The old beast had said he would get even. He must have been watching her.
‘Is it true you and this chap Gleb are after the furs?’ Wesley asked quietly.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell him the truth. He wanted her to keep his secret. It wasn’t likely he would do anything to her. After the way that little beast Theo had treated her, she had no compunction for giving them away. It was her only chance to be free of them.
‘They made me,’ she burst out, and taking out her hand-kerchief she pretended to cry. ‘You don’t know what they’re like. They threatened me with vitriol. They hit me. I didn’t want to do it.’
Wesley sat down.
‘Now don’t get upset. Let’s begin at the beginning. Who wrote this note?’
‘Sam Hewart. I... I worked for him,’ Julie said, still hiding her face with her handkerchief. ‘He owns a café in Hammersmith. I knew his café was a meeting place for crooks, but I thought I’d be able to keep clear of them. I wanted the money so badly. I’ve never had any fun. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor. All my life I’ve had to go without things I wanted.’
There was a long pause, then Wesley said, ‘You mustn’t go on like this, you know. If I can help you, I will, but I must know all the details first. Did you meet this chap Gleb at the café?’
‘Yes,’ Julie said, and poured out the whole sordid tale: how Harry had made love to her, how he had promised to marry her, how he got her the job as Blanche’s maid, and how Theo had called at the flat. She held nothing back.
‘I know I shouldn’t have come here,’ she concluded, dabbing her eyes, but keeping her face turned away so Wesley couldn’t see she was pretending to cry. ‘But I swear I didn’t know what they were planning to do until I saw the safe. Then when I tried to back out that awful Theo came and hit me. He threatened me with vitriol. He terrified me.’
Wesley had listened to her story without interruption, and now when she had finished he lit a cigarette.
‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ he said, and smiled. ‘We’ll find a way out of it. Now look, it’s getting late. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Will you order supper for two to be sent up from the restaurant while I see what can be done? I want a moment or so to think about all this. You run off and get some supper. Then we’ll have another talk while we eat.’ He got up, walked over to the cocktail cabinet. ‘And you’re going to have a drink. There’s no need to be miserable. I’m very glad you’ve told me the whole story. I don’t think you’re to blame at all.’ As he mixed the two drinks, he went on, ‘Was that Gleb who was with you when I first met you?’
Julie flushed scarlet.
‘I... I didn’t think you could see me,’ she said. ‘I’m so ashamed I dressed up like that.’
He laughed.
‘You looked very beautiful, Julie,’ he said and handed her the drink. ‘One of these days you must dress again in some-thing nice, but this time for my benefit.’
She stared at him, startled, not expecting anything like this from him.
‘It was Gleb?’ he went on.
‘Yes.’
‘All right, now run along. Take your drink with you. I want to think this over. Don’t be too long about supper, will you?’
Julie’s mind was in a whirl as she telephoned down to the restaurant for two suppers. While she was waiting for the trays to come up, she ran to her room and put on a bright red scarf and a red belt to offset her black dress. Looking at herself in the mirror she saw a young, lovely little face that pleased her. So long as she kept her looks, she thought, there was hope for her.
Back in the kitchen she finished the cocktail, which cheered her. Things were going well. Better than she had thought possible. He had seen her looking her best in Blanche’s dress and he had remembered her in it.
‘One of these days you must dress again in something nice,’ he had said, ‘and this time for my benefit.’
‘He’s interested in me,’ she thought. ‘If I’m careful and play up to him it might be possible to ask him for anything. There’s nothing he couldn’t do for me if he wanted to. He has loads of money, and he can get rid of that French woman and Theo. He’ll know how to handle them. And there’s Harry, too. I’ll never forgive him for letting that beast hit me. He must have known. I’ll pay him out for that! I don’t need him now if I’m careful with Wesley.’
When she carried in the two supper trays she found him pacing up and down, his hands clasped behind his back. She still wasn’t used to seeing him without the black-lensed glasses and he made her feel nervous.
‘All ready?’ he said, taking one of the trays from her. ‘It looks good, doesn’t it? You sit there where I can see you.’
They sat at the table opposite each other. Under his friendly gaze she began to feel less nervous of him.
‘We won’t talk business until we’ve finished,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to be so difficult as you think, but we’ll go into that later. You’re not going to be miserable any more, are you?’
‘No,’ Julie said, not feeling miserable at all. To find out his reactions, she went on. ‘But I shouldn’t really be here. Mrs. Wesley would be furious.’
She saw his face harden.
‘Mrs. Wesley has no right to complain,’ he said sharply. ‘She forfeited that right by her behaviour. You saw what went on?’
‘Yes,’ Julie said. ‘I thought it was dreadful.’
‘Then don’t let’s talk about her,’ Wesley said. ‘I’ll get you another drink.’
There was an awkward silence while he mixed more drinks, but when he came back to the table he seemed to have recovered his calm and he smiled at her.
‘I’m glad this has happened, Julie. I lead a lonely life: too lonely I’m discovering. I’m enjoying this. I haven’t had supper with a pretty girl for years.’
Julie was a little startled; she hadn’t expected him to take the initiative so soon.
‘I’ve been thinking about what you were saying,’ he went on, not appearing to notice her surprise, ‘about not having any fun. Tell me, Julie, what exactly is your idea of fun?’
‘Being able to do the things you want to,’ she said promptly. ‘And what do you want to do?’
Again without hesitation, she said: ‘Have money and nice clothes. I want to go dancing, go to the best restaurants, have a car, buy what I like. Things like that.’
He laughed.
‘My dear Julie, what good are those things to you now? You’re living in the past. That kind of fun is over and done with. It’s the simple things of life that give fun now; things like good books, a garden, going for a walk, listening to music, things like that.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ Julie thought. To him, she said, ‘If I had money I’d be able to have a good time. I know I should. I know how to get the things I want.’
‘Well, we’ll see,’ he said, a little mysteriously, and began to ask her questions about her life at the café, drawing her out and listening with flattering attention to her description of the people who visited the café.
