Mrs Ackerman looked around in horror. ‘Charming,’ she mumbled.

‘Bye, Linda. I’ve got work to do. See you soon,’ Queenie gabbled.

‘You not down the Beehive tonight?’

‘Erm, no. I don’t think so.’

‘Oh well. I’ll tell loverboy I saw you. Bye, Queenie.’

As usual, Mrs Ackerman tried on about twenty outfits and while Queenie was assisting her, she tried to get her story straight. She knew it would be easier to come clean, but while Doreen was still in pieces over finding out Jimmy Foster was married, she could not bring herself to rub salt in her friend’s wounds.

‘Eliza, Mrs Ackerman would like to purchase these items,’ Queenie smiled as she came out the back with an armful of clothes. Because of the amount she bought, Eliza always gave Mrs Ackerman a decent discount.

Expecting a barrage of questions, Queenie was surprised when she approached Doreen and her friend sparked up a conversation about a film she wanted to see at the pictures.

The rest of the day went slowly and Queenie was shocked that neither Doreen nor Eliza had pulled her on what Trappy Linda had said. They must have heard something, surely? Linda’s gob was bigger than Hitler’s. ‘I’m off now, girls. Have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you Monday,’ Queenie said jovially.

Doreen smiled falsely. ‘Bye, mate. Have a good un. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’

‘See you Monday, Queenie,’ Eliza waved.

When the door closed behind Queenie, Doreen turned to Eliza. ‘Two-faced bitch. I’m going down that Beehive tonight and I shall have great pleasure watching that lying cow squirm. I knew she was up to something, I knew she was seeing someone. No wonder she fixed me up with that bastard Jimmy. She was after Albie herself, that’s why. I’ll never forgive her for this, Eliza. Not ever.’

Doreen was very rough and ready, but had a heart of gold and Eliza was extremely fond of her. Queenie, on the other hand, was a bit of a dark horse. ‘I’ll come to the Beehive with you tonight. My dad will pick us up and drop us off. I honestly think there is some mix-up though. Albie and Queenie don’t work for me as a couple. No disrespect to Queenie, Dor, but Albie could have his pick of all eligible women. Why would he pick Queenie?’

‘Because she’s a conniving cow who’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. I told you, every time she went to the bar, my drinks tasted stronger. She wanted me to get drunk and show myself up; I’d put money on it.’

‘Oh, I don’t think she’d stoop that low, Doreen.’

‘Really? Well, let’s find out how low she’s stooped when we surprise her in the Beehive later, shall we?’

Sitting at her usual table with Aggie and Terry, Queenie smiled as Albie sang ‘Me and My Girl’. He always looked at her while singing that song and she loved everybody in the pub knowing she was his girl.