CHAPTER 32: HIS IS ROUNDER
Late Wednesday morning
Ivor Novello's Flat
It was too early for breakfast; breakfast was never served before noon. Thomas enjoyed a leisurely bath while he took stock of his first few days in London. Novello was acting in Down Hill, a play he had written with Constance Collier that had opened a couple of weeks earlier. Thomas' first night at the flat had been Novello's night off. Each night after that, Morgan drove Thomas and Bobbie to the Queen's Theatre to pick up Novello after the show and dropped them off to dine with the after-theatre crowd. Novello and Bobbie held court and introduced Thomas to their friends. They ate and drank and danced and gossiped until the wee hours. Thomas set himself a nightly limit of two glasses of champagne. Novello was always affectionate, and Thomas wanted his wits about him. Thomas had known men who held power because of their position or money, but Novello was the only man Thomas knew whose power came from his charisma. Thomas found him difficult to resist.
As Thomas washed himself, he thought about the tango lesson Ivor had scheduled with Garland for his first morning at the flat. Garland wanted to see how well Thomas could dance. "Show me your most romantic tango. I'll be the woman. Lucas, maintenant, a tango." Lucas Bazin was Garland's accompanist. He was a gorilla of a man who spoke little English but managed the piano keys adeptly with his gorilla hands and always knew what Garland wanted. Thomas felt ridiculous dancing with Garland, but he didn't want to disappoint Novello. He danced as he would with any woman at any social occasion.
They danced briefly before Garland pulled away and Lucas stopped playing. Garland stroked his goatee. "I like a challenge." Thomas felt insulted but held his tongue for Novello's sake. Garland reached up and tapped Thomas' forehead. "Let me give you an image. Think of a strong woman you would like to dominate."
"All right."
"Good. This woman is ice, but you will make her melt. You will transfer your heat to her with your body, your arms, and your face, and you will destroy her. Forget about your posture. It won't help you. Now, imagine I am that woman. Lucas, encore."
Thomas imagined he was holding Lady Mary, and she was asking him to be married to his work. He was going to make her pay for that. He pressed himself against Garland, wrapped one arm around his back, leaned over, and pressed his cheek to Garland's face and danced.
They danced a bit longer this time before Garland stopped. "Better. I see you have the imagination of an artist." Garland could see that Thomas was flattered. "Imagination is not enough! Next you must take control of the tempo. You're letting the music push you along, and that's ordinary. That's how everyone dances. You must dance as slowly as you can to make the music resonate in your body." Thomas smiled. That's how he thought about making love. "Thomas! Are you paying attention? It won't work unless you fill the movement."
"Fill the movement? I don't know what that means."
"I'll show you. Lucas, encore sans vie." Lucas played the same tango at the same tempo, but he played listlessly, and that's how Garland danced with his imaginary partner. "Lucas, avec la vie." Lucas reinvigorated the music. Garland slowed and elongated his steps and infused them with passion. He made Thomas think of a jungle cat. "Do you understand?"
"I think so."
"Let's try again. Remember. You are in charge of the tempo." The fast pace of the music confused Thomas, and his feet were at sixes and sevens. He tried counting, taking one step every four beats.
Garland pulled away sharply. "NO! You're thinking, Thomas, and that won't work. You're an animal devouring his prey. Animals don't count, and they don't think. They do! You are to destroy this woman! Now! Maintenant!" Thomas grasped Garland's wrist and pulled him in. He draped himself around Garland and slowly stretched his left leg forward, keeping tight contact with Garland's right leg. As he continued to glide slowly about the floor, he imagined Lady Mary melting into his body, endowing him with her position and power.
They danced for more than a minute before Garland pulled away. "You surprise me, Thomas." Thomas surprised himself. "After a bit more practice, you won't need the image of that woman, the poor dear." Garland chuckled and patted Thomas' bottom. Thomas pulled away sharply.
"What? That little pat?" Garland protested.
Novello had left his office to find his chocolates and was watching the lesson. He caught Garland's small indiscretion. "Don't play the innocent, Garland. If you require a bottom to fondle, there's always mine."
"I've seen yours, Ivor, and his is rounder."
Novello raised his eyebrows. "Is it?" He approached to take a better look, but Thomas quickly turned to face him.
This isn't Ivor Novello's flat. I've been committed to a mad house!
Novello could see that Thomas was not amused by their behaviour. He slipped his arm around Thomas' shoulders. "I'm afraid Garland can't resist your charms. Shall we toss him out on his ear?"
There was something exhilarating about being at the centre of Novello' attention. "I'm being too sensitive," Thomas replied apologetically. "I'm not at Downton, after all."
"I've known Garland for a long time, and you're not being too sensitive." Novello turned and waggled his finger at Garland. "Behave!" He headed toward the back of the flat and called out, "Bobbie, where are my chocolates?" He put his hand on his own backside and frowned. "Bobbie, is my bottom too flat?"
Garland refocused his attention on Thomas' tango and gave him more pointers. Thomas was beginning to enjoy himself, and too soon it was time for Garland and Lucas to leave for their next appointment. Thomas thanked Garland. "I must say, Garland, your dancing is ... I've never seen anything like it. You could be a professional."
Garland laughed and shook his head. "I studied my entire childhood to be a ballet dancer, but when I reached adulthood, I was too short. My parents are tall, and I'm short. I'm a choreographer and dance teacher; that's all."
Thomas realized that Garland was another man whose destiny, like his own, had been redirected because of a whim of nature. He felt a sudden kinship with the man and silently admonished himself for judging him too quickly.
Soon after Garland and Lucas left, Lloyd Williams arrived. Lloydie, as Novello and Bobbie called him, had been Novello's secretary for two years now and managed his household staff. Thomas could see that Bobbie, Lloydie, and Morgan created a protective shell around Novello. Like the Crawley's, Novello never thought about his everyday needs; others did that for him. But unlike the Crawleys, when Novello's coffers were empty, he could use his talents to fill them again.
As Thomas washed his hair, he congratulated himself on making good use of his time in London. He had asked Morgan to teach him to drive, and Morgan seemed happy to oblige. He probably enjoyed having conversations of his own for a change. Each day, Morgan drove Thomas outside the city limits and gave him a lesson. While they were returning from their first outing, Thomas spotted public tennis courts. Thomas enjoyed athletics and wanted to watch the players. He had never seen a tennis match in person or even held a racket. Morgan left Thomas at the courts while he drove to a shop for sandwiches.
Thomas selected the court that seemed to have the most capable players, two young men, and sat on a bench to watch. Thomas tried to deduce the rules as the game progressed. Tennis appeared to be demanding but not complicated. Morgan returned with a bag of sandwiches and sat with Thomas. The players soon relinquished the court to two women awaiting their turn. They all seemed to know each other. The men shook hands, and one left. The other approached Thomas and Morgan. He was tall and skinny with dark hair and a long thin nose. He made Thomas think of an undertaker until he smiled broadly. "I'm Henry. Do you fellows play?"
Morgan shook Henry's hand. "I'm Morgan. I'm afraid I'm not much for sports."
Thomas shook his hand, too. "I'm Thomas. I've never played, but I'd love to learn. Would you like a sandwich?"
"Certainly! I'm famished." Henry ate two sandwiches in quick succession, much to the amusement of Thomas and Morgan. He kept up his end of the conversation between bites. "I can teach you to play if you like, Thomas. I can borrow a racket for you, but you'll need Plimsolls."
Thomas was surprised by the friendly offer and picked up Henry's racket to get the feel of it. "Tomorrow?"
"I promised to help wallpaper my sister's parlour tomorrow. That's her playing now." It was easy for Thomas and Morgan to pick out which of the two women was Henry's sister. She was tall, bony, and beak-nosed like her brother. "Can you meet me on Wednesday around 2.00?"
Thomas knew he'd be free because Novello had a matinee on Wednesdays. He glanced at Morgan for confirmation, and Morgan nodded. "Yes, I can meet you. It's kind of you to offer."
Henry laughed, "Not so kind. Bring sandwiches!" He picked up his racket and waved at his sister. "I've got to run. Don't forget the shoes. Wednesday at 2.00!" He took off with his racket in one hand and half a sandwich in the other.
Morgan took Thomas to a shop where he could buy the necessary shoes. They returned to the flat just in time for tea. Novello introduced Thomas to his visitor, Eddie Marsh. He told Thomas that Marsh was an important patron of the arts, especially poetry, and had been a great friend of his since the war. Thomas could see that Marsh was the fatherly type, no doubt another man who guarded Novello's welfare. Later, Morgan told Thomas that Marsh had been in civil service for years and was personal secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"What's in the package?" asked Novello.
"Plimsolls. I'm going to learn to play tennis," reported Thomas happily.
Novello grimaced. As far as he was concerned, there were only two acceptable reasons to sweat: dancing and sex.
As Thomas pulled himself from the tub and wrapped a thick towel around his waist, he recalled his debut, as Coward had called it, the previous night. He and Novello had prepared after breakfast under Garland's artistic eye at a rented rehearsal space. Thomas had never been inside a rehearsal hall. As they walked down the corridor to their assigned room, Thomas heard an aria and Shakespeare and jazz trombone coming from the various rehearsals and auditions in progress and thought it was exciting. Their room was empty except for a piano and a few chairs. One of the walls was covered in mirrors, and there were horizontal poles attached to the other walls. As Lucas lumbered to the piano, Thomas asked Novello what purpose the poles served.
"Garland, would you show Thomas how to use a ballet barre."
Garland smiled. He placed one hand lightly on a barre and executed a series of ballet exercises that began with knee bends. At one point, he tapped one pointed foot against alternating sides of his other ankle so quickly that Thomas couldn't follow the movement. Garland ended with a series of high kicks to the front, side, and back, keeping both his posture and his legs perfectly straight. Thomas was beginning to appreciate Garland's athleticism.
"Enough of my preening! We're wasting time that you can ill afford. Come! Stand together." Thomas and Novello quickly obeyed Garland's order. "Ivor, he's taller than you. He must lead!"
Thomas was confused. "Lead? I thought we were dancing with women."
"We are," assured Novello. "I asked Garland to give us some sort of novelty so we'll stand out. I want everyone to appreciate you, darling."
"Novelty?" Thomas hoped he would be able to reclaim his dignity when he returned to Downton. Clearly, he had not brought it to London.
Garland explained his concept. "You will remain back-to-back for the entire dance. You may bend toward your partners, but your lovely bottoms must remain together. I would show you, Thomas, but I'm forbidden to touch you there."
Thomas chose to ignore Garland's remark. "How can we dance with our partners if we can't move away from each other?"
"Ivor will shadow you. Whatever you do backward, he will do forward. Whatever you do forward, he will do backward. But we don't want to see you lead, Thomas. You and Ivor must appear to be of one mind."
Now Novello was confused. "But Garland, darling, how can Thomas lead me if his arms are around his partner?"
"Ha! That is a benefit of dancing slowly. It gives you time to feel his movement and follow suit." Garland was quite pleased with himself. "We'll work out some signals to help ... signals that can't be detected by onlookers. A little press from Thomas' left shoulder means he's going to begin backward on his left foot. That means you will begin forward on your right, Ivor. A press from Thomas' right shoulder means he's going to begin forward on his left foot."
"So I would begin backward on my right?" asked Novello.
"That's right. Thomas, we'll set signals you can give Ivor by pressing against him with your head, your calves, even your bottom that I can't touch."
Thomas threw up his hands in exasperation. "For pity's sake, touch it already!" he shouted.
Garland, Novello, and Lucas stared at Thomas. Garland sighed with mock chagrin. "Well I can't now! You've killed the romance."
"Well, I can!" Novello put his arms around Thomas, planted both hands on his backside, and gave him a squeeze. "It is rounder than mine!" he declared.
Thomas stood there, unsure what to do next. Should he go back to the flat, pack his bag, and take the next train to Downton? Garland and Novello seemed oblivious to his distress and began to laugh. Even Lucas was bent over the keyboard in a fit of gorilla laughter. When Thomas saw Lucas' hulking body convulsed over the piano, he began to laugh too. Soon the entire room shook with hilarity.
Garland calmed himself and wiped his eyes. "Enough nonsense. If you're going to dance tonight, we must get back to work." The rehearsal resumed, but Thomas' inhibitions had been destroyed, and he was game for whatever came his way.
When their partners arrived, Thomas was stunned to find that he would be dancing with Gladys Cooper. He had met her briefly the night before and knew she was a close friend of Novello's. Still, he could not believe she had agreed to be part of this foolishness. He did not yet understand the lengths to which actors would go to be noticed.
Garland was more concerned about Novello's partner, Constance Collier. Because Novello would be shadowing Thomas, he would be leading with his right leg, and Constance would be following with her left, in reverse of the norm. But the slow tempo that Garland demanded worked in their favour. It was a gift of time to correct any error before it was detected.
Thomas was starving by the time the smell of sausage reached his door. He had dressed in his most casual clothes and laced up his Plimsolls. After breakfast, he was meeting Henry at the tennis courts. At least, he hoped he was. They had never exchanged phone numbers, so Henry had no way to contact Thomas should he have to cancel.
Thomas was certain he heard Novello say "hush" as he opened his bedroom door. He joined Novello, Bobbie, and Lloydie at the table and found a newspaper sitting on his plate. It was opened to a photo of Novello with another man. He looked up and smiled at Novello, who was calmly drinking his tea. Thomas thought Novello's picture must be in the paper often and wondered what was special about this one. Morgan, who was leaning against the wall and smoking, tilted his head toward the paper. Thomas took a second look and realized that he was the other man in the photo. His heart began to pound.
"Read the article, Thomas. It couldn't be better if I'd written it myself," chuckled Novello.
Thomas read the article. He felt as though he had fallen into some warped fairy story. His head began to spin.
Novello reached across the table and took Thomas' hand. "Darling, are you quite well?"
"Have I received a telephone call?" Thomas asked weakly.
"No," answered Lloydie. "Are you expecting a call?"
"If I were sacked, I think someone would call."
Novello squeezed Thomas' hand. "Calm down, Thomas. They're not going to sack you for this. The article doesn't name you or Downton. The Crawleys probably didn't even see it."
"Oh, they saw it. I know they saw it," replied Thomas.
"Can you give your friend a ring? John Bates? He can reassure you."
"John doesn't have a telephone, but I can ring my office. Someone on the staff should answer."
"Lloydie, please take Thomas to my office and help him place the call. I can't allow him to suffer like this." Novello was contrite. "I'm sorry, darling. I forget sometimes that the rules of your profession are so different from the rules of mine."
