Little Stars Read online

  ‘I can’t stand that oaf,’ Bertie said furiously.

  ‘What did she call him – strongman?’

  ‘Well, he was. That was his act – Samson the Strongman. There’s a picture of him in the corridor near Mrs Ruby’s suite of rooms. He looks a total fool in a leopardskin, showing his great hairy legs. God knows why the old girl took such a shine to him,’ said Bertie.

  They were sitting very close together. I saw that Mrs Ruby was holding Samson’s hand, out of affection – or perhaps restraining him. He craned round, looking over at me.

  ‘Shall we go now?’ I said. ‘I can’t stand Samson either.’

  ‘Right you are.’ Bertie waved at the waiter and dived into his pockets for money.

  ‘Will you let me pay my half, as we’re such friends?’ I said.

  ‘Never!’ said Bertie, paying in full and leaving a generous tip.

  He walked me back to Miss Gibson’s. We went the long way round, with the darkest alleyways. In between kisses I told Bertie I really did love him.

  ‘More than Jem?’ he persisted.

  ‘More than Jem,’ I said.

  ‘And you really don’t wish it was you marrying him on Saturday?’

  ‘I really, really don’t. Though I’d like to be there for the wedding. It would be good to see all the family again – and Janet is a special friend. I think she will look a lovely bride. I wish I could go. In fact, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.’

  ‘Are you crazy? It’s a Saturday. You can’t miss a performance.’

  ‘Maybe I won’t have to. There’s an early milk train. Diamond and I caught it when we went to Bignor. Then I could change at Waterloo and get a connecting train out into the country. I’d have to find a cart to take me the last few miles, but I reckon I could still make it by twelve,’ I said, calculating the hours on my fingers. ‘And then, so long as I left in plenty of time, I could toast the bride and have a slice of wedding cake – and be back for the middle act. Just.’

  ‘It sounds as if you’d be cutting it very fine.’

  ‘Well . . . I’ll leave Diamond with Miss Gibson for the day, otherwise she’d be too tired to perform. If someone could possibly walk her to the theatre, wheeling the penny-farthing, then I could change into my performing clothes somewhere on the journey and then dash straight from the railway station to the Cavalcade,’ I said.

  ‘Someone?’ asked Bertie.

  ‘Oh, Bertie, would you?’ I said, in a wheedling tone.

  ‘I – I think I will.’

  ‘Only think?’

  Then we kissed again, and I decided I really, really did love him.

  I lay awake half the night, sometimes making feverish plans for getting to the wedding, sometimes thinking of Bertie. I told Diamond about it the next morning, and at first she plagued me to come to the wedding too.

  ‘But you won’t know any of the people, darling,’ I said.

  ‘I’m sure I do know them. You’ve told me all about them, especially Jem. And I’d really love to see a wedding where the bride wears a long dress.’

  ‘I’m not sure what Janet will wear. She likes very simple clothes,’ I said.

  Diamond wrinkled her nose at such a thought. ‘You’ll make yourself a pretty new dress, won’t you, Hetty?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t think there’s time,’ I said.

  ‘Well, could you make one for me?’ she begged. She went on clamouring to come to the wedding until I told her that if she were a good girl and stayed at home, then Bertie would come and escort her to the theatre. That pleased her immensely. Miss Gibson said she was willing to look after Diamond for me. She even let me off my daily sewing duties so that I could make Janet and Jem a wedding present. I sewed a pair of fine white cotton pillowcases, embroidering Janet’s name in pink, with little sprays of pink rosebuds in each corner, and Jem’s name in green, with strands of ivy twirling decoratively here and there. I added a small strand of ivy around each spray of rosebuds on Janet’s pillowcase and added four little rosebuds to the ivy on Jem’s.

  ‘You’ve made a beautiful job of those pillows, Hetty dear,’ said Miss Gibson.

  She’d been busy herself, putting the final touches to an elegant primrose yellow silk dress edged with pearly grey lace, very fresh and stylish.

  ‘It’s a lovely dress and it’s really quite little,’ said Diamond, peering at it. ‘Do you think it might fit me, Miss Gibson?’

  ‘I think it will be rather too big for you, dear. But I’m hoping it will fit Hetty perfectly,’ said Miss Gibson.

  ‘Fit me?’

  ‘You need to wear something special for a wedding.’

  ‘Oh, Miss Gibson, you’re so kind! It’s a simply beautiful dress,’ I said, giving her a hug.

  ‘Careful, careful, you’ll crease the silk!’ she said, but she seemed delighted with my response.

  So I was all set to go to the wedding on Saturday.

  On Friday night Bertie walked us home from the theatre again.

  ‘I can’t really come out with you to Maudie’s again, Bertie,’ I said, after Diamond had run indoors. ‘I have to go to bed now myself because I need to be up so very early.’

  ‘I know, I know – but I’d like to give you this. It won’t take a minute.’ He put his hand in his pocket and brought out a small rounded box.

  My heart started thudding again. Bertie pressed the box into my hand. ‘Open it,’ he whispered.

  ‘But – but Bertie—’

  ‘Please.’

  I opened the box. There was a ring inside, a gold band with a word etched carefully on it. Not my name – a strange foreign word.

  ‘Mizpah?’ I read.

  ‘It’s Hebrew. It means – the Lord keep us safe when we are absent, one from another,’ said Bertie.

  ‘It’s lovely.’ I swallowed. ‘It’s not an engagement ring, is it, Bertie? I really do love you, but I think I’m too young to get engaged.’

  ‘It’s not exactly an engagement ring. I want to give you a massive diamond when the time comes – or perhaps it should be a sapphire or an emerald? But I haven’t got the cash just yet. This is an I love you ring, Hetty.’

  ‘Then I will be very happy to wear it,’ I said as Bertie slipped it on my finger.

  I WAS WORRIED I wouldn’t wake up in time, but I hardly slept. I crept out of bed at four, washed and dressed myself, packed my suitcase with the pillowcases and my Cavalcade costume and a book to keep me busy, all without waking Diamond. She murmured a little when I kissed her goodbye, but snuggled up with Adeline and Maybelle, still fast asleep.

  I was too excited and anxious to eat any breakfast. I ended up running all the way to the railway station, worried I might miss the milk train – and arrived there a good ten minutes early. I stood shivering on the platform, twisting my Mizpah ring round and round my finger.

  The Lord keep us safe when we are absent, one from another. I liked the sentiment. Mama and I had whispered similar words when I was stuck in the Foundling Hospital and she was working as a maid in Bignor.

  I felt it about Madame Adeline too. Was she safe? Why was her letter so much shorter than usual? Was she feeling very weary now? And why was there no mention of Mr Marvel? I so wanted them to be living happily together, with all the monkeys as a furry family. Now that I was getting used to travelling, perhaps I could take Diamond to visit one Sunday?

  I wanted Jem to be safe too. When I ran away to Tanglefield’s, I’d felt too guilty to write to him. Perhaps if I’d kept in touch, he wouldn’t be marrying Janet now?

  What was I thinking? I wanted Jem to marry her, didn’t I? I’d practically engineered it. I knew she’d make Jem a fine, true, loving wife. She’d cherish him far better than I could. She’d cook him good meals and tackle the washing every Monday and keep a tidy house for him and chat to him companionably by the fireside, taking all his concerns to heart. She’d be a marvellous mother too. I saw her with a baby in her arms, a little girl leaning against her knee, and a fine strong boy with tou