Before the Dawn

by Beverly Jenkins

  He shrugged as he forked up a fat piece of ham. “Females care about dresses and shopping mostly. And that’s okay because they shouldn’t have to worry their heads over business things—that’s what men are for.”

  Leah’s punch became strangled in her throat and set off a coughing fit that doubled her over. She took Seth’s hastily offered handkerchief and placed it over her mouth, but she coughed and coughed and coughed. Folks were staring, possibly wondering if she were about to succumb, but she finally found her breath. And when she did, she stood, and said, “I need a bit of air.”

  He stood, too.

  She raised a palm. “No, you stay. I’ll be right back.”

  “Are you sure? I can go with you.”

  “No, I’ll be fine.”

  Aware that every eye was now turned her way, Leah ignored them and headed for the door.

  Outside on the large verandah, she drank in the night air. She wondered what the folks inside would say about her if she shanghaied a coach and drove herself away. She didn’t like this place or its people. The women were cold and stiff-backed, and the men seemed content to follow their wives’ leads. Right now, she didn’t blame Monty and Cecil for turning their backs on this decidedly unfriendly lot. And Seth. He was charming and handsome, but did he actually believe women had no heads for business? The views he’d expressed were terribly out-of-date in light of the strides achieved by women since the end of the war. Granted there were those women content to fill their heads with nothing but shopping and fashion, but so many others, like Leah, knew firsthand that thoughts of shopping and fashion wouldn’t pay one’s bills, nor put food on the table.

  “You know,” Ryder Damien drawled from behind her, “the longer you’re out here, the more the gossips inside are going to savage you.”

  For some reason his arrival didn’t surprise her. “I don’t care. The sooner I can leave here, the better I’ll be.”

  “Not impressed by Denver’s representative elite?”

  “No.”

  It was a beautiful night—the air was warm and the sky so clear Leah could see the stars shining like diamonds against dark velvet. “Did the Cheyenne have their own names for the stars?”

  “Yes.”

  While Leah followed the movement of his finger, he named some of them for her: Raven Carrying the Sun, Spider God, the Star That Never Moves. He showed her the Three Hunters and the Bear, and the Headdress.

  He then asked, “Do you know how the Big Dipper came to be in the sky?”

  Fascinated by this side of him, Leah shook her head, saying, “No.”

  “Coyote.”

  “Coyote?” she echoed skeptically.

  “Yes. Coyote’s a legendary trickster—a joker. Sometimes his tricks are good, sometimes bad, but he always comes out on top. Only rarely is the trick played on him.”

  “So, how’d he put the Big Dipper in the sky?”

  Ryder explained, “According to the legend my grandmother told me, there were five wolf brothers who saw some grizzlies in the sky one night and wanted to go up and visit, but had no way to get there. Coyote came along, heard their story, then offered his help.”

  “So what did he do?”

  “Took out his bow and shot an arrow into the sky. When the arrow stuck, he shot another one into the end of it, then another, and another. He kept shooting arrows until they formed a long ladder down to the earth.”

  “And the wolf brothers used that?”

  “Yep, the eldest wolf brother even took his dog.”

  “The wolf—had a dog?”

  He sounded amused. “Sure, dogs were as much a part of tribal life as the legends.”

  Leah shook her head. “Okay. So, were the grizzlies in the mood for company, or did Coyote send them up there just to get eaten?”

  “No, the bears were pretty hospitable. The wolves sat down with the bears—”

  “The dog, too?”

  “Yes, the dog, too, but Coyote didn’t trust the bears so he stood a ways off and just watched.”

  “Then the bears ate the wolves,” Leah interjected.

  “No, the bears didn’t eat the wolves,” he told her with amused exasperation. “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

  A chastised Leah apologized. “I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

  He shook his head. “Anyway, Coyote didn’t trust the bears, but he thought the bears and the wolves made a nice picture, so he decided everybody down on earth would enjoy seeing them, too. He also wanted everyone to be able to say Coyote was the one responsible for the picture so he climbed down and took the arrows with him as he went.”

  “So they were stranded?”

  “Yep, and they’re still up there today. If you look at the Big Dipper you can see the three wolf brothers that are the handle. In the middle is the eldest one,” and, he added pointedly, “with his dog.”

  Leah tried to hide her smile.

  Ryder continued, “Right under the handle are the two youngest brothers.”

  “And the grizzlies?”

  “Are the other side of the bowl, the side that points to the North Star. In fact, Coyote was so proud of how it looked, he turned all the other stars into pictures, too.”

  Leah knew she’d never look at the Big Dipper or the stars in the same way again. She glanced up at him and wondered why all of their encounters couldn’t be this easygoing.

  As if he’d read her mind, he said, “Maybe we should stick to talking about constellations when we’re together…”

  Leah replied softly, “Maybe we should.”

  Silence reigned for a few more moments before Ryder said, “You know, you didn’t have to pay for the funeral yourself.”

  “I’m already beholden to you enough, and it was still your money after all.”

  “That’s not the point,” Ryder said.

  “Yes, it is. I owe you enough.”

  “But not the truth.”

  Leah wondered why he’d intentionally sabotaged this moment. She turned to go. She didn’t want to have this conversation.

  He stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. “I apologize. That was unnecessary. We both know where we stand.”

  “Yes, we do,” she echoed. “I need to get back inside.” Leah was becoming more and more vulnerable to everything about him, and she didn’t want to.

  Short of using force, Ryder knew of no other way to make her stay, so he let her go.

  When Leah reentered the house, chairs were being set up in Cordelia’s grand ballroom. Putting Ryder from her mind, she searched for Seth and found him waiting for her just inside the ballroom door.

  “I saw Ryder follow you out. Did he say something that offended you?”

  She shook her head. “No.” She didn’t need them fighting. “What’s going on here?”

  “Cordelia’s invited the famous Hyer sisters to perform portions of their plays.”

  Leah’d never heard of the Hyers, but Seth explained who they were as he led her to a seat. According to Seth and the program Leah was handed, Anna Hyer had been eleven and her sister Emma nine when they made their debut as concert singers at the Metropolitan Theater in Sacramento.

  Seth said, “They were child prodigies back then, but in 1875 they founded the Coloured Operatic and Dramatic Company, and began touring the country doing Black plays and musicals about the history of the race.”

  Leah was impressed. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “Many folks haven’t, but the Hyers are the first stage troupe to perform plays that are about us and written by us. In some places, they’re very well known.”

  And as the performance began Leah understood why. The cast’s voices were superb, the characterizations full and true to life. For over an hour, Cordelia’s guests were treated to scenes and songs from some of the women’s most successful productions: In and Out of Bondage, a musical drama in three acts adapted by Sam Hayes; Colored Aristocracy, another three-act drama, but written by the Black novelist, Pauline Hopkins; a
nd, The Underground Railroad, another Hopkins piece.

  The high point of the evening came when Anna Hyer, exotically dressed in beads and a bejeweled turban, came out to portray the lead role in Urlina, or The African Princess. She was a gifted actress and her part of the program so moving that it ended to thunderous, appreciative applause.

  It was a truly enlightening and enjoyable event, and Leah was glad she’d been invited. “Does Cordelia do this sort of thing often?” Leah asked as she stood on her feet like everyone else, vigorously applauding the end of the performance.

  “She’s had poets, singers, and lecturers, but nothing like this.”

  Leah admitted to not liking Cordelia’s personality, but she adored her taste in the arts.

  “Are you glad you came?” Seth asked.

  Her eyes glowed with happiness. “Yes, I am.” After the week she’d had, this was just what she’d needed to refresh her spirits. “Thanks for inviting me, Seth.”

  “You’re more than welcome. Now, let’s go see if Cordelia’s desserts can equal the treats we just witnessed.”

  Leah thought that a splendid idea.

  The dessert buffet consisted of more choices than Leah could possibly eat in one night. There was ice cream, and trifles, fools, cakes, and puddings. She saw pies, cobblers, and finally decided on some ice cream and a small piece of chocolate cake.

  She and Seth took their dessert outside on the verandah. A few of the other guests were like-minded it seemed, finding it quieter and much cooler out here than inside. Seth wove them past softly talking couples and others laughing uproariously over to a spot on the vast verandah’s far edge, away from everyone else.

  He motioned her to take a seat on a wrought-iron bench shining in the moonlight, so she did. The night was just as beautiful as it had been earlier. The stars brought back memories of Ryder, so she didn’t look at them. She and Seth were just settling into the silence when they heard his name being called loudly by someone hidden by the dark.

  A confused Seth called out, “Over here.”

  Out of the darkness appeared one of the liveried waiters Cordelia had hired for the evening. “Mr. Seth Montague?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve a message for you sir.”

  He handed Seth a folded sheet of paper. Seth gave the man a coin for his trouble, and when the waiter faded back into the shadows, Seth lit a match so he could see what it said. “Well, I’ll be—Leah, I have to meet someone back in town. He says he wants to invest in my town enterprise, but he’s leaving for Sacramento first thing in the morning. He can only see me tonight.”

  Leah was happy for him. “Then go. I’ll find someone to take me home.”

  “But—”

  “The time you waste taking me back to Eloise’s and then driving all the way back to town could be better spent detailing your plans to him. Go on.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Their eyes held for a moment, then he said, “You’re a beauty, do you know that?”

  Leah grinned. “Good luck, and let me know how it turns out.”

  A second later he was gone, leaving Leah with the task of finding a way back to Eloise’s. She knew Ryder would escort her, but she hoped to find someone else; they’d only wind up arguing the entire way, and she didn’t want to end this evening engaged in a round of verbal fisticuffs.

  As if cued, Ryder appeared on the verandah nearby. “Nice night.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  For a few moments, silence reigned.

  “I noticed my brother leaving. Did you two have a fight?”

  Leah observed him, wondering what he was about now. “No. He’s gone to meet a man interested in investing in his land project.”

  “Ah.”

  Then he asked, “How are you getting back to Eloise’s?”

  “I’m not sure,” she replied. She then asked him, “How’d you know I was staying there?”

  “Sam. Few secrets with him around.”

  Leah understood.

  “I’ll take you, of course.”

  “I know, but I’d hoped for a less volatile escort.”

  Ryder shook his head at her blunt reply. “What’s your middle name?”

  Leah thought that an odd question. “Jane.”

  “Jane. It should be Frank.”

  She smiled in spite of herself. “Well, it isn’t. It’s Jane.”

  Ryder decided then and there that he didn’t care how the Pinkerton investigation turned out; she was too tempting to ignore. All of his vows and stubborn attempts to deny his growing attraction had resulted in nothing but sleepless nights and inner turmoil. He was tired of fighting himself. “Surprised to learn you were still in town though.”

  She decided he might as well know about Judge Raddock’s interest in her case; after all he’d made a large financial contribution to it. So she told him. She finished by saying, “He seems to think the judgment is too old to enforce.”

  “He may be right.”

  “Will the court return your money, do you think?”

  He shrugged. “Depends on whether they’ve already distributed the assets of the estate to Louis’s creditors or not. If your Judge Raddock does manage to get the judgment reversed, it might be returned, but who knows. Every state has its own set of laws, it seems.”

  “Well whatever the outcome, the judge wants me to stay here until he can sort it out.”

  “How long?”

  The darkness hid her shrug. “I’ve no idea, and I’m not real happy about it. I’m ready to go home.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “I do. I have no family there anymore, but I do have a few friends. It would be wonderful to see the ocean again.” Thinking of home made Leah a bit melancholy. She decided she’d had enough excitement for one night. The Hyers were grand, but she was ready to return to Eloise’s cabin. “Will you take me back?”

  He nodded.

  Leah knew that were she to be seen leaving Cordelia’s home with Ryder, the gossips would be up all night spreading the word. To counter that, she didn’t want to go back inside at all, but she had to retrieve her wrap. “I have to get my shawl.”

  As if by magic it was in his hand. “I brought it out with me.”

  Leah cocked her head. “You were pretty confident, weren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  Leah then thought of something she had to ask, “Your brother wasn’t just sent on a wild-goose chase, was he? This investor does exist?”

  With a perfectly straight face Ryder told her, “You’ll have to ask Coyote.”

  Leah’s eyes widened, and then she shook her head. She pulled the shawl out of his hand and said with a humor she couldn’t hide, “Lightning is going to strike you one day. Mark my words.”

  “My carriage is this way,” he said, gesturing toward the dark.

  Still shaking her head, Leah led the way.

  As they drove across the quiet countryside under the moonlight, Leah said, “That wasn’t nice what you did to Seth.”

  “He’s done far worse to me, believe me, but it isn’t as if I sent him over a cliff. He simply went back to town, there’s no harm in that.”

  “It was underhanded.”

  “It was counting coup.”

  Leah had never heard the expression before. “What’s that mean?”

  “It’s a tribal expression. Scoring points on your enemy is the simplest way to explain it.”

  “You consider Seth an enemy?”

  “He’s certainly not a friend.”

  “He’s your brother.”

  “Half brother he’d say if he were here.”

  Leah knew he was right; she’d heard Seth say exactly that. “The two of you need to end this feud.”

  “Tell him that. Besides, we’ve grown up this way. Be hard to stop after all these years even if we wanted to.”

  Leah didn’t think that made a lick of sense but kept the opinion to herself.

  The short convers
ation died after that, leaving them alone with their private thoughts, the surrounding night, and their awareness of each other’s presence. It was an awareness Leah was fighting hard to ignore, but how could she ignore the man who’d been her first lover?

  Ryder was wrestling with his own demons. More than anything, he wanted to stop the carriage and take her in his arms. Back there on the Waynes’ verandah he’d decided he didn’t care who she was as long as he could make love to her. Finish what they’d started. Would doing so finally cure him of this rising need, thus enabling him to return to his well-ordered life? Or would it make him want her more? He put his hopes on the former. His attraction to her was as unexplainable as it was illogical. She’d been married to his murderous father, there was a Pinkerton investigating her past, but now, as they rode beneath the moonlight none of that seemed to matter. Tired of beating around the bush, he took the bull firmly by the horns, and asked, “Remember the morning I asked whether you wished to be courted or seduced?”

  Leah found the question so unexpected and so filled with vivid memories it took her a moment to respond. “I do,” she replied a bit shakily.

  “You said you wished for both, if I recall correctly.”

  He looked her way. Leah bravely met his gaze even though she knew her bravery to be paper-thin. “Yes, I did, but why does that matter now?”

  “Because I plan to court you.”

  Her blood rushed. “Court me?”

  “And then, seduce you…”

  Leah struggled to keep from swooning and falling out of the carriage. “Is this so you can count coup on your brother again?”

  “No, it’s because I want you, and I believe you want me…”

  Leah studied his face. He was right of course, but she hadn’t planned to admit that truth aloud. The remembrances of their one night together continued to resonate strongly within her, but the aftermath had been very painful; she had no desire to be ambushed that way again. “I have very vivid memories of that night, Ryder, and it’ll be something I’ll remember to the grave; but I can’t set aside what came after just because I enjoyed being in your bed.”

  He seized upon the words that pleased him most. “Did you?”

  Leah couldn’t lie. “I did.”