Page 21 of The Midnight Secret

‘Well, if...’ Albie began, his eyes bright.

‘No,’ Sholto said sharply, before clearing his throat. ‘...It’s hardly the evening for it. We’re not in our scrubs, after all.’

Effie glanced at the other women, who were regarding her with disdain. She had taken the men’s attentionandopenly revealed her inferior roots – she knew it was doubly unforgivable. She glanced at Baird-Hamilton to see if he was appalled too, but his expression was inscrutable.

‘Well, what were the chances of that, eh, Rushton?’ Buck asked. ‘Two St Kildans in the space of a month!’

‘Two?’ Effie looked between them, confused.

‘Yes, we met one of your compatriots a few weeks back.’

‘You did?’ She caught Buck shooting a look towards Rushton.He was biting his lip as if holding back from breaking into laughter, but the amusement faded as he caught her eye.

Faint recognition flickered between them, a current not quite connecting.

‘Yes, but their, uh,survival skillswere quite different to yours,’ Rushton said, breaking his silence at last. ‘Far less...how can I put it delicately? Far less honourable.’

Effie felt heat ripple through her body. Who, that she had known, could possibly be regarded as dishonourable?

‘What a sweet patootie, though,’ Cripshank said, shaking his head in apparent disbelief at the memory. ‘I’ve never set eyes on a finer-looking woman.’

Peony bridled at the comment, taking a step back and lifting her chin in the air. Immediately, Effie knew who it was they had met.

‘Flora?’ She looked between the men for confirmation. ‘You met Flora?’

‘Oh, you know her?’ Cripshank asked, surprised.

Was he joking? ‘Of course I know her. We were only thirty-six in number when we left home.’

‘Ah yes, of course – the evacuation. What a crying shame all that was,’ Cripshank said, shaking his head. ‘We met her in Paris last month, right as she had everything laid out in front of her! The city was hers for the taking.’

‘The city?’ Buck pooh-poohed. ‘Hollywood! And then the world! We were clamouring to sign her up! With a face like hers—’

‘And the voice too, yes?’ Albie interjected excitedly. ‘I read about her show over there! The producer, George Pepperly, is an old mucker of my father’s.’ He looked at Sholto. ‘Glasgow man. You must have crossed paths?’

Sholto gave a small shrug. ‘I can’t say it rings a bell.’

‘What happened to her?’ Veronica asked, looking rapt.

‘She threw it all away. Just like that.’ Cripshank clicked his fingers. ‘Left the show high and dry! One night we were having dinner with her at Maxim’s, making plans for a golden future in the movies. The next morning we’re told she’d left the city and hightailed it back across the Channel with some swell.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t call him that, exactly,’ Buck argued. ‘Didn’t you say he was a Boy Scout adventuring type, just back from some expedition?’ he asked Rushton.

‘James?’ Effie gasped, recognizing the description immediately. ‘He’salive?’

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was Flora’s greatest wish come true! She couldn’t imagine how her friend must be feeling. Their correspondence had been patchy in recent weeks; Flora had been so busy with the show and their only contact had been a telephone call from Paris; Flora had been in a fluster, wanting to know about Crabbit Mary fleeing to Canada with the baby...She remembered a man with an English accent had come onto the line to say Flora would call back, before the line had gone dead. Had that been James?

‘It was you,’ Rushton said, breaking Effie’s train of thought. He was regarding her with a look of recognition. ‘At the picnic on St Kilda.’

Memories stirred, shifting heavily like hibernating beasts, as Effie realized they had met before. The previous summer, he and James, his friend, had dropped anchor in Village Bay. James had paid Effie for a climbing lesson, and they had inadvertently interrupted Rushton’s romantic picnic with Flora. Of course, with hindsight, she understood there had been nothing accidental about it; James had declared his love for Flora before they left – causing a terrible rift with hischildhood friend – but he had remained undeterred, returning to the isle to propose just a few weeks later. Effie had scarcely paid either one of them any mind at the time, though. And of course, she herself now looked nothing like the tearaway in trousers who had scampered up and down the cliffs.

Everything had changed in the intervening fifteen months. Little wonder recollections were sketchy.

‘What did you mean when you said her survival skills were less honourable?’ she asked, her attention snagging on the more recent past. ‘There’s nothing wrong with singing.’

‘Oh, of course not,’ Rushton smiled, before qualifying, ‘That is, clearly no lady would ever set foot on a stage’ – he looked for, and found, agreement from Bitsy and Peony – ‘and certainly not in the costumesshewas wearing.’ He cast them an apologetic look. ‘But a life in showbiz isn’t necessarilyinfra digthese days,’ he shrugged, casual with the barbs. ‘In fact, Hollywood has brought about a glamour that is positively aspirational, thanks to our friends here...’ Both Cripshank and Buck grew an inch taller at this. ‘So we certainly can’t begrudge her that. I think we can all agree that with her face, she would have been foolishnotto capitalize on it.’

Effie felt her blood begin to heat as she waited for his point, her animal instincts prickling, picking up a scent on the wind.

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