‘That’s lovely, Maisie, but keep to the tempo,’ Temperance encouraged as she led Maisie around the dance floor to a simple two-step.
It was early on the first Tuesday morning in May and Temperance had been coming in early to teach Maisie for a few days now. The results were paying off. Violet’s younger sister was showing some promise and could perform a simple waltz with a fairly good sense of timing.
Maisie looked up at Temperance with glee.
‘I’m really getting this aren’t I? I’m doing it.’
Temperance laughed. Maisie’s enthusiasm was infectious. ‘You’re brilliant. I’m surprised you didn’t take it up years ago.’
At the suggestion Maisie’s voice clouded over and she took a seat on an upturned crate in the practice room. ‘Well if you had a ma like mine you’d understand. She thinks dancing’s sinful. The fact she met me father up a dance hall up west is lost on her.’
‘So what’s her problem with dancing now?’ Temperance asked.
She sat on the crate beside Maisie and looked at her expectantly.
‘She’s religious,’ Maisie groaned. ‘Or at least she’s got more religious since Roy died. But before that she was always going on about how it weren’t seemly to go cavorting about with fellas up dance halls. She said loose legs led to loose knickers!’
‘She said what?’ Temperance fell about laughing now, unable to keep the merriment out of her voice.
Maisie joined in with her giggles. ‘Yeah I know. Daft ain’t it? But that’s mothers for you.’
‘They have their moments.’ Temperance’s smile subsided.
‘How is your ma?’ Maisie asked gently. ‘Nan said she saw her up the market last week.’
Temperance thought for a moment. Her mother was doing incredibly well, there was no denying it. There were times Temperance felt almost angry with her mother for being able to go about her life. She had gone to the cinema last week with a friend from the WVS and come back going on about Gone With the Wind and how wonderful the film had been. Smiling when she spoke about Clark Gable, saying he was quite a dish.
As her mother laughed and smiled as she explained the film, Temperance had felt herself seething with irritation. How could she have eyes for another man? How could she even think about another fella when her father, the man she always thought was the love of her mother’s life, had only been in the ground a year? Temperance didn’t know how her mother found the strength. She supposed it was better than having her mother wallowing in grief, but equally didn’t her father deserve more respect? How could her mother’s tears have dried so quickly when she sobbed herself to sleep most nights, longing for the man who had not just been her father but her best friend?
‘She’s fine,’ Temperance said at last. ‘I suppose grief’s a funny thing.’
Maisie nodded. ‘Roy’s loss has hit us all hard. I just keep hoping Dad stays safe.’
‘You heard from him?’ Temperance asked.
‘I had a letter yesterday. He seems all right. He’s so brave to be doing what he’s doing at his age,’ Maisie said. ‘I wish Violet could see it that way but she hates Dad.’
‘Has she got good reason to?’ Temperance asked cautiously.
Maisie turned her gaze to the floor and shook her head. ‘The trouble with Violet is she never sees the good in people, just the bad. That said, she’s been in ever such a good mood since your Eamon took her to tea last week.’
Temperance grinned. ‘Eamon’s been the same. Not stopped smiling. Not that he’s told me much about it. Has Violet said anything?’
Maisie burst out laughing. ‘My sister confide in me? You’re joking. Nah, she’s happy though, and I mean properly happy for the first time since Roy died. And I caught her singing the other day as well when she was pegging out the washing in the yard.’
Temperance raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know Violet that well but she could see already singing was fairly out of character.
As she opened her mouth to reply, a loud voice made her jump.
‘What the pigging hell is going on here?’
Whirling round, Temperance’s heart sank as she came face to face with Bill Cain, his grey hair pomaded firmly to his skull and his cheeks puce with rage. Temperance reached inside for courage.
‘We were just borrowing the practice room, sir,’ she managed. ‘We came in early like.’
Bill said nothing and ran his eyes across the room before he spoke. ‘Look at the bleedin’ mess.’
Temperance followed his gaze, but other than the upturned crate they had been sitting on the practice room looked just as it always did. The three windows at the back sparkled in the sunshine, the parquet floor was swept and clean, and their bags and coats were hung neatly on the coat rack – the only other bit of furniture in the room.
She was just thinking how best to point this out without agitating the MC further when Bill spoke again. ‘And who gave you permission? ’Cos I know I never and you can bet your arse Renee Hammond never either.’
Temperance looked at the floor. She hadn’t mentioned her and Maisie’s secret practice sessions to anyone in case someone raised an objection. She was sure Renee wouldn’t but then she’d been in such a funny mood lately she couldn’t be sure.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Cain sir,’ Maisie said meekly now. ‘This is all my fault.’
‘Your fault?’ Bill said more smoothly as he turned to Maisie. ‘I can’t believe that, sweetheart. You ain’t been here five minutes.’
‘Oh but it is, Mr Cain sir,’ Maisie pleaded. ‘See, I was ever so excited about the competition and I wanted to see if I might be good enough to enter. Thing is I know nothing about dancing but Temperance here was ever so kind and offered to teach me.’
Bill Cain looked from Maisie to Temperance aghast. ‘Her! Teach you?’ He let out a laugh. ‘You should have come to me, my dear, I’d have found you some excellent tuition. Temperance barely knows a two-step from a waltz.’
That old familiar feeling of resentment and hatred bubbled up inside and Temperance longed to give Bill Cain the piece of her mind he richly deserved.
‘Well with respect, Mr Cain sir,’ Maisie continued in a voice that was as sweet as toffee, ‘Temperance has shown me an awful lot and thanks to her I’ve begun to master the basics and she ain’t charged me a penny neither.’
At the mention of the word money Cain bristled. ‘I should think not, sweetheart. The likes of her are lucky to have a job at all. No, next time you need lessons, Maisie love, you come see me and you won’t have to worry about paying neither.’
‘You’re feeling generous ain’t you, Bill?’ a voice boomed.
Walking into the room came butcher’s boy Archie Ledbetter with a large box on his right shoulder.
Bill turned to look at him and laughed as he clapped him on the back. ‘All right, Archie lad. How’s your luck?’
‘Yeah not bad, cheers, Bill.’ He set the box on the floor and took out a slip of paper. ‘Just need someone to sign for this if you don’t mind. Can’t find Sybil.’
Temperance frowned. ‘She was out the back a minute ago.’
Archie laughed and ran a hand through his sandy hair. ‘Yeah, I think she’s avoiding me.’
‘Why?’ Temperance asked, puzzled.
‘We broke things off the other night. It just weren’t right,’ Archie said regretfully.
‘I’m sorry,’ Temperance said softly.
Archie grimaced. ‘I’m not.’ His gaze turned to Maisie. ‘How are you, Maze?’
‘You two know each other?’ Temperance asked, astonished.
Maisie grinned. ‘Archie lives round the corner from us. He used to play with our Roy and Vi when he was in short trousers.’
Archie shook his head, his green eyes twinkling with merriment. ‘You always cracked me up, Maisie. I saw Vi the other day. Nice the two of you working together up here.’
‘We are delighted to have them both,’ Bill said, handing the signed piece of paper back to Archie. ‘They add a touch of class, something the place desperately needs at the moment.’
With that Bill shot Temperance a glare so withering she felt herself shrivel up on the spot.
She sensed Archie looking at her but felt embarrassed to lift her gaze and turn to him.
‘Oh I dunno, Bill,’ Archie said with a hint of menace, ‘I think the place had a lot of class already. In fact there’s quite a bit in this room.’
There was a pause as Temperance lifted her chin and finally met Archie’s gaze. She saw the kindness in his eyes and for a moment felt as if she been transported back to a time when her father had always been the one to stand up for her, help her win battles she didn’t feel strong enough to win alone.
‘Well I can’t say as I know about that,’ Bill snapped. ‘But I do know this young lady needs a partner for the charity dance. I assume you and Miss Hitchcock ain’t partnering up no more.’
Archie shuddered. ‘We never were. You know Sybil, to say she’s got two left feet is a compliment.’
Bill laughed. ‘So what about it? Maisie, as you and Archie know one another then that might make things easier.’
Cocking her head to one side Maisie looked Archie up and down as if she were a gambler sizing up a horse on race day. ‘All right,’ she said with a grin. ‘But no mucking me about, Archie Ledbetter. This is professional only. No funny business.’
Archie laughed and held his hands in the air in mock defence. ‘No funny business. So, Temp, you been teaching Maisie?’
Avoiding Bill’s eye, Temperance nodded.
At that Archie rubbed his hands together in delight. ‘Then I know Maisie’s been in good hands.’
Maisie let out a little squeal of delight and turned to Temperance. ‘I’ve got a partner!’
‘Then we’d better make sure you’re ready,’ Temperance replied.
‘With your help we both will be,’ Archie promised before he turned to Bill. ‘So I think we’ll both stick with Temperance for our lessons, mate. You won’t mind us practising here will you? Seeing as it’s for a good cause and all that.’
It was clearly more of an order than a question and Temperance felt a jolt of satisfaction as she watched the MC squirm.
‘Whatever you like, Archie,’ Bill said, clearly uncomfortable. ‘Though if you want more of an expert hand, then let me know.’
‘Well in that case, looks like we’re a team,’ Archie said with a grin, his eyes a beacon of light. ‘Looks like we’re all on an adventure then.’
But as he spoke Temperance’s gaze swivelled towards the MC and she saw he was looking at her with the fury he only ever reserved for her. Yet for some reason Temperance found that for once she really couldn’t care less.