Pearl (43 page)
‘‘I know.’’
‘‘Well, I’ll take Baldy home today, and we’ll talk about Bay again soon.’’
‘‘Thank you.’’
‘‘Hello, Miss Hossfuss, heard anything from your father?’’
‘‘Not a word. But my mother wrote to say that Mr. Long-street is courting someone else. She saw them at a ball one night.’’
‘‘So that lets you off the hook?’’
‘‘I believe so.’’
Ruby set out the coffee cups and knocked on the storeroom door. ‘‘Coffee’s ready.’’ She returned to pour. ‘‘They must be freezing in there if they keep the door closed all the time.’’
‘‘They only close it when you are coming.’’ Opal took a cookie off the plate. ‘‘Where’s Cat?’’
‘‘I let her out a bit ago. You might go call her.’’
Cat met Opal at the door and stalked in as if her mistress should have been waiting at the door to let her in. She sat down in front of the fire to clean the snow out of her paws.
The bell tinkled over the front door, and Millie went to see who had arrived. She returned, her eyes wide. ‘‘It’s Belle and a gentleman. She wants to talk with you.’’
‘‘I see.’’ Ruby closed her eyes for a second, then stood. ‘‘Does anyone know where Charlie is?’’
They all shook their heads.
‘‘I’ll go find him.’’ Milly grabbed her shawl off the hook by the door. ‘‘Maybe he’s gone off to the Chateau.’’
‘‘Fix a tray and bring it in,’’ Ruby instructed Daisy. ‘‘And come save me if you hear me holler.’’
Pearl patted her shoulder as she walked past.
Belle sure had an ability to turn an otherwise good day upside down, and she hadn’t said a word yet.
‘‘Good day, Belle.’’
‘‘This here is Brett Hume from Deadwood.’’
‘‘I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Miss Torvald.’’
Ruby nodded to the man wearing a diamond ring on his little finger and another on the stickpin in his cravat.
Flashy, aren’t you?
Well, I may as well get this started
. ‘‘How may I help you?’’ Some of the frost from outside found its way into her voice.
‘‘I come to buy Dove House.’’ Belle leaned against the counter, her emerald green skirt showing the effects of the muddy street.
‘‘My word, I didn’t know it was for sale.’’ Ruby decided a lighter tone might keep her from striking the woman. The gall of her to parade back in here like she already owned the place. As if she ever would.
‘‘Anything is for sale if the price is right.’’
Ah, Belle, that’s where you’re wrong. It might be true for you but not
for me
. ‘‘That’s one way of thinking.’’
Belle’s eyes slit, and the mole-sized patch she’d added to her left cheek twitched. ‘‘I . . . we . . .’’ She glanced to the man who stood slightly behind her. ‘‘We have the money.’’ She patted the bag on her arm.
‘‘You want me to set this on the table over here?’’ Daisy held the tray in front of her, offering no smile of greeting.
‘‘No, I don’t think we’ll be needing that. Thank you, anyway.’’ Without offering her guests a place to sit down, she asked, ‘‘And how much might that be?’’
‘‘Five thousand dollars.’’
‘‘Surely you jest.’’
‘‘You know that’s a fair price.’’ Belle took a deep breath and cut the rancor. ‘‘That will give you and Opal a good nest egg. Like Per would have wanted.’’
‘‘That is most generous of you to think of Opal and me like that.’’
‘‘Free and clear you would be.’’
How noble
. Ruby smiled, a tight smile that scarcely moved her mouth. ‘‘Five thousand.’’ She shook her head. ‘‘You’d have to do much better than that, Belle. A man from New York offered me double that.’’ That was not exactly the truth, but he’d said if she ever wanted to sell, let him know.
‘‘Ten thousand dollars? Is he out of his mind?’’
‘‘Things are booming here, thanks to the Marquis de Mores. If I wanted to sell, he’d most likely be interested too.’’
‘‘Eleven thousand, Miss Torvald.’’ The man’s tone was slippery, like ice slicks in the winter.
Ruby gulped inside but kept her face serene. ‘‘No, thank you.’’
Belle stared arrows at her. ‘‘You’re making a big mistake.’’
Her voice slithered across the ice of his.
‘‘Twelve thousand.’’
Ruby could almost imagine the man’s tongue flicking like that of a snake when he spoke. ‘‘Dove House is not for sale. Would you like me to say it a bit louder?’’
Twelve thousand dollars! A fortune
. ‘‘You think about that, Miss Torvald.’’
‘‘Mr. Hume, I don’t believe you are hearing me. Dove House is not for sale, but should I ever change my mind, I will let you know. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do.’’ She ushered them toward the door, opened it, and stood back for them to pass. ‘‘Good day.’’
‘‘You ain’t seen the end of this.’’
Ruby cocked her head. ‘‘Thank you for coming by.’’ She closed the door and leaned back against it, hearing Belle’s voice through the wood. If words were venom, Ruby knew she’d be dead within a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the dining room and headed for the kitchen.
Lord, I certainly
do hope I am doing the right thing. I know you don’t want a brothel
here any more than I do. I pray Belle was only blowing smoke when she
said I’d be sorry
.
‘‘Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat . . .’’ Opal sang as she reset the tables. ‘‘Please put a penny in the old man’s hat. . . .’’
‘‘You sound cheerful.’’ Ruby brought another stack of red napkins in from the storeroom where Cimarron was hemming as fast as the machine would stitch.
‘‘I love Christmastime. Dove House smells like Christmas this year—the pine tree, the boughs, the candles. Tonight we’re stringing popcorn for the tree.’’
‘‘We had Christmas here last year too.’’
‘‘I know, but even food was scarce, let alone presents.’’
‘‘Opal, have you been peeking?’’ Ruby put her hands on her hips in mock disgust.
‘‘No! I just know things. Things I bet you wish you knew.’’
‘‘I’ll wait.’’ Ruby counted the remaining napkins. They still didn’t have enough red or green ones to serve everyone on Christmas Day. ‘‘Cimarron still has some hemming to do.’’
‘‘She’s going as fast as she can. We should have ordered more material in the first place.’’
‘‘I know. It’s my fault.’’ Ruby studied her little sister. ‘‘Your skirt is too short again. You are growing faster than the thistles did this summer.’’
‘‘I know. And my shoes pinch too. I didn’t want to tell you, since you just bought these this fall.’’
‘‘Opal, I won’t let you get deformed feet because your shoes are too tight. Put them on my list for Charlie.’’
‘‘You’re not going?’’
‘‘No.’’ Ruby stopped on her way back to the kitchen. ‘‘Opal, have you heard any rumors? Anything about Belle?’’
‘‘No. I thought she went to Deadwood for keeps.’’
Pearl entered and headed for the piano.
‘‘Practicing again?’’
‘‘I have to. Good thing the songbook came, or we’d have had a pretty limited choice of songs.’’
‘‘We’d sing without. We’ve done that before.’’
‘‘Six days to Christmas.’’
‘‘Five until the program.’’ Pearl played through a succession of chords before starting on ‘‘Silent Night.’’ ‘‘Come on, Opal, can you sing this one in Norwegian?’’ As Opal sang the melody and Pearl harmonized, Ruby just stood and listened.
‘‘Stille natt, helige
natt . . .’’
Such wonder-filled words.
‘‘How beautiful. Thank you.’’ Ruby turned to find Jed Black standing in the doorway. Tonight not even the sight of the big man bothered her. She took it as a sign that God was helping her forgive, as He’d promised.
‘‘Miss Torvald, could I ask you something?’’
‘‘Of course, go ahead.’’
‘‘Well, kind of in private like.’’ He shifted from one foot to the other.
Outside was too cold. The kitchen was busy with Milly popping corn for the stringing. Cimarron was in the storeroom, and the other two in here.
She motioned toward the schoolroom. ‘‘Will in here be all right?’’
‘‘Yes, a’ course.’’ He followed her into the room.
She turned, automatically putting a table between them.
‘‘Now, what is it you need?’’
‘‘I need you to give your blessing for me to ask Cimarron to marry me.’’
Ruby drew up slightly and blinked. ‘‘Now that catches me by surprise.’’
‘‘Why? I thought everyone knew how I felt. Still not sure if she feels the same way, but guess I’ll find out by askin’.’’
‘‘When?’’
‘‘I thought I’d ask her come Christmas.’’
‘‘No, I mean when would you want to get married?’’
‘‘Soon as she will.’’
‘‘Where will you live?’’
How will I get along without Cimarron?
‘‘Goin’ to hafta build us a house, but most likely can’t do that until spring.’’
‘‘You giving up trapping and hunting?’’
‘‘Yep. I kinda like building, and there’s a lot of it to do. You think we should build in Medora or Little Missouri? I’m thinkin’ we need an acre or two.’’
Lord, I know we’ve both forgiven him, but if I give my blessing and
he hurts her, how will I ever forgive myself?
‘‘Your blessing would mean a lot to me, and I know to her too.’’
Ruby had a pretty good idea Cimarron was going to say yes. She had that look about her whenever Jed was around.
Please,
Lord, help me say the words
. She nodded. ‘‘Yes, Mr. Black, you have my blessing.’’ At his smile of relief, she added, ‘‘But if you ever hurt her, I’ll come after you and shoot you myself.’’
‘‘You wouldn’t have to. I’d do it first. Thank you, Miss Torvald. And thanks to you, I live a different life now.’’ He nodded once and, turning around, marched out of the schoolroom, his back straight, head high.
‘‘Well, Merry Christmas, Cimarron,’’ Ruby whispered, then gnawed her lip for a moment of thought. Now one of the girls would be safely married. She had Milly and Daisy to go. But what about Belle? Would there ever be a chance for real happiness for her?
Far, I cannot believe you meant for me to take care of
Belle too. Belle takes care of Belle, before all else
.@@
For the next three days the schoolchildren spent part of every day rehearsing for the program. They all had parts to say and would sing two songs, with everyone singing all the Christmas carols. Atticus Grady made a good Joseph as long as they didn’t ask him to say anything. When Opal sang ‘‘Mary’s Song,’’ no one said a word until Ada Mae Robertson whispered. ‘‘I din’t know Opal was an angel.’’
Opal snorted out a laugh. Edith and her sister Mary joined in, and soon they were all laughing. Opal was definitely no angel even though she sang like one.
Pearl finished reading Charles Dickens’s
A Christmas Carol
the day before the program.
‘‘‘God bless us everyone.’’’ Pearl closed the book. ‘‘I do like that story.’’
‘‘Me too’’ came from about the room.
‘‘Now, we’ll see you all here and ready to put on your costumes by three o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Our program will start at four. There’ll be roast goose supper for everyone, and then our first Christmas Eve service right here at Dove House. Any questions?’’ When no one said anything, she smiled. ‘‘Then class dismissed.’’