Chapter 10

GILL was a little apprehensive when Kelly told her she was booked to have lunch with Gertie Albury again when she arrived at work on Thursday morning.

“And she ‘told’ me, not actually ‘asked’ me, to ensure the rest of your afternoon was free of all appointments!” Kelly spluttered in Gill’s office, “I told her you had urgent meetings in the afternoon but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then two minutes later Sir Gerald called me and moved your Webster meeting to Monday and told me he would take this afternoon’s Amalgamated Consolidated meeting himself.”

Gill had the same sinking feeling as their first lunch together, weeks earlier, but as she approached the table, in a different but similarly old established restaurant as before, she was surprised by Gertie’s cheery countenance and warm hug greeting. Gertie didn’t chitchat either, following the usual niceties, she launched straight into the object of her meeting.

“My dear goddaughter Belinda Wheatier is going to shadow you over the next month or two to help you get properly integrated into the family.”

“But -”

“Just indulge me Gill. Honestly, you have such a head start over what I had when I started, as a chit of a girl from the East End, that I really don’t think you will need anything like that long to get up to speed.”

“When you started as a what?”

“When I first met my future husband John Jacob Winter, I was working as a hat-check girl at a West End Theatre, while living with my dear Mum and Dad at Limehouse. I used to go into work for Matinees, then return home on the bus for tea and go back for the evening shows.”

“And your future husband was just a keen theatre goer?”

Gill was bewildered why she was having this meeting; surely Jake was no longer in the picture was he? So why was Gertie was trying to help Gill fit into a family that would never be hers?

“Yes,” Gertie laughed, “Johnny seemed a real theatre fan, coming in all the time. He was such a sweet man, so much like Jake. He worked his way up to Captain during the war, in the Royal Marines, had quite a few close calls. He stayed in the Regular Army after the war, as he wasn’t ready to take up his role in the bank yet, and moved over to the Royal Tank Regiment. He would stutter when nervous, but he was polite and always nice to me. Some of the young men would try and get fresh and ask you out all the time, even when they had a girl with them, but I never did go out with any of them. I was only 17 and was what they’d call at the time a ‘good girl’!”

“I’m sure you were, Gertie,” Gill smiled, relaxing a little.

Gertie laughed, “Then one night, one of the drunks tried it on. Some plays had two intervals, during which drinks were served, but sometimes, if they didn’t like the play or if they stayed too long, the doors to the stalls would be shut and they wouldn’t be able to get back to their seats. So, some would stay in the bar and drink to excess. This particular man did, and tried to corner me in the cloakroom. I had to slap him, but to my complete surprise, he slapped me back, quite hard -”

“No!”

“Not a punch, just a slap but it really knocked me flying. I was really light then, well everybody was, as we still had food rationing! Anyway, the barman and the doorman came to my rescue and they bundled the scoundrel out the door, probably roughed him up a bit if I know those two!” She chuckled at the memory.

“Did he hurt you?”

“Not really, it was just a slap, which was hard enough to leave a red mark, but I simply wasn’t expecting it, so it was quite a shock. I cried, more with embarrassment than anything, I think. I used to be so careful not to be compromised in male company. Anyway, the theatre manager and Johnny arrived at the same time and helped me to the manager’s office for a bit of privacy. Johnny sat me in a chair, held my hand and comforted me while an ice pack was summoned from the kitchen.”

“Johnny got there fast!”

“I found out later that he had several members of staff looking out for me. He was quite concerned at what had happened and he held my hand the whole time in that office. He was a handsome man, Johnny was, tall and slim, and always dressed immaculately in evening dress. Once or twice he came in uniform and looked very dashing. Anyway, he offered to drive me home, but I refused. He insisted, and I told him I could still walk and catch the bus. I was quite determined, and he could see that I was, so he changed tack and offered to walk me to the bus stop. I mean it was only five minutes’ walk. I accepted, but only when I finished my shift, I said. The third act was still playing and all the hats and coats had to be handed back to the right people. The manager then told me to scoot off now and take the next day off. I protested, I really couldn’t afford to lose a day’s pay and the tips, but I felt ashamed to admit to such. Johnny, bless him, picked up on that straight away and suggested to the manager that as the fault was not mine that I should be given a couple of days off with full pay and the manager instantly agreed.”

“That was unusual then, wasn’t it?”

“Very unusual, but then I didn’t know that Johnny had connections.”

“Connections? Like the Mafia?”

“No, dear ... or at least not quite. Oh how Johnny would have laughed at that.”

“So Johnny walked you to the bus?”

“Ha! He did, and then he got on when I got on and sat next to me. He paid our fare with a ten-shilling note, the chippie was absolutely livid because he took all her change, even though he gave her a five-bob tip! He sat with me all the way home and then walked me through the dark streets to my parents’ house. We just talked all the way, he was such a lovely man. Of course, I thought, it would never work between us, we were from different worlds. It was much more class-conscious in 1950 than now. Johnny was so easy to talk to though, asking me about what I did in my spare time and whether I had brothers and sisters and what they did. At first I was embarrassed because he was in full evening dress and white silk scarf, while I was in my little blue uniform with white piping around the edge. To me it was obvious what we looked like, him a toff and me a hat check girl, and it made me look like a bad girl, a tart.”

“But you weren’t.”

“No dear, I wasn’t and I told him that when he asked if he could call round and see if I was all right in the morning.”

“But he didn’t take your rejection to heart, if he later became your husband?”

“No, true, but at the time I didn’t know what to make of it, because he just smiled and asked me to list my objections. So, while we stood on my doorstep, I told him all the usual objections of class, education, clothing, appearances, and general acceptance of us as a dating couple on both sides of our families. I insisted that I wanted to work and be independent before settling down as a wife and mother. I certainly did not want to be used and wouldn’t be. I told him in all seriousness that I thought he was the nicest person I had ever met, a real gentleman, and he could be assured I would take special care of his hat and coat in future. He just laughed at my absurdity and shook my hand formally before wishing me a goodnight and that he would see me at the theatre next time and assured me that he would be my best and most polite customer.”

“What happened next?” Gill was fascinated, letting her tea grow cold.

“My Dad had already left for work by the time I got up. Mum had heard me talk to Johnny; their bedroom was at the front of the house you see. She checked out my slapped cheek and got the whole story out of me, which she fitted into the part of our conversation that she had overheard. Mum patted me on the back and said I had let the nice young man down very sensibly. Then there was a knock on the door.”