Secrets of the Singer Girls (24 page)

Slowly Matron rose to her feet and smoothed down her uniform. ‘I must be on my rounds now, but please, I urge you to give some thought to what I’ve had to say. Perhaps it’s
time we looked forward now, not back. And while you’re at it, won’t you please put Mr Gladstone out of his misery? Once you open your heart to love, good things can happen. I bumped
into him the other day while I was out doing my shopping. Did he tell you?’

‘Yes, he did mention it,’ Vera remarked, feeling herself flush.

‘He was praising you to the very heavens above.’ Matron smiled knowingly. ‘He’s quite smitten with you.’

‘Poppycock,’ Vera blustered. ‘You’re being presumptuous; he’s just a very attentive employer. Though he is a thoroughly decent man, I’ll admit.’

At the door, Matron paused and her pale eyes twinkled. ‘She’s very beautiful, you know, my dear. Just like you.’

On the way out of the hospital, Vera thought of nothing else. So deep in her own thoughts was she that she didn’t see the slight figure of Poppy outside the door until she smacked clean
into her, dropping her bag and all its contents onto the pavement.

‘Oh, Vera,’ burbled Poppy, getting down on her hands and knees to gather up her friend’s belongings, ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Poppy?’ gasped Vera. ‘What on earth are you doing here on a Sunday? You’re not due to sing here today.’

‘I, er . . . Oh gracious, I, er, was just passing,’ she faltered.

Vera narrowed her eyes. ‘Did you follow me, Poppy?’

She watched suspiciously as a deep flush of telltale red spread over Poppy’s chest.

‘Yes, I did,’ Poppy blurted. ‘But please don’t be cross, Vera. I was just intrigued to know why you always visit on a Sunday, when we’re not here. One of the little
girls on the ward let it slip.’

Vera wanted to be angry, but somehow, faced with Poppy’s innocent eyes, she found she couldn’t summon the emotion. Despite her nerves Poppy looked deeply puzzled and Vera realized
she had to provide some sort of explanation.

‘Mr Gladstone asked me to deliver some bandages to the matron,’ she replied as evenly as she could.

‘Can we spare them?’ asked Poppy. ‘Mr Gladstone’s always saying we can’t make enough for the troops . . .’ She trailed off uncomfortably. ‘I’m
sorry. Please forgive me. I don’t mean to stick my nose in where it’s not wanted.’

‘Let’s get back to Tavern Street, shall we?’ Vera said curtly, disliking intensely the feeling that the past was nipping at her heels. ‘I’ve a mountain of corned
beef hash to make and I’ve not even begun.’

‘Of course,’ Poppy replied, relieved to be off the hook. ‘I should love to help. Any sign of Frank yet?’

‘No.’ Vera frowned. ‘He still hasn’t shown his face, and I expect those police constables shall return soon as well. It really is most queer and gives me a very unsettled
feeling.’

‘I can well imagine,’ agreed Poppy.

They were still turning it over when they arrived at the doorway to 24 Tavern Street.

Coming from the other way and whistling a merry tune to himself was Archie, accompanied by Sal.

‘Well, there,’ he beamed when he spotted them. ‘If it isn’t a sight to warm the cockles of my heart. You are both looking lovely today, ladies, if I might be so bold as
to say. I found this young lady on my way and thought I’d do the gentlemanly thing and escort her here.’

‘Hello, girls,’ Sal chirruped. ‘Our Archie’s been busy.’

From behind his back Mr Gladstone produced a brace of rabbits with a flourish.

‘Well, I’ll be, Archie,’ Vera whistled. ‘Wherever did you get your hands on those?’

‘I had to queue for two hours yesterday evening up at the market.’ He grinned proudly. ‘I didn’t even know what I was queuing for until I reached the front, but I had it
in my mind it might be something you would like, Vera. I hope you’re not disappointed. I know you can knock something smashing up with these.’

Vera stared at Archie’s hopeful face and felt her heart soften at the gesture. Perhaps Matron was right.

Vera turned the door handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. She rattled it again, but still it wouldn’t shift. How strange. She hadn’t left it locked when she had set out to the
hospital that morning; she never did.

‘Whatever’s wrong with this door?’ she muttered crossly.

‘Allow me,’ said Archie, handing her the rabbits. Pushing his body against the door, he shoved with all his might.

‘I think there’s something blocking it the other side,’ he puffed.

An uncomfortable feeling prickled up Vera’s spine and acting on instinct, she pushed open the letterbox and peered through into the gloom of the dingy hallway. What she saw made the blood
in her veins turn to ice. Daisy’s long black hair was fanned out over the wooden floorboards, her beautiful face pale, her dress soaked in blood.

‘It’s Daisy,’ she screamed. ‘She’s on the floor, and oh my goodness, there’s blood.’

In a flash, Archie was sprinting up the road. ‘I’m going to scale the back wall and get in through the scullery. Wait there,’ he yelled over his shoulder as he ran.

Vera felt hysteria rising inside her chest as she waited. After what felt like an eternity, Archie opened the door.

Sinking to her knees and gathering Daisy in her arms, time seemed to freeze and images came to her like snapshots.

Daisy’s delicate face was so drained of blood she was almost translucent. Her breath was so faint Vera could scarcely see her chest rise. What on earth had happened? Her stomach lurched
with the possibilities. Had Frank returned and hurt her in some way?

Poppy, Archie and Sal stood frozen over them, their faces paralysed with fear.

‘What you waiting for?’ Vera shouted. ‘Get a doctor!’

‘I’ll go,’ Archie said. ‘Poppy, you run to the factory. Get as many bandages as you can gather. Sal, you wait here and look after Vera.’

And then they were gone, and Vera and Sal were left alone with Daisy.

Fearful, Vera touched Daisy’s cheek. It was deathly cold. ‘Oh, sweetheart,’ she sobbed, drawing her into her arms.

Vera was so intent on cradling her little sister’s limp body that she hadn’t noticed the awful pallor that had crept over Sal’s stricken face.

Oh, Daisy, Sal thought desperately, what have you done?

Finding an ambulance in wartime was a lengthy exercise and so it was that the local doctor reached the scene first and tended to Daisy, insisting he be left alone to treat his
patient. After what felt like an eternity, he gently shut the door to Daisy’s bedroom behind him and lowered his voice as he turned to face Vera in the narrow passage outside.

‘Whoever did this wants locking up, and I for one would throw away the key,’ he said gravely.

‘What do you mean, Doctor? Did someone harm my sister?’ implored Vera.

‘It’s not good, Miss Shadwell, but your sister has regained consciousness and informed me of her pregnancy. She’s lost a lot of blood, but she’ll survive. I’m not
sure about the baby, though.’

His words hit Vera like a leaden hammer straight in the chest.

‘Pregnant?’ she whispered, aghast. ‘She can’t be.’

The doctor cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. ‘I can assure you she is most definitely with child, despite the best efforts of whatever abortionist she visited earlier today. It
was either Hatpin Bella or Mrs Black. I can usually tell by their handiwork.’ He spat the words out, and Vera saw his chest swell in rage.

‘I know these women see themselves as providing a valuable service to the community, but I’m afraid I don’t see it that way. I’ve tended to too many women who have nearly
paid for their sloppy services with their life.’

Vera felt the blood drain from her head and held on to the wall to steady herself as she attempted to take it all in. The passage seemed to close in on her as she recalled her terrible fear that
Daisy might do something reckless in her bid to escape her family and the East End. It seemed her awful premonition had come true.

The doctor sighed heavily and shook his head. ‘The next forty-eight hours are critical. As long as she doesn’t get an infection or any complications, she should make a full recovery.
The bleeding has stopped now, and she is sleeping. Make sure she has plenty of fluids to drink and ensure she takes these.’ He scrawled a prescription and thrust it into her hands.

Vera took it and, feeling utterly numb, looked from the paper to the doctor. ‘I really can’t thank you enough for coming so fast, Doctor,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll come
and settle what I owe you next week. But will you have to inform the police? And . . .’ Vera’s voice broke off hesitantly. ‘My father, Frank, will you be telling him?’

He looked on Vera with compassion. ‘I’ve known your family a long time, Miss Shadwell, in particular your mother, and I have no desire to bring shame on your house. I can see you are
a decent woman and there is a war on. Goodness knows we are all suffering enough as it is, so in this case I shan’t be filing a report to the police or telling your father, but I suggest you
keep a close eye on your younger sister. Something about this blasted war is relaxing the moral code that used to govern these streets. I shall return tomorrow to check on her progress, and she
will of course, need to register with the midwife as soon as she recovers.’

‘Rest assured I will watch over her, Doctor,’ Vera replied gratefully. After showing him to the door, she returned to the kitchen, where Sal, Archie and Poppy were seated round the
table, gripping cups of tea that had long turned cold and staring at Archie’s brace of untouched rabbits. They rose to their feet when she walked in.

‘I may as well be honest with you all. Daisy is pregnant,’ she announced. ‘The silly, silly girl. I warned her, told her until I was blue in the face about the consequences of
reckless actions, and now she will be forced to pay the price.’

Slowly, Vera swept her gaze across the table and noticed that only Sal could not meet her eyes. ‘Did anyone know about this?’ she questioned.

‘I did,’ replied Sal miserably. She looked up sharply and Vera was struck by the frustration in her eyes. ‘I did, Vera,’ she repeated. ‘But you have to believe me
– I had no idea where she was going this morning. I would have locked her in had I known. I’ve been trying to persuade her to talk to you about it for weeks, Vera, to come clean.
I’m a mother myself. I could never encourage her to get rid of her own child. How could I? I tried to dissuade her from this whole fling, honestly I did, but she wouldn’t listen to
me.’

‘Don’t worry, Sal. I believe you,’ Vera replied. ‘I know how stubborn Daisy can be and when she gets a notion in her head, there’s no stopping her. Well, as much as
it pains me to say, now she will have to learn the hard way.’ Vera shook her head in despair. ‘Whatever will become of her and the baby? If the community gets wind of this, her
reputation will never recover.’

Without saying a word Archie rose and moved across the room towards Vera, drawing her into his arms. Feeling too weak to protest, she allowed herself to be swallowed into his strong embrace. The
events of the past few hours had left her bewildered and shaken. Daisy pregnant? How had she not suspected? She of all people should have seen this coming, and in truth she knew she could only
partly blame Daisy. She had come down on her so hard she had succeeded in driving her away altogether.

‘We’ll leave you in peace now, Vera,’ Archie said softly. ‘Young Daisy needs you. This stays between Poppy, Sal and me until you work out what you’re going to
do.’

Poppy nodded furiously, her blue eyes brimming over with tears. ‘That’s right, Vera. I’m so desperately sorry.’

Vera closed her eyes and sighed heavily. ‘Thank you, Archie. I don’t know what I’d do without you, and you, Poppy and Sal.’

Then she showed them all to the door and, with a heavy heart, climbed back up the stairs.

Vera lost all sense of time as she sat by Daisy’s bed, gently dabbing her fevered brow with a cold compress. Hours slipped by like minutes and it was only when the sky
outside bruised to purple that she realized it was twilight.

Staring deep into the dying embers of the coal fire she had lit in the grate in Daisy’s bedroom, she stood and wearily picked up the poker to prod a little life back into it. When she
turned back round, Daisy’s eyes were open.

It was a few moments before Daisy adjusted to her surroundings. But then an avalanche of fear washed over her face.

‘The baby . . . ?’ she rasped, struggling to sit up.

Vera sat slowly and took Daisy’s hand gently in hers. ‘We don’t know yet, but the doctor is hopeful the baby will survive.’

Daisy’s eyes closed and she collapsed back down on the pillows. ‘I’m so sorry, Vera,’ she murmured. ‘I know you hate me, but trust me, you can’t hate me more
than I do myself right now. I didn’t know what else to do, where else to turn. I just felt so alone.’

Vera bent down and planted the softest kiss on her forehead. ‘It’s me who should be saying sorry.’

Daisy couldn’t keep the shock from her voice. ‘Y-you’re not cross with me?’ she stuttered.

‘No, Daisy, I’m not cross with you,’ she replied. ‘I’m cross with myself. I’ve been too stern with you over the years. Those things you said at the pub that
night, about me making your childhood miserable . . .’

‘I didn’t mean them, Vera,’ insisted Daisy. ‘I was angry at life, angry at Mum dying.’

‘All the same,’ Vera said firmly, ‘I should never have been so harsh or judgemental. I should have shown you more love and affection. If I had, maybe you wouldn’t . .
.’ Her voice cracked, but she was determined to finish. ‘Maybe you wouldn’t have resorted to this, or maybe at least you would have come to me first and we could have found
another way. Please forgive me. I promise from now on I’m going to be the big sister you always wanted, not the one I felt you needed.’

Daisy’s pale face registered nothing except shock, but Vera wasn’t done yet.

‘Do you want this baby . . . Robert’s baby?’

Tears welled in Daisy’s green eyes. ‘More than anything, Vera,’ she cried.

‘But does Robert know?’ Vera asked cautiously.

Daisy shook her head in shame. ‘Not yet, but I know I need to write and tell him. If the baby survives, that is.’ Fresh tears flooded her face. ‘Oh, what a mess I’ve got
myself into. I’ve been out of my mind with confusion and fear. But I am sure of one thing, Vera. I love Robert, and I will love our baby come what may.’