Gypsy

by Lesley Pearse

  ‘We planned to go there, so we will.’ She shrugged.

  ‘And what about the Earl?’

  Beth looked down at her lap. However cross she was with Theo, she still loved him, and the prospect of parting company with him was unbearable. But he had been a louse to her for months now, and she knew that if she stayed on here when Sam and Jack had gone, she couldn’t count on Theo to change his ways and she’d be very alone.

  ‘He won’t be coming with us,’ she said, and tried to smile as if it didn’t hurt.

  ‘He’s a fool then, for he’ll get himself killed without Jack to get him out of trouble,’ Jefferson said.

  ‘Surely not!’ Beth exclaimed.

  ‘He is too cocky by half. There are many who’d like nothing better than to see him dead.’

  ‘Not you?’ she asked anxiously.

  Jefferson looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. ‘No, I like the man,’ he said eventually. ‘But then he’s smart enough not to tread on my toes. I’ve heard the whispers, though, and I can see the signs.’

  ‘Can’t you speak to him and warn him?’

  ‘He wouldn’t listen to me. Besides, why should you care what becomes of him? You must know he’s with Dolly at the Red Onion most nights?’

  Beth felt as if she’d been stabbed through the heart, for until that moment it was only something she’d suspected, not known for certain.

  Dolly was a voluptuous blonde who sang and danced at the Red Onion. She was a whore too, and rumour had it she charged fifty dollars a time. Every man in Skagway, it seemed, wanted to have his way with her.

  ‘You didn’t know, did you?’ Jefferson said. He put his arms around her and drew her to his chest. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, I didn’t intend to.’

  Beth bit back tears. ‘I’m fine. I had suspected it anyway. I guess that’s all I need to confirm it’s time to go.’

  ‘You know, I’d like you to stay and be my girl. I’d get you a real nice place to live, with a maid an’ all. I’d even get the Earl run out of town.’

  The champagne and his honeyed Southern accent were breaking down her resistance, and when he lifted her chin to kiss her, she didn’t break away. His kiss was as smooth as he was, warm and very sensual, and she was instantly aroused.

  He ran his fingers down her neck lightly as he kissed her, and even though a small voice deep down inside her was telling her that to make love with him would be a mistake, she wanted him. He appreciated her, he treated her like a lady, and if Theo liked that blonde whore better than her, then it was time she showed him she didn’t care.

  Jefferson’s hand stole into the bodice of her dress, cupping her breast, and his kisses became more passionate. ‘Let me take you to my room at the back,’ he murmured against her neck. ‘We can be comfortable there.’

  He didn’t wait for her agreement, just picked her up in his arms and carried her through a door at the back of the bar. It was warm in there too, for there was another small stove, and by the light from it she saw a mahogany carved bed suitable for a grand hotel, covered with a red patterned quilt.

  He didn’t fumble with the small buttons on the back of her dress, or the laces of her stays, and though she knew this meant he was practised at undressing women, it didn’t make her feel any less wanted.

  His experience showed in his lovemaking too. He didn’t rush, and his touch was firm but caressing as he whispered little endearments and told her she was beautiful.

  She was whipped up into a state of near delirium even before he removed his clothes; and as she wrapped her arms around him and caressed him she found him to be all hard muscle, with none of the softness she’d expected from a Southern gentleman.

  It was weeks since Theo last made love to her, and that had been a hurried, unsatisfactory snack rather than a feast. Jefferson offered her a banquet, teasing her, sucking and licking at her, and when he finally entered her she was drenched in perspiration and fevered with lust.

  ‘You more than exceeded my expectations, mam,’ he said with a mischievous smile as he propped himself up on his elbows, looking down at her, but still inside her.

  ‘So did you, sir,’ she replied, and giggled. ‘I think, too, we have solved the problem of how to keep warm in Alaska.’

  ‘Whatever happens in the future, I’ll always remember this night and treasure it,’ he said, bending his head to kiss her.

  Beth could only smile, for she knew that his words would ease the guilt she’d feel in the morning.

  ‘I hope I can persuade you to stay on here,’ he said a little later after he’d rolled off her and was holding her in his arms. ‘You and I could be a great team. And when the gold fever is gone we could go on to other towns and find new challenges.’

  Beth was relieved to find the cabin empty when she got back there at noon the following day. After the comfort at Jefferson’s place it looked spartan and dreary. Their beds were just sacks filled with straw, and the one she shared with Theo was as neat as she’d left it the previous evening, so she knew he had stayed out all night. Sam’s and Jack’s had the imprints of their bodies still and the blankets were in the usual heap.

  Sam and Jack knew Beth had gone back to Jeff Smith’s Parlour for a drink, and as they’d taken the trouble to bank up the stove before they left this morning, she felt they couldn’t be angry she’d spent the night with him. Yet all the same she felt awkward about it. It was fine for men to bed women, but a woman who succumbed to the same temptation was considered a trollop.

  She had already bathed at Jefferson’s; he’d filled his bath for her and even washed her. Sitting down on the rocking chair he’d given her, she put her head back and closed her eyes, reliving the sensuality of it all, and decided she didn’t care if she was a trollop. She would brazen it out when the boys came home. Jack and Sam had romantic dalliances all the time, why shouldn’t she?

  As for Theo, if he didn’t like it he could just go off and stay with Dolly the whore. Perhaps when he discovered she was only good for one thing, that she couldn’t cook, sew or wash his clothes, he’d realize how valuable his Gypsy Queen had been.

  The door of the cabin crashed open late that afternoon, bringing with it an icy wind and a flurry of snow.

  Beth had been dozing in the rocking chair. She woke with a start to see Theo in the doorway, purple in the face with anger.

  ‘How could you let that bastard fuck you?’ he shouted at her. ‘You’ve made me look like a prize idiot!’

  Beth had intended to admit what she’d done, for she knew someone would eventually let it slip. But she hadn’t expected that word would reach Theo so fast.

  For a second she just looked at him, shocked that he was more hurt by how others would react to the news than by her faithlessness.

  ‘You had it coming to you,’ she said defiantly. ‘You’ve been a pig to me for months, and you’ve been spending all your time with that whore in the Red Onion.’

  ‘I’ve been involved with business,’ he snarled. ‘A man’s business interests have to come first if he is to get anywhere.’

  ‘There’s only one kind of business going on in a brothel,’ she retorted, her voice rising in anger. ‘And I’m never going to play second fiddle to a whore, so get back there now and wait in line while she lets every other man in town fuck her.’

  He looked at her in astonishment.

  ‘You are a lying, cheating louse,’ she continued. ‘Telling people you’re an earl! Robbing them blind with your marked cards! I might have been able to live with that. But I won’t live with a man who doesn’t value me. I’ve stood by you through everything, but not any more. Get out now and don’t come back.’

  He faltered for only a moment, then snatched up his clothes from the shelf in the corner, bundled them into a bag and left, slamming the door behind him so hard, the whole cabin shook.

  Beth cried then, bitter tears which were not for sorrow that she’d been with another man, but for love turned sour. She would have gone to the ends of
the earth for Theo, and for all her harsh words she knew she loved him still.

  A week later Beth and Sam were having a night in. It was so cold outside that eyelashes became covered in frost within seconds and lungs hurt just breathing in. They had banked up the stove with logs, and sat close to it, each of them wrapped in a warm quilt.

  Jack had gone to see the Arnolds, a family with three children who had arrived in Skagway in early December. They had been ill equipped from the start, and what little money they’d brought with them had soon vanished. They were still living in a tent, like so many people here, and one of the children, nine-year-old Nancy, had died from pneumonia just after Christmas.

  Jack had tried to get Sid Arnold, the father, some work. He had been a barber in Portland, but there was little call for barbers here where almost all the men favoured thick beards and moustaches. He lasted only one day in the sawmill — he just didn’t have the strength for heavy work — and he had proved to be something of a liability in every other job Jack had found for him. Now his wife and young son Robbie were sick, and Jack had made a collection around Skagway to send them home on the next ship. But Sid’s eyes were as bright with gold fever as his wife’s were with a high temperature. He kept insisting that he was setting off for the Chilkoot Pass, convinced that was the answer to everything.

  ‘Do you think Jack will talk him round?’ Sam asked Beth.

  Beth shook her head. She had observed this gold madness for so long that she had come to the conclusion it was terminal. Most of the people who arrived here had no idea how far it was to Dawson City — they imagined it was a short stroll up a couple of hills. Few realized how cold and treacherous it was on the mountains, and a great many of the people who had set off last autumn on both the White Pass and the Chilkoot Pass had been forced to turn back and wait till spring.

  But the Chilkoot Indians, who were accustomed to using this trail, had reported that many of those who didn’t return had perished up there. The flesh had been picked clean from their bodies by birds and other scavengers.

  ‘Maybe the only solution is to put his wife and the two remaining children on the boat alone,’ Beth said sadly. ‘I believe they have family in Portland who will nurse them back to health. That is, if they don’t die before a ship comes in.’

  ‘Are you afraid of going up the Pass?’ Sam asked curiously.

  ‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘But we’ve come this far, we’d always regret it if we didn’t go the rest of the way.’

  ‘It won’t be the same without Theo.’

  ‘No, it won’t,’ Beth sighed. ‘It will be easier.’

  Sam was silent for some time, staring at the fire with blank eyes. Beth knew that both he and Jack missed Theo for his imaginative ideas and the fun he could create. They had admitted that they’d known for some time about Dolly, and had hoped Beth’s night with Jefferson would bring him sharply back to heel.

  But however much they liked him and thought of him almost as a brother, their primary loyalty was to Beth. So they hadn’t tried to talk to him, and he in turn hadn’t gone looking for them.

  ‘What about Soapy?’ Sam asked, breaking the silence. ‘Do you have feelings for him?’

  ‘Lustful ones, perhaps.’ Beth giggled. ‘But it’s been a week now and he hasn’t made any move to see me again. I guess now he’s heard Theo’s out of the picture, I don’t look quite so attractive.’

  Sam half smiled. ‘Maybe that’s just as well, sis, he’s a dangerous man. I like him well enough, but he’s more slippery than an eel. If just half the stories about him are true, there’s still enough to put the wind up anyone. You’ll find the right man one day, someone who is worthy of you.’

  Beth reached forward and ruffled his thick blond beard. ‘We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? I doubt the Langworthys would recognize us now. Not just the way we look, but how we’ve changed inside. Imagine us trying to have tonight’s conversation when we were back in Liverpool! Remember what Mama said about passion? I had no idea what that was then.’

  ‘Nor did I.’ Sam smirked. ‘That was one of the best discoveries.’

  They both laughed and went on to talk about how good it was to be away from the restrictions they’d grown up with, and that they were friends, as well as brother and sister.

  ‘Has there ever been a woman you didn’t want to say goodbye to?’ Beth asked.

  ‘It would be quicker to list those I was glad to,’ Sam joked. ‘I always seem to meet someone there’s a real spark with just as we’re moving on. Take that small redhead who helps her mother make pies down on Main Street!’

  ‘Sarah?’ Beth had spoken to the girl many times. She was very proper, never went into the saloon or encouraged any of the men’s advances. But she had a feisty air about her and she was very pretty.

  ‘Yes, Sarah from Idaho. I really like her, she’s got that kind of—’ He broke off suddenly at the sound of gunfire. ‘That’s close by,’ he exclaimed, shrugging off the quilt and getting to his feet.

  Gunfire was commonplace, just as brawls in the streets and saloons were. But it wasn’t usual to hear it in this part of town.

  ‘Don’t go out, Sam,’ Beth begged him. ‘You know what it’s like when a few of them are drunk and riled up. You could end up among them and get hurt.’

  He hesitated. ‘I’ll just look out the door and see what’s going on. No harm in that.’

  As he pulled the door open an icy blast came in. Sam reached for his fur-lined coat and hat and quickly stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. Beth got up to look out of the tiny window, but all she could see was Sam’s shoulder and the snow-covered ground. But as she heard people shouting, her curiosity was aroused, and she reached for her coat and hat too.

  Sam grinned as she came out. ‘Didn’t think you could resist! Dare we walk down there? It sounds like it’s in State Street. Let’s just take a peek. We won’t get involved.’

  They hurried, Beth taking Sam’s arm for security on the slippery ground. As they turned the corner into State Street they came upon a crowd of people huddled around a man lying on the ground. Even in the poorly lit street they could see blood staining the snow.

  ‘Who did it?’ Sam asked a man walking past.

  ‘Dunno his name, just a guy who’d been fleeced, I guess.’

  ‘Do you know the man that’s been shot?’ Beth asked.

  ‘That guy they call the Earl.’

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Sam tried to restrain her, but Beth wriggled away from him and pushed through the people crowding around Theo. Her heart was thumping with fear, but all memories of her last angry words to him were wiped from her mind.

  ‘Theo!’ she cried as she sank down on her knees beside him.

  ‘He ain’t gonna make it, mam,’ a man in the crowd called out.

  It didn’t look good. Theo was unconscious and Beth could see a hole where the bullet had gone through his coat into his shoulder. Blood was pumping out of it. Catching hold of his wrist, she felt for a pulse. It was there, but weak. ‘He certainly won’t make it if we leave him here to freeze,’ she said sharply. ‘Someone help me get him to the doctor.’

  Theo stirred and opened his eyes. ‘Beth!’

  His voice was so quiet, Beth leaned closer to his face. ‘Yes, it’s me. But don’t talk or move, it will only weaken you.’

  As Sam came forward to help, one of the other men suggested they got something firm to lay Theo on, and almost immediately a woman came running out of the nearest saloon with a narrow table-top in her arms. ‘They busted the legs off in a brawl,’ she said by way of explanation and rushed back inside out of the cold.

  Sliding the table-top under Theo, Sam took his head end and two others took his feet.

  Dr Chase’s cabin was close by, and someone rushed ahead to knock him up. Beth had never met the doctor as she’d never needed any medical help, but she knew him to be a good man because he and Reverend Dickey were responsible for funding the building of a cabin as a
hospital, due to open very soon, and the doctor was also well known for treating very poor people without charge.

  Dr Chase, a small, slender man with glasses and thinning hair, was already in his apron and rolling up his sleeves as they arrived at his door.

  ‘Put him on the table,’ he said, moving the lamp closer. ‘Are any of you relatives?’

  Sam explained that he and Beth were Theo’s friends and travelling companions and gave him their names. The doctor asked them to stay to help, and for the others who had followed on to leave.

  ‘I hope you aren’t squeamish,’ he said to Beth as he began peeling Theo’s clothes away at his shoulder. ‘Because I’ll need you as a nurse. Go and wash your hands thoroughly.’

  As Beth washed her hands in the basin the doctor had pointed to, she glanced back at Theo. He had no colour in his face, his lips were blue and he was unconscious. She felt sick with fright, for as the wound was exposed it looked terrible, a mass of dark red tissue and blood.

  She put on an apron and rolled up her sleeves, and the doctor asked Sam to stand firm behind Theo to restrain him if he struggled.

  ‘It’s fortunate he is unconscious,’ he said quite cheerfully. ‘But the chances are he’ll come round when I begin probing, so be ready.’

  Beth wanted to ask why the doctor couldn’t give him chloroform, but she didn’t quite dare, and stood by to follow his instructions.

  ‘If one has to take a bullet, it’s a pretty good place for it,’ Dr Chase said, indicating Beth was to hold his tray of instruments and pass whichever one he needed. ‘Why was he shot anyway?’

  ‘We don’t know because we weren’t with him when it happened,’ Sam said. ‘We only ran to see when we heard the shot.’

  ‘His name?’

  ‘Theodore Cadogan,’ Beth said.

  ‘Ah, the English Earl,’ the doctor said. ‘From what I’ve heard it was only a matter of time before someone shot him. And you then,’ he said, looking over his glasses at Beth, ‘must be the much acclaimed Miss Bolton, the Gypsy Queen?’