“It’s not that I don’t want—” he started.
“No, I understand. I’m still that bothersome child who followed you about,” Ruby said softly.
He shook his head. “You aren’t. If anything, I don’t know who you are.”
“I’m the same.”
He pressed her skirts down and helped her stand before him. He stood looking down at her, not sure what to say or do. He felt desire for her, but he also wanted to do the right thing. He didn’t want to take advantage of her feelings for him.
“Remember, Ruby. I’ll be with you on board the ship. King doesn’t know that we know each other. We’re strangers.”
Ruby nodded. Strangers. This man that she had loved her entire life had rejected her because she was just Ruby Mae Sutton. The bothersome girl who had followed him around, nothing more. He may care for her out of some misplaced duty, but he didn’t love her. Her heart felt heavy.
Ford said nothing as he looked down into her beautiful face. She had woven a silken web around his heart, and he didn’t know how it had happened.
“I should go,” he said softly.
She nodded, and he was gone.
11
“Ruby.”
Ruby jerked awake when she heard her name being called. She looked up to see Bessie standing before her. She felt disoriented and suddenly remembered falling asleep on the sofa in her dressing room after Ford had left. It was now the next morning.
“Did you sleep here last night?” Bessie asked.
Ruby nodded and moved to her dressing table to run a brush through her hair.
“I must have been tired.”
“You should dress. Remember, today is the run-through for the new show. I understand King will be here to watch.”
“Oh yes. I had quite forgotten.”
King and Vernon had met after his decision to finance the tour and decided that everyone needed a fresh act. The Vadas sisters had been excited to try out a new seductive act with eastern-type veils and gauzy costumes to entice the men.
Lou had added two new acts that everyone laughed at when he performed privately for them, and the mysterious Lee Chen had added another magic act. Zeta had remained top billing and added several new songs, though she refused to give up her old songs.
“People love them! They love me!” she had proclaimed hotly.
Bessie and Archie had added a ragtime dance to their repertoire as well as a new dance called the “tango,” which was sexy and exotic. The music that accompanied it was equally foreign. Ruby was sure the first time they performed it the audience would be stunned, and she was happy to see her friend shine.
She pulled on a blue cotton dress that was frayed at the cuffs and slipped into her low heels. She knew she would have to dip into her savings for the tour. She would need at least four dresses for casual sightseeing, two fine evening gowns, a new pair of gloves, a hat, and shoes. She might even need a warm coat as the one she had taken from home was over five years old and looked quite shabby.
She tallied the amount in her head that she would need for the new clothes and grimaced. It would be more than she wanted to spend. She thought about asking Ford for the money, but she wouldn’t. She would spend the money and damn the amount. Besides, if things kept looking up, she would soon be making enough money if she was second billing beneath Zeta.
“Come on, come on!” Vern said as they all entered the stage. “Take your seats to the side.”
Max had placed chairs for them all, and Ruby looked out into the audience and saw the lone figure seated smack-dab in the middle of the theater. He balanced a hat on his knee, and his large overcoat was thrown over the back of the chair next to him.
Vern began calling out the new lineup so everyone would know when they performed, and then he stopped when he came upon the end of the first act.
“We’re ready when you are, Mr. Parker,” Vernon called out.
A curt nod from King, and the rehearsal began.
When the rehearsal was finished, Max bounded off the stage to King’s side. He returned with a handwritten list as King donned his coat and hat and left the theater.