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  At the Pioneer Cash Store run by Rosenwald, Coblentz and Company, Beth found fresh raspberries she exclaimed over. In spite of their high price due to them having been shipped from the San Joaquin Valley over the Sierra Nevada Mountains before they were freighted by wagon to Lundy, she decided to buy some. “Reckon I’ll mix them in with some dried apples I got left, just for something different.”

  From there, they went next door to the Postoffice Store. Since Alexander Rosenwald was the postmaster, he had built a separate building for handling the mail next to the Pioneer Cash Store.

  “Anything from your sister?” Val asked as she turned away from the clerk counter. He knew after learning her previous husband had died in Lundy, Beth’s primary goal had been to set up her own household and earn enough money to go back to southern Ohio to collect her younger sister.

  “Not nary no word. I’m getting’ right discomfited that I ain’t heard from her none. Got that one letter after Eddie Hector got the mail through the deep snow, but that was from January. Ain’t heard nothin’ since then.”

  “Do you think Mrs. Dodd is intercepting her letters?”

  “That’s what got me frettin’. Then again, although Mrs. Agnes Dodd couldn’t get rid of me fast enough, she likes my sister right fine.”

  “Beth, sweetheart, you know that if you need to go back east to get her, I’ll be happy to escort you. If you need money to tide you over, I wish you would let me help.”

  “Ain’t no call to. Long as I get back there come this fall, she’ll be all right. Besides, I need enough to set up a home for her first.”

  If it had been up to Val, he and Beth would already be married. He already had the Caldwell home he shared with his two brothers. The house had plenty of room, not only for him and Beth, but her sister could have her own room until she grew up and married. Right now, with Edwin and his family staying in Sacramento all but a few weeks each year, and his married sister Barbara in her own home, it was just him and Luther.

  Beth’s independent streak pushed her to set up her own affairs so that she would not be beholden to any man, not even him. He had to admit it was many of these qualities that had drawn him to her. He only hoped that once they married she would stop feeling threatened that men—including him—would take control of her life. He still hoped he could eventually persuade her that he didn’t want to control her. He wanted a partnership with her in all respects.

  Val kept his next words soft and non-accusing. “Instead, you’re helping a stranger. I think that is big-hearted of you. But, I hope you didn’t bite off more than you can chew, Beth.”

  Beth grimaced.

  You ain’t the only one hopin’ I ain’t bit off more’n I can chew. But if I did, I’ll die afore I say so.

  “Reckon time will tell. Best I get over to see Judge McLean, find what he’s got to say.”

  ****

  With Val at her side, Beth listened as Charles McLean offered her an update on the progress he had made settling Jim Dodd’s estate.

  “Like I told you from the start, because this is a community property state, half of everything he owned automatically goes to you. I understand the circumstances surrounding how he took the proceeds of the farm he bought from your father and used them for himself rather than provide for you as your father intended.”

  Beth nodded her head and bit her tongue. As bitter as she still felt over the loss of most of the proceeds of her pa’s farm, it was not Judge McLean’s fault. And, like he said, he had already read the contract and the affidavit from Judge Bates back in southern Ohio. He knew the story.

  “There was only so much I could do. I undervalued the mining shares in Mr. Dodd’s name and gave them to you. Since the May Lundy has been up for sale since last year, it is fortunate that your late husband didn’t hold any paper there. I think you will do well with the Gorilla Mine shares. I hope that either you will earn a good income off them or you will be able to sell them for more than what I valued them. I also settled as many of Mr. Dodd’s debts from his portion as I was aware of. I did contact Judge Bates to determine the next of kin on his side. What is left of Mr. Dodd’s half of the estate will be sent back to his brother in Ohio.”

  “What about Agnes Dodd, Jim Dodd’s aunt who’s been takin’ care of my sister? Accordin’ to that contract with my pa, Jim Dodd’s obligated to take care of her since she ain’t married yet. Don’t want his aunt takin’ her venom out on my sister if she don’t get paid for her care.”

  McLean heaved a sigh and shook his head. “Judge Bates was to contact all involved parties. I haven’t received a claim from Mrs. Dodd yet. If she believes she has anything owed her, she may have to take it up with Mr. Dodd’s brother.”

  Beth wondered how Agnes Dodd would fare dealing with her other nephew. However, it was not Beth’s concern. She would write and tell her sister the situation so she would know the truth about what had been decided.

  Beth thanked the judge for all his work. She then conducted her business with him in his role of butcher, purchasing enough stew meat to make her meat and herbed potato turnover pies.

  Beth also felt grateful that Val stood quietly in the background while she conducted her business with Charles McLean. She felt she had nothing to hide from him, so she didn’t mind him being present. Unlike many men she’d known, he didn’t try to jump in and take over, nor did he offer unsolicited advice. It was not until they started back toward Gus’s place that he questioned her about what she had learned.

  “The judge said you have enough to buy a small house. What are your plans?”

  “Don’t want no house in town, especially not in no mining town. Reckon with what I can get for my old wedding ring and what I done put by, I might can get me a small farm if they ain’t too dear.”

  “You should be able to homestead. That would give you 160 acres. You need to build a house and improve the land, but the fee is very reasonable.”

  “Where you figure I can find land like that?”

  “I think they have some plots down by Robinson Creek, close to where I am. Some of it starts into the foothills which wouldn’t be good for farming, but would give you timber and firewood. There’s also meadow land that’s flat and good for grazing if you get some livestock.”

  “Druther have crop land.”

  “I don’t know about that. You’ll have to take a look at the ground and see what you think. If you like, I can go down and draw some maps of existing parcels for you.”

  Beth opened her mouth to protest. She was adamant about proving she could take care of her own business and did not need to turn it over to a man.

  “Now, Bethie Rose,” Val stopped her, guessing what she planned to say, “Don’t go getting prickly on me. I’m not trying to take over. It’s still your decision. I’m just offering to do you a favor since I live down that way and it looks like you’re going be tied up here in Lundy teaching a new cook and helping her with her baby.”

  Val knew better than to smile in triumph as he watched Beth’s shoulders slump and her mouth twist in acknowledgement of the truth of his words. Whether she wanted to or not, she would let him help her.

  “Next time I come up I’ll let you know what I find out. If you’re interested, then later on, when you can get some time away from Gus’s place, I’ll take you down to look at the land itself.”

  Val’s plan did sound sensible to Beth. Besides, without a horse or buggy of her own, she needed to hire transportation—either with Val on his freight wagon or with Charley Hector on his stagecoach to Bodie, then another coach over to Bridgeport—to go look at land. She didn’t know how she could leave Gus by himself for several days, especially with Louisa and the baby to worry about. But, she needed to arrange for her own house and land so she would have a place to bring her sister.

  Val’s suggestion was a start. She would figure out the other details later.

  CHAPTER 4

  Louisa jumped at the sound of Albert’s fists pounding on the front door of the P
ioneer Lodging House. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on Sophie Ann. The babe had fallen asleep after her last feeding. She had not awakened when Louisa wrapped her in the quilt Beth had given her and, wearing a simple white shirtwaist blouse over a bottle-green skirt with a plain knit white shawl draped over her shoulders, she had tip-toed down the stairs to find Albert.

  Once Albert saw she was ready to leave, he’d quietly picked up her packed trunk she had sent down the night before and led her out the back door of the Blue Feather.

  Louisa had said her farewells to the girls the night before, receiving the gamut of responses from wistful well-wishes to indifference to disdain. The hardest person to say good-bye to had been Flora. Although the madam had fought allowing her leave because of her own business purposes, she eventually relented from issuing her dire threats of never allowing Louisa back once she left. In the end, Flora agreed to hold the working gowns and jewelry Louisa wanted to sell. She refused to sell them immediately, insisting that she would keep them a few months in case Louisa changed her mind. But, Louisa realized returning to the Blue Feather would mean giving Sophie Ann away first. She would never do that. Instead, she relied on Flora’s promise that when she didn’t return, Flora would sell her things and forward the money to her.

  In spite of their current disagreement over what Louisa should do with her life, Louisa knew that Flora cared about her. With her own mother having died when Louisa had been so young, Flora had become a mother figure to her. After all, when Louisa had ended up on the street and been left for dead, it was Flora who had found her, saved her, and trained her so she earned more money than she ever would as the cook she now planned to be.

  However, Louisa had never liked working as a prostitute. In that respect, she had no regrets about leaving the brothel behind.

  The door flew open. Startled, Louisa jerked upright as she stared into the lightly freckled face of a woman about her same height. Louisa guessed her to be in her late thirties. The woman’s orange-red hair had been pulled back into a simple bun from which silver and red strands at her temples escaped. Her apron skirt bunched in wrinkles where the woman had dried her hands prior to grasping the doorknob. Her light gray eyes narrowed with suspicion as she looked first at Louisa, then Albert, then the trunk resting on Albert’s shoulder.

  Fear seized Louisa, causing her throat to constrict.

  Surely Mrs. Dodd talked to her. She must know who I am. Did she agree to let me stay?

  Louisa took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “Good morning. I’m Louisa Parmley. Is Mrs. Dodd here, please?”

  To confirm Louisa’s suspicions, the woman’s face scrunched into a disapproving frown.

  “Come on in, then. I’m Mrs. Ford and I own the boarding house. Mrs. Dodd said ye’d likely be coming today. I’ll get her.” As Louisa entered, she turned to Albert who followed her in. Mrs. Ford spoke first. “Ye’ll be putting her trunk in Mrs. Dodd’s room. Wait here.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Ford.”

  Louisa looked around as the door closed behind the two. Stairs leading up to a second floor and a hallway bisected the building. They entered the parlor to the left of the front door while they waited for the landlady to fetch Beth. Louisa glanced through the doorway into the room behind the parlor. Realizing it was the dining room with one of the male boarders sitting at the table curiously staring at her, she stepped back so that the wall blocked the man’s view of her. She closed her eyes with relief. At least she didn’t recognize him as a customer from the Blue Feather.

  At the sound of footsteps, Louisa stepped to the other side of the stairs and peered down the center hall. Mrs. Ford and Beth were emerging from the second doorway on the right. Once Beth saw her, she motioned her toward the room. Albert followed Louisa into the room and deposited her trunk on the closest clear spot of floor which was at the foot of the bed. Louisa glanced around the room and quickly took in the double bed with its iron headboard, the chest of drawers, a small table with a chair and a dressing screen in the far corner. The room looked too small for three people. With Albert in the room, it felt claustrophobic.

  Albert straightened and turned to Louisa. “You take care of yourself now, Miss Lulu. Even though you’re no longer at the Blue Feather, you can still count me as your friend. If anyone gives you any trouble, you get word to me and I’ll run them off for you.”

  Louisa glanced over at Mrs. Ford who stood only a few feet away. She did her best to ignore the woman’s crossed arms and her face screwed into a grimace. “Thank you, Albert. Your friendship has meant a lot to me. I-I hope I have no need to call on you to help me, but I appreciate your offer. Good-bye.” Albert nodded and turned to leave.

  “Mr. Albert,” Beth stopped him.

  Albert turned back to face her. “It’s just Albert, ma’am.”

  “Albert, she ain’t Lulu no more. She done left that kind of life behind. If you have call to speak to her again, it’s more fittin’ if you ask for Miss Parmley.”

  Albert stared at Beth for several seconds while he absorbed her words. Then he turned back to Louisa and nodded. “Good-bye, Miss Parmley.”

  Choking with emotion, Louisa nodded to Albert. After he left the room and she closed the door, she turned to face the two women.

  Mrs. Ford immediately launched into her. “Miss Parmley, It’s against my better judgment, it is, but I’m agreeing to let ye stay here. I run a respectable place. I’ll not be tolerating any loose behavior, ye understand? Ye’ll not be visiting with any of the men or I’ll be tossing ye out the door, wee one or no. I’m hopin’ ye’ll not be giving me any reason to regret this.”

  “I won’t, Mrs. Ford. I assure you, I hope to have as little as possible to do with both the men here as well as anywhere else in town. You have no idea how grateful I am that you are willing to give me and my baby a chance.”

  Mary Ford’s expression softened as her eyes turned to the bundle that now squirmed in Louisa’s arms. Her voice softened. “Aye. Well, ’twas because of the wee one I was willing to give ye a try. You and Mrs. Dodd are staying in one of the two family rooms downstairs. I won’t rent ye a room upstairs and I’ll not be having ye go up the stairs where the men room for any reason.”

  “Reckon she’ll be with me most the time, Mrs. Ford, while we’re still in Lundy. You know I ain’t one to tolerate no men in my room. Ain’t no man goin’ to bother her none, or he’ll be dealin’ with me.”

  “And how long are ye planning on being here, Mrs. Dodd? I asked ye to consider buying the boarding house. Ye sound like ye’re thinking against it.”

  Beth spoke carefully. “I thank ye kindly for offerin’ to sell it to me, but I don’t reckon I’ll get enough from Jim Dodd’s estate to buy it, what with needin’ to go back east to fetch my little sister. I’m looking to homestead someplace I can farm.”

  “And what about her?” Mary Ford tossed her head in Louisa’s direction. “Ye plan on leaving her behind alone in the room when ye leave, are ye?”

  “No,” Louisa answered for Beth. “I’ll leave when Mrs. Dodd does. The mining world is small. If I stay out west where miners live and work, I’m bound to run into someone who knew me here or in Gold Hill. I can’t stay here and make a good life for my baby when so many people know what I used to do. Mrs. Dodd is willing to teach me how to cook well enough so I can move somewhere else and get a job to support my daughter and myself. I have to go far away, probably to one of the big cities back east.”

  “Don’t see how ye got yourself in this fix to begin with,” grumbled Mary Ford.

  Louisa stared down at her feet. If she was going to do this, if she was going to make the break and turn her life around, this probably wouldn’t be the last time people would demand to know how she could have sunk so low. She didn’t owe Mrs. Ford an explanation. But Louisa suspected if she wanted Mrs. Ford’s support, it was best to give it. Then it would be up to the other woman to think what she would.

  “I-I know there are women who say they would rather
starve to death than stoop to what I did. But, I suspect that most of those women have never come anywhere close to actually dying for that reason. I have. I was just barely fifteen and everything I considered of value had been taken from me. I felt like my life was worthless. There was no reason for me to care what happened to me.”

  Sinking inside her memories, losing herself in the dark thoughts that still plagued her soul, Louisa’s voice faded to several seconds of silence while her eyes glazed over with a vacant stare. She came back to herself and looked directly at Mary Ford. “That was when Flora found me and took me in. If she hadn’t, I probably would have died in that back alley where I crawled and gave up on life.”

  Silence filled the room again until Beth spoke.

  “Reckon if she travels back east with me she don’t have to travel alone none with the baby. But, first she needs to learn a job and she needs to set enough money aside to get her by ’til she gets settled.”

  “And ye think decent folk will hire a miss with a baby, do ye? Are ye not knowing how the world is, Mrs. Dodd?”

  It was Beth’s turn to tighten her lips and jam her fists into the sides of her waist.

  “How the world is ain’t always right. To survive, women got to work around what folks expect. You figure a man can bring a string of bastards in the world and nary a body would know. If they did, ain’t nobody thinks nothin’ of it. It don’t matter if he’s married or not. Had me a husband like that once.”

  “Aye, that’s the way of it, it is.” Mrs. Ford sighed and shook her head. “But ’tis the world we be living in.”

  “Still don’t make right. Folks call a man mister, married or not. It ain’t right a woman has to go by miss or missus, dependin’ on if she done got married or not, and be judged by it. Reckon Louisa best go by Mrs. Parmley once she’s back east so folks don’t know she ain’t been married. She makes herself respectable, there plumb ain’t no reason no one back east need know about her past.”