The Exciting Life (13 page)

Composing herself, she went back down into the club and found
Patrick still with Annie and Oscar. They were laughing and happy,
and she’d never felt more of an outsider. If Patrick had been
content with just being the son of a gangster, a girlfriend like
her would be enough. But Patrick was ambitious. He wanted to be a
film producer - he wouldn’t want some ex-tart hanging around
him.

‘
You alright?’ he asked Iris, as she joined them. ‘Who was that
woman? You seemed keen on getting rid of her.’

‘
I used to work with her, years ago when I was a dancer. She’s
always after money.’

‘
She looked like a right old scrubber.’

‘
Yeah, she is. But seeing her’s given me a headache. Would you
mind if I went home?’

‘
No, of course not. Do you want one of the lads to run
you?’

‘
I’ll get a cab. I fancy a bit of a walk.’

‘
Do you want me to drop by later?’

‘
No. I just want to get my slap off and go to bed. I’ll see you
on Monday.’

‘
Alright love,’ he said, kissing her on the cheek. ‘You look
after yourself.’

Iris
walked out of the club, and as she looked in her purse she realised
she all she had left was a couple of pennies – she’d given
everything else to Norma. It was enough for her to make a phone
call. She walked to the middle of Wardour Street and phoned Leo’s
flat. It was Saturday night, so it was quite possible he was at a
club or indeed entertaining another woman; but he was the only
person who knew the true her and she was willing to take the
chance.

She
breathed a sigh of relief when he picked up the phone.

‘
Chelsea 29402.’

‘
It’s Iris,’ she said. ‘Can I see you?’

‘
Of course you can. Come round now, I’m not going anywhere this
evening.’

‘
I’m in Wardour Street and I haven’t any money for a cab or a
bus.’

‘
Get a taxi. I’ll settle the bill as soon as you get
here.’

Iris
entered Leo’s rather small, shabby house off the Kings Road, to
find him already in his pyjamas and robe. He seemed slightly drunk,
and as he started pawing her, she could smell the alcohol on his
breath. She eased him away.

‘
Can we do this later?’ she asked. ‘I need to talk to
someone.’

‘
Okay,’ he purred. ‘Take a seat. I’ll get you a gin and
tonic.’

Iris
slumped down on one of the lumpy sofas, throwing her head back in
despair. A spring was sticking in her bottom, and she wondered why
he put up with living like this. He was a millionaire and his
family had a huge mansion in Sussex, and yet he preferred to live
in this scruffy flat with its old sofas, wonky shelves full of
books and curtains that had seen better days.

Leo
returned with a bottle of gin tucked under his arm, a bottle of
Schweppes tonic and two glasses. He put them down on the table and
made the drinks.

‘
So what’s wrong with you?’ he asked.

‘
My mother turned up tonight,’ she sighed.

He
looked round at her.

‘
You’ve never mentioned your mother before. I got the feeling
she was dead.’

‘
She’s dead to me, the bitch. She abandoned me when I was
thirteen.’

‘
Is that when you went on the game?’

‘
Yes.’

She took
her drink and gulped it down in one. She then held out her glass to
Leo, so he could pour her another one.

‘
Why did she walk out?’

‘
She was involved with this pimp called Maurice. We were living
in this dive in Cricklewood and she used to leave me every night to
go and work in Soho. Mum being Mum, she couldn’t keep her legs
closed and started seeing this other pimp called Cyril and worked
for him as well. Maurice found out and threatened to kill her. So
one morning I woke up and there was a note on my pillow from her
saying that she had to get away from Maurice. She left me a ten bob
note, told me to be a good girl and I haven’t seen her again until
today.’

‘
So how did you end up on the game?’

‘
Maurice turned up. Found out Mum had gone, went mad, beat me
up and dragged me into his car. He drove me to the flat Mum had
been using and told me I had to take her place.’

‘
Jesus.’

‘
Luckily it wasn’t my first time. Mum’s boyfriend Vince took
care of that when I was eleven. I still hated it though. In the end
I ran away from Maurice and worked my way up the ladder you could
say. Norma turned up at Bruno’s tonight after she saw the picture
of me with Annie and Kenneth in the paper. Thank God she didn’t say
anything to Annie.’

‘
What you did in your past is nothing to do with
Annie.’

‘
But Norma’s got everything to do with Annie.’

‘
What do you mean?’

‘
She’s her mother too.’

Leo
almost dropped his glass and had to put it on the coffee
table.

‘
Are you serious?’ he uttered.

She
nodded.

‘
No one must know. It’s a secret.’

‘
Annie’s your sister?’

‘
Half sister, and Kenneth is my half brother.’

‘
How do you know this?’

‘
Mum told me. Her father was Desmond Higgins, who had a younger
sister called Alice. Although you’d probably know her better as
Alicia Bloom.’

‘
Alicia Bloom’s your great aunt?’

‘
Yes. My mother’s maiden name was Higgins. She married a man
called Samuel Brady when she was sixteen and she had Kenneth, then
Annie. Samuel caught her in bed with another man when Annie was a
baby and kicked her out. She heard that he re-married and that must
be the woman Kenneth and Annie think of as their mother. Mum went
on the game and she had me. She maintains that I’m so blonde
because I’m the daughter of a Swedish sailor. That’s why I took on
the name Iris Lindholm. I’m really called Iris Brady.’

‘
Cripes,’ Leo said. ‘So how did you find Annie and Kenneth? Why
don’t you tell them the truth?’

‘
Because I hate them,’ she stated. ‘Especially Annie. You see,
Mum went back to Battersea one day and bumped into an old
neighbour. She told her that Samuel had walked out on his wife,
leaving her with Annie and Kenneth; and when she died of pneumonia,
they were taken in by this rich couple - Michael and Nesta Holland.
Mum used to boast about it, as if their good fortune was some sort
of reflection on her. Then there’d be me, stuck living with her in
some dingy bedsit that was crawling with fleas. She didn’t even
allow me to be evacuated because I was so young she’d have had to
come with me, and she couldn’t earn as much as a prostitute if she
was in the countryside. All I could think about was why I was
lumbered with her when Annie and Kenneth had been taken in by rich
people. Then Annie married Mario Stefani and she was always in the
papers, all smug and happy and I hated her more and more. I don’t
know what it was, but this year, something in me snapped, and I
decided that I wanted a piece of the action. I was seeing Arthur
Hatfield at the time and I got him to take me to Bruno’s. It sort
of went from there.’

‘
You’re amazing,’ Leo said with a shake of the head. ‘What do
you plan to do to them?’

‘
I don’t know. But I want a share of their money. They both owe
me. I can tolerate Kenneth. He is at least grateful for what he’s
got. But Annie swans around like she was born to it. She reminds me
a lot of Mum.’

‘
So that would explain why she looks so much like Alicia Bloom,
she’s her great aunt too.’ He took a sip of his drink. ‘Does
Patrick know any of this?’

‘
No. He doesn’t even know my real name is Iris Brady. He can’t
find out either.’

‘
So do you think your mother will come around
again?’

‘
I don’t know. I just want to get away from her. I could kill
her for what she did to me.’

Leo
reached out and grasped her hand.

‘
Come away with me,’ he urged. ‘Come to Cannes and live it
up.’

‘
But what will I tell Patrick and Annie? She expects me to work
for her.’

‘
Fuck her. Tell her you’ve gone to visit a maiden aunt. Tell
Patrick the same. Come to France and have fun.’

Iris
thought about it, but deep down she knew he was right. She didn’t
think Norma would approach Annie and Kenneth directly. She probably
had too much respect for them to do something so crass. Iris was
her way of getting to those two, and maybe if she was out of the
way, she’d leave them all alone and crawl back under her stone.
Iris was the one owed by Annie and Kenneth Holland, not Norma.
She’d let them down, but they’d benefited from it.

‘
Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell them I’ve got a modelling
assignment and I’ve got to go away. You’re right, I need a
holiday.’

‘
You won’t regret it,’ he replied, bringing her hands to his
lips and kissing them. ‘We’ll have such fun.’

Kissing
turned to nibbling and then he bit one of her knuckles hard. Iris
yelped but didn’t retract her hand. Feeling pain helped her deal
with so much.

‘
Come to bed,’ he said. ‘Let’s get in practice for
Cannes.’

Chapter Nine

July
1959

Annie
had never been inside St Paul’s Cathedral before. She’d walked past
it many a time, but had never gone in; and now, as she sat waiting
for the wedding of Fiona Miller and the Duke of Loxborough to
commence, she looked around and marvelled in its majesty and
beauty. Concentrating on the architecture or the paintings on the
ceiling took her attention away from her racing heart and sweaty
palms. Veronica Owen wearing her shoes to the premiere of her film
had provoked a little interest in Holland shoes, and she had enough
commissions to keep her going until the end of the summer. But
Fiona Miller’s wedding was something else. The world’s press had
gathered here. The Duke of Loxborough was handsome and had dated
some of the most beautiful princesses in the world, and yet he had
fallen for an actress from Bermondsey. Everyone loved a Cinderella
story, and this was certainly one of them. With her golden hair and
doll-like features, Fiona even looked the part. Every part of her
outfit was going to be scrutinised and it terrified Annie to think
someone might hate the white, lace shoes she’d made.

Eddie
sat beside her, fiddling with his cufflinks and shaking his leg
nervously. Annie wondered how much of this was to do with his
ex-girlfriend getting married, or the fact that he was waiting to
see how high Paulette Singleton - his latest signing - had done in
the Hit Parade. Paulette was a novelty in that she was a young
Jamaican girl who sang like an American pop singer, and Eddie
wasn’t sure how the public were going to take to her. Annie hoped
it was this that was causing him anxiety. She didn’t like the
thought that he might still have feelings for Fiona.

Handel's
wedding march struck up and all eyes turned to the back of the
church. Annie was one of the few people here who'd seen Fiona’s
wedding dress. It was a rather controversial in that it was tight
fitting and only fell to mid-calf. The scalloped neck was trimmed
with the same lace that covered the shoes, and instead of a
traditional head-dress and veil, she'd opted for a jaunty Robin
Hood hat in white lace. There had been much speculation in the
press about her outfit. With her marrying into the aristocracy,
commentators and fashion experts had been convinced she’d go for
the traditional look, but she'd confided in Annie that she wanted
to make her own mark and not look like the fairytale princess
everyone expected. As she walked up the very long aisle,
accompanied by her very cockney father, Sid, Annie couldn't take
her eyes off the shoes - worried they didn't match the outfit or
looked cheap.

‘
What a horrible dress,’ Eddie whispered to her. ‘She looks
like a hooker.’

‘
Yeah but people have her down as a gold-digger. If she plays
the demure bride, it'll look as if she's just doing it all for
show. By dressing like this, she's doing her best to seem
independent.’#

Eddie
looked at her and smiled.

‘
So would you wear a dress like that then?’

‘
Well I couldn't get married in white for a start - I’m a
widow. But no, I wouldn't want a dress like that.’

Eddie
had never mentioned marriage before and it alarmed Annie a little.
They hadn't been seeing each other very long and it seemed a bit
presumptuous to speak of such things. She wasn't even sure she
loved him.

The
ceremony went off without a hitch and Fiona Miller the actress
became The Duchess of Loxborough. The congregation all then left St
Paul's and got into their respective taxis and headed back into
town to The Ritz, where the reception was being held. It would be
the first time Annie would have been to The Ritz since her own
wedding reception to Mario. She remembered the disappointed faces
of Nesta and Michael, who'd both wanted her to go to finishing
school and come out and do things properly. Kenneth had disapproved
of her marrying a racing driver because he considered it a
frivolous profession and claimed it was just further proof that
Annie had no morals. The only person who'd been on her side had
been Alice, who told her to enjoy being young and that this was the
time to make her mistakes because everyone would forgive
her.