The Exciting Life Read online

  The Exciting Life

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Exciting Life

  Published by Karen Mason at Smashwords

  Copyright 2013 Karen Mason

  All Rights Reserved

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Cover image courtesy of www.stockfreeimages.com

  Chapter One

  New Years Eve 1958

  Annie Holland put down the bottle of Chanel No.5 and looked at her watch. It was nearly nine o’clock. Three hours to go until it became 1959 and three days until she reached twenty-five. She turned back to the mirror on her dressing table and leaned closer. Had any lines appeared? Could she still be considered a youthful beauty? It was hard to tell. She’d applied so much of her signature smoky make-up around her eyes, it was impossible to see if any wrinkles had started to form. Her pout had been accentuated with its usual rose coloured lipstick, and the powder around her mouth stopped it seeping into any spider lines that may have formed. Annie was wise enough to know that a girl’s face was her fortune; and if she started to lose her looks, she was up shit creek without a paddle.

  There was a call from the hall, which jolted her back to her senses.

  ‘Are you ever coming out of there!’ Mandy, her best friend shouted impatiently. ‘That poor taxi driver’s been waiting for half an hour.’

  ‘It’s alright for you,’ Annie said, standing up and smoothing down her black shift dress. She then creased it again by bending over and checking her chignon was still in place. Enough people had told her she looked like Audrey Hepburn, she felt she had to keep up the illusion. ‘You’re gorgeous without the aid of a ton of make-up.’

  She found Mandy at the tatty little mirror that had come with the furnishings of the flat, and decided her glamorous friend, with her long, wavy blonde hair and curvaceous, Marilyn-type figure looked out of place in such dingy surroundings.

  ‘How do I look?’ Annie asked, reaching for her swing coat, which was hanging from the rusty brass hook on the wall. She really needed to spend what little money she had on improving the décor of this place.

  ‘Like Audrey Hepburn on the game,’ Mandy quipped, taking one more glance in the mirror and standing on tip toes so she could ensure her tight-fitting midnight blue dress showed enough cleavage. ‘Come on, let’s go.’

  They left the house and walked down the front steps to the pavement. Annie still couldn’t get used to living in this grotty little Fulham street. Not after all those years of living in Knightsbridge with Mario. Harrods used to be her nearest shop. Now it was old Mrs Hawley’s off licence on the corner of Filmer Road. She couldn’t wait to get into the taxi and be on her way to Bruno’s. At least for a few hours she could pretend to be wealthy again.

  It was a freezing night, and Annie snuggled close to Mandy as the cab drove through the London streets, and the dinginess of Fulham turned into the more upmarket Chelsea – reminding Annie of what she’d left behind.

  ‘You two got fellas waiting for you at this nightclub?’ the taxi driver said.

  ‘Yes,’ Mandy giggled. ‘My boyfriend Clint. He’s a wrestler.’

  Annie stifled her laughter. Mandy always said this when she wanted to shut a bloke up. Her boyfriend was actually called Jeremy, and he was an investment banker who was currently spending the holiday season with his very posh parents in Suffolk. Indeed where Mandy had been over Christmas.

  ‘What about you?’ the taxi driver asked Annie, and she noticed him wink at her in the rear view mirror.

  ‘It’s my nightclub,’ she said confidently. ‘So I’d better make an appearance.’

  ‘Your nightclub!’ the taxi driver exclaimed. ‘How did a pretty little thing like you get to own a nightclub?’

  ‘From my husband committing suicide,’ Annie replied matter-of-factly. That shut the cab driver up. Well, for a few moments anyway.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that love,’ he said, his tone turning serious. ‘What’s he do that for when he had a beautiful girl like you waiting for him at home?’

  ‘Oh he just thought it was easier to die and leave me his debts,’ Annie sighed, looking out of the window and feeling a stab of pain as they drove past Harvey Nichols. Mario - the bastard - had promised to buy her a mink coat from there for her twenty-fifth birthday. Instead, all her furs, diamonds and other treasures had been sold to pay off his gambling debts. But for all that, she missed him. He’d been her first love and she couldn’t imagine falling head over heels for someone in such a powerful way ever again.

  ‘She’s just being a misery guts,’ Mandy laughed, trying to lighten the mood. ‘Everyone knows that Bruno’s is one of the top clubs in town. She makes a fortune. Don’t you worry about her.’

  Mandy and the taxi driver then started talking about the famous faces who’d frequented Bruno’s, and the things they got up to. Annie was glad they were leaving her out of it, because it gave her a chance to sit back and think about her situation. Bruno’s was the only asset she had in the world. All her friends thought she was mad – her adopted Aunt Alice was better known as Alicia Bloom - one of the world’s greatest actresses. She could go and stay with her in her New York penthouse apartment any time she liked or even stay in the house in Belgravia that Alice owned. She could even go to Hollywood and stay with her ‘cousin’ Alana - Alice’s daughter; her husband Dirk dealt in finding homes for people, and would happily find her a little beach-side condo. But Annie didn’t want their charity. Whilst she’d had a wonderful childhood, at just five, becoming the legal ward of Sir Michael and Lady Nesta Holland; growing up in Elliott House in Oxford, and enjoying a private education and having ponies and all the things a girl who was born in the slums of Battersea, should never have. At the end of the day, none of it was her birthright, and she couldn’t keep taking off her family.

  Marrying Mario at eighteen had seemed like the answer to all her prayers. What young girl straight from boarding school wouldn’t have their head turned by a handsome Italian racing driver? And even though she’d lived on his money, at least she gave him something in return. She slept with him each night, and always looked good so he’d have a trophy on his arm. What she didn’t know was that behind her back he kept a string of mistresses and thousands of pounds of gambling debts run up in every country he’d ever raced in. And when it had all got too much, he’d driven into a brick wall to escape his responsibility.

  Now the only asset she had was Bruno’s, the nightclub Mario had won in a card game against some gangster. It brought in enough money each week for Annie to pay the rent on the Fulham flat and to keep herself looking nice. But even Mandy didn't know that the shoes she was wearing were a pair she'd paid ten bob for from a stall on North End Road
market. She'd tarted them up with a red silk bow she'd got in Barbers the department store and they now looked like something from an exclusive boutique in the South of France. Annie couldn’t afford the real thing any more.

  Bruno's was situated beneath a French restaurant at the Oxford Street end of Wardour Street. It was just far enough away from Soho to be semi-respectable, but Annie knew darn well that most of her clientele were dodgy - villains who wanted to be photographed with some minor celebrity, or MPs who enjoyed ogling the young hostesses. But they were her bread and butter, so she had no choice but to paint on her cheeriest smile and help them see in the New Year.

  As she and Mandy entered the club, their coats were taken by Sylvio, Mario's cousin who worked as a meeter and greeter.

  ‘How are things?’ Annie asked, peering into the club.

  ‘Not bad, but there are a couple of dodgy-looking sorts I don't recognise.’

  ‘Who am I looking out for?’

  ‘Fat, greasy-looking sod who looks like a vampire and a good-looking bloke who’s with a blonde with big tits. Not sure who they are - probably nobody, but you know me Annie, I have a sense about these things.’

  ‘Thanks for the warning,’ Annie said. ‘I don’t need any trouble tonight. I’m not in the mood.’

  They walked into the club, and Annie was pleased to see it was packed. She recognised all the usual faces – a few models and starlets, a couple of Maltese gangsters and their floozies. The rest were people who’d taken their chance and come in, hoping to have a good time. The house band - led by Ray Scott, were playing some light jazz on the stage, and the air was filled with smoke and the smell of alcohol. A few people came up to greet Annie and she gave them the cursory ‘hello’ and ‘how are you?’ before moving on to the next person - all the while looking out for the interlopers. She’d had a gut feeling for ages that Bruno’s would be the next thing on Mario’s debtor’s list and that someone would come along to take it off her. Maybe these strangers were henchmen, come to start trouble.

  ‘Hello Annie darling,’ a voice suddenly said, awakening her from her thoughts. She looked round and saw it was Moira Brand, a young up and coming actress who used to go out with Kristien Lax, an old team mate of Mario’s. Even though they’d split up, she still came to Bruno’s. Mandy couldn’t stand her for some reason and predictably walked away as soon as Moira joined them.

  ‘Hello Moira,’ Annie said, kissing her on both cheeks. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Rather excited,’ Moira fizzed in her deep, plummy voice. Annie always wondered if Mandy’s dislike for her came from the fact that Moira was a genuinely classy blonde. Her mother was a Lady and her father a banker. Whereas Mandy did her best to hide the fact that she grew up in Enfield and her dad was a station manager for London Underground. ‘I found out just before Christmas that I’m making a film with James Robertson Justice and Sylvia Sims.’

  ‘That’s fantastic,’ Annie smiled. ‘What’s it about?’

  ‘Oh it’s some comic caper. I play a secretary who discovers a secret plan to bomb the Russians. I don’t really care. It’s my first proper supporting role and that’s all that matters.’

  ‘The first of many,’ Annie said. ‘Can I get you a glass of champagne to celebrate?’

  ‘I’ll pass thanks darling, I’m just off to Cliff Richard’s party.’

  ‘Well lucky you,’ laughed Annie. ‘Have fun.’

  ‘I intend to.’ Moira glanced down and gasped. ‘I love your shoes! Where did you get them?’

  ‘I’ll let you into a little secret,’ Annie said as quietly as she could. ‘I made them.’

  ‘They’re gorgeous. I’ve got a dress that’s black velvet with a red bow on the front. They’d look so good with it.’ She tapped Annie on the arm. ‘You’ll have to make me a pair.’

  She kissed Annie once more on the cheek.

  ‘Ciao darling. I’ll see you in the New Year.’

  She rushed off, and Annie found herself alone again. She thought about what Moira had just said about her making a pair of shoes for her. She loved the idea of making shoes for people. Had things turned out differently, she would have gone to art college to become a shoe designer; but she’d got caught up with being Mario’s girlfriend and he would have never supported her doing something with her brain. It was her job to look good for him.

  Mandy was at the bar being chatted up by a man who looked old enough to be her father and Annie wondered if she should intervene. Despite her brassy image, Mandy was faithful to Jeremy and might not have appreciated this older man trying his luck. Annie went to move, but was stopped by someone placing a hand upon her arm.

  ‘Does this place belong to you?’

  Annie looked round and for a moment, took a sharp intake of breath. Hanging around with Mario and his racing driver friends, she was used to talking to good-looking men, but this one was something else. His black, velvet suit was a little too much, but he was tall and very handsome, with swept back auburn hair and the most beautiful light green eyes Annie had ever seen. She certainly didn’t recognise him, and Sylivo’s words of warning about the good looking stranger came to mind.

  ‘Yes it does,’ she replied. ‘I don’t believe we’ve met before.’

  ‘Patrick Collins,’ he said, offering his hand.

  ‘Annie Holland. What brings you here?’

  ‘A business interest,’ he said, looking around. ‘It’s a nice club.’

  He certainly didn’t look like a villain and he was quite well-spoken for someone who’d been raised in the East End – as most of the local gangsters had. Maybe he was a respectable businessman, and this got Annie thinking. If she could get a viable offer for Bruno’s, she’d take it. It had never been her ambition to run a nightclub anyway. But the money would have to make it worth her while.

  ‘Well now isn’t the time to discuss business,’ she replied, playing it cool. ‘Can I get you a drink Mr Collins?’

  ‘Patrick, please,’ he grinned. His smile was wolfish and there was a cheeky glint in his eyes that made Annie’s stomach quiver a little. There was an air of danger about him, but she didn’t know why - on the surface he seemed so respectable. ‘I’d love a drink, thank you. Why don’t you join me and my friends? We’re in the booth over there.’

  He pointed to the booth in the corner, where there sat a young man who was far too fat for his years; his dark hair was slicked back from his brow, and as he smiled at the fat blonde next to him - who was squeezed into a shiny silver dress; his white pointed teeth reminded Annie of Dracula.

  ‘Okay,’ Annie replied. ‘I’ll get you your drinks first. What would you like?’

  ‘Champagne,’ he smiled. ‘I think this is the right occasion, don’t you?’

  As Annie walked to the bar, she realised he hadn’t given her any money for the drinks, and she laughed at his cheek.

  ‘Who’s that?’ purred Mandy, as Annie stood beside her.

  ‘He’s called Patrick Collins,’ Annie replied. ‘He wants me to join him and his friends.’

  Eric, the barman came over to them, a fraught expression on his face.

  ‘You know who that is don’t you?’ he said.

  ‘Should I?’

  ‘Bernie Collins’ boy.’

  ‘Bernie Collins?’

  ‘He was the geezer Mario won this place off of.’

  Annie’s blood ran cold. This Patrick had come to settle a score. Offering money for the place wasn’t going to be an option. He was probably going to threaten her instead.

  ‘Well he isn’t getting it back,’ Annie said bravely.

  ‘If Bernie Collins wants something, he’ll take it,’ Eric warned. ‘Only a fool would say no to him.’

  Annie got a bottle of Moet in an ice bucket and some glasses, and tried to still her shaking hands as she took it over to the booth. Patrick was sitting with his arm around the fat blonde’s shoulder, and she looked like the cat who’d got the cream - no doubt proud that she’d managed to collar such a handsome man
. Annie sat beside the other man, who looked at her and smiled lasciviously – his sweaty face making her feel quite queasy.

  ‘This is Annie, the owner of the place,’ Patrick said. ‘Annie, this is my friend Dave, and this is my girlfriend Trixie.’

  Annie dared to make eye contact with Patrick and had to look away quickly. Those piercing eyes seemed to bore right through her, as if they could see into her very soul. She couldn’t risk that - he’d see how scared she was of what he was going to do to her or her club.

  ‘Nice place,’ Dave said in a rather high-pitched, stupid sounding voice. ‘You had it long?’

  ‘Don’t be so rude Dave,’ Patrick said. ‘You know darn well that Annie only got this place because her husband died.’ He looked at Annie and gave a little nod. ‘Please excuse my friend,’ he said. ‘And accept my condolences at the death of Mario. He was a great racer.’

  ‘It’s been six months now,’ Annie said. ‘I’m starting to come to terms with it all.’

  ‘You’re very brave. I bet it gets hard though. Trying to run the place by yourself.’

  ‘I manage,’ she replied. ‘I have very good staff. Are you going to pour that champagne?’

  ‘Yes of course.’

  As he poured the drinks, Annie looked at Trixie, whose smile wasn’t reaching her cold, blue eyes.

  ‘So what do you do Trixie?’ Annie asked.

  ‘I’m an actress,’ she replied in a brash Cockney voice. ‘Pat’s going to get me into films.

  ‘Is he now?’ Annie said. ‘Are you in the film business Patrick?’

  ‘I have my fingers in many pies,’ he replied, glancing up at her with that sly smile and making her blush.

  He passed Trixie her glass of champagne and kissed her on the cheek.

  ‘Do you know darling, I think I spotted Diana Dors over there by the door?’ he said. ‘Why don’t you go and see if you can talk to her? You need to meet people if you’re gonna get on.’