Lynda La Plante - The Legacy

Mrs Darwin threw up her hands in despair. How could the girl go up in her bloomers, her skirt wasn’t ironed yet. Minnie fetched the ironing cloths, laid them on the edge of the kitchen table and began to press the skirt. Mrs Darwin tried to tidy Evelyne’s hair, but she’d never before had to cope with such length and such thickness, and in the end decided to put it in a long braid down her back, whipping out the ribbon from the frilled camisole and tying it in a bow. At the same time Minnie helped Evelyne into the freshly-pressed skirt, and banged the iron over the blouse.

‘Shoes, where’s the girl’s shoes, for heaven’s sake, Minnie?’

Evelyne was painfully self-conscious, Minnie’s shoes were too tight and made high-pitched squeaking noises as she entered the drawing-room. Dr Collins rose to his feet and introduced Evelyne to the two guests who were sitting, straightbacked, on the velvet sofa.

‘This is the young girl I was telling you about, this is Evelyne … Lady Sybil Warner, and her daughter, Heather.’

The pair looked so regal, Evelyne wondered if she should curtsey. Lady Warner shimmered with rows and rows of multi-coloured beads, amber and ivory, draped across her ample bosom. Her daughter, dressed in oyster silk with a matching hat, had unfortunate buck teeth, which made her appear to smirk. Evelyne shook the outstretched, beringed hand, then squeaked her way to a chair.

‘Lady Sybil has very kindly invited you to a soiree this evening, Evelyne, and as Doris is no better, I er … well, I…’

Evelyne had not the slightest notion what a soiree was. She gave the Doctor a perplexed look as Lady Sybil spoke in a very high-pitched warbling tone, as if savouring each trill and tremor.

‘We all have to do our part for the war effort, and I am sure you will enjoy yourself. Some of the boys are from the hospital, some are on leave, always good to have a new dancing partner … Heather?’

Heather blinked, startled.

‘Come along, dear, we must be on our way.’ Lady Sybil rose majestically to her feet, ‘Thank you so much for your advice, I will make sure Heather remains on your diet… so nice to meet you, Eevaleen.’

Heather gave Evelyne a doleful look as she followed her mother. Just as Lady Sybil and Dr Collins reached the hall, David arrived home. He removed his hat with a sweeping gesture.

‘Lady Sybil, I must apologize for my lateness, but I was held up at the barracks.’

‘Don’t apologize, David dear, quite understandable, and we shall be seeing you both this evening. Heather, say hello to David. Thank you again, Dr Collins, come along, Heather.’

Evelyne craned forward to see them depart and then went over to the window. A Rolls-Royce was parked outside, with a uniformed chauffeur holding the door open. She could hear David and his father talking in the hall.

‘Don’t tell me, Pa, you are actually socializing this evening?’

‘No, no, I’m on duty, but Lady Sybil kindly invited Evelyne.’

‘What?’

‘Yes, most kind, Doris isn’t well enough to travel, it’ll be a nice outing for the girl.’

‘Outing? Outing? Father, it’s a dance, really, you might have discussed it with me.’

‘You weren’t here … where are you going? David?’

David looked into the drawing-room and met Evelyne’s startled gaze. He cocked his head to one side.

‘Well, it appears Cinderella’s been invited to the ball.’

The next moment David was running up the stairs calling for Minnie to run his bath. Soiree, dance, now a ball — Evelyne couldn’t make out what on earth they were talking about. Dr Collins walked in and caught her bewildered expression. He felt sorry for her. ‘Pay him no attention, you’d like to go, wouldn’t you?’

Evelyne chewed her lip. Just thinking of spending an evening with David made her so excited she couldn’t speak. The Doctor opened his wallet and coughed, a nervous, ticklish cough.

‘Don’t suppose you brought a party frock with you, so, Minnie …?’

Minnie was just rushing up the stairs after David.

‘I’m just going to run Master David’s bath, he’s already had one today so I don’t know how hot the water will be.’

‘Minnie, will you take Evelyne out and get her a frock to wear for a dance?’

The Doctor handed Minnie a folded note and then glanced at his fob watch, murmured that he must be off and scuttled out. Minnie looked at the five-pound note and her jaw dropped.

‘Lord love us, look how much he give me! Get your coat, lovely, I’ll be two minutes.’

Evelyne hadn’t even had time to thank Dr Collins, it had all happened so quickly. She squeaked up the stairs after Minnie, who disappeared into the bathroom to run David’s bath.

Evelyne was buttoning her coat when she saw David coming out of his room, barefoot and wrapping his dressing gown around him.

‘Well, well, appears we are going out together tonight.’

Evelyne swallowed, unable to look into his teasing, smiling face. As she passed him he quickly tugged her hair. She stopped, but he continued down the corridor to the bathroom.

Minnie was waiting for Evelyne at the foot of the stairs.

‘Come on, hurry, I don’t want to be caught by Mrs Darwin, she’ll find something for me to do and we need all the time we can get. Come on, we’ll go out the front way.’

Evelyne followed her out and as the door closed behind them, Minnie snorted.

‘I never known a man take so many baths, ever so particular, isn’t he?’

David was actually in rather a good mood. The chaps had ribbed him quite a lot about his afternoon at the inn, but he was now very much ‘in’ with the ‘in’ set, and everyone had been impressed with Ridgely’s account of David’s prowess with the two ladies.

He lay in the perfumed, soapy water. His skin tingled as he scrubbed himself hard with the loofah, worried that he may have picked up some disease from the tarts. He shivered with revulsion, remembering their bodies: he couldn’t understand why on earth Ridgely and the other officers enjoyed these prostitutes. They revolted him, but the improvement in his reputation made it worthwhile. He set about scrubbing himself with renewed vigour, perhaps he would find someone more to his liking at the Warners’ dance.

Evelyne and Minnie took the tram into the centre of Cardiff. They didn’t go to any of the big stores with the elegant models in the windows — they went down a back lane into a small second-hand shop run by a Jewish family. Minnie assured Evelyne that this was where all the posh people who had fallen on hard times sold off their dresses, and they were sure to find something at half the price they would pay in any of the fashion houses. The added bonus of this arrangement was that, as Minnie knew one of the shop assistants, maybe they would get a few shillings off their purchases.

Jeremiah Goldstein’s tailoring establishment and pawn shop was a back street hovel. Rows and rows of suits hung on racks, and there were shirts stacked to the ceiling. Minnie knew everyone in the shop, and Evelyne wondered how many of the doctor’s wife’s clothes had found their way here.

Minnie’s friend was named Clara. They kissed and joked with each other, then Clara opened up an Aladdin’s cave of ball gowns, feather boas and sequins. There was a smell of body odour in the room, of stale perfume clinging to the garments. Clara walked around Evelyne, looking her up and down.

‘She’s a right bugger to fit, our Minnie, she’s all skin and bone for one, and then there’s her height. She’s not a dainty one, that’s for sure.’

Gown after gown was taken down from the rails. Whether they were too short or too long they all looked of her wedding day, of her beloved Walter. That was what Evelyne had looked like, a bride.