Ruby (Landry 1)

destroy some-one else's life? Why was Grandmere

Catherine so sure this was the right thing for me to

do? My twin sister obviously resented my very

existence? What was to keep my father from doing the

same? My heart teetered on the edge of a precipice,

ready to plunge and die if he came into this house and

rejected me.

Shortly after, I heard the sound of Edgar

Farrar's footsteps as he raced down the corridor to

open the front door. I heard other voices and people

hurrying in.

"In the living room, monsieur," Beau Andreas

called, and a moment later my eyes took in my real

father's face. How many times had I sat before my

mirror and imagined him by transposing my own

facial features onto the blank visage I conjured before me? Yes, he had the same soft green eyes and we had the same shaped nose and chin. His face was leaner, firmer, his forehead rolled back gently under the shock of thick chestnut hair brushed back at the sides

with just a small pompadour at the front.

He was tall, at least six feet two, and had a slim

but firm looking torso with shoulders that sloped

gracefully into his arms, the physique of a tennis

player, easily discernable in his Mardi Gras costume:

a tight fitting silver outfit designed to resemble a suit

of armor, such as those worn by medieval knights. He

had the helmet in his arms. He fastened his gaze on

me and his face went from a look of surprise and

astonishment to a smile of happy amazement. Before a word was spoken, Daphne Dumas

came up beside him. She wore a bright blue tunic with

long, tight sleeves, the skirt of which had a long train

and an embroidered gold fringe. It fit closely down to

her hips, but was wider after. It was buttoned in front