by Zina Abbott
Kit watched the surrey carrying the Wells family drive up to the front of the building. He next noticed a trim, well-dressed man wearing a grey suit with a derby of the same color watching the progress of the surrey. He sported a moustache, but otherwise his hair was short and well-trimmed in accordance with the current style. As he approached the surrey, Kit decided the man did not appear as old as Joseph Wells, but he definitely had several years on Kit’s own age. The smattering of gray in the man’s brown hair that appeared when he doffed his hat to Joseph confirmed Kit’s suspicions.
As Joseph dismounted, the two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Joseph walked around in front of the horses to help his wife down. The other gentlemen moved to the back of the surrey to help the three young women sitting in back.
Kit felt his heart swell within his chest as his gaze turned to Eliza. His senses heighten as he watched the man take Eliza’s hand and help her down. Was he the one, according to Joseph Wells, to whom Eliza was promised? The thought prompted a flash of jealousy to surge through Kit. Why, he was not sure. True, the day Eliza had approached him at the wagon and demanded to know who he was, he had felt drawn to her. That she still wore evidence of her work in the barn including the smudges of dust, limp locks of hair sticking to a face damp with perspiration as well as the scent of horse droppings and used hay clinging to her clothes had not deterred him. And, Kit recalled, instead of seeing a young woman who was an assignment, a means for him to earn his law school tuition, had felt himself tumbling into an abbess of emotion and yearning he had not experienced since his first sweetheart he knew while still in school. What he recalled of his feelings then did not compare with the yearning he felt as he watched Eliza, dressed in a lavender dress trimmed in a darker mauve, and with her shining hair groomed in a style he had seen worn by the most stylish women back in Ohio. He found her breath-taking, but he realized she could be dressed in rags and still have the same effect on him.
Kit inhaled deeply. He reminded himself that his best chance of thinking clearly relied on him not becoming emotionally involved. However, he found it nearly impossible to maintain a detached sentiment towards Eliza Wells, considering the mere sight of her sent his insides spinning.
Kit forced himself to focus on Eliza’s expression. She appeared to respond to the assistance by the young man who could be her beau with distant politeness. Maybe it was another man who claimed Eliza’s heart?
Next, the man helped down a female close to Eliza’s age, but younger.
Kit noticed by this time, Joseph had helped his wife to the ground and stepped towards the back seat. Ignoring her father, the last young woman seated scooted across the bench closer to the side where the man in gray stood. She held out her gloved hand to him and stepped out slowly, keeping a tight grasp and the gentleman’s hand. Her eyes never left his face.
Kit’s eyes narrowed as he studied the young woman whom he decided must Joseph’s oldest daughter. He had listened to enough rude comments by some of the men in Kerr’s Ferry to know in the opinion of many, Joseph’s daughters took after his wife and were ugly as mud hens. Not even the flattering pink dress this woman wore turned her into a classic beauty. Yet, there was something appealing about her. Although he could not consider himself an expert on understanding women, he guessed she cared deeply for the man who now held her hand.
Kit glanced at the man who bowed over her offered hand, bringing the two faces closer together as the two exchanged greetings. He tamped down a grin. Kit did not need to possess the exceptional powers of observation that had served him well as a railroad detective to know the man feelings towards the millwright’s oldest daughter. Being a man himself, he recognized the look of a man in love.
Kit sank further into the shadow of the oak tree as he watched Joseph, his wife on his arm, approach the pair. The scowl on Joseph’s face telegraphed his displeasure over the man’s attention to his daughter. Joseph nudged Eliza forward and spoke several words to the other man. Kit’s eyes narrowed with annoyance at he watched the man smile politely and offer his arm to Eliza. Although Kit could not hear the words, he heard the bark of Joseph’s order. In response, the older daughter dropped her gaze and took her father’s free arm. The younger accepted the free arm of the other man. The party disappeared from Kit’s view when they entered the building.
Kit mulled over what he had witnessed. True, he came to the dance for some sociability and a diversion from a freight-hauling job he did not wish to continue on a long-term basis. After receiving a reply to his telegram to the Arnold attorney, he also hoped to make contact with Eliza in a setting outside her uncle’s control to gather more information. Mrs. Arnold wished to know the state of Joseph’s business, and why Eliza had not responded to her letters.
Joseph had clearly ordered Kit to stay away from his niece while he worked in the man’s mill yard, and Kit had complied. However, the millwright would have a more difficult time making such a demand in a social setting such as this while surrounded by his friends and customers, especially if Kit avoided focusing too much attention on Eliza.
Kit’s thoughts turned to what he had learned about the dapper man in gray and the oldest daughter. Perhaps they were the key to his getting close to Eliza and getting the information he needed.
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Oak Hill, California – May 6, 1882
Chapter 7
~o0o~
K it entered the main hall to find himself assailed with the disjointed noise of the chatter of many voices. In one corner, a raised dais had been constructed on which a three-piece band tuned their instruments as they prepared to perform. In an opposite corner, Joseph stood next to the man in gray as the two conversed with three other well-dressed men in their forties and fifties. Next, his eye was drawn to Eliza who, along with her cousins, was being shepherded by Mrs. Wells to some chairs along the wall opposite her husband.
Just as the women prepared to settle, Eliza turned, and her gaze met Kit’s. She seemed to freeze in place. As for Kit, he felt his lungs forget to breathe and time stand still as he held her gaze with his.
Eliza glanced at her uncle deep in conversation, then she turned to say something to her aunt. Kit felt the spell shatter. His heart moved in his throat as next she turned and walked towards him. Her gaze captured his for several seconds. Someone spoke to her. She turned with a smile and nodded a greeting in return but continued towards him. She never looked his way again. As her steps brought her closer to him, Kit moved back into the foyer where he would be out of the line of sight of her uncle.
Eliza stepped within touching distance but did not look Kit’s direction. He barely heard her words as she slipped past him.
“Follow me.”
Kit waited until Eliza walked a dozen steps beyond him. The entire time he scanned the area to see if anyone watched either of them with interest. Convinced they were unobserved, he casually turned to follow.
At the end of a narrow hall he saw a door that appeared to lead outside. Since the town offices, now locked tight, had been built in the front of the building, Kit guessed the door led to either an outside loading area or the outhouses. Without looking behind her, Eliza continued towards it.
Kit glanced behind again. When he turned back, Eliza had disappeared. He had not heard a door open, and he saw no sign of the door to the outside being closed. He cautiously stepped towards it, hugging the wall that separated the large hall from this front area.
A peek into the open door of a small room next to the outside wall of the building dispelled his guess the door at the end led to necessaries. He smiled at the sight of indoor plumbing. However, he cautiously eyed the door next to it, especially once he noticed the crack between the door and the jamb. A storage room, perhaps? Then why was the door open on a night when the building was open to the public?
Kit’s right hand slid into his coat pocket where he kept a small Derringer. He quietly wrapped his left hand around
the knob. As soon as he started to pull it open, a female hand reached out, grabbed his wrist and tugged. Kit released the Derringer, glanced back towards the foyer to be sure no one watched him, then he jerked the door open just far enough he could slide inside.
The action caused him to careen into Eliza, who stepped back two steps while she clapped a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle. Kit pulled the door almost closed, leaving only enough of a crack to allow a sliver of light to penetrate. The brief glance he had managed of the inside confirmed his suspicions it was a storage closet.
Kit stepped next to Eliza to whisper in her ear. “What are you doing here? Are you aware of what it will do you your reputation if you are caught in a place like this with a man?”
Eliza’s soft laugh sounded closer than Kit expected. “I know, but I need to talk to you privately. I discovered this supply closet a few months ago when I was looking for the indoor wash room. I stumbled upon a couple entangled in each other’s arms, so I knew this would work.”
The thought of being entangled in Eliza’s arms sent all other thoughts flying from Kit’s head. He closed his eyes as he sensed her lean her mouth closer to his ear. However, as she continued, the tone in her whisper grew serious. “Mr. Halsey, I need help. Can I trust you?”
Right then, Kit did not want to be trustworthy. He wanted to kiss senseless the woman standing so close to him their bodies touched in several places. However, he had a job to do. His sense of integrity warned him to not take unfair advantage of someone who would not have put herself in this position unless she felt it urgent. “You can trust me, Eliza. However, in the future, you would be wise to determine if a man is trustworthy before you place yourself within the confines of a dark closet with him. Some men will take advantage.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t mean to embarrass you. You see, I know my uncle has warned you to stay away from me, and he is even more disagreeable with you at times than he is with most people who work with him. I know he pays you to haul freight for him, but I’m hoping you do not feel any particular loyalty to him as a person.”
Kit forced his breathing to stay steady in spite of the anticipation building inside him. He sensed a break in the case about to happen. “What’s this about, Miss Halsey?”
Eliza wriggled, the motion sending Kit’s blood racing. “We’re sort of cozy, aren’t we? I think with us being so close to each other you may call me Eliza.”
“You are quite a temptation. I think I better stick with Miss Halsey. I have no particular loyalty to your uncle, no. On the other hand, I have no desire for him to kill me for compromising you by us being together like this.”
Again, Kit heard her tone grow serious.
“I know, and I’m sorry. But, I’m desperate. I think there’s something wrong with the mail service in Kerr’s Ferry. I’ve sent several letters to my grandmother back East, but I haven’t received any replies.”
Kit stilled, afraid to breathe. He could now report to Caroline Arnold the reason she has not heard from her granddaughter is because her letters were not getting out. He patiently listened to the rustle of fabric, and against his thigh, felt her search in her skirt for something, wishing nothing more than to pull her closer into a full embrace. He snapped his attention back to Eliza as she continued speaking.
“I’ve been here since October, and no word. I don’t know if you live in Kerr’s Ferry or Oak Hill…”
“Kerr’s Ferry.”
“Oh. But you bring uncle’s flour to the railway here in Oak Hill, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Kit felt Eliza reach for his hand with one of hers. She leaned back far enough for her to use her other to press a folded paper in his palm. His fingers closed around it.”
“It’s a letter to my grandmother. Please mail it for me when you are in Oak Hill. I made sure I wrote out the correct direction where she can send her letters to me, just in case she doesn’t know.”
Caroline Arnold guessed correctly, Kit realized. Joseph Wells did plot against her, using his niece as a pawn. Kit knew what Eliza did not, and which he was not yet ready to reveal. Her grandmother had been writing to her, but Eliza was not receiving her mail from Ohio. Kit would bet his law school tuition money the problem with the two women not getting each other’s letters was Joseph Wells, not the post office.
Kit swallowed to force the tightness from his throat. “I can mail it for you, Miss Halsey.
“Thank you. You see, I want to go home to Ohio, but Uncle Joseph says grandmother’s too sick to take care of me. He wants me to stay here with him. If she is really that sick, I can’t understand why someone else doesn’t reply for her to let me know. I need to hear from her soon.”
Kit felt anger at Joseph Wells building inside him. The mental anguish he had been causing his niece was unconscionable. “If you’d like, and you think you can trust me even further, I’ll put a cover over your letter and address it to your grandmother using my information for the return direction. That way, no one should trace it back to you and interfere. I’ll even ride to a neighboring town where not as many people personally know your uncle and send it from there.”
Kit heard her suck in a breath. Maybe he scared her off.
“I hate to have you go to all that trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. I sometimes go to other towns to look for other hauling jobs. If you are willing to trust me to do that, I’ll need a way to contact you if and when I get a reply for you. Can you think of a way I could do that? Any place or time that is convenient for you.”
Kit listened to Eliza’s measured breaths as she thought over his suggestion.
“Yes, I’d like that. I’m sure you’ve noticed the oak trees all over the bluff behind the house and the mill. Right behind the mill office near the top, there’s a cluster of trees close together with some scrub brush mixed in which forms sort of a screen. I sometimes sneak around the side of the hill and go up there to be alone since I know no one at the mill or the house can see me. Do you think if you come around the back way, you can find where I’m talking about, even in the dark?”
“I can find it. If I have something to tell you or pass along to you, that day I’ll wear a red neckerchief when I come to pick up a load. Are you able to look for me most days?”
Kit felt Eliza lean her face closer to his ear. “I look for you most days. I don’t like Uncle telling me who I can talk to and who I can’t. Thank you for doing this for me.”
“Anything, Miss Halsey.”
Kit jerked with surprise as Eliza leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“Then call me Eliza. And try to dance with me tonight. Also, please help Daniel Irwin spend as much time as possible with Julie, my cousin in the pink gown. Uncle wants him to pay court to me, but Mr. Irwin doesn’t want to be with me any more than I want to be with him.”
Kit smiled as a wave of relief washed over him. The man in gray was no competition for Eliza’s affections.
Then again, a sisterly kiss on the cheek notwithstanding, he possessed no proof she held any affection for him. “I’ll do my best, Eliza. Now, listen carefully to make sure there is no one nearby before you leave here. I’ll stay inside for a while so hopefully no one sees us together.”
Eliza’s soft laugh tickled his ear. “If someone sees me, I’ll just tell them I was searching for the indoor wash room and got confused what door it was behind.”
After Eliza left him, Kit silently closed the door behind her until it latched in place. Except for a smidgen of light that glowed in from beneath the door, he found himself in almost total darkness. He forced his breathing back to normal as he slid Eliza’s letter into his inside coat pocket—a modification to his clothing that had served him well as a railroad detective.
Kit mentally reviewed all that just took place between him and Eliza. She confirmed several suspicions held by her grandmother. She had provided a means for him to communicate with her without the scrutiny of her uncle and his family. What a stroke
of luck she agreed to him sending her letter under a separate cover—a tactic he would have used anyway. The benefit was, she also agreed to allow him to contact her with the response rather than insist her grandmother’s reply come to her directly by mail—an occurrence that would not happen any more than Caroline’s previous letters reaching Eliza.
As soon as he learned enough to know whether Joseph Wells had taken action to further injure his employer, Kit would take Eliza into his confidence and escort her home to her grandmother. Unfortunately, he preferred the idea of escorting Eliza to a home with him.
Kit slumped at the futility of his latest thought. He could not provide Eliza or any other woman much of a home until he earned his law degree and passed the bar. Working as a common laborer would not allow Eliza to live in the level of society in which she would be comfortable. Before he was ready to provide well for her, Eliza would no doubt fall in love with someone else and marry.
Kit knew he would do anything, take any risk, to protect Eliza and get her back home. He also realized he needed to focus on doing well the job he had undertaken so Caroline Arnold would find no cause to deny him full payment.
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Kerr’s Ferry, California – May, 1882
Chapter 8
~o0o~