Free Songbird by Josephine Cox Page A

special dress. A dress on which her whole future depended. Thanking the woman, she left with her precious cargo, and went home to Alice’s flat.
    She could hardly wait for the evening, when she would walk out on that Soho stage with her head held high.
    Seeing her in that dress must surely melt her lover’s heart? Even a hard man like Steve could not turn away the woman who loved him; the singer who brought in the bulk of his money. And the fact that she was carrying his child must surely mean the world to him. Shouldn’t it?
    She was both nervous and excited. Was she taking a chance too far? Was Alice right… would he still reject her, and his child?
    There was only one way to find out.
     
Five
     
    In the evening, dressed in her new finery, Maddy took a taxi to the club. She was desperately nervous about Steve’s reaction, but was hoping that tonight she could make him see sense.
    She felt ashamed and worried at having broken her promise to Alice, even if it
was
for all the right reasons. Later, she would explain it all to her friend, convinced that she would understand.
    Her heart beating fifteen to the dozen, she carefully inched open the door and peeped inside. As usual, the club was busy, with Jack and the others rushing about behind the bar. It was difficult to see clearly across the room because of Raymond’s sizeable frame as he meandered about, clearing tables and shyly answering the occasional remark from a client. She smiled. No wonder they all love him, she thought. He’s a real gentleman.
    In that moment when Raymond stooped to collect something from the floor, she saw Dino and Dave sitting having a quiet drink at the side of the stage. Steve was standing at the far end of the bar, leaning forward, glass in hand, the usual Dunhill cigarette drooping from his lips.
    At the sight of him, her heart leaped, and all kinds of bittersweet memories flashed through her mind: of the wonderful times they had shared — the many occasions when she was made to feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, and other times when he was so tender and loving, she thought it would never end. But then there was his explosive jealousy, the inquisitions, and the recent beatings she had suffered at his hands, with Alice’s premonition of worse to come. Steve was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Maddy wondered if she could really face a future with this constant battle on her hands.
    For a moment, she was deeply troubled; unsure of whether she should go inside, or turn about and never come back. It was a strange, unnerving sensation.
    Needing to think clearly, she closed the door and stood on the pavement, her back against the wall and her thoughts in turmoil. She felt incredibly sad, and lost — and for a moment, all the belief she had in him and their life together seemed to ebb away.
    “Pull yourself together, my girl,” she reprimanded herself sternly. “You can’t turn back now — not when you’ve come this far.”
    As always, the pull of her feelings for Steve proved to be stronger than her fears, and as she swung round to enter the building, a mischievous smile lit her eyes. “I’ll sneak in the back way,” she murmured, “have a quick check of my makeup, and then I’ll let him know I’m here.” The idea of taking him by surprise was thrilling.
    Hurrying down the alleyway, she hoped the back door was not locked.
    Good. The door pushed open at the touch of her hand. Excited and hopeful, she slipped into the building and made her way through the corridors which led directly to her dressing room.
    As she neared it, she heard a door slam, and then footsteps hurrying away. Not wanting to be seen, she pressed herself into the doorway of the storeroom, emerging only when the footsteps had died away.
    With the coast clear, she hurried on, agitating over who those footsteps might have belonged to. She knew it wasn’t Alice, because that dear woman’s light steps were as familiar to her as her own. She was