The Exciting Life (28 page)

‘
Are you busy?’ he asked.

‘
Yes. No. Sort of. I’ve got to get onto Lewis Finkel to do
another valuation on Bruno’s. Eddie wants me to buy him out of the
factory.’

‘
You’ve told him?’

‘
He was waiting for me when I come back this morning. If I sell
Bruno’s and buy the factory, I’m going to be saddled with a huge
factory that’s going to be half empty. I don’t get enough work to
justify having such a big manufacturing base. This could ruin
me.’

‘
Oh darling'‘ he sighed. ‘I wish I could help you, but I've
ploughed all my money into the film, and this.’

He put his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out a box
with a
Stotts of Hatton
Garden
stamp on it. She
looked at Patrick and smiled, then opened the box. Inside lay a
beautiful engagement ring - a white diamond surrounded by a row of
garnets.

‘
Garnets are my birthstone,’ she said.

‘
I know. Annie Holland, will you do me the honour of becoming
my wife?’

‘
Yes!’ she gasped. ‘Yes.’

She
threw her arms around him once more and hugged him
tightly.

‘
I love you,’ she said. ‘Of course I'll marry you.’

She
looked up at him.

‘
But can we marry soon? I don't want to be a fat
bride.’

‘
I thought a special licence. Maybe a quiet little registry
office do somewhere....’

‘
Sounds perfect,’ she purred. ‘You're perfect. As long as
you're beside me, everything will be okay.’

Chapter Sixteen

Three
Weeks Later

When she
was a little girl, Annie never imagined a wedding day like this.
Her first wedding to Mario had been a lavish affair. Even though
Nesta and Michael hadn’t approved of her marrying at such a young
age, they made sure she had the best. But this one was very
different. It was at Marylebone Town Hall and she was wearing an
ivory two piece she’d picked up from C&A on Oxford Street for
ten shillings and there were only a handful of guests.

Because
it was a Wednesday and at short notice, even Bernie, Patrick’s dad
hadn’t been able to make it back from South Africa in time. He was
there ‘on business’ and seeing it through was more vital than
attending his son’s wedding. And so the only guests were a couple
of Patrick’s friends and his Aunt May who apparently never missed a
wedding, and on Annie’s side there was Alice, who was sailing back
to America the next day; Mandy and Clarissa. Max and Miriam had
returned to America, and Tawny had only recently started at Rodeane
and wasn’t allowed a day off, and that was it. But Annie didn’t
care. She was marrying the man she loved, and her baby would at
least have a name. The pinched waist of her outfit highlighted the
fact that she now had curves, and before they’d gone into the
registry office, Mandy had asked her if she was expecting. She’d
confided in her friend that she was, but begged her not to tell a
soul.

In a
ceremony that lasted five minutes, she became Mrs Patrick Collins
and felt like the happiest girl in the world. She was determined to
make the most of her day, because from tomorrow, things would turn
decidedly unpleasant. She was yet to find a buyer for Bruno’s and
had made the decision to sell the building on Regent Street
instead. She would make enough money to pay Eddie off and have some
left over to set up a little workshop somewhere cheaper. It meant
she would have to let some of the staff go, as she couldn’t afford
to have three showroom models, and would have to do the
administration herself. She hated the thought of giving people the
sack, but she had no choice. Eddie had forced her hand.

Alice
had paid for them to have a reception at The Birdcage in Baker
Street. It was a beautiful restaurant that looked like a Victorian
tea room, with birds in cages, and a water feature in the middle of
the floor. Alice had given them enough money to close for the
afternoon so the newlyweds could have their celebration
un-interrupted. It had been laid out in the traditional style, with
two tables pushed together at the end of the room, so Annie and
Patrick could have a ‘top table’; but there was no father of the
bride to make a speech, so instead it was left to Alice to make a
toast to her niece. Then Patrick gave a speech, thanking Annie for
being beautiful and kind and his favourite person in the world, and
Annie blushed and tried not to cry.

She was
glad once all the formalities were over, and someone put a Julie
London LP on the gramophone and the room was filled with light
jazz. Lillian, Dawn and Lexi, her models, turned up after they’d
finished work, and so did Sandy, her secretary; and while Annie
gave them a glass of champagne and smiled sweetly, she felt
terrible knowing ultimately that she was going to sack two of
them.

She
quickly returned to Patrick at the top table and sat beside him,
taking hold of his hand.

‘
That was horrible,’ she whispered. ‘How am I going to let them
go? I’ve never fired anyone. Not even at Bruno’s. Mario took care
of that sort of thing.’

‘
It can’t be helped,’ he replied, squeezing her hand. ‘Some
might say that Eddie could have been more professional and kept a
working relationship with you.’

‘
No one can blame him. He’s hurt. I should never have led him
on. But I thought you loved the other witch.’

‘
We don’t talk about her,’ he laughed. ‘She was a mistake.’ He
brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. ‘I wish we could go
on honeymoon.’

‘
I need to sort this all out,’ she sighed. ‘I can’t just leave
people hanging on. I’ve got three weeks to find a buyer, and that
doesn’t seem to be happening. Who wants to own a nightclub on
Wardour Street? They’re ten a penny. The Fortune is going to have
to go.’

‘
I wish I’d been able to convince dad, but he’s obsessed with
golf clubs. He reckons this one in South Africa will make him
millions. When he comes back, he’s going to go around buying up the
country houses that are going cheap and turn them into golf clubs
too. Can’t see how that’s going to make him any money. Not that
many people play.’

‘
It’s okay,’ she smiled, squeezing his hand. ‘I’ll be fine. I
just want Eddie paid off.’

‘
Do you want me to talk to him?’ he said. ‘See if I can get him
to back down. At least until the baby’s born.’

‘
Don’t,’ she groaned. ‘I don’t even want to think about the
baby.’

He
looked down at her stomach and smiled.

‘
Well he’s certainly starting to make his presence
known.’

‘
I never thought I’d be a shotgun bride.’

‘
You’re a beautiful bride.’

He
kissed her nose, but as he pulled away, he spotted something, and
looked rather disturbed.

‘
We’ve got a visitor,’ he said quietly.

Annie
looked up and her heart sank when she saw Norma heading towards
them. It was the first time she’d seen her mother since the
showdown at Bruno’s, and she hadn’t wanted to see her again. Norma
looked different today,9* and dressed in her smart tweed suit, her
blonde hair curled perfectly, it was evident she was married to a
rich man. Annie couldn’t help but admire her acting skills – she
for one had been taken in by her act that she was a poor woman
forced to do cleaning.

‘
Who told you about this?’ Annie snapped, as Norma reached the
table.

‘
Alice. She thinks we should try and be friends.’

‘
That’s for me to decide,’ Annie replied.

‘
Well, whatever you want, it’s up to you. But can I at least
talk to you in private and give you your wedding
present?’

‘
I don’t want anything from you.’

‘
You might want this.’

Annie
looked at Patrick.

‘
I’ll be back in a minute.’

She got
up and walked to the back of the restaurant. There was an area that
was roped off, that would normally be part of the dining area.
Annie lifted one of the velvet ropes and slipped through, followed
by Norma. Annie sat down at an empty table and her mother joined
her. It was as though Norma had been playing a part all these
months and the real her had emerged and she was the sort of classy,
attractive mother Annie would have wanted. But it didn’t get away
from the fact that she was a former prostitute who had walked out
on Annie and Kenneth when they were little, and had also been
terrible to Iris. And horrible as she was, no thirteen year old
deserved that.

‘
So you’re a married lady,’ Norma smiled. ‘That was all a bit
quick wasn’t it? Seems you were with Eddie five minutes
ago.’

‘
It’s none of your business,’ Annie snapped.

‘
It is if I’m going to be a grandmother.’

‘
Shhsh!’ Annie snapped, scared someone could hear. ‘How did you
guess that?’

‘
I’ve been around the block Annie. I know the signs. How far
gone are you?’

‘
Three months.’

‘
Is it Patrick's?’

‘
I think so. He's willing to take a chance anyway.’

‘
He must love you.’

‘
He does. I know you must resent the fact I stole him off
Iris.’

‘
You can't steal people, they go of their own accord. And that
little bitch was seeing Leo behind his back anyway.’

‘
You can't blame her for being a bitch. You walked out on her
when she was thirteen.’

‘
She's always been a little madam. I didn't treat her well, but
I did my best. And I really did think my friend was going to take
her in. I made a lot of mistakes Annie and I know I'm to blame for
how she is, but I don't like her. I'm her mother and if she needed
me I’d be there for her. But you're a different kettle of fish. I'm
hoping I can build bridges with you.’

‘
And Kenneth?’

‘
I haven't approached him yet, but Alice tells me that he's
quite religious and won't approve of my former
lifestyle.’

‘
So you thought I’d be a soft touch.’

‘
There's kindness in you Annie. I don't know where you get it
from, maybe it's Alice. It's certainly not me, and your father was
a bastard.’

‘
I barely remember my father. I have only vague memories of my
mother...Zena.’

‘
I don't even know who she was. There was no Zena around our
way when I lived there.

‘
How did you meet my father?’

‘
At a dance. He was so handsome. Dark hair and eyes - he looked
like a film star. I was a silly sixteen year old and I had my head
turned. We married within three months of meeting and Kenneth was
born seven months later. So yes, I was a shotgun bride
too.’

‘
Why did you leave me and Kenneth with Dad and Zena? Why didn't
you take us with you?’

‘
I had nowhere to go. I couldn't go back to my parents. They'd
hated Sam from day one and I was determined to make good for myself
and come back for you two. But I didn't make good for myself, I
ended up on the game. Within a couple of months, I was pregnant. I
always told Iris her father was a Swedish sailor but I've no idea
who it was. I tried to abort her by taking these powders one of the
other girls recommended, but they didn't work, I just threw up for
a couple of days. So there I was, twenty-one, a whore and the
mother of three. I made a mess of my life and Philip’s been my
salvation. For my birthday last year he gave me Charmaine, the
first ever painting he did. It used it sit over our mantelpiece,
but when I explained to him I needed a few thousand pounds, he told
me to sell it, so I did. I got three thousand pounds for
it.’

‘
Good for you.’ Annie replied sarcastically.

Norma
opened her handbag and took out a heavily stuffed envelope, which
she passed across the table to Annie.

‘
And I want you to have it.’

‘
What?’

‘
I want you to have it as a wedding present. I want you to buy
Eddie out with it. Alice has told me all about it.’

‘
But you don't know me. Why are you doing this?’

Norma
smiled warmly.

‘
When that little one's born and you hold it in your arms for
the first time, you'll know you'll love it forever - no matter
where you are or how old it is. I love all three of you, but I
don't like Iris, and doesn’t want to know. But you're the kind,
beautiful girl I always thought you'd be. And I want to help
you.’

‘
I don't know what to say,’ cried Annie. ‘Thank you. I'll pay
you back.’

‘
I don't want you to pay me back. You don't even have to talk
to me again if you don’t want to, but at least I’ll know you're
okay.’

Annie
was too exhausted to fight. Norma was a stranger to her. Nesta had
been her main mother figure. But with Nesta ill in Switzerland, and
Alice so frequently in America, she did miss having an older woman
to confide in.

‘
Maybe we can be friends,’ she said. ‘It takes me a while to
trust people but I guess you deserve a chance. And thank you so
much for this money. You really didn't have to.’