Pearl (13 page)
‘‘See that smoke up there?’’ Charlie pointed over the next rise.
‘‘Yep.’’
‘‘Yes,’’ Ruby corrected.
Opal sighed.
‘‘That’s where the Robertsons live.’’
‘‘We’re almost there.’’
‘‘Oh, Ruby, I heard more about the marquis,’’ Charlie said. ‘‘He already owns that land across the river, and he’s planning on building a house up on the south butte.’’
‘‘Well, I’ll be switched.’’
‘‘Ruby, you sound more like the girls all the time,’’ Charlie said, pulling up to the Robertsons’ house.
The Robertson girls were as excited to have company as Opal was in being there and as Ruby was in being away from the hotel.
‘‘You all come right on in. Charlie, Mr. Robertson’s out in the barn. I’ll put the coffeepot on, and we’ll just have ourselves a right good visit.’’
The girls took Opal out to see the new chicks and the baby pigs, the older girls laughing and one carrying the youngest.
‘‘You have such lovely daughters.’’
‘‘Thank you. My husband and I, we know we are indeed blessed. Speaking of blessed, that Easter service, that made my soul feel real good. I’ve sorely missed having a place of worship, and while God sometimes even speaks on the wind out here, there’s something about a group of people worshiping together.
No wonder the Bible tells us not to neglect gathering together like that.’’ While Mrs. Robertson talked, she stoked up the fire, filled the coffeepot with water, and measured out her ground coffee. Once the pot was set on the hotter front of the stove, she came and sat down at the table with Ruby. ‘‘My land, what a pleasure to have your company.’’
‘‘Thank you. And thank you for making the girls feel like members of the family when you came to the service. Some of the others treat them as servants or far worse. That makes me so mad, I could—’’ ‘‘Me too. The Lord says to forgive and forget, and I don’t have the energy to carry around a load of holier than thou. Just too heavy.’’
Ruby smiled. ‘‘I never heard it put just that way before, but you said it right.’’
‘‘So, child, how are you settlin’ in to life in Little Missouri?
You’ve made some mighty big changes in a short time.’’
‘‘I came this close to leaving.’’ Ruby held thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart. ‘‘More than once.’’
‘‘But God wouldn’t let you go?’’
‘‘Actually it was Opal who kept me here. She reminded me of my promise to Far.’’
‘‘And what was that?’’
‘‘He made me promise to take care of the girls. Well, I had no idea who or what he meant by that, but he was close to dying, and I’d have promised him anything.’’
‘‘Ah, lass, God knew how they needed you, how the whole town, if you can call it that, needed someone like you.’’ Mrs.
Robertson patted Ruby’s folded hands. ‘‘Much as I love this land and my family, I needed you too. I didn’t have the gumption to take on those wives, but then I didn’t have to watch my husband visit Dove House neither. Drinkin’ or playin’ cards aren’t as bad as the other . . .’’ She gave a shudder. ‘‘No, we need to get together to worship.’’
‘‘We need to get together to get a school going too. That’s the other thing I wanted to talk with you about.’’
‘‘A school, you say.’’ Mrs. Robertson nodded while adding, ‘‘But of course. Are there enough children in the area yet?’’
Ruby counted them off. ‘‘And probably more will be here sooner than we think, if what Marquis de Mores wants comes to pass.’’
‘‘The what of what?’’
‘‘He’s from France, and according to what Belle and Charlie have heard the marquis and his men discussing, he wants to build a slaughterhouse and ship meat back east in ice-cooled railroad cars. The man has big dreams, and it sounds like he has the money or at least the backing to make those dreams happen.’’
‘‘Where’s he going to get the cattle?’’
‘‘He plans to buy cattle back east or from Texas, bring them out here to range, then slaughter and ship the carcasses east. He’s been out talking to ranchers and inspecting the land on the other side of the river. It seems he already bought or is buying land from the railroad.’’
‘‘He hasn’t been here yet.’’
‘‘He’s staying at Dove House. He’s got to get people out here to build all that, and if the men bring their families, we’ll need a school.’’
‘‘And they’ll need houses too. All that might just put Little Missouri on the map.’’
‘‘If I write a letter to the superintendent of schools and we hire a teacher, will you send your girls in for school?’’
Mrs. Robertson got up to pour the coffee. ‘‘On all but the worst days. They can ride on in. Where will the school be?’’
‘‘That’s a good question. I thought maybe we could start at the hotel, but that won’t be easy.’’
‘‘We could have a schoolhouse raising, like a barn or house raising. Perhaps the army would lend a hand.’’
‘‘What do you mean by a barn raising?’’
‘‘Well, you get the material there, then all the men get together and build it all in one day. The women provide lots of good food, and the children run around and make themselves useful or just play together. The young folks make calf eyes at each other, and the men try to outdo each other—a real community kind of time. Always amazes me what all can happen when a group of people get together.’’
One of the girls came running in, and Mrs. Robertson sent her back out to call the men for coffee.
‘‘How can I help?’’ Ruby asked.
‘‘You can put those cookies out on a plate. If I’d known you were coming, I’d have made something special.’’
‘‘I have a burnt-sugar cake in the basket.’’ Ruby pulled the basket out from beside her feet. ‘‘We got to talking so fast, I forgot to give it to you. There’s some bread in there too.’’ She handed the basket to Mrs. Robertson.
‘‘Well, how about that. I’ll just whip up some cream to go on that cake, and we’ll have ourselves a party.’’
By the time they had to leave, Ruby felt that she’d made a real friend. Opal chattered all the way back to town about the girls and the things they did. And Charlie whistled a tuneless tune that Ruby had come to realize meant he had enjoyed himself right well.
Dusk blued the landscape by the time they drove back into town. Supper was finished and the girls had already cleaned up.
‘‘They staked out the
abattoir,
’’ Cimarron announced.
‘‘Who and what?’’ Opal stared at Cimarron like she’d gone loco.
‘‘The marquis and the men with him. Abattoir is French for slaughterhouse.’’
‘‘Mighty fancy word for such a place.’’ Charlie looked in the oven. ‘‘Didn’t you save us any supper?’’
‘‘We almost ran out of food. Three more rooms are taken. I can make you sandwiches if you like.’’ Daisy snatched a quick breath. ‘‘They plan to start building as soon as the supplies can get here. And . . .’’ She paused for a heartbeat. ‘‘They’re even going to build a brick plant because we have such excellent kaolin.’’ Opal turned first to Ruby who shrugged, then to Charlie, who shrugged, and finally to Daisy, who looked like the cat that swallowed the cream. ‘‘What is that?’’
‘‘Clay. Really good clay, not only for making bricks but for making dishes and such too.’’
‘‘Things really are going to change here.’’ Cimarron stopped slicing bread for a moment. ‘‘You wait and see.’’
‘‘Well, I have a letter to write, and then I’ll help set more bread.’’
‘‘The marquis would like water for a bath.’’ Enrique stopped in the doorway.
‘‘I warned that you was supposed to ask earlier in the day.’’ Charlie sounded a bit surly.
‘‘That’s all right, Charlie. I figured he’d want some, so I heated extra. We just gotta hoist that boiler back up to hotten up.’’ Daisy smiled back at Ruby’s approving nod.
Later, after writing the letter to the Territory Superintendent of Education and sealing the envelope, Ruby thought back to the evening. Cimarron sat mending, Milly helped Daisy with the ironing, Belle and Charlie ran the cardroom—they could have set a third table—and Opal took over preparing the sourdough starter for the morning’s pancakes. The girls had handled things without her and Charlie there, had managed new guests, a full house for supper, and had come up smiling.
And she’d had a day away. She started up the stairs when a man’s shouting stopped her. Should she go to the cardroom or stay away? She continued on up to bed, hoping Charlie would be able to calm things down or throw the man out, if necessary. Ruby hated to have anything broken, be it bones or furniture. She ignored the voice in her head that said she should check. Sometimes
should
was one of her most hated words.
‘‘He’s here!’’ Opal slammed out the kitchen door to the back porch. ‘‘Hey, Mr. Harrison.’’
‘‘Hey yourself.’’ Rand swung off Buck and flipped his reins over the hitching rail. ‘‘Bet you thought I was never coming.’’
‘‘Nah. Nah.’’ She grinned at him. ‘‘Well, maybe, but you built that whole fence, so I thought sure you wouldn’t waste all that time.’’
‘‘You’re right. I wouldn’t. Just had some chores needing doing at the ranch. This here is Bay. She’s on the old side, but she’ll be good to you.’’
Opal stood in front of the horse and let Bay sniff her hands and up her arms. When Bay seemed to approve, Opal raised her hand slowly and rubbed the horse’s cheek, then down her neck.
‘‘You really are a beauty. You know your name? It’s pretty simple—Bay.’’
‘‘I thought that you two ought to get acquainted some before you ride her. Why don’t you take her out in the field and lead her around, help her to know her new home.’’
‘‘Thank you, sir. I’ll take good care of her.’’
Rand watched as Opal led Bay up to the gate, slid back the bars, and took the mare into the field. Then she carefully slid the three rails back in place, and the two set off across the grass. Rand nodded.
She passed her first test, the bars of the gate. She’s a
thinker, not one to just run off and make mistakes. Ruby has done well
by her
.
‘‘Thank you, Mr. Harrison. You have no idea how happy you have made one little girl.’’ Ruby strolled down the steps and across to the hitching rail. She and Rand walked together out to the field.
Hope I’ve made her older sister happy some too
. Rand looked over his shoulder to the woman standing beside him. Her voluminous white apron wore stains from the cooking she had left to come see what was going on. Flour smudged one cheek. Sun glinted off her hair, so carefully tucked into a bun at the base of her head. She smelled like cinnamon and something sweet. He inhaled again. His arm felt her nearness, sensing without eyes. Funny how he could feel her presence without seeing or hearing her.
‘‘Hey, Opal, I see you got your horse.’’ Cimarron trotted from the porch to the fence to his other side. ‘‘Mr. Rand, you done brought a smile to her face, that’s for sure. She’s talked of nothing else ever since you started the fence.’’
‘‘Old Bay needs a good home. She hasn’t foaled for the past two years, and she’s getting kind of old to be out on the range. Besides, every young girl who wants a horse should have one.’’
‘‘I always had horses to ride. Used to beat my brothers when we raced. My Pa said it weren’t ladylike, but I didn’t care.’’
‘‘You want me to bring in another?’’
‘‘Would you really?’’
‘‘If I thought any of you wanted to ride with Opal, I would.’’ He turned to Ruby. ‘‘Would you like to go riding with her? It’ll take some of the worry away if you did.’’
‘‘Mr. Harrison, while that is such a generous offer, we don’t have saddles or bridles. Well, Opal has a bridle from her birthday, but . . .’’
He watched her worry her lower lip.
Now, Harrison you done
went too far and made her uncomfortable. You ought to have figured out
by now that she doesn’t cotton to handouts and, sure enough, that’s why
she’s backin’ off
.
‘‘I’d love to ride again. Make me remember the better days,’’ Cimarron said wistfully.
Ruby glanced over at Cimarron and caught a hint of the pain the woman had suffered at the hands of those two men and most likely a whole life gone wrong.
‘‘If you would like to bring us another horse to use for the summer, we’d be most appreciative,’’ Ruby said.
‘‘Really?’’ Both Cimarron and Rand spoke at the same time.
‘‘I said so, didn’t I?’’
Well, I’ll be hornswaggled
. ‘‘Good, I got an old gelding too. He isn’t as pretty as Bay, but he’s dependable.’’
Opal and her horse stopped in front of the three spectators.
‘‘Ruby, isn’t she beautiful?’’
Cimarron reached out and stroked Bay’s neck. ‘‘Needs a good brushing to get out some of that loose hair.’’
‘‘Brought you a brush and curry over in my saddlebags. You ever ridden bareback?’’ he asked Opal.
‘‘No, sir. But I can learn.’’
‘‘Best way to ride.’’ Cimarron rubbed Bay’s furry ears. ‘‘Gives you good balance. That’s the way most of the Indians ride, maybe with a blanket. Won’t be long before you can swing up on her, but for now use these fence rails.’’ Cimarron motioned to the rails they leaned against.
Rand bent over and slid between the rails. ‘‘Come on, I’ll give you a boost. Bay will stand if you drop her reins. That’s called ground tied. And she’s trained to neck-reining like most horses around here.’’ He cupped his hands and nodded to Opal. ‘‘Here you go. Hang on to her mane.’’