Forbidden

by Beverly Jenkins

  And from behind her, she heard, “Good afternoon everyone.”

  It was Rhine. He was standing directly behind her high-­backed chair with his hands placed casually on the top rung. She was as aware of his nearness as she was her own breathing.

  Sylvia smiled. “Hello, Rhine. You missed the meeting.”

  “Intentionally. I’m done trying to defend my wing of the Republican party. I was flayed pretty badly at the last meeting here. How are you, Zeke?”

  “Good.”

  “Miss Carmichael?”

  “Mr. Fontaine.”

  “I enjoyed our conversation at the market this morning. I’m looking forward to the marmalade.” His hands were still on her chair, and if she didn’t know better she’d think he was staking his claim. Seeing Zeke silently taking in Fontaine’s positioning gave her the sense that he might be thinking the same. She wanted to sock Mr. Green Eyes squarely in the nose.

  Sylvie didn’t help matters by saying, “Is Jim in the kitchen? Eddy wants his recipe for this angel food cake.”

  “He is. I can show you to the kitchen if you’d like, Miss Carmichael.”

  She could hardly tell him she’d changed her mind. She saw Cherry looking between them as if trying to determine what might be at play here. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Zeke in particular. He responded with a cool nod.

  Rhine helped her with her chair. She tried not to see the interested eyes of the people in the room tracking their departure but it was impossible.

  Once they cleared the kitchen doors she spun around. “How dare you embarrass me this way.”

  He folded his arms. “Did you not wish to see the kitchen?”

  “I wanted to. Alone. You stood over me like I was yours.”

  “I was just being a good host.”

  “You’re being the devil again.”

  “Tempting you, am I?”

  “Tempting me to take a skillet to your head,” she fumed, trying to rein in her temper. Only then did she see Jim standing near the stove. “Excuse me for yelling,” she said contritely. “I didn’t see you.”

  “Carry on, please. Women don’t usually take a skillet to his head and I’m anxious to witness it, even if you have been stealing our customers and made me alter my menu because Amos Granger is selling you his entire catch on Thursdays.”

  Momentarily stung by guilt, she said, “I had no idea you were the customer being shortchanged on the fish, but I’m not going to apologize for taking the customers.”

  Jim said, “Nor should you. I understand Amos’s thinking though. He’s always been susceptible to beautiful women.”

  His compliment left her embarrassed. “I just wanted to come in and say thank you for the food and see if you’d give me the recipe for the angel food cake. I make one but it’s not even close to this light. I’d love to have you make one for the auction.”

  “I appreciate the praise. As I told you before, folks don’t usually seek me out to say thanks. They simply eat and leave.”

  His attention centered fully on Eddy, Rhine countered, “And as I said, I tell you how great you are all the time.”

  Jim rolled his eyes. “You should probably step away from him, Miss Eddy. Lightning may strike any minute, or would you rather I hand you a skillet?”

  The reminder brought her back to her irritation with his business partner, but before she could light into Rhine again, he said, “My apology if I embarrassed you. As for you being mine. Having found you in the desert at death’s door makes me feel proprietary.”

  Lord, she wished she knew how to make herself immune to him. “I appreciate your concern but it’s unnecessary.”

  Ezekiel pushed through the doors, and Rhine asked coldly, “May I help you, Zeke?”

  “I came to let Miss Carmichael know we’re preparing to leave.”

  “Thank you, Zeke. I was just on my way back to join you.” She gave Rhine her best glare.

  He responded by saying, “Don’t forget my marmalade.”

  “I’ll send it via post. Nice seeing you again, Mr. Dade.”

  He was grinning. “Same here. I’ll get that recipe to you and think about the donation idea.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ezekiel offered her his arm. As she accepted, she watched Rhine’s green eyes darken. “Good day, Mr. Fontaine.”

  He inclined his head.

  She and Zeke exited.

  After their departure, Jim looked at the scowl on Rhine’s face. “As I said, try harder.”

  No response.

  “I’m serious, Rhine.”

  Knowing that Zeke Reynolds, a man Rhine very much respected, seemed taken with Eddy Carmichael, too, didn’t help Rhine’s mood, and he ran his hands down his face.

  “Just let her be,” Jim added sagely.

  Rhine left the kitchen, but instead of returning to the main room, he took the back stairway up to his office. Upon seeing Eddy at the market this morning, all he’d wanted to do was whisk her away so they could be alone. And although he hadn’t meant to embarrass her just now, he’d had an overriding urge to lay public claim to her as if he were a dragon and she his treasure. He just had to convince her.

  Downstairs in the main room, the meeting was indeed breaking up. People were saying their good-­byes and gathering their belongings. Eddy stopped a few to remind them about the auction and they all pledged their participation.

  “Eddy,” Sylvia said. “I promised Aretha Carter I’d stop by and help her with the plans for her and Edgar’s anniversary dinner. Would you mind walking back alone?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  August piped up. “Zeke and I are walking Cherry home, Eddy. You’re welcome to come along with us if want.”

  “I’d like that. Sylvia, I’ll see you when you return.”

  The four set out. August and Cherry walked in front while Eddy and Zeke brought up the rear.

  “Is Fontaine bothering you?” Zeke asked.

  Eddy studied his serious features. “I don’t think bothering is the right word.”

  “Then how would you phrase it?”

  She heard the muted censure in his tone. Dealing with Rhine was enough to handle. She didn’t need Zeke trying to lay claim to her, too. “Let’s just say Mr. Fontaine seems interested in me.”

  “Is that interest returned?”

  “No.” Her response was both a lie and the truth.

  “Good.”

  Nothing else was said on the matter.

  Cherry roomed in a house a few blocks away from Sylvia’s, and once they arrived, Eddy and Zeke bade the engaged couple good-­bye and continued on.

  “Have you lived in the city all your life?” she asked.

  “No. Augie and I are originally from Maryland. Came out here five years ago hoping to make our fortune in the mines, but we’re about ten years too late. So he went to work at the hotel and I fell back on the carpentry skills I learned from my father.”

  “Do you have your own shop?”

  “Not yet, but I’m working towards that. And you? What are you working towards?”

  “Saving up so I can open my own restaurant.”

  He stopped. “Really?”

  “Yes. Do you find that odd?”

  He assessed her silently for a moment. “I guess not, but I figured a woman as pretty as you would be looking for a husband to settle down with and raise some babies.”

  She laughed softly, “I’m more than just a pretty face, and a bit past the wanting a husband and babies stage. I figure if I’m very frugal I can save enough to be on my way to California by maybe this winter.”

  “So, you’re one of those newfangled women?”

  Eddy sensed his stock sinking within her. “Both my parents worked to provide for our family. Many of the women I know worked, so if that makes us
all newfangled, I suppose we are.”

  “Didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just I’m the kind of man who feels a wife should be at home when her husband comes in at the end of the day, but a pretty lady can make a man reevaluate this thinking.”

  His stock rose again.

  They’d reached Sylvia’s. “Thanks so much for walking with me, Zeke. I enjoyed myself.”

  “So did I. Got something special to donate to your auction.”

  “And it is?”

  “A secret.”

  “Oh come now. I need to know.”

  “Nope. Not telling you, but it’s something a lot of people are going to bid on.”

  Eddy was intrigued. “I’ll need you to drop it off at the orphanage beforehand though, so we can put it on display.”

  “I understand and I will.”

  Eddy saw his smile and wondered what his donation might possibly be.

  “The Baptist church is having an ice cream social Sunday afternoon,” he said. “I’d love to escort you.”

  “Sunday is my busiest day here. I can’t get away. Maybe some other time.”

  He looked disappointed. “Okay, but I plan to call on you soon. Wanted you to get used to me being around first.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Take care of yourself.”

  “I will.” Eddy climbed the steps to the porch and went inside still wondering what his secret would turn out to be.

  “So, how are you and Zeke getting along?” Sylvia asked after coming home and finding Eddy in the kitchen peeling the oranges she’d purchased that morning.

  Sylvie took a seat at the table.

  “He’s a nice man. We haven’t spent much time together but I enjoy his company. He asked me to the church ice cream social on Sunday but I had to decline.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s quite all right. My duties here come first. That’s why you pay me.”

  “And Rhine Fontaine?”

  Eddy paused. “What about him?”

  “It was hard not to notice him standing over you the way he did.”

  “True, and I took him to task about it. He seems intent upon—­I’m not sure what.” Eddy didn’t want to confess how she and Rhine had been dancing around each other, for fear of how Sylvia might respond. “Is he known for dallying with women outside his race?”

  “Not to my knowledge, which is why I found his actions so surprising.”

  “What can you tell me about him?”

  “Other than the fact that he’s rich as King Midas and is a kind man, not very much. He came to Virginia City a few years after the war. Not sure how he made his fortune though.”

  “You were here then, correct?” Eddy got out the grater and began working on the now peeled oranges.

  “I was. My late husband Freddy and I arrived just after the first big Comstock strike in ’fifty-­nine. Freddy worked in the mines and I did a bit of nursing and minded the tent that served as a boardinghouse.”

  “Mr. Rossetti said his first store was a tent, too.”

  “The entire city grew from tents—­the banks, the stores, the saloons. After I lost Freddy in a mine accident, I took some of the money he’d left me and began buying property. I originally owned the Union Saloon. It was much smaller back then of course.”

  Eddy remembered Rhine mentioning that fact, but she was saddened to learn that Sylvia had lost her husband in the mines.

  “Once the city began growing by leaps and bounds, I decided I didn’t want to be a saloon owner dealing with drunk miners anymore and put the place up for sale in ’sixty-­eight. Rhine bought it. Paid me in gold and stocks. Between Freddy’s estate, Rhine’s gold and the stocks, I’m pretty well set for a Colored woman.”

  Eddy wanted to ask about her and Doc Randolph but decided not to. In truth, she was more interested in Rhine. “So does he own other places?”

  “Yes, he’s funded many of the Colored businesses and owns a number of other property, too, like Lady Ruby’s Palace.”

  “He owns her whorehouse?”

  “And the plot that will soon anchor the Baptist church. Right now the congregation meets on the open land while they raise the money for the church to be built. He’s a good man. He’s done more for our community and its people than all the other Whites here combined.”

  Eddy thought on that for a moment. “Is he well-­liked by his own people?”

  “He is, although they whisper about him because of his Union clientele, but they don’t turn down the money he gives to their charities, and he’s invited to all the fancy balls and social events. Even if they don’t like who he associates with, they like his money and influence. Now that he and Natalie are no longer engaged, he’s going to be overrun with invites from mothers with eligible daughters. He’ll be quite a catch.”

  Eddy put the grated orange pulp into a pot, covered the fruit with sugar and set it on the flame on the stove. She told herself Rhine being sought after made her no never mind, but . . .

  Sylvia searched Eddy’s face. “Something you want to talk about, honey?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Sylvia studied her again and said gently, “If and when you do, I’m here.”

  Eddy nodded.

  “Zeke’s an outstanding man. A girl could do worse.”

  “I was very impressed by him today.”

  Sensing Eddy wanted her to change the subject, Sylvia asked, “Tell me about this marmalade. How’s it made?”

  “Once I finish peeling the oranges, I take out the seeds and grate the flesh. We add sugar, cook it for about twenty minutes, and let it sit overnight. It’ll be ready to spread on your biscuits in the morning.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “I promised Fontaine a bit of it. I ran into him at Mr. Rossetti’s this morning. When I told him I was making marmalade for you as my way of saying thanks for your many kindnesses, he decided he wanted a boon, too.”

  And then Sylvia said without prompting, “Try and keep Rhine at arm’s length, Eddy. For all his stellar qualities, men like him very rarely offer marriage to women like us.”

  “I know.”

  “But he is gorgeous to look at.”

  Eddy had to agree. She’d already told herself that if she was going to keep company with a gentleman, she’d prefer it be someone like Zeke. Dealing with Rhine Fontaine was like juggling lightning.

  Chapter Twelve

  The following morning Eddy dipped the tip of a spoon into the marmalade she’d made the evening before and took a small taste. It was so delicious she moaned.

  “How is it?” Sylvia asked, coming into the kitchen.

  Eddy handed her a clean spoon and the jar. “Taste for yourself.”

  Sylvia complied and swooned. “Oh my goodness. I’ll need you to make vats of this.”

  Eddy laughed.

  “Irene Lee sells this at her bakery and she asks two arms and a leg for it. Now, she’ll never get another dime from me. Thank you, Eddy.”

  “My pleasure. I just took some biscuits out of the oven.”

  “Great.”

  While Sylvia helped herself, Eddy thought about the marmalade she’d promised Rhine. Part of her wanted to put his portion in a jar and indeed mail it, or have one of housekeeper Maria’s sons take it to him, but that would be the coward’s way out and she was definitely not that.

  But she set thoughts of him aside when Vera walked in bearing gifts.

  “Morning ladies. Eddy, Shanna and I worked all day yesterday on getting some of your clothing sewn, so here’s the first batch. I brought you two blouses and two skirts.”

  Eddy looked at the lovely garments and for a moment didn’t know what to say. The soft white cotton blouse and the navy blue skirt were practical enough for everyday wear, but the other blouse with its lac
y pleats down the front and thin band of lace bordering the wrist and throat was for nicer occasions and absolutely beautiful. “Thank you so much, Vera.”

  “You’re welcome. And so you’ll know, my customers raved about the sweet wafers.”

  “You actually had enough left to give them some?”

  “Sassy child,” she said with mock admonishment. “Yes, I did, and I’ll need more when you have the time. Many more.”

  “I’ll make the time.”

  Sylvia said, “Vera, pull up a chair. If you thought those sweet wafers were over the moon, wait until you taste this marmalade of hers. I’d bathe in this if I could.”

  A laughing Eddy left them to their treat and took her new clothes up to her room.

  Standing in front of her vanity’s mirror, Eddy surveyed her reflection. With her hair pulled back and wearing her new attire, she now resembled the woman of means Vera had alluded to. It had been quite some time since she looked so nice, and it felt good. She removed her mother’s locket from the small ring box that was its home. Inside the locket were two tiny photographs—­one of her beautiful ebony-­skinned mother and the other of her stern-­faced father. She touched their faces lovingly. She missed them now as much as she did the day the local sheriff came to the house with the terrible news. Since then she’d struggled, but kept her head up and done her best to honor their memories. She placed the frayed blue ribbon around her neck and tied the ends. She’d have to ask Vera for a new length of ribbon, but wearing it again felt right.

  When she reentered the kitchen, Sylvia and Vera beamed with approval.

  “The men around here are really going to have fits now,” Sylvia said, smiling. “You look brand new.”

  Vera added, “There’s something about new clothes that makes a woman feel good both inside and out.”

  Eddy agreed.

  Sylvia said, “Wait until Zeke sees you.”

  “You’re matchmaking again, Sylvia.”

  From the smile on Vera’s face, Eddy assumed Sylvia had told her all about her meeting Zeke, but Eddy had to admit she was interested in his reaction.