Infinite Faith Infinite Series, Book 4)

by L. E. Waters

  Violet attracts a huge following. Men come from miles around to see her dance and pay a fortune to have a dance with her. Molly jumps on the idea quickly, where she auctions off only one dance with Violet a night to the highest bidder. In the beginning Jessie wins a few by putting down his whole week’s salary. Soon enough he runs out of money and sits there watching the dandies that stroll in with rolls of cash to throw at Molly. There’s one man in particular with a strange scar above one eye that seems especially taken with Violet. He shows up for the dances hours ahead of time, just to get the center seat in front of the stage.

  His name is Richard and Viv comes up with his nickname: Odd Stick Rich. He always tries to find Violet as soon as she finishes and stays near her the whole night, buying her drinks and lavishing her with compliments. He must be prosperous, since he wins every single dance auctioned off—to Molly’s great enjoyment—and even gets Molly to give him a pair of Violet’s pantaloons at a steep price. Violet enjoys the attention and hopes it’ll make Jessie want to pursue her more seriously. One night I go to look at the moon from my window and a chill stings through my body when I see Rich, out there alone in the moonlight, staring up at Violet’s window.

  A week later we’re called down to see Mr. Lucian with his posse at the foot of the stairs. He eyes me as I walk by for the line-up, but I feel safe, since Beth reassured me that he only comes sniffin’ around when he hears there’s a new girl. I feel sorry for Violet though, because I know that Molly will force her the same way she forced me.

  Lucian turns to Molly and asks, “This the new girl the men are all talkin’ about?” He stands right in front of Violet and looks her up and down.

  Molly answers, with chin up, “She danced in Magdalene’s and at Prairie Nymph. This girl is practically priceless.”

  Jessie stiffens at overhearing this. Lucian turns his back and walks to the bar to swallow down another drink. He glances back at Violet and then his eyes creep back over to me.

  He points at me. “I want that one again.”

  Molly’s in the midst of gesturing for Violet to go upstairs when she does a double take. “You want Rosie Josie again…not the new girl?”

  He looks at Violet like she’s covered in lice. “This one looks used, just like the other ones you got.” He flashes another dimpled smile and finishes, “That one suits me.”

  I panic. He was supposed to prefer new girls.

  Molly turns to me, giving me a threatening look, she hisses, “Upstairs.”

  Jessie follows me with his eyes while I walk upstairs and, as soon as I make eye contact with him, he shakes his head and walks out the saloon door. I sit on the side of my bed and wonder how many more times I’ll have to do this. He comes in already undoing his belt. I remove my clothes and dash under the sheet, then leave my body for the next couple of minutes until he is gone.

  Days later, after we’ve finished dancing and all the girls are making rounds, trying to get men to dance more, drink more, and visit the girls on the second floor, a loud disruption catches our attention outside in the road. Most go over to the front door to see what everyone is gathering for. There, in the road, stands a group of stern-looking, worn out women all holding their Bibles, reading a verse about Jezebel together in a monotone. Leading the Mothers of Moral Purity—which I overhear they’re called—is Matilda. Some of the men—caught with their hand in the cookie jar—scurry back home, others pooh-pooh the women and strut back inside. It’s hard to try to entertain the men hearing their women chanting outside, and none of us girls can be light-hearted knowing someone still cares about our souls. Even Savannah—halfway unconscious—is caught listening to their message a few times, but decides to grab a customer’s drink and sway upstairs alone to her room.

  Chapter 19

  Whenever Violet, Jessie and I venture out, I’m definitely the third wheel. It’s fun watching them though. Watching their courtship is much better than being back at the stuffy saloon. It seems romance blossoms everywhere suddenly. If I’m not catching Violet and Jessie sneak a cuddle in a corner, I catch Clem doting all over Viv. Clem’s a giant, burly man who has quite the opposite personality. He’s much older than Viv and the rumor gets around that he had a wife and three children before, but the whole family got wiped out by Yellow Fever. It’s amazing that he can still keep such a light spirit. Viv loves being pampered by Clem. He always asks her if she needs anything—and she always has a request ready. He brings her flowers every day from the fields he passes on his walk to the saloon. Even though it’s Jessie’s job to keep fellows in line, Clem always keeps a steady eye on Viv and shoos away over-attentive men.

  One night Molly marches up to tell Clem to cut scaring away paying customers and Clem looks the maddest I’ve ever seen him. His face breaks out in the usual splotches but is overtaken by a much deeper shade of red. He pulls out a few dollars from his pocket, slapping it down on the bar and grabs Viv’s hand and dances off with her. Viv is untarnished in his eyes and she begins loving him for it.

  That night, as I’m lying in bed looking up at the cracked ceiling, listening the hubbub of noises in the house, I feel my baby move for the first time. It isn’t at all how I imagined it. I thought it was going to feel like a kick or a jab, but instead it feels like a little butterfly flutters around inside me. A tear rolls down my cheek with joy and I realize this is who I’m doing this for. Every time I feel the fluttering I just stop and smile wherever I am.

  As these good things grow within the house, it seems like God feels the need to counterbalance it. Molly finds Savannah passed out, barely breathing on her bed one day with opiates next to her. Molly is close to throwing her out. She gives her a stern warning, that if she finds opium again she’ll be sent clean on her way. Savannah stops dancing with us because Violet is still here and the “loyal” men that used to flock to her all are enamored with Violet now. She has no choice but to become an upstairs girl and she stays away from everyone, especially Violet. She just barely makes Molly enough money to keep her.

  Poor Beth suddenly gets very ill. She wasn’t acting like herself for weeks, always extremely irritable and complaining of a constant headache. She actually loses so much weight her nickname has no meaning anymore. Then the fevers start and she is quickly bedridden due to great difficulty balancing. Molly confirms to us that it’s syphilis, since Beth had a bout of it before and it went into remission. Molly goes into her garden and tries various potions but to no avail. Molly finally sends for the doctor, who tries mercury treatments, but Beth seems to get worse. She has difficulty moving her arms and legs and becomes incontinent. She’s so confused that she doesn’t recognize us most of the time. We pitch in to care for her but one morning we awake to find Beth missing. We search all over the house and in the fields behind the saloon. Nothing of hers was taken and even her key to her trunk was left out on her dresser.

  It isn’t until days later that we hear a commotion at night and go out to see Beth deliriously begging for food. She’s barely audible and staggers every which way. She then screams and runs under a space beneath someone’s front porch. Gracie, Lottie and I try to coax her back to our house but Molly stops us at the door. “I can’t let you in, girls. It would be bad for business at this point to bring her back in.” She looks off as a tear flees from one slate eye. “I run a clean establishment here,” she chokes out. “God help her.”

  Yet she shuts the door, leaving us on the porch.

  Gracie throws her arms up in the air. “Now what will we do with her?”

  “We can’t just leave her here,” Lottie says.

  “Write a letter to Cowboy Frank,” Beth mumbles. We hold our breath since she hasn’t talked for days. “He loved me once. I could tell. He might come for me now that I’m sick.” Gracie, Lottie and I share sad glances as the bleakness of our own future echoes in our ears.

  We sit Beth down on the bench on our porch and hurry to throw together some food from our supper, clothes, a blanket and so
me money. By the time we make it back outside we see Matilda has wrapped a blanket around Beth’s shoulders and is walking her back to the Inn. Lottie runs up to give Matilda the money we had scraped together for Beth.

  Matilda accepts it with a sweet smile. “The Lord accepts all forms of charity. Thank you, sister.”

  Lottie returns to us slowly and we watch Matilda help Beth up her stairs. We find out she died three days later. We all go to the funeral—even Molly—in our simplest dresses, and the only other people who come are the priest and Matilda. Beth is laid in a pine box and we’re told she isn’t fit to be buried in the church cemetery. She’s buried in pauper’s field, which is actually a lovely field of blue and yellow wildflowers. Beth would have been happy with it.

  Chapter 20

  To my horror, Mr. Lucian is back. This time I expect him to pick me again since there are no new girls. Molly guesses it too and, as soon as he points to me, she nods for me to go upstairs, but he asks, “Now she hasn’t been lying with anyone else has she? And you better not be bamboozling me because I’ll find out, Molly. You know that, don’t you?”

  Molly says, “She hasn’t been with anyone since you.”

  He gestures with his hand for me to go up and I realize that I’m even growing accustomed to this. Everything goes as usual except my belly has swelled so I can’t let him press on top of me like he had a month or so ago. I’m forced to hold up his thick shoulders above me to take the weight off.

  He falls back on the bed with his hands up and huffs, “I can’t believe it.” Lucian rolls to his side toward me. “There’s a bastard in there, right?”

  I can’t find any words.

  “I knew it. My wife’s had five children and I know all the signs.” He stares up at the ceiling and after a moment, he smiles. “Now usually when my whore is growing my little bastard I pay for her to get it taken care of, but let’s just hold on here.”

  He thinks it’s his child.

  “I’ve grown quite fond of you. I usually don’t like to dip my pole in the same part of the pond more than once, but there’s just something about you that I can’t stay away from.” As he says this he picks up my hand and rubs the mole below my pinky. I try to pull back as far as I can.

  “Okay, see here. When you’re ready, I’ll talk to Molly and we’ll reach an agreement. You’ll then come and live at my house and help take care the household and such.”

  My heart pounds in my ears.

  “Don’t look so worried, Rosie. You’ll get yer own purdy room and won’t have to do too much, and I’ll come and visit you every night.” He lurches over to give me a kiss on the lips and forcefully parts my steely mouth by shoving his fat, hot tongue in.

  It’s the most difficult thing I have to fake in my entire life. Much worse than anything that came before.

  “I promise to take care of you.” He tries his hardest to be sweet but it just falls short.

  I grant him a thankful smile and he spins his hat back onto his head. I realize while he’s leaving that I’m going to have to get out of there sooner than I thought. I count up my money and wish I’d never purchased those dresses and makeup. I only have enough to support myself for a few months. I need at least enough to buy a cabin and food for a year.

  “I have to try to make more money,” I say to the walls as I drift off in a mid-afternoon nap.

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

  Violet runs as fast as a squaw can across the space, but Odd Stick Rich sees the movement and charges right at her, catching her by the campfire. She screams as he grabs her roughly from behind, and she cries, “Jessie!” right before he slits her throat.

  A scarlet spray of blood reaches high over their heads, and Violet clutches her throat in a last attempt to stem the flow before falling. Rich lets her fall but throws his guilty knife away. Jessie rushes out of the teepee and sees her, crumpled and bleeding, on the ground. He gathers her up in his arms and tries to put pressure on the large wound. She holds his gaze for a moment before closing her eyes, but he doesn’t lay her back down until he feels the life leave her body.

  Covered in her blood, he stands slowly to face Rich. He lunges and throws Rich in one quick movement and then hits him, over and over again, in the face and stomach. The other warriors, who Rich was just sitting with, jump on Jessie, but to no avail. Nothing can stop the power of such rage. Once Jessie shows signs of fatigue, Molly steps in to pull a severely battered Rich free.

  Jessie screams, “He killed her!”

  Rich, spitting teeth and blood, holding his broken ribs, says, “She was mine.”

  Lucian comes out and is quiet, as one of the warriors relays what has occurred. Matilda comes behind him as the village gathers to see what all the noise is. Matilda gives me a look of disappointment as she sees Violet on the ground.

  The chief speaks as Jessie still thrashes, trying to get at Rich again. “It is a Lakota right to leave your husband’s teepee for that of another as long as they give proper payment. This squaw did not reach her lover’s teepee and so it is also the right of the husband to do what he wishes to her if he catches her.”

  Jessie breaks free at this and crashes into Rich again. Rich is knocked unconscious as his head hits the ground, and Jessie kneels over and pummels him. The warriors pull him off again.

  Lucian shouts at Jessie, “You have disrespected me by not accepting my decision. I do not want you back in my village ever again. You do not honor the Lakota way.”

  Jessie throws the two warriors off him and screams at the Chief, “I am glad I am not Lakota then!”

  The warriors take out their knives at his disrespect, but Lucian puts his arms down to let him go. Jessie goes over to where Violet lies on the ground, the life spilled out around her. He pulls out his flute, puts it in her empty hands, and kisses her cheek. He then gets up on his horse and gives a nod to Molly, who looks utterly perplexed. He searches the crowd for me. Finding me, he shakes his head solemnly and rides off.

  All hope is lost.

  Chapter 21

  The next day Molly runs out of her room fuming, shaking a piece of paper back and forth. We rush out to find out what’s the matter and Molly yells, “Oh, this really makes my blood boil. They’re gone! I can’t believe it. Just took off after all I’ve done fer them! Sparkin’ her the whole time behind my back I’ll bet. They sure dry gulched me with this one.”

  Annie asks, “Who’s gone?”

  “Clem and Viv, they left me this here note sayin’ they’re going off to get married and start a new life together. She sure euchred that fool.”

  We all break out into smiles. None of us girls hear any more of the rant. A soiled dove’s fantasy came true. Everyone said no one would ever want to marry us and here it is, plain as day. Clem married Viv. It can happen.

  Molly’s voice finally breaks through to me, “—and where am I going to find another dancer, first Beth and now Viv? And damn! I need a piano player and bartender to boot.”

  Savannah tries, in as sober a sentence as she can. “Well, I can dance if I just get an apology first?”

  “Oh, you’re roistered, Savannah. Thanks, but no thanks.”

  Savannah’s last attempt at redemption fails and you can see it in her face. Now she’s going to fade away even more.

  Molly turns to us. “My girls, ya’ll have to just work harder. Make sure ya give every paying customer attention. I’m just going to have to go out and find a couple more girls is all.”

  She picks up her sunhat and marches out to Lord knows where to steal some poor girl’s soul.

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

  Molly returns much happier, so we all expect to be introduced to a couple new girls in a day or two. But as I head out with Pip on my hand to meet Jessie and Violet, who are waiting for me on the porch, Molly stops me. “Hey, got a minute, darlin’?”

  I turn around with a quick, “Yes” but I’m really scanning my brain for wh
at this is about. Pip does a little dance on my finger, anxious to get out for our walk.

  “Well, I had a little chat with Mr. Lucian today.”

  My heart stops.

  “He told me something I’m very surprised didn’t come from ya first.”

  I know I’m turning red and don’t appreciate her asking me this in the middle of the saloon with anyone floating by.

  I whisper, “I was going to tell you when I figured things out a bit.”

  She searches my eyes and thrusts her head back. “It’s not his! It’s yer man from home.”

  “Shhh,” I say as she draws some attention from a few patrons at the bar. I step closer to her, hoping she’ll keep her voice down.

  She brings her hand up to her forehead. “Foolish, Molly. Yer getting daft in yer old age. Of course. It’s why ya ran away here and why ya couldn’t marry a poor bazoo here. Ya little four-flusher!”

  I’m relieved by her jovial tone but then I go stiff when she darts her one-eyed look at me. Pip starts shifting back and forth on his feet.

  “See here, Hun. Ya might have pulled one over on me, but I’ll never give you a second chance. Yer too far along for any of my concoctions and if ya’d come to me sooner we could have done something about it. See, ya should’ve been honest with old Molly. Look where it’s gotcha.” She points to my stomach. “Ya could always take Lucian up on his deal, the poor stoop, or ya can stay here as long as ya make yer share. Time comes ya can’t get a dog to dance with ya, then yer out on yer own. I don’t run no nunnery around here.” Then she turns and walks upstairs.