Ruby (Landry Series #1)

Author:V. C. Andrews
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Families, Family, Domestic fiction, Horror, Girls, General, Sagas, Suspense, Fiction, Louisiana
ISBN: 9780671759346
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1994-02-01T06:00:00+00:00

Unable to hold back, I flared. "We are!"

"In your dreams maybe," she countered, and then sauntered to her bedroom. After she entered and closed her door, I went downstairs, pausing to admire her headdress and cloak. Why did she leave it here?

Who picked up after her? I wondered.

As if she heard my thoughts, a maid came out of the living room and marched down the corridor to retrieve Gisselle's things. She was a young black woman with beautiful, large brown eyes. I didn't think she was much older than I.

"Good morning,." I said.

"Mornin'. You're the new girl who looks just like Gisselle?" she asked.

"Yes. My name's Ruby."

"I'm Wendy Williams," she said. She scooped up Gisselle's things, her eyes glued to me, and then walked away.

I started down the corridor to the kitchen, but when I reached the dining room, I saw my father already seated at the long table. He was sipping coffee and reading the business section of the newspaper.

The moment he saw me, he looked up and smiled.

"Good morning. Come on in and sit down," he called. It was a very big dining room, almost as big as a Cajun meeting hall, I thought. Above the long table hung a shoo-fly, a great, wide fan unfurled at dinnertime and pulled to and fro by a servant to provide a breeze and do what it was named for: shoo away flies . . . I imagined it was there just for decoration. I had seen them before in rich Cajun homes where they had electric fans.

"Here, sit down," my father said, tapping the place on his left. "From now on, this is your seat.

Gisselle sits here on my right and Daphne sits at the other end."

"She sits so far away," I remarked, gazing down the length of the rich, cherry wood table, polished so much I could see my face reflected in its surface. My father laughed.

"Yes, but that's the way Daphne likes it. Or should I say, that's the proper seating arrangement.

So, how did you sleep?" he asked as I took my seat.

"Wonderfully. It's the most comfortable bed I've ever been in. I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud!"

He smiled.

"Gisselle wants me to buy her a new mattress.

She claims hers is too hard, but if I get one any softer, she'll sink to the floor," he added, and we both laughed. I wondered if he had heard her come in and knew she had just returned from the ball. "Hungry?"

"Yes," I said. My stomach was rumbling. He hit a bell and Edgar appeared from the kitchen.

"You've met Edgar, correct?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. Good morning, Edgar," I said. He bowed

"Good morning, mademoiselle."

"Edgar, have Nina prepare some of her

blueberry pancakes for Mademoiselle Ruby, please.

You'd like that, I expect?"

"Yes, thank you," I said. My father nodded toward Edgar. "Very good, sir," Edgar said, and smiled at me.

"Some orange juice? It's freshly squeezed," my father said, reaching for the pitcher.

"Yes, thank you."

"I don't think Daphne needs to worry about your manners.

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