Page 67 of The Grand Mistletoe Assembly
Ruby caught her breath. She wanted a small beer instead. She wanted tankards and tankards of beer. She wanted to be one of those loose women who sometimes came into the public house and draped themselves across patrons until someone bought them a drink. The women that Miz Penny frowned at. The women who didn’t care if one man rejected her because there was always another.
* * *
Every time Maxthought of Ruby Jackson, his mouth went dry, and tonight it felt like every ounce of moisture had been sucked out of his body and put right into his sweaty palms.
“You all right?” Roger asked as they elbowed a path in the packed basement.
There were no boys’ fights tonight. Just rematches. It was already overfull of impatient patrons, and no one was in a mood for conviviality. Some nights had an air of liveliness, as if everyone understood it was all just in good fun. Tonight though, tonight was tough and mean and all about money.
Max shook his head. He’d been unable to see Ruby last Sunday, after he’d promised he would. Mr. Hastings had taken ill, and then the first footman took ill, and then half the staff surrounding him fell to whatever was careening through the house. He couldn’t even manage to send her a note, what with all the cleaning and washing he was having to do just to keep the men’s rooms from smelling like a nightsoil cart.
She’d be furious with him, and well she should. If it hadn’t been the very worst of luck, he would have been there to take her somewhere. Anywhere.
“Oi, you hear me?” Roger said again, over the shuffling crowd. “You’ve gone white.”
Max shook his head. “Fine, mate.”
Roger gave him a concerned look as they deposited Baron Stone into the clutches of the Fancy.
“Same bets as before, my lord?” Max asked.
Stone shook his head as if changing his mind. Max pleaded internally for the man to bet on Ruby Jackson.
Fortunately, Lord Andrepont clapped Stone on the shoulder and welcomed him into the fold. “Should be a good one tonight. Ruby Jackson is faster than any boxer I’ve seen. Any.”
Stone didn’t even look at Max as he handed over the small purse. “Same as before, if you will, Max.”
Max accepted the purse and made his way to Basil, standing ringside. He spotted Ruby across the room in her corner, swinging her arms, deliberately keeping her eyes on the floor. He willed her to look up until Basil snapped at him.
“You betting or gawking, sir?” the thin man said.
“Begging your pardon. Betting on Ruby Jackson for the win.” Max laid both Stone’s bet and his own.
Roger shouldered his way over. “And mine, too, if you will.”
Max clapped his friend’s shoulder in thanks.
“She won’t even look at you, mate. If this will get your mopey chin off the floor, it’s worth the coin.”
“I thank you both, good sirs, as I’m sure the lovely Miss Jackson does as well.” Basil tucked the coin into a purse and scratched some numbers onto a paper. “Any specifics?”
Max thought about it. How best could he prove to Ruby that he believed in her? That he thought she was the most magnificent person he’d ever seen in his whole miserable life? “For that small purse there”—Max pointed at his contribution—“put it all on Ruby Jackson to win in the first round.”
Basil stopped his scratchings and surveyed him. “That’s quite the bet, young sir. I don’t normally discourage flights of fancy, but you know Bruising Peg is favored.”
“I do. But that’s because no one pays attention to a girl like Ruby Jackson. They think she’s pretty enough to not be serious, and small enough to push around, but they don’t know how fast she is, how smart she is, how perfect she is.”
“You wanta lay a bet or propose marriage?” Basil asked.
Max blushed. “Ruby Jackson to win in the first round.”
Basil resumed his scratching. “You’ll be a rich man if she comes through for you.”
“I’ll be a rich man if I can come through for her,” Max corrected, looking past the scrawny man to Ruby in the back corner. He ached to go to her.
“C’mon, we need to get back,” Roger said, pulling at him.
“I should go talk to her.” Max couldn’t take his eyes off her. In profile she was beautiful, the harsh cut of her nose, the upward taper of her eye. Recalling the animation of her face when she laughed, she was more than beautiful, she was stunning.
