Crimson Palace (26 page)

A huge, drooping mustache nearly covered his mouth. Would she ever forget the feel of those whiskers on her flesh, those tantalizing lips caressing her most secret places? How she longed to hear that slightly rasping, sensual voice just one more.

"She’s coming home, my darling. Our Jenna’s coming home at last. Oh, how I wish you were here with me to greet her. I wouldn’t be so nervous if you were here by my side."

She ran her hands nervously down her skirt, smoothing imaginary wrinkles.

"Jenna’s been gone so long", she thought. "What will she think of her mother? Have I gotten so old that she will shrink from me? Will she think me ugly now that I’m beginning to wrinkle?"

At forty-one, Shinonn was still a very striking woman. Still slim, with dramatic streaks of gray in her jet black hair, she had no idea how truly beautiful she still was. She wore her hair pulled back in a sleek chignon, which only served to accentuate the dramatic silvering of her hair and bring attention to her exquisite sapphire eyes. She wore no make-up, her thick, double row of lashes causing a far more dramatic effect than any amount of mascara could.

After the death of her beloved husband, she had turned from her crimson gowns, choosing instead to wear only black. But, in memory of Lincoln’s preference to the color, she always managed to wear red somewhere in her costume. She might have a red silk flower tucked into her chignon, or draped a gauzy red flowered scarf across her shoulders. She had dozens of pairs of red gloves and red shoes. Today she clutched a red handkerchief in her nervous fingers.

Glancing up at the sound of the door from Alex’s office closing, she smiled tentatively as he came to her side.

"I can’t persuade you to come with us to the station?"

"I want to, Alex, but I just can’t. I’m nervous enough as it is. I’m afraid I’d fall apart completely when she steps off that train and embarrass us both. Besides, there’s a million things to check on for the party."

"Now you know Maud has everything under control Why, she’s even sending Clay and Ned with me, said she doesn’t need them or anyone else getting in her way today."

"Just the same, I feel more sure of myself here at the Crimson Palace. You go on and bring my baby home to me."

"I’d better get moving then. Garrett is down there with the Turner boys, chomping on the bit to go get his sister."

Alex, knowing from experience that once Shinonn made her mind up nothing would change it, left for the carriage that waited outside.

It was only right that Maud’s boys would be at the station to greet Jenna, Shinonn thought. She remembered how close the three children had been before Jenna was sent away to school in Boston.

Since they all three had to fight the stigma of their mothers’ working at the Crimson Palace, they had banded together to form a tight partnership.

Poor little Jenna. How she had suffered her classmates taunts from the first day she started school, even in Virginia City. The other children’s smirks and cruel remarks tore at the child.

Shinonn had hoped the teasing would stop when they moved to Reno, believing that by leaving behind the bordello they would also leave behind the ugly reputation that went with it. But she soon realized that children had an innate sense of where another child’s vulnerability lay. So, instead of calling her a whore’s daughter, they found other painful words to use.

Clay and Ned fared little better than Jenna. Clay, bigger than most boys his age and several years older than Jenna and his brother, became their defender. It wasn’t long before the bullies learned to avoid him.

Always quick tempered and not afraid to stand up to the toughest roughneck, hardly a day went by without him coming home completely disheveled from his latest fight.

Shinonn remembered Jenna’s last day of school in Reno vividly. She had dressed her daughter in a pretty pink gingham frock. Over the dress she had tied a freshly starched white eyelet pinafore. She had brushed Jenna’s long, black hair until it glistened in the sunshine, then wove it into long braids. The finishing touch had been pink ribbons that matched the color of her dress perfectly.

She remembered how pleased Jenna had been as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Pink was her very favorite color.

What a sorry sight the poor child had been that afternoon. The three children had come straggling down the street, Jenna wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, her pretty pinafore smudged with dirt and torn at the waist. Clay’s arm was wrapped protectively around her shoulders. Ned’s feet dragged, his head hung down, his eyes never leaving the ground, as he trailed along behind his brother and Jenna.

And poor Clay! Although it was clear that he was Jenna’s protector, the pathetic child looked like he needed protection even more than she. His hair, always slightly unruly, was a mass of tangles. One shirt sleeve hung in tattered shreds. There were rips in his pants. Blood oozed from a cut on his cheek and it was obvious he would have a classic black eye come morning.

It was Mei Jung who first saw the bedraggled trio as they walked toward their homes.

"My babies, my babies! What happen?" she wailed as she came running to them.

Jenna’s tears flowed even harder. Clay’s expression grew darker yet.

"I want my mama," Jenna cried through a hiccup.

Mei Jung quickly herded the three unhappy children into the house. After washing dirty faces and fingers, she sat them all down to milk and cookies in the kitchen. Gradually she learned the story of Jenna’s most recent humiliation.

After learning the full extent of Jenna’s ordeal, she ordered the children to stay in the house while she went to the Crimson Palace for Shinonn. She left the house, treading firmly, face set in a ferocious frown.

"It just lucky Clay got to her when he did, misses. That boy, he try to do bad things to my baby."

Shinonn’s face was white after she learned that the taunts had progressed from mere words, progressing to a physical attack on her daughter.

"But she’s only ten years old! What kind of an animal would try touching a child like that?"

"Jenna, she say the boy told her she should do what her own mama always did for men. He say that all she good for."

Alex stood just inside the open office doorway, listening to Mei Jung’s account.

"This can’t go on, Shinonn. We’ve got to protect her."

"But how? She’s got to go to school, Alex."

"Maybe if you went to the school and talked to the principal."

"That pompous goat? If you’ll remember, he was one of the town leaders who tried to close down all the gambling halls in last year’s election, said they were all dens of iniquity, Satan’s tools, and those who ran them should be run out of town. Do you really expect any help from him?"

"How about a private school then? Lord knows, we’ve got enough money to send her to the finest school in the country."

Shinonn felt a stab of pain in her heart at the mere thought of sending her beautiful, loving daughter away.

And yet, what alternative did she have? Could she ever justify selfishly keeping Jenna at her side, exposing her daily to unspeakable dangers and humiliation?

"I know of a very fine school in Boston where my brother lives. No one would ever have to know what kind of business you’re in. She would have the chance to be like all the other girls for once in her life,"

Alex suggested.

"Boston! I can’t even imagine where Boston is! How can I send my baby so far away?"

"It’s just a suggestion, Shinonn. I suppose we could find a school in San Francisco. But I think she would be better off living further away from Reno than that. I’ve heard that the school in Boston offers the best possible education for young ladies. And I can’t think of a safer place for her."

"Impossible. Oh, Alex! What am I going to do?"

"I go with her, misses. I take my baby to Boston, take good care of her. You never have to worry if Mei Jung with Jenna."

Although her heart was breaking, Shinonn knew she had no other choice. Within a week all the arrangements had been made and Jenna was on her way to that strange, far away place, Boston, Massachusetts.

And now, here it was, eight years later and Jenna was finally coming home. With one last, longing look at the portrait of her husband, Shinonn descended the stairs and headed toward the dining room. She knew she need not inspect Maud’s territory, yet she felt compelled to see for herself that each minute detail had been attended to.

She stepped into the private, intimate room Maud had chosen for the welcome home party and saw that nothing could be improved upon. Maud fluttered around the table, straightening a knife here, refolding a napkin there. Her critical eye inspected the floral centerpiece for perhaps the hundredth time.

"Everything looks beautiful, Maud. I’m sure she’ll be pleased."

"Does she like roses, Mrs. Bradley? Do you think I should have used the white ones?"

"No, pink is her favorite color. I’m sure she’ll love these."

Maud beamed with pleasure. She knew how anxious her employer was that this party be perfect.

Shinonn stood looking at the floral arrangement for a moment, leaning over to make a slight adjustment to one of the blooms.

Pink used to be her favorite color. She wondered if it still was. A sudden sadness overcame her when she realized that she didn’t even know what her daughter’s favorite flower was. It wasn’t fair. All these years when they could have been together, lost because of other people’s evil minds.

She thought of the many letters she had written Jenna over the years and those she had received. She treasured each and every one of them, yet they could never replace the time lost. Could they rebuild the relationship that they once had?

When Jenna had first gone to Boston she had written nearly every day. At first her letters, written in her childish scrawl, were filled with her loneliness, her fears. But soon she began to tell of her new friends and adventures. She told of visiting the beautiful homes of her friends and how pleasant it was meeting their families.

As she grew older, her childish scrawl was replaced with a neat, delicate handwriting. But as her penmanship improved, Shinonn noted a withdrawing of the intimacy she had come to expect from her daughter’s letters. Now the letters came once a week, always on the same day of the week. It became obvious to Shinonn that these letters were written more out of a sense of duty than love.

Shinonn tried to bridge the gap she felt widening between herself and her daughter by writing chatty, humorous letters, relating amusing stories about the customers and employees of the casino. And she wrote of her longing for Jenna’s return.

For Jenna’s fifteenth birthday she had even suggested that she return for the summer, a suggestion that was quickly refused. Jenna had been invited to spend the summer with her best friend’s family at their beach house and wanted more than anything to accept. Reluctantly, Shinonn agreed, so long as Mei Jung would be there to chaperone.

Now that the time of her daughter’s return had finally come, Shinonn was terrified that the girl who would step through that door would be a total stranger. How could mere words on scraps of paper keep their love alive?

Shinonn noted with satisfaction that the table had been set for seven. When she had first begun planning this homecoming party Maud had balked at her own invitation.

"You don’t have the kitchen help sitting down to your table, Mrs. Bradley. It ain’t right for me and my boys to be at Miss Jenna’s party."

"Maud Turner! When will you ever get it out of your head that you don’t belong in the kitchen? You’re the best restaurant manager in the city and more than that, you and your boys are part of our family.

Don’t you be trying to get out of your responsibilities with the people who love you. Now, no more arguments, hear?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Bradley. We’ll be here if that’s what you want."

"And will you ever stop calling me, ‘Mrs. Bradley’? Why can’t I be just plain Shinonn to you?"

"I thank you for your kindness, but it just don’t seem right. I know you mean well, but I just can’t do it."

"Mother! She’s here!" Garrett’s excited voice broke into their conversation.

Suddenly the room was filled with happy young people. Ned and Garrett burst into the room first, laughing together as if they were enjoying the same joke. And then Shinonn heard her daughter’s laughter as she entered with Clay, her hand tucked into his arm.

How beautiful she had become. And how tall! At five foot eight, she stood nearly two inches above her mother. Her long straight hair had been coiled neatly beneath a broad brimmed straw hat on which burgundy and blue flowers nestled in a froth of blue netting. She appeared completely grown in her tailored dress of burgundy, gray and blue stripes. The tailored bodice and gored skirt accentuated a perfectly formed female figure.

A lovely young woman stood before Shinonn, but the mother saw only the child who had departed so many years before. The same blue eyes sparkled with excitement. The same sensitive mouth smiled.

Shinonn forgot all her worries and threw her arms around her daughter, kissing her on both cheeks. As they embraced she suddenly felt the girl’s muscles tighten involuntarily as she pulled away from her mother ever so slightly.

"It’s so good to see you again, mother. My, you’ve hardly changed at all, from what I can remember. Of course, the last picture you sent me is just a year or two old, isn’t it?" The words sounded strained, but very polite. The tone was one that might be used with a very distant relative.

All we need is a little time to get to know each other again, Shinonn thought. Of course she feels strange with me, why wouldn’t she after all these years? That’s all she needs, a little time.

"Oh, are we having a party here at the casino?" Jenna looked around the room at the table, so beautifully set for dinner. "Have you moved back to the casino again?" There was no mistaking the note of disdain in her voice this time.

Alex and Garrett exchanged quick glances in the hush that followed Jenna’s question. Shinonn’s lips tightened at the girl’s obvious disapproval of her surroundings.