Kendrick Read online

  Dorcas gasped and stepped back. “A terrible scold? You’ve been telling them tales to turn them against me, yet you come here to live off my charity?”

  “I’ve told them nothing of the sort. I’ve painted you in the best light I could. They remember you from before. The point is, Dorcas, as much as I appreciate you opening your door to us, you do not have permission to strike my children—not with your fist, not with your ruler.”

  Dorcas glared as she once more stepped toward. “Or what, Lydia? You will move out? You have nowhere to go, so do not dictate terms to me. I will not have anyone tell me how to conduct my school or discipline my students.”

  “No! It is bad enough you wave that thing around and slam it on a table to startle people, but today you struck both Will and Cole. I will not allow it.”

  “Maybe it is you who needs the beating!” Faster than a rattlesnake strike, Dorcas swung the ruler and whacked Lydia across the cheek.

  Lydia’s mouth dropped open in shock as she raised her hand to the stinging welt forming on her cheek. Her eyes watered with dismay. Then, a deep-seated anger and resentment borne of years of suffering her sister’s abuse welled up within her. She reached to snatch the ruler from Dorcas’s hand.

  Dorcas clung to it tenaciously.

  With strength she did not know she possessed, Lydia yanked out of Dorcas’s hand the flat piece of wood that had served as her sister’s weapon of choice for years. She smacked the ruler across Dorcas’s upper arm. From there, she slapped it at her sister’s shoulders and arms as Dorcas hunched and twisted her body to avoid the blows. “Never again, Dorcas! For most of our life together, you were always bigger and always stronger. You used your greater size and strength to knock me around. Now I’m big enough to fight back. I won’t tolerate it anymore. You will never strike me or my boys again without suffering the consequences.”

  “Get out! Get out of my house!” Dorcas turned to face her sister just as Lydia laid one last blow on her sister to emphasize her point. The ruler caught Dorcas on the cheek.

  The violence of their confrontation shocked Lydia into dropping her hand to her side. Open-mouthed, she stared at the red welt that swelled on her sister’s cheek—one she suspected matched the welt on her own cheek. Her gaze met Dorcas’s, set in a face where disbelief replaced anger and domineering superiority.

  Lydia looked down at the ruler in her hand. She lifted it far enough to grab the other end with her free hand, and then she snapped it in half. “Learn to teach without terrorizing your students, Dorcas.” She tossed the pieces in the kindling bucket. “I’ll pack my things and my family will leave.”

  Still trembling with shock and a sorrow she could not explain, Lydia turned toward the stairs. Guilt overcame her and threatened to swamp her. Cole, her other son, had also been beaten by his aunt. Why had she not gone to him first? Why had her first inclination been to confront Dorcas?

  As she approached the stairs, she looked up and saw Cole sitting on the fifth step from the top. As their gazes connected, Cole stood.

  He turned and walked up the stairs ahead of her and waited at the top.

  Once she reached the landing, Lydia pulled her oldest to her and pressed his head against her. “Will said she hit you, too. Did she hurt you greatly?”

  Cole shook his head beneath her hands. He pulled away and rubbed a spot on the side of his crown. “She whacked me a good one. It stings a little, but she didn’t lay into me like she did Will. I’m sorry if I was being disrespectful to grown-ups, Mama, but I couldn’t let her do that to him without saying something.”

  “I’m proud of you for standing up for your brother, Cole.” She turned and placed an arm over Cole’s shoulder. “Let’s go to our room.”

  Cole looked up as he walked next to his mother. “I heard what you said to Aunt Dorcas, Mama. I saw you hit her back after she lit into you.”

  Lydia closed her eyes and bit her lip. “It was not my most noble moment, Cole, and already I regret it. Hitting solves nothing.”

  “Hitting seems to be the only thing Aunt Dorcas understands, Mama. No one can ever talk to her. Even Eddie and the girls say the only thing that helps then escape her temper is to avoid her or work around her.” He paused and, wearing a hopeful expression, looked at his mother. “Are you really planning to leave, Mama? Because I already decided I’m not going to live here anymore. I packed my clothes and a blanket in the tow sack and was ready to sneak out the back door when I heard your voice.” He shook his head. “I’d rather live on the street and take my chances than live with Aunt Dorcas.”

  Lydia sighed. “Yes, Cole, all three of us are leaving. I don’t know that much about Columbia other than it is a gold mining town with far more single men who live a rough life than families. I have no idea where we will end up. Right now, I need you to help me pack. Together, we can carry the trunk so I can return to my job helping Mr. Denham. The girls are watching the baby now, but they need to return home so I don’t get them in trouble, too.”

  “I’ll help you. Maybe Mr. Denham knows someplace we can live.”

  Chapter 18

  Sonora, California – Tuesday, May 30, 1854

  K endrick stopped at a shady spot by Woods Creek just north of Sonora to allow his rented horse to drink. Stepping upstream a few feet, he also scooped a few handfuls of water into his mouth before he shook the excess off his fingers and wiped the dust and perspiration from his face and forehead. He reached for a bandanna he kept stuffed in a back pocket and rubbed it across his face and neck before giving the inside of the sweatband on his hat a quick swipe. That done, he rebuttoned the neck of his shirt and, operating by feel, retied his black silk neckcloth. After shaking the dust off his jacket, he donned it and once again mounted the horse.

  On his way home from the ranch where he bought the beef the previous day, he had swung through Sonora long enough to reacquaint himself with the main streets, inspect the local butcher shop for ideas on how it compared to his own business, and ask around about Miss Pearl’s parlor house. Now, as he re-entered the town, he reflected with a sardonic smile the responses he had received to his questions the day before.

  Although more than one person knew of Miss Pearl and her parlor house, most men denied knowledge of the madam. Yet, they knew she had died. Rumors aplenty abounded regarding the disposition of the house—everything from it being bought by another madam to it being set up as a hospital. By carefully phrasing his questions, he received directions on how to find the building.

  Kendrick now followed those directions. He only had to stop once to ask for a clarification on where to find the street. Soon, on a rise to the east of town, he spotted what he was sure was the former residence of Madeline and her mother.

  Kendrick dismounted in front and secured his horse to a ring on a pole placed there for the purpose. He suspected there were more accommodations for horses and horse-drawn buggies in back of the house for those customers who had not wished to advertise they patronized the place. He climbed the stairs—all fourteen steps—to the front door. The brass knocker was missing, so he rapped his knuckles on the wood. Shortly, a young, shabbily-dressed man with the bleary eyes of one who drank too much opened the door.

  Kendrick cleared his throat. “Good morning. Is this the former residence of the late Miss Pearl?”

  The man glanced to either side of him, and then stepped to look outside as if suspecting Kendrick had arrived with others. He returned to his original spot and shook his head. “Don’t know. Only was hired for the day to scrub walls and floors.”

  Kendrick kept his voice calm. “Is there someone here who is in charge that I might speak to?”

  The man jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “He’s gone, but the old woman taking her tea in back is his sister. She said she’d fix me more coffee and some stew, but I have to finish this front room to her liking first before she’ll let me have any.”

  The door almost closed in his face before Kendrick could nod his thanks. Rather than walk
down the stairs, he stepped off the porch and skirted the shrubbery in front of the windows as he walked across the now-brown grass to the drive leading to the back. As directed, he found a woman in her forties sitting under a latticework veranda next to a bare wood table holding a single teacup and saucer. Between her bulk and facial features, the woman favored what he recalled of Benny Womack’s appearance enough for Kendrick to guess who she was. “Good morning, ma’am.”

  Twitching as if his voice had startled her, the woman turned to him. She narrowed her eyes as he approached, her disapproval evident in her expression. “We are closed for business, sir.”

  Kendrick stopped and removed his hat. Holding it at his side, he nodded a greeting. “My apologies for disturbing you, miss, but my name is Kendrick Denham. I’ve come to you…”

  The woman’s attitude changed as soon as she heard his name. Her face full of anxiety, she leaned toward him. “Yes, I know who you are. How’s my little lamb? Is everything all right with Madeline?”

  “Yes, miss, she’s just fine. I found a reliable woman to take care of her for the day while I conduct some business here in Sonora. You are Miss Womack, are you not?”

  “Yes. Pardon my manners.” Waving her hands as if flustered, she motioned him toward a chair. “Please sit, Mr. Denham. Would you care for tea?”

  Kendrick eased down into the wooden chair across from Eva Mae. “No, thank you, Miss Womack. I don’t plan to stay long. I do want to thank you for the notes you sent on how to take care of the baby. They were helpful.”

  The woman eyed him with concern. “Then, you do plan to keep her? I’ve been worried sick that once the sheriff dropped her off, you’d find someone else to give to. That’s not what Madam wanted.”

  Again, the use of madam, as if it was a name, struck Kendrick as odd. “To be honest, miss, at one point, the thought did cross my mind. I mean, it did come as a shock when the sheriff showed up on my doorstep with her. He insisted I had fathered the child and now had responsibility for her.” Kendrick leaned forward and focused his gaze on Eva Mae. “I suspect you know as well as I do that I did not father Madeline.”

  Eva Mae had the good grace to look away. “It was what her mother wanted for her. You see, Madam knew she was dying. Her final months were devoted to providing for her baby’s future.” Eva Mae offered a rueful smile. “My future is tied to my brother. The kind of work he did for Madam is what he does, and he does it well. That’s why, now she has passed, he has found a new position in San Francisco again, and I’ll be going with him. Both Madam and I knew, as much as I loved the little one, I could not give her the kind of life Madam wanted for her daughter. She decided upon you.” She turned back and her gaze connected with Kendrick’s. “I hope she chose wisely.”

  Kendrick inhaled through his nostrils and twitched his lips. “That remains to be seen, miss. She did address a letter to me with some information regarding her wishes for Madeline. I have decided to keep the baby and raise her as my own, which is why I need to know a few things. What did her mother die of?”

  Eva Mae shrugged, and her eyes widened. “Does it matter?”

  “It could. If she was sick with something that Madeline might have caught, I need to know so I can watch for it.”

  Eva Mae looked off to the side but hesitated several seconds before speaking. “I suppose that makes sense. Thing is, Madam didn’t want word to get around about what took her life. She thought, the fewer things to reflect poorly on our Madeline, the better. The other girls in the house knew, but for their own self-interests, they kept it quiet. Now, with the one already left for Stockton, and the other two coming with Benny and me two days from now, no one but a very few will know. Those few realize it is in their best interests to stay mum about it.”

  “I see. Miss Womack, may I please share something that happened between me and Madeline? Maybe you can shed some light on what it meant.” Kendrick then told her about the peek-a-boo incident. After he finished, he waited as Eva Mae blinked while she stared off to the side.

  “Poor little lamb, to remember her mother like that.” She turned to Kendrick. “Please don’t speak of it to others, Mr. Denham, but Madam died of consumption.”

  He kept his words gentle. “Tell me about why the baby thought she recognized her mother when I covered half my face with a cloth.”

  Eva Mae, her eyelids brimming with tears, looked away. “As soon as the child was born, she fretted the baby might catch the consumption, too. She had me hire a wet nurse right away. I took care of the baby in a separate room. However, Madam loved that child too much to stay away from her all the time. When she felt well, she’d bathe and wash her hair to be sure she scrubbed all her sickness off her. Then she’d cover her mouth and nose with a cloth so if she started coughing, nothing would get on the baby. Oh, she was so good with that child, and Madeline loved her mama. The two talked and played whenever Madam felt well enough. It was such a delight to watch them, both so joyful. The last time they were together, Madam taught Madeline how to say Mama.” Eva Mae shook her head. “A week later, Madam was gone.” Eva Mae reached inside her sleeve for her handkerchief and wiped her eyes. “Poor little lamb. I love that child like she’s my own.”

  “Do you have any idea how Miss Mayfield caught consumption?”

  “She came down with it while working in San Francisco. The doctor there told her she would have a better chance of recovering if she moved to a drier region, away from the dampness near the ocean. The mountains would be too high and make it hard for her to breathe. However, he claimed the foothills would give her better air above the fog that blankets the great valley for a couple of months every winter.”

  Kendrick nodded as pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “Which is why she ended up in a town that, not long ago, was a gold mining camp used by Mexicans from the state of Sonora.”

  “Yes. Benny knew it was a gamble, but he chose for us to come with her. Eva Mae looked off to the side once more, and her voice grew wistful. “She did so well for a couple years. We hoped it had gone away. Then, she began to cough again. She arranged things so her three girls did most of the work, and she limited herself to a select few clients. Then, once she realized she was with child and her condition grew worse, she stopped seeing everyone.”

  Turning back to face Kendrick, she offered a tremulous smile. “She had money from…from her past life. She didn’t like to talk about it, but I know. In her last days, she told me many things she had kept secret all these years. You see, Mr. Denham, she came from a well-to-do family who wanted her to marry a man who was decades older than she was. He was only interested in her for his business advantage. She ran away with a gentlemen friend. She claims they were not in love, but he did use her and some of the money she brought to make his way to California after the United States won the territory from Mexico. He also ruined her along the way and then left her to fend for herself in San Francisco.”

  Eva Mae sat back in her chair, and her fingers fiddled with the handle of her teacup. “I think, between despair over her situation and a rebellious streak, she decided to use what she had left in money and jewels he did not get his hands on to set herself up in the business. As beautiful and gracious as she was, she became an overnight success with those who could afford to pay well for an evening’s entertainment. It was how she met Benny. He saw her potential.”

  Kendrick could not fault her for developing a rebellious streak after a major disappointment. Had he not done the same thing when his best friend and the woman he thought he loved decided to marry each other? In spite of this annoyance over having a baby forced on him, Kendrick began to feel sorry for the beautiful woman who, as she visited his butcher shop two months earlier, must have known she was dying.

  Wondering who had left the portraits and newspaper clipping under the false bottom of the trunk, Kendrick phrased his next question carefully. “Do you know who her family is and where she came from?”

  Eva Mae slowly turned until her gaze caught his.
“She did not talk about her family other than to say they disowned her. As far as she was concerned, they were dead. She destroyed any information about them she found among her things and asked me to do the same should I find something she had missed. If you are asking if there is anyone you can contact to take the child, the answer is no. Even if you should learn this information, Madam does not want anyone but you and your future family to claim Madeline. She did tell me that if you marry, which I believe she hopes you will, the time will come when our little lamb will realize the marriage takes place after her birth. She hoped, if Madeline wishes to know about her birth mother once she figures this out, that you will tell her about Margaret Pearline. Madam honestly did love her child very much.”

  Although she had not admitted to it, Kendrick suspected Eva Mae was the one who had put the items beneath the false bottom. “Another question, Miss Womack. The sheriff mentioned there would be an estate for Madeline when she grows up, but that there would also be enough for me to enlarge my house with a bedroom for her. With her being a baby, we’re getting along fine for now. However, if there is money for me to add a bedroom soon, I’d like to know when I can expect it. Is your brother handling those details?”

  Eva Mae shook her head. “Oh, no. Benny only helped those managing her estate to find a buyer for the house. You see, unless some well-to-do madam would decide to buy the place, they wouldn’t be able to sell the house for much to anyone in town. Anyone who lived here would be shunned by proper society, and no decent woman would step foot in any business established in this building, due to its history. So, it’s being sold and dismantled to be rebuilt somewhere far from Sonora. I suppose the property will be sold separately, but that isn’t up to my brother. Madam gave Benny, me, and the girls a nice settlement to allow us time to become reestablished, but everything else she intended to be sold and the money will eventually go to Madeline.”