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Back The Dazzle of the Light Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. Praise for Georgina Clarke
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. Historical Note
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. Also by Georgina Clarke
  54. About the Author
  55. Copyright

‘We can try and escape,’ she whispers back, flattered by the knowledge that he has been thinking of her and warmed by the prospect of being held in his embrace, even for a few minutes. ‘The garden, perhaps, but you’d better put on a good show for them first. Mummy’s always desperate to impress you, so try to make the right noises. And please don’t fall into discussing the Irish Question with Daddy over the brandy, or you’ll be there all night and I shall have to retire to bed.’

He lifts her hand and smiles as he kisses his diamonds. ‘Well now, there’s a thought.’

She feels heat rising at the back of her neck.

5

5

Wednesday morning

Ruby fights to control her excitement as they walk along the street. She’s like a boxer, preparing for a fight – or, no, she’s a racehorse, jumping in the line-up before the starter drops the flag. She’s ready: keen to be at the jewellers, itching to get her hands on the goods. She shivers a little and squeezes Billy’s arm.

‘Easy, Ruby,’ he says, as surely and as quietly as he’d talk to a horse while he was stroking its neck. ‘Don’t want you giving yourself away, do we?’ He doesn’t look at her; he keeps his eyes on the road. He’s watching the pavements, scouring them for trouble. There won’t be any. This is Kensington. The only trouble around here will be the two of them.

She glances up at him from under her hat. She’s never seen him looking so good. A new brown suit, a crisp white shirt and a tie that he’s spent time folding just right. He smells good, too, clean and sharp, like he’s just come from the barbers – which he has. Billy always says he’s got a lucky face, by which he means that, unlike some others – Ronald and Albert, for instance – he’s not been marked in a fight or in the trenches. He carries no scar or gouged flesh, and both his ears are neat and intact. That’s why he’s sent on jobs like this. He looks like the man he’s about to become: Mr Warner, the film producer.

It was Billy’s idea, the story they’ll spin. He knows Ruby loves the movies so he’s suggested that she’s a girl on the brink of becoming a star. She’s Ruby Wilder, soon to be appearing in movie theatres across the world. Mr Warner is not only her producer, but her lover who wants to shower her with diamonds.