Her raucous laughter filled the room. ‘My God! The boy is standing up for himself.
Nag
you? It was the only way to get you off your fat, lazy arse, try and make a man of you. But it was wasted effort.’ Her expression hardened. She leaned forward and in a low voice said, ‘You listen to me, you little runt. Nothing I have belongs to you. You have no right to anything of mine. In my will I have stated as much, with a certificate from an eminent doctor that I was in my right mind when I signed it. So when I’m dead and buried don’t think of trying to contest it in a court of law.’
‘How can you treat me like this? Your own flesh and blood.’ His expression darkened.
‘I meant what I said when I sent you away. I’m ashamed to be your mother.’
‘My father if he was alive wouldn’t have this.’
‘Such a threat you make. Your father is six feet under, his body rotten with the syphilis that killed him.’
Manny’s eyes widened with shock. ‘You foul-mouthed old woman! My father died of a bad heart.’
‘That’s what I told you, to save you shame. He got it from the whores he visited – like you. How do you know you ain’t tainted too?’
‘There’s nothing wrong with me,’ Manny blustered, his face white. ‘I only went to clean houses. I don’t go any more.’
She let out a cruel cackle, although inside her heart was heavy with grief. ‘No, I don’t suppose you can afford it now I’m not keeping you. You’re working – earning a living. It should be enough.’
‘Yes, with your brother, the slave-driver. He pays me peanuts. He made me buy this suit and I have to pay so much off a week out of my wages for it.’
She grinned. ‘Well, at least you look halfway decent. Maybe if you get lucky, some woman will take pity on you, though I doubt it.’
He was incensed. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. I’m engaged to be married.’ Rachel’s expression of astonishment pleased him. ‘There – what do you think about
that
?’
‘So, who is this woman?’
‘Miriam Goldburg.’
‘The widow Goldburg? The one whose husband had a hump?’
‘Yes.’
She grinned broadly. ‘Manny, my son,
mazel tov!
She may have a face like an old bus, but she’s got money, she’s tight-lipped and tight-arsed, and she’s just the woman for you. So you don’t need anything from me. You got it all. She’s got enough for both of you.’
He slumped in his chair. ‘Yes, and she hangs on to it.’
‘So she’s tight-fisted too. Wise woman. You’d spend it all, given the chance.’
He thumped the desk with his fist. ‘I want my own money. You owe me, Mama. I want what is rightfully mine.’
‘I have nothing for you, Manny. Not any more. You forfeited the right when you let yourself into the shop that night. But for Lily, you might have been arrested and imprisoned for rape. Such shame you could have brought on me and your family. Did you care? Of course not.’ She paused to take a shuddering breath. ‘I don’t want to see you in here again. You’re not welcome. I’ve invested my money with someone who’s willing to work for it – something you never did. You had your chance and you threw it away.’ She glared across the desk at him. ‘You walk into the club again, I’ll have you barred!’
Manny got to his feet in such a hurry that he sent his chair crashing to the floor. He stood over the desk threatening his mother. ‘You give me what’s mine, woman, or you’ll rue the day you were born.’
Behind him the door opened and Vittorio stood there surveying the scene. With a few quick strides he was across the room, hauling Manny away from his mother.
Turning, Manny looked into the eyes of The Maltese and froze.
‘What’s going on here?’ Vittorio asked, still gripping hold of Manny.
‘My son, who I disowned, came to claim what he thinks is his – my money. He should be so lucky!’
Manny by now was a shivering wreck, all his bravado gone.
Vittorio looked at him in disgust. ‘God, how I hate parasites like you. You haven’t done an honest day’s work in your life. You lived off your mother for years.’ He led him towards the door. ‘I’m taking you myself down the back stairs. When you leave here, you don’t ever return. Understand?’
Manny didn’t reply.
‘Understand?’ Vittorio repeated. ‘You come back here and I’ll break your legs. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes. Yes. I won’t come back.’
Opening the back door of the club, Vittorio sent him flying. As Manny picked himself up out of the gutter, Vittorio said, ‘Remember: you return at your peril.’
Back in the office, he asked Rachel, ‘Are you all right?’
She nodded. ‘Sure. I suppose I should have expected to hear from him, but to be honest I’d put him out of my mind a long time ago.’
‘Do you think he’ll cause trouble?’
Shrugging she said, ‘I honestly don’t think so. He don’t have the balls for it.’ But knowing Manny’s avaricious nature, Rachel was not at all sure.
‘Well, if he gives you any trouble, you let me know. I’ll deal with him.’
There was a look of anxiety in Rachel’s eyes. She despised her son but at the same time she knew that if the need arose, Vittorio would be ruthless. Despite everything, she was still a mother.
‘No, Vittorio!’ Her voice was harsh. ‘You don’t kill my boy.’
With a contemptuous look, he said, ‘Boy! He’s in his thirties. Old enough to take what’s coming to him if he crosses me.’
‘All right, to you he’s a man and not much of one at that. But me, I remember the child.’ She put her hands on her stomach. ‘I carried him in here for nine months, felt him move. Gave birth to him.’ Tears welled in her eyes. ‘Held him to my breast. I can’t stand by knowing what might happen to him. No mother could.’ Her voice trembled with emotion. ‘I have learned you can be a good man, a kind man. For Christ’s sake, Vittorio, you’re to be a father yourself! Can’t you understand?’
The cold expression of The Maltese slowly changed as he saw Rachel’s anguish. He thought of his own unborn child and was touched. ‘Very well. But if he bothers me, he’ll get the beating of his life.’
She walked around the desk and caught hold of his arm. ‘But you won’t kill him? Promise me that. You won’t let him die?’
He stared into the older woman’s eyes and patted her hand. ‘I give you my word. But better for him that he keeps away. If you have any control over him at all, warn him of the consequences.’ He turned and walked out of the room.
Rachel flopped into the nearest chair and angrily wiped the tears from her eyes. Bloody Manny, she thought. That a boy of hers could be the cause of so much trouble. With a deep sigh, she lit a cigarette, and put on her coat. She felt sick and needed to be in her own home, alone.
There was a further incident in the club that night.
Four young men were dining. They were flushed with wine and being raucous in their behaviour, disturbing other guests.
Walking over to them Lily quietly said, ‘I’m happy to see you enjoying yourselves, gentlemen, but I must ask you to keep the noise down.’
The ringleader looked at her through glazed eyes. ‘Who do you think you are?’ he asked rudely.
‘I’m part-owner of this establishment.’
He looked her up and down. ‘Were you one of the whores when this place was a brothel? I’d pay for you, my dear.’
Lily picked up a glass of wine from the table and threw it in his face. She looked at the barman and nodded towards the entrance. He quickly returned with the doorman.
‘This young man is leaving,’ she said. ‘And his friends will go too, after they settle the bill.’
The troublemaker’s companions were deeply embarrassed.
She turned to the other patrons. ‘I’m sorry for the disturbance, ladies and gentlemen. Please continue with your meal.’ She walked over to the bar and, with trembling fingers, lit a cigarette.
The doorman was surprised to see Vittorio waiting for him as he led the diner outside.
The Maltese grabbed the front of the young man’s suit and pushed him up against the wall.
‘What the hell are you doing? Let go of me.’
Vittorio looked at him. ‘You were very rude to Miss Lily in the restaurant and I won’t have it.’
‘It was only a joke,’ the man blustered.
‘I’m not laughing. And I didn’t see her look amused, did you?’
‘I don’t know why you’re getting so excited, old chap. She’s only a whore. She’s the mistress of Vittorio Teglia.’
Vittorio released his hold. ‘Have you ever met him?’
The young man looked at him. ‘No, I haven’t.’
‘I am Vittorio Teglia …
old chap
.’ And he punched the man viciously in the stomach.
The three friends emerged from the club, and saw their friend doubled up. They looked at the menacing figure beside him.
‘I’ve just given your friend a lesson in manners. You’d better take him home. Don’t bring him here again.’
In bed that night, Vittorio told Lily of the scene between Rachel and her son. ‘He’ll be back,’ he declared. ‘He won’t be able to help himself. Manny always wanted to be in the money and now he thinks he’s got a chance.’
‘But he knows how Rachel feels about him,’ Lily objected. ‘Surely he must realise he’s wasting his time.’
Her lover looked thoughtful. ‘If he does, it makes the situation worse. He’s a twisted little bastard. I’ll instruct the staff to keep a watchful eye open for him. I won’t put up with someone like him messing with my business.’
‘What will you do if he does return?’
He pursed his lips. ‘Whatever I have to, Lily. Whatever I have to.’
She knew the subject of Manny was closed.
Then: ‘You had a bit of trouble tonight in the restaurant. I saw from the office,’ he remarked.
Lily, who hadn’t intended mentioning the incident, said, ‘It was nothing. It was over in a moment.’
‘He won’t be back, I can assure you. We don’t want his kind here.’
‘What do you mean, he won’t be back?’ She saw the anger in Vittorio’s eyes.
‘I taught him a lesson outside he won’t forget in a hurry.’
‘Whatever did you do?’
‘Never mind, Lily. I’ve told you – any trouble, I’ll take care of it.’ He smoothed her hair. ‘Nobody treats you like that and gets away with it.’ He drew her closer. ‘Come here.’
As he held her, Lily wondered what had happened outside the club. She hoped Vittorio hadn’t gone too far. She’d handled the situation the right way, as far as she was concerned, and it was over and done with. Would there be any repercussions? She hoped not.
Vittorio’s voice interrupted her worried thoughts. ‘I see you’ve dispensed with the black sheets.’
‘To be honest, I hated them,’ she admitted. ‘And now I’m an expectant mother, they didn’t seem appropriate.’
‘You should have said, my darling.’
She gave a sardonic smile. ‘Would it have made any difference?’
His eyes sparkled. ‘No.’ Nuzzling her ear he asked, ‘Have you thought any more about our getting married?’
She shook her head.
‘You don’t think I’d make a good husband?’
Looking into his dark-brown eyes, she said, ‘I’m sure you would, but I don’t know if that’s what I want.’
The expression in his eyes became watchful. ‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’
Easing herself away from his embrace, she sat up. ‘I’m not sure I want to be married to anyone.’
Vittorio lit a cigarette and drew on it slowly. ‘Even as my mistress you kept your independent streak. I see it hasn’t gone away.’ There was no smile on his face as he asked, ‘Are you trying to tell me you don’t need me any more? Is that it?’
She sensed the menace in his voice. ‘No, that’s not it at all.’ How could she explain her innermost feelings to Vittorio without upsetting him? ‘I’m not interested in anyone else,’ she tried. ‘I’m happy with you.’ She looked at him. ‘Do I make you happy?’
His expression relaxed. ‘Darling Lily, of course you do.’
‘Then why do we have to change things?’
‘I would have thought that was obvious. You are with child.’
She sighed and automatically placed a hand on her abdomen. ‘Yes, I am, but would it matter to you if we stayed as we are? After all, your name will be on the birth certificate. I’m not trying to deny you your child.’
He gathered her to him. ‘Oh Lily, don’t you see? I’m only trying to protect you by giving the baby a name.’
‘My parents were married. That didn’t protect me when I was a child, or after. My father treated me like dirt and my mother didn’t give a toss.’
Hearing the bitterness in her voice, he held her tighter. ‘Oh my darling, I’m sorry.’
‘Isn’t it more important for a child to be loved?’
‘Of course.’
‘I don’t want my baby mixed up in any illegal activities when it gets older,’ Lily declared.
Vittorio’s jaw tightened. ‘You forget again, my dear, that such activities have kept me in luxury and you in clothes. They have also been the means of starting this business that you are so anxious to succeed in.’
‘Yes, I know that. But the child will already have enough to cope with.’
‘Another reason that we should be married. Besides, that scene in the restaurant tonight wouldn’t have happened if you were my wife.’
Lily was silent.
Vittorio wasn’t happy. He knew how difficult her life would be with an illegitimate child. At least with his name, he could safeguard her. But he didn’t want to push her at the moment.
‘If you can be brave enough to put up with the scandal and taunts you will undoubtedly receive, then we’ll stay as we are – if that’s what you want.’
She looked at him with trusting eyes. ‘You will love the baby, won’t you, Vittorio?’
His slow smile touched the corners of his lips. ‘Of course I will. How could I not do so?’
Lily was relieved. She hadn’t lied to him. By marrying him, it would make the child legitimate, but as the wife of The Maltese, she would be even more notorious. So what was the difference? She didn’t care what people said about her. She would care for the child as a real mother should. She was confident that by the time she gave birth, the club would be up and running anyway. Besides, she’d made up her mind, and thankfully Vittorio had not been difficult.
When she told Rachel of their conversation, the older woman frowned. ‘Well, I suppose you know what you’re doing. You’re not hankering after the wild Irishman still, are you? Is he the reason for not marrying?’