The Golden Bride

by Kimberley Woodhouse

  “I hear there was an incident today …?”

  “Oh?” Knowing full well what he was getting at, she decided to play along.

  “Something about another proposal and a piece of apple pie?” Daniel quirked a brow. Then his lip twitched. It was apparent he was trying to hold back his mirth.

  She tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t hold it. “When he ordered his pie, I don’t think that was how he expected it to be served.”

  Their laughter was comfortable. Daniel took a sip of his coffee and turned serious. “Are you okay?”

  Unsure how to answer that question honestly, Olivia thought back to the last week. Seeing how the men in this town behaved had been eye-opening. They made Hezekiah look like a saint. But it didn’t take her more than thirty minutes to learn how to handle things. If the men wanted to return to Livingston’s Restaurant, they would learn how to behave themselves around her. She was the only female employee there and one of a very small percentage of women in the population. “I’m fine. Truly. You know I receive at least twenty proposals a day. Those I can handle just fine. But I won’t abide the men touching me, and you said I could handle things as I saw fit. The most fitting thing at the moment was for his pie plate to meet his face. If he wants to eat here again, he’ll remember not to grab my arm or put his arm around me.”

  Daniel leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re quite amazing.”

  “Why thank you.” She finished the last few bites on her plate and tried not to giggle when she remembered the man paying for his dinner and apologizing. He wouldn’t even look her in the eye. Word had already spread that there was a woman working at the restaurant. It wouldn’t take long for word to get out about how she handled men who got too forward. That was fine with her. The sooner the men learned to behave themselves, the better.

  “I’m glad you finally got to meet Joseph today.” Daniel’s words interrupted her thoughts.

  “Your friend?” She refrained from describing him as stinky and filthy even though that was her first impression. Most of the men in San Francisco smelled worse and were dirtier. But she also had to suppress the thoughts she’d had about Mr. Sawyer’s eyes. While it was fine and dandy for her to live here with her brother and continue the masquerade day in and day out that she was perfectly normal, inside she knew better. She couldn’t allow herself to have feelings for anyone. Not ever.

  “We’re really working to change things around here. And it’s not easy. But I trust him with my life.”

  “That’s wonderful.” If only he would change the subject. She didn’t want to have any more reasons to be interested in getting to know her brother’s friend.

  Daniel went on to rave about Joseph Sawyer.

  And that didn’t help any. But after Hezekiah, she’d had to put a wall up around her heart. Being impressed by a man wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. She couldn’t let it. Ever. Especially one who needed a bath. Daniel’s friend obviously meant a lot to him, and that meant she would probably see him quite often. She shouldn’t be so judgmental.

  It probably didn’t help that she received all those proposals every day. It was easy to harden her heart toward men, especially the gold miners. They only came back to town for food and entertainment. She hated to think about it. The gambling and drinking were always raucous. Then there were the brothels. Even the thought of it made a shiver race up her spine. How could men do such a thing?

  “I can see your mind is elsewhere.” Daniel’s words cut into her reflections.

  She looked back at his eyes and grimaced. “I’m sorry. My thoughts took off in another direction.”

  He reached across the table and patted her hand. “No. I should be the one apologizing. I can’t believe I introduced you today with the wrong last name. I’m really sorry about that.”

  “No need to apologize. It’s silly really. It’s not like anyone here knows about my marriage to Hezekiah. But I wasn’t a very good wife, so the least I can do is honor my late husband with my name.”

  His brows lowered. “What do you mean you weren’t a good wife?”

  Looking out the window, she let out a long sigh. “Daniel, we’ve been over this. I told you what a negative person I was and that I complained in my thoughts and prayers about my husband all the time. I have to live with the fact that I was a terrible wife.”

  “You didn’t know what kind of man he was. You’d only known him a day.” Daniel’s argument to defend her just wounded her more.

  “That still didn’t give me the right to behave like I did. Don’t you get it? It’s my fault my husband’s dead!” She hadn’t meant it to slip out that way. Over the past week, she’d told her brother about her behavior, hoping that she could build up to the point where she had to be honest about what happened. If she couldn’t forgive herself, how was her brother supposed to?

  “That’s ridiculous, Olivia. Didn’t you tell me that he shot himself in the leg? How are you responsible for that?”

  With an abrupt move, she stood from her seat and picked up her plate. “I can’t talk about this right now. I need to get back to work.”

  “Olivia—”

  She held up a hand. “I need you to understand that I can’t talk about this right now. Maybe not for a long time. So please … let it go.” Turning on her heel, she headed back to the kitchen. Although her brother was a great man, he’d never understand. She was just going to have to live with what she’d done. Forever.

  Early the next morning, Joseph watched the Philadelphia as her crew readied her to sail. Every day it seemed the number of ships coming into San Francisco grew. The city council was meeting in a few days, and he wanted to be prepared with solid information about their plight. If they were going to have any chance at making San Francisco a great city, they had to do something and soon. At least from his point of view.

  Ships stacked into the harbor with no rhyme or reason. The ones trying to come into the bay fought with the ones leaving. Then there were the many ships that had been abandoned as all passengers and crew headed to the gold fields. Those ships were looted for supplies. If they sat long enough, the ships themselves were torn apart for their wood and parts to build something else. Truth be told, their wharf was just one huge rat’s nest.

  The actual city itself was worse. While the city and streets had been planned out, the buildings—if you could even call some of them that—had issues as well. The majority were thrown together willy-nilly with whatever people could grab. Filth and trash were all over the place. Tents crammed every nook and cranny for all the people who didn’t have the funds or time to build a shanty for business or living.

  Crime was prevalent everywhere, and they didn’t have police officers or firemen. But the worst area was around Pacific Street. The gang that called themselves the Hounds occupied that part of town. They were known for their thefts and beating of anyone Chilean, Mexican, or Peruvian.

  Even though Joseph didn’t know about the instances personally, he’d heard far too many stories to discount. Some even said the Hounds had murdered multiple people, but without any government in place, everyone’s hands were tied.

  This was the reason why Joseph had agreed to join the city council. To try to fix the problems. But the longer he investigated, the more he found there was to fix.

  As he walked back up the hill toward town, he debated which item was the most pressing. There wasn’t any way their small council could tackle all the city’s needs in one meeting. They hadn’t accomplished much of anything yet, but he definitely hoped he could change that. What good were they as a city council if they didn’t actually do anything to help the city?

  “Fire!” The shout from behind him made Joseph turn back toward the wharf.

  The Philadelphia was on fire in the bay. In a matter of minutes, flames engulfed it. Joseph watched in horror as crewmen jumped from the ship—many of whom couldn’t swim—to escape the blaze. Their cries for help resounded throughout the other ships. He
ran back to the bay, hoping something could be done. But without organized help of any kind, it was to no avail.

  Flames licked at the sails and masts as smoke billowed into the sky. The ship creaked and tilted on its side. Screams rose from the water.

  Joseph ran as fast as he could toward the dock.

  As the wind picked up over the water, sparks from the fire began to rain on the city. A tent caught fire, but the occupant ran out and poured a bucket of water on it. What could have happened if it had gone unnoticed? What if more sparks ignited fires across the ramshackle city?

  As Joseph digested the chaos surrounding him, he realized the first order of business for their council meeting had to change. If they didn’t address it, San Francisco would be doomed to burn. They weren’t prepared for this, and he could only hope that he could convince the others to see the grave need they faced.

  Out of breath, he reached the end of the dock and removed his shoes and coat. At the moment, he needed to help rescue the men flailing in the water. Praying that the wind would die down so no more fires would be ignited, he resisted the urge to look back at the town and instead focused on the bobbing heads in the water. With a deep breath, he dove into the bay.

  Later that evening, after a bath and change of clothes, Joseph headed to Livingston’s Restaurant with every muscle in his body aching. He’d managed to rescue three men and swim them to shore during the Philadelphia‘s fire, while several of the other crews hauled other men onto their ships. Sadly, four men remained unaccounted for. They most likely drowned, and the thought made his stomach turn. He hadn’t been fast enough to save them all, and not many other men knew how to swim.

  The captain refused to tell what had started the fire and left on another ship barely two hours after the Philadelphia‘s disaster. A few more sparks had ignited small fires around the town, but thankfully, they’d all been caught and put out in time. All of it made Joseph think long and hard about a solution, but he hadn’t come up with one yet.

  Prayerfully, his friend Daniel would have some good suggestions.

  Walking into the restaurant, he spotted Daniel and his sister at their favorite table. He started toward them, and for a moment, he forgot about the matters of the city and watched Miss Livingston—er … Olivia. What had she said was her last name? Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a braid that she’d wrapped up into some sort of knot at the crown of her head. How women did such decorative things with their hair was beyond him, but he found that he really liked it, especially as several curls had loosed themselves and framed her face.

  Her features were animated as she talked to her brother—something he hadn’t seen when they’d first met—and it enchanted him. It helped him think on lighter topics. Something he desperately needed at the moment.

  Daniel spotted him first. “Joseph! How good to see you this evening. Join us, won’t you?”

  He nodded at his friend and then to Olivia. Brighton! That was her name. “Good evening to you both. How are you, Miss Brighton?”

  Her smile diminished a bit. “It’s Mrs. … I’m a widow. But please, you can just call me Olivia.” She took a sip out of her glass. “And I am well. Thank you for asking. I have to admit, I didn’t recognize you at first.”

  Joseph laughed at her straightforward remark and the hint of mischief in her eyes. “If I recall when we met yesterday, I’d just returned from a long journey for your brother and was still covered in layers of dirt from the road. I assure you, had I not been half-starved, I wouldn’t have been seen in public in such a manner. But as you well know, the food here trumps even the need for a bath.”

  Her cheeks tinged pink. “Indeed it does. I apologize—”

  “No need to apologize, Miss”—he stumbled over using the wrong title—”forgive me, Olivia. I was a mess when we met. It should be me who is apologizing to you for being in such a state of disarray.” He gave her a gallant bow and took his seat.

  Her light laughter floated over the table toward him. “It’s nice to hear a gentleman speak.” She leaned back in her chair. “As you can imagine, I don’t get a lot of civilized conversation serving tables in here.”

  Daniel joined in the laughter and put his elbows on the table. He quirked an eyebrow at his sister. “But you do get plenty of proposals of marriage. How many was it today?”

  “Twenty-three. Not counting the young boy who couldn’t have been more than fifteen. Although his was the most romantic of the lot.”

  Joseph felt his eyebrows shoot up. “You receive that many proposals a day?”

  She nodded and tucked her chin, a wry smile on her face. “You should try being the only woman in a restaurant full of men. And I promise I don’t always answer with a plate of pie to the face of my admirer.”

  Daniel stood up and looked at him. “Sorry, Joseph, you look starved. Let me get you some food and coffee.”

  Normally, he would offer to go get his own food, but Joseph wanted the time to talk to Olivia. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He smiled at his friend and turned back to Mrs. Brighton. “I didn’t realize you were a widow. Daniel hadn’t told me. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  She looked away for a moment and spoke toward the window. “Thank you. We weren’t even married two full months. That’s why Daniel misspoke. It hasn’t been that long. He never met Hezekiah.”

  Realizing he’d lost her to her memories, Joseph wished he could do something to put the smile back on her face. A change of subject was in order. “Your brother once told me a story about the two of you picking berries. … ”

  She slowly turned her head back to him with a smirk on her face. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You don’t remember the berry-picking story?” Joseph winked at his friend as he approached.

  “Oh, I think you do.” Daniel set a plate down in front of Joseph and eyed his sister. “It involved me taking a nap and you painting my face purple with the berry juice.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “I was all of six years old, and you were supposed to be watching me, not falling asleep in the sun. Even though Mama scrubbed my hands, they were purple for days after that.”

  Daniel chuckled. “My face was purple for days.”

  Joseph laughed along with the siblings. “I don’t know, my friend. It sounds like you probably deserved it.”

  “Whose side are you on?”

  He shrugged and put a large forkful of potatoes into his mouth.

  “He’s on the right side. That’s what I think.” Olivia smiled at him. A genuine smile that made her blue eyes shine.

  Daniel pointed his coffee cup toward him. “I’ll let it slide this time. But just remember that we’ve been friends a while now. I’m going to need you to stick up for me with Olivia around. You have no idea how difficult it is for me these days.”

  The pathetic look on his friend’s face made Joseph’s grin widen. “If you can’t handle your sweet sister here, then it’s no wonder you haven’t settled down yet.” Their long-standing jokes back and forth with each other about why the other one wasn’t married had kept both of them from getting discouraged.

  “Sweet? She may be sweet, but she’s a spitfire and has quite the wit. I can barely keep up.” Daniel narrowed his eyes. “You need to watch out for this one.”

  Olivia crossed her arms over her chest. “And if you two don’t stop it, you both just might get your pie in your laps rather than across your face.”

  Joseph eyed his friend and tried to contain his humor. But he knew she was capable of it—he’d witnessed her feistiness first hand and had to admit he enjoyed it.

  Daniel winked at him and took a sip of his coffee. Taking a bite of his pie, he held up a hand to his sister like he was swearing a vow. “I’ll behave, I promise.”

  “Good. It’s about time.” She turned her gaze to Joseph and raised an eyebrow.

  “Me too.” Joseph nodded at her. The light conversation and unwinding with friends had been soothing to his sou
l, but the events of today came back to his mind in a tumble of emotions and weighed him down. In that moment he saw the faces of the men in the water … crying out for help. Their cries filled his ears. He looked down at his plate and tried to make the images and sounds disappear.

  “You look like you’ve got something on your mind. Anything I can do to help?” His friend’s face turned serious.

  Looking down at his food, Joseph wasn’t sure how to express it without just laying it out and being honest with his friends. He took a deep breath and let it out. “The Philadelphia caught fire as she was leaving today. It spread so quickly that many of the crew jumped overboard to escape the blaze.” He fidgeted with his coffee cup. “Most of those men couldn’t swim. I tried to help …”

  Olivia gasped and put her napkin to her lips. “Oh my. Were you able to rescue them?”

  “A few. But four men are missing. They’re believed to be drowned.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” His friend’s expression had turned grave. “It’s a good thing you were there to help. I don’t think too many people know how to swim.”

  Joseph shook his head. “I know you’re right, but it’s still hard to think that I could have done more. And it’s more than just the sailors in the water. You should have seen the sparks raining down on the town. Several small fires started from those sparks, but thankfully people got them out quickly.”

  Daniel nodded. “I think we all know the disaster we would have if a large fire started in town, but people just ignore it. We’ve grown from a few hundred people to tens of thousands of people in just a few short months. Is there anything the city council could do? Anything we can do to help?”

  Joseph leaned back in his chair and placed his napkin on the table. He swiped a hand through his hair. “I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon. We’ve got to do something, but you know the resistance I’ve had to deal with. The council is brand new. Everyone has their own ideas about what the most important needs are. General Riley has had to deal with the same things as the governor of the territory. The violence keeps escalating, we don’t have a real government, and more and more prospectors arrive daily. He has to deal with deserters too. All because of gold.”