A Song in my Heart Read online

  In a flash she was back in Dungannon, Bridie was reading the tea leaves and her words were crystal clear. ‘I see a friend, no an acquaintance, and death surrounds this person. They need your help.’

  Dear God, this isn’t possible, she thought. I should never have come here. Then she remembered the rest of Bridie’s prediction. ‘Trust your instincts.’ She thrust the cameo at him. ‘No, never! I’ll have nothing more to do with you.’

  Chapter 30

  ‘Do you think if the weather’s miserable, it makes you feel miserable too?’ asked Peggy as she took off her wet shoes and set them in front of the one-bar electric fire in Goldstein’s office.

  Esther laid her shoes next to Peggy’s. ‘Yes, it’s a fact of life.’

  Peggy leaned back in Goldstein’s chair. ‘But maybe you’re just miserable because you miss Reuben now he’s away at music school in London.’

  ‘That’s true as well, so I’m twice as miserable as you.’

  Peggy thought for a moment. ‘But if a handsome young fellow were to come in the shop this morning and invite me out on a date, I would probably be very happy even though it was still raining.’

  ‘Well, that’s not going to happen to me, is it?’

  ‘Why not? Esther, you’re very pretty and you’re a brilliant musician. You’ll be snapped up before long.’

  ‘I don’t know. I waited all that time for Reuben to take an interest in me, but our only dates were in front of an audience playing duets.’ She sighed. ‘And now he’s gone.’

  ‘Don’t mope, Esther. The love of your life could walk in here at any minute.’

  Not thirty seconds later the shop bell rang. ‘See?’ said Peggy. ‘He’s here.’ They went out into the shop and an elderly gentleman in a mackintosh raised his hat to them and called out, ‘Good morning, ladies, I wonder if you can help me?’ And Esther and Peggy dissolved into fits of laughter.

  When the elderly suitor had gone, Peggy said, ‘You know what I miss most about dates?’ and she ticked them off on her fingers. ‘Number one: having something to dress up for. Number two: having someone who wants to please me. Number three: having someone to make me laugh.’

  ‘What about Archie? Do you think you’ll see him again after what happened with Harry?’

  ‘I doubt it. You should have seen how angry he was. No, I won’t be going out with him again, but sure there’s plenty more fish in the sea.’

  A few nights later, just as Peggy left the shop, the heavens opened. She ran as fast as she could through puddles in the pitch dark, towards the bus stop, but the bus roared past her, drenching her from head to toe. She was so angry she stood there and screamed in fury, totally unaware of the car that had pulled up at the kerb alongside her. She did not see the man get out of the car or come towards her and when he said, ‘Goodness me, you’re drenched,’ she jumped. He took her arm and she pulled away shouting, ‘Leave me alone!’

  ‘Don’t be a silly girl, Peggy. I’ll take you home.’ Archie put his arm around her waist and when he pulled her towards the car she let him.

  Inside, the car was warm and Archie passed her a blanket from the back seat. ‘You’re shivering, put this round you.’

  They drove in silence a while, until Archie said, ‘Giving me the cold shoulder, are you?’ Peggy ignored him. ‘Well, have it your own way,’ he said, and he put his foot down and drove at speed out of the city centre. At Joanmount Gardens, he parked a few doors down from her house and turned off the engine. Peggy searched for the handle to open the door. ‘It’s locked,’ he said.

  ‘Let me out,’ she demanded.

  ‘In a minute. I just want to talk to you.’

  ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’

  ‘Is this about your squaddie sweetheart?’ said Archie.

  ‘Don’t call him that. He used to be my boyfriend and I thought it was all over between us … anyway it is now.’

  ‘And what about you and me, Peggy?’

  She thought for a moment. ‘I don’t know … sometimes I think you’re not a very nice person.’

  Archie threw back his head and laughed. ‘But you like my company, don’t you, and the places I take you. You like to be seen with an officer and a gentleman.’

  ‘Maybe I do, but there’s something about you … something dangerous … and I know when it’s time to walk away.’

  ‘Well, that’s a pity, Peggy, because I was thinking the best is yet to come for you and me.’ He reached out and pushed back a strand of damp hair that hung over her eye. ‘Remember that day in the Botanic Gardens? A flame was lit and it smoulders still between us.’ He laughed and ran the back of his hand down the side of her face and cupped her chin. ‘We have unfinished business, you and I.’

  She pulled away from him. ‘Don’t talk like that.’

  ‘Why not? We could have such fun together, you know that.’

  Peggy struggled to explain. ‘Look, you’re good company, I’ll give you that, but it just feels wrong.’

  It was as if he hadn’t heard her. ‘I was watching for you tonight, hoping to see you.’ His voice was soft, regretful. ‘I had a surprise for you, something I knew you would love, but now …’ He paused.

  Peggy waited.

  He started the engine.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  ‘It would have been a great night, the cream of Belfast society and the military top brass. The tickets cost an arm and a leg, but never mind.’ He leaned over and unlocked the door on Peggy’s side.

  ‘Tickets?’ she said. ‘Tickets for what?’

  ‘You don’t want to know.’

  ‘Maybe I do.’

  Archie rubbed his hand over his jaw, first one side then the other, as if considering. ‘You’ve heard of the film In the Army Now?’

  There was disappointment in her voice. ‘Yes, I saw it at the pictures.’

  ‘But that’s not the same thing. I’ve got tickets for the Grand Opera House for the stage show: a huge cast, wonderful score and a special appearance by the greatest composer of modern music, Irving Berlin himself.’

  Peggy let out a gasp. ‘You’re joking. Really, they’re coming here? But it’s the most successful musical in the entire world …’ She almost screamed with excitement. ‘Let me get this right: you have two tickets for the show and you were going to take me to it?’

  ‘No,’ said Archie, ‘I have four tickets to the show, seats in the front stalls and an invitation to the party afterwards.’

  And this time Peggy really did scream and when she calmed down she asked, ‘Why four tickets?’

  ‘Because my subaltern, a very nice Jewish boy, is the son of a West End theatre impresario and he was able to get the tickets. In return, I thought that your friend Esther might like to make up the party.’

  For half a second after Peggy heard about the tickets she had thought she ought to refuse the invitation, but the mention of Esther and the fact that she would meet a well-connected Jewish boy, made her pause. Had she the right to refuse to go, if that meant ruining Esther’s chance of finding romance?

  The following Saturday at exactly seven o’clock there was a knock on Goldstein’s front door and he opened it to see two British officers in their dress uniforms. ‘Come in, come in,’ he said and shook their hands.

  ‘Allow me to introduce Jacob Weinberg, my subaltern,’ said Archie. ‘And Jacob, this is Mr Goldstein who has made quite a name for himself as an impresario in this city.’

  ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,’ said Jacob.

  Goldstein was impressed with the demeanour of the young man; quietly spoken, but with a firm handshake. ‘Can I offer you both a drink?’

  ‘Maybe not,’ said Archie, ‘we came through quite a bit of fog on our way here. It might take us a bit longer than expected to get to the Opera House.’

  ‘Let me see if I can hurry the young ladies along.’

  When Esther and Peggy swept into the room the two men smiled broadly at the sight of them. They looked like deb
utantes. Peggy wore the kingfisher blue shot-silk cocktail dress that had been worn by all of the sisters on stage at some point. Esther’s dress was new, her first evening gown, dusky pink taffeta in a simple design, beautifully tailored, made by a seamstress from the Malone Road. Archie introduced them. ‘Jacob, this is Esther and this is Peggy. Ladies, this is Jacob.’

  He stepped forward, shook their hands and all the time his gaze never left Esther’s face.

  ‘Right, let’s get going,’ said Archie.

  ‘I’ll expect Esther back home before midnight,’ said Goldstein as he waved them off.

  In the foyer of the Grand Opera House the anticipation was tangible and the chatter of excited people filled the space. Everywhere Peggy looked she was thrilled by what she saw: handsome men in dinner jackets; elegant women in dresses the like of which she had only seen in American films. She glanced up at Archie and felt her heart leap at the smile he gave her. A smile that could be saying all the things she wanted to hear from a man. This is going to be the most important night of my life, she told herself, and I’m going to enjoy every moment.

  They had seats half a dozen rows from the front and, as they waited for the overture to begin, Archie pointed out the great Irving Berlin himself sitting next to the aisle at the end of their row. She studied him, an unassuming-looking man with olive skin, dark hair and heavy eyebrows. Was this really the man who had written all those wonderful songs?

  The overture began and Archie squeezed her hand. ‘You look beautiful,’ he whispered, ‘and that flame we talked about is now a roaring fire.’

  The first half was the best entertainment that Peggy had ever seen and she was still humming the tunes in her head in the bar at the interval. It was clear that Esther and Jacob were getting on well together. She hung on his every word. He teased her about being a violinist. ‘The only stringed instrument to command respect is the cello,’ he told her and added, ‘especially when I’m playing it!’

  When they returned to the auditorium, Peggy was surprised to see that Irving Berlin’s seat was empty. How strange that he wasn’t there to see the rest of his own show.

  She soon forgot about him when the stage filled with what looked like two hundred GIs marching and singing loud enough to make the heart thump and the ears ring. Then they disappeared, revealing a row of tents with the American flag flying above them. The stage was silent and then there came a single bugle call – the Reveille – and a lone figure in uniform came to the front of the stage and the entire audience were suddenly on their feet cheering, shouting, whistling. A few piano chords and the audience sat down, waiting quietly, knowing what was going to happen. Irving Berlin, the middle-aged song writer, was unable to resist the opportunity to sing the famous comic song, ‘Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning’. His voice might have been thin and reedy, but he delivered it with perfect comic timing. At the end of the first verse, several other soldiers came on stage and they, along with everyone in the audience, joined in the chorus. ‘You gotta get up!’ they sang. ‘You gotta get up!’

  The finale of the show was breathtaking. The stage was packed with all the soldiers singing ‘On our Way to France’. Then there was a call, ‘Quick … march!’ and to the amazement of the audience the front line of soldiers marched down the steps from the stage and up the aisle through the audience, singing as they went. Row after row of soldiers filed off the stage and the audience clapped and cheered them out of the auditorium and those nearest the aisle slapped them on the back, shook their hands. Peggy was swept away by the rousing singing and the emotion of seeing the soldiers pouring past her and when she saw some of the women in the audience reaching out and hugging them, she couldn’t resist doing the same. By the time the last soldiers had passed by, tears were running down her face. After four years of war, she finally understood what it was like for men to march off to fight and, more than that, she felt the pride of seeing them go and the unbelievable ache of knowing that they might never return.

  The after-show party was in an oak-panelled private room at the Grand Hotel and was for the main performers and invited guests only. Jacob’s father had staged the show in London and saw to it that his son and friends would be on the list. There was a sound of a tinkling piano in the background and someone singing ‘I’ll Take Romance’. A waiter appeared with a tray of champagne. ‘Now, girls,’ said Archie, ‘only one glass for you tonight – we don’t want you tipsy,’ and he winked at Peggy. Esther giggled and looked up at Jacob and Peggy noticed they were holding hands. When did that happen, she wondered?

  ‘Would you like to meet Irving Berlin?’ asked Jacob. ‘He’s just over there.’

  Esther and Peggy looked at each other in amazement. ‘Oh yes, please,’ they chorused.

  Close up the famous composer looked taller and thinner than he had looked on stage. Jacob introduced himself as the son of Solomon Weinberg and Mr Berlin smiled broadly. ‘Good to meet you, Jacob. I had dinner with your father in London a few weeks ago.’

  ‘I promised the girls here that they could meet you – hope that’s okay,’ said Jacob.

  ‘Sure it is,’ he said, and shook their hands.

  ‘They’re both members of ENSA, the British organisation for performers who entertain the troops.’

  ‘Is that so?’ said Berlin. ‘We’re all in the same business then, and what do you both do?’

  ‘I’m a violinist,’ said Esther.

  ‘And I sing with my sisters, in close harmony, similar to the Andrews Sisters.’

  ‘Well, that’s swell, girls,’ he said, ‘I wish you luck with that,’ and then the next guests were at his shoulder waiting to speak to him.

  ‘I can’t believe we met him.’ Esther was so excited. ‘I can’t wait to tell my uncle.’

  Jacob and Esther went off to speak to a friend of his father’s who had travelled with the show to Belfast, leaving Archie and Peggy alone.

  ‘They make a lovely couple, don’t you think?’ said Archie.

  Peggy watched them. She had styled Esther’s dark hair, sweeping it back from her face in a French pleat, and had done her makeup with a light touch to add just enough sophistication not to lose her girlish complexion. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘it’s time for her to fall in love.’

  ‘And what about you? Is it not time you fell in love?’

  Peggy looked up into his handsome face. ‘Maybe,’ she said and Archie laughed.

  ‘Tell me,’ he said. ‘What was the best bit of the show for you?’

  Peggy didn’t need to think about it. ‘I loved it all, but the best bit was the ending. It sent shivers up my spine.’

  ‘Was that because you got to kiss some GIs?’

  ‘Well, that was fun, but it was just so moving imagining all those boys going off to war, so sad and happy at the same time. I never thought it was like that.’

  He took her hand and when he spoke his voice was serious. ‘And will you kiss me like that when I go?’

  She caught her breath. She had never thought about such a parting and only now did she have any understanding of the emotions it would bring.

  ‘You’re going?’ she said.

  ‘We’re all going, Peggy – it’s time.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘My company is moving out in two weeks.’

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To England first for special training and then …’ He could say no more about the final destination, but she could guess.

  She wanted to cry. How could this happen just as she had realised that Archie meant so much to her, allowed herself to hope they had a future together – her dashing major. How she ached for him.

  ‘Oh Peggy, I can’t bear to think of leaving you. Tell me you feel the same.’

  ‘Yes I do,’ she whispered, ‘I do.’

  He put his arm around her, stroking her back. ‘Why are we here with all these people? I long to kiss you.’

  Peggy’s eyes closed and all that mattered in the world was Archie’s hand cares
sing her.

  ‘Are you ready to go yet?’ Jacob and Esther stood in front of them.

  ‘So soon?’ said Archie.

  ‘It’s almost midnight,’ said Jacob.

  ‘Of course. Why don’t you take Esther home in the car and I’ll see that Peggy gets home.’

  Esther looked at Peggy. ‘Are you sure you want to stay?’

  ‘Of course she does,’ said Archie. ‘The night’s still young, isn’t it, Peggy?’

  And Peggy nodded. ‘Yes, I’d like to stay.’

  When Esther and Jacob had gone, the room seemed to thin out a bit and there were couples dancing to the sound of the piano. Archie took Peggy in his arms and they danced to the languid, late-night music and the longer they danced the more she clung to him. When there were only a few couples left on the floor, Archie suggested that they go down to the hotel lounge for a nightcap.

  There were a few people having coffee and drinks but they easily found a cosy corner on their own, and Archie ordered whiskey and a port and lemon. Peggy snuggled up to him and he put an arm around her shoulders and a hand on her knee.

  ‘It’s so lovely to be with you. I’m going to miss you so much,’ he said. ‘I’ve never met a girl like you before, so talented, such fun.’ He kissed her softly. ‘I want to remember everything about you: your hair, your face, the shape of you.’ He ran his hand over her body as though memorising every curve.

  ‘Oh Archie.’

  ‘I wanted tonight to be so special for you.’

  ‘I’ve loved every moment of it. I never want it to end.’

  His kiss was long and lingering and Peggy felt her whole body weaken under his passion. His lips left hers, she opened her eyes and she was sure there was love in his face. ‘Did you like that?’ he whispered.