Page 50 of The Last Love Song
Sorcha pulled away from him and sat upright. ‘You sound like my father. Lots of girls work these days, even if they don’t have to.’
‘You’re not lots of girls.’
‘And what am I to do with myself all day while you’re off becoming a superstar?’
Con shrugged. ‘What do women do while their men work?’
Sorcha hit her fists down on the bed in frustration.
‘So, it was grand for me to work while it suited you. Now it doesn’t and you’re telling me to stop? What right have you to tell me to do anything?’
He stared at her. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I mean that we’re not married and—’
‘Ah, so this is what it’s all about. Fine. I’ll marry you.’
‘Con Daly, I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last manon earth! I thought you were different from the other men in Ballymore, but you’re not. You’re just as narrow-minded as any of them. I’m taking the job as a house model and I couldn’t care less about what the hell you think!’
Sorcha went towards the front door, opened it and slammed it behind her for maximum effect. She stood outside in the cold corridor for a while, shaking with rage and frustration. There was only one place to go. Sorcha trudged down the corridor, locked herself in the freezing communal bathroom and burst into tears.
15
‘Okay, lads, let’s go, give them some grief!’
Freddy slapped Con on the back, smiled and gave him a gentle push up the stairs. All the boys looked pale and the nervous energy was crackling around them.
‘And now, ladies and gents, introducing the hottest new group to hit Soho for hours: The Leopards!’
A loud cheer went up from the audience in the small, smoky club. Freddy made his way to his table at the back. There was no fear that the audience would disapprove of his protégés: eighty per cent of them had been offered free drinks all night to cheer the boys on.
The band name still wasn’t right. It was too aggressive. They’d all struggled to come up with something and had taken Todd’s suggestion as the best of a bad bunch.
‘Hi, you guys. Welcome to the Basement. I’m Todd, this is Con, Ian on drums and Derek on rhythm guitar. I hope you enjoy your evening with us. Okay, take it away, boys.’
Freddy took a hefty swig of whiskey as the boys began to play. The song was a light frothy number, chosen especially to warm up the audience. He smiled. The boys looked so different to a few weeks ago. Their hair had been cut into short, shiny moptops (much to Con and Ian’s disgust), and they were dressed in identical, button-up green suits with black lapels. Freddyclosed his eyes and listened to the harmonies. The sound was also much improved. All the boys had been taking singing lessons. Although there was a way to go yet, the voices were beginning to mellow into the all-important ‘brand sound’ – the quality that would mark them out from the rest.
The first song finished. There was a loud surge of applause. Todd thanked the audience and the band began to play the opening bars of a slow ballad, composed by himself and Con a couple of weeks back.
‘Can Someone Tell Me Where She’s Gone?’ had sent a tingle of excitement up Freddy’s spine when they had played it for him in the studio. The song was special. Freddy was going to place it as the first track on the demo the boys were due to record next week. The underlying rivalry between the two frontmen was working in their favour. Each wanted to better the other.
Freddy signalled to the waitress for another whiskey. In a few weeks, the demo would be completed and it would be time to show his product to those who mattered.
Lulu sat in a darkened corner of the club and watched Con Daly intensely. God, he was good-looking.
She glanced to her left. Sorcha was sitting staring nervously into the bottom of her empty Babycham glass. What did Con see in her? ‘Anything the matter?’ Lulu asked.
Sorcha shrugged. ‘No, not really.’
‘Come on, you can tell me. Maybe I can help.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘It’s Con, isn’t it? Is he playing around?’
‘Oh no, nothing like that,’ Sorcha sighed. ‘He’s still sulking about me taking the job as a house model.’
‘He’ll get over it.’
