Xenia’s Renegade (18 page)

Sassy laughed. “Guess I can’t.”

Their voices began to fade as they went down the hall.

Lil took a deep breath and waited a few minutes. She then opened the door and stepped out. The hall was empty, so she walked as quietly as she could toward the back stairs.

Sassy Sue’s voice stopped her. “Where are you going dressed like that, Little Lil?”

Lil turned around and swallowed. She’d already decided what she’d say in the event someone saw her leaving. Without letting Sassy Sue see how scared she was she said, “I’m taking a dress to Miss Hubbard.”

Sassy Sue frowned. “But you have a valise with you.”

Seymour stuck his head out of the office door. “What’s going on?”

“Little Lil is going out dressed like a ranch wife and carrying a valise. Looks like she might be trying to run away.”

He looked at her. “Are you running away, Little Lil?”

“No.” Her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid they’d hear it. “I was taking the dress to be mended by Miss Hubbard like you told me to do. I thought dressing down would make her more receptive of my visit. I didn’t want to carry it over my arm, so I put it in the valise.”

Sassy Sue shook her head. “Likely story.”

“I did tell her to take the dress to be fixed and I don’t think she’s smart enough to make up a story like that.”

“You want me to check in the valise?” Sassy Sue asked.

He nodded.

Lil wondered if she could run down the hall and the stairs before one of them caught her.

A gunshot followed by a scream came from one of the rooms down the hall.

Seymour and Sassy Sue turned and ran toward the room

Lil took advantage of the interruption and ran for the stairs. She didn’t slow down until she was halfway to the general store. Because her side began to hurt, she slowed her pace, but continued to hurry toward the store. She hoped she wasn’t so late that Hiram had left without her. But she felt she had to listen to the rest of the conversation between Seymour and Sassy Sue without interrupting them. She felt sorry for Seymour’s nieces, but at this moment she had to concentrate on her own life. She’d tell Hiram about what was said later, and he could decide if they should do anything about it.

She was still amazed Hiram had asked her to come with him, though she had no idea where he was going. Maybe he’d accepted a job as a bartender in another town. She hoped so. Even if he wanted her to work with him as a saloon girl, it couldn’t be as bad as working for Seymour Longstreet and being bossed around by the other women—especially Sassy Sue. The few months she’d worked in the Golden Door had been the most miserable of her life. Hiram’s friendship had been the one thing that had kept her from overdosing on some of the medicine the girls were given when they didn’t feel well, or from jumping off the roof where she often went to be away from all the terrible things going on in the saloon. 

The general store came in view and her heart plummeted. Hiram was nowhere in sight. Did he give up on her and leave? Had he decided not to take her with him? If he had, what was she going to do? Where could she go?

She slowed her gait, but continued on as she talked to herself. “Don’t panic, Lily Maynard. Maybe Hiram was delayed. He did say he had some business to take care of. Continue to the store and don’t give up. You might even consider saying a prayer.”

But would God listen to her prayer? When she was little, her mother told her God forgave all sins. But after her mother died, God was never mentioned in her house again. Her father said if God cared anything about them, he wouldn’t have taken his wife away. He then said he never wanted to hear God’s name anymore. And he didn’t. Lily, the youngest of her six siblings was brought up by her older sister, who was as bitter and mean as her father. She didn’t try to help eighteen-year-old Lily when her father dragged her off and gave her to Seymour Longstreet to settle his debt. Her four brothers had trickled away as soon as they could. She’d heard one of them had been killed in gunfight and another had ended up in prison for robbing a bank. She had no idea what happened to the other two.

Reaching the store, Lil wasn’t sure what she should do. There was a bench, but would somebody run her off if she sat down?

A woman and a little boy walked up to the door. To Lil’s surprise, the woman smiled at her, then hurried her son inside. This small action made Lil feel good. Was it possible that the woman thought she was a regular person and not Little Lil from the Golden Door Saloon? She was so engrossed with these thoughts that she didn’t notice the man who walked up beside her.

Hiram was surprised and almost didn’t recognize Lil. She looked absolutely beautiful in the green dress with the white flowers. He wanted to tell her so, but he didn’t dare say what he really thought. “My goodness, Lil, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

She whirled around. “You didn’t leave me.”

He looked puzzled. “Of course not, but I was afraid you might get tired of waiting on me and go back to the saloon.”

She had a serious look. “I would never go back there.”

“Me, neither. I’m sorry if I kept you waiting. I was tied up longer than I thought I’d be.”

“I was late myself. That’s why I thought you’d left without me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” He walked up beside her, picked up her valise, and offered her his arm. “Let’s get off Main Street. I don’t want someone telling Longstreet where we are and have him come looking for us. I don’t want him to know I’ve left the saloon for good until it starts to get busy and he misses me.”

She took his arm. “Where are we going, Hiram?”

“I want to show you something.”

“What?”

“A building.”

She wrinkled her brow. “I thought we were leaving town.”

He shook his head, but didn’t say anything about leaving. Instead, he couldn’t help saying, “By the way, you look nice in that pretty green dress, Lil. It matches your eyes.”

She blushed. “Thank you, Hiram, but could you call me Lily instead of Lil? Seymour shortened it to Lil when Pa brought me to the saloon. He said it’d make it easier for the customers to remember me. I’ve never liked it shortened like that.”

“Since you feel that way, of course I’ll call you Lily. It suits you better anyway, and I have to say you look more like a Lily in that dress. You should always wear that kind of clothes.”

“I’d like to do that. I’ve never been comfortable in the kind of dresses Seymour made us wear.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you much liked working for Seymour. I’m sorry you had to do it.”

“I hated it, Hiram. All I ever wanted in life was to meet a nice man, get married, and look after him and the children we’d have. I never wanted to be a saloon woman, but I didn’t have a choice. Pa didn’t care what I wanted. All I was to him was a way to pay off his debt since he said Longstreet wouldn’t take my sister. He said I was prettier. Now, I’ll never have anything any better.”

Hiram’s heart was touched by her words, but he didn’t know what to say. Instead, he changed the subject. “There’s a building about two blocks beyond the bank I’d like for you to see. Do you mind walking that far?”

“No, I don’t mind.”

As they neared the vacant building, Hiram couldn’t hide his excitement. “I can’t wait to see inside.”

“I’d like to see in it, too. I’ve often wondered what this was going to be.”

“When Robert Rathbone gave me the key, he said it was supposed to be a new hotel in town, but the man who owned the building fell sick. He decided to sell the place with everything he’d already put inside.”

“Who’s Robert Rathbone?”

“The banker.”

“Oh.”

He unlocked the door and stood aside for her to go in front of him.

“Oh, my.” She whirled around. “It looks nice in here. Look at those pretty colored windows and how the light shines through them.”

He smiled because he was looking at her, not the windows. She looked so pretty spinning around in that green dress. Not like a saloon girl at all. More like a woman a man would want for a wife. One who would take care of his children and have a good supper when he came in from work. He shook his head. Where in the world did that thought come from?

She turned sideways and looked at him. “You don’t like the windows?”

He brought his thoughts back to the present. “Oh, yes. I like them fine.” He took her arm and led her across the room. He placed her valise on the bottom step. “The widows are pretty, but look at that staircase. I like the way it winds up to the second floor.”

“This would have been a beautiful hotel, Hiram! It’s so fancy.” When he said nothing, she added, “Are you thinking about using it for something?”

He nodded. “What do you think of the name Blooming Cactus Saloon?”

Lil stared at him.

He could tell she was surprised, but there was another look behind her eyes. Was it disappointment? Fear? Disgust?

He wasn’t sure what to say and for some strange reason he came out with, “I guess I could call it something else.”

She shook his hand from her arm. “It doesn’t matter what you call it, it’ll still be a saloon.”

“But it’s going to be a different kind of saloon.” He didn’t know why he felt he had to defend the fact he was going into the saloon business to her. “I’ll never have a place like Seymour Longstreet has. It’ll be a classy place.”

Anger blazed in her eyes. “And you thought I’d be a classy whore for your new classy saloon. That’s why you asked me to come with you. I thought…I thought…” She burst into tears.

Hiram instinctively folded his arms around her around her. He held her tight even when she tried to wiggle free. “Don’t cry, Lily. You’re not a whore. In my opinion, you never have been. It wasn’t your fault Seymour and your father forced you into the business.”

She continued to sob against his chest and he went on. “I don’t want you to work in my saloon as one of the girls. If you want to work here, you can help me keep the books and order the liquor, things like that. You’ll never have to go upstairs with another man if you don’t want to. I want you here because, well, I like you. I hope you like me.”

She looked up at him. “I
do
like you Hiram. I think I…I mean I…I
more
than like you.”

He looked into her eyes. “I more than like you, too, Lily.”

She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry I got so upset. Yes, I’ll work for you. Anything will be better than working at the Golden Door. I was just hoping I could quit being a—”

“Don’t say it, Lily. Like I said, you won’t ever be that in my saloon.”

She gave him a sad little smile. “Do you mean that?”

“Yes, Lily, I do.” He let her go and pulled a pad and pencil from his pocket. “Now, help me decide what we need to do in here to make this a proper saloon.”

They discussed the placement of the bar and decided they could add to the reception desk for the bar. They then decided the place could hold at least six to eight tables with four to six chairs each and still leave room for a roulette wheel. She suggested they place several spittoons around the area. “These are nice floors. You don’t want the men spitting on them.”

“You’re right. I’m glad you thought of that.” He wrote it down. “See how much help you can be to me? You’ll think of things that would never cross my mind.”

She smiled at him, but didn’t say anything about his compliment. Instead, she said, “How about cards and the roulette table? Have you ordered them?”

“Rathbone said the Eldridge cousins would take care of that.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “What do they have to do with you opening a saloon?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mention their names, but they…uh… they’ve given me some advice about where things can be bought. They know a lot about such things. Just forget I mentioned them, but I guess they’re helping me because of the plans Longstreet had for his nieces.”

“I won’t say nothing.”

“Good. I don’t want Longstreet to get the idea I’m not coming back today.”

“I’ll never tell Seymour Longstreet anything. In fact, I hope I never have to see him again.”

“Thank you, Lily. Now, let’s look down the hall behind the stairs.”

She smiled and followed him. At the end of the short hallway, they opened a door and both their mouths fell open. They had entered a lovely furnished parlor with a small dining area to the right. At the other end was another door. Without speaking, they walked across the thick, woven rug and opened it. They stepped into a bedroom with a high-backed canopied bed, elaborate wardrobe, dressing table with a mirror above it and a padded stool in front of it. Tables on each side of the bed sported decorated crystal lamps, and a padded settee with its own table and lamp under the window that had drapes matching the coverlet on the bed.

Lily gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

“It must be what the man building this place planned for his living quarters.”

“I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“I don’t think I would, either.”

After checking out the office to the left of the parlor, they found a door that led to the kitchen area. A door on the other side of the kitchen and dining area led back into the main room. Upstairs, there were a couple of suites and several bedrooms; some with beds.

Coming down the stairs, Lily said, “This place is wonderful, Hiram. It’s almost too pretty for a saloon.”

“I agree. But a saloon is the only thing I know how to run.”

“Since the Eldridges have given you some good advice, maybe you should talk to them about it.”

“Maybe so.” He couldn’t tell her that the Eldridges might pull the backing if he didn’t open a saloon like they talked about.

Lily changed the subject. “I heard Seymour and Sassy Sue talking about the Eldridges while I was getting ready to meet you.”

He paused. “What did they say?”

She went into detail about the conversation, and when she finished, Hiram said, “Lily, I think we should rent a buggy and go out to the Eldridge ranch. They need to know what you heard about a possible kidnapping. I’m sure they’ll want to know about the women’s father coming to town, too. The sooner we get out there, the better. One of those ladies could be in danger.” 

****

Franklin Poindexter took his wife’s hand and helped her from the stage. “Come on, Clara, we need to get a room in the hotel and see if we can find something decent to eat, then go find our daughters.”

“I’m coming, Franklin.” She knew her husband would be angry if she tarried.

Inside the Deer Lodge Hotel, she stood back and listened to the man behind the registration desk greet them. “Good morning, sir and madam. I’m Alvin Stoneman. How may I help you?”

“As you can see, we have our luggage. We want the best room you have.”

“Yes, sir. That’ll be the bridal suite. Room’s on the corner at the end of the hall on the second floor. How long would you like the room?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t want to stay any longer than necessary. Charge me for two nights, and I’ll inform you if I need the room longer.”

“Yes, sir.” He whirled the registration book around on its pedestal. “Please, sign here.”

Franklin signed and Alvin whirled the book back to himself. His eye went up when he glanced at the name. “Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Poindexter,” he read aloud.

“That’s right. You look as if you recognize the name.”

“Well, yes, sir. A Miss Poindexter stayed here a little while back, and the name isn’t common around here. Are you any relation to her?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m sorry if you thought I was being nosy. I was only interested.”

Franklin decided he’d better be friendlier to the man. He might be of help in his quest to find his daughters. “In that case, she was probably one of my daughters, and I’m assuming she’s no longer here.”

“No, sir. She has checked out.” Alvin held out a key. “I’m glad to have you and your wife with us, Mr.  Poindexter.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find Seymour Longstreet, would you?”

“He owns the Golden Door Saloon, but I doubt anybody there is up at this hour. They stay up to the wee hours and sleep late in the mornings. I think they usually start stirring around ten or eleven.”

Franklin looked at his gold pocket watch. “That’ll give us time to wash up from that terrible stage ride and get something to eat.” He turned to his wife. “Let’s go to the room, Mrs. Poindexter. I trust there will be warm water sent to the room.”

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”

Franklin nodded toward the steps, and when Clara started up, he followed her.

Inside the room, they put the valises at the foot of the bed. He looked around. “Primitive, isn’t it?”

Clara nodded. “It’s certainly not what we’re used to.”

“Absolutely not. How do you suppose the girls have survived in such a place?”

“I’m sure they’ll be glad to come home.”

“You’re damn right they will. I’ll see to it that they never leave Virginia again.”

“How will you do that, dear?”

“I’ll get them both married and settled just as soon as we get home.”

Clara moved to the window and looked outside. “I’m sure it’ll be easier with Mea Ann than with Xenia. You know how headstrong our youngest daughter can be.”

“I’ve had enough of her rebellion, and I won’t put up with it any longer. It may take a little longer than with Mea Ann, but I’ll be able to break her. After all, she’s just a woman.”

There was a knock on the door and he opened it. “It’s about time you got here with that warm water.”