Forbidden

by Beverly Jenkins

  Late that afternoon, with as much of the damage removed as could be done for the day, Rhine and Jim were thanking everyone for their help when Zeke finally walked up. He assessed the damage. “They got you pretty good.”

  Rhine didn’t respond. Unlike Zeke, he found no humor in the cowardly act.

  “I’ll take the job. Going to cost you a pretty penny though—­especially if you want the glass fancied up like it was before.”

  “I do,” Rhine said.

  “Okay. I’ll get the glass ordered and let you know when it comes in.”

  “Thank you.”

  And with that, Zeke turned and walked back the way he’d come.

  Rhine watched him go and wondered if the carpenter planned to stay angry and distant forever. They’d hadn’t been close friends but they had come together as members of the Republican party on behalf of the race and gotten along reasonably well. Until Eddy.

  Jim asked, “Think he’ll ever come around?”

  Rhine shrugged. “I was wondering the same thing, but I’m not going to worry about it. Either he will or he won’t.” He surveyed the bricks. They were still stained but as not badly. “Let’s leave this for now and start again tomorrow. How about we walk over to Sylvie’s and see if there’s any of Eddy’s food left.”

  Jim grinned. “Now that sounds like a good idea.”

  When they arrived, the place was packed. Upon seeing them, Sylvie said, “I heard about the vandalism.”

  Rhine said, “We got most of it cleaned up. Zeke’s going to replace the windows. We came to eat. Anything left?”

  “For you two? Yes. Follow me.”

  It was Rhine’s first time eating there and as Sylvie led them through the crowded room to their seats, he understood why she wanted to build a larger place. There wasn’t even room to turn around. Every inch of the room held someone eating.

  Jim remarked, “You’d think she was giving away gold.”

  At the sight of Rhine, many people stopped what they were doing. They, too, knew he’d never set foot in the place before—­at least not as a customer—­but knowing what they did about him now, they smiled and greeted him with friendly nods. Some even stood and shook his hand. For Rhine, the acceptance was the balm he needed to balance the last few trying days. Knowing he’d see Eddy made him feel even better.

  The food was everything he’d been led to believe.

  Jim said, “Damn this is good.”

  A chuckling Rhine agreed but was too busy chewing to voice it. There was ham, scalloped potatoes, collards, and a corn bread so flavorful he swore he’d never eat anything but Eddy’s version ever again. He now knew why their customers were deserting them. His future wife could cook!

  After their meal, Jim walked back to the saloon and Rhine stayed around to wait for Eddy to get done with her duties. He was seated on the back steps when she finally stepped out to join him. She sat close and he draped an arm around her waist.

  “I heard about the paint,” she said.

  He nodded. “It’s being taken care of. I loved the food. I understand why my customers are deserting us.”

  She smiled. “Not going to apologize.”

  “Don’t expect you to. I’m looking forward to my part of the profits once the new diner is built. How was your day?”

  “Long, but Sundays always are. And my day was no way as challenging as yours must’ve been.”

  He told her about hiring Zeke. “He’s still upset about us though.”

  “As long as he fixes your windows, that’s all that matters.”

  He agreed. He looked over at the woman who held his heart and still found it hard to believe his good fortune. “If we’re going to start a family, I should probably find us a house. Unless you want to raise our special child in my apartments above the saloon.”

  She chuckled. “No.”

  “I thought not. There are a few vacant places in town. Would you like to see them in the next few days?”

  “I would.” She quieted a moment then said, “I feel like I’m in a dream, Rhine. I went from an impoverished scrubwoman, to head cook, to your intended in what feels like the blink of an eye.”

  “You’ve had a difficult life, darlin’. It’s about time things began looking up.”

  She kissed his cheek. “Thank you for loving me.”

  He smiled in reply. “You’re most welcome. Give me a kiss.”

  She didn’t have to be asked twice.

  Chapter Nineteen

  On Monday morning one of the nastier newspapers called the vandalism at the Union “a well-­deserved comeuppance,” which only upped Rhine and Jim’s ire, but there was little they could do. When the sheriff stopped by, they took comfort in his vow to investigate the matter, even though they held little hope that the perpetrators would be found.

  Later that day a young male clerk at the bank Rhine had been patronizing since arriving in Virginia City showed which side of the race issue he was on when he told Rhine he hadn’t the time to give Rhine a list of the transactions that had recently crossed his account. He suggested Rhine wait until Whitman Brown came to work the next day. Rhine was already in a foul mood, but rather than punch the snotty little man like he wanted to, he held onto his temper and asked, “Is Graham in his office?” Graham Peyton was the bank’s president, a Republican, and one of the men who often frequented Rhine’s poker games.

  The clerk said with disdain, “Mister Peyton doesn’t deal with you people. As I said, you’ll have to wait until Whitman comes in. I’m sure he’ll be able to help you tomorrow.”

  Rhine strode over to Peyton’s closed door and knocked.

  Behind him the clerk yelled, “Get away from that door!”

  Rhine knocked again.

  “Did you hear me?” he squealed, coming out from behind his cage.

  The other customers looked on wide-­eyed.

  Graham appeared in the doorway. “Morning, Rhine.”

  The clerk pushed his way between them and said tightly, “I told him he needs to wait for Whitman to come in.”

  The gray-­haired, elderly Graham peered over his spectacles at the clerk and then at Rhine before asking the clerk, “What are you blathering about?”

  “Whitman deals with his kind, but he insists—­”

  Graham held up a hand. The clerk quieted but shot daggers at Rhine, who slowly folded his arms. Graham continued in a voice that held quiet fury, “As you already know, Mr. Fontaine is one of this bank’s biggest and most loyal depositors. Shall I fire you to prove that point?”

  The clerk paled and quickly shook his head.

  “Then get your arse back to your station, but first, apologize!”

  The clerk looked mutinous.

  Rhine waited.

  Graham eyed the younger man.

  “My apology,” he offered grudgingly.

  Graham snapped, “Mister Fontaine.”

  He echoed, “Mr. Fontaine.”

  Rhine nodded.

  The clerk made a hasty retreat.

  Graham said, “My apology, too. I didn’t know he was a bigoted idiot. Come on in.”

  Rhine closed the door behind him and sat down in the plush office.

  Peyton said, “My apologies again. I heard about the ball and read the trash in the papers. If I could apologize for that, too, I would. What brings you by?”

  Rhine told him what he’d wanted from the clerk. Graham got up, went to talk to the same clerk, and returned. “It’ll be here in a few minutes. Anything else?”

  “Do you keep the Colored accounts separate from the Whites in your vaults?”

  “Of course not. It’s all green.”

  “Then why handle them as if they are?”

  Graham studied him for a moment. “Makes me look like a bigoted idiot, too, I suppose.”

  Rhi
ne waited.

  The snippy clerk handed Rhine his tally, and as Rhine left he felt better. Not only had the clerk been put on notice for the future but he’d given Graham Peyton something to think about as well.

  By midweek Eddy and Rhine had looked at the available houses and settled on one not far from the orphanage. It was of medium size, had two floors, three good-­sized bedrooms, and a nice large parlor. The kitchen left a lot to be desired but Rhine promised her he’d have it enlarged and that was all she needed to hear. She fell in love with the gingerbread trim and the large porches on the front and back. Rhine made arrangement for the purchase through Graham Peyton at the bank and it was theirs.

  Also by midweek Sylvie had two less boarders. Miner Gabe Horne left Virginia City for the city of White Pine to work at a mine owned by three Colored men they’d named the Elevator after the San Francisco paper. Both Eddy and Sylvie were sad to see the quiet little man go. Augie Williams moved out too to take a room that opened up in the boardinghouse where his cousin Zeke lived. And although he’d been distant the past few weeks, Eddy would miss him as well. Whitman Brown, rumored to be still courting Lady Ruby, was more often gone than in residence but continued to pay his rent, which was all Sylvie cared about. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to advertise the two now vacant rooms but decided to wait until after the party on Friday to make a decision.

  Friday’s party was a big success. Vera made a large banner out of blue cotton with stitched-­on gold letters that spelled out Welcome Home Rhine. It was hung over the door of the boardinghouse. Rhine was pleased when he saw it and gave Vera a big hug. Most of the community turned out for the celebration, although Zeke, Augie, and his fiancée Cherry were notably absent. The rest of the city was celebrating the nation’s Independence Day, but the people of color were not allowed to participate in the parade.

  “We were barred last year as well,” Sylvie informed Eddy. “But it’s okay. We do our celebrating on August first anyway, just like the rest of the country’s Colored communities.”

  There were trestle tables of food, horseshoe competitions, sack races, and egg tosses while the fragrant scent of roasting pigs filled the air. When it was time to eat, people set out blankets on the large open area behind Sylvie’s place and sat and talked and ate. Rhine sat with Eddy, and after the main meal was done he helped her up and they stood together.

  Rhine looked out over the gathering and in a loud voice asked, “Can I have your attention, please?”

  It took a moment for folks to quiet down, but once they did, he said, “First of all. Thank you!”

  Applause rang out.

  “Had I known I’d be given a party, I might have crossed back over a long time ago.”

  That brought on laughter.

  “Eddy and I have an announcement to make. We’re going to get married.”

  Applause, whoops, and hollers of joy split the air.

  Fishmonger Amos Granger yelled out, “Is she still going to cook for us?”

  More laughter.

  Eddy replied, “Yes, Mr. Granger.”

  “Good. My congratulations then,” he called back.

  Vera asked, “Have you set a date?”

  “Two weeks from today.”

  “So soon?” she replied. “That’s not enough time for me to make your dress.”

  “I don’t need a dress, Vera.”

  “Of course you do.” Vera then asked the crowd, “Don’t you all think Eddy needs a dress?”

  Everyone agreed with Vera, and Eddy hung her head and laughed. “Lord,” she said to Rhine.

  Vera said, “Be at the shop tomorrow morning sharp so we can get started.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Amos called out, “So Doc. Are you and Sylvie going to follow these two down the aisle?”

  Sylvie snapped, “Hush up, Amos. Be a cold day in hell before I marry again.”

  Doc stood up and declared, “Then put on your coat, Syl.” He walked over to where she sat at one of the tables, took her hand, and got down on one knee. The gathering grew so quiet you could hear the soft breeze. “Sylvia Stewart. I have loved you for over twenty years. We don’t have a lot of life left but I’d like to spend it with you. I know what stands between us is painful, and if I could go back in time and fix that I would, but since I can’t, we need to go forward. Marry me, Syl. Let’s not waste another ten years.”

  Everyone waited.

  A tear coursed down Sylvie’s cheek and she looked at the man Eddy knew she loved and reached out and cupped his cheek. She nodded, and whispered, “Okay Oliver. Yes.”

  Cheers filled the yard and an ecstatic Vera yelled out, “Two wedding dresses!”

  Later, as Rhine and Eddy sat on the porch in the dark and watched the city’s fireworks light up the sky, Eddy asked Rhine, “Did you think she’d say yes?”

  “No. Did you?”

  “No. She surprised me as much as she did everyone else. But Doc’s right. No sense in them wasting any more time.”

  Rhine pulled her closer. “That’s why we’re not delaying our wedding day. I’m ready to start my life with you.”

  “I’m ready for the wedding night.”

  Rhine laughed. “Always plainspoken, Eddy.”

  “Yes, sir. You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

  He kissed her. “Not at all.”

  Eddy and Rhine spent the next couple of days looking through catalogs for furnishings for their new home—­they planned to move in after their wedding day. They had a slight argument over his free-­spending ways. Eddy thought the bed he wanted was way too expensive.

  “I’m not making love to you in a cheap bed, Your Majesty.”

  That shot down her protests and she laughed, “When you put it that way.”

  He kissed her. “Good.”

  Rhine promised her a trip to San Francisco to pick out what the catalogs didn’t offer in the days ahead. Having never been to the city before, she looked forward to it and to meeting his brother Andrew and his wife. She also didn’t fuss when he promised her a new wardrobe worthy of a queen because she was learning that he’d simply spend the money over her protests anyway.

  Eddy kept her word to Vera and resumed her role of scarecrow pincushion so her dress could be made. She had to admit it was beautiful. She’d never owned a gown with a full sweeping skirt and a heart-­shaped bodice. The silk fabric was as close a match to Rhine’s blue armchair as Vera could find on such short notice and it, too, was beautiful, but Eddy had little patience for all the fussing that accompanied the process. She did have patience for the new diner though, and at least once a day Eddy walked down to check on the progress. Although Zeke remained distant and terse even in the face of knowing the truth about Rhine, watching the building slowly take shape filled her heart.

  A week after the Fourth of July festivities, Eddy was at Mr. Rossetti’s market and was greeted with a smile. “I hear you and Mr. Fontaine are getting married. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. We’d love for you and your wife to come.”

  “We’d be honored. I have a surprise for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “A large shipment of oranges have arrived.”

  An excited Eddy followed him to the crates where they sat like globes of orange sunshine. “Thank you, Mr. Rossetti.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She picked out enough to make marmalade for Sylvia and Vera and Jim and Rhine. She was reminded of Rhine’s heated words about what he wanted to do with it, so she threw a few extra into her sack.

  When she got back to the boardinghouse, she began grating them right away while Sylvie let her in on her and Doc’s plan to be married in San Francisco next month. There was a knock on the back door and Sylvia walked over to see who it might be. When she got there, Eddy saw her freeze and then begin to take small steps backwards
. Natalie Greer holding a Colt followed her in. Fear gripped Eddy, and her words to Rhine about the young woman being unhinged came back to haunt her.

  Sylvie said quietly, “Natalie. What is this about?”

  But Natalie ignored her and turned to Eddy. “You come with me or I’ll shoot you right here.”

  Eddy and Sylvie shared a silent look. “Sure,” Eddy said.

  “Sit!” Natalie barked at Sylvia.

  She did.

  A few seconds later Eddy was escorted outside to the Greer carriage a step ahead of Natalie and her gun. Inside, sat the family’s terrified looking Chinese driver.

  “Get in the front with him. If you call out while we’re moving or try and alert anyone, I’ll shoot you in the back right through the seat,” she promised.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the place where Rhine found you, and this time you’re going to die. Drive!” she snapped at the driver.

  The sun was high and the day so reminiscent of the last time she’d been in the desert, Eddy’s fear rose. She knew Sylvie would immediately go for help, and prayed that help would find her before Natalie killed her.

  Eddy saw the driver’s hands shaking as he held the reins. He said nothing, however, and following Natalie’s orders drove out past the city limits. They drove for what seemed like miles, and the farther they went the more Eddy tried to manage her fear.

  “Okay. Stop.”

  They were out in the middle of nowhere.

  Hands still shaking, the driver pulled back on the reins.

  “This is all your fault,” Natalie said.

  Eddy didn’t dare look around. “What is?”

  “Rhine lying about who he is. I hear you’re going to be married.”

  “Yes, we are.”

  “You’re the only reason he denounced his race, but he can’t marry you if you’re dead.”

  Eddy tensed. She and the driver shared another look.

  Natalie continued. “And once you are dead, he’ll tell the truth about being White, and he and I can marry the way we were supposed to. Now get out and walk. This far away from town with no water in this heat, you’ll last maybe an hour. Out!”