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“Are you sure about this?” asked Vickie as she slipped out of the steamcar with Ruby.
“Of course,” answered Ruby, holding out her arm for Vickie to take, so she could be escorted inside. “Don’t worry about me, this will be a fun night this time.”
“Good.” Vickie had her doubts but pushed them away. Her focus tonight was to expose the Black Hearts Club to be the fraud she knew it was. The street was busy as expected for a Friday night, and most people would be on King William Road at the cafés and restaurants there for the evening.
“George still doesn’t know?”
Vickie shook her head.
Ruby reached out and put her hand on hers. “Don’t worry, he’ll be all right about it, you know when you finally tell him. You guys are strong now.”
Vickie simply nodded, her throat restricting with guilt. He would be, at least she hoped so. She put her hand on Ruby’s arm and let her guide her to the man.
“Invitation,” he said gruffly before they had a chance to speak.
Vickie carefully took it out and handed it over. The guard opened it, looked at both of them, then the invitation, then both of them again. Vickie held her breath, and her heart hammered. Was it because of what they were doing that the guard was here? Did they know that it wasn’t her husband with her? She was getting ready to turn around and rush away if accused when the guard thrust the invitation back to her.
He turned, knocked a syncopated rhythm on the metal door, and it opened. “Enjoy your night.”
Ruby pulled Vickie through the door. It was dark for a moment, then a soft glow of orange light intensified slowly, showing them the way forward along a wide corridor to an elevator at the end.
“Glad I don’t have to climb stairs,” whispered Ruby.
Vickie suppressed a smile. “We should take that option, you know, make sure we keep up our fitness.” She had managed a quick training session in what used to be her garden shed this morning before the art class.
“Another time.”
They waited nervously for a minute or two for the elevator to come back down. A sharp brass dinging sound announced it was back on the ground level. The thick doors parted with a hydraulic sigh, then a metal-paneled cage concertinaed opened, revealing a hardwood panel interior and carpeted flooring.
No going back now, Vickie thought as excitement rippled through her. She stepped into the small space with Ruby, and they turned around to face the door to be ready when it opened again.
“Wait for us,” yelled out a man.
Vickie jumped, not expecting to hear anyone else. So far, it had seemed that attendees were kept apart and didn’t mingle with each other. Without thinking, she put out her hand and stopped the cage from closing. A clang and a pause ensued.
A well-dressed man out of breath and a young lady giggling stepped into the small space, pushing Vickie and Ruby to the back.
“Thanks,” he said, exhaling heavily. “Hate waiting for elevators.”
There was a brass sound, another clang, and the cage doors closed, then the thick outside doors. With a bump, they started going upward slowly as the hydraulics engaged.
“I’m Walter, and this is my wife, Bessie.”
“R… George and my wife, Vickie,” stammered Ruby, coughing to try and cover her mistake.
“First time?” asked Bessie. “This is our first time. We can’t believe we got an invitation. We’ve heard whispers about the Black Hearts Club and wasn’t sure it was real until this afternoon. It’s terribly exciting.”
“What do you do, Walter?” asked Vickie. Ruby elbowed her. The question was a bit abrupt, but she was aware there wasn’t much time to try and gather as much as she could from these two. It might give her a clue or two about what was going on here.
“I’m a financial advisor,” said Walter proudly. “And you?” He looked at Ruby.
“Doctor,” she said, making her voice sound deep.
“Well, I’ll come to you if I’m feeling poorly tonight,” joked Walter.
Vickie feigned a smile at the poor joke. As a doctor’s wife, she’d heard them all.
The elevator abruptly came to a stop. They stumbled, bumping into each other. Bessie giggled nervously as she straightened up, apologizing for crushing into Ruby. Walter grinned enthusiastically as if he’d won the lottery and coming to the Black Hearts Club was something to be proud of.
