Love or Duty by Roberta Grieve

turned to the plans for the former Winter Gardens.
    ‘James feels we should try to raise the money to rebuild the theatre,’ Stanley said.
    ‘Surely not, Stanley,’ Dora protested. ‘How can he think it will be a success after what happened? Has he forgotten how much you and his poor father lost in the last venture?’
    ‘I agree, my dear. But he has a point. It’s true we do have entertainment facilities for our visitors, especially since the cinema opened at the end of the pier. But other resorts have dance halls, theatres, fairgrounds….’
    Dora raised her hands in horror. ‘But Holton is hardly Bournemouth or Brighton. And as for a fairground – why, we should end up attracting all sorts.’
    ‘You don’t understand, my dear. Holton has very little industry – even the fishing has declined lately. The summer visitors are the lifeblood of our little town – they are what put the bread and butter on our table.’
    ‘I like it when the summer people arrive,’ Sarah announced. ‘This place is as dull as ditchwater in winter. Father’s right – we ought to have something for them to do, and for the locals too. Not everyone wants to be running the Girl Guides or doing good works.’
    Dora’s mouth set in a thin line. ‘Such talk is most unseemly. Stanley, speak to your daughter.’
    ‘Your mother’s right, Sarah. She works very hard for the church – and someone has to do these “good works” as you call it so slightingly. It sounded to me as if you were belittling her efforts.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Mother. Of course I didn’t mean that,’ she said, opening her violet eyes in wide-eyed innocence.
    Dora was all smiles again. ‘I know you didn’t, dear. I suppose now that you’re off to London, it’s only natural you should feel a little scornful of our parochial activities.’
    Louise hid a smile. How was it that Sarah managed to get round her mother so easily? She recalled that as a child, she had often been sent to her room for far lesser sins than her half-sister’s outspokenness.
    But Sarah had always possessed a charm that drew people to her and she could get away with almost anything. She wondered how she would cope with the younger girl’s waywardness when they were living in London together.

     
    The show opened to rave revues, with particular mention of newcomer Sarah Charlton in the part of Amy, the youngest March girl. It looked as if it was in for a long run and Louise was delighted, not just for her sister’s sake.
    Their lodgings in Grenville Terrace, a few streets away from the theatre, had been vetted by Dora before the girls came to London. She had firmly vetoed Maurice Weeks’ suggestion that Sarah should share theatrical digs with the rest of the cast. Her daughter must stay in respectable lodgings. She could find no fault with the rooms, which were cheap and comfortable, or with their landlady, Mrs Mason, who fed them well and made sure their rooms were clean.
    After the first couple of weeks Louise was bored. Although she revelled in her new-found freedom, she had little to do while Sarah was busy with rehearsals. It was time she returned to Holton but the thought filled her with dismay. She wrote to her parents asking if she could stay a little longer, giving the excuse that Sarah needed her.
    Without waiting for a reply she scoured the neighbourhood of the theatre, reading the advertisement cards in newsagents’ windows and even asking in some of the shops if they needed an assistant. But she soon realized that, for a woman in her twenties who had never worked before, finding a job wasn’t so easy. Her only experience was running the household back in Holton but she couldn’t possibly go into service. That would be just like being at home again.
    One morning, despondent over her lack of success, she found herself outside the theatre where Sarah was rehearsing. She slipped in by a side door and sat quietly at the back of the stalls.
    She had seen the show several times