The Vaudeville Star Page 25

  As the rain mingled with her tears, she knew that he was not coming. She was alone. On board an ocean liner with a madman. A man obsessed with her. A man who had killed to be with her. She felt the sickness well up in her throat.

  “Come along, Ruby. I can’t have you catch cold,” he said, appearing at her elbow.

  She thought wildly of jumping overboard in that instant. She could easily be caught by everyone on the dock—but no. She allowed herself to be steered to her cabin as she felt the ship move from the dock. Their journey had begun.

  “We must dress for dinner. That garnet-colored dress. You know the one I mean. You’ll wear that.”

  The door closed behind him, and Ruby sank into a chair. How could her life, which had been so utterly perfect one minute, turn into such a nightmare in the next? She shrugged out of her clothes and looked down at the garnet dress. She remembered wearing it to tease Ford. She had wanted to gain his attention. She remembered his hands on her body as they danced in front of everyone.

  Now the ship would take her across the ocean and away from the man she loved. She needed to be strong. She donned the gown and arranged her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror. She must perform again. She must smile and keep herself calm and not let King see the utter revulsion she now felt for him.

  She moved out of the cabin and along the deck to the edge of the ship. She took in deep breaths, readying herself to face the monster. She must pretend. She must perform this very important role. Once in New York, she would escape. He could not hold her forever.

  The breeze ruffled her hair, and she had the strangest sensation of being watched. When she turned abruptly, she saw no one. It was dark, and except for the stars above and the gaslights, there was no one. She was alone. She moved back inside and put a smile on her face.

  “My dear. You look lovely,” he said as she joined him at the table for dinner.

  “Thank you.”

  “I know you aren’t happy, my dear, but it will all be made right. We will have an annulment declared once we reach New York, and then we can marry.” He took a sip of his brandy.

  “An annulment? On what basis?” Ruby asked.

  “Well, as I understand, there are many different ways to have an annulment declared. Underage, fraud, using force, or lunacy.”

  “But I am not underage, and there was no fraud nor force used. And lunacy? That’s ridiculous.”

  “Perhaps,” King said as he sipped his brandy. “We could say the marriage was not consummated.”

  Ruby smiled in return. “I don’t think that would work either. It was consummated many times over.”

  King set his wineglass down as their food arrived and waited until the waiter had left. “Let’s be clear about one thing. I have been tested by you one too many times. I will not be again. Keep a civil tongue. I would not like to have to teach you the same lesson as dear Lourdes.”

  Ruby ate little of the meal, and when the orchestra struck up in the next room, King smiled.

  “Shall we enjoy the music?” He held out his hand.

  Ruby was in no mood to dance but walked to the next room followed by King, who was enjoying his second brandy. A ragtime song began, and many of the younger couples took to the floor, but they remained seated. When a slow waltz started, she watched as the dance floor grew more crowded.

  “May I have this dance?” a sandy-haired man asked Ruby, and she looked to King.

  “Of course, my dear.” He waved a hand at her, but his eyes glittered dangerously, and she knew he would be watching her.

  Ruby accepted the young man’s hand, and they moved out onto the floor. The lights were low, and the crush of people caused her partner to be on his guard lest he plow them into another couple. They were only halfway into the waltz when a man tapped him on the shoulder.

  Ruby moved into the next man’s arms as she felt the couples move together all around them.

  “Ruby Mae Rutledge,” said the voice holding her.

  She jerked up to see his face and bit her lip to keep from crying. “Ford.”

  “My darling bride,” he said as they moved together gracefully.

  Relief flooded into her. “I never doubted you.”

  Ford grinned. “And you never should.”

  “You followed us immediately?” Her eyes filled with love.

  “Of course. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was thinking. Le Havre is the port to catch a ship bound for New York. He certainly wouldn’t risk going to England.”

  “You’re completely wonderful,” she said, wanting nothing more than to melt into his arms.

  “Am I? I think you’re rather special too.” They made another turn about the floor. “Listen very carefully. I have several Paris policemen with me. They have been in contact with Inspector Thompson, and King is wanted for the murder of Lourdes Banegas.”

  “He confessed to me. He told me everything,” Ruby said. “It was awful.”

  “It’s almost over, Ruby. Just follow my lead and do nothing. We need to be away from this crowd. He’s unpredictable.”

  Pulling her hand, he led her off the dance floor and made a beeline for the door, making sure King saw them. King was staring into his brandy glass, but he looked up to see Ford and Ruby. He was on his feet in an instant. Ford and Ruby ran out onto the deck. When they were at the stern of the ship, Ford and Ruby turned to face King. He had been drinking heavily that night, and he swayed on his feet.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Goddamn you, Ford! You knew all along I wanted her as mine, and yet you were coveting her like some scoundrel!”

  “That isn’t the way it was at all. I’ve known Ruby her entire life. Stupidly, I didn’t realize how much I loved her until recently.”

  “How touching! So very touching!” King mocked.

  “This isn’t going to have a happy ending,” Ford told him.

  “Not for you!” King snarled. Suddenly, a knife was in his hand, and he lunged at Ford.

  Ford moved easily out of the way. “It’s over, King. Inspector Thompson in London knows it was you who murdered Lourdes, and the Paris police are on board to bring you back to face justice.”

  “Bullshit! You’re lying! I know your poker face. It was always awful!” King roared. “Look about you! It’s just us!”

  Ruby looked around the stern. Who was telling the truth? She saw no one about. The ship’s railing was to the back of them and the water down below, but only the three of them were there.

  “When they need to be seen, they will be. In the meantime, drop the knife and end this. You aren’t escaping this. You will stand trial for Lourdes’s murder.”

  “That bitch!”

  “Why did you do it, King? Why? For Ruby? For yourself?” Ford asked.

  King licked his lips. “Ruby was always meant to be mine. Lourdes was in the way. She should have been happy with what I gave her. Instead, she wanted more. Always more.”

  “And Caroline? Did you kill her too?” Ford asked, shaking his head.

  “I never laid a finger on Caroline,” he said hotly.

  “Your mother, perhaps?”

  King lunged at Ford, trying to jab the knife into his side, but Ford knocked the knife from his hand. The two men fought viciously as Ruby looked wildly around for the policemen that Ford said were there. King tried to choke Ford and push him overboard, but Ford kicked King hard in the stomach, forcing him down on his knees.

  “Bastard.” He coughed.

  “Men!” Ford yelled, and four men materialized out of thin air to surround King.

  The men were dressed in dark suits and immediately handcuffed King, taking him into their custody.

  “Merci, Monsieur,” the lead policeman said in deference to Ford.

  The ship’s captain had been alerted to the situation, and the ship would immediately return to Le Havre with King in police custody. He would then be taken back to London to Inspector Thompson to face charges for the murder of Lourdes Banegas.

  Ruby threw herself in
to Ford’s arms as they both watched King being led away.

  “It’s over.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

  “It’s over,” he said, holding her tightly.

  He kissed her mouth and pulled the ring from his pocket, placing it back on her finger.

  “Back where it belongs, my darling girl.”

  “It certainly is.”

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  Ruby Rutledge was a full-fledged star. Following the tour in London and Paris, she returned to the United States and received financial backing for a tour. The vaudeville troupe traveled heavily for a year and were well loved by audiences everywhere. Ruby was interviewed and photographed and constantly written about in numerous newspapers, and young girls all over the country admired her.

  When she traveled to Mississippi, her mother and sister did not attend the show, though Ford’s family was thrilled to see them both again. She was welcomed with open arms and finally found a family who loved her for herself.

  In London, after a long trial, William “King” Parker was hanged for the murder of his mistress, Lourdes Banegas. Though no formal charges were brought against Alice Parker for killing Caroline Parker, she was ostracized in New York society and became a recluse in her own home.

  Ruby returned to the New York stage, where she received top billing after Zeta retired. Ezra and Bessie were married in a quiet ceremony, and Ford continued to work as a Pinkerton detective, though they talked about taking an extended leave to return home to Mississippi for a respite.

  They rented a small town house in New York and furnished it, carefully choosing each piece of furniture together. As autumn came, Ford and Ruby lay in their mahogany bed under the blanket with their limbs tangled together. Ford’s hand moved over Ruby’s belly that was just now beginning to curve outward.

  “I think, for a son, we should give him a good Southern name.”

  “Like?” Ruby asked.

  “Jefferson.”

  “And if it’s a girl?”

  “Magnolia.”

  “Magnolia?” Ruby laughed.

  “That’s a good Southern name,” he said defensively.

  “Ford, I am not naming my daughter Magnolia.”

  “Our daughter,” he corrected.

  “Our daughter,” she agreed.

  He turned to stare at her in the dark. “Darling Ruby. Did you ever think this would be us? Together as husband and wife, with a child on the way?”

  “I hoped.”

  He kissed her lips sweetly and then pulled her against him.

  “Hope. Hope Rutledge.” She moved her hand along her belly. “Jefferson Rutledge.”

  She snuggled against him and sighed. “Or we could just call him Bubba.”

  Ford chuckled. “Go to sleep, brat.”

  “Cletus?” She giggled softly as she rested her head on his chest. She could hear his strong heartbeat. “Good night, Ford.”

  He kissed the top of her head and touched her hair. “Good night, Ruby Mae. My darling wife.”

  Also by Nicola Italia

  The Sheik and the Slave

  The Tea Plantation

  The Sheik’s Son

  The Reign of Love and Chaos

  Love in the Valley of the Kings

  The Three Graces

  The Boston Girl

  Seasons of Love

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  Excerpt - The Three Graces

  Cruz met his father on his way back to the house. “I am required elsewhere, but please see to our guest in the stables. Her name is Natalia.”

  Cruz nodded. “Of course, Papa.”

  He moved toward the stables and thought it unusual that a woman would wish to see the stables at a fiesta. Most women he knew would be concerned about their dress and hair, not horseflesh.

  He stepped inside the large stables and felt the cooler temperature. The horses were each inside their stalls, and he saw a figure at the far end of the large structure. She was dressed in a dark blue gown. He took long strides toward the woman. He would see her safely back, as his father wished.

  “Senorita,” he said swiftly, and when she turned, he felt his heart begin to race.

  “You!” she said, startled.

  Natalia noticed his crisp clothes, from the cut of his trousers made of wool to the jacket he wore that emphasized his shoulders and hips. Everything about him spoke of quality and breeding, and suddenly she knew without a doubt who he was.

  “Senor Villareal,” she said quietly.

  “And you must be Natalia de la Rosa,” he said softly.

  Natalia almost flinched as he spoke her name so softly and with such sensuality. He enunciated every syllable of her name drawing it out as Nah-ta-lee-ah.

  “Must I?”

  “My father asked that I see to our guest, and he said her name was Natalia.”

  “But why de la Rosa?”

  “When I returned from Spain, I was told we had new neighbors, and that Don Paco had three daughters of uncommon loveliness. The eldest one in particular was said to be quite beautiful.”

  Natalia blushed under his dark scrutiny.

  “You shouldn’t listen to gossip,” she said.

  “Let me escort you back, Natalia.” He threaded his arm through hers.

  Natalia turned to him. “You may call me senorita, which is proper since I don’t give you leave to use my Christian name.”

  “Now why is that? I quite like the taste of it on my tongue.”

  Natalia flushed. “Your behavior is inappropriate.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yes. It is.”

  “I don’t recall any objection the other night when we were at the ocean’s edge.”

  Natalia looked around to make certain that they were alone. “Nothing happened the other night except that you touched me when I did not give you leave to! And I said nothing because I thought you an ill-bred ruffian.”

  He gazed down at her oval face and into her warm brown eyes. She was a lovely woman, and it amazed him that she was not already married with several children. What man wouldn’t want to bed her quickly and make her his?

  “Ruffian? I thought I was a bandit, though in truth I am a Californio with Spanish blood,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  “And I’m a Mexican woman of Sonora,” she said proudly.

  “Our children would be another generation of Californios, were we to marry,” he said, caressing her arm.

  Natalia was shocked at his words. “Marry? I’m sorry, Senor Villareal, but I can say with utmost certainty that I will never marry you. You’re very arrogant, and you presume too much.”

  Cruz made a tsk-tsk sound. “That is most unfortunate. Because I suddenly find that after all this time, I am ready to marry.”

  “Then I wish you much luck in your pursuit of a bride.” She tried to move away from him only to find him holding her arm in his firm, warm grasp.

  “If I did wish to marry you, Natalia, nothing on earth would stop me from having what I want,” he said before he pulled her into his arms.

  When his mouth touched hers, the kiss was filled with desire and a hint of anger. His tongue touched hers, and she was startled.

  Since that first meeting at the ocean’s edge, he had been enchanted by her beauty and spirit. She was like one of his father’s magnificent Arabians. He wanted to possess her but also hold her and keep her safe. It was a feeling that overwhelmed him and shocked him. He had never felt that way about a woman.

  Natalia’s heart raced, and she realized that she was kissing a virtual stranger. She felt desire for him, and it was a new and somewhat disconcerting feeling. When she pushed away from him, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand without thinking.

  “That’s offensive,” he told her, fighting back a grin.

  “You’re offensive!” A blush spread across her cheeks, and she
looked delectable.

  “Is there another lover I should be made aware of? Do I have to call a duel for your hand?” He made an attempt to peer about the stables as if looking for someone.

  “My father loves me! I have final say on any marriage proposal, and you may rest assured that I will say no if you approach my father!” she said, her breasts heaving.

  He would have sold his soul in that moment to drag her into a stall, toss up her skirts, and taste the sweet honey between her legs.

  “I’m sure he does love you, Natalia. You are a beautiful woman. Perhaps he wants to keep you by his side for that reason. But even he knows that you cannot stay unmarried forever. I can offer you much.” He smiled at her.

  “I dare you to ask him!” She was shaking, and she wanted to smack the arrogant grin off of his face.

  “Stop the hysterics, Natalia. Come, let me escort you back. It was just a kiss,” he soothed.

  “No, thank you,” she said, moving away from him.

  She began to walk down the long aisle, passing the many stalls. When she glanced behind her, she saw he hadn’t followed. Instead, she saw him standing near his horse, touching its long neck and licking his lips as if savoring her taste. She despised him then.

  When she rejoined the party, she saw Ignacio standing next to Neddy with a wide smile on his face. Neddy was smiling shyly up at him, and she knew that they would be married soon. She was happy for her sister and would congratulate her once the announcement had been made.

  “Let’s dance.” Ignacio took Neddy’s hand, and they joined the other couples.

  “My little girl is to marry,” Chelo said softly to Natalia as she stepped beside her.

  “You don’t want her to marry?” Natalia asked.

  “Oh, I do! I want her to be happy, but it’s hard. She was only a baby when your dear mother died, so she is like my own,” Chelo sighed.