The Vaudeville Star (20 page)

* * *

W
hen she and
Bessie returned to the hotel, she spotted Ford exiting a taxicab. He was alone, and it was then that she remembered King would be staying at his town house. She was glad he was not staying at the hotel. She would be able to focus on her performance until the time came to fulfill her promise and act as hostess to his colleagues.

Ford tipped his hat at her and Bessie as they moved into the hotel.

“He is so handsome,” Bessie said, smiling as they took the stairs.

Ruby said nothing but remembered him leaning over her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his mouth touched hers.
Yes,
she thought.
He certainly is
.

T
he next day
, everyone gathered at the theater to do a run-through rehearsal without costumes. King did not make an appearance, but Ford did. He remained seated in the large audience while everyone performed their act.

Ford had already seen several bills of “The New York Vaudeville Troupe” on the streets, and he thought it smart of Vernon to use New York in the bill. Londoners might be eager to see a vaudeville show, but they would be especially excited to see one from New York.

Many of the people who enjoyed vaudeville were lower-income and working-class people. They would most likely never travel to New York, but they would be able to see this small portion of it here.

He watched the acts take their place onstage and then move offstage when they were finished. When he saw Zeta take the stage, she looked like a bright garish flower dressed in pink with a large hat. She began to sing, and Ford had to admire her. Though she was aging, she had talent, even though her songs suited a younger singer.

Zeta had begun her first song when she suddenly stopped abruptly. “Vernon?” She looked about her. “Vernon!”

“Yes, Zeta?” he said, moving from behind the curtain.

“The piano accompaniment! It needs to be forte in the beginning, and then once I sing, pianissimo. I don’t want it too loud! People come to hear me, not him!”

Vernon looked at the timid piano player and then at Zeta. He moved to the piano player and relayed Zeta’s instructions to him, though he, like everyone else, had heard her perfectly. The man nodded, and Vernon turned to Zeta to see if she was satisfied. When she began to sing again, it sounded just as it had before, but she seemed satisfied.

Ford watched with amusement as Lou did his comic routine, followed by the Chinese magician and then Ruby. She was wearing a faded day dress that showed nothing of her curves. She sang only a small portion of her song to preserve her voice for the show and then moved offstage.

Ford watched her move across the stage and could still hear her voice in his ear, “
Kiss me . . . on my mouth
.” She had been drunk and silly as she tossed her hairpins aside like a child and pouted when he refused to kiss her. Her lips had been so sweet under his, and he had wanted nothing more than to cover her body with his. But the distance between them now was necessary. They both had their roles to play; he the detective, and she the star.

As Archie and Bessie took the stage, a young man came walking into the theater asking for Vernon.

“Up here, young fellow.” Vernon waved to him.

The young man delivered a telegram to Vernon and left as quickly as he had entered.

“Has someone died?” Lou asked drily.

Everyone watched as Vernon read the telegram, and then suddenly he called out, “Max! Max!”

Max didn’t immediately appear, so Archie went backstage calling his name as well. Ford watched the scene with interest. There must be something very important in the telegram, though at the moment only Vernon knew its contents.

“Damn it all!” Vernon moved backstage. “Where is he?”

Everyone immediately scattered to find the wayward assistant while Ruby took the small stairs to the right of the stage and walked down the aisle toward Ford. She took the seat in front of him and sat upon it, facing him.

“How do you like the show? Do you think we’ll be a success?”

“Absolutely.”

“We haven’t really spoken since that night you got me drunk,” she said softly, her gray eyes meeting his.

“I got you drunk?” Ford asked.

“Of course. You know you did. You wanted to take advantage of me,” she teased him.

He knew she was teasing. She was like that. An impish child wrapped inside a delicious woman’s body. He felt himself harden at her words, and he casually threw his overcoat across his lap.

“Actually, I think you wanted me,” he teased her back. “You just couldn’t say it. So you got drunk so you could throw yourself at me.”

She laughed, throwing her head back, which caused Ford to clench his teeth. What he wouldn’t give to caress her throat and pull her tightly against him and kiss her mouth.

“Now damn it, where is Ruby?” Vernon said loudly from the stage.

“I must go,” she told Ford before she stood up. “I’m here, Vern.”

She walked back down the aisle as Ford admired the gentle sway of her hips and her straight back. Once onstage, Ruby saw Max was pouting.

“I was cataloging the costumes like you said,” he told no one in particular.

“All right, all right,” Vern said, raising his hands. “I need everyone’s attention. The telegram concerns us all and opening night.”

Ruby went to stand next to Bessie and Archie and looked across at Vern.

“I happen to know that the owner of the theater is very influential. He is good friends with several men who were known to frequent Marlborough House when the king was still the Prince of Wales.”

“The king visited a house? Is that significant?” Bessie asked.

“Marlborough House was a gathering place for gentlemen and friends of the prince. They dabbled and drank. They played cards,” Vern explained, irritated by the direction of the conversation.

“And swapped wives!” Lou said, causing everyone to laugh.

“Marlborough House. The White House. What on earth is all this nonsense? Please get to the point. We have a reservation to take tea at Claridge’s.” Zeta gestured to Lou.

“If you would all let me finish!” Vern said, exasperated. “The king is coming to our opening night.”

For once, Zeta was stunned into silence while everyone else clapped and smiled.

“Apparently this isn’t that unusual, as the king does enjoy the theater immensely,” Vernon explained.

“And the young singers,” Lou interjected.

Vernon ignored him. “Nothing has changed. We still have a performance to put on in three days’ time, and we will kill it. Let’s pick up where we left off.”

* * *

B
essie
, Ruby, Archie, and Lee Chen went to tea after rehearsal. Though Ruby didn’t spend that much time with the Chinese magician, he was a constant companion of Archie’s, and they made a tidy foursome.

“What did Lou mean about the king liking singers?” she asked them as their scones were served.

“He has a reputation. Or he did when he was younger,” Bessie told her. “Although, honestly he’s quite old now. He must be close to sixty!”

“I doubt age matters,” Archie said, smiling. “And since you asked, Ruby, I think he merely likes the ladies. But as I understand he has a current mistress. Amelia Kollep is her name.”

“Alice Keppel,” came the quiet words from Lee Chen as everyone else laughed at Archie’s expense.

Archie slapped him on the back. “You see? Only speaks when necessary.”

* * *

L
ater after tea
, the ladies separated from the men and took a carriage to Hyde Park. They walked along the green lawn and took in the sights before returning to the hotel.

“I didn’t even think of it,” Bessie said absently as she placed her gloves and hat aside once inside their room.

“You didn’t think of what?” Ruby said as she moved to the window that overlooked the street.

“Well, it’s all very exciting for the king to come to our performance. That in itself is a coup. But what if we are presented to him? What then?”

“And if we are presented, so what?” Ruby asked.

“Curtsy! We need to know the correct way to curtsy!” Bessie exclaimed. “I mean, we’ve both curtsied on stage, which is well and good. But we need to do a proper curtsy.”

“Do you think we will be presented? It seems unlikely,” Ruby countered.

“Listen to me, Ruby. Would you rather learn the correct way and know how to do it and never use it? Or not know how and then we might have to do it?” Bessie said logically.

“We must learn how to curtsy,” Ruby said.

Both women stood facing each other, and Bessie tucked her right leg behind her left leg and bent her knees.

“That’s how you do it,” Bessie assured her friend.

“Are you sure?” Ruby asked. “That looks like what I’ve done onstage. I think it needs to be deeper.”

Ruby followed her own advice and almost fell over as both women started laughing. A knock on the door sounded, and Archie entered.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We are learning to curtsy. Your Majesty,” Ruby said as she descended into a curtsy and again almost toppled over.

“My goodness, Ruby! What are you doing wrong? You look like a newborn colt!” Bessie laughed.

“I can’t help it!” she said, laughing. “I want it to be perfect and majestic!”

“I stopped by to invite you both to dinner. But it seems like you two might be at this for some time,” Archie said.

“No! We won’t be. I’m starving,” Ruby told him. “Come, Bess.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness,” she said, sinking gracefully into a curtsy.

“Stop that! You make it look so elegant,” Ruby complained.

“Well, think of us poor men. Look what we must do,” Archie said, and he performed a low bow to both ladies.

“Oh, you!” Ruby smacked his shoulder. “How about I’ll bow and you curtsy?” she told him as they walked along the corridor.

They decided to dine at The Duke again, which was conveniently located, and discovered it was quite full. She saw Ford sitting with Vern and Max as they grabbed a booth and ordered their food and pints.

“Do you think we will be presented to the King, Archie?” Ruby asked him.

“I do.”

“You’re very certain.”

“Logical.”

“How so?”

“The King will not miss a chance to be presented to all you lovely ladies. So if you want my advice?”

“Which we don’t,” Bessie teased him.

“Then learn to curtsy.”

Ruby nodded. “After dinner, Bess. We must perform the perfect curtsy.”

* * *

F
ord had made
it a habit since he had joined the agency to study people. Sometimes body language was easy to read. The Vadas sisters were clustered together with three men, and it wasn’t hard to see that the men hoped to bed the vivacious Hungarian women. They sat close to one another with their bodies turned to them.

He looked across at Lou seated with Zeta. Theirs was a more complex relationship, he mused. Lou seemed to dote on Zeta while she seemed reserved and cool. It was clear that her heart was not given so easily, or perhaps she was not as invested in their relationship.

Finally, he turned his attention to Ruby’s table. Their table seemed to be a mix of easy friendship and family. He could tell that everyone was fond of Ruby. Bessie sat nearest her with a shoulder against hers and a smile on her face. The men were animated, but neither man touched Ruby or looked at her longer than was necessary.

“So what do you think about our news?” Vernon said as he leaned over to Ford, breaking into his thoughts.

“I think you owe someone a favor,” Ford said as he sipped his pint.

“Right you are! Truth is, I barely know the owner. Perhaps King had something to do with this. Have you told him the good news?”

“No. In fact, King had business to take care of, so I’ve not seen him since Liverpool.”