Ruby Read Free Page B

have preferred an elegant marble crypt at your beloved cathedral in Bayou Rouge, where you would have heard the familiar strains of the choir lifted in hymns of praise. But here you can enjoy a different kind of choir, Mama. The sigh of the wind. The mournful cry of a coyote. The call of an eagle. Besides—” Her voice caught in her throat and she had to swallow hard before she could go on. “It comforts me to know that you and Papa are together at last. It’s all I ever wanted, you see. The three of us together. A normal family, like the others in Bayou Rouge.”
    To chase away her melancholy mood, she began chattering in a mixture of English, French and Cajun as she dug in to the pocket of her gown and began laying out an assortment of colorful beads. “I’ve brought you something to cheer you, Mama. I know how much you always loved pretty things.” A sly smile touched her lips. “A peddler came to town offering the townspeople shabby wares. I saw him cheating a sweet old lady, the widow Purdy. Would you believe? He was selling vile-smelling bottles of creek water and dried weeds, and trying to pass them off as beauty creams and elixirs. But when I pointed out what they were, he denied it. And as he took her money he was most rude. So Mama—” she wrinkled her nose, as her pretty mama always had “—I had my petit vengeance.”
    She held the beads up to the light, watching the way they glittered and gleamed. “Which one do you like best?”
    As if actually hearing her mother’s voice, she chose a string of deep purple glass and laid it over Madeline’s grave. “You’re right, of course. This one suits you. If you don’t mind, I’ll save the test for Diamond, Pearl and Jade.”
    At the mention of their names her smile deepened. “Oh, Papa, I was so hurt at first when I discovered that you had other daughters. Hurt and disappointed. But now I am learning to care for them. Sisters.” Her laughter was as fresh and lilting as a child’s. “ Mon Dieu . Who would have believed I would discover sisters? And because they now have husbands. I find myself with three brothers, as well.” She clapped her hands together, as she often did when she was delighted. “Adam, Cal and Dan are all so handsome. And kind. And they make my sisters so happy.”
    A long sigh escaped her lips, though she wasn’t aware of it. “I am happy for them. But sad for myself. They are all so busy and active. Diamond and Adam have their ranch, which they work together. And, of course, the baby that will soon be born. Pearl has found so much love with Cal, and is teaching the town’s children. And they are so pleased with Gil and Daniel, the two boys they have adopted. And Jade and her beloved reverend are so busy being an inspiration to everyone in Hanging Tree, they barely have time to eat or sleep.” Ruby bit her lip. “My life, compared with theirs, is rather meaningless. But what can I possibly do here in Texas? The only things I know are silly and frivolous. The good sisters despaired of ever teaching me much of anything. Except Sister Dominique, of course. It was she who took the time to teach me how to sew a fine seam.”
    She stood and shook the dust from her elegant red satin gown. “Oh, Mama, you must be ashamed of the way I look. But there are few frocks of beauty in Hanging Tree. I was so desperate for a new dress, I had to send for a bolt of fabric from St. Louis and make my own. Pity the poor women who cannot sew, or who have no time for such luxuries. They are at the mercy of Rufus Durfee, whose ready-made dresses are not even fit for working the fields.”
    The words she had just spoken struck her with the force of a lightning bolt. “Dieu! But of course!” The words tumbled from her lips in a torrent, as they always did when she was excited. “Here I have been wondering what I could do to fill my days in this strange place. Why not busy myself with the things I love? Oh, Papa. Oh, Mama. If I were to open a little