The Vaudeville Star Read Free Page B

linen dress with a square neckline and long sleeves. She had grown into a lovely young woman with high cheekbones and lush lips. She gave herself one last look before she opened the door and swept inside.
    “Daddy!” She turned excitedly about the room, looking happily for his beloved figure.
    The room was dimly lit, and the gray winter light was streaming in as she saw the figure standing beside the fireplace. When he turned to her, she felt her heart skip a beat.
    “Hello, Ruby.”
    Ruby’s step faltered. “Ford. Hello.” She tried hard to mask her utter surprise followed by the flood of warmth that seeped inside her. She hadn’t seen him since their parting three years before.
    “Why are you here? In Connecticut?” she asked as she moved to stand before him.
    Ford looked at Ruby and then gestured to the sofa. “I came to see you.”
    Ruby smiled brightly as they both sat together. “Indeed? That is mighty gracious. When they told me I had a visitor, I was absolutely certain is was Daddy. I can’t say I ever expected to see you here.”
    Ford glanced at the door while Ruby admired him. She had thought him handsome as a young girl and had wondered if her desire for him had been a fantasy, as he had once called it. Perhaps half fantasy filled in by a young girl’s longing. But seeing him before her now, she knew that was not the case.
    Now, at twenty-eight years old, Ford was even more handsome. He had broad shoulders beneath a gray suit and a large overcoat. He looked utterly masculine, and nothing about him seemed changed except that he was more aware of himself. And Ruby realized with a sinking heart that she still loved him. But now the girlish love was suddenly replaced with a woman’s desire. She wanted him. Nothing had changed.
    “Ruby, I . . .” he began to speak but seemed at a loss for words. He glanced around the dark room decorated in forest green and wood paneling. “Are you allowed to leave the school?”
    Ruby looked into his face and laughed. “I’m not a prisoner, Ford. I can leave. I often go into town to shop with my friends.”
    “I mean with me. With a man. Can you go into town with me? Perhaps for dinner? I need to speak with you. Alone.”
    Ruby blushed at the suggestion. “You aren’t just a man. You’re practically family. I can ask the Head of School’s permission. If you would like?”
    Ford suddenly shook his head. “I’ll ask. Go get your coat. A warm one. It’s cold outside.”
    Ruby frowned but did as he suggested. She ran to the building where the dormitories were housed and made her way upstairs. She looked at herself in the mirror in her room and saw a flushed face and bright eyes. She smiled as she brushed her hair and placed a ribbon through it, letting it fall down her back.
    She pulled on a warm coat followed by her gloves and hat. When she made her way back downstairs, she saw Ford speaking with the Head of School, and she nodded to them both.
    “Take your time, my dear. There is no need to rush through your dinner,” the older woman told her kindly.
    Ruby nodded and was helped into a waiting carriage by Ford.
    “Let’s go somewhere quiet. We can have a good meal,” Ford said softly.
    Ruby nodded. “Yes. Whatever you like. You still haven’t told me why you are here. It’s such a shock!” She smiled.
    “After dinner,” he assured her.
    Ford settled back into the carriage and tried not to focus on his reason for being in the cold little town. He looked across at Ruby and then out the window at the snow falling all around them. He had wanted to make the trip and had done so, but he had not expected to see Ruby and feel as he did now.
    She was altogether changed. She was a girl no longer. Instead, in the girl’s place was a young lady with breeding and elegance and supreme beauty. There was no denying that when he had held her once in the dark moonlight there had been an attraction. But at fifteen, Ruby had been trouble and not much else.
    Now she was