my friend. My only true friend at Notre Dame du Bayou. And so, to please her, I learned to sew as she did.”
“I, too, had demanding tutors,” Jade said. “They insisted that I learn all the erotic mysteries of the Orient.”
Ruby gave a sigh of resignation. All of their lives had been so different. “I fear the nuns would have punished me day and night if I had even mentioned the word erotic.”
“Speaking of erotic,” Pearl said gently. “Sister Dominique might approve of your stitches now, Ruby, but I’m not sure she’d approve of your gown. There isn’t much call for that kind of dress here in Hanging Tree. The women here are...of a practical nature.”
“Practical,” Diamond’s eyes flashed back. “If they were practical, they’d wear what I’m wearing.”
Pearl struggled with a grin. “Diamond, I love you. You know I do. But there isn’t another woman in the whole territory of Texas who’d be caught wearing cowhide chaps and a gun belt.”
The sisters smiled. As always, when they came together, they felt as if they’d never been apart. It was a source of wonder for all of them that, though they hadn’t even met until after the death of their father, they had become a family.
Carmelita was in her glory. She had made all their favorite dishes. For Diamond there was the spicy mix of Mexican and Texas chilis. Pearl preferred the slowly simmered roast beef that her mother had made in Boston. Jade’s exotic taste reflected her mother’s homeland in China. And Ruby constantly lived up to her fiery reputation by insisting on the mouth-burning, eye-watering food of the bayou.
Jade looked up from the tea she was brewing. “I think a dress shop is a fine idea.”
“Would you buy one of those?” Diamond pointed to the gown Ruby was wearing.
“What’s wrong with my gown?” Ruby demanded.
“Oh, nothing.” Diamond drank a glass of buttermilk and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. “Except the neck is so low it displays half your bosom. And the back end is so tight your rump sways like an old mare I once had.”
Carmelita, choking back a laugh, began placing platters on the wooden kitchen table, in the hope of fending off a fight. “Lunch is ready,” she said, shooting a sideways glance at Diamond. “You should eat and not talk.”
But Diamond, never one for subtlety, continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “And that color. If Adam’s new bull saw you clear across the pasture, he’d come running.”
“Are you finished?” Ruby demanded.
“I’ve just started.” Diamond took her seat at the table and helped herself to several slices of corn bread before passing the platter to Pearl. “What’s worse, Ruby, if the bull did spot you, you wouldn’t be able to get out of the way. Look at that skirt. Why, you can hardly walk, let alone run. Can you picture Lavinia Thurlong or Gladys Witherspoon trying to waddle through town wearing one of your gowns?”
The image she suggested had the others giggling.
“Are you quite through?” Ruby asked through gritted teeth.
“Yep. I guess I am.” Diamond sprinkled chilis over her beef and dug in to her lunch.
“I am not l’imbécile.” As always, whenever she was agitated, Ruby’s tones slipped into a French-English mix that only added to her haughtiness.
“No one is accusing you of being a fool.” Pearl shot a look at Diamond, while trying to soothe Ruby’s ruffled feathers. “But I think Diamond has a good point. Though your gowns look...enchanting on you, Ruby, I can’t quite picture the women of Hanging Tree in them.”
“They’d look like a damned pack of soiled doves hoping to get work at Buck’s saloon,” Diamond said, choosing to ignore Pearl’s pointed looks.
“I’m not trying to force my taste on others.” Ruby’s food was forgotten. If she couldn’t persuade her own family, how could she ever hope to persuade the townspeople?
Jade’s words—calm, refined, with a hint of the Orient—broke through
“I, too, had demanding tutors,” Jade said. “They insisted that I learn all the erotic mysteries of the Orient.”
Ruby gave a sigh of resignation. All of their lives had been so different. “I fear the nuns would have punished me day and night if I had even mentioned the word erotic.”
“Speaking of erotic,” Pearl said gently. “Sister Dominique might approve of your stitches now, Ruby, but I’m not sure she’d approve of your gown. There isn’t much call for that kind of dress here in Hanging Tree. The women here are...of a practical nature.”
“Practical,” Diamond’s eyes flashed back. “If they were practical, they’d wear what I’m wearing.”
Pearl struggled with a grin. “Diamond, I love you. You know I do. But there isn’t another woman in the whole territory of Texas who’d be caught wearing cowhide chaps and a gun belt.”
The sisters smiled. As always, when they came together, they felt as if they’d never been apart. It was a source of wonder for all of them that, though they hadn’t even met until after the death of their father, they had become a family.
Carmelita was in her glory. She had made all their favorite dishes. For Diamond there was the spicy mix of Mexican and Texas chilis. Pearl preferred the slowly simmered roast beef that her mother had made in Boston. Jade’s exotic taste reflected her mother’s homeland in China. And Ruby constantly lived up to her fiery reputation by insisting on the mouth-burning, eye-watering food of the bayou.
Jade looked up from the tea she was brewing. “I think a dress shop is a fine idea.”
“Would you buy one of those?” Diamond pointed to the gown Ruby was wearing.
“What’s wrong with my gown?” Ruby demanded.
“Oh, nothing.” Diamond drank a glass of buttermilk and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. “Except the neck is so low it displays half your bosom. And the back end is so tight your rump sways like an old mare I once had.”
Carmelita, choking back a laugh, began placing platters on the wooden kitchen table, in the hope of fending off a fight. “Lunch is ready,” she said, shooting a sideways glance at Diamond. “You should eat and not talk.”
But Diamond, never one for subtlety, continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “And that color. If Adam’s new bull saw you clear across the pasture, he’d come running.”
“Are you finished?” Ruby demanded.
“I’ve just started.” Diamond took her seat at the table and helped herself to several slices of corn bread before passing the platter to Pearl. “What’s worse, Ruby, if the bull did spot you, you wouldn’t be able to get out of the way. Look at that skirt. Why, you can hardly walk, let alone run. Can you picture Lavinia Thurlong or Gladys Witherspoon trying to waddle through town wearing one of your gowns?”
The image she suggested had the others giggling.
“Are you quite through?” Ruby asked through gritted teeth.
“Yep. I guess I am.” Diamond sprinkled chilis over her beef and dug in to her lunch.
“I am not l’imbécile.” As always, whenever she was agitated, Ruby’s tones slipped into a French-English mix that only added to her haughtiness.
“No one is accusing you of being a fool.” Pearl shot a look at Diamond, while trying to soothe Ruby’s ruffled feathers. “But I think Diamond has a good point. Though your gowns look...enchanting on you, Ruby, I can’t quite picture the women of Hanging Tree in them.”
“They’d look like a damned pack of soiled doves hoping to get work at Buck’s saloon,” Diamond said, choosing to ignore Pearl’s pointed looks.
“I’m not trying to force my taste on others.” Ruby’s food was forgotten. If she couldn’t persuade her own family, how could she ever hope to persuade the townspeople?
Jade’s words—calm, refined, with a hint of the Orient—broke through
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