The Vaudeville Star

by Nicola Italia

  When Ruby stepped out onstage the second time, the applause was louder than it had been the first time. She realized that the audience had enjoyed her first performance, and they were rewarding her.

  Ruby nodded to the orchestra conductor and began her second song, “All Things Love Thee, So Do I.” This was the song King had picked for her. It was not as well-known as her first song since it dated from the 1830s.

  “Gentle waves upon the deep, Murmur soft when thou dost sleep, Little birds upon the tree,

  Sing their sweetest songs for thee, their sweetest songs for thee.

  Cooling gales with voices low, In the tree tops gently blow, When thou dost in slumbers lie,

  All things love thee, so do I.”

  When she finished, she made a small curtsy, and a single rose was thrown upon the stage at her feet. When she picked it up, she breathed in the scent, and the audience cheered. Bessie was backstage with her brother waiting for their introduction, and she grinned at Ruby.

  “It seems you can do no wrong. They love you.”

  Her final song had also been chosen by King, “Kiss Me Quick and Go Away.” He had been certain that this flirty little song would do well with the men in the audience and that the jaunty tune would be the right note to end her performance on. The song moved quickly along and used the violin to evoke Southern charm.

  “ . . . the more we whispered our love talking, The more we had to say. Kiss me quick and go, my honey! Kiss me quick and go, To cheat surprise and prying eyes, Why, kiss me quick and go.”

  The audience erupted with laughter as Ruby skipped across the stage with a toss of her shoulders and wagged her finger at the young men who clapped and whistled at her. When the song was complete, several people were standing, and the applause was almost deafening.

  She made a final curtsy before leaving the stage, just as Zeta was taking it for the final performance. As she moved backstage, she noticed a man dressed in crisp black-and-white formal evening wear speaking in hushed tones to Vernon. She didn’t know what to make of it, but soon enough she found out. Max was quietly knocking on all the dressing room doors to inform them that after the show they were to all gather onstage as the king would like to congratulate them personally.

  Bessie came running into her dressing room just as Max was leaving. “Did you hear?” she asked, grabbing Ruby by the shoulders.

  Ruby laughed. “Yes. Max just told me.”

  “Can you believe it? Can you? Oh my God! Bessie Moore from Kansas is about to meet the king of England!” she said breathlessly.

  “Well, Bessie Moore, you deserve it! I saw you out there tonight! You and Archie were amazing!”

  “Thank you, dear Ruby,” Bessie said as she sat on a stool next to her. “But I think the amazing one was you. You had the audience in the palm of your hand. Even the stagehands were talking about you.”

  “Is that significant?” Ruby asked.

  “When a crusty stagehand who has seen and heard everything is talking about you? Yes. It’s significant.”

  Ruby flashed a smile.

  “Oh, Ruby. If only I had known when we first met outside the stage door what a lucky charm you were to become.” She leaned down and kissed Ruby’s cheek. “God bless you, Ruby.”

  “How do I look? Good enough to meet a king?” she asked.

  “Better!”

  When the performance ended, the troupe gathered onstage and waited for the king to appear. Bessie clutched Ruby’s hand, and the two women grinned in the dark. The large curtains opened, and though a portion of the audience was leaving, a large amount of people remained behind as the king descended from the balcony with his entourage.

  As he made his way to the stage, Ruby noted that he was wearing evening clothes like the rest of his group, but he was given deference by those around him. He was a big, barrel-chested man with a full beard and mustache, and he walked with a sure stride. There were several men in his party but also a woman dressed in a fine gown with ropes of pearls at her throat.

  “Excellent performance!” the king boomed as he nodded to Vernon.

  Moving down the line, the king greeted everyone and said something complimentary about each performance. When he reached Zeta, he smiled.

  “Alice particularly enjoyed your performance. Did you not, my dear?” he said, turning to the woman in pearls.

  “I did, sir. Very much so.”

  Zeta, for once, seemed at a loss for words.

  “I had the pleasure of seeing you perform years ago in London,” Alice Keppel, the king’s mistress, told her.

  As the two women conversed, the king turned his attention to Ruby.

  “My dear Miss Sutton.”

  “Your Majesty,” Ruby replied, sinking into a low and graceful curtsy.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen such an elegant curtsy in quite some time,” he said, smiling.

  “I’m so glad you approve, sir. I practiced to get it just right.”

  “You practiced?”

  “Yes. When we were told you were coming, I wanted to make sure I did it correctly, sir.”

  The king broke out into a loud laugh. “Talented, lovely, and forthright. What a combination!”

  Ruby blushed.

  “There is to be a ball tomorrow at Devonshire House. I would consider it an honor if you would come as my special guest, my dear,” he said quietly.

  Ruby was stunned by the invitation. “Of course. I would be delighted. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  The king nodded at the group once more. “Splendid! Splendid! A welcome addition to London theater.”

  As his entourage moved offstage, Ruby saw Alice Keppel glance at her before she turned away. Zeta had not heard the king’s invite to Ruby as she had been engrossed in her conversation with the king’s mistress.

  “Did you hear that?” Zeta said to no one in particular. “She remembered me from my performance years ago. Ha!”

  Ruby clutched Bessie’s hand and turned to her. “Did you hear?”

  Bessie nodded, her eyes wide.

  The king had invited her to a ball. The king! She shivered with excitement.

  King Parker paced across the floor of his suite several times in irritation. He had been to see the troupe perform and had been pleased by everything he saw, including Ruby. She was becoming the star she was destined to be. But at the end of the night, he had returned to his town house after receiving an unsigned note that his presence was requested.

  When he had entered his town house, he discovered Lourdes sitting in the parlor waiting for him. She had lied to get in, claiming she was Mrs. Parker from America.

  “I don’t understand why you are angry,” Lourdes said, shaking her head.

  “And I don’t understand why you are here, Lourdes. Last we spoke, I gave you the Manhattan town house as well as all the presents I had given you over the years and spoke of a clean break.”

  “I know, but—”

  “In return,” he continued, “I made it clear that I was going to marry again. A mistress is not something I want to bring into the new marriage.”

  “I didn’t think—”

  “Obviously,” he said, helping himself to a drink.

  She stood and moved toward him. “I missed you. Is that so wrong?”

  King swallowed the brandy and eyed her. “Lourdes, I know the break was not what you wanted, and I’m sorry for it. But it is what I want.”

  He sat on the sofa.

  “You’re still in mourning, King. You can’t do anything yet. Why not enjoy yourself in the meantime?” She moved to kneel between his legs.

  “Hmmm.”

  He watched as she unbuttoned his trousers. Everything she said was true. He might as well take advantage of Lourdes’s considerable skill while he waited for the mourning period to end. He threw his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. There would be time enough to rid himself of Lourdes and marry Ruby. Yes. And Lourdes was skilled. Very skilled indeed.

  The next morning,
the troupe’s opening night was written about in several newspapers. One reporter named James Mortimer had been born in Virginia and was a known Confederacy sympathizer. He had worked as an attaché for Napoleon III in France and as a journalist in England. He was known for his caustic theater reviews.

  In his review of the troupe, he gave a scathing review of Zeta, calling her “past it” and Lou’s comic routine “at times inventive.” He wrote coolly about the rest of the troupe but took almost two paragraphs to single out Ruby. He called her a “shining star” and a “supreme example of Southern womanhood.”

  Edward Rose was a theater critic for The Sunday Times. His review was much more flattering for everyone, and he highlighted Ruby as “luminescent” and mentioned King Edward VII’s attendance of the show.

  Another influential critic who had been on hand to see the performance was Clement William Scott. He was known to be cutting but also flowery in his critiques and seemed to enjoy all of the acts except one.

  He was known to attack the morals of theater people and especially actresses and had given an interview on the subject in 1898. He said theater warped people’s character, and it was impossible for a pure woman to be successful in a stage career. He further stated that all leading actresses were immoral and could only achieve their success by compliance.

  He later apologized and recanted his remarks and was ultimately barred from theaters, and his newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, fired him, though he freelanced at other papers.

  In his review of the show, he singled out the Vadas sisters for showing too much petticoat and too much leg. He said it was “unseemly” and “unnecessary” and furthermore went on to say that even “the undoubted star of the show, Ruby Sutton” showed “far too much breast.”

  “How dare he!” Ruby said, throwing the newspaper down.

  Bessie bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Ruby, come now! Look at these papers! Everyone is singing your praises!”

  “It’s undignified! My costumes are nothing out of the ordinary. Zeta wears the same.”

  Bessie rolled her eyes. “Zeta is not a beautiful young woman who has captured the eye of the king of England!”

  Ruby was instantly diverted. “Not captured. But he did invite me to the ball!”

  “I’m extremely jealous,” Bessie told her.

  “Don’t be! I’ll probably be bored stiff with no one to talk to.”

  “Ha! More like danced off your feet and fending off the men from all sides.” Bessie took a sip from her coffee cup. “You must tell me every single detail tomorrow morning!”

  21

  Ruby didn’t know what to expect at the ball. She wore the garnet-colored dress that she had purchased at Bloomingdale’s as she knew it showed off her figure.

  Devonshire House was the London residence of the Duke of Devonshire. It was a grand house where many ostentatious gatherings were held, including a costume ball in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Louisa, Duchess of Devonshire, was one of London’s foremost political hostesses.

  Ruby was greeted by the butler, and when she gave her name—as she had no invitation—he merely bowed and admitted her. Once inside the foyer, she joined many women who were dressed beautifully in all manner of colors, and it seemed as if Ruby had walked into a field of pretty wildflowers. The chandeliers sparkled, and the women in their jewels glittered. She nodded to complete strangers. When a footman passed by with a tray of champagne glasses, she took one.

  She sipped it carefully, remembering only too well the consequences of the last time she had drunk champagne. She recognized no one, but several men eyed her with interest while one old woman took out her quizzing glass to view her. Ruby almost felt like an exotic caged animal. She took another sip, and then a hush fell upon the room.

  The king and queen had arrived. The king looked as he had the night before in his freshly pressed evening clothes while the queen was dressed in a cream-and-gold gown with her auburn hair pulled back. She had a regal and serene way about her, and Ruby watched as everyone bowed and curtsied as they walked through the crowd.

  The king was gregarious and made comments here and there as he nodded to his friends.

  “My dear Alix,” he said suddenly. “I told you about that vaudeville troupe I saw yesterday. Splendid they were!”

  “Yes, Bertie. So you did,” the queen acknowledged.

  “Come. Let me present the star of the show to you. She was most magnificent.”

  The king moved forward, and Ruby had only enough time to put her drink aside before she was facing the king and his wife.

  “My dear Alix. I would like to present to you Miss Ruby Sutton. Miss Ruby Sutton, Her Majesty Queen Alexandra.”

  “Your Majesty.” Ruby descended into her elegant curtsy.

  The queen smiled at her. “Bertie has spoken of little else since he saw the show yesterday. He spoke of a Chinese magician and a dancing duo.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I very much wanted to see it, but I was feeling poorly last evening.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am.”

  “Perhaps Miss Sutton will favor us with a song,” the king said swiftly, “since, my dear, you couldn’t attend the show. Would you?” he asked Ruby.

  Ruby turned large eyes to the king. “O-of course. I would be honored.”

  The servants scurried out of the way as they headed into the music room.

  “Who plays the piano?” the king asked the guests. “Charles? Henry?”

  A timid young woman came forward. She admitted to playing and took the piano bench. Ruby whispered into her ear the song’s name, and she nodded and began playing the introduction as Ruby stood in front of the piano.

  She sang “Mighty Lak’ a Rose” as it was becoming more well-known and it was her favorite song. She moved little and remained standing near the piano as she sang. She thought she saw King Parker in the back of the crowd, but she knew that was not possible. When she finished, there was strong applause from those in the room.

  “What did I tell you, Alix?” The King laughed heartily as he puffed on his cigar.

  “Charming. Most charming, my dear.” Queen Alexandra nodded at Ruby.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Queen Alexandra spoke to a man near her, and the king lingered only for a moment to thank her for the song before he also began to mingle with the crowd. When her short moment in the spotlight passed, she decided to explore the grand house rather than remain staring at the walls.

  She walked along the foyer with its black-and-white checkered floor and the magnificent tapestries that adorned the walls. Everything seemed to glitter with an opulence that she had never seen before. She took the red-carpeted stairs one at a time and glanced behind her as if she was a naughty child doing something she shouldn’t, but no one stopped her.

  Upstairs, the walls were decorated in mint green, and a red carpet protected the wood floors. Portraits graced the wall on one side while windows looked out to the street below on the other. There was lovely detail in the home, even in the intricate wood carvings and molding on the ceilings.

  At the end of the hall, there was a door slightly ajar, and she entered not realizing it might be someone’s bedroom or that she might be intruding on a lovers’ rendezvous. But the room was empty, and it wasn’t a bedroom at all but a small sitting room decorated in sky blue and cream.

  Windows lined the front of the room, looking out onto the street below. As she glanced down into the gaslight-lined street, she heard voices in the hallway. She was not worried about getting caught. She would simply say she had been exploring.

  She heard a woman’s raised voice followed by a man’s low voice, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. A door somewhere opened and closed, and then she heard nothing. She walked the length of the small room, which was furnished with several chairs, a sofa, and a table that held numerous photographs.

  She wondered if this might be the duchess’s sitting r
oom. She saw a picture of five children and two adults and knew it was the family. She touched the frame and thought absently of home. She rarely thought of her mother and sister, but she did miss certain things from home.

  She missed the hot, muggy summers and the sweet iced tea. She missed the feel of her Daddy’s warmth and his kind eyes twinkling with laughter. She missed the watering hole, and she missed Ford.

  She went back to the window and rested her forehead against the pane. The cool glass felt nice. She didn’t want to go back to the party. She wanted to stay here in the silence. She wanted to enjoy this time to herself. There was no audience to please and no one to perform for. She was alone.

  She heard voices again, and this time it sounded like two men. She was in the corner of the room leaning against the glass, shrouded in darkness, when the door opened.

  “Christ!” the first voice said as the two men entered the room.

  Ruby shrank against the bookshelf, hoping she would not be seen.

  “Where are the goddamned gaslights?” the first voice spoke again, and Ruby’s eyes widened. She recognized the voice. It was King. King Parker. She had not imagined him downstairs. He was here.

  “I’m not sure.”

  She’d know that voice anywhere. It was Ford.

  “What on earth? Why is she here?” King asked, irritated.

  Ford shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea.”

  Ruby bit her lip. Were they talking about her?

  “You should have prevented it,” King said.

  “How?” Ford said coldly.

  “Well, damn it all, man! You know I’m only waiting for my mourning to be over before I make Ruby my wife. Lourdes ruins everything. I don’t want her here.”

  “It seems like she didn’t take the breakup very well in New York.”

  “I don’t see why not. I gave her the town house, the jewels—”

  “Apparently, she only wants you.”

  “And now she’s followed me here! Jesus!” King cursed.

  “And she’s been drinking,” Ford said quietly.

  Both men were silent as Ruby waited. She couldn’t appear to them now. It would seem too odd. “I’ll handle this,” King muttered. “I’ll take her back to her hotel without making a scene.”