The following Friday morning, Renee felt positively murderous. From her position in the bar area of the Palais’s dance hall, she was watching Larry choreograph the dancers and beginning to wish she had stayed in bed. She was exhausted after last night’s dance and had tried to persuade Larry to sequence the dancers later in the day but he had smiled sweetly at her and told her he could manage by himself if she was too busy.
Over my dead body, she had thought. Renee had agreed to come in just after nine and supervise, even though every bone in her body was crying from working twice as hard on the dance floor the previous night. With even more men away fighting on the front lines the women needed their spirits lifting, and if there wasn’t a man on the floor to dance with them Renee stepped in and showed them a good time. Now her body was protesting, reminding her she wasn’t a fit young thing anymore. She was an old girl of twenty-nine and all she really wanted was to lie in her pit with a brew and the latest copy of the Picture Post.
Guilt gnawed away at her. She knew she ought to read the papers but they were always filled with nothing but talk of war so she had given up reading beyond the headlines. Only that morning, as she got off the bus and hurried down Brook Green Road towards the Palais, she saw the papers were still full of Chamberlain’s speech he had given the day before to the Conservative Party where he claimed victory against Germany was in Britain’s sights.
Scurrying past, Renee felt annoyed. When would politicians tell the truth? They said it would be over by Christmas and yet the war was getting worse every day. The rationing of milk and butter had been bad enough but last month they’d started rationing meat as well. Where would it end? Frankly Renee wanted a day off from the world’s problems, and if truth be told, her own. Pushing the back door of the Palais open she heard the rustle of paper in her coat pocket and winced. Another letter with a Liverpool postmark had arrived that morning catching her off guard. The letters were polite enough but Renee caught the undertone, she knew her days were numbered. A sob caught in the back of her throat. She had worked so hard to start a new life away from her troubled past but it seemed impossible. Something told Renee that she could put a thousand miles between her and her past and it would still catch up with her. As the familiar worries started to take hold, Renee shook her head free of tears. She didn’t have time today to go down her usual rabbit warren of fears.
Instead she made her way to the dance hall and nodded at Larry. As she hung her coat on the back of a chair she reached into the pocket of her calf-length skirt for a cigarette. As she pressed it to her lips it became abundantly clear Larry didn’t have a clue what he was doing.
‘And two, four, six, eight,’ he called, nodding his head in time to the imaginary music. ‘That’s right, girls, lift those chins and keep those elbows high.’
It was a shambles. The poor dancers didn’t know if Larry was instructing them to do a two-step, a tango or a waltz. Their tempo was all over the place and worse, they kept colliding into one another with their high elbows as Larry guided them.
As a young dancer named Daisy Simmonds caught Palais stalwart Doris Bernshaw squarely in the ribs, Renee grimaced.
‘Girls, that’s enough,’ Larry called, bringing his hands together as if he were a composer. ‘I thought you were professionals.’
‘We are,’ Daisy grumbled, rubbing her side. ‘I’m not sure about you.’
‘What is wrong with you?’ Larry said in a stuck-up tone.
‘What’s wrong with you more like?’ Doris snapped. ‘Who the hell taught you to dance? Helen Keller?’
Renee smirked. She’d been thinking the same thing herself.
‘I’ll have you know I was taught by the great Fred Astaire,’ Larry said, drawing himself up to his full height.
‘You sure it weren’t Fred Eclair?’ Daisy jeered. ‘You’re a right pudding, giving us off tempos like that. You do know we’re opening the night with sequence dancing don’t you?’
At the joke the girls roared with laughter and Larry’s face grew puce as he tried to call order. Renee could see she was going to have to step in.
‘Eh, come on, girls,’ she called over the din. She looked at Larry. If he didn’t wise up, these girls would make mincemeat out of him. ‘You’ve had yer fun, but it’s time to listen to Larry. He’s new so let’s make him welcome all right?’
As she stood beside Larry, she surveyed the five girls standing before her and could tell they didn’t believe a word she was saying. She turned to Larry. ‘How about we dance a waltz for the girls and they can see exactly what it is you’re getting at?’
For a moment Renee thought he was going to argue. However, Larry took her in his arms and much to her surprise allowed her to lead him expertly around the floor, all the while making it appear as though she were the one being led. As she swept past the girls, chin up and smiling, ensuring her footwork, movement and lines were precise, Renee knew they could tell what she was doing, but she needed the dancers’ support. The last thing she needed was Larry running to Bill and moaning. Renee needed things to run smoothly at work even if they felt like they were falling apart at home.
As she brought them to a smooth stop she turned to Larry and smiled. ‘I can see you learned a thing or two off Astaire,’ she said, feeling slightly nauseous as she allowed the lies to trip from her tongue.
It had the desired effect as Larry puffed up under the false praise.
‘Thank you, Renee, I’m glad you can appreciate my experience. If only these girls can.’
Renee cast her eyes across the dancers once more and slipped them a subtle wink. ‘Perhaps we can all remember how Larry wants things done tonight.’
‘Oh, I’m sure we can all remember now, Renee,’ Daisy said drily.
Larry clapped his hands together. ‘Marvellous. Now, I thought we could round the evening off with a tango. Can you girls follow my lead?’
Unable to take any more, Renee mouthed a polite thank you to the girls and turned to Larry. ‘Well, I think you’ve got it under control, love. I’ll find you later.’
At the prospect of Renee leaving, Larry visibly brightened and the chief dancer grinned inwardly. She knew Larry was going to ruffle some feathers if his behaviour remained unchecked for too long. The girls would only cut her – and him for that matter – so much slack.
Reaching for her coat, she slipped it back on and made her way to the foyer. She needed to talk to Nancy. Only as she walked along the corridor, she saw Maisie hunched on the floor, sobbing. Violet and Temperance had their arms wrapped around the girl doing their best to comfort her. Renee frowned. She had only known Violet and Maisie a few days, she didn’t want to interfere. But equally the idea of walking past and leaving Temperance to mop up the new girl’s tears didn’t seem right either.
‘Maisie, love, what is it?’ Renee asked in a cautious tone.
‘She’s fine,’ Violet said quickly. ‘She’s upset because our father left for the army this morning.’
Renee looked at her in astonishment. ‘How old’s your father?’
‘Forty-two,’ Violet replied with a grin. ‘Just over the age limit.’
‘You make it sound like he’s nipped down the pub, Vi,’ Maisie said through tears. ‘He could end up dead.’
‘It’s all right, Maisie,’ Temperance tried. ‘Your dad will come back safe and sound.’
‘Our brother didn’t,’ Maisie sobbed again. ‘He was killed last month. Now our dad’s going the same way.’
Renee felt a flash of concern. No wonder the poor girl was so upset. Her father had been killed a few years ago. It had been at the hands of a common or garden thief but that was another story. The pain of losing him still coursed through her body today. More often than not she wished her father were here to help her shoulder her burdens.
‘I’m sorry, love,’ Renee tried again. ‘That must be hard for you both.’ She looked up at Violet, wanting to check if she was all right but the older of the sisters seemed nonplussed. In fact she seemed unburdened by the news. Renee felt a flash of kinship. She had a feeling Violet had hardened herself to some of life’s tragedies in much the same way she had learned to do. She wasn’t sure it was a good thing, but it was definitely a way of surviving.
‘Come on, Maisie,’ Violet said sharply. ‘There’s no good to come from weeping in corridors. We’ve got jobs to get on with.’
Renee watched as Maisie dabbed at her tears and then looked at Violet, her eyes flashing with fury. ‘You don’t care about Dad, it’s only me what’s worried. Even Nan was glad to see the back of him this morning. I was the only one what waved him off.’
Looking at Violet again Renee could see she was getting irritated and the last thing anyone needed was a scene outside the ballroom. At the very idea Renee shuddered. Bill Cain would make all their lives a misery and somehow Renee knew it would all come back to being her fault. She stood there wondering how best to shepherd them elsewhere, into the staff room perhaps, when Violet got to her feet.
‘Let’s talk about this later,’ she said in a calm tone to Maisie. ‘How about at lunchtime we write Dad a letter? We’ve got his service number so even though we don’t know where he’s been sent he’ll still get it in a few days.’
At the idea Maisie visibly brightened. ‘Can we, Vi?’
‘Yeah course,’ Violet said with a hint of weariness to her tone. Renee watched her plaster on a bright smile. ‘But in the meantime, we’d better get back to work. What must Renee think?’
At the mention of her name Renee smiled. ‘I’m not paid to think, love. You’re going through a tough time, just don’t let Bill catch you. He might be all smiles at first—’
‘But he can change on a sixpence,’ Temperance finished.
Violet nodded and as she and Temperance helped Maisie to her feet, Violet smiled her thanks at Renee.
Renee touched Violet’s arm as she began walking back down the corridor. ‘You know you can talk to me anytime if you want,’ she said softly.
A wave of affection passed Violet’s sparkling blue eyes. ‘Thank you.’
Nodding, Renee continued walking towards the foyer, intent on having her say about Larry. But as she saw Nancy at the front desk, hunched over a mound of paperwork, glasses hanging off the end of her nose, Renee couldn’t miss the look of worry etched across her face. Perhaps she would save saying her piece for another time.
‘Who knitted your face and dropped a stitch?’
At the sound of Renee’s voice, Nancy looked up and grinned. ‘Charmed I’m sure.’
Renee shrugged as she slouched over the desk and offered Nancy one of her cigarettes, which was gratefully accepted. Renee lit them both and looked at her friend.
‘So what’s the matter?’
‘That obvious, huh?’
Renee took a pull on her cigarette. ‘Alex’s mam still giving you trouble?’
‘When isn’t she?’ Nancy let out a hollow laugh as she tapped her cigarette ash into the tray that stood in the centre of the desk. ‘But no, for once she’s not centre of my concerns. It’s this.’
Reaching under the desk, Nancy pulled out one of the newspapers Renee had been trying so hard to avoid and slid it across the desk. Glancing at it, Renee saw the same headline about Chamberlain blaring from the page.
‘So what?’ She shrugged. ‘Chamberlain’s always in the news.’
‘It’s not Chamberlain I’m bothered about,’ Nancy said, jabbing the story below.
Renee looked at it and took in the headline and first paragraph. Underneath a story about Bogskar winning the Grand National at Aintree was a smaller piece about how Germany was expected to invade Norway at the weekend. Renee frowned. There were stories like this all the time in the papers. Adolf was on a mission to conquer the world and whilst it was troubling, she wasn’t entirely sure why Nancy was so upset.
‘What’s the problem?’ she asked, pushing the paper back towards Nancy.
The New Yorker pushed her glasses onto the top of her head and sighed. ‘I’m scared about what’s going to happen to my family, to other people like me. The Germans seem unstoppable, despite what Chamberlain says. And in the meantime, Hitler’s invading countries, destroying people’s lives, killing Jews…’
At that Nancy’s voice trailed off and Renee immediately understood. ‘Still no word from Rosa?’
Nancy shook her head. ‘It’s been months now. I’ve been trying to pretend I’m not worried but I am. Rosa always writes me back, no matter how busy she is. Something’s happened, I know it.’
Renee immediately rounded the desk and wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulders.
‘Nothing’s happened to her and nothing’s going to happen to you, d’you hear me, lady? You’re going nowhere because you’ve got me on your side. I’ll fight Hitler with me own bleedin’ hands if he tries anything on.’
The image of Renee doing battle with Hitler had the desired effect as Nancy laughed through her tears. ‘Honey, you say the sweetest things.’
‘I do me best.’ Renee shrugged, aware the moment had passed. She lifted her arm from Nancy’s shoulders and smiled. ‘I mean it, love.’
Nancy wiped her tears with the back of her hand and smiled up at Renee. ‘Thanks. I wish I could repay the favour. Dare I ask about Larry?’
Renee rolled her eyes. ‘Me mother taught me that if I couldn’t say anything nice, I shouldn’t say anything at all.’
‘And the other dancers?’
At the question Renee smirked. ‘You’re me boss, so I won’t repeat some of the language I’ve heard, but respect does have to be earned, Nance. Given Larry’s about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, the girls aren’t that keen.’
‘And you?’ Nancy prompted.
Renee let out a shrill laugh. ‘Let’s just say I’ve got me work cut out. Honestly I could swing for Bill Cain. He walks around here like he’s God.’
Nancy shrugged. ‘He’s been here so long he’s part of the furniture.’
‘I think the place would thrive without the old sod,’ Renee quipped.
As she watched her friend give her a wry smile, Renee’s eyes fell onto a small, thin woman standing in the doorway wearing a bouclé suit and black hat. Her heart sank at the sight of Edna Goldstein. Along with Larry, this was all she needed but she wasn’t about to let the former chief dancer know how she felt. Since she had been employed at the Palais Renee had regularly felt Edna’s withering stare, but she was wise enough to realise it wasn’t personal. Edna would have been upset whoever became chief dancer. So no matter how awful Edna was, Renee refused to give the old woman the satisfaction of becoming annoyed.
‘Mrs Goldstein, pleasure to see you,’ Renee chirruped instead, artfully nudging Nancy to look up from her paperwork.
‘Edna, honey,’ Nancy gushed. ‘Lemme get Bill for you. Wait one moment.’
But as Nancy reached for the phone to ring upstairs for the MC Edna smiled stiffly as she ignored Renee and stalked towards the front desk.
‘I’m not here for Bill, I’m here for Larry.’
‘Larry?’ Renee said with a frown.
‘Yes, he asked me to look in and help him with some choreography. I think he wants a trusted pair of hands to do it.’
Renee smirked but refused to take the bait.
‘I’m sure the dancers will be delighted to see you, Edna love,’ she replied. ‘We all know what a trusted, safe and old pair of hands you are.’
This time it was Edna’s turn to look annoyed and she scowled at Renee. ‘If you could just show me where Larry is, dear, us professionals can get on.’
‘He’s in the ballroom, love, last seen.’
Nodding, Edna began to walk down the corridor towards the dance hall when she stopped and turned. ‘Nancy dear, I wanted to let you know I had a letter from Alex yesterday.’
Renee saw Nancy bristle. She knew her friend hadn’t heard from Alex in over a fortnight and that once again this was an example of how Alex put his mother first over his wife. Renee didn’t know why Nancy put up with it. But then as Renee thought about her own home life there was plenty you put up with when you thought you were out of choices.
Renee could hear Nancy gulp beside her. ‘Oh?’ Nancy managed.
Edna smiled, the grin not quite reaching her eyes. ‘Yes, he said he was thrilled to know I was steering you so well, that you had me to rely on to help you run things.’
‘Mmm hmm,’ Nancy said non-committally.
‘Of course I wrote back and told him straightaway that I was happy to help. That I have so much knowledge when it comes to this old place…’ Edna trailed off and looked around the foyer as if it were a dear friend rather than bricks and mortar.
‘Well Alex will be thrilled,’ Nancy trilled, not missing a beat. ‘Now, don’t let us hold you up.’
‘Or let the door catch you on your way out,’ Renee muttered as Edna walked back along the corridor.
‘Didn’t realise Edna, Larry and Bill were running the shop,’ Renee said, trying to keep the scorn out of her voice.
‘Neither did I,’ Nancy said brusquely. ‘Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. I’m sorry, Renee, I’ll try to sort this out.’
Renee shook her head. ‘You’re all right, love. I’ll sort this mess.’
Nancy smiled affectionately. ‘Thanks, honey. I mean it. Now if you could just get Edna off my back I really would feel as if all my hanukkahs had come at once.’
As the two women laughed Renee felt her shoulders start to loosen. Whatever troubles she had in the world, she had the Palais to lean on. The dance hall was her salvation in more ways than one.