Emer: Clover Springs Mail Order Brides

by Rachel Wesson

  “Lawrence Shipley. How dare you speak to me like that, especially in front of… her.”

  “I am sure Miss Matthews finds this whole conversation as tedious as I do. In fact, now is a perfect time for lunch. Please excuse us, Mother. Miss Matthews and I will go to the dining car. We will see you later.”

  Lawrence sent a plea for understanding to Emer. He was delighted, although surprised, when she stood. “A snack sounds lovely. I’m starving.”

  Lawrence almost laughed out loud at his mother’s expression. Ladies didn’t comment on the fact that they were hungry. Nor did they agree to go to a meal unaccompanied. But Emer didn’t care much for convention.

  He followed her to the dining car, standing until she took her seat.

  “Thank you for saving me.”

  Emer’s eyes danced with merriment. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it to upset your mother and her lapdog.”

  Lawrence nearly spurted the sip of water he had just taken on the table. Lapdog. It hadn’t taken her long to see Mitchell for what he was. What does she think of me?

  “I apologize to you, too, Miss Matthews.”

  “My name is Emer. Why are you saying you are sorry? You didn’t do anything.”

  “I thought I may have upset you by asking questions about your family. I wasn’t being nosey.” At her upraised eyebrows, he held his hands up. “Well, maybe a little. I find you intriguing. You aren’t like any other lady I ever met.”

  “I’m not a lady. I’m just a normal girl like many others. You don’t see the likes of me as we don’t usually dine in these places or wear these outfits.”

  “What would you usually wear?” Lawrence said idly, as the waiter put their plates on the table.

  “Pants and a shirt.” The waiter stopped serving them to stare at Emer. At a glance from Lawrence, he coughed, put the rest of the meal on the table and quickly moved away.

  “I think your mother would have a stroke if she saw me.”

  “Will you tell me a little about yourself, Emer?” Lawrence asked, hoping he wouldn’t frighten her away.

  “There is nothing to tell. I left home when I was fifteen. I lived in a mining town for a couple of years before moving to Denver. I went to Boston to find my sister. I met Father Molloy, he introduced me to your family and we will arrive in Denver tomorrow. I will catch a train to Clover Springs and you will go play at being a banker.”

  Lawrence sat straighter. Emer was looking at him as if waiting to see his reaction to her insult.

  “What will you do in Clover Springs?” He caught the glint of amusement in her eyes at his refusal to react.

  “I will find my sister. After that, I don’t know what I will do. I haven’t really given it much thought.”

  “Well, we both know that’s a lie. You cannot look at me and your face is turning a delightful shade of pink.”

  Emer moved to stand.

  “Please, don’t leave. I was only teasing. I’m bored. If I go back to that room, I may just kill my mother. You, Miss Matthews, have to save me from the hangman’s rope.”

  Emer giggled.

  “Why do you let your mother order you around like you’re a child?”

  “I don’t.” Lawrence looked at her, she returned his gaze but stayed silent. “I guess I do, don’t I? Life is easier if I go along with her.”

  “Do you always pick the easy option?”

  “Touché, Miss Matthews. I guess you got me back for teasing you earlier. I would love to tell my Mother to get lost, but…”

  “Then you couldn’t start your own bank. You think you need your family connections?”

  “And you would suggest I don’t?”

  “I don’t know the first thing about banking, Mr. Shipley. A friend of mine got rich lending small amounts of money to miners. She didn’t have any family money behind her. But she’s happy. Are you?”

  Happy? He was. Wasn’t he?

  “Tell me more about your friend.”

  “Minnie bought a store up in Leadville. She learned early on the miners would miss home comforts.”

  Lawrence noticed the pause as well as the flush on her cheeks but pretended not to. She continued.

  “She sold all manner of goods, from home ware through to tools and utensils they would need up in the mines. If a miner needed credit, she gave it to them in exchange for a grubstake in his mine.”

  “She trusted them to come back and tell her they had hit gold?” He couldn’t hide the disbelief from his tone.

  “She’s a good judge of character. Well, most of the time, at least.” Emer wasn’t about to tell Lawrence about Minnie’s whole story. “She told me once that only one miner ever held out on her.”

  “She sounds like a special lady. Is she still in Leadville?”

  Emer shook her head before taking a sip of coffee. “She left to go overseas. She had a hankering to see London and some of Europe.” Emer fiddled with her cup for a couple of seconds. “You could do something like Minnie did.”

  “Me? Grubstake miners? I don’t think Mother would approve of that.”

  “I thought you wanted to get away from your mother. If you wanted to set up a new business out here, you could. You must have some money of your own.” At her look, he nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “There are a lot of honest folk out west. They can’t go into a bank. Some of them have never been near a big city. People like your mother wouldn’t lend them a cent. So they fall victim to sharks. The men who make their money from other people’s sweat and tears.” Emer stopped talking.

  He was staring at her and the look in his eyes made her uncomfortable. She fidgeted in her seat. “Sorry. Minnie told me I go on too much at times. I just hate people being taken advantage of.”

  “Actually, Miss Matthews, I think you may just have given me an idea. You are more than a pretty face, aren’t you?”

  He’d called her pretty. Warmth radiated through her whole body. She smiled.

  “Especially when you smile like that.”

  She stood up quickly, embarrassed he had seen her reaction. “Thank you for the company. I am going to lie down for a while. You are right about it being difficult to sleep on a train.”

  Especially when every time you close your eyes, a pair of green eyes dominates your thoughts. Emer turned to leave, catching her foot in her skirt as she did. She stumbled and his hand flew out to steady her. His touch burned her skin. She glanced up at him to see his eyes widen. He feels something, too. He must. There is no future in this. I have to get away. Now. Picking up her skirt, she moved as quickly as possible without giving into the impulse to run.

  Chapter 18

  Denver

  Denver was busier than she remembered. She wished Minnie was in town. At least then she would have one friend.

  She wondered if Lewis was still around—not that she had any intention of looking him up. Although it might be fun to introduce him to Mrs. Shipley.

  The streets teemed with people rushing about as if their boots were on fire. She’d decided to do some exploring to kill time. The trains for Clover Springs didn’t run every day. She wasn’t going to spend a minute more in the hotel where she was staying as a guest of Mrs. Shipley. It had been days since she could travel freely without Mrs. Shipley, Mitchell or Lawrence watching her, waiting for her to slip up. Again.

  She wandered through a couple of streets before stopping at a café. Her stomach growled and the temptation to eat in peace, without anyone commenting on her manners or lack of them, proved too much. She ignored the disdainful looks from other customers. She didn’t care if it was unseemly to eat alone. She was hungry and it wasn’t as if she knew anyone else. Taking a seat by the window, she watched the crowds pass by as she ate her lunch. She ignored a couple of men who stared at her, hoping they wouldn’t come closer. Wearing pants and carrying a gun, she was confident of her ability to defend herself but the dress and absence of a weapon made her feel naked.

  She turned her attention ba
ck to the window just in time to see a child dart out onto the street. Horrified but frozen, she could only watch as a wagon moved toward the child. She screamed out to get the driver’s attention but he couldn’t hear her above the street noise. Rushing out of the café, she ran toward the child, not realizing the proprietor of the café had followed her, shouting, “Thief.” Emer elbowed her way through the onlookers, having seen nobody was making any attempt to help the child.

  “Another ragamuffin. A thief.” Someone commented.

  “What do you expect? The governor has his mind on the ladies, not on clearing the streets of rubbish like this.” The crowd laughed at the man’s remarks.

  Fuming at the comments, Emer elbowed the men out of her way. Bending down, she reached for the child’s hand. He was only about six or seven years old, the tears from his eyes marking two white paths down his dirty face. She forced herself to look at his legs. As she’d thought, one was pinned by the wagon. The boy’s little body shook.

  “Try to lie still. Don’t move your legs.” Silly as it sounded, it was important he didn’t try to pull himself free. He could do more damage that way. Struggling to remember everything Pa Newmark had told her, Emer looked around her.

  “You and you, we need to move the wagon. Gently, though.”

  Though surprised, the men acted without questioning her. Emer didn’t have time to wonder why.

  “Get a doctor, fast,” she said to another child who was staring at the scene in front of him. He didn’t move but stared back at her. “Go on. I’ll pay you when you get back.” The child took off, racing down the street.

  Emer held the child as the men moved toward the wagon. “Can you help me drag him free?” she asked a man standing beside her.

  “Sure thing, lady. You get out of my way, though. A little bitty thing like you ain’t going to be able to drag anyone anywhere.”

  The man pushed Emer gently out of his way. Why were people being so nice? Because you are dressed like a wealthy young lady.

  Emer dismissed the thought. Focus on the child. The injured boy lost consciousness as the wagon moved, freeing his leg. As promised, the man dragged him clear. Without hesitating, Emer lifted her skirt and tore a piece of white fabric from her petticoat, for the first time thanking Mrs. Shipley for insisting she dress the part. A murmur arose from the crowd with several ladies turning their backs. Oops, a real lady wouldn’t show her ankles in public.

  Emer didn’t care. All she was concerned about was the child. She had to stop the blood loss or he would be dead before the doctor arrived. Where was he, anyway?

  Moving quickly but calmly, Emer secured a tourniquet around the boy’s leg. She could hear Pa Newmark's voice in her head as she made sure it was secured tightly. Removing her jacket, she wrapped it around the child, shifting him gently onto her lap. She had to keep him as warm as possible. The man who had dragged him clear got some water.

  “You some sort of nurse?”

  Emer didn’t get a chance to reply as they heard the doctor pushing his way through the crowd.

  “Where’s the lady who got hurt by the wagon? Excuse me, please. Let me through.”

  Emer glanced once more at her patient before turning her full attention to the doctor, who seemed to have been struck dumb.

  “Where are you hurt?” he asked Emer, looking confused at the child on her lap.

  “I am not hurt. This child got hit by a wagon. His leg is bleeding real bad. I tied it up but that isn’t going to last long. He needs proper medical attention.”

  “You mean to say, you called me to give attention to a street rat!”

  Emer’s temper rose. “I called for a doctor to help a child.”

  Her protest went unnoticed by the physician who had already turned his back, apparently with the intention of leaving.

  “Miss, you owe me. I got the doctor.”

  Emer glared at the child badgering her for money and he took a step back from the fire in her eyes. “Doctor, where are you going? You have a patient to see to.”

  “I only see paying patients. Good day to you.”

  “Send the bill to Mrs. Shipley.” Emer crossed her fingers, hoping the ruse would work.

  The crowd surged forward, waiting to hear the doctor’s response. “Shipley. You are related to the Shipley family?”

  The doctor didn’t bother to hide his disbelief.

  “No, she isn’t, but I am. I’m Lawrence Shipley. What is the problem?”

  “This doctor,” Emer’s tone bristled with contempt, “refuses to attend to this child. He seems to believe only the rich are worthy of medical attention.” The sarcasm dripping from Emer’s words had the desired effect on the crowd. The murmuring grew louder in its condemnation of the doctor, who paled as he seemed to realize the precarious nature of his position.

  “The…girl is mistaken. What I meant was, I cannot examine the child in the middle of the street. Danger of infection.”

  “The lady has already started treating your patient while you have yet to look at him. I suggest you remedy that quickly.”

  Emer watched Lawrence’s face. He didn’t follow through on the implied threat. He didn’t have to. The doctor jumped to do his bidding. He moved to examine the child. “He’ll have to go to the hospital. The leg has to come off.”

  Emer cuddled the boy closer to her as the crowd parted to make way for a wagon. She didn’t see Lawrence until he had bent down beside her. “Let me.” He gently took the injured child from her arms.

  “Lawrence, we have to go with him. I don’t trust that doctor. Not one little bit.”

  Lawrence looked at her for a few minutes. “My carriage is over there. We will take the child to the hospital. Travers, pay this quack, will you.” More than one person in the crowd smiled at the reaction of the doctor to the insult delivered by the gentleman.

  “Miss Matthews. Emer? Are you coming?”

  Emer focused at Lawrence’s tone. Standing up, she brushed down her dress, noting the blood stains. How was she going to explain all this to Mrs. Shipley?

  “Excuse me, Miss, but you said you’d pay me to get the doctor.” The boy she had dispatched earlier stood looking at her, his hunger evident not just in his pale, drawn face but his too-thin body. “I’m sorry I got a wrong ‘un.” He looked so downcast, she couldn’t bear it. She fished inside her reticule and handed him some change. The boy’s face lit up. “Thank you, Miss. Ma will be so happy.”

  The boy ran off as Emer climbed into the back of the carriage. She put the young boy’s head on her lap after glancing at the bandage she had applied. There was no sign of fresh bleeding. Was that a good or a bad sign?

  It didn’t take long to reach Denver General. Lawrence took the child and carried him inside. His manner commanded attention and soon the best doctors in the city were treating the little boy. Emer sat on a hard chair until the doctors finished their assessment. She was glad Lawrence had disappeared. She couldn’t deal with him at the moment.

  Some time later, she spotted Lawrence with another man. They walked toward her. She stood, trying to get her tongue unstuck from the roof of her mouth. She needed some water. But there was no time for that.

  The man with Lawrence started talking. She listened as he explained about the boy. Luckily, the damage hadn’t been as bad as they’d first thought. The child wouldn’t lose his leg. The bone, although broken, was a clean break. With luck, it would set properly. After a couple of days’ stay in hospital, the child should return to full health. Assuming, of course, no infection set in.

  “Are you the young lady who nursed the child?”

  Emer looked at the kindly-faced man standing in front of her. Before she could answer, Lawrence introduced her.

  “Miss Matthews, this is Dr. Watkins. Dr. Brown, the man we met on the street, is his boss.”

  Emer caught the irritated look in the doctor’s eyes at the mention of his colleague but then it was gone.

  “Miss Matthews. Excuse me for saying this, but you
look very young to be a nurse.”

  “I’m not a nurse, Sir.”

  “Yet, you knew exactly what to do. Your attentiveness saved that boy’s leg, if not his life.”

  “I had a friend. He was a doctor in the war. He taught me some things.”

  “He must be very proud of his student. If you decide on becoming a nurse, please call back to see me. We could always do with skills like yours here at Denver General.” The doctor walked away, leaving Emer staring after him.

  “You can close your mouth now, Miss Matthews.”

  Emer glanced at Lawrence. “He asked me if I was a nurse. Nobody ever asked me anything like that before.”

  “You are a lady with many hidden talents.”

  His praise brought her skin out in goose bumps. She looked away for fear he would see the effect he had on her.

  “Now, my dear, do you think we could go home? Mother has guests this evening. She will not take kindly to us appearing in this state.”

  She took his arm and allowed him to escort her out of the hospital. He helped her into the cab, holding her for a few seconds longer than seemed necessary. His smell reminded her of early days spent lying in the grass enjoying the sunshine. Happy days when she had been too innocent to understand what her ma did. Ma. Why did Patty have to intrude on her thoughts now? Lawrence wouldn’t give you a second look if he knew about her.

  Lawrence had been right. His mother nearly had an apoplectic fit when she saw the state of Emer’s dress. Lawrence took pleasure in filling her in on the details, including how she had used her petticoat to make a bandage. Mrs. Shipley had turned various shades of red before banishing Emer to her room for the evening. Emer could have sworn from Lawrence’s wink this was exactly his intention.

  Chapter 19

  Lawrence didn’t look at Emer as she left the room. He didn’t want his mother seeing how much their guest intrigued him. Emer was totally different than any other girl he had met. She had captured his attention on the train but he had put it down to being an interesting distraction on an otherwise boring trip. But it was more than that. Much more. She was feisty and kind-hearted but her manners were appalling.