The Vaudeville Star

by Nicola Italia

  Lee Chen and Archie played cards and strolled the deck while the Vadas sisters were like bright flowers among drab daisies. They seemed to catch the attention of every single man on board ship from eighteen to eighty.

  Dinner was delicious, and afterward many of the men retired to the smoking room for cigars and brandy. Ruby was approached by a waiter who had an invitation from King to join him for an after-dinner drink.

  Bidding Bessie a warm good night, she made her way to the smoking room, which was graced with two large domes and a delicately carved ceiling with molded ribs. She was wearing a lavender-colored gown with a V-neck and off-the-shoulder sleeves as she joined King and several men.

  She noticed Vern sat on the long sofa with a glass of port with King in a chair facing him. Ford was seated nearby, and Max was also in the circle. King stood when he saw her, and the other men followed suit. She took the couch opposite Vern.

  “Please don’t let me interrupt you.” She smiled at them all.

  “You aren’t, Ruby. After all, I invited you,” King said.

  Ruby saw the dark look that passed over Ford’s face before he shuttered it. King waved over a waiter and asked Ruby what she would like to drink.

  “A brandy please,” she said.

  “We were talking about London. We’ve all been, apparently. Ford with his sister, Vernon when he was a child, and I on my honeymoon. Have you been?”

  “No, I haven’t. In fact, besides my hometown, my school in Connecticut, and of course New York, I’ve never traveled.”

  “Your family didn’t like to travel, my dear?” he asked, leaning toward her.

  Ruby noticed Ford’s jaw tense while Vern focused on something Max had said.

  “No. My Momma liked being at home, and so home we stayed,” Ruby explained.

  “You have a most charming accent, I’ve always thought. Alabama? Georgia?” King asked.

  “Mississippi.”

  “Ah, yes. Mississippi. You’re from Mississippi as well, aren’t you, Ford?” King said, turning to look at Ford.

  But before Ford could answer, Vern and Max bid them all a good night, leaving the threesome behind.

  “I’ve never been. To Mississippi, that is,” King said as he sipped his drink.

  “You should come visit. Southern hospitality is unparalleled.”

  “Is it indeed?”

  “Yes.” Ruby smiled. The brandy warmed her.

  “Perhaps I can visit your hometown.”

  “I doubt there is anything of interest to see.”

  “Nonsense. It is your hometown.”

  Ford stood suddenly, almost knocking his chair back. “If you’ll both excuse me. I have things that I must attend to. King.” He nodded at his employer. “Miss Sutton.”

  He was gone no more than a minute when King touched Ruby’s hand. “Let me walk you back to your cabin. You’ve been so generous with your time.”

  Ruby felt the tingle of the alcohol in her veins, and she nodded. “Thank you. I accept.”

  She took his arm, and together they strolled along the deck, admiring the dark sky and the twinkling stars.

  “A lovely night,” he said as his hand dipped lower on her back.

  “It is.”

  When they finally stopped walking, she realized they stood before his suite.

  “Come in for a drink. One more won’t hurt,” he said softly.

  Ruby looked at his face and nodded. “All right.”

  She knew she shouldn’t, but the brandy had gone to her head, and the reservations she might have felt disappeared. She felt warm and alive.

  Inside his suite, she looked around the sitting room and saw the bedroom through the open door. He poured two glasses and handed her one.

  “I’m afraid it’s whiskey.”

  “That’s fine,” she said, but when she sipped it, she shuddered. “Oh!”

  King laughed. “It’s a little rough. It takes getting used to.”

  “Yes, I can see that.”

  He sipped his whiskey and studied her in the low gaslight. “You are a lovely woman, Ruby.”

  “Am I?”

  “Don’t be coy.”

  “I’m not. My mother always preferred my sister, and I always had the impression I was an ugly duckling.”

  “Not at all, my dear.” King moved to her, and when he caught her in his arms, she yelped and immediately pressed her hands against his chest.

  “King!” she said softly.

  “I’m smitten, my dear! It’s only a matter of time until this damned mourning is done, and then you will be my wife.”

  “No, please—”

  Just then, a hard knock fell on the door, and Ford came in without being bid to enter. King and Ruby sprang apart, but not before Ford had taken it all in. Ruby wrapped in King’s arms with a pink face. Meanwhile, King looked like a cat who was about to taste all the cream.

  “I apologize. I didn’t see you in the smoking room and wanted to make certain you were all right,” Ford said gruffly, but nothing was further from the truth.

  “That’s fine, Ford, my boy. That’s fine. I was just complimenting Ruby here. She’s a lovely creature.” King chuckled.

  Ruby realized that King had had too much to drink. He slumped onto the sofa as he waved a hand at them both.

  “See Ruby back to her room, Ford. My legs have given out. Damned nuisance!”

  “Of course, King.”

  Ford’s hand was at Ruby’s back as they exited the suite. He said nothing as he walked her back to her own cabin. When she stepped inside, he was right behind her. Suddenly, he was jerking her to him, his face a mask of anger.

  “What the hell was that?” he said lowly.

  “He invited me into his suite for a drink.” Ruby fought the urge to press into him.

  “My God, Ruby! Did you see him? He had his hands all over you! He wanted to bed you!”

  “He was drunk.”

  “Don’t defend him! If he’s drunk, that’s even worse! Then he can forget his manners and behave like an animal!”

  “And you? You’re behaving equally bad. Let go of me.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes. You have no right to touch me!”

  “No right?” He pulled her flush against him.

  She could feel the tension in his entire body, and she closed her eyes as his mouth dipped near her ear.

  “I’ve no right? I remember your sighs in my ear when I entered you. I remember my cock stained with your virgin blood. I have no right?” he repeated again.

  Ruby closed her eyes at his coarse words. “You’re being vulgar, Ford. Disgusting.”

  “No, Ruby. I’m just not going to stand by and watch King fawn and fuck you when by all rights you belong to me.”

  Ruby shivered at his words. You belong to me. “You’re drunk too.”

  “Maybe. Or maybe I’ve just begun to realize what I really want.”

  “Which is?”

  “You know. You knew before me.”

  “What do I know?”

  “It’s always been you, Ruby. And it’s always been me. Since that night long ago in the watering hole when you were seducing me and you didn’t even know the meaning of the word.”

  “That was a childhood crush.”

  “And Connecticut?” he asked roughly.

  “A mistake.”

  He paused for a second. “I won’t let him have you, Ruby. You are mine. You gave yourself to me in Connecticut. You knew what you were doing. Sure, the timing was all wrong and you were grieving for your father, but don’t hide behind that.”

  “I’ve never hidden my feelings. You’ve always known I loved you.”

  “Do you love me still?” he asked hoarsely.

  “I think it was as you said long ago. A childhood fantasy. Maybe half wanting you as a crush and the other half not wanting Pernetta to have you,” she lied, not daring to believe that he had suddenly fallen in love.

  “That’s bullshit.”

  “I lo
ved you for years, and now because another man is giving me the slightest attention you decide, what? That you love me? That you want me?”

  Ruby tried to jerk her arm away, but he held her tight. “I’ve always wanted you, Ruby.”

  He wanted to kiss her so badly. He wanted to feel her soft lips against his. He wanted to feel those delicious curves under his hands. He wanted those legs wrapped around his waist and her sighs in his ear.

  “You should go,” she whispered.

  He gave her a scorching look, as if he barely had control of his emotions, but said nothing more and left.

  When he was gone, Ruby felt her legs give way, and she leaned against the dresser. She had been so close to throwing herself at him and making a fool out of herself once more. She longed for him and knew that in her heart there was no room for any other man.

  15

  Ruby stared out into the deep blue sea as she waited for Bessie to join her so they could take breakfast together. She thought of the night before with King, who had been drunk and not behaving like himself. But she wasn’t as concerned about him as she was about Ford.

  His behavior worried her. His dark eyes and his words burned into her brain, and the desire and the heat of him had completely dissolved the normally cool man she had grown up with. He seemed to be consumed by a jealousy that she didn’t understand. He wanted her. He had said as much, but there was an underlying need mixed with regret that she didn’t understand.

  “Ah. The little peasant,” Zeta said, joining her at the ship’s rail.

  “Good morning, Zeta.”

  “Yes. Yes. It is a good morning. Clouds roll by, and the blue of the sky stays.” Zeta waved at hand at it.

  Ruby smiled at the poetic words. “Indeed.”

  “I wonder that you are up so early.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that you noticed my schedule. It is breakfast time, is it not?”

  “Oh yes. Si. It is. I should correct my comment and say, a woman who juggles two men must be very tired. I would have guessed that you would be in bed still. Although whose bed, I really couldn’t say.”

  Ruby felt herself grown warm and turned to the diva. “What are you insinuating?”

  “Oh, but no, little one. I’m not insinuating anything. I saw you in the smoking room surrounded by your admirers. So sweet! Then you are in King’s cabin. What you do there is your own business, of course.”

  “It is my business. And so you know, I went in for a drink.” Ruby corrected her. “At his request.”

  “Oh, good. Excellent! I would use that excuse myself.” Zeta nodded approvingly.

  “It’s the truth!” Ruby fumed.

  “Oh, I see. Then the other one comes along. The good-looking one with the broad shoulders and sexy mouth.”

  Ruby knew she was speaking of Ford, but she said nothing.

  “Suddenly, you are no longer with King but with the other one in your own cabin. Another drink?” Zeta smirked.

  “No. We were talking about—”

  “Talking?” Zeta let out a sharp laugh. “No, no, no. That won’t do. No one would believe that story. A man and a woman alone in a cabin late at night talking? Maybe you needed help reaching something high up.” She arched an eyebrow.

  “This is ridiculous. I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

  Zeta smiled, but it was a cold one. “No. You don’t. Not to me. I don’t care who you spread your legs for. But King might.”

  Ruby was about to speak, but Zeta continued.

  “Men are so territorial. Are they not? They want to be the only one. They want to be the first. The last. I think this King spends money to impress you. To obtain you. I don’t think he’ll like you giving yourself to the other one.”

  “Nothing happened,” Ruby repeated angrily.

  “That could be. It’s possible.” Zeta moved away from the railing. “But who would believe you?”

  Ruby watched Zeta leave and closed her eyes. She knew Zeta well enough. She was baiting her. She would say nothing to jeopardize the tour. She hadn’t even been with Ford that long, but she must tread carefully. She must be careful when she was with Ford in company and appear to be the strangers they were supposed to be.

  Bessie joined her soon enough, and they moved into the dining room to sit with Vernon and Max. Max nodded happily at them while Vernon seemed highly annoyed.

  “Shhhh!” he told them both. “My head is pounding!”

  “Too much to drink?” Ruby asked.

  “You think?” he said irritably and left the table.

  Archie and Lee Chen replaced him just as Ford entered the dining saloon. He looked handsome in a dark blue suit, and when he walked past the table, their eyes met briefly. She saw Zeta behind him with a knowing smile on her face, and she turned her attention to her breakfast.

  When she finished her toast and coffee, she quit the saloon. She felt a headache coming on. She was tired of the intrigue that seemed to surround her. She passed by the library and saw King alone, reading the paper with a brandy at his elbow.

  “Is that your breakfast?” she asked, smiling.

  He smiled as well. “Hair of the dog and all that rubbish. Join me.”

  Ruby sat across from him and arranged her skirts.

  “Do I need to apologize for anything last night, my dear? I’m afraid I consumed too much of this damned stuff.”

  “Not at all. You were the perfect gentleman.”

  “Was I? I’m sorry to hear that!” he teased her.

  “We had a nightcap, and then I left. That was all.”

  “Excellent. I must say I would hate to think of a night spent with you and not remember it. That’s a crime!”

  “King,” she lightly admonished.

  He moved to sit beside her. “I’ve been so long with a certain type of woman, Ruby. I forgot that they could be innocent and fresh.”

  He touched her hand. “I know Vern made arrangements at some hotel in London.”

  “Yes. Durrants.”

  “I have a town house in Mayfair. It’s close to Hyde Park. It has six bedrooms with a morning room and everything else you could wish.”

  “It sounds quite nice.”

  “I purchased it years ago before I married. I entertained there and used it as my base when I was in London. Half the time it stands empty. Damned shame.”

  “An empty house is lonely.”

  “I would like to ask a great favor of you.”

  “Please do,” she said unsure of his question.

  “I will need to entertain once I settle in. Small dinner parties and such. For business. I would like you to act as a hostess with me. Greet the guests. Mingle. I have servants, but a beautiful woman is essential.”

  “King—I’ve never done anything like that.”

  “Surely you had parties back home?”

  “Yes. But my mother and sister were the center of attention. Not me. I was still young.”

  “Exactly. Now you can be. Don’t say no. You will meet influential people. I’ll schedule them around your performances. I’ll buy you the finest gowns, and all you need do is smile and be yourself.”

  His hands gripped hers, and she felt him tightening his hold on her. She felt obligated. Suffocated. Once again, she knew that his generosity came at a price.

  “Of course. Of course I’ll help you.”

  King leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You’ll see. You’ll enjoy it. It is the life you were meant to have, Ruby.”

  King puffed on his cigar while Ford twirled the brandy in his glass across from him. They sat together in the library waiting for dinner to be announced.

  “She’s agreed to act as hostess for the London parties. It will be perfect,” King announced to him.

  Ford was miles away. He had dreamed again of Ruby last night. She had been naked and wet in the watering hole, but not as a girl. She was a woman grown, and he had taken her. He had woken with a fine sheen of perspiration all over his body and his seed in the bedsheets.
He hadn’t done that since he was a young boy. He vaguely heard King speaking, and he turned to him.

  “I’m sorry. Who will act as hostess?”

  “Ruby. It’s perfect! Can you imagine her as hostess to the Mayfair parties? It will only be a small step toward her becoming Ruby Parker. Although she’ll have to give up this ridiculous stage business.”

  “Will she?” Ford said wryly, thinking of Ruby’s stubborn will.

  “Of course, man! I can’t have my wife onstage, leered at by every man. It’s indecent. That’s why I’m allowing her this tour. Her last tour. She can go out on top!”

  “Very generous of you,” Ford said drily.

  “He’s asked me to act as a hostess for him in London,” Ruby told Bessie as they strolled along the promenade deck.

  “Hostess?” Bessie turned to her.

  “Yes.”

  “Won’t you be too busy performing?”

  “He said he’ll schedule entertaining around the performances.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  Ruby fingered a bit of lace along her dress. “I feel obligated, Bess. He’s done so much. How can I say no?”

  “I see that, Ruby. He’s financed everything. The ship’s passage, the hotel rooms. The tour.”

  “Don’t say it aloud. It sounds immense,” Ruby complained.

  “I’m sure it’s a small fortune,” Bessie said quietly. “But when you think of it in his terms, it’s probably a drop in the bucket.”

  Ruby remained silent.

  “And if he’s doing it to win you over, it’s much nicer than chocolates.”

  Ruby laughed. “To help my career onstage? Much nicer!”

  When the note was delivered to her cabin, she read it with dread. It was an invitation to dine privately in King’s cabin that evening. She pulled her gowns out to view them and looked at each one with a critical eye.

  One gown had a low-cut neckline, and she didn’t want to entice him. Another gown was perfect, but it had a small rip that needed to be repaired. One dress was white linen but more suitable for afternoon tea. In the end, she chose that one and dressed quickly. She combed her hair and pinned back her blond curls. She wore her favorite diamond earrings, which had been a gift from her father on her sixteenth birthday.