The Escort

by Gina Robinson

"Apparently not." He didn't sound happy. "Speak to me in Italian, Angelina, but be careful what you say. This is a dangerous place to talk." He stood slowly and faced her. "How did you get in here? They're restricting my visitors."

  "I told the captain we're cousins. I don't think he fully believed me. I had to throw in my basket of paste and dinner tomorrow night to get this time."

  "Stay the hell away from the captain!" His words exploded into the room. Then his tone softened. "For our own good, Angelina. Think about why he'd let you in to see me when he's denied so many others. Wouldn't a social setting be the perfect place to seduce information from you?"

  "Tonio!" She flew across the room and threw her arms around him in an emotional embrace that he did not return. I'm scared." She took a step back, grabbed him by the arms, and looked up at him imploringly. "The papers are calling this bombing a capital crime. Whoever's convicted will hang. They're saying you set the charge.

  "I gave my statement to the captain, swearing that you were with me when it went off. But it's my word against the union henchman Clell, and who are they going to believe?"

  His arms tensed beneath her grip. "Damn! What else did you tell him?"

  She didn't understand his fear. "Nothing."

  "You shouldn't have talked to him. I don't want you involved. You've put yourself at risk."

  She ignored him and looked at the floor, afraid of the question she had to ask. "Tonio, you aren't involved are you? They're saying that you're tied up with Baker, that you're the mastermind. I don't mean to doubt, but there were those late night meetings with Baker. Your uncle and Gambino were concerned about your association with—"

  He clamped his hand over her mouth and looked past her out the cell door window. Footsteps came down the hall and stopped just short of the door.

  "I'm innocent, Angelina." The sound of footsteps moved on. Tonio dropped his hand from her mouth. "Whose side are you on? They're listening to everything we say. I want you to leave now."

  "No! Tonio, I'm sorry, I believe you. I had to hear from you is all. I've sent for John Lawlor. He'll represent you."

  "I don't want his help."

  "You need his help! Whatever evidence they have against you must be convincing. They released Al already even though they accused him of being a willing accomplice and stealing the train to help the union."

  "Go." He tried to spin her toward the door.

  She resisted. "Tonio, they'll hang you if they can."

  "They won't hang me. That's not what this is about. Both sides are playing a game and I'm caught the middle. You don't understand, and I can't take a chance explaining it to you here. I want you to leave now and get as far—

  "I'm not leaving until I've said what I came to say." Her heart raced. Her eyes misted. She barely got the words out. "I love you."

  She watched his reaction closely. He didn't move, no light leapt to his eyes. He remained unreadable. Despite their weight, her words hung in the still air unanswered.

  When he spoke, it was not a declaration of love. "You and half the other women in Wallace. There's nothing as romantic as a tragic hero." He raised his voice and his tone was suddenly falsely teasing.

  She couldn't believe his words. He made light of her declaration. Perhaps he didn't understand. "I'm serious, I—"

  His hand went over her mouth again and she thought he shook his head in warning, but the movement was nearly imperceptible. He whispered so softly into her ear that she had to strain to hear him. "Loving me is a dangerous game. One I can't let you play."

  He dropped his hand from her mouth and pushed her away from him. Aloud he said, "I want you as far away from me as possible. Italy wouldn't be far enough."

  "I don't know what game you're playing, Tonio, but I'll have to trust you." She called for the guard to let her out.

  There was a white envelope waiting for her on her bed when she returned. It was from John, written on his official letterhead, with a bank draft tucked inside. She didn't bother to look at the amount it was written for. Her eyes scanned the letter quickly. So quickly that she had to read it through twice before the message sunk in.

  Yes, he would represent Tonio and he was pleased to send her a draft for the timber money.

  The bank draft! She scooped it from the bed. Her eyes grew wide when she read the amount.

  May walked into the maelstrom unprepared. Angelina whirled about the room packing bags and stuffing clothes into suitcases with such fury and determination that for a brief moment the usually boisterous May was taken aback and left speechless. "You taking a trip, Angelina?"

  Angelina jumped and put a hand to her heart. "Oh, goodness, May! You scared me."

  "I've been standing here a minute, but you were so involved with your task that you didn't notice. When did all this come about?" She nodded toward Angelina's packing.

  "This afternoon. I went to see Tonio and tried to help get him out of jail. I gave a statement to the captain. Tonio was with me when the concentrator exploded.

  "But Tonio wasn't happy that I had done it. He wants me to leave the Valley. Because of the guards, he couldn't explain. But I think it is because he loves me. He has a plan. I must trust him in this, even though it goes against everything logical." Her voice cracked.

  "Where are you going?"

  "Where Tonio told me to go—as far away as possible. New York." She held up her bank draft. "My money came. I can do as I please.

  "I don't understand all this. Why am I always the one on the outside? Everyone knows something I don't and I'm left guessing." Angelina folded a skirt and stuffed it in her bag.

  "If you thought about what's going on, you'd know, too."

  "I'm tired of trying. I'm going to visit Nonna Gia. I can't stay here and see him hang if his plan goes awry."

  "He's not going to hang." May looked exasperated, but Angelina ignored it. "He's going to stay in jail until he tells the feds everything he knows about Baker's operation, including who set the charge. That's all they want from him.

  "In the meantime the union boys are afraid that he does know something. We're all being watched. We're all under suspicion. Tonio wants you out of the fray. He hasn't forgotten that Clell's still on the loose and as long as he is, you're in danger."

  "I hope you are right, both of you." Angelina snapped her bag closed.

  "Give me this Nonna's address. As soon as things are safe here, Tonio will want you to come back."

  Several days later, Angelina sat in Nonna Gia's small apartment, restless and worried though she had just arrived.

  "Thank you for letting me stay with you, Nonna Gia. Cousin Mario was upset about me not going back under his roof, but I think Lucia was relieved. They are crowded enough as it is." Angelina mindlessly toyed with Nonna's small sugar bowl as she sat at the table with a cold cup of coffee in front of her.

  "But what of you, Angelina?"

  "What do you mean, Nonna?" She let the sugar bowl go.

  "When are you going to come back?"

  "I am back."

  "In body, perhaps. I mean, where is the old Angelina? Someone seems to have replaced her with a shell. I expected you to come back full of life, not beaten."

  "And I'm by no means beaten. Just worried. They still have not released Tonio."

  "Angelina, I must confess something to you. I didn't just happen to pick Tonio as an escort for you. I was playing matchmaker. Tonio is like a son to me, always has been. I know you both well. Tonio and you belong together. I knew that before you even met.

  "I was disappointed when I heard you intended to go through with your marriage to that old man and had turned down the young handsome one I had offered. Yet, I see now that I was not wrong. There is something between you. You must tell me, every detail."

  It was a relief to confess to a sympathetic ear. When she was finished Nonna Gia spoke. "He loves you, Angelina. And he is smart. Tonio will not hang. Let me ask you this, do you want Tonio?"

  "Yes, of course I do!"

&nb
sp; "Then stop acting like a frightened little Italian girl. Act like the American woman you've become. It is time to stop moping around and prepare for when Tonio sends for you."

  It was the last thing Angelina expected Nonna Gia to say. She sounded more like May Hall. "What?"

  "In Italy," Nonna Gia said, "The woman must let her parents arrange a marriage. The good Italian girl bows to her parents' wishes, as you have done once, and marries the man of their choice. Here in the Italian community the process is little changed. Ah, but the truly American woman, she makes her own choice!"

  "What are you saying, Nonna Gia? I can't arrange my own marriage and Tonio is never going to ask me. What am I supposed to do, ask him myself?"

  Nonna Gia shrugged noncommittally. "You have said it, not me. All I can say is that if I were a young woman, I would head for Idaho the moment he is free. He's much too handsome to lose." Then she stood.

  Angelina followed suit.

  Nonna Gia put her arm around Angelina and led her gently to the little guestroom. "Get some rest now, little one. You're still worn out by your long trip. When you have rested, listen to the voice of the American woman you have become; she will know what to do."

  Over the next few days, Angelina found herself alone much of the time. One afternoon when Nonna Gia and Papa Joe were both out, Angelina paced the small apartment listlessly. She opened the only window in the apartment and climbed out onto the small iron balcony where Nonna Gia had an herb garden planted in old crates. Voices rose from the street below. Variously accented Italian drifted her way, but she longed to hear English.

  Life in Little Italy seemed little altered from only a few months ago. She felt restricted then, she felt doubly so now. In Idaho she was free. She got up and wandered back into the apartment.

  Back in the guestroom she rummaged through the few possessions she'd brought with her. She grabbed her coat. She needed a walk to sort out her thoughts.

  She'd barely rounded the corner onto Mulberry Street when a commotion near the farmacia caught her attention. Ten or so men were shouting and handing out handbills to any man that walked by. Many of the takers filed into the bar next door, where the local Italian fraternal order usually met on Wednesday nights to drink vino. Intrigued by the stir the handbillers caused, Angelina strolled forward and stuck out her hand to receive a flyer.

  "Sorry, these are for men only."

  "Why is that?"

  "There's a judge in there." He nodded toward the bar. "He's naturalizing immigrants."

  "Women have naturalization rights, same as men."

  "Yeah, but they can't vote." His smug demeanor irritated her.

  "What's that got to do with it?"

  He shrugged and laughed, as if he shouldn't have to explain.

  She yanked a billet out of the man's hand and scanned it. "This isn't legal."

  The man shrugged again good-naturedly. "It looks legal enough to the authorities."

  "So it does," she replied. She headed toward the crowd at the bar door.

  "Wait! You can't go in there," the handbiller called after her.

  She didn't break her stride, but threw a parting comment over her shoulder. "I'm from Idaho. I can vote."

  She threaded her way through the line and into the bar where she was greeted by the bouncer. He looked amused as she strutted up to him. "You here to become a citizen?"

  When she nodded, he let her pass.

  Twenty minutes later she walked back out onto Mulberry Street an American citizen, naturalization papers in hand. She was an American woman! The one Tonio had wanted all along!

  When she got back to the apartment, she found an envelope stuffed under the door. A telegram. She opened it without thinking.

  Angelina

  I am free. Shall I come for you? If yes I will catch the next train East. Please reply.

  Tonio

  He was free and he wanted her! Her heart raced as she clutched the paper to her bosom and danced around the room. The danger must be past. Tonio was free. And so was she. Why should he come to her? They both belonged in Idaho.

  "This time I'm taking charge," she said aloud. Then she laughed a joyous tinkling laugh. She had to go uptown. There was shopping to be done. And she needed to send a telegram to May.

  Nonna returned to find Angelina joyfully packing.

  "Where are you going? Didn't you just arrive?"

  "Tonio sent a telegram. He's free. He wants to know if I'm here; if so he'll come East. He's expecting your reply."

  "That's wonderful! We shall telegraph him first thing in the morning. I can feel it—a marriage is imminent."

  "I hope so. That's why we'll telegraph him in the morning, and tell him that I have left town."

  "Left town!"

  "Yes, and it will be the truth. I leave for Idaho tomorrow and when I get there I intend to arrange a marriage—my own. No more dishonesty. And this time, I intend to have the upper hand."

  Chapter 18

  "You're going to the ball at the Fuller House, Tonio, and that's that." May left no room for argument as she and Tonio sat at the kitchen table having coffee.

  "You know how hard we women have worked on this fundraising event. I'm not going to let one of my own ruin it by not attending. You'll be there charming the ladies, dancing and smiling as if there were no place else you'd rather be. I've already let it be known that you're going. You draw a crowd. Everyone's still wondering how you got pardoned and if you really could've done it."

  "Of course I could have done it, but I didn't. And I wasn't pardoned. I was exonerated. There's a big difference—pardoned implies guilt."

  "My, my! We've certainly gotten surly these last few weeks. One would think you have good reason to be happy. You're a free man. Or was the bullpen so much better? And fortunately for you, you don't need to go begging for one of those cussed mining work permits to get work."

  "What's the difference? We own a worthless mine, May."

  "Tonio, I'm surprised at you—doubting the Hole. I've never seen you this morose."

  "I'm not in a social mood." He rose and strode toward the kitchen door.

  "I'll see your sorry hide at the ball tonight decked out in your finest. You hear me, Tonio?"

  He waved acknowledgment back at her behind his head, not turning back or breaking his stride. May turned back to the kitchen chuckling to herself. "Believe me, Tonio. This is an event you don't want to miss."

  Brilliant white linens graced the tables in the Fuller's main banquet room, each one topped by a bouquet of homegrown flowers. Volunteers and kitchen staff dressed in white were bringing out the buffet. Guests would begin arriving within the hour. The Colonel inspected the food as it was brought out. Cold salads sat in buckets of ice to keep the lettuce and fresh dandelion greens crisp. Silver ladles lay next to crystal bowls filled with May's homemade salad dressings.

  May had planned the menu herself. She included every favorite dish she had cooked for the Fuller House. The entrees were to be tasty and elegantly arranged but not fancy. Miners liked simple food. A commotion at the dessert table nearby caught the Colonel's attention as three women struggled to assemble a great, tiered cake.

  May Hall saw the potential disaster looming and hustled through the swinging doors from the kitchen.

  "Careful ladies! That's our crowning centerpiece. We don't want it dropped." May directed the women until the cake stood regally assembled in the center of the dessert table. A heavenly chocolate concoction with marzipan icing, someone had spent meticulous hours decorating it with intricate chocolate scroll. Candied roses and violets, and chocolate leaves cascaded over the top and along the sides, trailing into fresh flowers at the base.

  "Good Heavens, May! What kind of cake have you created this time?" The Colonel's delight was evident in his tone.

  "It's not a cake, it's a torte."

  "Cake, torte, who can tell the difference? I thought only Angelina made such desserts. And here I was worried that we'd never be able to replace her
with someone of equal talent. I see I was mistaken."

  "Maybe you were and maybe you weren't," she said cryptically. "Now do me a favor. Go next door and help the band set up. I have my hands full in the kitchen."

  She watched the Colonel disappear into the ballroom and then headed for the door to the street, tossing her apron on a nearby chair as she went. "Ladies, you can take it from here," she called over her shoulder. "I have to get home. I have some prettying up to do before the guests arrive."

  May's fellow volunteers shrugged as she left. May wasn't usually so concerned with her appearance, and as she topped the scale at over two hundred pounds and had a large, plain face, there wasn't much the poor dear could do. But since she'd spent all day cooking, they were unanimous in their opinion that she deserved some time to fix up. Every woman wanted to look her best tonight. The ball was the poshest event that had ever been held in Wallace.

  May hurried nervously up the walk to her house and disappeared in the side door without being noticed. She lifted her skirts and took the stairs two at a time.

  "Angelina, it's May," she whispered loudly at the closed guestroom door.

  "Come on in, May. We're alone." Angelina leaned over the dressing table, peering seriously into the oval mirror as she inserted a gold fobbed, tear shaped garnet earring into her left ear. She turned to smile at May as she entered the room.

  "Oh, honey!" May exclaimed. "Aren't you the vision! I've never seen anyone look so beautiful in my entire life, and I'm not making that up. Darling, you'll pop the eyes right out of that boy's head, out of every boy's head!"

  Angelina wore a velvet evening gown in a deep shade of garnet that matched her earrings to perfection and set off her dark looks and creamy skin as no other color could. The bodice was low cut and sleeveless. Angelina intended it to catch Tonio's eye.

  At each shoulder, one narrow velvet strap ended in a small tassel and lapped over the sides of her bust. Another narrow, lace covered ruffled strap hung beneath the first, capping each softly contoured shoulder. An oversized velvet bow at the front of the dress underlined her cleavage spilling provocatively over the top of the bodice. Her waist was encircled by a narrow band of garnet satin ribbon, beneath which her skirt clung suggestively to her hips before flaring to slightly more fullness and ending in two elegant velvet ruffles that kissed the floor and whispered as she walked.