Ellie by Lesley Pearse

Author:Lesley Pearse [Pearse, Lesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781446474433
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2011-05-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

July 1945

Ellie put her head round the door of the men’s dressing-room. Lorenzo and Riccardo had left, but Edward was bent over the wash-basin, wearing just a pair of trousers, taking off his stage make-up.

It was July. London was in the grip of a heatwave, and there had only been a very small audience for today’s matinée.

‘Have you seen Bonny anywhere?’ Ellie asked.

Edward groped for a towel. ‘She was rushing off as I came up here,’ he said, mopping his face. ‘That was ages ago.’

‘What, out?’ Ellie looked puzzled. ‘She didn’t say anything to me. She usually comes back to my place after the matinée.’

‘She was in a hurry,’ Edward said with a smile. ‘She hadn’t even brushed her hair or cleaned her face properly.’

Ellie shrugged. ‘Thanks anyway. Maybe she went shopping, but we usually have tea together on Saturdays.’

‘Come and have tea with me?’ Edward said quickly. ‘It’s absolutely ages since we had a chat. It won’t take me a jiffy to get dressed.’

‘That would be nice.’ Ellie smiled, pleased by the invitation. He was right – it was ages since they had a chat. Edward was good company, serene and calming, unlike Bonny, who often made her feel fraught and tense. ‘If you’re sure you’ve got nothing better to do?’

‘What could be better than tea with you?’ Edward said gallantly, picking up a clean white shirt. ‘Five minutes and I’ll be ready!’

It seemed as if half the population of London had converged on Trafalgar Square as Edward led Ellie down towards Whitehall. Men in uniform perched on walls with their sweethearts, and children were splashing in the fountain, many wearing only their underwear. Younger men in open-necked shirts eyed up groups of giggling shop girls and typists in bright summer frocks, while whole families sat in groups, surrounded by shopping bags, perhaps reluctant to take the train home because of the hot sunshine.

‘We can’t go in there!’ Ellie hesitated as Edward caught her elbow, about to take her up the stairs into the Westminster, just across the road from Big Ben. ‘It’s too expensive.’

The mahogany doors were open wide and a thick red carpet ran up the middle of its marble stairs. It was the sort of place that cabinet ministers frequented.

‘This is my grandmother’s favourite place for tea.’ Edward smiled at her awed expression. ‘And as she’s just sent me my allowance, what better place to blow some of it?’

Ellie didn’t think her pink cotton frock and bare legs were appropriate for such a place, but Edward looked smart in his white shirt and grey flannels and she supposed he knew best. Besides, she was very hungry.

‘That was delicious.’ Ellie sat back in the comfortable, velvet-covered chair, sighing with contentment. ‘I’ll never be able to dance tonight.’

The last time she’d had a tea even remotely resembling this one was before the war in the Copper Kettle out near Epping Forest with Marleen: dainty, crustless sandwiches, scones with real strawberry jam and wonderful cream cakes on a two-tier silver stand.

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