by Jae
Giuliana forced herself to take the letter and pick up the coin. She would need both now that she was without a job. The half eagle’s edges dug into her palm as she ran from the room.
Biddy was still lingering in the hall, but there was no sign of Kate.
Hatred flashed through her. “You! Bestia maliditta!” Hands clenched into fists, she took one step toward the lady’s maid. “You did this to me! You take away my job!”
Paling, Biddy backed away.
Giuliana followed, but then the futility of it all hit her. Even if she throttled Biddy or scared her half to death, the damage was done. She whirled around and, with one last glance toward the stairs to Kate’s bedroom, she left the Winthrops’ home for the very last time.
* * *
The last time Giuliana had walked past the Fairmont Hotel, where people were unloading furniture from a delivery wagon, she had been humming. Hard to believe that it had been less than half an hour ago. Now she trudged down the hill with her head hanging low. She barely registered a neighbor’s servant calling out a greeting.
It’s not that bad, she tried to tell herself. Last month, the newspaper had been full of advertisements from people looking for hired help. That probably hadn’t changed, so she would find a new position within a few days. But that thought did nothing to cheer her up. There wouldn’t be a Kate greeting her with a smile instead of ignoring her as if she were a piece of furniture. From the very first moment, Kate had made her feel like a valuable human being, not just a servant. It was like saying good-bye to her family all over again, except that she hadn’t even gotten to hug Kate.
When she reached the cable car stop at the corner, a voice behind her pierced through her haze of despair. “Giuliana! Wait!”
She whirled around.
Kate was running down the hill toward her, not wearing a coat over a slightly rumpled shirtwaist. Her upswept hairstyle was threatening to come undone.
“What are you doing?” Giuliana whispered when Kate reached her. What she really wanted to do was throw her arms around Kate, but with the other people waiting for the cable car next to them, she didn’t dare. “If your father sees you…”
“I don’t care.” Kate’s blue eyes seemed to spark. “What else can he do to me? He already did the worst thing he could do. I’m so sorry, Giuliana. Please don’t be angry with me. You warned me that being friends was a bad idea, but I just…I’m sorry.”
“This is not your mistake. Biddy never liked me. I think she saw us at the Orpheum and ran to your mother to tell her all.” Now Biddy had done what she had accused Giuliana of—taken her position from her.
Kate’s hands clenched into fists. “Tarnation! To blazes with that darn woman! I’ll wring her neck!”
Her cursing was mild in comparison to what Giuliana had heard from the fishermen at the harbor, but she didn’t want Kate’s reputation tarnished. Quickly, she looked around.
Other people were staring at them while trying to look as if they weren’t paying them any attention at all. The rich people up on Nob Hill and their servants had perfected that strategy.
“You cannot change what happened,” Giuliana whispered.
Kate kicked out at a pebble. “I hate feeling so powerless. It’s just so unfair. It was all my fault, not yours.” A deep sigh ruffled a strand of hair that had come loose. “What will you do now?”
“I need to work. I will search another position.” All she wanted to do was hide away in her tiny room and cry, but she couldn’t afford that. Life had to go on, even if it was a life without Kate. Amazing how much that thought hurt.
“Here.” Kate took off the pendant watch she’d been wearing on a chain around her neck and pressed it into Giuliana’s hand. “You can sell it to tide you over until you find another position.”
Giuliana stared at the gleaming gold watch in her hand. “No. I cannot take it.”
“Yes, you can.”
“This is not necessary. Your father gave me money. I will be good.” Giuliana tried to hand back the watch, but Kate stepped back, refusing to take it. “I know you want to help, Kate, but people will say I steal it if I try to sell it. I cannot have it.”
“Then keep it as a memento,” Kate said. “Something to remind you of me.”
The clanking of a brass bell pierced the momentary silence. A cable car clattered up the hill and came to a stop next to Giuliana.
“I must go,” she said but didn’t move.
Other people muttered in annoyance as they had to step around her to board the cable car. Giuliana didn’t pay them any attention. The only thing she saw was Kate, who suddenly rushed forward and wrapped her in an embrace.
Giuliana’s eyes fluttered shut. She hugged her back for all she was worth, not caring who was watching.
“Take good care of yourself,” Kate whispered. Her breath stirred the hairs at Giuliana’s temple, tickling a little.
Giuliana nodded, her head buried against Kate’s shoulder. “You too, please.”
“Miss,” the cable car conductor called, “do you want to board or not?”
Reluctantly, Giuliana let go of Kate. She walked backward toward the cable car, stepped up, and clutched the pole, her gaze still on Kate.
The brass bell rang, and then the cable car started to move, carrying her away from Kate, who stood at the edge of the sidewalk, her arms wrapped around herself as if she was cold without Giuliana’s warmth against her.
At the last moment, Giuliana remembered that she still had the pendant watch. “Kate! The watch!” She held it out over the edge of the moving cable car.
“It’s yours now,” Kate shouted. “I…”
The wind and the clattering cable car drowned out the rest of her words.
Giuliana clutched the pole with one hand and the watch with the other. She stared back up the hill and watched Kate become smaller and smaller in the distance until she couldn’t see her anymore.
CHAPTER 11
Grand Opera House
Mission Street
San Francisco, California
April 17, 1906
Kate had rarely felt as lonely as in the crowded lobby of the Grand Opera House. The city’s elite sipped champagne and flaunted ermine-trimmed coats, silk top hats, and diamond chokers that were outshining the enormous chandelier above. Next to her, the Baker sisters and their mother chatted excitedly about Enrico Caruso, yesterday’s opening of the opera season, and the weather, which had turned spring-like today.
Kate clutched her champagne flute and suppressed a yawn. She hadn’t been in the mood for the opera, but her parents had insisted she come.
“It’ll take your mind off things,” her mother had said. What she had really meant was that it would take her mind off Giuliana.
No such luck so far. Not even the photographers and the newspaper reporters milling about the lobby could distract her. She hadn’t even been tempted to sneak her camera into the opera house. Tonight, even the scent of the orchids and roses decorating the lobby got on her nerves. She wanted to steal a glance at her pendant watch but then remembered that she had given it to Giuliana.
I wonder how she’s doing. Had she found a new position by now? Did her employer treat her well and pay her fair wages? Was she thinking about Kate too, or had she moved on already?
“Good evening, Miss Kate,” a male voice said next to her.
Kate turned.
George Baker, the oldest son of her parents’ friends, stood in front of her, dressed up in tails, with his silk top hat in his hands. He gave her a little bow and a smile. “You look lovely tonight, if you allow me to say so.”
“Thank you,” she replied but didn’t return the compliment, hoping he would move on to someone else—anyone else.
He looked around the lobby. “Where’s Mr. Jenkins tonight?”
“Oh, he’s around somewhere.” She waved her hand. If she let George know she was here without a male escort, he might want to keep her company, and she didn’t feel up for that to
night. “He just stepped outside for a moment to exchange a few words with a business associate.”
“Well, then. I think we’d better take our places in our boxes now.” He gave her another bow before joining his sisters.
Kate took her father’s left arm and ascended the sweeping staircase with her parents. A heavy red velvet curtain separated their private box from the other operagoers, so at least she wouldn’t have to interact with anyone else.
“Why didn’t you ask William to join us in our box?” her mother asked as they settled on their velvet chairs.
For a moment, Kate was tempted to hurl the truth at them, but in the end, it would hurt her more than it would hurt them. They would immediately start looking for another eligible bachelor who might want to court her. “He had a previous engagement.” Usually, she felt bad whenever she lied to her parents, but since they had dismissed Giuliana from their service, she was so angry with them that no feelings of guilt set in.
Soon, the electric lights dimmed, and the audience’s excited chatter died away. The curtain went up, and the orchestra began to play in the orchestra pit below.
Her parents moved closer to the railing of their opera box so they wouldn’t miss a second. As Olive Fremstad entered the stage as the seductive gypsy girl Carmen, Kate lifted the opera glasses to her eyes so she could watch the singers.
The story the opera told matched her mood. Several hours later, after a lot of heartache and drama, it ended with Carmen leaving Don José for a bullfighter and Don José killing her in a jealous rage.
As the last notes of the opera died away, the three thousand people in the audience leaped to their feet, applauded wildly, and threw flowers onto the stage.
Again, Kate was reminded of her afternoon with Giuliana at the Orpheum.
It seemed to take forever until the crowd slowly moved down the staircase and through the portal of the opera house. A long line of automobiles and horse-drawn carriages waited along Mission Street.
Her father, who had wisely decided to leave his own automobile at home, signaled one of the top-hatted drivers, and they climbed into the cab.
The horse’s hooves clip-clopped over the cobblestones. Somewhere, a church tower struck midnight, and a late cable car rumbled by. The decrescent moon stood over the city, not hidden by clouds or fog tonight. With the unseasonable warm weather, it would have been a beautiful night if not for the tense silence between Kate and her parents. Since her father had called her to his study on Sunday night, they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words.
Dogs howled like a pack of wolves somewhere in the distance, setting off more barking from other dogs.
The horse pulling the cab snorted and pranced nervously, jostling the carriage.
Kate’s father had to grip his hat so it wouldn’t be bounced off his head. “Can’t you calm down the horse?” he shouted to the cabbie.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the driver answered. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. The darn animal has been like this all day.”
“Maybe it’s contagious,” her father muttered. “There seems to be a lot of rebellious behavior going around lately.”
“Pardon me, sir?”
“Nothing.”
But Kate had heard it loud and clear. She gritted her teeth and stared out into the darkness.
CHAPTER 12
Brunswick Boardinghouse
South of Market
San Francisco, California
April 18, 1906
Giuliana woke at her usual time, just as dawn was breaking. She climbed out of bed and was halfway through her ablutions when she remembered that she didn’t have to get up that early anymore to make it up to Nob Hill by six. Groaning, she stuck her face into the washbowl. The cold water hit her like a slap.
Get yourself together! You can’t continue like this. It had been two days since Mr. Winthrop had dismissed her, but all she’d done so far was mope around as if someone had died. The thought brought back memories of Turi, which she quickly shoved away since they hurt too much. Her current situation was different. Turi had been her brother, the only member of her family here in Merica, while she had only known Kate for a few weeks. It shouldn’t hurt like this to know she’d never see her again.
As she straightened and shook her head, droplets of water sprayed everywhere.
So what if she’d lost her position? She would set out to find a new one today. Maybe she’d find an even better one, where the lady of the house wouldn’t inspect every bit of work she did, expecting failure at every step.
She went to the tiny window and opened it. A breeze brushed her damp face, warmer than it had been the last couple of days. The air smelled of spring. The bluish light of dawn began to brighten the horizon, and a few streetlamps had gone out already. A new day had started. Horses neighed and stomped their hooves in the livery stable across the street, but otherwise, the city was still silent. Not even the birds were singing.
How strange. But she had more important matters to think of than birdsong. The first thing she would do today was to send off the five dollars Mr. Winthrop had given her to her family. She didn’t want to use that coin to buy food for herself anyway, convinced that every bite would taste bitter. Then she would try to find another newsboy who could read her the help wanted advertisements.
Decision made, she put on her dress and slid the coin in a drawstring pouch dangling from a cord around her waist. Just as she slipped the pendant watch beneath her bodice, a low rumbling noise sounded outside. Thunder? But the sky had been clear a minute ago.
Then the low rumbling became a loud roar, and the wood floor beneath her began to shake.
A bolt of fear shot down her spine.
Plaster fell from the ceiling, covering her in dust. The entire house shook beneath her.
Earthquake! She tried to make it to the door, but the floor bucked and bounced like a wild horse, tossing her across the room. The table hit her midriff. She gasped for breath. Before she could grab hold of something, she went down.
The washbowl crashed to the floor next to her, drenching her. Bigger pieces of plaster rained down all around her. She tried to get to her feet, but the floor beneath her swayed like a ship in heavy seas.
The windowpane shattered. The large trunk that held her clothes hopped through the room as if possessed by the devil. Outside, a hail of bricks crashed to the street, and church bells clanked wildly. The roof creaked above her, sounding as if it would fall down on her any second. Wood splintered.
Giuliana covered her head with both arms and started praying. Something hit her back, but she felt no pain. Was she still in bed, sleeping, and this was just a dream? She peered up.
Cracks zigzagged across the ceiling. More plaster rained down. A big piece hit her in the forehead, and this time, pain lanced through her.
Panic gripped her, but even if she knew where to flee from this disaster, she couldn’t. Getting up was impossible. The undulations shackled her to the groaning floor. She rolled to the side, beneath one of the beds, hoping she’d be safe from falling plaster. Blood dripped into her eye. She pressed her sleeve to her head and waited.
It seemed to last forever. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Everything went quiet. The silence was almost eerie. No screams, no shouts for help, only a trickle of falling bricks outside. Nothing moved on the landing. Not even the Koslowskis’ baby cried next door.
Diu miu! Were they all dead? Trembling, Giuliana crawled out from under the bed. Something sharp pierced her palm. With a suppressed cry, she pulled her hand back and stared at the blood running down her palm. After a moment, she gave herself a mental kick and pressed a handkerchief to the cut.
The floor was strewn with shards of broken glass from the shattered window. The shelf had been overturned, tossing Giuliana’s few belongings all over the room. Plaster had fallen from the walls and ceiling, and a brick lay where Giuliana had huddled before rolling beneath the bed. Carefully, she stood, for a moment almost expe
cting to be slammed to the floor again. She found her shoes, shook wood splinters and glass from them, and put them on.
A haze of plaster dust filled the air, stinging her eyes and making her cough. A chalky taste coated her tongue. Then another smell, this one sharper, crept into her nose. It took her a moment to figure out what it was. Gas!
A hissing sound came from the walls. The earthquake must have broken one of the gas pipes. One spark and the entire boardinghouse would explode. Out! She needed to get out of here—now!
On unsteady legs, Giuliana rushed to the door. She grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and pulled. The door refused to open. The sagging roof above her had jammed it into place.
A deep rumbling vibrated through her bones.
Another quake! It would be upon her in seconds. She had to make it out now, or she’d be crushed to death. With a shout of despair, she threw her full weight against the door.
Pain shot through her shoulder. The wood didn’t give, and Giuliana was bounced across the room. She landed on the bed and held on for dear life. The house around her started to shake in a series of twists that were even stronger than the first shock, like a felucca being tossed about on rough sea. A beam crushed through the ceiling just a step to her left. The table collapsed beneath a hail of roof tiles.
With a loud crash, the house was knocked off its foundation. It listed to one side, and the floor became a slope. The bed with Giuliana on top careened downhill. She only had time to grab hold of the metal frame, then the bed collided with the wall, just beneath the open window.
For a moment, she thought the wall would collapse, throwing her to the street five stories below. Plaster and shards rained down on her, but the wall held.
White-knuckling the bed frame, she stared outside. Sixth Street seemed to move in waves, with wide cracks opening and closing. Cobblestones danced like popcorn popping in a hot pan.
The odor of gas became stronger, and the twisting motion of the earthquake showed no sign of letting up.
