The Vaudeville Star (27 page)

Ford’s lips twitched when he heard Ruby use the word “obey.” When his vows were repeated, they were the same except they lacked the word “obey.” They were pronounced man and wife and kissed sweetly in front of their guests and the priest.

“You are mine, Ruby Rutledge.” He held her to him.

“So I am,” Ruby said, a small smile on her face. “And you are mine. As I always knew you would be.”

They all returned to the hotel for the reception. Bessie had secretly worked with the hotel to ensure her friend had a lovely reception. The cake was a traditional dark, rich fruitcake with a white frosting of scrolls and flowers.

Everyone enjoyed a piece of cake and congratulated the couple as a small ragtime band played, thanks to Vern’s generosity.

“I am so confused,” Zeta complained to Lou. “I thought she was with King. The financier.”

Lou shook his head. “I already told you. She’s been in love with Ford since she was a child.”

“How do you know this?” Zeta asked.

“Bessie told me.”

Zeta shook her head. “Perhaps. They look quite cozy,” she said, watching the couple as they laughed and took turns eating their wedding cake.

“Be happy for them, my dear Zeta. She’s not a bad person,” Lou said softly to her.

“Hmmm. Perhaps not.”

Ruby and Ford took a turn across the dance floor, and after an hour, they retired, thanking everyone for their support and attendance. Ruby felt as if she was walking on air. She had spoken to Vern with Ford, and they agreed that their next step was to make a tour of the United States. They would begin planning it once they got back.

Now that Ruby was a recognized star in Europe, they would use that back home to propel their tour. They even discussed bringing in new acts. In England, there had been another popular music hall act, the Eight Lancashire Lads, a clog-dancing troupe. They had been delightful, and she had been taken with a ten-year-old boy named Charles Chaplin.

Ruby was thrilled. She had everything she wanted with Ford by her side. It almost seemed too good to be true. When they entered their room, their trunks lay open and half-packed, as they were leaving for Le Havre tomorrow. But tonight was their first night as husband and wife.

When she turned to him, he looked handsome in his dark suit, and he was already pulling her close, his hands in her hair, his lips kissing her temple.

“My God, Ruby. You are so lovely,” he whispered.

She closed her eyes at the feel of his hands in her hair and on her body. He moved away from her only to shrug out of his jacket before returning to her. When her gown fell at her feet, she picked it up to place it over a chair.

When they were both naked, they lay together in bed, caressing and touching each other. Ruby touched his handsome face.

“My husband,” she said in an awed whisper.

“My wife,” he returned.

He entered her swiftly, and her nails bit into his shoulders as he moved in and out of her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and his mouth tugged on one nipple as he felt himself getting close. When he felt Ruby shudder, he climaxed as well, holding her against him and feeling his heart race.

They lay together in the bed as the sun began to set and the clock struck the hour.

“As we are married now, have you given any thought to children?” he asked.

Ruby turned to him. “A child? I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I know. Which is why I mentioned it.”

Her hands skimmed along her flat belly, and she sighed. “I would love a child, Ford. I would love our child.”

“Of course you would.”

“But I do love the stage.”

“You are a natural. You have a gift. I’ve seen the way people respond to you. They love you.”

Ruby laid back down, touching Ford’s chest with her fingertips. “I would say let’s let nature take its course.”

“I agree.”

Ruby watched as his cock lengthened again as she touched his chest. She touched her fingertip to the pink head and watched as Ford’s hazel eyes followed her movement.

“Ruby—” he began.

“Can I?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

She slid a finger along the length of him and then leaned in to it. Her warm breath was on him, and then her lips touched the pink head. She saw Ford close his eyes and knew that he must enjoy it. Sticking out her tongue she touched it to the head and heard his quick intake of breath.

He didn’t stop her, so she continued. She moved her tongue along the shaft and then enveloped his head in her mouth.

“Jesus,” Ford moaned.

She took more of the shaft in her mouth and moved up and down along it. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she liked the feel of him inside her mouth.

Suddenly, Ford could take no more of the torture, and he threw her, giggling, onto her back, impaling her with his throbbing cock.

“Didn’t you like it?” she asked.

“Too much, you little witch!” he said, pushing deeper into her.

“I want to make you happy, Ford. You must know that,” she said, her arms around his neck.

“And you do, Ruby. Every inch of you. Every part of you. You have a loving, generous heart, and you are mine. All mine.”

He gripped her hips, and as she cried out, he spilled his seed inside her.

* * *

T
he next morning
, Ford left to obtain their ship’s passage while Ruby remained behind to finish packing. She hummed happily as she did so, even though the rain poured outside. She was looking forward to the future and her life with Ford. She glanced down at her beautiful ring and smiled. When a knock sounded on the door, she placed a pair of gloves into the trunk and went to answer it.

* * *

F
ord used
his key to open their hotel room. It was midafternoon, and he had been gone longer than he had planned.

“Don’t yell at me. I—” He stopped when he realized the room was empty.

“Ruby?” He turned about in the room, but she was nowhere to be found.

He saw his trunk half-packed, but her two trunks were gone. He wondered if perhaps she had gone downstairs to the restaurant or grown bored waiting and had taken a walk. But he realized it didn’t make sense. Her trunks were gone. Only hers. Why only hers? He was about to leave the room when something on the dresser caught his eye. He moved toward it, his heart hammering inside his chest. Her diamond-and-emerald ring lay glittering on it.

R
uby sat facing
King as the train rolled away from Paris. She watched the city pass them by and closed her eyes. He had come quietly into the hotel room, grinning like a madman. He had seen Ford leave and taken his chance. He had told her to grab a warm coat and had a porter take their trunks down. He had showed her a knife but then claimed he didn’t want to use it.

As they were leaving the room, he had pulled the ring from her finger and left it on the dresser, laughing.

“A little token for Ford. He’ll know what it means.”

He had told her not to make any sudden movements, and then they were at the train station, where he had already purchased two tickets for Le Havre. Ruby felt her heart sinking inside her breast. He had the tickets already, which meant he had planned it. Planned it in advance.

She tried to reason with him once more. “King, I’m married. I’m sorry, I should have told you long ago that I loved Ford. I’ve always loved him.”

“Yes. You should have. Instead of using me this whole time,” he said coldly.

Ruby shook her head. “I never meant to use you.”

“You did! Don’t lie!”

Ruby tried to remain calm. “What do you want from me?”

King grimaced. “What I’ve always wanted. You as my wife. You by my side. We will rule over that little island called Manhattan.”

“I’ve told you that isn’t possible,” she explained.

“Because of Ford?” he sneered.

“Yes.”

“You wouldn’t be the first widow in the world.” He chuckled softly.

Ruby felt herself grow cold. “King,” she tried to sound sympathetic, “you can’t harm him. I love him.”

Leaning forward, he rested his hand on her knee. Without warning, he pinched her inner thigh, causing her to jerk her knee away. “If you say you love another man one more time, you’ll be very sorry, my dear.”

Ruby sat back in the carriage seat and watched as the countryside flew by. Silence stretched between them. Ruby had been frightened that he would show up and do exactly as he had done. He had taken her away against her will with a knife in his hand.

But she was no longer worried that he would harm her. He wanted her alive and by his side. She knew now that he wanted to harm Ford, but she was confident that Ford could take care of himself. She watched the countryside whiz by and wondered if Ford would be able to track them down. If anyone could, Ford would be able to find them.

* * *

I
t wasn’t
hard to track King’s movements. It was almost as if he wanted him to follow them. He had caught a train going to Le Havre, which meant he was planning on leaving France and most likely headed back to New York. Ford fingered the ring in his pocket and sent a telegram to Inspector Thompson informing him that he was on the trail of King Parker.

He had time on his side. Ocean liners did not leave every hour on the hour, and most likely he would be able to catch up with King in Le Havre. He told the concierge to have his trunk sent ahead to Le Havre and caught the next train leaving Paris.

* * *

R
uby drifted
off to sleep as the train gently swayed. When she woke, it was early evening, and the sky outside was dark. She could no longer see the passing countryside. She looked across from her and saw that King was sleeping. She didn’t even consider trying to break away from him as there was nowhere to go on the train.

“Ah, Ruby,” he said as he shifted himself and stretched. “I was dreaming about you.”

Ruby looked away from him. She didn’t want to engage in conversation. She touched her fingertips to the cool glass window and thought of Ford. Ford would come for her. He would know how to find them. Ford. She trusted him implicitly.

“You know, if she had taken the damned town house and left well enough alone, she would be alive today,” he said, shaking his head.

“What?” Ruby turned her eyes to meet his.

“That bitch. Lourdes. I gave her the town house and let her keep all the gifts I had given her over the years. And I can tell you, they weren’t cheap.”

Ruby met his eyes, but he seemed to be very far away.

“I bought her a diamond necklace at Tiffany & Co. and a fur stole and muff that she had seen a society matron wearing and had to have. Whatever she wanted, I bought her.”

“Because you loved her,” Ruby said softly.

“Love? Ha! I see now it was never love. It was an infatuation. Lust, maybe. Stupid, really. She would never have suited. Even when Caroline died, I couldn’t marry her. It was unthinkable.”

“Why was it unthinkable?” Ruby asked.

“She was not a white woman. Not pure. Not anything society would accept.”

“Except in your bed.”

King looked across at Ruby and smiled. “Exactly. Except in my bed.”

“And your child? Would they be unable to accept that as well?” She asked.

He looked up sharply and then relaxed. “Of course. Ford.”

Ruby said nothing.

“Smart fellow, Ford. A little too smart if you ask me.”

“Is there such a thing as too smart?”

“Yes. Men like Ford have a sense of things. They go searching for the truth like human bloodhounds. Some things are best left alone.”

“Like Lourdes’s death?”

King looked across at her, and with the gaslights burning, his eyes seemed to scorch her.

“Why are you asking about her? She was in the way. Had been for some time.”

“Had she been in the way for some time?” Ruby repeated hoarsely.

He nodded. “I only did what any man would have done. You and I were meant to be together.”

“What did you do?” she asked, trying to keep her voice light.

King crossed his leg over his knee and picked at an imaginary fleck of dust on his trousers.

“She was irritating me. She came to see me. She followed me to that party at Devonshire House. She was making a scene. She was making me look a fool. No one makes me look a fool,” he said harshly.

“Of course not.”

“It was late that night. We went to my town house. I thought to calm her down, but things escalated. I hired another taxicab. She was angry because I asked her to cover her head with her shawl and had the taxicab drop us off in an unknown area. When she stepped outside of the taxicab, we walked along the street. I didn’t even know where we were.”

“She was ungrateful,” Ruby said, soothing him.

“That is exactly it! My God, Ruby!” He came to sit beside her and took her hand in his, kissing the back of it. “She was ungrateful!”

Ruby had to physically stem the revulsion she felt as he kissed her hand.

“She started going on about how she wanted me. She said she wanted to be my wife. There was a long alley of boardinghouses in the back, and I pulled her into it. She told me about the child. She kept saying it was my duty. That we must marry. She spoke about the son she was sure she was carrying. She said it was my obligation to look after them both.

“There was no one around, and a light rain was falling. I don’t remember how, but suddenly my hands were around her throat. I pressed harder and harder. She scratched at my arms. Look! Look what she did to me!” he said in a rush, pulling at his jacket and shirt so Ruby could see the wounds.

Ruby nodded and swallowed. “That was wrong of her.”

King smiled. “Yes. You see? You understand I had to do it. For us, Ruby.”

“I do.”

“Her body slid down to the ground, and I looked at her. She wouldn’t wake. I tried to wake her. I shook her once, but she was gone. So I left her there. I didn’t want to be recognized, so I walked home, which seemed to take an hour or more.” He paused in his story and then looked up at Ruby. “My shoes were ruined because of her. The rain ruined them. She did that too.”

Ruby felt a chilly finger along her spine as she looked into his soulless eyes. “Yes. She did.”

* * *

W
hen the train
pulled into Le Havre, a heavy rain was pouring down. King had his hand on her elbow and warned her that she should remain with him and make no sudden movements. She did as he bid. She soon discovered that King had planned everything very well. An ocean liner bound for New York was leaving in two hours, and he already had their first-class tickets in his pocket.

She shivered in the cold rain as they boarded the elegant ocean liner headed for New York. She was under no illusions. She knew the minute they set sail, she would be at his mercy. She could go to the captain and plead for help, but there was no guarantee. She watched as the porter took their trunks to their cabins. At least that had been an unforeseen nicety. She had her own cabin, separate from his. She had to bide her time and wait for the right moment.

She stood at the railing, her gloved fingers curving along the wood. King was watching her only a few feet away, his hand in his coat pocket. She saw people coming on board the ship and taxicabs depositing travelers, but no Ford. She waited in the rain for ten minutes. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty. But he didn’t come.

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.