Free Ruby by Ruth Langan Page A

boardinghouse in perfect order. Her reputation as a fine cook earned her enough money to raise her three little daughters.
    The large wood table had been set with Millie’s collection of mismatched dishes and crockery. Despite an occasional crack in a cup, or chip in a plate, everything was clean and colorful, like their owner.
    On a sideboard holding an assortment of desserts was a vase of wildflowers, adding their perfume to air already sweet with the fragrance of apples and cinnamon.
    “Where are April, May and June?” Quent asked as he reached for a steaming biscuit.
    “The girls are at school.” Millie filled his cup with coffee, then moved around the table topping off the rest. “They’ll be sorry they missed you, Quent. They love your silly jokes and teasing.”
    Ruby glanced at him in surprise. It would be easier to imagine the marshal engaged in a gunfight with a dozen outlaws than to picture him joking and teasing with three little girls.
    “What brings you to town in the middle of the week, Ruby?” Millie, ever the proper hostess, set a glass of lemonade in front of her.
    Ruby sipped gratefully. “I was here to meet with my banker and Farley Duke about building my new shop.”
    “Shop?” Millie paused on her way back to the kitchen. “What sort of shop?”
    “A dressmaker shop.”
    “Who’s going to work it?” Millie asked.
    Ruby arched a brow. “Why, I am.”
    “You?” Millie’s eyes widened. “You can sew?”
    “Of course.” Ruby set down her glass and met the surprised looks of those around the table. “Why do so many people find this difficult to believe? I was taught to sew all my own clothes when I was a girl.” She touched a napkin to her lips, then, noting the hole in it, added, “Why, I could even make you a fine new lace tablecloth and matching napkins.”
    Millie’s chores were suddenly forgotten. She walked back to the table and paused beside Ruby. “Lace?” She spoke the word with a trace of reverence, as though it were magic. “Really?”
    Ruby nodded. “And if you’d like, I could add matching lace curtains for the window.”
    Millie glanced toward the window, hung with a pair of simple white cotton panels tied back with faded strips of fabric. “Lace curtains,” she said with a sigh. Then she suddenly shook her head, as though forcing herself back to reality. “I couldn’t possibly afford it.”
    Before she could leave the room Ruby said, “How do you know if you can afford it, when you haven’t heard my price? If you’d like, you could pay me a little at a time, as you earn it.”
    Millie kept her face averted. But it was plain, by her hesitation, that she was doing some heavy calculating. “How soon...?”
    Before she could finish her question, Ruby blurted, “I could start as soon as the lace arrives from San Francisco. Since I’m sending an order by stage tomorrow, you could be enjoying your lovely things within a matter of weeks.”
    “Oh, my.” Millie’s eyes were dancing with pleasure as she turned. “A few weeks? Really?”
    “Oui. Would you care to be my first customer?”
    Millie paused for only a moment before saying softly, “I’ve wanted lace for such a long time now.”
    “After lunch I will measure the table and window and give you a price.”
    Millie nodded. “If I can possibly afford it, I’ll do it.”
    When she made her way to the kitchen to fetch plates for the desserts, there was a new spring to Millie’s step. Behind her, Ruby was so excited she could hardly do more than pick at her food.
    When she turned her head, she realized that Quent was studying her with a strange look on his face.
    “Now what, Marshal?” she said in a undertone. “Are you going to accuse me of taking advantage of my neighbor?”
    “No, ma’am.” His voice was low, for her ears alone. “I was just thinking I’d misjudged you. I believe you may have the makings of a fine businesswoman.”
     
    She couldn’t imagine why his words warmed her.