Applause (The Dudley Sisters Saga Book 2) by Madalyn Morgan (best authors to read txt) 📕

Margot burst out laughing. ‘Me? A pin up? I’ve never been a pin up. Betty Grable’s a--’ She stopped mid-sentence as two lads unrolled a poster of her in a skimpy two-piece swimming costume. ‘Good Lord, I am a pin up!’ she laughed. ‘Did you ever think the scrawny little sister that you gave your pocket money to so she could have dance lessons at Woodcote village hall would one day be a pin up, Bess?’

Laughing, Bess said, ‘If I’d have thought about it at the time, I probably would. There wasn’t anything you couldn’t do when you put your mind to it, Margot.’

Margot was gracious and honest, and answered all the servicemen’s questions. She stood at the side of every bed and talked to every patient. She then went over to the bay window and sat and chatted to the lads who were further along in their recovery.

‘Sid will play for you, Margot, if you’ll sing for the boys.’

Margot stuttered, ‘I, I don’t know Bess. I haven’t-- since Nancy--’

‘All the more reason to sing now, I’d have thought, while you’re among friends.’ Bess paused and then said, ‘You’re a professional, Margot, so what about it?’ She walked away and then turned back to her sister. ‘I’m sorry, Margot, that was unfair. You must do what’s best for you. If you don’t want to sing the boys will be disappointed, but they’ll understand. I think it would do you good. But what do I know? Perhaps you’ve lost it.’

‘Lost it? Of course I haven’t lost it!’

‘I didn’t mean lost it, exactly. But you do hear about people who have gone through a traumatic experience losing their voice.’

‘I’m not people, Bess! I’m Margot Dudley. I may not be anyone important to you, but I am to my fans. And if I can please these boys, these poor boys, I will!’

Bess put her arms round her sister. ‘I love you, Margot Dudley. You may be a West End star, but you’ll always be my contrary little sister.’

‘And you’ll always be my clever big sister who knows me far too well. I can’t get away with anything around you, our Bess!’

‘No you can’t! Besides, I want to hear you sing as much as they do. You’d like to hear Margot sing, wouldn’t you lads?’

Everyone cheered and Margot put her hands up, which made them cheer even louder. Eventually, when they were quiet, Margot said, in a loud and uplifting voice, ‘Right boys, what do you want to hear?’

So many song titles were called out at the same time that Bess stepped in. ‘Since none of you can agree, Margot will decide on the song, and Sid will play it.’ That seemed to satisfy them. After a couple of able-bodied servicemen pushed the piano into the middle of the room so everyone could see Margot, she sang “The Boogie Woogie Blues”.

Sid could hardly keep up with her. As soon as she finished one song the boys called for another. Halfway through the evening a young soldier sang “Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major” to give Margot a break. After a cup of tea Margot gargled with port and went back to the ballroom. She began the second part of the evening with “The Lambeth Walk” from the West End musical Me and My Girl, which the lads sang with her, followed by “I’ll See You Again” from Noel Coward’s Bitter Sweet. Physically tired, but with adrenalin pumping through her veins as it had the first time she sang at the Prince Albert Club, Margot took her final bow. It was ten o’clock. She promised to return the following evening.

The next morning she telephoned Natalie Goldman from Woodcote post office. Natalie was well and eager for news of her three children, whom Bess had taken to Foxden as evacuees. Margot wanted news of the Prince Albert Theatre and asked how her friends in the company and backstage were faring. They were all well and wanted to get back to work. Anton was at the theatre, overseeing the building work that everyone thought would be completed before Christmas. However, after the recent bombing of the Aldwych and Fleet Street, London’s builders were stretched to the limit. Demolishing unsafe buildings and making safe public buildings took priority over repairing theatres. Recent delays meant the refurbishment of the Prince Albert Theatre would not be completed in time for the advertised Christmas Show. It was more likely to be early 1943 before the Prince Albert’s doors opened again.

Margot asked the exchange to connect her to another London telephone number, and a few minutes later she was speaking to her friends and fellow dancers, George and Betsy.

That evening, Margot told the servicemen that she would soon be returning to London. ‘After my friends were killed and I’d spent what felt like an age in hospital, I didn’t want to go back to the theatre. The truth was I didn’t know whether I could still do it. Losing my friend Nancy, the leading lady at the Prince Albert and my mentor, was too much to bear. But,’ she said, looking at each of the servicemen in turn, ‘you have inspired me with your bravery and strength of character. I was going to give up everything I had worked for, but not any more. You are all determined to get on with your lives. Well, thanks to you, I am going back to London to get on with mine.’

Cheers and humorous complaints drowned Margot’s words. ‘And,’ she said when the racket had died down, ‘along with two of my friends from the theatre, I am going to join ENSA. And,’ Margot put her arms around Bess and stopped talking until the lads stopped whooping and whistling, ‘it is thanks to my sister Bess that I am able to sing again. So,’ Margot put her finger to her