The Vaudeville Star Read online

  Ruby had often heard the words “mulatto” and “quadroon” thrown about. In the South, there were all sorts of names given to people with mixed blood. That King’s mistress was of mixed blood didn’t concern her. But apparently it did his mother, and of course no child of the union would be blessed; in fact, they would most likely live on the fringes of polite society.

  “I really don’t know what will come of this family if an heir isn’t produced.” Alice sighed heavily.

  Ruby decided the older woman had been drinking and was saying things she probably kept to herself most of the time. Ruby ignored her last comment and remained silent.

  “Well,” she said, eyeing Ruby. “It was lovely meeting you, Miss Sutton. Enjoy the party.”

  Ruby watched the woman go with a sense of relief. King and Vernon were nowhere in sight. She moved past the piano, where the man was playing a classical piece that she couldn’t name.

  The party was a success if the amount of people and food consumed was any indicator. She tried to compare it to the parties back home. In the South, the parties were filled with lively music, dancing, food, and laughter. This glittering Manhattan party seemed filled with people talking and not much else.

  She set her champagne glass down and moved into the next room. Everything about the mansion spoke of wealth and extravagance. Even in Mississippi, their plantation home had been carefully decorated but was not ostentatious. This mansion, however, was a showpiece. A place to proclaim to the world, look at me. Look at me.

  “There you are, my dear,” a voice said smoothly, and Ruby turned to see William Parker standing in the doorway.

  “I was admiring your lovely home.”

  King threw a glance about the room and seemed unimpressed by it all.

  “Mother likes to show off.” He shrugged.

  “And you?”

  “I like to live. And make money.”

  “I think you’ve succeeded,” she said, casting her eyes about.

  “Come. Let me show you the rest of the house,” he said, placing a hand at her lower back.

  “My father was not as successful, and a son always wants to do better than his father. What I didn’t realize was that by doing better than him, I began to look down upon him, and I think he realized it. Terrible thing, that.”

  “Yes, it must be.” Ruby wondered if maybe these Parkers said what they thought and to hell with social niceties. If so, it was very disconcerting.

  “He’s been dead many years, but I still think about him. I wonder if I could have been different. But the past is the past, and it’s best not to dwell on it. Now what do you say to that?” he said as he propelled her into a glass conservatory.

  There was a simple fountain in the middle of the glass and iron room, surrounded by plants and French doors leading to the gardens outside. She saw prettily colored lanterns outside and footmen carrying their silver trays with a few guests walking about.

  “Very picturesque.” Ruby nodded.

  “I’m going on a picnic tomorrow. A ride into Central Park to take in the air. I would like it very much if you joined me,” he said suddenly.

  Ruby was caught off guard. She had only heard of his reputation from Bessie, who probably read about it in some gossip column. But what possible reason could she give to refuse?

  “That’s very kind of you. I-I don’t—”

  “Splendid. I’ll send my car around to your lodgings at eleven.”

  Ruby looked into his brown eyes and nodded. “Very well.”

  “Have you been to Central Park?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Excellent! Then I’ll be the first to show you the beauty of it. Trees and green lawns and sheep! Sheep graze there, can you imagine? In the middle of all this bustle!”

  They had moved outdoors, and they stood gazing at the brightly lit lanterns set against the night sky.

  “Sheep? In Manhattan? No, I can’t imagine.” Ruby smiled.

  “Well, tomorrow you will see it for yourself. And now if you will excuse me, I have guests I must speak with.” He bowed slightly and kissed her hand.

  Ruby frowned when he left. It was as Bessie had said. King liked women, and she had attracted his notice. When she heard the rustle of silk, she turned her head to see the lovely mistress, Lourdes, standing beside her. They nodded at each other, but neither said a word as they gazed out into the night sky.

  “Do not read too much into this little excursion,” the woman said softly.

  Ruby noticed her voice was tinged with an accent, but her ear couldn’t quite place it.

  “I’m sorry. Do I know you? I’m not certain what you mean,” Ruby said sincerely.

  “His wife is ill, yes, but not deathly so. And I have been his woman for several years now. There is no place for you,” she returned.

  Ruby looked into the woman’s dark eyes and saw hatred in them.

  “Thank you for your concern,” Ruby said coldly. “I have no desire to be his woman now or in the future.”

  When Lourdes smiled and departed, Ruby shivered in the cold night air. The evening had not gone as she had thought it would. She had not expected to make such a conquest with King, nor did she welcome his advances. She didn’t know what his intentions were and felt apprehensive about it.

  When she moved inside again, she looked for Vernon but didn’t seem him in the large parlor. She walked along the hallway and heard voices and suspected it was King. He was in the library speaking to a gentleman whose back was to her.

  “Ah, are you leaving so soon?” King said when he saw her in the doorway.

  Just as she was about to answer, the second man turned to face her, and Ruby felt her world tilt as she stared into the face of Ford Rutledge.

  “Y-yes. I was looking for Vern. Have you seen him?”

  “I haven’t, but I’ll have a footman find him. Oh, allow me to introduce you. This is my colleague, Ford Rutledge. Ford, this is a new acquaintance of mine, Ruby Sutton. If you’ll both excuse me one moment,” he said and quickly left room.

  “Hello, Ruby.”

  “Hello, Ford.”

  Ford could hardly believe his eyes. Long gone was the awkward teen, and even the young woman he had held briefly in his arms in Connecticut couldn’t compare to the woman who stood before him now. She was a beauty with shimmering blond hair and expressive gray eyes, and the gown she wore clung to her delicious curves in all the right places.

  “What brings you here?” he asked.

  “I’m a guest. And you?”

  “As King said, we are colleagues.”

  Ruby wondered at the vagueness of his answer, but before she could ask him any further questions, King returned.

  “All set. Vern is found, and a car is waiting to take you home when you so choose.”

  “Thank you,” she said, trying to pull her eyes from Ford.

  “Until tomorrow, Ruby.” King bent over her hand and kissed it lightly.

  “Until tomorrow.”

  After Ruby left the room, King poured two whiskeys and handed one to Ford.

  “Charming woman. I think I’m captivated already,” he said, smiling.

  Ford said nothing and kept silent about his relationship with Ruby. She had not said anything, so he would follow her lead and do the same. Instead, he said, “The agency said you had a job for me.”

  “I do. You were quite impressive with your last assignment, so I thought who better than Rutledge to handle this?”

  “He’s invited me to the park tomorrow on a picnic,” Ruby told Vernon once they had settled into the taxicab.

  “That’s excellent, Ruby! Excellent,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

  “Vern, I want to be onstage, and I want top billing like Zeta has. But I’m not a prostitute. So if you’ve promised anything to King in return for services rendered, you’ll both be disappointed,” Ruby said, flushed and angry.

  Vernon looked at her in confusion and then laughed. “Oh, my dear, you have it all wron
g. King and I were discussing a possible venture this evening. He wants to back a tour to London. He was quite taken with you, and I told him where you lived so that he could send a car for you tomorrow. Other than that, nothing was promised. I can assure you.”

  “Oh. I see.” Ruby nodded.

  “Furthermore, King did say that you should have a place in the show, and I agree. I want you to open the second act.”

  “Open the second act?” Ruby felt her heart beat faster inside her chest. “You haven’t even heard me sing!”

  “I did. You sang to the empty audience when you thought no one was around. I was in the back taking a nap. You woke me, and I was never more surprised in my life.”

  Ruby thought back to the moment she had been singing to the empty audience and grinned. “Thank you, Vern.”

  “As to what you and King do, that is your own affair. I never interfere with love and relationships. Theater? Yes. Love? Never.”

  Ruby smiled as she looked out the window. Opening the second act? How exciting! She could barely contain herself as she thought of standing on the stage in front of all those strangers.

  “Maybe I’m not ready,” she turned suddenly to Vernon in concern, “to go onstage!”

  “You’ll learn. You’ll do fine, kid. No one goes onstage with a perfect act. It takes time. Give the sheet music to the conductor, and we’ll work on it next week. I’ll have Bessie watch as well. She can help you move the right way and show yourself off.”

  “Thank you, Vern. You’ve been very helpful to me,” she said sincerely.

  “I’ve been in this business a long time. I worked with Tony Pastor, and he taught me how to spot a star, Ruby. And you’re it,” he said quietly.

  “Me? I’m a star?” Ruby smiled. “How can you tell that? You don’t know me at all.”

  “It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the face, the body, the way you move. On top of all that, the audience loved you. Even carrying a card and doing nothing, they responded to you. That’s a beginning. That’s what we build on!”

  “Well, I’m grateful to you.”

  “Don’t be grateful. Be loyal. And work hard,” he told her.

  “I will,” she promised him. “I will.”

  7

  “I know it’s not much, Rutledge, and not very prestigious, but I would be grateful. My wife’s brother has been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day we married. His gambling debts are enormous. But I need to make certain this new club he joined is on the up-and-up. If they are just taking him for a ride to get to my money, I need to know,” King said.

  “Of course. We may have a man already inside. I’ve heard the club’s name mentioned before.” Ford nodded and sipped his whiskey.

  “Excellent! I knew you were the man for the job.” King rang the bell, and a butler appeared with Ford’s overcoat and hat.

  “I’ll get in touch with you once I have something concrete,” Ford said as he took the coat and hat from the elderly butler.

  They shook hands, and Ford stepped out onto the sidewalk, looking for a taxicab to hail.

  “Pleasant party?” Alice asked as she entered her son’s study.

  “Pleasant enough. I hired Rutledge again. That damned ass Harry! Causes nothing but trouble.”

  “You always bail him out,” Alice said. “Try not bailing him out for once.”

  “And have our family splashed across the newspapers in a scandal? Why can’t the man behave himself? Instead, all he does is find trouble.”

  “I met the lovely Miss Sutton,” Alice said, changing the subject.

  King didn’t respond.

  “I don’t think Lourdes was at all pleased at the attention you gave her,” Alice continued.

  “As you’ve mentioned time and again, Mother, if Caroline cannot produce an heir for this family, Lourdes is equally out of the question.”

  Alice’s eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

  “Nothing. Stating the obvious.”

  Instead of being alone with only Vernon and Bessie to practice her new song, Ruby handed the sheet music to the piano player and took center stage in front of the entire vaudeville group. Vernon had assured her there was no reason to be concerned as the theater group was there to support her, and Zeta, the reigning diva, was nowhere in sight. She knew the words by heart and waited until Vernon nodded at the piano player.

  Ruby wet her lips and looked out into the auditorium. She was nervous and willed herself not to wring her hands or fidget. Ruby had agreed with Bessie that the song should be sung without the dialect, and she had learned it that way. She took a breath and looked out into the near-empty theater.

  “Sweetest little feller, Everybody knows; Don’t know what to call him, But he’s mighty like a rose!

  Looking at his Mammy, With eyes so shiny blue, Might you think that heaven, Is coming close to you!”

  Her voice was clear and sweet, and when she finished the song, silence filled the bare auditorium. She turned to see Vernon staring at her while Bessie looked as if she had tears in her eyes.

  “What? What’s wrong? What did I do?”

  “I say,” said Lou as he stood leaning on the piano.

  “What?” she asked, perplexed.

  “No, my dear. You were—” Bessie tried to find the right word.

  “Perfect,” came the word from Lee Chen, who usually never spoke at all.

  Everyone turned to the Chinese magician, who held his deck of cards in one hand. Vernon grinned, and she remembered their conversation in the taxicab home.

  “You’ll open the second act, Ruby,” he said loudly so everyone could hear, and Max was immediately writing the direction down in his small notebook. “Starting next Friday.”

  Vernon looked her up and down and said sharply, “Follow me, kid.” He led her to the costume department. “You need something special. Something different. The card girl costume won’t do.”

  He rummaged through the different trunks and dresses that were hanging until he came upon what he wanted. It was an off-the-shoulder evening gown with a cream-colored bodice and an orange skirt. It was decadent and bright and would attract the eye.

  “Can you sew?” he asked, quickly taking the dress and handing it to her.

  “Yes.”

  “Ask Bessie to help you find the loose rhinestones somewhere around here and sew them into the bodice,” he directed. “It will make you sparkle under the lights onstage.”

  Ruby dressed warmly in a brown and blue traveling suit with a small hat and gloves for her picnic with King. She was picked up promptly at eleven, and he was already inside the car waiting for her.

  “I value promptness,” he said, smiling as she joined him.

  He explained that his car was a Mercedes Benz and that he had paid an exorbitant amount for it, but Ruby only feigned an interest. He seemed to like his wealth only because he was able to purchase the most expensive items and display them to the world.

  The picnic basket lay on the floor at his feet, and he told her he’d had his cook prepare something especially for her. She smiled at the thoughtful gesture, and when the park came into sight, she saw that it was indeed a green jewel amid the concrete chaos.

  “I would never have guessed this was here.” She smiled.

  “Exactly so.”

  He helped her down from the car and took the basket in hand. “You pick the spot.”

  Ruby found a large tree on a sunken bank, and he took the blanket he held and placed it on the ground. When they settled upon it, he took out the different items his cook had prepared. Among the delicacies were fried chicken, cheese, bread, and beer. There were also tart green apples and oranges.

  “I believe the fried chicken is for you. I told Cook to prepare something Southern,” he beamed, “for you.”

  “That was very thoughtful, King.”

  When the meal was consumed, they remained seated on the blanket in silence until King looked over at Ruby. “I told Vernon I would give serious
contemplation about financially backing the tour to London. And I am. But I want you to have a role in the show, and if we tour Europe, an even bigger role.”

  “You hardly know me,” Ruby said, looking at him.

  “I’m smitten, Ruby. That’s the truth. I’m smitten with you.”

  “Will—I mean King. You don’t know me. You shouldn’t say these things, especially as you are married,” Ruby said, feeling uncomfortable.

  “I’ve succeeded because I can see things that most people can’t. I see what will be—long before anyone else. I see you. I see the star you were born to be, Ruby. And right now all I ask is that you allow me to help you. Nothing more. And allow me to admire you. From afar.”

  “King—”

  “As to my wife, Caroline, she and I married as a business transaction. Her family came from money, and I have my own. It was never a love match, but I have given her a home and my name. But she is ill. She has consumption. We will never have any children, as it could kill her.” He looked away and seemed lost in thought until he remembered her seated next to him. “But enough of this. The afternoon grows late. Let’s get you home.”

  As Ruby opened the door to the boardinghouse, a quiet stillness surrounded her. Then she remembered today was Mrs. Hodges’s quilting circle, and most of the vaudeville performers spent the afternoons out shopping. She climbed the stairs to her room with her thoughts focused on the afternoon she had just spent with King.

  He was a powerful man, willing to help her. If it was true that he asked for nothing, then she could hardly push him away, especially if it meant the other troupers would benefit from her association with him.

  She was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear her name being called. When a hand reached out to touch her shoulder, she whirled around.

  “Ruby!” Ford said.

  “Ford!” She was shocked to see him there. “What are you doing here? Luckily, Mrs. Hodges is out this afternoon. She’s very particular. She doesn’t like us to have gentlemen callers.”

  She unlocked her door and entered her room, and he followed.