“She was genuinely upset. I saw her little girl. How could I not believe her?”
“Are you going to ask Mr. Morgan if her story is true?”
“I don’t want to see him. I’d only cry and make a fool of myself. And besides, I promised Lillian I wouldn’t say a word.”
“That so?” Takisha got a skeptical look on her face. “Her story sounds more than a little odd to me.”
“I just want to leave San Francisco, soon as I can.”
“You’re not thinking of going home, are you?”
Letty knew the answer immediately. Takisha’s comforting presence had given her strength and cleared her head. No more tears. She had no intention of wallowing in self pity. Why had she come to California in the first place? To her shame, she’d let her romance with Garth distract her from the whole purpose of her being here. She should have been thinking of Charles, not dallying in a love affair. “I’m not going home. I’m going to Empire to look for my brother.”
* * * *
Next morning, when Letty’s hired carriage pulled to a stop at Fitzpatrick’s General Store, Thomas himself was out front loading a wagon. His eyes lit when he saw her. “Miss Tinsley! Sure and you’re a sight for sore eyes this morning. What brings you here at this early hour?”
“Good morning, Mr. Fitzpatrick. I need a ride to Empire. Is your offer still good?”
The store owner grinned. “I’ll be glad to take you to Empire, but what of Mr. Morgan? Didn’t he say—?”
“Mr. Morgan won’t be coming with me.” She fought off the surge of anguish that welled in her throat. “I’m going alone.”
“Well then, of course I’ll take you.” Thomas’s brow creased with worry. “It’s not often I have a pretty lady like you by my side, and I’ll enjoy that, but I must warn you it’s not an easy journey.”
“And why is that?”
“The thing is, you won’t find a nice, comfortable road all the way. First, we take a boat up the San Joaquin River to Stockton. Soon after that, we’re in the mountains where the trails are too steep for wagons, so from the boat we load our goods onto mules and ride horses the rest of the way. I dunno if a refined lady like you is up to such a journey.”
“How long will it take?”
“A few days. If all goes well, less than week.”
Letty smiled. “Mr. Fitzpatrick, I’ve just crossed the Isthmus of Panama, half by a dugout canoe, half by pack train. I’ve dealt with scorpions, lizards, spiders and native boatmen who wore not a stitch of clothing. I’ve eaten baked monkey and God knows what else, and I’ve seen a woman eaten by a crocodile. You think I can’t handle your little jaunt to Empire?”
Thomas chuckled. “Well said, Miss Tinsley. We leave in an hour. Go pack and bring warm clothes. The mountains are cold at night, you know.”
Back at the hotel, Letty packed her bag and said good-bye to Takisha. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. It all depends on what I find out about Charles and what I should do with his claim. I will be back, though, soon as I can. Are you sure you have enough money?”
“Don’t you worry about me, Miss Letty.” Takisha scowled. “I don’t like you going up to that mining town all by yourself. You sure you don’t want me to come along?”
“Thanks, but no. You have your own life now.” Letty hoped she sounded convincing. She’d feel so much better if Takisha were coming along. She hadn’t realized how much until now.
Takisha asked, “What about Mr. Morgan?”
“What about him?”
“He’s been good to you. At least you ought at to leave him a note.”
It hadn’t dawned on her, but of course she should. She was eager to leave but took the time to write a short message. When finished, she sealed the envelope and handed it to Takisha. “Give this to him if he comes by.” With a careless shrug she added, “If what Lillian said was true, he’ll just laugh and throw it away.”
“That’s not so, Miss Letty. Deep in your heart, you know it’s not. Mr. Morgan loves you, and he’s gonna come after you. You can count on it.”
* * * *
Garth couldn’t have been in a better mood when he pulled his carriage to a stop in front of the Golden Phoenix. His trip to San Jose had paid off handsomely. Workers were flocking to that city’s newly opened quicksilver mine. Their need for a place to stay fit his plans to build his next hotel there. He reached for the small package beside him, a present for Letty he’d just purchased at Shreve’s Jewelry on Montgomery Street. The emerald and diamond earbobs had cost a pretty penny, but no matter. He’d bought gifts for women before—Lillian was always demanding some trinket or other—but never had he found such pleasure in giving. Mother would be astonished. He loved Letty so much he wanted to shower her with whatever she wished for, whether it was fancy clothes, jewelry or anything else. And he found great pleasure in doing so. She loved him! Said she’d marry him! He was entering the hotel. What would his employees think if he gave a delighted whoop and danced a little jig? He did no such thing, of course, although he’d seriously like to.
He could hardly wait to see her again. At her door, he knocked and waited, gift in hand. A chambermaid answered. “Is she here?” he asked.
She shook her head. “The lady is gone.”
“Gone downstairs?”
“No, gone.”
With a lurch of his heart, he entered the room and looked around. Luggage gone. Closet empty. Dressing table bare. “Do you know where she went?”
The maid shrugged and shook her head.
Garth spun on his heel, left the room, and went to Mathew’s office, next to his on the top floor. He found his employee at his desk, bending over a ledger. “What’s happened to Miss Tinsley?”
Mathew looked up at him, apology written all over his face. “I told her not to go, Mr. Morgan. I said—”
“Where?” He’d raised his voice. He didn’t care.
“She had me take her back to the Franklin Hotel. Her and all her luggage.”
“Did she say why?”
Mathew nervously moistened his lips. “She hardly said anything, just that she wanted to leave.”
Without a word, he left Mathew’s office, fighting an urge to punch his fist through the wall. He must get to the Franklin. Talk to Letty. Find out what the hell had gone wrong.
At the Franklin, he found Elfreda in her room. When she let him in, his first words were, “Where is she?” Already he had a sinking feeling. He didn’t like the way Letty’s maid was looking at him, eyes brimming with sympathy.
She heaved a sigh. “Miss Letty’s gone. I tried to stop her, but she can be mighty stubborn when she wants to.”
“Did she say where she was going?”
“I’m not supposed to say. She gave me this to give to you.” Elfreda handed him an envelope. Swiftly he tore it open.
Dear Garth,
I have decided it’s best we part. I’m sorry for any grief this might cause you, but I have my reasons. Please don’t try to find me. Know that I wish you well in everything you do.
Letty
He’d lost her. A wave of despair welled inside him. With an effort, he forced his next words through tightly clenched teeth. “What was her reason for this? Can you tell me anything?”
“I wish I could, Mr. Morgan. You know I’ve always liked you. I told her she was crazy to listen to—” Elfreda clamped her mouth shut.
Garth crumpled the note and tossed it away. He must pull himself together. Above all else, he had his pride to maintain. “Thank you, Elfreda. You’ve been very kind.”
“My name’s Takisha now. It’s the name I was born with in Africa. Not that it matters to you right now.”
“Takisha,” he slowly repeated. “I’ll remember that.” He reached to clasp her shoulder. “Good for you. Of course it matters. I wish you well.”
Where had Letty gone? Why had she done this? As Garth returned to the Golden Phoenix, his thoughts flew in a hu
ndred different directions but kept returning to the most troubling. Lillian. He had no reason to believe his ex-mistress had anything to do with Letty’s leaving. All the same, he would talk to her the minute he got back.
When he went to Lillian’s suite of rooms, he found her gazing into her dressing table mirror. She had her faults, but he had to give her credit for looking absolutely smashing in a green satin gown, her red hair swept up high to reveal her swan-like neck.
“So you’re back from San Jose,” she said, not bothering to turn and face him. “Did you take your new love along?”
“She’s gone.”
“Really?” She glanced around. “You mean your little bird has flown the coop?”
He wasn’t about to reveal the extent of his desperation. “Have you been talking to her?”
“Why would I?” Lillian peered into her mirror and busied herself arranging her ringlets. “So she’s missing?”
“Did you have something to do with this? I know you. You’re as sly as a fox, and I wouldn’t put such deceitful behavior past you.”
She fluttered her eyelids, all shocked and resentful. “How could you say such a thing? You’ve already broken my heart, now this?”
He gave a derisive sniff. “You don’t look as if your heart’s broken.”
She turned to face him again. “Honestly, Garth, I’ve never talked to the woman. I have no idea why she left.”
“All right, Lillian.” He didn’t believe her, but what could he do?
She got a flirty twinkle in her eyes. “If you need a shoulder to cry on, I’m available. Perhaps dinner tonight?”
His stomach turned at the thought. “Not tonight.” Not ever.
He returned to his suite, a sense of hopeless futility pounding through him. Damn it, Lillian had something to with this, but what? And where had Letty gone? He poured himself a double slug of brandy and gulped it down.
Chapter 18
So this was the mining town of Empire. As the pack train moved along the main street, Letty sat in her saddle gawking at everything she passed. Charles had described the place in detail, but nothing could have prepared her for this rough-and-ready mining town with wooden boardwalks for sidewalks, muddy streets, and half the buildings looking like they were made of canvas and spit. Men in working clothes, some carrying picks and shovels, swarmed everywhere. Along with banks, blacksmith shops and stores of every sort, an endless number of wide-open saloons lined both sides of the street, all with music blasting out the front. “I never imagined a place like this,” she said to Thomas, who rode next to her.
“It’s a wide open town, practically lawless. That’s why I left.” The Irishman shook his head with regret. “I sure hate to leave you here alone.”
“It’s quite all right,” she reassured him yet again. His visit to Empire was simply to deliver mining equipment. He hadn’t planned to stay. “If you can show me to that boarding house you mentioned, I’ll be fine.”
“I suspect you will,” he answered, admiration in his eyes. “When I first came to Empire I stayed at Mrs. Del Vechio’s, and so did Charles. She’s from Alabama, I believe. She’s an honest woman, but I should warn you, she’s got her little quirks.”
“What sort of quirks does she have?”
“One thing for sure, you’d better pay your rent on time or out you go. As for the rest, ’tis best you find out for yourself.”
Some kind of ruckus was taking place in the front yard when they reached a large, two-story, wooden house just off the main street. Like most of the structures on the block, it had a rickety, hastily built appearance. A crooked, wooden sign nailed to the front porch railing announced, “Mrs. Del Vechio’s Boarding House.” In the muddy front yard, a man with a scraggly beard was picking himself off the ground. Standing over him, a scrawny-looking woman in a soiled apron, gray hair pinned in a sloppy bun, stood berating him. One of her cheeks bulged. Her face was deeply lined, although she didn’t appear to be that old. “You can get your things when you pay me my rent,” she was yelling. “Don’t come back ’til you can.”
Thomas raised a hand in greeting. “Mrs. Del Vechio, do you remember me?”
“Well, if it isn’t the Irishman!” As the unfortunate man who hadn’t paid his rent slunk away, the boarding house owner lost her scowl. “It’s good to see you again, you rascal. How’s the world been treating you?” She shifted something in her mouth from one side to the other.
“A lot better since I left this hellish place and went to San Francisco.” Thomas turned to Letty, who’d slid from her horse and stood quietly waiting. “I’m wondering if you’d have a room for this young lady. She’s needin’ a place to stay.”
Suspicion clouded Mrs. Del Vechio’s thin, worn face. She gazed at Letty with probing eyes. “That depends on why she’s here. No woman of ill repute will ever set so much as a foot in my house.” With a firm jerk of her head she added, “That lets out nearly every female who lives in this wicked, loathsome town.”
Thomas chuckled. “Haven’t changed your opinion of the place, I see. Well, you’ve nothing to worry about. This is Miss Letitia Tinsley, Charles Tinsley’s sister. She’s come to search for him.”
“Charles’s sister? Well, I’ll be damned.” The landlady’s expression softened. “Come all the way from Boston?”
Letty nodded. “I had to see for myself.”
“I don’t know that you’ll find anything, being as he’s likely dead.”
Thomas winced and broke in quickly. “We can’t know that for sure, Mrs. Del Vechio. Didn’t Charles stay here for a time?”
“He kept a room here, but after he found gold, he liked to stay in a tent up on his claim.” Her lip curled with disgust. “Without a gun, I might add. How stupid was that? I warned him, and I warned him, but did he listen? Ha! I was right. Look what happened.”
Letty asked, “What did you warn him about?”
“How dangerous it was. These days there’re thieves and robbers all over the place who’d just as soon kill you as not.” Again she shifted whatever was in her mouth. “Ordinarily I rent three or four to a room, but you’ll need a room to yourself. That’ll cost extra.” She turned her head and spit a huge, dark colored wad of something disgusting into the mud not far from Letty’s shoes. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Ugh, chewing tobacco. Letty’s stomach cringed. She swallowed hard and smiled. “That’ll be just fine. I’ll be glad to pay extra. Thank you, Mrs. Del Vechio.”
“Think nothing of it. Any friend of Charles is a friend of mine, and that includes his sister.” The landlady pulled a small can from her apron pocket, opened it, and took a pinch of a dark substance from inside. She held out the can to Letty. “Care for a dip? Copenhagen’s got a smooth, hickory flavor.”
“Uh…no thanks.”
“No? Well, you ought to try it sometime. You probably will if you stay here long enough. Let’s get inside.”
Letty said her sad good-byes to Thomas. She’d grown fond of him on the journey to Empire. They’d become fast friends, and she hated to see him go. Now she’d be friendless and alone in a town completely different from anything she’d ever known. After the pack train moved on, she followed her new landlady into the boarding house with dragging feet. This is for Charles, she kept telling herself. She must keep her spirits up because at this very moment, in this strange place, in this decrepit boarding house run by this outlandish woman, she yearned for home. What wouldn’t she give if she could spend but an hour with Mother, Millicent, and her funny little brother!
By the time Mrs. Del Vechio was leading her down the hallway to see her room, Letty had got past her despairing moment. To make friendly conversation, she called, “Do you like living here in Empire?”
The older woman looked back over her shoulder. “Are you joking? Before we come here, we lived in the Appalachian Mountains. Our home wasn’t much, but I liked it just fine. Then Ben—that’s my husband—heard about the
Gold Rush. Had to come. Thought he was going to get rich, so he sold everything to get here. Ha! What a waste.”
“He hasn’t found gold?”
“He hasn’t found anything. He’s dead, the fool.”
“Oh, dear, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Mrs. Del Vechio stopped in her tracks and turned to face her. “He staked his claim and worked dawn to dusk every day, standing in ice water up to his waist, shoveling the whole damn river bottom into his sluice box.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Did he find any gold? No. Did he catch pneumonia and die? Yes, and left me stranded in this miserable town to fend for myself.”
“So you don’t think much of Empire?”
“How did you guess? Of course I could get married again if I wanted.”
“Is that right?” Letty concealed her astonishment. Who would have this sloppy, uncouth woman who chewed tobacco?
“Honey, those of the female persuasion are so scarce around here, the ugliest woman in the world would be treated like a queen. I could get dozens of proposals if I had a mind to.”
Letty made no comment.
They got to the end of the hall where the landlady opened the door to a small, cold room furnished with a narrow bed, chest-of-drawers, and nothing else, not even a rug on the floor. “Fifty dollars a week. Take it or leave it.”
The price was outrageous, but she wasn’t going to complain. Charles. She must keep thinking of her lost brother and how she was going to find him. “I’ll take it.”
“Mind the rent’s due every Monday. If you don’t pay, out you go.”
By the time Letty unpacked her bag and tidied up, it was time for dinner. Leaving her room and starting down the narrow hall, she had second thoughts. She’d never eaten in a boarding house before. Judging from the raucous sound of men’s voices coming from the dining room, maybe she’d better hide in her room, find something to eat later. But no, she wouldn’t hide like a coward. And besides, she was famished.
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