The Vaudeville Star (2 page)

* * *

R
uby walked
into the plantation house, where the butler informed her that the family was waiting for her in the large front parlor. She nodded. Her hair was wet, but she didn’t care. She knew that whatever was about to be said or done, she probably deserved. She had behaved badly, but she couldn’t help herself. Not where Ford was concerned. She loved him.

As she opened the door to the parlor, she took a deep breath. Seated on the couch were her mother and sister while her father stood before the fire, sipping a glass of his beloved bourbon whiskey.

“I’m sure I don’t even know where to begin,” Lucille said, shaking her head and looking first at her beloved eldest daughter and then at her husband. Finally, as if it took a great deal of effort, her eyes flicked briefly over her youngest daughter.

“Momma—” Ruby began.

Lucille put out a hand to stop her. “No, Ruby. I need you to take a seat. There is no doubt in my mind that you did exactly as Pernetta says. You are a willful girl. The whole county knows that you are half-mad for Ford. So you deliberately set out to seduce him and in turn end the engagement and ruin your own reputation in the process.”

Ruby shook her head. “No, Momma.”

“I said hush!” Lucille turned away from her. “Earl?”

Earl was staring into the fire. He was gone often and left much of the running of the plantation to his wife and their overseer. The household was entirely Lucille’s domain, as was their daughters’ upbringing.

“It will be as you say, my dear,” Earl said wearily.

Lucille smiled and turned to Ruby. “Since you have seen fit to embarrass yourself and your family in this matter, your father and I have made a decision. I have been thinking about it for some time and made the arrangements before this. However, your behavior this evening has made everything clear. You cannot go on any longer as you have been. You will be sent to Miss Porter’s School in Connecticut.”

“Connecticut?” Ruby whispered. “That’s so far.”

“That’s exactly the point, my girl. Since you can’t seem to control yourself in Mississippi, maybe Miss Porter’s will do it for you. You’ll receive an education, and you’re even to perform chores there, as I have asked them to instill some sort of responsibility in you.”

“Daddy?” Ruby asked, looking at him.

“Ruby, honey—”

“No! Earl, don’t involve yourself in this. We discussed this already. Tonight was the final straw, Ruby Mae. I have thought long and hard about sending you away, but tonight proved how unruly you have become. I mean, when I think of what you did tonight—it’s absolutely scandalous!”

Pernetta shot her sister an angry look and stalked out of the room. Lucille went to stand beside Ruby and grabbed her by the arm.

“What on earth was going through that empty head of yours? Swimming naked with a man? Throwing yourself at him like some lowborn tramp? No daughter of mine will ever behave like that!” She released her, and Ruby sank into the sofa.

“And I tell you this, Ruby Mae Sutton. You are going to Connecticut to be educated and learn some manners. If you can’t behave and conduct yourself accordingly, then you can stay there for all I care,” she said and left the room in a huff.

Ruby watched her mother abandon her and turned to her father. She loved him. He was a kind man with a sweet soul, but he was completely dominated by his wife.

“Daddy?”

“Oh, honey.” He took the seat vacated by his wife and enveloped her in his arms as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I looked into the school. It’s very good. You’ll learn a lot, and three years will come and go so quickly—”

“Three years?” Ruby said, looking into his eyes.

“Come now. What else would you be doing? You’d be stuck here with your Momma and sister and pining away for Ford. That’s not right. You’re young and pretty, and you’ll find a man to love you. That won’t be the problem at all. It will be picking the right one. Now dry your tears. You’ll write to me, and I’ll write to you. I’ll even visit you, Ruby Mae.”

“Promise?” she said softly.

“Promise.”

R
uby settled
into life at Miss Porter’s in Connecticut. Nothing was as bad as she had expected, and she made friends with girls her age and even found much in common with many of them. She had the distinct impression that her mother had told the school outrageous lies because the teachers treated her as if she were a three-eyed monster. She had chores, which she didn’t mind, and as the weeks turned into months, she settled into a routine.

While at Miss Porter’s School, Ruby took music lessons and began to cultivate a lovely singing voice. She had always sung at home but had often been quieted by her mother or sister. But here in Connecticut, she was encouraged and complimented. The girls often praised her singing voice and made much ado about her looks.

As the first year passed, she began to blossom. Her blond hair curled becomingly, and her figure filled out. She didn’t realize that when she went into town to look at the latest dress fashions or to choose a new hat, she received male admiration wherever she went. Her friends giggled, but Ruby tended to ignore it.

At night, alone in her bedroom, she devoured the latest
Harper’s Weekly
and enjoyed reading about the world around her, delighting in the foreign news, the essays, the illustrations, and the humor.

In one issue, there was a picture from
The Highwayman
being performed at the Broadway Theatre in New York, and the thought of being onstage excited Ruby. Music had always surrounded her, whether it was the plantation workers singing as they toiled in the fields or the country dances with the fiddle playing in the summertime.

She knew she had a fine singing voice and was considered pretty, and so she wondered if both could be used to her advantage. The more Ruby pondered the thought, the more she decided it was what she wanted to do. She didn’t want to go back to Mississippi with her overbearing mother and nasty-tempered sister. Even her sweet father was not reason enough to make her return.

It was then that one of the girls mentioned the term “vaudeville.” Vaudeville. The name itself sounded odd and foreign on her tongue. Vaudeville. She soon discovered it was a variety of acts grouped together and performed on the same bill. Vaudeville could consist of dancers, comedians, magicians, singers, and acrobatic acts. The idea of going onstage as a vaudeville singer thrilled her.

With a new goal in mind, Ruby struggled to excel at her music lessons, to learn as much as she could in her time spent at Miss Porter’s. Her music teacher was traditional and detested the “music hall” songs that were so popular onstage and with the common people. But Ruby learned several songs in secret that she had heard from her friends. She also worked on her posture and tried to cultivate elegance in her movements.

One long weekend, several of the older girls in Ruby’s group, along with two adult chaperones, visited New London in Connecticut and saw a small vaudeville show at Lyric Hall. Ruby was captivated. The show was mesmerizing with three men on bicycles, an acrobat team of dwarves, and a singer who commanded the stage as Ruby hoped to one day do. The singer held the audience in thrall, and Ruby knew then that there was no turning back.

She was silent the rest of the way back to Farmington while all the other girls chatted about their trip and the items they had purchased in New London. Ruby’s mind was too occupied with her future. She needed to find a way to make her dreams come true. She received a small allowance from her father, but that only covered her clothes and other small necessities. She needed to save money so that she could afford the train ticket to wherever she decided to go. She immediately thought of New York.

Though other cities had theaters and music halls, New York was the center of it all. She knew she would be new and very green, but she planned to work hard and become a star. A shiver of anticipation raced through her.

When she returned to Miss Porter’s, she asked to speak to the Head of School. She had worked hard and caused no problems since she had been enrolled, and she was well liked by both teachers and students. With the Head of School’s assistance, she was able to secure a job helping the teachers with chores to earn a bit of money. She would put every penny aside and only purchase a new hat or gloves if absolutely necessary. Everything must now go toward her goal of New York.

She heard from her father monthly, and he kept her abreast of the news back home. She was not surprised to learn that Pernetta remained unmarried. Her mother never wrote to her, though her father always included her love in his letters. He never mentioned Ford, and she never asked, but she continued to write to her friend Jessbelle, who would sometimes mention her brother. They had traveled together to Europe, and though Jess wrote that the trip was exciting, she didn’t elaborate.

* * *

E
verything had gone according
to Ruby’s plan, and suddenly three years had flown by and she was now in the final month of her time at Miss Porter’s School. The school, which she had once looked on as a prison, had become a haven. She had worked hard in her studies and was an excellent student. More importantly, she had cultivated a fine singing voice that everyone agreed was special.

The school gave seasonal recitals, and Ruby had been the star of the last three. She loved the attention and the applause that came with being onstage, and she lapped it up. Long denied any sort of affection at home except from her father, she suddenly found herself basking in the glory of it all. And she knew it was not enough. Not enough by half. She had diligently done her homework and now had the money she needed for the train trip to New York as well as money for a room in a boardinghouse for at least two months.

She planned on finding a job onstage once she reached New York, and from there she would work her way into a troupe. She wanted to find a small troupe where she could slowly climb the ranks and become the top performer on a vaudeville bill. She had grand ambitions, and she knew it. But she was extremely determined and knew that she could be patient.

In the final month of winter, she received a summons to see the Head of School. She immediately set off to the large office, where she was told that a family member wished to speak with her in the front parlor. She knew it must be her father. She hadn’t heard from him in over a month, and they had last seen each other when he had visited her before Thanksgiving.

Her family life had all but dissolved since the disaster at the engagement party. Pernetta had completely turned her back on her, and her mother had followed suit. Her father, not wanting to stir up more problems, had sided with his wife, though he continued to write to Ruby and sent her money. He had visited her several times, but they never spoke about her mother or sister, and she had only once asked after Ford.

At eighteen years old, Ruby was ready to face the world and everything that lay in New York, but she was saddened that her own family seemed bent on turning their backs on her.

She touched a hand to her hair and paused before the looking glass. Her blond hair was pinned back, and she wore a light pink 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 a woman that men would want. And not only other men, but he wanted her, and the thought was unsettling. She had matured into a feminine creature with a pleasing manner, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her. She would need it soon enough.

“I am staying at the inn. I believe there is a restaurant inside it,” he said, pulling his attention away from her.

She nodded. “I believe so. I have never been to it.”

They dined at the inn with very few other couples. A storm had begun the day before, and most of the residents of the small town opted to stay indoors. The food was delicious, and they both said very little as they ate.

After dinner, Ruby had a coffee and Ford sipped his brandy. Then he cleared his throat as he looked around the small dining area.

“Perhaps we could move to the parlor,” he suggested.

For the first time, Ruby noticed how uncertain he seemed, and she wondered if the reason for his visit to Connecticut was not a pleasant one. A chill crept inside her.

“Ford? I do appreciate the meal and you taking the time to make me feel comfortable. I understand now that you have traveled to Connecticut for a very important reason or you wouldn’t be here.”

“That is correct.” He released a heavy sigh.

“Then by all means. Please tell me.”

“Ruby.” He looked away and then met her eyes. “I really don’t know how to begin.”

“For goodness’ sake, Ford. Just tell me.”

“Ruby,” he looked across at her and took her small hands in his, “I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I thought coming from me it might soften the blow. But that just isn’t possible. Your father has passed away.”

“What?” She pulled her hands from his. “Daddy?”

Ford nodded and came to stand beside her. “Yes. Honey, I’m sorry.”

Ruby felt a tightness in her chest and couldn’t breathe. “I can’t . . . I can’t . . .” She pressed a hand against her chest.

When she swooned against him, Ford caught her easily in his arms.