Alisongot up.She was tear-stained and shaking but had recovered some ofher dignity.“I’ve apologised to Laurie,” she said.“I owe anapology to you, Mr Hamlin, and most particularly I owe one toSasha.”She put out a hand, which Sasha caught and held.“I wasdrunk, and I let the journalist manipulate me.I’ll call the papermyself and tell them so.”
Laurieglanced up at Sasha long enough to receive his quick signal.“No.Don’t do that.You know what they’re like—we don’t want them tryingto sue you, and it’ll die down faster if we just let italone.”
“Spoken like a true courtly gentleman,” Paul said approvingly.“Come along, Alison.You’re welcome at my house, and Mrs J willward off any more nosy newshounds, I can guarantee youthat.”
“Now, just hang on a minute.”Arnold glared at Paul.“You mayhave had the honour of discovering young Fitzroy, but there yourinfluence stopped.As his manager, I recommend that—”
“For God’s sake, Hamlin.”Paul waved a weary hand at him,escorting Alison to the door.“I’m not your competition.Ididn’tdiscoverLaurie—he walked into my theatre one day and took it by storm.He’s in your hands now, if he wants to be.Can I suggest you treatthat privilege well?”
Chapter Four
In your hands, if I want to be.Laurie sat across the table from his manager and thought hard aboutit.He wasn’t sure at all.“Damage control,” Arnold was stillmuttering.Sasha had come to sit at Laurie’s elbow, reminding himof long afternoons spent in their classroom in the garret of SirWilliam’s house.When Laurie had been a student, and Sasha a secretprince...
“I’ve got an idea,” Laurie said suddenly.“For damage control.I don’t want Allie to retract anything she said, so whydon’twesaysomething?”Arnold looked up from the paper, surprised that hisprotégé had come up with anything so practical.“Why don’t we giveout some kind of press release, saying that I’m not only gay but ina committed relationship?”
Arnold’sface fell.“How do you imagine that would help?They already knowyou’re...”He hesitated, the word catching in his throat.“Gay.”
“Not really.You’ve never really let me make it clear.So theyspeculate, and whichever story they write—I’m gay, I’mstraight—it’s a scandal.If I just stand up there and tell thetruth, at least they won’t be trying to dig up something they thinkI want to hide.”
“Laurence, you’re missing the point.The papers won’t care ifyou’re in a relationship, and...”Andneither do I,Arnold wanted to add, butsensed how foolish that would be at this time and place, Fitzroyflashing sapphire at him from those expressive eyes and theRomanian boy there beside him, composed and hard to read butstaunch as bedrock.“And the point is that you can’t afford tobecome the type of actor who interests these damn tabloids in thefirst place.Not aceleb,” he clarified, squeezing thelabel with contempt off his tongue.“I don’t even know how thishappened.With respect, you’re obscure in pop-culture terms.Boring, as far as theStaris concerned.No offence.”
“None taken.”Laurie bit back a smile.“You’re right.Thisreporter had a personal grudge, that’s all.I called him a fewnames at a Pride march.”
“Well, this is what I mean.”Folding his hands on the table,Arnold leaned forward.“Listen.No Pride marches, no name-calling,no pissing off the gutter press.And no brave statements about oursexuality either.Once we’re out, we’re out, and to be brutallyhonest, we don’t want to make a feature of that.”
Laurie tried not to recoil.Something in Arnold’s finalthathad stung him like awhip.He hadn’t encountered anything like it since leaving home.Sasha’s knee pressed his beneath the table, and Laurie, suddenlywary of any concealment, took his lover’s warm hand in plain sighton top of it.“Why the hell not?”
“I’ve seen it happen a dozen times, even with the best actors.You can get typecast.We don’t want you playing Charles andSebastian for the rest of your life.”
Laurie shifted restlessly.Sasha let go his hand before Laurieknew for himself that he wanted to be on his feet, in motion,pacing away from the outburst he could feel building in his chest.Between Arnold, Alison, Bertram, burnt pans and Sasha’s bad dreams,he was just about ready to jump out of his skin.“It might bebeyond evenmygifts,” he said lightly, slipping around behind Arnold’s backand rattling coffee cups, “to play Charles and Sebastian at thesame time.”But his own words threw down the gauntlet.For Sasha’samusement—the brown eyes were on him, way too concerned—he assumeda pose of thoughtful, deeply repressed English passion by the sink.Then he unhooked Clara’s set of keys from the rack, clutched thelittle teddy bear she used as a key ring, and became dissolute andfragile.“Hmm.Or maybe I can.”
“Laurence, I don’t know what you’re doing back there, but stop.This is serious.The theatrical establishment isn’t imaginative.I’m not about to have you trapped forever in Brideshead—or musicaladventures from the sexy youth of Oscar Wilde...”
“Oscar?”Laurie shook his hair a little.A side partingappeared.His sculptured features took on a certain sensual weight.By this time Sasha was fighting to keep a straight face, so Laurielaid off, satisfied.“Look, Arnie.I don’t even want to come out asgay, not particularly.Everybody knows anyway, and it’s not thepoint.”He slipped lithely round to the other side of the table andhitched himself onto it, squeezing Sasha’s shoulder.“I want tocome out as off the market.Married.Then everybody will know wherethey stand, and there’ll be no more fuss.”
“Married,” Arnold repeated.“To...”
“To Sasha, of course.”Laurie grinned at his lover, who waswatching him open-mouthed, his eyes a dilated blank.“Well,sweetheart?Isn’t it about time?”
“It isnotthetime!”Arnie thumped a fist down so hard that the cups leapt intheir saucers.“Laurence Fitzroy, you hired me as your manager.Ifyou won’t heed my advice in that role, I can’t take responsibilityfor...Good holy Christ, is that letter from RalfEvans?”
“SirRalf,” Laurie responded, hiseffort at comic reproof a fragile one.Sasha was still watchinghim, and Laurie knew he’d crossed a line, though of what nature hewasn’t yet sure.“A little respect, Arnie.Please.”
“But this is offering you the part of Romeo.”
“That’s right.”
“At theBarbican?Romeo andJuliet?”
“Just Romeo on this occasion.Sir Ralf’s notunreasonable.”
Arnoldspread the letter out.His expression was an extraordinary blend ofchagrin and hungry delight.“I didn’t put you up for thisaudition.”
“Course not.It’s way out of my league.”Laurie shrugged.“Ionly went along for a laugh.I didn’t think I’d get pastsecurity.”
“But yougotit.You’re going to be Sir Ralf Evans’ Romeo.”
“If I accept, yes.”
