Elizabeth nodded. “He’ll speak to the judge in the morning about a wedding date. Oh, Mother, I can’t believe it’s real either.” She settled more comfortably on the bed Miss Hampton had given her mother in a nice corner room. “And something wonderful just for you—he asked Tom to finish fixing up the caretaker’s cottage on the property. That will be your own little cottage, Mother, your own little house, and he’d like you to teach Miss Hampton how to make cake.”
Agatha pressed her hands to her mouth. “My own cottage?” she said after a long moment. “How . . . this must be a dream. It has to be.”
Elizabeth laughed, her heart so full of joy, she couldn’t hold it back. “So you and I will share this room with Rose until the cottage is ready, and then you will have a lovely little place all your own. Mr. Brody—er, Adam—says he’ll add on a suite of rooms more suitable for a family, and that’s where he and I will live after the wedding.” Gracious, there went her heart again. The poor thing was going to forget how to beat regularly. “But for now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go help downstairs. I have a few more chores.”
“Of course. You still have a job to do.” Agatha reached out and gave her daughter a hug. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered fiercely into Elizabeth’s hair.
Chapter Seventeen
Adam called a staff meeting the next morning to announce the engagement. Elizabeth begged him not to, but he told her it was only fair that everyone know what was going on, and she reluctantly agreed. “Besides,” he said, “what if one of them were to come upon me kissing you in the linen closet? What would they think?”
“Do you plan to kiss me in the linen closet?” she asked.
“I hadn’t thought of it until just now, but yes, I think it’s a very good idea.” He waggled his eyebrows at her roguishly, and she had no choice but to laugh.
Now, standing in the dining room with the other employees, waiting for him to say those magical, wonderful, impossible words, she felt distinctly out of place. What would the other girls think of her, especially Harriet? She had kept so many secrets from her, and she hoped those secrets wouldn’t ruin their relationship. It had been so long since she’d had a real friend. And what of Miss Hampton? This would make things awkward with her supervisor, she was sure of it.
Adam walked into the room, looked around, and nodded. “Thank you all for gathering. I have several things to discuss with you this morning. No doubt rumors have been flying, and I’d like to set them all to rest now. The first thing I’d like to share, though, is that an arrest was made late last night. Mr. Wyatt Earp of Wichita was able to apprehend one of the men who has been bothering Miss Caldwell.”
Elizabeth exhaled sharply with relief as everyone around her murmured their gratitude.
“One of the men did escape capture, but he was seen heading north. Mr. Earp has several men in pursuit, and I believe we can consider this matter at an end. These men were also responsible for burning down Miss Caldwell’s house yesterday. It was a total loss, with only a few personal items salvaged. So, we’ve invited her and her mother to stay here with us in the hotel.”
He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts. “We have another special guest. Some of you may have heard some unusual sounds in the night. Rose, Miss Caldwell’s infant daughter, is also staying with us.”
This time, the sound that filled the room was nothing short of an audible gasp. All heads swiveled in Elizabeth’s direction, and her cheeks, predictably, turned pink.
“Miss Caldwell is a widow of just a few short months, so we’ll be offering her every courtesy as she gets back on her feet.” Adam cleared his throat. “In the spirit of this, I’ve decided to extend a bit of extra hospitality, and I have asked Miss Caldwell to become my wife.”
Elizabeth looked down at the floor as the murmurs around her grew even louder. Thankfully, they were all words of congratulations and surprise, not condemnation or censure. She glanced over at Miss Hampton, who stood there quietly, her hands folded in front of her. Adam must have told her already.
“Now that all these surprises are out of the way, let’s get started on today’s work, shall we?” Adam gave a nod of dismissal, and they turned to their various tasks.
“I just . . . I can’t believe it,” Harriet said, grabbing Elizabeth’s arm as they walked toward the linen closet to get fresh tablecloths. “You were married and have a baby and now you’re marrying Mr. Brody?”
“It is rather hard to believe, and I promise I’ll tell you everything while we do the wash this afternoon,” Elizabeth said.
“You had better keep that promise. There’s too much of a story here to keep me guessing for long.”
Elizabeth paused, her arms full of tablecloths, as she passed back into the dining room. Miss Hampton was in there, dusting the tops of some picture frames.
“Miss Hampton? I wanted to speak with you. I hope . . . I hope this won’t make things awkward between us. I didn’t take this job with the intention of marrying Mr. Brody, or deceiving any of you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I feel terrible that I wasn’t more forthcoming.”
Miss Hampton put down her dust rag and crossed the floor to where Elizabeth stood. “Adam and I spoke last night, rather late, and I understand all your reasons. You have nothing to fear on my part, Miss Caldwell. Or should I say, Mrs. Caldwell. Oh, dear. What should I call you?”
“Elizabeth seems the simplest,” she replied.
Miss Hampton smiled. “Elizabeth it is, then, and you must call me Caroline. We are nearly family, after all. The only thing that’s truly bothering me is that I’m going to lose my best waitress.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Just in the few short hours we’ve been running the dining room, I’ve been very impressed with your abilities. You listen to the customers well, you work quickly—you will be difficult to replace.”
“I do plan to continue working at the hotel,” Elizabeth said. “Unless you’d rather that I not.”
“Of course I still want you here. I just thought that once you’re married to the hotel owner, you’d prefer to step down.”
“You’re still shy two girls from the six you wanted, and I wouldn’t dream of leaving you even more short-handed,” Elizabeth said. “Besides, now I have a personal interest in the success of the hotel. I’ll do whatever I can to make it profitable.”
“Thank you.” Caroline reached out and touched her arm. “I spent a few moments with your mother and Rose yesterday. Your mother is a delightful woman, and Rose is an incredibly sweet child. You are well blessed.”
“I believe I am. Thank you.” Elizabeth couldn’t hide her relief that Caroline wasn’t angry with her. She smiled widely, feeling as though she no longer had anything to dread. The weight that had been lifted from her was immense.
“Well, we’d better get the dining room set to rights. The train waits for no one—well, except for a herd of cows on the tracks.” Caroline touched her arm again. “I am very happy for you, Elizabeth. Adam deserves the best kind of young woman for his wife, and while we hardly know each other, I do believe you may be just that. I look forward to getting to know you better.”
“And I you.” Elizabeth watched as Caroline hurried off to the kitchen, and then she turned to her own task of putting cloths on the tables. It had just struck her for the first time—as Adam’s wife, the hotel would be her responsibility too. The thought was both exciting and frightening at the same time.
* * *
The midday meal service had gone very smoothly. They had filled nearly all the tables, and Elizabeth was pleased to see the increase. Mr. Earp had joined them, and he explained to her that he’d sent two men back to Wichita with the outlaw they’d captured while he remained behind to further the hunt for the second man. He assured her that he wouldn’t rest until both men had been caught and punished.
After the meal was cleaned up, Elizabeth and the other girls went out back of the hotel and began doing the wash. Two days’ worth
of linens made for a large laundry pile. Tom had filled large kettles and put them over roaring flames, and they now had plenty of hot water to scrub out food stains from tablecloths and napkins alike. They’d have just enough time to do this wash and get it hung to dry before it was time to prepare for the second meal service of the day.
“All right, Elizabeth, you must tell us everything,” Harriet said as she tossed napkins into her washtub. “If you leave anything out, I’ll stop scrubbing, so this laundry’s success is entirely dependent on you.”
Elizabeth smiled, and then told the girls her story while she worked on the tablecloths. Abigail and Jeanette mostly listened while Harriet peppered her with questions—this didn’t surprise Elizabeth at all, knowing their personalities as she did.
“You have certainly been through a lot,” Harriet said, holding a dripping napkin in the air while she contemplated everything Elizabeth had just told them. “I’m so glad you found your way here, and that Mr. Brody fell madly in love with you.” Abigail and Jeanette looked at each other and giggled. “Now you must tell us—has he kissed you? You’re engaged—he must have kissed you.”
Elizabeth bent over her washtub, trying to hide her infernal pink cheeks.
“I knew it! And now you must tell us if he’s a good kisser.”
Elizabeth’s gaze flew up to meet Harriet’s. “Oh, I don’t know if I ought to say . . .”
“You could just give us a hint,” Harriet said. “You wouldn’t have to tell us outright.”
Elizabeth laughed. “You are incorrigible. All right. Mr. Brody is a very good kisser.”
The girls all giggled again.
“I’m glad that’s settled.” Harriet gave her napkin a good wringing. “I, for one, am very happy for you. I’ve thought from the start that Mr. Brody is a very handsome man, and I believe he’s chosen a lovely wife.”
“I agree.”
All heads turned as Adam walked around the corner of the building, a wide smile on his face.
“Mr. Brody,” Harriet stammered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to . . . I mean, I’m sorry . . .”
“Never mind about it, Miss Martin. I’m quite flattered. And I also agree with your assessment of my bride-to-be.” He leaned in, kissed Elizabeth’s cheek, and smiled at all the girls gathered around their laundry. “Tom and I are going to work on the caretaker’s cottage. We may need some input from you later on, if that’s all right.”
Elizabeth nodded, and Adam strode away. He was barely halfway across the yard before they all burst into giggles again.
“I’ve never been so mortified in my life,” Harriet said, finally getting control of herself. “I always knew my big mouth would get me into trouble—when will I ever learn to control my tongue?”
“I think he was amused,” Elizabeth said. “It surely can’t hurt a man’s pride to learn that a woman finds him attractive.”
“That may well be, but I shouldn’t have said it. Now he’s going to think I’m common.”
“I doubt that,” Elizabeth said. “Let’s get this laundry on the line—we only have an hour before the next train.”
They hung the linens, then went inside to prepare the dining room for the evening meal. Elizabeth hoped the next linen shipment would come soon—they only had enough left for this meal, and they simply couldn’t use dirty linens from one meal to the next. Adam would never tolerate it, and she couldn’t stand the thought herself. This hotel must be run to the highest standards or they might as well close their doors.
Chapter Eighteen
Adam had asked Elizabeth to come out to the caretaker’s cottage and offer her advice on the repairs and furniture placement he and Tom had been working on, but she hadn’t been able to get away until well after dinner. Adam told her she could worry about it the next day, but she guessed she’d be just as busy then. Taking a moment now was the most logical choice.
She crossed the expanse of yard between the hotel and the cottage, picking her way over the spots of ground that were still uneven. Tom had been working tirelessly to level out all the dips and gullies, but with all the other tasks he’d been asked to do, several areas of the yard were still in need of attention.
She had just passed the barn when she felt a pair of rough hands grab her from behind. They yanked her backwards, and one clamped over her mouth before she could cry out. She was dragged through the main door of the barn and tossed onto a pile of hay in the corner. Faint evening light streamed in through the window, and she could tell that her attacker was none other than the tall man Mr. Earp was currently chasing, the one who had been the most vocal toward her. She’d never heard his name, and she didn’t want to know it. That would make him seem like more of a human, but he was a monster.
“Well, now. It seems you and me have a little problem. My partner got hisself all locked up on account of you.”
Elizabeth’s heart was pounding so hard, she could hardly think, but she took a deep breath. “I’d say it was on account of you, and the choices you made together.”
“Well, is that so?” He spit, and a stream of tobacco juice flew out of his mouth. “I say, if you’d just given me what I was after, we could have avoided us a whole lot of unpleasantness. That makes this your fault.”
Elizabeth scrambled in the hay to get up, but he backhanded her. She fell, her head ringing. For a moment, she wasn’t even sure which way was up.
“It’s time we settled this score, you and me.” He began to unbuckle his belt. “I figure, your skin is just as sweet and tender as it looks, and I aim to find out.”
Elizabeth blinked, trying to come to her senses. Nausea rose in her throat, and she swallowed several times. “I don’t think so,” she finally managed.
The loud blast of a pistol rang through the barn, and her attacker staggered backwards before crumpling to the ground. Elizabeth lowered her gun, which she hadn’t even bothered to pull from her pocket—she’d reached in and pulled the trigger, and the bullet flew through the fabric of her dress.
“What on earth . . .” Caroline was the first to enter the barn. “Elizabeth! What happened?”
Elizabeth still sat on the straw, unable to rise. She had been overtaken by a violent case of shaking. “Is he dead?”
Caroline walked over and nudged the man with the toe of her shoe. “I believe he is.”
Tom was next. He paused in the doorway, taking in the scene at a glance. “Good job,” he said to Elizabeth. “That was some impressive shooting.”
“Where’s Adam?” she asked. All she could think about was him.
“He went to the general store to see about getting more nails and lumber before they closed for the night. I’ll go get him.”
“Please stop by the marshal’s office on your way,” Caroline said. “And find Mr. Earp.”
“Will do.” Tom disappeared from sight.
Caroline looked down again at the man on the floor. “We can’t just leave him here—he’s in plain sight of anyone walking past.”
“What will we do with him?” Elizabeth asked.
“Help me. We’ll drag him over here and cover him with straw.”
Elizabeth somehow managed to come to her feet, and grabbed his arms while Caroline grabbed his legs. They pulled him to the corner and covered him up.
“I can’t . . . I can’t believe I’ve killed a man,” Elizabeth said, pressing her hands to her head. Blood pulsed through her brain, and she almost couldn’t hear, it was so loud.
“I don’t see as that you did kill a man,” Caroline said. “I think you killed a very large rodent, and if anyone asks me, that’s what I’ll say.” She came over and put her arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders. “Come inside. I have some lemonade in the kitchen.”
Elizabeth let Caroline wait on her until she heard Adam’s voice in the lobby. Then she ran to him and threw herself in his arms, regardless of who was watching, He held her closely, not making a move to let go until she stepped back.
“Are you all right?” he asked,
looking deeply into her eyes.
“I . . . think I am. Mostly.”
“Nonsense. You’re shaking so badly, you almost look like a blur.” He led her over to a sofa in the corner. “Tom is showing Mr. Earp and Colonel Gordon the barn now. Tell me what happened.” He cradled her cheek in his hand. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here. I never imagined something like this would happen.”
She told him, and he crushed her to his chest again. “Oh, my sweet, brave girl. I’m so proud of you. I’m so, so proud.”
“Would you like me to get your mother? She’s upstairs resting with the baby,” Caroline said from behind her.
“Let me have a moment, please,” Elizabeth said. “If she sees me like this, it will upset her all the more.”
Adam wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. “You did exactly what I hoped you’d be able to do. You’re an amazing, wonderful woman.”
“But I killed him,” Elizabeth said. “I shot him and I killed him.”
“Sweetheart, he was a dangerous man. He was wanted for murder, among many other things. You didn’t just protect yourself—you protected countless other people who might have crossed his path down the road. Think of the lives you saved—think of the virtue you saved.”
Mr. Earp stepped into the hotel, followed by Colonel Gordon. “May we have a word with Miss Caldwell?” he asked.
“Of course. Why don’t we move into my office?” Adam slid his arm around Elizabeth’s waist and helped her up, and they all went into the larger, more comfortable room.
“Miss Caldwell, can you tell us please what happened this evening?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. I was going out to the caretaker’s cottage in the middle of the property. I had just passed the barn when I was grabbed from behind and dragged inside. He . . . the man . . . pushed me into the hay, and then he struck me.” She touched her cheek and winced. There was no mirror nearby to double check, but it felt bruised.
A New Beginning Page 12
