Ruby's Song (Love in the Sierras Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

for two hours, so we’ve plenty of time to go there and back.”
    Marlena’s nervous gaze followed Eloisa’s from face to face. “I thought we were having dinner.”
    The ladies laughed and Eloisa stepped forward to take Marlena’s hands. “I’ve got something far more exciting on the menu than food. Have you ever heard of The Museum ?”
    Marlena’s smile dropped and her eyes widened. She knew of the place well, for it had been denounced several times by none other than Sarah’s brother, head of the newly founded Moral Order, a political organization bent on censorship and enforced morality. An intense clash between the ruling elite class and the working class simmered in the city. Elijah, with all of his political clout, had curfews put into effect and all plays banned unless the scripts were approved and altered by the Order. Poor William Shakespeare was likely rolling in his grave at how his beautiful prose had been butchered for the sake of Puritan morality.
    A string of underground playhouses had sprung up to produce outlawed plays, and The Museum was the most notorious of them. Though Elijah and his comrades had been successful in rooting out such venues and closing them down, he’d failed to discover the location of The Museum. That failure drove his determination and he announced he’d see the place burn before summer’s end.
    “You know where The Museum is?” Marlena asked. “Elijah has been searching for months.”
    Eloisa straightened and stared down her nose at Marlena. “You’re not going to tell him, are you? Please tell me I won’t regret inviting you into our circle?”
    Marlena would never do such a thing, but not for the reason Eloisa suggested. She believed Elijah and the Moral Order were shameful tyrants, though she’d never utter such an opinion aloud. She shook her head.
    “I won’t say anything, but do you really think it wise to go? What if you’re seen?”
    “You mean what if we’re seen? You are coming with us, aren’t you? I was under the impression you western girls had gumption.”
    The ladies laughed and Marlena hesitated to answer. The Winthrops would be livid and the punishment severe if she were discovered. Her eyes scanned the expectant faces all pinned on her, waiting. What would it be like to have grand adventures with friends, to experience more than readings and sober dinner parties where she ate little and spoke even less? If these women were extending an offer of camaraderie, she would be a fool to turn it down. Her lips curved up and she nodded.
    Eloisa handed around bits of clothing. “Change quickly, ladies, and hide your gowns in this bag. We are servant girls tonight!”
    Thus disguised, the ladies filed out of Eloisa’s room and silently padded down the hallways toward the servants’ staircase, making their way out into the back of the house. They crept behind the hedges, holding their hems high above the wet grass until they reached the street. Traveling on foot, they reached a back alley surprisingly close to where Marlena lived. It gave her a chuckle to know Elijah scoured far and wide for a place hidden in his own neighborhood. The front façade had the look of an authentic museum, but through a back door a wide warehouse opened with a makeshift stage, and the crowd was so full that the ladies were pushed to the side wall near the dais.
    In the throng, Marlena was separated from the group, so she pressed her back against the side wall and slid toward her friends. Soon, she was close enough to hear her name spoken.
    “Marlena must have gotten lost in the crowd.”
    “Who cares?” Eloisa said with a wave of her hand. “I only brought her to take the fall if we’re caught. My maid and butler can vouch that she came to my house and you four are witnesses as well that this was all her idea.”
    The other ladies laughed.
    “I’m surprised she came with us,” one said.
    “I’m not,” Eloisa said. “These are her kind of people. She should feel