“Then you should have chosen your trunk.” He turned for his wagon.
And now she was a tiger. She snatched up her skirt and followed him, waving a hand in his face. “How could I know you meant to send my things over the side?” She couldn’t bear to think of them there, smashed and scattered. She could only think of lashing this … briccone, this knave, with her tongue.
He spared her scarcely a glance. “You had the trail blocked. I have freight to deliver.”
How dare he? Mamma’s rocker, the books, everything that had meant enough to bring all the way from Sonoma, California, to Crystal to build her dream…. Pain left her with no answer, save a sob that collected in her throat.
He moved to lift her again to the box of his wagon, but she thrust his hand away.
Undaunted, he motioned to the seat. “You’d better ride along.”
“No, grazie.” She forced the words through clenched teeth.
He looked down the road behind his wagon, then shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He walked around to the back and untied Dom, whose saddle was gone with the wagon, of course. The mule wore only the harness bridle and looked at her mournfully as though that were his fault. The freighter held out the rein. “Stage’ll be along shortly. I suggest you don’t wait.”
Bene! Now he was giving advice? Again the anger threatened to bring tears. She took the reins and eyed with dismay the height of Dom’s back. In her skirt, without a stirrup … The man stooped and made a step with his hands. With pleasure, she stepped on him, wishing to kick as well.
Astride, Carina held the reins and waited while the freighter mounted the box of his wagon and whistled to his team. Too late, she realized her mistake as dust rose and took hold of her. Choking and fanning her face, she remembered her bags tucked carelessly behind his seat. “Wait! Stop!”
The creak of wheels, the rattle of harness, and the clomp of hooves kept him from hearing. Or perhaps he chose not to. She turned back and saw the stagecoach below just starting the narrow climb. The roof was covered with passengers, all men, and she could only suppose the seats inside were filled as well. As it neared, she saw more clearly what manner of men sat atop: rough, desperate-looking men. She now guessed what the freighter had meant.
With no choice but to follow in his dust, she kicked her heels and Dom plodded up the winding road. Patient, steadfast, and long-suffering. Dom had come with her all the way from Sonoma, first by train from the wine country to Denver, then pulling the small purchased wagon into the mountains without complaint, though it was more than one beast should bear. She clung to him now with her heels as tight as her nerves.
Around a bend and down the slope a short way, she saw the remains of a horse, its ribs bare to the sun, old flesh clinging like tattered rags. She shuddered and looked away, thankful Dom’s strength had never failed her. He plodded on, though it seemed each hoof was weighted down and each breath a struggle.
She urged Dom forward. The road dipped down briefly and grew rough with craggy pink boulders bubbling up from the white dirt. Just ahead, the horses drawing the freight wagon strained, and their driver urged them in low tones but did not apply the rein or whip. Here was her chance, and Carina took it, drawing up alongside.
“Stop. Hold there. You have my bags.” She motioned to the seat beside him.
He looked over his shoulder as though the bags had climbed there themselves, then reined in his team. With a swift motion, he heaved the carpetbag free and tossed it down to her. She caught it with a solid thud to her chest, then looked up as he readied to fling the next.
“Don’t throw it.” Just like Mamma, she put generations of Italian matriarchs into that command, and it rang with Mediterranean fervor no man could ignore.
He stopped, and leaned down with the bag, and she snagged it from his grasp. “Thank you.”
“Sure you don’t want a ride?”
She ached already from riding bareback on Dom’s bony spine. But she shook her head and stuffed the bags before her on the mule’s withers. Don’t show the hurt, nor even the anger. Show him nothing. And don’t cry. She put up her chin. “No, I don’t want a ride. But I will go before you now, as I make less dust.”
He sat back, his head half-cocked, and allowed her to pass. Now she need only follow the road. She may have lost her belongings, but not her purpose. Had she not a deed in her bag and a future ripe with possibilities? With a nudge of her heels, she urged Dom on, upward again, closer and closer to the sky, then at last around the bend that crested the pass.
Carina caught her breath at the majestic grandeur before her. The valley opened up, encircled by mountains. One snow-streaked peak was reflected in the glassy blue lake beneath it, the line of contour repeated in exact detail. Bright, frothy green climbed the feet of the range, blending into the darkened crevices thick with pine. It was virgin beauty so fresh it suspended the motion of her chest and sliced through her rancor to the soft part of her spirit.
Dom dropped his head to graze on the grass beside the road, but Carina could not pull her eyes from the vision. This place, like none she had seen before, would be hers. This beauty, reward enough for what she had lost. Surely, surely this was the place of dreams after all.
She pulled on the reins and set Dom a steady pace. That must be Mount Pointe, and according to the traveler’s guidebook, Crystal was not far past the lake. Her spirits rose at the thought of reaching her destination. Perhaps there was even some recourse she could take for the loss of her property. Perhaps the freighter could be made to pay damages. The thought sharpened the pain of knowing she had lost more than things. She had lost the remembrances of her memories.
Yet not everything was gone. She clutched the leather satchel closer to her chest. She had almost left it, should have left it, but could not. It was foolish, like holding a burning coal. But she held it, letting it burn.
For two hours she rode downward into the valley, eagerly looking about in spite of her discomfort. She drank in the scenery like an elixir, a tonic for her loss and fury. Even Dom seemed to sense it and bobbed his head as he walked. The air, breathable now, was shockingly clear and invigorating, acting on her mind and lungs in a healthful way. Oh, she had made the right choice. No matter the hardships.
As she left the lake behind and climbed again into a cleft valley, she slowed the mule in dismay. The denuded slopes ahead looked obscene, the trees hacked down and dragged away to the sprawling clutter of clapboard, canvas, and dust that could only be Crystal, Colorado. It was worse, far worse than Fairplay, where she’d spent the night before, thinking it was a poor relation to the city that would greet her this day.
Carina stared, unbelieving. Unlike the illustrations in the travel guide, Crystal was a stubbled wound in the ripped and quarried mountainside. A scar, a disfigurement. She felt the injury as to herself. How could this be the place of her dreams? The diamond—it was flawed, crushed, fouled. She felt the greed ooze from the shafts and diggings, the infection that had taken hold and was boring into the mountain’s heart.
She felt stripped, like the very slopes. This … ugliness … was not what had brought her a thousand miles from Sonoma, California. What was I thinking? This was not a place of dreams. It was a nightmare. And for the first time, she questioned her good sense.
TWO
Is there any pain an enemy can inflict that compares to that done by a friend?
—Rose
THE FREIGHTETR HAD CAUGHT UP to her as Carina lingered, stunned. He went by without a word, passing between the first shacks and tents along the rushing stream. She tasted his dust again as he maneuvered around the stumps in the road. They were everywhere, the remainders of trees used to build the shaft houses and mining works on the hillsides, the log cabins and businesses, and the tall fronts of the stores along the main street.
Dully, Carina followed as best she could, the entire way clogged with mules, wagons, and teams. The noise was unbelievable after the mountain silence. She choked on the dust, though it was t
he least of the smells that assaulted her. With a sudden yank, she reined in as the freighter before her lurched to a stop behind a braying mass of mules, smaller than Dom and mean-tempered.
“Get on, now!” He swung his hat at the beasts and they shied away enough for him to pass.
Realizing he was her best hope, Carina stayed close behind. As they pushed through, the mule skinner turned a gap-toothed grin her way and spat. She turned away and scanned the buildings on the near side. Two were of brick—the Crystal Hotel and the Miner’s Exchange Bank. A few were stone, the rest pine logs and clapboard.
She had time to study them in detail as the traffic on the street reached an impasse. She would do better on foot. Scanning the signs within sight, she found the livery stable across the way. She turned Dom and urged him through the crowd to the far side of the street and back half a block.
A tallow-haired boy waiting in the doorway took Dom and her payment inside. She would not leave him long, only until she had found her house and seen whether it had a shelter for the mule. Standing between her bags on the street, she held her ears against the din, then realized there was no help for it.
She dropped her hands and considered the situation. It was on the opposite side of the street that the most important buildings stood, and behind them the more permanent dwellings. That was where she would find her house, not among the shacks and tents sprawled on either side of the swiftly rushing creek.
Carina grasped her bags and plunged into the masses filling the street, hearing spatters of German, Spanish, and Italian—though less familiar Southern dialects of abruzzesi, ciociari, and Sicilian—among the English. But she didn’t stop to look even when she reached the far boardwalk. Thank God she’d had the presence of mind to grab her carpetbag, or the deed, the key, and her bank notes would be at the bottom of the canyon with everything else.
Briccone! She spared a dark thought for the freighter, then pressed between the unwashed bodies milling in and out of the doorways of saloons. She had counted three in a row: the Boise Billiard Hall, the Gilded Slipper, and another called Emporium that smelled foul. There were others beyond those, gaming halls as well. Her teeth suddenly clamped together from the jolt of a man who nearly knocked the breath from her in passing.
“Pardon me, ma’am.” He was gone as the last word left his mouth, melting into the crowd of matching coats, felt hats, and canvas pants.
She refastened her grips on the carpetbag and satchel and continued. Coming to the corner, she searched for a street marking and found none. “Step right over this way, little lady. I see you are a woman who cherishes her complexion.” The speaker wore a ruffled white shirt and suspenders, reminiscent of the hawkers at the fairs back home. His head bore only a trace of hair in brown strings across the shiny crown. “Such flawless skin deserves only the finest handmade soap you will ever have the pleasure of using.” He held out a bar, motioning her to come close.
As she took a step over, he held it to her nose. “Have you ever smelled anything so heavenly?” Its scent was lost in the cooking odor of the stall beside him, where the man stirring the pot looked to have foregone soap for years.
“Just fifteen cents for a bar of this heavenly blend….”
Carina set down her cases, reached into her pocket for her coin purse, and felt only the empty pocket lining. She felt again, then checked the other pocket. “I’ve lost my …” Her mouth fell slack. “That man … that man who hit me. He took my purse!”
“Ah.” The hawker shook his head. “Not a grand welcome to the Crystal City, my dear. Here. Take the soap. A small measure of my sympathy.”
Carina’s palm felt numb as he placed the bar upon it. A bar of soap to ease the injustice? Would it wash away the foul deed? But that was unfair. It was not this man’s doing. “I must report it.”
“Can you give a description?”
“He was perhaps a head taller than you, rough shaven and …” She couldn’t remember any more. He had passed quickly and, in truth, looked no different than all the others.
The hawker laughed. “Could be any man in town, beggin’ your pardon.”
It was not a laughing matter. Twice now she had been robbed. First the freighter, now a common pickpocket. She would report them both. But for now, she was thankful her currency was in the carpetbag. “Could you tell me what street this is?”
“Some call it Walker, most call it Central, ma’am, though you won’t find a sign either way. There’s not a street marker in town, but I can direct you anywhere you need to go.”
“I have a house on Drake.” She reached into the carpetbag for the deed. “There’s no number, but I have an illustration.” She held it up and he studied it, then gave a low chuckle that disconcerted her more than anything else. “Drake’s the next block down. Turn right to find this place and good luck to you.”
Luck. Mine had better change soon. “Thank you.” Carina tucked the deed and illustration back into the bag and lifted her luggage. She pushed her way across the side street and started along the next block.
Suddenly the boardwalk dropped out from under her, and she stepped down hard to the section of walk a good foot lower than the last, at least for the length of the meat market. Then it jumped up again for the span of the drugstore. Each business seemed to build its own walkway in whatever manner it deemed best. But for the congestion, it would be easier to walk on the street, dust and all.
Her ankle sent a twinge of pain when she stepped again, but she ignored it. A feeling of unease grew within her, and she wanted to get to the house. She wasn’t fool enough to expect it would look as good as the picture, not anymore, but the soap hawker’s chuckle had been unsettling.
She rounded the next corner and quickly sidestepped the dentist who unfolded a chair and stood a sign against it. Extractions, caps, and other. Carina shuddered. She had a healthy fear of losing her teeth, and the thought of losing them there on the street corner with God knew what to deaden it and passersby gawking and gaping …
Carina bumped into a woman—no, a girl—but her eyes, and such meager clothing … The girl shoved by, but as she passed, a man in stained overalls grabbed and kissed her. The girl slapped him smartly across the face, and Carina wanted to cheer. Even if she was poor he had no right.
But then the girl leered. “You’ll pay for the next one.” She licked her lips and passed on.
Carina was shocked. She’d heard of such women, of course, but had never laid eyes on one. And so young!
“Hall Street hussy.” The man rubbed his cheek and spat.
Carina looked away. Her head ached. The air suddenly seemed too thin, and whatever bracing effects she had imagined were gone with the dust, the noise, the smell, and the degradation around her. Where was the magic touted in the advertisement?
She scanned the dirt street ahead. At least it had less traffic than the main thoroughfare. Her eyes lighted on the house, her house. It had to be the one, tucked between Mae’s Boardinghouse and Fletcher’s Stationery.
It bore a vague resemblance to the illustration she carried in her pocket: single story, clapboard, a front window. The chimney had been an embellishment by the artist, as had the shrubs, shutters, and scrollwork trim. Even the paint had been false.
It was, as promised, centrally located near the happenings in town. Had she known the happenings would be so loud and vulgar, she would have thought twice. But now she wanted nothing more than to go inside and close the door behind her. Her heart cried out for sanctuary and peace.
Carina made for the house, smaller than the picture had made it seem. Still, the front room would do for a table and bed—had she a table and bed any longer—and there was a cookstove. She could see its pipe extending from the roof as she gamely climbed the two front steps. She set down her load and found the key in her carpetbag.
She inserted the key, but the door wasn’t locked. Puzzled, she pushed it open and looked in. The pinewood floor was cluttered with blankets and smelled of rank tobacco, the b
rown splatters on the walls verifying the source. She frowned. Could it be the wrong house?
She checked the advertisement. No. Her house was located between Mae’s and Fletcher’s businesses. This was the only house pressed between the two large buildings. She looked about again, disgusted by the filth. What were squatters doing in her house? Footsteps on the stairs behind her caught her attention, and she froze.
“What do you want, lady?”
Fear, like a slow spider, climbed up her spine as she faced the spiteful glare of the burly man before her. One side of his lip was drawn up like a cur by the scar that ran to his cheekbone. Beside him stood two others dressed in canvas pants and flannel shirts. Their hands were black with grime, and the same covered their clothes and boots.
With an effort, Carina kept the fear from her voice and drew herself up. “This is my house. I have the deed….”
“No, it ain’t.” The first man spat, hawking brown spittle to the floor at her feet.
Animale! Though disgusted, she refused to step back. “And I have the key.” She thrust it out on her palm.
With a swift motion he snatched it, leaving a black smear in its place. “No, you don’t. Now get out.” He shoved past her with an elbow. The other two followed.
When the door closed with her outside, she stood there on the step, her heart thumping in her chest, her hands clenched at her sides. It was not to heaven she’d come, but hell. Her head ached and tears blurred her vision. Well, she would see about this! The house might not be much, but it was hers. She had lost her luggage, her furniture, her coin purse, and now her temper. She would not lose her house.
Grasping her cases again, Carina made her way back to Central Street. She passed the Crystal Hotel and Fisher’s General Mercantile, then the Miner’s Exchange and Rudy Mitchell Clothier. Two doors down, she found the sign she needed. Berkley Beck, Attorney at Law, Land Agent.
The Rose Legacy Page 2
