The Vaudeville Star

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.”

Bessie, 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.”

Later 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.