In the hallway, Lavinia sighed as she saw the telephone being installed. So much had changed over the years and it brought home to her the fact that she was getting older. Now there was a large airfield in Weddington in Nuneaton, and noisy aeroplanes often dotted the sky. There were trains – great beasts that belched smoke and steam and could take their passengers all over the country, and now the installation of telephones. None of these things had even been heard of when she was a child. But like George, she too had read the headlines in The Times that morning and she shared his concerns. It was as if great stormclouds were gathering and heading their way. The assassination of the Archduke could well herald a clash of opposing forces and then all hell would be let loose. It was such a pity, she thought to herself, when for the first time in her life she had the love of a good man and happiness was in sight, but for now all any of them could do was wait, and hope and pray for peace.

Chapter Thirty-Five

‘Must you go out this afternoon?’ Maggie asked as she looked at Kitty’s pale face. There were dark smudges beneath her friend’s eyes and Maggie thought she had lost a little weight. She had certainly lost some of her sparkle and now like Ruby she rarely ventured out of bed before lunchtime, unless she had singing practice or rehearsals. In the last week alone she had performed on stage five nights, and on the evenings when she hadn’t worked Richard had taken her out to dinner. Or at least, that’s what Kitty had told her. Maggie suspected that Kitty had probably been at his studio modelling yet more clothes, and now she was becoming curious as to why they hadn’t seen any of the photographs in the magazines which Ruby read so avidly. She had asked Kitty as much only the day before and the girl had almost snapped her head off.

‘Richard told me that most of my modelling shots will go into magazines in Paris and France,’ she had told her tetchily and Maggie was wise enough not to pursue the subject although instinct told her something was amiss.

Over the last few weeks Ruby had given them cause for worry too. She was drinking heavily now, sometimes swallowing wine as soon as she fell out of bed in the late morning and it was beginning to tell on her. Her hair was now lacklustre and she had gained a considerable amount of weight, which was no surprise really when Maggie considered how much she ate and drank. Her latest suitor had disappeared off the scene some time ago and it was then that Ruby had lapsed into depression. Maggie continued to be concerned about Kitty’s wages. Ruby paid her surprisingly little for the number of hours she worked and Maggie wondered if Ruby and Max weren’t exploiting her. Not that she would dare suggest that to Kitty. She was touchy enough as it was nowadays and nothing like her former cheery self.