Sister Kate by Jean Bedford

Author:Jean Bedford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ligature Pty Ltd
Published: 2021-11-09T10:12:41+00:00

3

Elsie

The dressing-room where the small group of women shivered and waited was cramped and smelled of sweat and stale perfume. The fat, over-rouged woman sitting on the only chair suddenly turned to Kate.

‘Hey,’ she said, loudly, but not unkindly, ‘Hey. What’s yer name?’

‘Ada.’ It came automatically now after the weeks of trooping through the theatre managers’ offices. ‘Ada Hennessey.’ A high-class name she thought. She had never known anyone called Ada—she had seen the name in a newspaper, referring to some relative of royalty, and Hennessey was a name off one of the sandy man’s patent medicine jars.

‘Yer done much dancing love?’ The woman appeared to be chewing something, she rolled her tongue to the side of her mouth before speaking. When Kate came to know her better she realised the woman was never without her little bag of lozenges—sugary, red things, which she claimed were medicinal and kept her energetic.

‘A little bit.’ Then, more truthfully, ‘Not much. But I think I could learn.’

‘You got good legs anyway.’ The women were undressed down to their shifts and stockings. ‘That’s the main thing.’ The fat woman sighed, as if regretting her own lost slimness.

‘Go on, Elsie,’ a thin, spiteful-looking woman said. ‘Youse never had to worry about the shape of your legs—just who yer wrapped them round.’ The other women sniggered.

‘I suppose you want to be an actress too, do yer?’

The thin woman peered at Kate.

‘Course she does,’ said Elsie protectively. ‘And why shouldn’t she? Some people are luckier than others, after all.’

‘Heh.’ The thin woman seemed to change her mind about spitting, but she was contemptuous. ‘None of us’s ever been lucky,’ she said, ‘And this one don’t look it either.’

It was Kate’s own opinion now, too. She decided this would be her last try-out, she was sick of beery men feeling her calves as if she was a bloody horse. She made a wry face, causing the thin woman to back down.

‘Never mind dearie.’ What had seemed to be spitefulness in her face was simply crudely applied make-up, Kate now saw. The eyes, inside their hard black lines, were watery and weak, the mouth much fuller than the hard red cupid’s bow allowed.

‘Youse might be the one in a million who gets on, you never know. Me,’ she sighed and looked around. ‘Me, I’m going to give it up if I don’t get a part in this show. I’m too bloody old to be freezing me bum off in these rabbit hutches.’

‘You’re too bloody old for anything, Ivy, why don’t you face it and give us all a rest?’ It was a small fair girl speaking. Unlike the others, she had on a dancer’s frilled petticoat and her black stockings looked like silk. Also unlike the others, she stood up straight and confident, not slouching against the wall or hunched up on the dressing tables.

‘She’s bedding with the manager, that’s why she’s so chirpy,’ Elsie whispered loudly in Kate’s ear. The girl ignored her.

A starved looking youth appeared at the door.

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