It was a sweet thing to say, and she nodded and smiled at him. ‘I like you too, Sylvester,’ she said. ‘And thank you for asking.’

She was glad afterwards that their last words together had been kind and friendly, because next morning when she got into her office she got a call from the hospital saying that Sylvester Drummond had been rushed in late last night with heart failure. They’d tried to save him, but there was nothing they could do.

Sylvester was dead.

45

45

Claire felt awful on the day of Sylvester’s funeral; numb with grief. He’d been her true friend, a quiet supporter ever since she’d started work at his club, and she was going to miss him badly. All the girls showed up for the service, and Gina and Cyrus too, plus the bar and kitchen staff, and the door boys – even the club’s suppliers. The church was packed with his friends.

No relatives, though. Sylvester had never married, and he’d been an only child of elderly parents who were already gone.

‘Sad, ain’t it,’ sniffed Gina as they paused outside the church after the service. ‘No kin of his here to mourn him.’

Cyrus patted his wife’s arm. Claire nodded. She felt bad over Sylvester, and guilty. She didn’t tell Gina – she couldn’t tell anyone – that Sylvester had proposed to her on the day he died. She thought that maybe he had died of a broken heart and she hated herself for disappointing him, but what else could she have done? It was possible that her rejection had wounded him far more deeply than he’d shown. But . . . how could she have said yes?

‘You ever think . . .’ Gina started as Cyrus moved away, leaving the two women there together.

‘What?’ asked Claire.

‘About the baby.’ Gina’s eyes were sharp on Claire’s face. ‘Do you ever think of her? Are you sorry you let her go?’

But Claire shook her head. ‘No. I’m not sorry. Don’t talk of it again, will you, Gina? I don’t like it.’

She didn’t want to be reminded of that, now or ever. She’d come a long, long way from the gypsy camp of her youth. Now she was the manager of a thriving club in a bustling city; a success in business, if not in life. She’d lost Josh. Her family. Her innocence. And she’d just lost a dear friend. But she was stronger now. Adversity had made her tougher, more resilient.

After Sylvester was laid to rest, Claire caught up with Gina again.

‘Come back to the club,’ she said to Gina. ‘We’ve laid on a spread for Sylvester. All the girls would love to see you, you know they would.’