Ruby left Pennington’s through its gilded front doors exited onto the busy street. It was a bright but chilly day and she lifted her hand to shield the sun from her eyes as she looked up and down the length of Milsom Street.
She looked at the faces of the people as they passed, noting the hunch of their shoulders and the strangely slow pace at which they wandered. No one needed any more proof of how the Titanic’s sinking had shaken people’s happiness and hope.
She breathed deep. Her job was to ensure that whoever passed Pennington’s main window felt at least a modicum of joy, even if only for a moment or two. She was determined to create a wedding window so spectacular that people would once again stop in front of Pennington’s and stare in awe. People needed something new and beautiful after such a tragedy.
Her heart filled with determination, Ruby walked along the front of the store to the main window. It had been hard opening the curtains to reveal such an unusually empty space, but she needed to consider what she had to work with from outside. Needed to stand in front of the window and envision what the public would see once she’d completed her display.
Lifting her pencil to her lips, she narrowed her eyes.
Instead of having the bride and groom centre stage, she would position them to the side and have the bride wearing as long a train as possible, two young bridesmaids and a family looking on proudly. The backdrop would be a country chapel, fields, blue sky and soft clouds.
She needed to bring a sense of summer; of long days giving way to warm evenings.
Romance. Hope. Possibility.
Feverishly scribbling in her notepad, Ruby poured everything from her imagination onto the page. She stopped and stared again at the window, mentally picturing all she could include from each department. Esther had set the bar high with her effortless ability to advertise as much of Pennington’s merchandise as possible within a single display.
Homewares. The toy department. Men and ladieswear. Jewellery. Accessories…
Ruby paused. Would Victoria have specific ideas for the Accessories department? Most probably.
Her and Tommy’s first night in Victoria’s home had been wonderful, and she had no doubt that tonight would be the same. Tommy seemed equally infatuated with Victoria as Ruby, which only reaffirmed Victoria’s kindness and amiability. Despite the loss of her husband and her treatment during her childhood, Victoria sparkled with generosity and love, two things that Tommy desperately needed right now.
As anger towards her mother rose like a smouldering ember behind her chest, Ruby strode back towards Pennington’s doors, determined her energy in her new project would not be diminished by her concentration drifting in an entirely unwanted direction.
It was near closing time and Pennington’s atrium was less busy, so she quickly headed for the door at the back of the main window. Hurrying inside, she pulled the curtains closed, happily humming to herself in the knowledge that the next time she opened them, it would be to reveal the wedding display.
She had just a few short weeks to get everything in place.
The sound of the back door being clicked closed behind her echoed in the small space and Ruby turned.
‘How are things coming along?’ Victoria smiled. ‘I saw you come in from the street and guessed you were thinking about what the display will look like from outside.’
‘I was.’ Ruby’s body tingled with desire as her mind filled with the closeness of Victoria, clad in a white nightdress, as they’d sipped tea in front of the fire last night, the light softly romantic from the two lit lamps on small tables either end of the settee. The yearning to touch her had been torturous.
She tucked some hair behind her ear. ‘I know exactly what I want to do, but I worry just how sincere Mr Carter was about allowing me some of his workroom staff to help me. I’m going to need more than one pair of extra hands if I’m to ensure the window is ready by the 1st of June.’
Victoria wandered around the space, the semi-darkness further softening her pretty features and the hue of her red hair. She looked over the floor, towards the curtains and then the ceiling.
Her face was relaxed and happy as she met Ruby’s gaze. ‘Weddings are so special, aren’t they?’
The wistfulness in Victoria’s voice aroused a longing in Ruby for a day she would never have. Even if Victoria were to ever return her feelings, two women would never be allowed to marry. Homosexuality was so abhorrent to most of society that men had lost their lives for acting on their passions. She had no doubt there were thousands of men and women all over the world who wished they could feel differently, just as she did almost every day.
‘Ruby?’
She blinked and forced a smile. ‘Yes, they are very special.’
Victoria frowned and came closer, gently touching Ruby’s elbow. ‘What is it?’
‘Nothing. I’m fine.’
‘You had a troubled look on your face a moment ago. You are happy that you and Tommy have come to live with me, aren’t you?’
‘More than you could possibly know,’ Ruby said, trembling under the heat of Victoria’s touch, the caress of her beautiful green eyes. ‘I’ve never felt so free. I’m sure Tommy will come to feel the same in time. Right now, he’s still thinking about Ma but that won’t last long once he understands what living with you means.’
‘Which is what? You must tell me if anything is worrying you.’
Ruby dropped her gaze to Victoria’s mouth for a hazardous second before meeting her eyes. ‘No. Everything is wonderful.’
Victoria’s hand continued to linger on Ruby’s elbow, her eyes fixed on hers. The atmosphere between them seemed to shift to something… more intimate. Ruby watched in fascination as Victoria’s gaze darkened with what looked to be longing, her cheeks flushing a light pink, before she abruptly released her.
She smiled brightly and stepped towards the door. ‘Are you leaving soon? Only I was going to get away now so I have time to pick up something for dinner. I’ll wait for you if you’re not going to be too long.’
‘Um, no, you go ahead,’ Ruby said, feigning interest in her notebook, her heart racing. ‘I want to see if I can catch Mr Carter before he leaves.’ Her hands turned clammy. Had it really been longing she’d seen in Victoria’s gaze? Desire? ‘Tell Tommy I’ll be home in time for dinner. Is seven o’clock too late?’
‘No, that’s fine. It will give me time to prepare everything.’ Victoria’s gaze wandered over Ruby’s hair before she turned to the door. ‘See you in a while.’
Ruby’s feet remained frozen to the floor as the door closed behind Victoria. Every part of her treacherous body told Ruby that something had just happened between her and Victoria. Could she dare to hope that she was beginning to look at Ruby as she never had before? Or was the way Victoria studied her just now nothing more than Ruby imagining things – hoping things – now that they would be spending time in such close proximity?
Ruby crossed her arms and tried to return her focus to her work rather than the nonsensical possibility that Victoria, a woman once married to a man, might come to see her as anything more than a friend.
Closing her eyes, she envisioned the finished wedding display, revelling in the excitement that immediately tumbled in her stomach. Only this time, it wasn’t a bride and groom who filled her imagination as they stood resplendent at the side of the window, it was her and Victoria…