, they still draw audiences.' 'I thought you said Music Halls were finished?'

'Oh, they're not quite dead. You'll have to learn your trade and there's no better way of doing it than working the halls, and you'll have to learn to dance and take singing lessons between . . .

'I don't need anyone to teach me how to sing.'

He smiled a little sardonically. She had a lot to learn and he could foresee some right royal rows ahead, but she was a challenge and one he would enjoy. "There she goes again!'

'You'll have your work cut out, Mr Vinetti, you might be getting more than you bargained for," Margaret murmured.

Nancy glared at her sister.

'Call me Edward, please. Do we have to be so formal?"

At last Margaret smiled. 'It's her life, Edward.'

'Well, thank you! Now we've got that fact established, can we finish our supper? I'm going to London with Edward and there's an end to the matter.'

Margaret toyed with the meringue on 'Vinetti? Where do you come from, Edward?'

her plate.

Again Nancy glared at her. Oh, would she never let matters rest? She was like a dog with a bone.

'Here. Liverpool.'

Nancy almost choked. 'Liverpool?"

'What's wrong with Liverpool? This city produces a lot

of talent." Nothing. I like Liverpool,' Margaret announced while Nancy was getting her breath back.

'My Grandfather was an Italian but he married an Irish girl. I was born here and I was brought up in the theatre. Although my grandmother looked after me in the early years while my parents went on tour around the country, later I went with them. But then I realized that if you wanted to get on, London was the place to be. But I still regard this as my home. So you see, I'm not some kind of foreign gigolo! And now, if we've all finished, I'll get you a cab. Knowing this place so well, I don't want you molested on your way home.'

Although she liked him and he had dispelled some of her initial fears, Margaret was still just a little suspicious. Cautious, she told herself, she was just being cautious. After all, it was she who would have to explain all this to Ma. 'Edward, may I have a word with we go?" you before

Of course." 'Nancy, perhaps you and Lisa would like to freshen

up?' Nancy had been on the point of demanding an explanation from Margaret about what she viewed as yet another instance of interference, but her curiosity got the better of her. The hotel was so palatial that she couldn't resist the chance to see what lay behind the doors discretely marked 'Powder Room'. So with Lisa at her side she made her way across the richly decorated and carpeted foyer. We might as well see what some of the place looks like. We'll probably never get the chance again and Margaret is only going to fuss and fret about me, asking more stupid questions that I'd sooner not hear,' she stated she turned the gold-plated door handle.

Edward led Margaret to a velvet-covered sofa set in an alcove flanked with small palms and potted shrubs. 'Come on, Margaret, you're not happy about some

thing, are you?'

'No, I'm not. I don't want to sound ungracious or appear over suspicious, but obviously I do care about Nancy and I feel responsible for both of them and I'm going to have to write and explain to Ma and you do hear such dreadful things . . .

'You still don't trust me, do you? Not fully? I can understand that. I'll give you both my card and the address of Nancy's digs. They won't be palatial - they never are, believe me, but if there's one person in this business that you can trust, it's Mrs Rose Weston. She'll be Nancy's landlady and believe me she is a person to be reckoned with. She'll stand no nonsense from anyone! A very formidable lady indeed and either you or your mother are free to write to her, if you wish. As for me,' he shrugged, 'what else can I tell you? I believe Nancy will go far and I will look after her as best I can. I know the "right"people and the "wrong" ones, too. And by the time she's finished working, rehearsing and practising, she'll have no energy for anything else. I'm a hard task-master. But you know Nancy far better than I do. . .'

'Indeed I do, and I know what she's like when she's set on something or someone!'

'I have a very strict rule Margaret, I never mix busi ness with pleasure. It only leads to trouble. To me, Nancy is an investment and I look after my business investments - you'll have to take my word on that.' He took out a printed card and a pen and wrote an address on the back of the card, then handed it to her. 'Here's Mrs Weston's address in Bloomsbury. Put it in your bag before Nancy sees it for I've a eeling that she might not be too happy about our little discussion.'

Margaret took the card and smiled at him, feeling much easier in her mind. She did like him and now she felt she could trust him. With Mrs Weston's address safely in her bag, should she ever need it, she rose as her sisters crossed the foyer towards them.

'I think your cab is waiting. Here is my card and the name and address of your landlady. As soon as you arrive, telephone me and I'll come to the station for you,' Edward instructed her.

Nancy nodded. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't all a dream.

'Don't worry, Margaret,' Edward said, smiling gently. 'She'll be just fine. I hope we meet again." She shook the extended hand. "Thank you, Edward, for

everything.'

'Goodbye, Lisa.'

'Goodbye, Mr. .. Edward.' She liked him, too. Nancy was so lucky. She wished she had someone like him to take an interest in her, to buy her expensive suppers and take her to places like the Adelphi, where even the toilets had marble floors, gold taps on the washbasins and soft, pale pink towels and pink perfumed soap in small, square tablets. But Nancy didn't seem to think he was anything special, just someone to help her in her career.

'Aren't you going to say anything? You've sat there like two tailor's dummies ever since we left the hotel.' Nancy was just bursting with excitement. Couldn't they see that this was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her?

There's nothing much left to say, is there?' Margaret

said dryly.

'What are you going to tell Ma?" Lisa asked.

'Nothing. I want to surprise her. I'll write and tell her when I get my first real break."

'Oh, that'll surprise her all right. It will give her a heart attack!' 'Oh, why can't you be happy for me? You're jealous,

that's what you are.'

Don't be ridiculous, Nancy. I am happy for you but

I am worried about you, too. You hear such terrible

things . . .'

You're off again! You're middle-aged and staid, Margaret and you're only twenty-two. I can take care of myself. If I didn't trust him I wouldn't go. I'm not a complete eejit! And it won't be all wining and dining. You heard him, it will be hard work and there are no guarantees that I'll become a star. But he did say I had talent and ambition and guts.'

'You've always had all that and I'm happy for you, Nancy, but..." 'Well then, no more buts. I have my own life to lead.

You think about yourself for a change!' Margaret closed her eyes. She supposed Nancy was right. Perhaps she did worry too much; was she becoming old before her time? When Nancy had appeared on that stage looking so vital and beautiful and utterly composed and confident, and when her voice had soared over the buzz of the crowd, she had felt so proud of her, and when her song had ended she had stood up, like Lisa, and clapped until her hands were stinging. She had suffered the same sense of numbing shock when that awful girl with the painted face and flashy clothes had been announced as the winner. She cared what happened to Nancy just as much as she cared what happened to Lisa. But in worrying about them, was she losing her youth? Out of the two of them she had less cause to worry about Nancy-she could take care of herself. She leaned her head against the back the seat feeling tired and still a little confused.

of

Lisa had said nothing at all, she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. Nancy was leaving them, there would be just herself and Margaret in that awful house and just her in that awful factory. Nancy had got what she wanted, while she . . . she had to find another job! It was all right for Nancy, accents weren't noticeable when you sang.

She hadn't been able to get Miss Drinkwater's remarks out of her mind. There were some nice shops along County Road, and even Walton Vale, perhaps she should try them. She simply couldn't bear that factory without Nancy. Unlike Margaret, she had liked Edward Vinetti from the start. Of course, he was quite a bit older than even Margaret, but he was so handsome, so charming and he had treated her as though she were just as important as Nancy. He had taken her arm as she had alighted from the cab, made sure she had everything she wanted, and then had shaken her hand and smiled that wonderful smile. Margaret had asked him all those pointed questions because she was worried about Nancy, but even Margaret liked him.

Another thought struck her. Margaret was going to do some work for Mr Vannin. That would mean she would be alone with her aunt and uncle. The thought made her shudder. She was wary of Uncle Bart, although he said little to her. It was the way she caught him looking at her when he thought no one was watching. There was a sly. crafty look in his eyes, as though he wanted to lash out at her but was afraid to. She knew he was afraid of both Margaret and Nancy, and he was also very much under Aunt Maura's thumb, but with Nancy gone and Margaret out, she would make sure Aunt Maura never left the house without her.

Nancy left the following week and as they hugged and kissed her on the station, both girls felt miserable. Nancy herself had tears in her eyes, but she dashed them away. Oh, it was goodbye to that boring, smelly, dirty job and goodbye to Lancaster Street and Maura and Bart. She had Edward's card in her bag and lodgings in Bloomsbury. As she walked down the platform she turned back and waved, then, looking upwards at the soot-blackened arches of the glass-domed roof of Lime Street Station, she smiled. And it was goodbye to Liverpool, too. During her short stay she hadn't liked the city much. Oh, there were fine buildings and pleasant parks but there was also dirt and squalor and poverty on a scale she had never seen before and never wanted to see again. It would be hard work but now she was on her way!