necks if we don't find a pretty lady to go out on stage,' Steeple whined. 'You don't have to be Ruby if you don't want to. We can give you another stage name. How about Opal or Emerald?'
'My name is Genevieve. What exactly am I expected to do on stage?'
'Don't you see? We don't rightly care what you do. You're real pretty, and maybe if you twirl around a couple of times and sashay back and forth, folks will think they got their money's worth.'
'Are you about ready to get going?' Adam asked.
She shook her head. 'These gentlemen do seem to be in a bind. If I help them out, I could be saving their hides.'
'Yes, miss, that's exactly right,' Pickerman agreed.
She did feel sorry for them, but she was also intrigued by the possibility of replenishing her funds so quickly. It was an appealing proposition. There was a dilemma however.
'I do sing, but only in church,' she explained.
'She sings, Pickerman,' Steeple shouted. 'It's a sign, I tell you. She was sent to us.'
'There you have it,' Steeple said. 'You sing. That's what you'll do, then.'
'Can you twirl?' Pickerman wanted to know.
Adam was shaking his head. She ignored him and asked, 'Is twirling important?'
Steeple shrugged. 'I expect so,' he said. 'Folks will want to see your ankles.'
She glanced at Adam, saw his dark expression, and knew he'd reached his boiling point.
'I don't think I'll be doing any twirling or sashaying, but I would like to earn thirty dollars. I'll sing for that amount of money and not a dollar less.'
The two men didn't need to discuss the matter. Steeple reached up and shook her hand. 'You've got yourself a deal, little lady.'
'May I have the money in advance?' she asked.
'As soon as you step out on stage, we'll give the money to your companion,' Steeple told her with a nod toward Adam.
'He'll shoot you if you don't pay him,' she said sweetly.
Pickerman turned to Adam. 'You won't have to shoot anyone. He'll pay.'
'Now all we have to do is sneak you in the back door of the saloon so folks won't know you only just got there.'
'I've never been inside a saloon,' she remarked.
'Well, now, this will be a treat for you,' Pickerman said.
Adam's patience was all used up. 'Genevieve, I'm putting my foot down. You aren't going to sing for a bunch of drunk men.'
'There might be women there too,' Steeple promised.
'Adam, have some compassion,' Genevieve said. 'These gentlemen need my help.'
Both Pickerman and Steeple nodded in unison, their chins wobbling like a pair of turkeys pecking at the ground.
'People will understand if they tell them the truth,' Adam said.
'We can't tell them Ruby didn't show. They'll hang us,' Steeple insisted.
'Don't you have a sheriff in Gramby?' Genevieve asked.
'Yes, miss, we do,' Pickerman answered. 'But he isn't in Gramby today. He headed over to Middleton as soon as he heard their bank was robbed. Folks over there don't need his help though, because there are three U.S. marshals on their way to Middleton now. They'll catch the robbers quick enough.'
'But Middleton's a couple of hours away, and by the time our sheriff comes back home, we'll be swingin' from the trees,' Steeple said.
'You took money for tickets, didn't you?' Adam asked.
'We did,' Steeple agreed.
'Then give them refunds.'
The men looked horrified by the notion. 'We couldn't do that,' Pickerman said.
'It's bad business,' Steeple interjected.
Adam gave up trying to make them be reasonable. Genevieve continued to look sympathetic.
'Miss Genevieve, do you happen to have a nice little something to wear on stage?'
She smiled. 'I have just the thing.'
Chapter Nine
She wore her favorite church dress. It was the color of freshly churned butter and had a matching wide- brimmed hat, wrist-length gloves, and shoes. The dress was long-sleeved and covered her ankles and her neck, and therefore met Adam's stipulations. Nevertheless, he still wasn't happy when he saw her all decked out in her Sunday finery. Neither were Steeple and Pickerman. They took turns begging her to find something else to put on.
Adam had insisted they stay at the boardinghouse outside of town, but there hadn't been time to go there to change her clothes, and so she'd ended up using Steeple's storage closet behind the stage. She made Pickerman guard the door, ignoring his protest that he was breaking a sacred vow by entering Steeple's den of iniquity. Adam and Steeple waited near the stage. When she stepped out and asked Adam if she looked all right, he shook his head and told her she would incite men's appetites wearing such a revealing garment. While Steeple pleaded with her to at least roll up her sleeves, Adam moved forward, nudged her chin up, and fastened her two top buttons.
She knew he was angry that he hadn't been able to change her mind. He knew she was nervous, because he could feel her trembling.
'It isn't too late to leave,' he whispered.
She moved closer to him and tried to smile. 'I am a little nervous,' she admitted.
He put his arms around her, but resisted the urge to try to shake some sense into her.
'Then let's go. You don't have any business inside a saloon. You're too refined for such a place.'
She thought that was a lovely thing for him to say. 'I am?' she asked.
'Let's go.'
She shook her head. 'It's thirty whole dollars,' she reminded him once again. 'I could pay you back what I owe you.'
'You don't owe me anything.'
'I made you give your money to the Meadows family, remember?'
His head dropped down toward hers so that he could hear her whispers over the crowd's shouts coming from the other side of the stage.
'You didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do.'
'For the love of God, now isn't the time to be whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. We got a situation here,' Steeple cried out.
'The audience sounds… restless,' she said.
'It isn't an audience, it's a mob,' Adam snapped.
Steeple latched onto Genevieve's arm. 'If he'll unhand you, I'll show you where you should wait.'
He tugged her away from Adam and then guided her over to the left side of the stage behind the red velvet drape. She had grabbed hold of Adam's hand and wouldn't let go. He kept trying to get her to change her mind, but she was in such a panic now, she could barely hear a word he said.
The noise of the crowd was deafening. Pride kept her from picking up her skirts and running for safety. She had given her word, and she meant to keep it.
She tried to look out at the audience, but Steeple saw what she was about to do and rushed forward to put himself in front of her.
The crowd was getting restless. As one, they began to chant Ruby Leigh Diamond's name and pound their fists on the tables. They hurled their empty whiskey bottles at the walls and the stage.
The noise was frightful. 'They sound… impatient,' Genevieve said when she heard a loud crash.
