The Lights of London by Gilda O'Neill

Author:Gilda O'Neill
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Relationships, Family Saga, Chick-Lit, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction, Love Stories
ISBN: 9780754002895
Publisher: Chivers Press
Published: 1999-04-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Despite another exhausting evening performing on the boards at the Old Black Dog – three separate shows plus encores – Kitty was wide awake. But it wasn’t the heat of the sultry July night that was disturbing her sleep, or even the noises from the river. She couldn’t rest simply because she felt so good.

She flipped over on the lumpy mattress, making the big brass bed she and Tibs shared rattle and shake against the wall, and sighed happily. ‘Who would ever have thought things would work out so well for us, eh, Tibs?’ She stretched luxuriously, tensing and relaxing her long limbs.

She was so much stronger than she had been that night – nearly four months ago now – when she had first met Tibs and now, instead of cowering and crouching, she moved with the ease and enthusiasm of an excited puppy. Regular meals and the exertions of their stage act had transformed her into a firm-bodied young woman with a hearty appetite and a ready smile – a picture of youthful good health.

‘There I was, up from the country with not a friend in the world, ready to end it all, and now look at me.’ She rolled over again, until she was facing Tibs.

Kitty’s contented smile vanished. She levered herself up on her elbows, staring down at Tibs in the pale light that filtered through from the gas lamp outside the half-open window.

She reached over and lit the candle they kept beside the bed in a jam jar to protect it from the rats. ‘What’s wrong, Tibs?’ she asked, pinching out the match. ‘You look so sad.’

‘Do I?’ Her voice was light, but she couldn’t hide the pain.

‘Yes, you do. Right upset. I’ve seen you look like this before. When you think no one’s watching you.’ She hesitated for a moment, unsure how much she should say. ‘I never ask where you go off to, because it’s none of my business, but would you just tell me this – are you in trouble, Tibs?’

She shook her head against the pillow. ‘No.’

There was the sound of scuffling and Tibs reached down beside the bed, picked up her boot and aimed it at the skirting board. It sailed across the room and landed with a thud. The scuffling stopped. ‘Bloody rats.’ The emotion was blocking her throat, so that she could barely speak.

Kitty took Tibs’s little hand in hers. ‘Are you poorly?’

Tibs felt the tears brimming and the words forming in her mind. But was she really ready to say these things? Ready to do something that might be dangerously stupid?

But if she couldn’t trust Kitty she might just as well give up. ‘I’ve got something to tell you, Kit,’ she began. ‘Something I want you to know, but you’ve gotta keep it a secret.’

‘Of course. But you don’t have to tell me anything.’

‘I want to.’ She sniffed hard and blinked back the tears. ‘I’ve got a little girl, Kit. There, I’ve said it.’ She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling the loose blonde curls off her face.

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