The Angel and the Rake Read online

  There appeared to be nobody to pick up the old programmes, pieces of paper, an empty cigar box, as well as some empty bottles.

  Trevor had moved Angela back against a wall as people were passing by, hurrying in one direction or another.

  There were page boys and men carrying what appeared to be props for the stage.

  As they waited, a few women came in by the stage door and they hurried up the stairs or down one of the corridors.

  They did not look glamorous or prepossessing and they were certainly not beautiful as the Gaiety Girls were reputed to be.

  As if he knew what Angela was thinking, Trevor told her,

  “They are the dressers.”

  Angela felt somehow relieved.

  It was bad enough to see the state of the inside of the theatre and she did not want the disillusionment of finding that the Gaiety Girls, about whom she had heard so much, were very different off stage from what they were on stage.

  The porter came back.

  “Mr. Edwardes’ll see you, Sir Trevor,” he said, “’e’s in ’is office. I’ll see that no one disturbs you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Trevor then pressed something into the porter’s hand and Angela saw just the flicker of gold.

  She thought, if it was half a sovereign, let alone a whole one, it was more than they could afford.

  Trevor was walking quickly ahead of her and she dutifully followed him.

  He next opened a door which she thought was not far away from the stage.

  She found herself in a small office where there was a large desk and three hard chairs.

  The walls of the office were completely covered with posters advertising the shows that George Edwardes had put on at The Gaiety.

  There were quite a number of them and she noticed that all the titles carried the word ‘Girl’ in them.

  She could see on the posters the names,

  ‘The Gaiety Girl’, ‘My Girl’, ‘The Circus Girl,’ ‘The Runaway Girl.’

  She remembered reading somewhere that the first of these, ‘The Gaiety Girl’, had been such a success and had run for so many months that George Edwardes had made the word his talisman and he was determined to use it.

  On the desk there were piles of press cuttings besides a number of newspapers.

  She guessed these all referred to the present show, which was called ‘Cinderella Up-to –Date’.

  Then she looked at George Edwardes himself.

  He was a red-faced, cheerful-looking man and not as tall or as overwhelming as she had expected him to be.

  Her brother was shaking his hand.

  “How are you, George?” he asked. “I have brought you what I promised and I just don’t think you will be disappointed.”

  “I do hope not, Sir Trevor,” George Edwardes replied, “because I am desperate. I have looked everywhere, everywhere I can think of, and there is nobody who is suitable to take Lucy’s place.”

  “Then let me introduce you to Angela,” Trevor announced.

  He looked towards his sister as he spoke and put out his hand to draw her forward.

  She had been behind him so that George Edwardes had not noticed her until that very moment.

  She saw his eyes taking in her appearance, at first casually as if he thought that it was most unlikely that she would be what he wanted.

  Then his expression changed and became one of surprise coupled with an excitement that he could not suppress.

  “I don’t believe it!” he muttered beneath his breath.

  Then sharply, giving an order, he demanded,

  “Take off your hat!”

  Angela obeyed him, pulling out the hat pins that had kept her hat in place while they were driving.

  She pushed her golden curls into place.

  “Where the devil did you find anyone like this?” George Edwardes asked in a low voice.

  “I have known her for years,” Trevor replied lightly. “She lives not far from my house in the country.”

  George Edwardes walked towards Angela and he walked round her as if he must take her in from every angle and perhaps in doing so find a flaw.

  Then he gave a deep sigh.

  “All I can say, Sir Trevor, is that you have solved my problem and I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “I shall be quite content with the one thousand pounds you promised me,” Trevor said, “and, of course, you do realise that, as Angela comes from the country, she has little to wear except what she has on.”

  George Edwardes made a sweeping gesture with his hand.

  “That is immaterial,” he declared. “I want to hear her speak.”

  He stood in front of Angela and said,

  “Now tell me your name and if you are prepared to play the part of an angel.”

  “My name is ‘Angela,” Angela replied.

  As she spoke, she remembered that Trevor had not told her what other name she should have.

  Quickly before she could say any more, her brother chipped in,

  “Angela is what she was christened and, as far as you are concerned, George, that is all you need to know.”

  He paused and then continued,

  “There might be trouble with her family if it was learned that she was going on the stage, so to speak.”

  George Edwardes laughed.

  “‘So to speak’ is right! His Lordship’s stage is somewhat different from mine.”

  “I know, but there is very little point in angels being anything but anonymous,” Trevor remarked.

  George Edwardes chuckled.

  “Very well, ‘Angela’ it shall be, but I want to hear more.”

  “What do you want me to say,” Angela asked, “except that I am finding it very exciting to be here and, of course, I have heard from – Sir ‒ Trevor how famous you are.”

  She just stumbled slightly over her brother’s title.

  She thought, however, that George Edwardes would put it down to shyness.

  “Perfect!” George Edwardes exclaimed. “All I can say, Sir Trevor, is that if you want a job, you can come and help me cast my next show if you can find winners like this one!”

  “I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will satisfy the Marquis,” Trevor said.

  “She’ll ‘knock spots’ off Lucy and if he is not then satisfied, I’ll eat my hat!” George Edwardes replied.

  “Now what about clothes?” Trevor asked, wishing to ‘get down to brass tacks’.

  “Nelly’ll have to see to that,” George Edwardes replied.

  He moved from his desk and banged his hand down on a bell. It rang and seemed at the same time to echo round the small room.

  The door was opened almost immediately by a page boy.

  “Fetch Nelly to me,” George Edwardes commanded, “and be quick about it.”

  “Very good, Mr. Edwardes,” the page boy replied.

  “Now, suppose you sit down, Angela,” George Edwardes said, “and you too Sir Trevor. I think we should have a drink to celebrate this. It has taken a load off my mind which kept me awake last night, I can tell you that.”

  He did not wait for an answer but went to a cupboard at the side of the room.

  When he opened it, Angela could see rows and rows of bottles and glasses inside it.

  “Now, what do angels drink?” he asked.

  “I think champagne would be appropriate,” Trevor replied.

  “I’m much obliged to you,” George Edwardes answered, “you have done me a good turn and no mistake. I was dreading having to tell ‘his Nibs’ that Lucy was still hors de combat.”

  “Is she still bad?” Trevor asked.

  “I enquired at luncheontime,” George Edwardes replied, “and her temperature was one hundred and three degrees! If you ask me, she’ll be out of the show for at least a week.”

  “I suppose it is that fever that has been going around,” Trevor remarked.

  Because Angela knew him so well, she knew that he was really delighted that
there was no chance of Lucy returning unexpectedly.

  He would therefore not lose the money that George Edwardes had promised him.

  A bottle of champagne was produced and George Edwardes poured out three glasses.

  “We’ll drink a toast,” he said. “May the angel you brought me bring us all the blessings we require, including a big cheque from the Marquis for my next production.”

  When he had finished speaking, he then poured all the champagne in his glass down his throat in one gulp.

  “I will drink to that and so will Angela,” Trevor replied, “but you are not to frighten her. She is very afraid of failing us in this venture.”

  “She’ll fail no one with a face like that,” George Edwardes replied.

  He looked towards Angela and suggested,

  “If you want a job with me after this weekend, I promise I’ll seriously consider it.”

  “Thank you,” Angela replied. “I can only pray that I shall not fail either of you.”

  She glanced at Trevor as she spoke and thinking how much it meant to him.

  To her surprise he took hold of her hand that was not holding the glass and raised it to his lips.

  “You have not failed me,” he enthused in a voice that he had never used to her before.

  For a moment she was surprised and then she realised that he was now playing the part of who she had called a cher ami.

  She therefore smiled at him and knew as she did so that George Edwardes was watching them.

  There was a knock on the door and, without waiting to be told to enter, a woman came into the room.

  She was middle-aged, rather haggard-looking, with a great many lines on her face and her hair was turning grey.

  “Here you are, Nelly,” George Edwardes greeted her. “I’ve got a big job for you and I want it done, needless to say, in double-quick time.”

  “And what is it you’re askin’, Mr. Edwardes?” Nelly asked sharply. “You knows as well as I do that I’m up to me eyes and Heaven knows what you’ll think of the girl as is takin’ Lucy’s part!”

  “What happens tonight is immaterial,” George Edwardes replied. “Let me introduce you to the angel who is taking Lucy’s part in his Lordship’s play.”

  He made a gesture with his hand towards Angela.

  Nelly, who had not noticed her before, turned to look at her.

  For a moment she was silent.

  Then she said,

  “As Heaven’s my judge, I can only believe me eyes are deceivin’ me!”

  George Edwardes laughed.

  “That is what I thought and we can sincerely thank Sir Trevor for finding her.”

  “Well, all I can say is he be a magician or a witch doctor if ever there was one.”

  Trevor smiled.

  “That is exactly what I want to hear from you, Nelly,” he said, “and now you have to make Angela look the part.”

  “I don’t ’ave to do nothin’ to ’er face,” Nelly said, “but ’er clothes, where on earth can she ’ave got them from?”

  Angela laughed.

  “I am afraid that they are from the country and very old.”

  “They certainly look like it,” Nelly replied. “Oh, well, come along with me and we’ll see what we can do with you.”

  Angela looked a little uncertainly at her brother.

  “Go with Nelly,” he said, “and keep out of sight of everybody else.”

  He turned to Nelly.

  “You do understand,” he said, “that it would be a great mistake for Angela to be seen by anybody before she arrives at Vaux?”

  “You don’t ’ave to tell me,” Nelly said. “If them rats with their top hats get so much of a glimpse at ’er, they’ll be after ’er like flyin’ ’awks, as you well knows.”

  The two men laughed at Nelly’s expressions, which actually were famous in the theatre world.

  “Sir Trevor’s right,” George Edwardes agreed, “but keep her out of sight and then lock the door.”

  “When you have dressed her up,” Trevor said, “I will take her away and give her some dinner. We will meet the rest of the gang when we join the Marquis’s private railway carriage at the Station.”

  “You have certainly got a surprise for him,” George Edwardes laughed.

  Nelly hustled Angela out of the office, saying,

  “Put your ’at on and pull it down over your face. As the gentleman said, it’d be a mistake for anyone to see you afore ’is Lordship does.”

  They went to the end of the corridor where Nelly opened a door into a room which was very large.

  It was the most fantastic room that Angela had ever seen.

  There were gowns hanging from multiple ropes, which crossed it and ran up as high as the ceiling.

  There were in fact three lines of gowns and then there were cupboards on either side of the room, the doors of which were open.

  Each cupboard contained more and more gowns hanging on hangers and they filled them completely.

  The shelves above them contained hats.

  Never had Angela imagined such a kaleidoscope of colour and a profusion of feathers, flowers and glittering diamanté.

  She could only stand there rooted to the spot and gaping at what she was in front of her.

  Then she was aware that Nelly was shouting for her assistants. There were three of them and they came running at once.

  One was young, but the other two were older women who had obviously worked with Nelly for years.

  She began giving them orders for underclothes and silk stockings. She asked the size of Angela’s feet.

  Before she could realise what was happening, Angela found herself half-naked while the assistants were putting various items on the table.

  Never had she imagined that anything could be as beautiful as the underclothes that she was told every Gaiety Girl wore.

  They were of pure silk, appliquéd with real lace. The stockings were also silk from the top to the toes and Angela thought nervously that they looked very delicate.

  Nelly’s assistants found her shoes that fitted her exactly.

  They had high heels and were very much more elegant than anything that she had ever owned.

  Then there was a pause when Nelly described the clothes that she should wear,

  “She’s an angel and angels wear white. Come on, girls, let me have everythin’ white and we’ll see what fits ’er.”

  Strangely enough, when everything seemed to be so colourful, there was a considerable number of white gowns.

  It was very different from what Angela might have expected in the theatre.

  Some were of chiffon, which were very delicate and they made her look slim as if she might float away.

  One was of lace and so delicate that she was afraid that Nelly would say she could not have it.

  Several gowns were embellished with embroidery or had patches of colour on them and they were sent away immediately.

  Finally Angela was supplied with enough gowns, she thought, to last her for many years.

  But Nelly seemed to think that she needed all of them for the two days she was staying at Vaux.

  Then one of the assistants asked,

  “What about a ridin’ habit? You knows the Marquis ’as a lot of ’orses and she’ll be expected to ride them.”

  Angela, who had said very little, now gave an exclamation of excitement.

  “Do you really think I will be able to ride while I am staying with the Marquis?”

  “I’ll be ever so surprised if you don’t,” Nelly exclaimed. “That’s if you want to. We’ve ’eard enough about ’is ’orses! There’s not a soul in The Gaiety as ’adn’t made a bob or two when ’e’s racin’ them.”

  “How wonderful!” Angela cried. “Oh, please, do find me a habit! The only one I have at home is threadbare.”

  “That’s not somethin’ you can take to Vaux,” Nelly said sharply.

  One of the women had already run off to find what she required and she brou
ght back two habits and one was of very pale blue that was almost the colour of Angela’s eyes.

  “It is lovely but I could not wear that!” she sighed. “I am sure people would be shocked if my habit was not black or navy blue.”

  “Those be colours for them as calls themselves ladies,” Nelly said sarcastically. “When you leaves ’ere, you’re one of the Gaiety Girls wearing clothes as belongs to The Gaiety. This one ’ad a great success when Nelly Taylor wore it.”

  Angela realised that she had made a mistake and had been thinking of herself as a ‘Lady’ instead of an actress.

  “Then I would love to wear it,” she said quietly. “Thank you very much.”

  There was another habit very much the same only in pale leaf green.

  “Put them both in,” Nelly suggested. “You can’t be seen twice in the same outfit.”

  Angela thought of how long she had worn her own clothes and gave a little laugh.

  “Now, don’t laugh, young lady,” Nelly said. “You may be an angel in your own right, but you’re representin’ us. At The Gaiety we’ve got our reputation to keep up, ’aven’t we, girls?”

  There was a chorus of, “’Course’ we ’ave!” and Nelly went on,

  “If you don’t knock ’em ’ead-over-’eels when you appears in them evenin’ gowns, then I’ll give up me job and retire!”

  The other helpers laughed.

  “You knows we couldn’t do without you, Nelly.”

  “That’s true,” Nelly replied complacently. “And I’m not askin’ for any criticism where angels be concerned.”

  “Of course not and there will not be any,” Angela said. “Thank you very very much. I am very grateful. I never imagined that I would wear such beautiful exciting clothes. I hope I will be able to tell you afterwards what everybody said about them.”

  “I’ll be waitin’,” Nelly said. “Now, pack everythin’ up, girls, I am goin’ to take our angel back to Mr. Edwardes.”

  She went to the door and unlocked it.

  She peeped out and quickly locked the door again.

  “Now, look ’ere,” she said to Angela, “they said you was not to be seen till you boards the train after the show. The place out there is already full to burstin’.”

  “Then what am I to do?” Angela asked.

  Nelly looked towards a hat on top of the wardrobe.