Ruby by Lauraine Snelling, Alexandra O'Karm Page A

seeming with a touch of violence that Ruby found truly abhorrent.
    “Be careful with him.” The words slipped out without her volition, which seemed to have happened a lot in the last couple of days. Where had her manners gone? Even in the dimness she could both see and feel the malevolent look Belle flashed over her shoulder.
    Ruby stopped slightly behind Belle. “How long has he been like this?” She kept her voice low, but even so the man turned his head slightly, and she recognized the finely arched eyebrows and the nick at the corner of his right eye, which he’d gained in some daring escapade, according to the stories she’d heard sitting on his knees.
    Now he had barely enough skin to cover the bones of the hand that he slowly raised toward her.
    “Ruby?” The word would not be heard much further than where she stood.
    “Yes, Far. We have come.” She knelt by the bed and took his hand in hers.
    “Opal?”
    “Waiting in the hall.”
    “Ah.” He slightly nodded. A smile tried to move his lips, dry lips that needed something to soothe them.
    “I’ll leave you then.” The tone of Belle’s voice had lost its edge and, if Ruby was right, held a semblance of caring.
    “Who has been taking care of him?” Ruby glanced up over her shoulder to see Belle outlined by the dim lamplight.
    “We all take turns, but I take more turns than the others. I didn’t really think you would come.”
    “We left the day after we received the letter and tickets.” Ruby held his long-fingered hand to her cheek. He’d so often stroked her young-girl cheek, telling her that only angels had finer skin than she. When she’d laughingly asked about Mor’s skin, he’d said he was twice blessed. What other man than he had two angels in his house?
    A tear found its way past her resolve and dampened his fingers.
    “Please . . . don’t cry.” Each word came haltingly, as if he had to go somewhere deep inside himself and search for strength to speak. “The . . . letter.”
    “In the morning, Per.” Belle took a step backward.
    “No. Now.” The force of his words sent him into a paroxysm of coughing.
    Ruby was certain he was never going to recover enough to breathe again, let alone talk.
    “All right. All right.” Belle crossed the room to a trunk, lifted the lid, and took out an envelope to hand to Ruby. “He said I was to give this to you if you came after he died.”
    “But you didn’t think I would come.”
    “No. We sent the letter over a month ago. What would you think?”
    “I would have come sooner had I known.” She laid the letter on the bed. “Could we have a bit more light in here?”
    “He likes it dim. He says it is easier on his eyes.”
    “Could we open the windows?”
    “Whyever would you do that? You wanting to kill him off right quick?”
    “No, but some fresh air might make his breathing easier.”
    “Ruby!” By the tone in her voice, Ruby knew Opal had grown tired of waiting.
    If only there were some way she could clean Per up first. No one had shaved him, and his once-thick hair was matted and sticking out every which way.
    “You best let her come in. You never know when he will draw his last breath.” Belle’s voice was harsh, but Ruby thought she noticed a hint of sadness.
    “And yet he has hung on for months?”
    “Wanted to see his two daughters and was too stubborn to die until—” Belle clamped off her comments. “I best get back to work. When you want us to show you where you will sleep, you pull that bell rope. Someone will come.”
    “All right. Thank you.” While Ruby knew she was thanking this woman for more than showing them up the stairs, the memory of that degrading experience faded with the urgency of the moment.
    But the way Belle turned on her heel with a huff said she thought she was being dismissed. Her high-heeled shoes snapped their comments too as she flounced out the door.
    Too tired to try to repair the misunderstanding at the moment, Ruby let her go. When