Songbird (12 page)

Haunted by images of him lying there in that filthy alley, his life ebbing away, and Alice — so frail yet desperate to know that Maddy and the baby would be safe — was all too much for her. Shock set in. Her body suddenly grew icy cold and she couldn’t stop shivering. Then she was sobbing, deep wrenching sobs that tore her apart.

As the sadness overwhelmed her, she felt Ellen’s arms slide about her shoulders again, holding her, allowing her to cry it out until, after a while, she was quiet.

“I’m sorry.” Her sore red eyes swept Ellen’s kind face. Maddy could never recall a time when she had not faced life and its troubles head on, alone and strong, with no one to share her burden; but now, she felt ashamed. “I never meant for that to happen.”

Ellen shook her head. “You’ve been through a lot,” she told Maddy bluntly. “You’ve seen one friend killed, and another hanging on to her life by a thread. You’re worried for your baby, and in fear for your life.” She gave a wry little smile. “Lesser women than you would have broken down, long before now.”

She regarded Maddy with admiration. Eight years older than herself, Maddy had a warm, kindly face with regular features and wide, honest eyes. Ellen took her hat off to her, for the way she had stood up to both the trials of that night and the bad times before, when Drayton had taken away her home, her livelihood, and cruelly dismissed his child as “somebody’s else’s bastard.”

On top of all that were the beatings, still evident on Maddy’s arms and face. And now the threat to take the lives of both her and her child.

From what she had learned about the man, Ellen had no doubts whatsoever that he would carry out his dark threat. It was a sobering thought. She could scarcely believe that, a few short hours before, she had been having passionate sex with him in a stinking alley: a murderer and a bully. There and then, Ellen promised herself, she would never sink so low again.

Maddy’s voice interrupted her reverie. “What can I do? How can I find out if Alice is all right?” Try as she might, she could not get her dear friend out of her mind.

“Well,” Ellen said sensibly, “we’re neither use nor ornament as we are, so why don’t we just try and get some sleep. Come the morning, we’ll have a clearer head. Then we’ll decide what’s best to do. And look — I’m certain that your pal is being well taken care of.”

“But we don’t know that.” Maddy so much wanted to see Alice, to hold her and tell her that she wasn’t alone; that everything would work out all right. She began to cry again.

“Maddy? What’s up? Is there something else on your mind?” Ellen asked, worriedly.

A brief pause, before Maddy nodded. “Yes.”

Paramount on her mind was the promise that had passed between her and Alice, in those few frightening moments when she held the wounded woman in her arms. Thinking back on it now, Maddy found it profoundly humbling, to realize that Alice’s own dire situation was secondary to her love and concern for Maddy and the unborn child.

Needing to share her anxiety with someone, Maddy told Ellen everything.

“She was desperate to know that I would be out of danger, so she made me promise to go away from London and never come back or make contact with her ever again. I expect she thought it was the safest and best thing to do.”

“Don’t forget she was badly wounded when she took that promise from you,” Ellen reminded her. “She would never hold you to it, I’m sure.”

“I gave my word,” Maddy sighed, “so until Alice tells me otherwise, I have to keep it.”

“Do you always keep your promises?”

Maddy shook her head. “I broke my promise to Alice only last night, and look where that has led us all.”

“Did Alice hear Steve’s threat to you?” Ellen asked suddenly.

“I don’t know. She may have.”

“If she did, that explains it. She needed you to get away from him, to go somewhere you could never be found.” The more she thought about it, the more convinced Ellen became. “From what he told me, she’s been with Drayton for a long time. More than anyone else, she would know what he’s capable of… wouldn’t she?”

Maddy agreed. “Yes. Alice was closer to him than anyone else. She virtually ran the club; she did his accounts and kept his address book. He was always suspicious of everyone, but not Alice. He trusted her implicitly. He told her secret things — sometimes they were bad things that she didn’t want to know, and which she never spoke about.”

“Why did she stay with him?” Ellen asked curiously.

“I’m not sure. Maybe because he paid her well and she’d been there a long time, I don’t know.”

“Was she a part of the bad things?”

“Never!” Maddy was horrified. “She kept as far away from his shady doings as possible.”

In her mind, Maddy went over all their conversations. “Alice is a good woman — the best friend I have ever had, more like a mother than a friend. In fact, just lately I don’t know what I would have done without her. She knew how
he
went off his head, claimed that I’d been with some other man and the two of us were trying to land him with a brat that was none of his making. She found out he beat me up badly, and she was always there for me. So how can I desert her now, tell me that? I can’t… I won’t!”

“I understand what you’re saying,” Ellen assured her, “but you’re up against a madman, and it seems that Alice knows that, better than anybody.” Ellen herself had not realized the mark of the man she had almost tied herself up with. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Maddy’s intervention, she might well have been caught up in that fateful shoot-out.

Personally, Ellen thought that both she and Maddy were lucky to have got away so easily.

Maddy had been thinking along the same lines. She accepted that the police would question the staff at the club, and though Raymond would not willingly give anything away, the others might not be so cautious. Unfortunately, it was common knowledge that she and the boss were lovers who had been going through a bad patch. It must also be common knowledge that he had boldly poached the new singer from under the nose of his arch-rival; the man he later shot dead in the alley.

So, all was not cut and dried. Ellen was right: if she were to go to the hospital, she might well put herself and the child in jeopardy.

“I’m glad he didn’t get his claws into you,” she told Ellen now. “He might well have ruined you, like he’s ruined me. But I have to be honest with you: I nearly didn’t tell you about him. It was only when I heard him weaving the same evil spell on you that he did with me, that I just knew I had to make you see what he was really like.”

Though she accepted it would have been safer for her to have walked away, Maddy was glad she had done the right thing.

Ellen thanked her yet again. “Even after the way he treated you, you still put yourself at risk for me.” She could only imagine how much raw courage that must have taken. “I want you to know,” she said, taking hold of Maddy’s hand and giving it a squeeze, “I’ll be forever grateful to you for that. And now, I want you to have a few minutes’ rest while I get the spare room ready.” She switched the radio on low, to keep Maddy company while she was gone. “I reckon I’ll put a hot water bottle in the bed, to warm you and the baby up, and you can chuck that dress away tomorrow. It’s ruined — what a pity. I’ll put a nightie and a clean towel by the bed. You can have a nice bath to soothe your aches and pains as the water stays hot till late because of my working hours.”

Grateful for the few minutes alone, Maddy watched her go. “I’ve found a new friend there,” she yawned. “And if I need anything at all just now, it’s someone to talk with.”

Laying the palm of her hand across her tummy, she felt the slight baby bulge. “We’ve a long way to go yet, you and me,” she sighed, looking down at it with a weary smile. “It’s not much of a start to your existence, what with your daddy arrested for murder, and us running for our lives. He wanted nothing to do with us, but d’you know what? We don’t need him. You and me, my darling, we’ll manage well enough. I’ll take care of you, and things will work out, you’ll see.”

Then she thought of Alice, and of how ill she was. Clasping her hands together, she bowed her head, closed her eyes and prayed like she had never prayed before. “Please, Lord, don’t let her die. Help her, if You can.”

Upstairs, Ellen went to the landing cupboard from where she took a pair of sheets and a pillow case. She found the duvet cover still in the wash bin. “Dammit!” Returning to the cupboard, she collected a bedspread, blue and yellow and festooned with flowers; it was one of those things bought in a rush and forever regretted. But it would do for now.

Going into the bedroom, she made the bed, turned back the covers and lit the bedside lamp. “There!” Pleased with herself, she ran down the stairs two at a time. “All ready!” she called as she went into the sitting room. “Oh, and you’ll find pajamas in the top drawer of the…” She came to a skidding halt. “Aw, Maddy, just look at you!”

Maddy had obviously not been able to keep herself awake. Squashed into the cushions, she was sleeping soundly, and lying on her side in an awkward fashion.

Trying not to wake her, Ellen made her comfortable, before returning upstairs to retrieve the bedspread, which she then carried back downstairs. Here, she tenderly wrapped it around Maddy’s slim figure, making certain the baby bulge was well covered and warm. “Night, God bless.” She gave Maddy a fleeting kiss.

Switching off the overhead light, and leaving only the dresser lamp burning, she tiptoed out of the room, making sure the door was left open, just in case Maddy called out in the night.

But it was Ellen who woke several times and crept quietly downstairs to check on Maddy.

Her heart went out to this lovely young woman who had done nothing wrong, except to fall for the wrong man. Now she was caught up in a nightmare, homeless and abandoned, with a child growing inside her, and her dearest and closest friend lying badly injured in a hospital somewhere.

For a long moment, Ellen looked on Maddy’s tear-stained face. “You don’t deserve any of this,” she whispered, “but you’re strong and determined. You’ll come through it. And just like Alice, I’ll always be here for you, Maddy. That’s my promise to you.”

Several times she glanced back as she made for the stairs, and even when lying in her bed, she strained her neck to listen for the slightest sound. But all remained quiet.

It was gone three o’clock in the morning when she was startled by the sound of Maddy’s frantic screams.

Running down the stairs she found Maddy on the floor, her arms flailing and her eyes wide open with terror, as though fighting off some unseen attacker…“It’s all right, Maddy!” Rushing to calm her, Ellen found it difficult to make her realize she was not in any danger. “Ssh. Be still, Maddy.”

There was no calming Maddy; terror-stricken she hit out, her fearful screams subsiding into deep heart-rending sobs.

In her deepest mind Maddy and the baby were in grave danger. The alley was dark and the bad ones had seen her. They wanted to kill her baby… and her.

“Ssh now.” Folding Maddy into her arms, Ellen soothed her, “It’s all right. You’re both safe, here with me.”

She held her until the sobs subsided.

When she sensed Maddy was looking up at her, Ellen gazed down, only to be transfixed with shock, as she regarded Maddy’s ashen face. There was such crippling pain in those dark, stricken eyes. So much anguish. And as she rocked her back and forth, never in her short life had Ellen been so deeply touched by another human being, “No one’s going to hurt you or the baby,” she murmured, her voice soothing as Maddy clung to her. “We’ll be away from here soon enough… somewhere they’ll never find us.”

Calmed by Ellen’s assurances, Maddy fought to shut out the darkness that threatened to overwhelm her.

Quieter now, the girl looked up, smiling through her tears. She felt the strength of Ellen’s arms about her, and she was safe.

For now.

Ellen made no attempt to go back to her own bed.

Instead, she got Maddy comfortable, drew the big armchair to the side of the sofa, and snuggling up in it, she watched her new friend sink into a restless sleep.

Each drawing strength from the other, the two young women spent their first night together.

That first night in Bethnal Green, the two young women dozed lightly, listening for any unusual sounds and intermittently watching for the dawn; each of them deeply troubled by recent events, and haunted by what the future might hold.

Ellen woke first. She was drawing back the curtains when Maddy opened her eyes, yawned and asked, “Is it morning already?” Sitting upright, she blinked at the inrush of light.

“How are you feeling?” Ellen wanted to know.

Maddy looked down. “I feel ashamed.”

“What do you mean?” Ellen crossed the room to her and sat on the sofa. “Why would
you
be ashamed?”

“Because of last night — all that crying on your shoulder. I’ve always been strong, you see, able to cope with anything life throws at me. From when I lost my parents, I’ve had to deal with everything myself. But last night…” She thrust away the images. “I’m sorry, Ellen. It won’t happen again.”

Ellen paused, regarding Maddy with respect. “Shall I tell you something?”

Curious, the other girl nodded.

“Out of the two of us,
you
are by far the bravest.”

“No.” Maddy smiled. “I don’t think so.”

“I mean it,” Ellen said. “I made a bad choice that could have had dire consequences. But you stepped forward and made me see what Steve was really like.” Her affection for Maddy shone in her eyes. “I’ve always missed never having a sister I could talk to, but it looks like I might have found one.”

“And me.” Maddy had no doubts. Almost from the first, she had seen Ellen as being much like herself, and the more they got to know each other, the closer they grew. Maddy believed that their friendship could only get stronger with the coming years. “We’ll look after each other, you and me,” she told Ellen. “We have so far, haven’t we?”

Chuckling, Ellen gave Maddy a playful shove. “Hey! We could be like the Beverley Sisters — you know that song they sing, about being sisters!”