by Teresa Rae
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He clears his throat. “Rebecca, about what Mrs. Whitaker said about us courting…”
I interrupt, “Colonel Blair, I assure you I haven’t been given cause to assume a relationship between us is possible.”
“Then I have not been forthcoming enough.” He winces as he sits up. He whispers, “I cannot live without you. For too long, I have been wandering in insanity. Then you arrived, bringing the one ray of sunshine to my otherwise meaningless life. You asked what brings me peace. It is definitely not gold and silver. It is you and you alone.”
“But I thought you saw me as a child? Small, simple, and plain.”
He frowns severely. “How can you be so ignorant about your qualities? You are everything a woman should be: beautiful, petite, and kind. You are perfection.”
I laugh as though he’s made a terrible joke. “I’ll resume my efforts to find you a proper companion this afternoon.”
“There is no need.” He goes to the door. “None will ever compare to you, because you are without equal. As I have failed to properly demonstrate my regard, I must remedy this. I must make an order. I will return momentarily to ensure you behave yourself.”
* * *
I spend the remainder of the day resting under the watchful eyes of Colonel Blair. He has a desk moved to my room and makes good on his promise to care for the miners’ widows. He writes letters and sends money to each of the women. Then he deals with business matters.
“You need to be at the mine,” I say, watching him read a ledger.
He lifts his eyes to mine. “No, I need to be here. Gabe manages the mine. He has a knack for choosing honest and hard-working workers and loyal supervisors. Pa always said he had a sixth-sense when it came to people. Our mine is the best manned in the Comstock Lode. It practically runs itself.”
“What do you do?” I ask, knowing Gabe has Rosanna’s help in staffing the mine.
“My tasks are the most difficult. I deal with politics and try to keep you out of trouble.” He laughs.
I try to throw a pillow at him. It falls limply on the floor.
He laughs harder. “You are so small you could not hurt a fly!”
He wipes moisture from his eyes.
“Do not mock my size, Goliath,” I retort. He stops laughing but can’t wipe the dorky grin off his face. I demand, “Why are you smiling?”
“You do not want to know, so I will keep my secrets,” he says, returning the pillow to the bed before getting back to work.
I glance out the window, seeing a small moth fluttering by.
“It has been very quiet,” I muse. “Has your Uncle Samuel been unwell?”
He shakes his head, not looking up from his work. “He often spends long periods of time with his loose woman, but he will return when he runs out of money. If he wins a few hands of poker, he is away longer.”
I nod, hoping he wins those hands. Clearing my throat, I say, “Some would say I am a loose woman. I am staying with a bachelor without a chaperon, and we have slept in the same bed.”
“It is not the same. Our interactions have been innocent. Samuel and Cassandra spend their time in idle pleasure-seeking.”
“Colonel Blair…”
He looks up from his ledger, penetrating into my eyes. “Rebecca, I would prefer you to call me James. It is my given name.”
“I do not feel that is wise,” I counter.
The man refuses to listen to me. “It is wise, because I have nothing but good intentions regarding you.”
I open my mouth to object, but I never get the chance. Gunfire erupts outside the Mansion. Colonel Blair jumps to his feet, dashing to the door.
“STAY HERE!” he barks before sprinting from the room.
Fearing I’ve forced Samuel’s hand, I get out of bed. Instantly going lightheaded, I collapse on the floor. My strength is returning, but it I’m still not healthy. I lay my head on the cold floor and close my eyes. There’s a full-fledged gunfight outside, and I can’t even get up off the floor.
Footsteps dash into the room.
“There she is,” Clara says.
Strong arms pick me up off the floor.
“Miss Harris, are you hurt?” White Cloud asks.
“No. What is happening outside? I tried to go see, but I am too dizzy to stand.”
“I’m grateful you are confined to this room.”
“Yes,” Clara agrees. “It is best you stay out of trouble.”
“But Colonel Blair?” I open my eyes, finding them standing over me with rifles.
“My band will not let anything happen to him,” says Clara.
“Is it Samuel?” I question.
White Cloud’s eyebrows furrow. “Samuel Blair? What cause would he have to harm Colonel Blair?”
I sigh. “Several million dollars is plenty of cause to hurt him. Clara isn’t the only one I came to warn. Samuel wants his money and will hurt a lot of people to get it.”
“Where is he?”
“I’m not quite sure. He is always off with a prostitute named Cassandra.”
“Cassandra Parsons?” demands White Cloud.
I shake my head. “I don’t know her last name. I know this sounds crazy, but I’m pretty sure she’s some kind of witch.”
“Why do you say that?” White Cloud takes a seat, but doesn’t put down his rifle.
“She tried to curse me.” I show him my diamond necklace. “But this grew hot, and nothing happened to me. White Cloud, what is happening?”
Instead of answering my question, White Cloud begins speaking in Paiute to Clara. He gestures animatedly at me. Clara says something in return to him, gesturing out the window. They talk for several minutes.
“Rebecca, Virginia City is not safe for someone like you,” Clara addresses me. “I know you had a dream about Colonel Blair and feel obligated to save him. Perhaps you should take him to meet your sister? This would get you both to safety.”
I shake my head. “I would love to. However, my sister can’t be visited.”
“Colonel Blair is very rich,” she argues.
I take in a deep breath of air. “I’m from the future. No train can take me there.”
They give me confused glances.
“I do not understand,” Clara says.
“Colonel Blair, Gabe, and Henry haunted me as ghosts, a hundred and forty years in the future. You were there, too. Gabe’s ghost asked for help, and I came here to save the four of you. I believe I have saved you, now I just have to keep Colonel Blair alive. If I can do that, I will save Gabe and Henry as well.”
White Cloud jumps to his feet, mumbling to himself in a language I haven’t heard before. He shakes his head before exclaiming in English, “I have been so blind! The Great Spirit has been immensely generous! I knew you were very special, Miss Harris; I just did not realize how special!”
The gunfire increases outside.
“We need to help Colonel Blair,” I say, worrying about having a conversation while there’s a battle going on.
“Colonel Blair can take care of himself in a shootout. It is you who needs protection,” says White Cloud. “My sight has cleared! There is a reason the Cursed are hunting tonight! Cassandra Parsons has added interest in eliminating you from the equation. I would not be surprised if she sees you as a barrier to the Blair fortune.”
“Whoa, back up.” I shake my head, wondering if I seriously hurt my brain when the rock hit me. “Are you saying that a prostitute made that zombie?”
“That is precisely what I am saying, Rebecca Harris from the future.”
Touché, my story is just as unbelievable as his. “Okay, so let’s assume Cassandra is making zombies. What happens when they disappear?”
“You shoot them between the eyes, and they turn to dust. Their bodies are temporary, and when they are shot between the eyes, they return to the earth. It will be thirty days before Cassandra can reassemble him. However, there are plenty of other corpses of wicked men r
otting in the ground. Virginia City is full of the ingredients a witch needs for her own personal army of the Cursed.”
I’m grateful for an additional explanation about zombies, but it doesn’t change the fact I’ve got serious problems. My life is so messed up: I can see and talk to ghosts, I’ve gone back in time to save four people, and now I’m being hunted by zombies. Completely messed up!
“Why would Cassandra see me as an obstacle to the Blair fortune?” I ask.
Colonel Blair dashes into the room, interrupting our conversation.
“Indian, I want you to tell me what in the blazes I was just shooting at!” he bellows.
He silences when he sees me.
“Perhaps we should have this conversation in another room?” White Cloud rises. “Miss Harris is very fragile, indeed.”
The Colonel crosses the room and takes my hand. “I am grateful you had the good sense to listen to me, for once.”
“Oh, she tried to go outside but still does not have the energy to walk. We found her on the floor.” White Cloud goes to the door. “Come along, Colonel Blair. I will tell you all about the coyote epidemic we are facing.”
Colonel Blair frowns down at me before following White Cloud out the door.
“Why doesn’t White Cloud tell him the truth?” I ask Clara.
“Why haven’t you?” she replies.
I sigh. Both questions have the same answer – Colonel Blair isn’t ready for the truth.
15
St. Patrick’s Day
Wednesday, March 17, 1875
Next morning, I open my eyes to find Colonel Blair sleeping peacefully next to me. He is fully dressed, including his boots and a pistol in a holster. I don’t think he bought the whole coyote epidemic explanation White Cloud tried to sell. I gently move the soft, curly locks out of his face before cautiously trying to remove his pistol. His hand immediately grabs mine as his eyes flicker open.
“Don’t tell me you want to hunt coyotes,” he says in a teasing tone as he sits up.
“Not at all. I simply do not want you sleeping in my bed – armed.” I take away the gun and put it on the bedside table. I scold him, “You didn’t even take off your boots.”
He gently moves the hair out of my face. “I’m not even supposed to be in your bed.”
“Technically, it is your bed.” I smile at him. “My headache is gone.”
“Regardless, you will remain in…”
I roll, knocking him off the bed. I immediately get to my feet. “You can stay in bed if you want – I have things to do.”
He lunges after me, and I fall on top of his stomach, knocking the air out of him. He recoils, grabbing his abdomen.
“Serves you right,” I say, getting to my feet. “I need to get dressed. You may leave.”
He sucks in a breath of air, getting to his feet. “I do not want you out of bed, so I will not leave. You cannot go anywhere dressed in your nightclothes.”
I go to the wardrobe and pull out some clean underclothes. Pulling a trick I learned doing beauty pageants, I change my drawers and chemise before putting on my corset, all underneath my nightgown. I step into a petticoat before removing the nightgown. I give Colonel Blair a mocking grin.
He raises an eyebrow. “I will stop you.”
“Instead of trying to stop me, why don’t you make yourself useful?” I pass him my dress and lift my hands over my head. “You can go with me to check on Clara’s and Chun’s families.”
His face is unreadable. Just when I think he is going to reject my plan, he slips the dress over my head. “I will agree to a short walk over the grounds, in my company.” He begins buttoning up the front of my dress.
I slap his hands away. “Colonel Blair, I expect you to behave like a gentleman.”
He unexpectedly wraps his arms around me. “I am afraid that is impossible.”
I try to push him away. He merely laughs before releasing me.
“If you cannot keep your hands to yourself, I will stay with Rose!” I snarl, angrily picking up my stockings and shoes before storming from the room.
I’m surprised to find my ankle feels a lot better on the journey to the kitchen. It’s a little stiff, but I no longer limp when I walk. My weariness from the previous day is also gone. A day of rest has been good for my entire body.
“Miss Rebecca, what you be doin’ out of bed?” Rose exclaims as I take a seat at the kitchen table.
I put the stockings on my feet. “I find my energies restored this morning.”
“Uh-uh,” she says, putting down a pan of grits. “We ain’t be needin’ no more of your trouble. You gonna hafta rest.”
“I will keep her out of trouble,” Colonel Blair says, walking into the room.
“You are the trouble maker!” I snarl, putting on my shoes.
She doesn’t even raise an eyebrow as she puts a bowl of grits in front of Colonel Blair.
I humph at him. But, before I can get to my feet, Rose serves me grits as well. I am frustrated, but I’m also starving. I quickly empty the bowl, barely taking time to taste the grits. I grab a biscuit on my way out the back door.
“Rebecca!” Colonel Blair calls after me.
“Go away.” I take a bite of biscuit.
“It is not going to happen.” He puts my cloak on my shoulders, fastening it at my neck. He passes me a second biscuit before tearing into one himself.
I ignore him while munching on Rose’s perfect biscuits.
“Colonel Blair, Miss Harris,” White Cloud greets us as we walk into the group of wikiups. “You look much better this morning, Miss Harris.”
I swallow the last of my biscuit. “I feel like a whole new person. Was anyone injured during the coyote attack last night?”
“No, Colonel Blair’s impeccable shooting skills kept us all safe.”
“And our Chinese friends?” I ask.
“Mr. Chiu is doing a lot better. I am afraid he and his lovely family have eagerly taken to our band, and we will be left with no choice but to adopt them.” He points behind me.
Mr. Chiu and Chun smile and wave as they walk with a group of Paiute warriors. Mr. Chiu remains in bandages, but both he and the boy have rifles swung over their shoulders.
“Alas, they are off to shooting practice,” White Cloud says, watching them pass. “Good, honest men must be able to defend themselves in Virginia City. They speak very little English, but I have been fortunate to learn a few Chinese words over the years.”
Mr. Chiu calls to White Cloud in Chinese. White Cloud smiles as he relays a message, “Miss Harris, Mr. Chiu wishes for me to thank you and tell you he has prayed to his ancestors to protect you in your travels.”
“Please tell him that I will also pray for him,” I say.
White Cloud relays the message. Mr. Chiu smiles as he hurries to join the others.
“Rebecca, I believe you have had enough visiting for one day,” Colonel Blair says.
I shake my head. “You may go back to the house. My visiting has just begun.”
I go to Clara’s wikiup. I have spent too much time in bed; I need to socialize.
I spend the morning by a fire with the women and children. I comb and braid many of the children’s hair and help Mrs. Chiu bathe her little girl in a tub in one of the wikiups. It is heartwarming to see the children I nursed back to health have made friends with the Paiute children. When noon comes, I also help make stew for lunch. I really like spending time with the Paiutes, Chinese, and Colonel Blair’s tenants. All three groups are good people who value family and friends. Even with the language barriers, they are more similar than different.
After lunch, I make my way to the ever-vigilant Colonel Blair. “I am ready to visit the widows of the explosion,” I announce.
“Leave the women to their grief,” he replies, standing up from the fire. “They need time with their families, and you need to get out of the cold.”
“I’m not ready to go inside. I think I will go for a walk.” I turn aroun
d and begin striding across the field.
He catches pace. “Rebecca, you have been ill, and have you forgotten about the MacKay’s party this evening?”
I stop. “It can’t be the seventeenth.”
“It is the seventeenth. If you are up to attending the party, then we must begin dressing.”
I put a hand on my head. I have less than five days to figure out a way to save Colonel Blair. Time is running out!
* * *
Ida’s eyes twinkle as she helps me into my pink gown. She says she’s fine after the attack, but I know she will be snuggled up next to Rose when she goes to bed tonight. I hate to leave her after such a traumatic experience, but we have already agreed to attend the MacKays’ St. Patrick’s Day party.
“It be da most beautiful dress I done ever seen!” Ida runs her fingertips over my skirt.
“It is pretty, isn’t it?” I smile at myself in the mirror. “You will have to try it on tomorrow.”
Her eyes open wide. “You gonna let me wear it?”
“Of course,” I put my hands into my long gloves. “A dress is even prettier if it’s shared.”
“I be wantin’ to serve you forever,” she says, smiling at me.
I stop smiling in the mirror and turn around. “Ida, you are not going to help me forever because I will not allow it.”
Her smile disappears and her bottom lip begins to tremble.
“Don’t I be doin’ good work?” she asks.
I go to her and take her hand. “You do the best work, but that’s the problem. You are too bright to be taking care of a spoiled woman. If you work hard on your reading, you will have all kinds of opportunities. Promise me that you will keep working on your reading.”
She nods. “I be promisin’, Miss Harris, but I wouldn’t mind takin’ care of you forever.”
“But I would mind. You deserve so much more than that.”
When I descend the staircase, Colonel Blair is waiting at the bottom for me. He is strikingly handsome in a dark suit and top hat. He holds out an arm to me, and I take it.
“Virginia City has never seen a more beautiful woman,” he says in a hushed voice.
“You should not lie, Colonel Blair. I am well aware I am not a beauty.”
