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Neither Pauline nor Garnie were prepared for the stir Pauline's arrival created in Hollywood. For a certain type of movie, British stars were suddenly all the rage, and the appearance of a fresh face – and young and pretty at that – was big news among the studios and their stars.
It was all a little overwhelming for poor Pauline, who had never returned to the bumptiousness she had exhibited in her very first stage lead as Alice. The whispers (and sometimes even applause) when she walked into a restaurant were bemusing to her, and embarrassing. Then again, Garnie's reactions to some of the stars they came across embarrassed Pauline as well. Most of them, in Pauline's eyes, weren't really actors, and once or twice she exclaimed in letters to Petrova that she wished Garnie would have the grace to swoon over actors in private (although as soon as she'd sent the letter, she regretted it, and sent a second after it begging Petrova to destroy the first).
But the day they met Ivor Novello was a splendid day for both of them. He was walking by a restaurant just as they were walking in. It wasn't a fancy place, but they were due to meet with a studio executive in an hour, and Garnie didn't want to go home when they could eat nearby.
Mr Novello tipped his hat. 'Miss Fossil, I've been looking forward to meeting you. Ivor Novello.'
'Mr Novello!' exclaimed Pauline. 'I've so admired your plays,' she said, for her time in Hollywood had already made her more confident in conducting conversations with grown ups.
Garnie, meanwhile, was speechless, and Pauline had to introduce her.
'May I take you both to lunch?' asked Ivor. 'I've not seen another Englishman for a long time, and here are two charming English women: I must seize the opportunity.'
Garnie nodded, and they soon found themselves at a table with Ivor, who chatted calmly with Pauline about life as an English actor in America.
'They're falling over themselves to get near you,' Ivor said matter-of-factly when Pauline shyly raised her surprise over the reaction she seemed to receive. 'I haven't seen a fuss like this since Wiseman brought Elsie over from England. Speaking of which, if a producer named Wiseman wants to work with you, please call me first. He's not a bad fellow, but he needs handling, and not everyone knows how to do so. But I've seen your pictures,' Ivor went on. 'You're no flash-in-the-pan as Elsie was. I know you'd rather be on stage – '
'Oh dear,' said Pauline. 'I thought I'd hidden that.'
'Not from fellow stager, my dear,' replied Ivor. 'I know you'd rather be on stage, but you light up the screen terribly well, and that's one thing these Americans really do like. You'll go on for many years. As long as you want to, and can bear to be away from England, I suspect.'
'Mr Novello,' said Garnie, who had recovered her ability to speak by this time, 'You don't know how refreshing it is to hear that from someone…, well, from Home.'
'I can imagine,' said Ivor. 'You must both come to one of my British Teas,' he added. 'We none of us bite. Besides, I think I might want to write a song about you, Miss Fossil.'
'Really?' asked Pauline in astonishment.
But it was quite true. Less than a year later, Pauline was writing to her sisters to tell them that although actresses seldom made it into the history books, she had managed to put their name into a piece of music by Ivor Novello, that looked like becoming something of a hit in America.
Petrova and Gum grinned over the letter, while in Czechoslovakia, Posy essentially ignored it. Nana, however, was divided in her reaction. On the one hand, there was something terribly common about popular song. But on the other, well, that Mr Novello was such a handsome man, who sang beautifully, and Sylvia's letters had been full of praises for him. Nana supposed that worse things could happen in Hollywood.