A Very Ruby Christmas Read online

  A Very Ruby Christmas is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Loveswept Ebook Original

  Copyright © 2016 by Lavinia Kent

  Excerpt from Tangled in Sin by Lavinia Kent copyright © 2016 by Lavinia Kent

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  LOVESWEPT is a registered trademark and the LOVESWEPT colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Tangled in Sin by Lavinia Kent. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

  Ebook ISBN 9780399593871

  Cover design: Caroline Teagle

  Cover illustration: Dmytro Flisak/Shutterstock

  randomhousebooks.com

  v4.1

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  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Angela

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Louisa

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  By Lavinia Kent

  About the Author

  Excerpt from Tangled in Sin

  Chapter 1

  “When is Captain Price returning? I can’t imagine being left alone for so long. However do you manage without him?”

  Ruby stared back, taking a moment too long to answer, allowing an awkward silence to grow. She knew that Angela, Lady Colton, hadn’t meant anything by the question, but the words hit at the heart of Ruby’s own anxieties, and it was difficult to restrain a defensive answer.

  It had been years since she’d had female friends to confide in, and she was unsure of the proper way to respond. She had the girls who worked for her, of course, and there was always Cook, but Cook was several decades older and more family than friend.

  Still, Angela was a dear, and Ruby knew she had only the best intentions; she was just young and perhaps a little careless. Ruby glanced between Angela and Louisa, Lady Swanston, who sat reclining upon a couch in the parlor of Madame Rouge’s, London’s most exclusive brothel.

  The seconds ticked by.

  Ruby patted her dark-red wig as she tried to find the correct words. What could she say that was reassuring and calming, that would not reveal her own anxieties? This business of having friends was a difficult matter. “I try not to dwell on his absence.”

  Is that enough?

  “Oh, Angela, you shouldn’t ask such questions,” Louisa said, rising from the low couch. “We both know she’s missing her captain. It is cruel to ask, particularly as the weather turns foul.”

  “I don’t think it’s a difficult question,” Angela answered. “I was merely curious. I truly can’t imagine being without Colton, now that we’ve wed.” A delicate blush spread up her cheeks.

  Ruby, much to her surprise, felt a similar blush heating her own face. Normally, nothing could make her blush; being the madame of one of London’s most exclusive brothels did tend to leave one rather world-weary. “No, I know the question is meant with the best intent. Yes, I do miss Derek, but I have been alone a long time, and I’m quite used to it. It’s merely a matter of letting each day pass and attending to everything that must be taken care of.”

  She was tempted to tell her friends of her decision to sell Madame Rouge’s and sail with Derek once he returned. But until she had definite plans, she was not ready to discuss the matter except with those who had to know, those who might purchase the house from her. Talking about it with her friends would make it all too real. But she would probably need to tell them soon. Both Lord Swanston and Lord Colton were attempting to help her with the sale, and it would only be a matter of time before their wives knew. She certainly didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings when the matter became public.

  But not today. Today she would think of something other than the choices she must make about her future. “Now, ladies,” she said, “are you ever going to tell me why you’re here? I’ve never had two ladies call at once, and it does make one wonder.”

  Angela laughed, clearly understanding exactly why Ruby might find it surprising to have two ladies come together to the brothel—and what it might have meant, in slightly different circumstances. “No, no. Nothing at all like that. We were bored and decided it was the perfect day to pay a call on a dear friend.”

  Ruby glanced out the window at the cold gray day. The wind howled angrily between the houses, casting up the few remaining dry leaves. Dust and dirt danced and blew.

  “The perfect day? I would have thought you’d be happy curled up before the fire, with pot after pot of tea.”

  “And so we are,” Louisa said, stretching, as she glanced from the flickering flames in the hearth to the large china pot on the table.

  “That was not what I meant,” Ruby added.

  “I know, but with Bliss awaiting the birth of her baby and most of society at their estates in the country, London is a dreadfully dull place. Oh, that did not come out as I meant it. It makes it sound as if you’re our last choice, and you’re certainly not that, for all that it’s such a bother having to sneak in.” Louisa glanced at the pile of discarded veiling that lay heaped on a chair. “And the wind certainly did not help.”

  “I would imagine not. And I do not mean to sound ungrateful for your visit. I would confess to feeling a touch of the doldrums myself. You’re quite correct that it can seem as if there’s hardly a soul about, now that nearly everyone has retired to the country for the holidays. Even my business suffers at such a time.” She raised a brow at the ladies.

  “Well, I would imagine that to be true. I may have to talk to Swanston and see if we can do something about that,” Louisa said, before turning back to Angela. “Oh, perhaps I should not have said that.”

  Angela smiled back. “I daresay it would be hard to pretend that we just happened to meet our dear Ruby in the park and became friends because we were strolling in the same direction. We may not talk about it, but we both know why we’ve come here.”

  Ruby said nothing. Even among friends it was best that some matters be kept private.

  Before another awkward silence could descend, there was a tap on the door and Ruby’s porter, Simms, entered with a small wooden box. “There’s a delivery for you, Madame.”

  She held out her hand and took the box from him. “Something from Sarah Perry.” Whatever was Sarah sending her from the North Country? Ruby had not heard from her since she’d left with her husband to visit his more-distant estates. With some reluctance—for she was intrigued—she put the box aside.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Angela asked, with obvious curiosity.

  “I think I’d best not. I know that Sarah is your friend as well, but…”

  Louisa smiled. “But I would not want a package that I sent you opened before others.”

  “I am glad you understand.” Ruby tapped the box once.

  “I understand too,” Angela added. “Although I admit I am curious.”

  “Now,” Ruby said, changing the subject. “Is there anything else you need to talk about? I don’t wish to keep you all afternoon. The weather is turning more and more nasty.”

  Louisa stood. “And that is your gracious w
ay of stating that you have things you must attend to.”

  “Not at all. I merely don’t wish you to be delayed here; the weather threatens. I can’t imagine either of your husbands would take well to your remaining here under the duress of a storm—or otherwise.”

  “And that’s just what I wanted to talk to you about,” Angela burst out suddenly. “I don’t know how to tell Colton that I want to come back here for—for a visit.”

  “Hmm,” Ruby murmured. “I do have some ideas about that, although I am surprised you need them so soon after your marriage.”

  Angela sat up straighter. “I just want to be sure we set the right patterns to begin with. I do know how difficult it can be to train a man, if he develops bad habits.”

  Ruby stifled a laugh. She rather thought if there was any training going on in that marriage, it was occurring in the opposite direction. Ruby knew a great deal about Colton’s tastes, and she could not imagine any woman attempting to train him. Still, perhaps that was what he’d found appealing in the vibrant young Angela, and this was definitely a subject Ruby was quite comfortable giving advice on. She leaned forward and addressed both women: “The real trick is to let a man think it is all his idea. If you leave the subtlest of hints, letting him know that you are agreeable and you…”

  —

  Will Derek ever come home? Ruby echoed Angela’s question of hours earlier as she glared out the window of her room at the growing dark. The strong, steady wind had developed into the first snowfall of the year. It was not sticking to the still-warm ground, but it was a harbinger of far colder days to come, days when a ship out on rough seas might meet disaster. Bending her neck, she rested her forehead against the cold glass.

  Her captain should have been home a week or more ago. There were no fixed dates with a man who sailed the seas, but she could not stop the knot of dread that lodged deep in her belly. Something was coming. She knew not what, but she could feel it in the air about her, something other than snow and ice.

  The window shook as a sudden gust caught it, the snow falling far harder than it had barely a moment before.

  She pulled back. The snow danced before her, coating the dark branches of the trees and briefly covering the dirt of the streets before melting across the cobbles. Another gust. The air was almost white with the heavy flakes, the house across the way becoming lost in the swirl.

  She turned away.

  No, Derek would not be home tonight.

  She glanced at the table that held Sarah’s gift and frowned at the open box, the glossy green leaves and small white berries visible within. What was the use of magical, mystical mistletoe if Derek was not about to give her a true kiss of lasting love? Sarah’s note had left as many questions as it had answered.

  Not that she believed in any such thing, or in the village wise women who spread such nonsense. Ruby was practical and always had been. She’d given up dreams long ago—although what was Derek if not a perfect dream? But, drat, he would be much more perfect if he ever actually arrived.

  Practical. Be practical. Put dreams aside for now. She had a business to run.

  Another gust of wind rattled the window.

  A business that would continue to suffer if the weather did not improve. No one wanted to trek through a snowstorm when he could simply come another night.

  Madame Rouge’s.

  Her house. Her home.

  In the past, it had always brought her comfort and joy to think about all that she had accomplished, about creating a safe place for both her girls and her patrons, creating a place where every fantasy could be realized.

  But now that had changed; now she was more concerned with her own fantasies, with creating a home and a life with her captain. Although happily ever after was far harder to live than she had ever imagined.

  The windowpane rattled again, and she glanced out at the ever-increasing storm. It seemed all too real a metaphor for the confusion of her life.

  A few months ago it had all seemed so simple—sell the house and head off into a world of adventure with Derek—but nothing had ever been that easy. True love definitely was not the answer to everything.

  A tap at the door interrupted her maudlin thoughts.

  “Enter,” she called.

  Simms poked his head in. “Excuse me, Madame, but Lord Colton is here and would like a word with you.”

  Colton here? In this weather? She hoped he was not upset with his wife’s visit earlier in the day. There were not many men who would welcome having their wives visit a brothel. Granted, Colton had introduced Angela to Madame Rouge’s himself, so it might be a bit hypocritical of him to complain now. And it was far more likely that Angela had merely planted those first seeds of an idea in her husband’s mind, causing him to visit Ruby at the first available opportunity. She simply had not expected it to be so soon—and not in the middle of a rapidly accumulating snow.

  “Of course, Simms. You may tell him I will be right there.”

  Ruby took one last look out the snowy window and then moved to the mirror to check her appearance.

  Dark-red wig in place; tonight’s curls were not quite as bright as on some evenings, but that suited her somewhat dismal mood.

  Lips, crimson.

  Eyes, lined in kohl.

  Dress of deep-purple satin, far more fitted than fashion dictated, but it suited her, and she was a woman who had always chosen what suited her.

  Ear bobs, still on her dresser.

  She picked up the heavy sapphire bobs and held them up to the light. How many more times would she wear them? For years, ever since she had become Madame Rouge, they had represented who she was; every night she put them on and thought about her mother’s life and everything that had led her to this place. But the heavy jewels had no place in either the life of Emma Scanton, granddaughter of a textile merchant, or that of the future Mrs. Derek Price, wife of a Rhode Island sea captain. No, the ear bobs were part of Madame Rouge, not of either of the women Ruby might become. With a deep sigh, she threaded them through her ears, their familiar weight transforming her.

  Madame Rouge had arrived.

  A last look in the mirror: All was in place. She walked through the door and down to the parlor, hips swaying, relieved that the house was still quiet and she could have a moment with Colton before other distractions would take over.

  She greeted the tall, handsome lord with a smile. “It is good to see you, but whatever has brought you out in this storm? I trust all is well. I have not seen you since before your wedding. Simms said you need my help with something.”

  “Yes. All is very well. I decided to surprise my new bride with a special treat, and I thought that nobody could supply what is needed as perfectly as you.”

  She nodded. She knew well her capabilities. And, yes, Angela had definitely laid more than a few gentle hints to get him here so quickly.

  “And what do you need? I may require preparation time if you have a special request.”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary. I can explain the details to Simms, but I wanted to be sure you knew that Angela would be here this evening.” He lowered his voice as he said his wife’s name, even though they were alone in the parlor. “Everything I have planned is to meet her desires, but I will be pushing her further than she has yet gone, and I wanted you to be aware of it.”

  She nodded her understanding. And exactly what had Angela been hinting? Even with the best of intentions, things could go wrong—very wrong.

  “And I wanted to let you know that Granderson will be there.”

  She raised her brows. The last time Colton had introduced Lord Granderson to Angela, things had not gone well. “Is that wise?”

  “I know that it is a risk, and because of that I have actually given Angela some warning of what is coming. I want her to feel safe—if, perhaps, a little anxious. My wife does like that trace of tension.”

  “And so do you.”

  This time it was Colton who gave the brief nod.

 
Before they could say more, there was another tap at the door. For a night she had thought would be quiet, this was turning into anything but.

  Before she could even call an answer, the echo of loud voices erupted from the hall, not quite clear but definitely not muffled by politeness.

  Lord Thorton? What was he doing here? Well, she knew the answer to that; she just wished she didn’t.

  Another tap.

  “Enter,” she called softly.

  The door slid open, and Lauren, one of her newest girls, stuck her head in. “I am sorry, Madame, but Mr. Simms requested that I ask you if you wished to see Lord Thorton. He doesn’t wish to leave him alone.”

  “Whyever not?” Ruby raised a brow in question.

  Lauren’s gaze dropped to the floor and she shrugged.

  It was impossible to tell if the girl knew more than she was saying or if she simply didn’t know. But, then, Ruby had felt that way about the girl almost from the beginning. There was something about her expression that always hinted at hidden mischief, but the longer Ruby knew her, the more it seemed it was just the girl’s natural expression. “You can tell Simms to put him in the library and I will be out in a few minutes.”

  A flush of heat rose to the girl’s cheeks, and she ducked out of the room.

  As the door closed, the voices drifted in again.

  How loud was Lord Thorton being? It was quite out of character. Normally he kept to civil tones when in the public areas of her house.

  With some impatience, she tugged on one of her ear bobs and gave a quick smoothing to the thick satin of her skirt. “I am afraid you must excuse me.”

  “I do understand.” Colton pursed his lips.

  “And if there is anything you need that Simms cannot supply, he can certainly find me. I do know where my priorities lie.”

  Colton reached out and placed a hand on her arm, his large fingers warm and reassuring. “And if Thorton is too much of a bother, do let me know. Swanston, Duldon, and I were sincere in our offer to help.”