by Barbara Goss
When they entered The Silver Slipper Saloon, the whole place grew uncomfortably quiet. Smith motioned to a tall, pretty, middle-aged woman who stood behind the bar, and the woman walked over to them.
“Sadie, I want to introduce…” Smith looked at Lily. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“I’m Lily,” she said, feeling relief at finally being able to use her own name again. She smoothed the wrinkled dress she’d been wearing for more than a week, trying to make it look presentable.
“She’s interested in a job,” Smith explained.
Sadie looked Lily up and down before motioning her into a back room behind the bar. The sheriff tipped his hat and left, and the merry-making began again with loud laughter, dancing, and the occasional shout. The place rang with liveliness, which sent a guilty thrill down Lily’s spine.
“The pay is ten dollars a week," Sadie explained. "Plus, you get a percentage of the drinks you sell. The men will buy you drinks, but the bartender has orders to serve tea or sugared water in a shot glass to make it look like whiskey; my girls don’t drink on the job.
"You need to help create a good time for the customers, while still acting as a lady. The men'll behave themselves or they're thrown out, and that's the lowest thing that can happen to a man in this town. Any man thrown out of the saloon for mistreating a woman is considered an outcast, so it rarely happens.
“I provide you with clothes befitting your job, and you dance, encourage drink-buying, and stand by the men while they're gambling, for luck. You laugh at their jokes and make sure they have a good time.” She winked. “Men who have a good time spend more money.” She winked again.
“So, do you think you can do it?”
Lily wondered what her brother and Emma would think of her working in a saloon. What would Gus think? But, if she saved up enough money to return to Hunter’s Grove, or even to St. Joseph, they’d never have to know. She’d save every penny. She knew she could do it.
Lily nodded.
“Good," Sadie said. "For the first day or two I want you to do more watching than anything else. I want you to learn the job by watching the other women. Don’t worry; none of the women here do anything sordid, although the rest of the ladies in this town think we're all fallen women. On the bright side, our lives are a lot more fun than that of a housewife. Having one baby after another, wiping noses, and doing housework from dawn to dusk just doesn’t appeal to any of us at all.”
Lily nodded and cleared her throat. “I'll need a place to stay.”
“We have rooms upstairs. You can bunk with Mandy. Remember: no men are allowed upstairs.”
Lily drew in a breath of relief that she’d have a place to stay. Another thing she’d not have to worry about—for now.
Lily’s roommate, Mandy, who looked about Lily’s age, helped Lily prepare for her debut at the saloon. Lily chose a mauve outfit, but felt a little nervous about the length. She’d never worn a dress that only hung marginally below her knees before.
As Mandy fixed her hair, she asked about Lily’s past. “What are you running from?”
“What makes you think I’m running?”
“Almost all of us are running from something,” Mandy said through a mouthful of hairpins.
“I’m running from a mistake. And from love.”
“You must be joking. Most of us are searching for love.” She swung Lily around. “There. You look fantastic!”
Lily turned to look at herself in the mirror. “Thank you, Mandy.”
Mandy busied herself putting the makeup and hair dressing equipment away. “I’m jealous! When the customers see you, I’ll be left in the corner like an old broom.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Lily said. She knew Mandy couldn’t be serious. She took another good look at Mandy, admiring the woman’s long, wavy, red hair, and big, sad, brown eyes. “You’re lovely.”
Mandy smiled. “I suppose there will be enough to go around for the both of us.”
“Enough?” Lily asked.
“Enough men who will shower us with drinks and gifts.”
“Oh.” Lily didn’t want any strange men; she wanted Gus Tanner. She missed Gus—that is, if it were possible to miss someone she barely knew. Lying in a strange bed in a room with a woman, she didn’t know, as she had last night she felt as if a black cloud were hanging over her, about to fall down and trap her at any moment. She shook off the negative thoughts. She would earn enough money to get back to Hunter’s Grove and try to explain it all to Gus. Maybe there was the possibility, no matter how slim; she’d still have a chance with him.
That evening, Lily watched Mandy, Clarice, and Polly work the room. They flirted, laughed, and stood by the men who gambled and thought the women brought them luck. She saw nothing that looked inappropriate going on, and the men appeared respectful in every way. Although their eyes had a way of mentally stripping the women of their clothing, yet their behavior remained irreproachable.
Lily wondered if she’d ever be able to flirt with strange men. She’d never been a shy person, but she'd never been forward enough to make the first advances to any man. She still felt modesty in showing so much of herself, so she stood watching from behind a table to hide her legs from view. Her father would simply have a seizure if he'd caught her in this short dress with so much makeup on. When she looked in the mirror, she didn’t see Lily Brewer; she didn’t seem to know the woman in the mirror at all.
During Lily’s second night of observation, she noticed Clarice sitting on a customer’s lap, which made her frown. She would have to ask Mandy about that later.
Mandy appeared to be the most popular girl in the room. She smiled at everyone, and the men all seemed to want her by their side when they were gambling. She was always bought the most drinks and got the most attention out of all of the girls.
Lily’s trepidation grew.
As Mandy and Lily brushed their hair before bed, Lily asked her some questions she had about the saloon. “Clarice sat on a man’s lap tonight; is that part of the job?” Lily asked.
“Not usually. Clarice is a bit more daring than the rest of us. She does these things, but it’s her own decision to do them, not Sadie’s. Her actions make it harder for the rest of us girls to keep the men in hand. If she allows the men to go too far, they’ll expect us all to do the same. I’ll talk to Clarice about it.”
Again, Lily’s thoughts drifted to that sunny afternoon at Maud’s when Gus pulled her onto his lap. She didn’t want to sit on any other man’s lap. “That’s a relief,” she said.
Mandy studied Lily in the mirror. “Tonight was your last observation. Are you nervous?”
“Extremely.”
“You’ll be fine,” Mandy said, patting her arm. “Maybe go down early before the other girls and practice on someone at the bar. It will build your confidence.”
Lily nodded. Her thoughts were once again on Gus. “Have you ever been in love?” she asked Mandy.
“Once. But I’ve never…you know.” Amanda winked.
“Never?”
“No. On the job I appear to everyone as an experienced woman, but in reality, I haven’t begun to live yet. I'm running from a wicked stepmother who wanted me out of her house. My prospects were slim, and I ended up here. This job is exactly that—a job. The sad side of it is, you seldom meet anyone special on a job like this. Most of the men we entertain aren’t the kind we’d necessarily want, and while I flirt and flutter about every evening, back in this room, I’m lonely as a spinster.”
“That’s sad.” Lily sat on her bed hugging her knees. “I’m not sure I'll like this life.”
“You never did tell me why you’re running from love,” Mandy said, as she made herself comfortable on her own bed.
“I love someone, and he loves me, but I’m not who he thinks I am. I couldn’t tell him the truth,” she confessed. “I’m a coward.”
“You’re also a fool,” Mandy said, not unkindly.
“What should I ha
ve done? Tell him the truth and face his anger and rejection? I couldn’t, at first. When I'd finally built up the nerve…well, it’s long story.”
Mandy looked confused. “Wait. If he truly loved you he wouldn’t turn his back on you for telling the truth.”
“He thinks I’m another woman, named Emma, who he corresponded with for over a year. She married my brother, and I switched places with her. Gus Tanner asked me to marry him, but I couldn’t marry under a false name. I also couldn’t stand being called Emma for the rest of my life, so there you have it.”
“So you're trading him for the life of a saloon woman?” Mandy asked.
“Yes, for now. I don't think I have much choice in the matter.”
“I would have sat him down and told him the whole story. If he is a decent man, he would understand.”
“Oh, he is a decent man. He's the best!” Lily strained to hold back tears. “He is so wonderful, and I'd planned on confessing, but then I was kidnapped and dumped here in Abilene.” Lily continued until she'd told Mandy the whole story.
Mandy shook her head. “The more fool you for not telling him sooner.”
“How can you say that?” Lily asked, suddenly hurt. “You're a saloon woman too.”
“Yes, but I didn’t give up on a wonderful man who loved me. I left nothing behind except an old, torn dress.”
“How did it happen?” Lily asked.
“After my ma died, my father married a witch with a daughter a year older than me. After my father died, she doted on her daughter and…well, to make a long story short, I became the family maid. She finally threw me out for questioning her child-rearing abilities.”
“You never had someone you loved?” Lily asked.
“I had a boyfriend in school.” She smiled as she remembered. “His name was Gordon Whitman. He had red hair and freckles like me. He kissed me, once. My stepmother pulled me out of school when she heard about that.
"Later, I met a man I loved but he married someone else. That’s another long story.”
“Are you planning to work here long? You'll never meet your Prince Charming here,” Lily said.
“It is possible to meet someone here, but you have to do it carefully. I’ve thought about this. A lot. If I met someone here I really liked, I’d ask him to call on me elsewhere, like the General Store, or something. So far, I’ve not met anyone I’d like to know better.”
Chapter 6
The buggy carrying Senator Ian Flannery, Charles, and Emma stopped in front of the hardware store in Hunter’s Grove.
“This is it,” said Emma. “Gus once told me that the proprietor here knows everything and everyone.”
“I’ll go inquire,” said Ian. “You two stay out here.” He jumped down and entered the hardware store.
“Howdy,” Stony said. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for either Gus Tanner or Maud Barkley. Can you direct me?” Ian asked.
“Hear tell that Maud did a runner, but I can direct you to Gus’s place.”
“That would help.” Ian waited while Stony got a paper and pencil and began to draw a precise map to Gus's ranch. “Are you related to Gus?” he asked as he drew.
“No. Friends,” Ian replied.
“Where are you from?”
“Missouri.”
Stony handed the map to Ian. “You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it.”
Ian thanked him and left the store.
Gus heard a buggy rolling up the lane to his house and ran out to greet his guests. He didn’t get many visitors, which made him curious.
When two strange men and a woman alighted from the fancy buggy, he could only stare, and wonder who they might be. He nodded as a greeting.
Ian spoke first. “Would you be August Tanner?”
“That’s right.”
Ian put his hand out. “I’m Senator Flannery.”
Gus knew the name and looked at the couple behind him in confusion as he shook Ian's hand.
Ian said, “This is my daughter, Emma, and my son-in—"
“What?” Gus said. “That’s not Emma Flannery!”
Emma swallowed hard and stepped forward. “I am Emma, Gus. I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened. This mix-up's all my fault.”
Gus stood with his mouth open as his mind tried to make sense of this information.
“Please come inside,” Gus said. “I’d love to hear what’s going on.”
After they were comfortably seated in the masculine, but comfortable sitting room, Ian finished his introduction. “This is Emma’s new husband, Charles Brewer.”
Gus shook his hand. “Sorry I interrupted the introduction outside, but I couldn’t believe…” Gus shook his head and turned to Emma. “So you are Emma? Then who in blazes was the woman claiming to be you?”
“My sister, Lily,” Charles offered.
“Lily?” Gus thought the name fit the tiny, frail, young woman who’d stolen his heart.
Emma explained. “I wrote you a letter telling you how sorry I was, and that I'd planned to marry Charles. I enclosed the ticket you'd kindly sent me, and asked Lily to post the letter for me.
"I’m so sorry, Gus. I tried to forget Charles by writing to you. I really thought I could, and I'd sincerely grown quite fond of you.” Emma grabbed Charles’s hand. “But my heart has always belonged to Charles.”
“Don’t be too hard on Lily,” Charles pleaded. “My sister may have been desperate. My father had forced a man on her that evidently she didn’t care for. She must have thought that train ticket her only escape. But now we’ve received a ransom note from someone named Barkley who's holding her for a hundred thousand dollars.”
Gus shook his head. Now he knew why Maud had disappeared with the woman. The pieces of the puzzle had begun to fall into place.
He looked at Emma carefully. While she was no less attractive, his heart still yearned for Lily. If he could find her, he’d forgive her. Of course he would.
Gus filled them in on how he’d briefly courted Lily, and how she’d been abducted.
“You forgive her, then?” Charles asked anxiously.
“I've fallen in love with the minx. Of course I’ll forgive her. I have to find her first, though.”
Emma held her hand on her heart. “Oh, Gus, I’m so happy you fell in love with our Lily. She's a wonderful woman. And you are so right: we need to find her! "
Gus frowned. “I’m hoping Maud isn’t aware of the fact that Lily isn’t Emma, or it could be dangerous for her,” he said.
Ian cleared his throat. “I think you should know that I told the messenger Emma was safely at home. Unfortunately, I’m sure that, by now, Maud knows Lily's not Emma.”
Gus hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Oh, no.”
“I’m so sorry…had I known…”
“Not your fault,” Gus said. “Have you a place to stay?”
Ian shook his head. “We left in a hurry and we've just arrived. I'm afraid we haven't had time to make any arrangements yet.”
“You’ll stay here, then. I have plenty of room. James always stays here when he's in town.”
“Thank you,” Ian said. “Maybe if we put our heads together we can think of some way to find Lily.”
“I’ll take care of your horses; you make yourselves comfortable,” Gus said.
“Let me help,” Ian offered. When Gus began to argue, Ian held up his hand in a gesture of finality.
Outside, Ian patted Gus’s back. “I want you to know that, had you and Emma married, I would have been pleased. You are a fine man, Gus. James speaks highly of you, as well.”
“God knew that Emma and Charles belonged together and that I’d fall in love with Lily; it’s all in His plan. God gave us free will, too, and that allows evil people to get in the way of our happiness sometimes. We all need to pray for Lily. All this mix-up—it was meant to be that Lily and I found each other.” Gus unhooked the team of horses from the buggy, and Ian pulled the buggy to th
e barn.
“Do you have any idea where this Barkley woman is?” Ian asked.
“I know where she was, and I almost had her. Someone shot me when I tracked the stranger who'd bought the padlock from the hardware store. Before I passed out I saw where he turned. There are only two houses on that particular road. I stopped at the first and the man who answered swore he didn’t know either woman, but as I progressed down the road to the other house, I realized I knew the people who lived in that house. An elderly couple, named Milton. So I reasoned that the man who shot me must have been at the first house, but when I returned, the house had been recently vacated, since the water in the kitchen dishpan was still warm.”
“So she could have gone anywhere with Lily?”
“Hoof prints showed four horses rode out toward the woods. I rode out in the same direction, stopping to check in each town, as far as Junction City.” Gus shook his head. “I just don’t know where to search next, Senator.”
“Please, call me Ian.”
Gus nodded. “We could take a ride out and see if we can find any clues at Maud’s house, and then at the house where she presumably held Lily captive.”
Ian agreed. “First thing in the morning.”
Lily chose a ruffled, pink dress for her first night on duty at the saloon. Mandy said the color brought out her rosy cheeks. Lily scanned the room. It was still early, and there were only a few, stray men at the bar. Lily had taken Mandy’s advice about coming down early to practice before the saloon became too crowded.
Lily sauntered up to the bar and smiled at one of the men drinking.
“Why, hello, little lady,” he said through missing teeth.
Lily tried not to shudder at the sight. “Good evening,” she said, giving him her best-practiced smile.
He yelled to the barkeeper, “A drink for the lady!”
The bartender brought her a shot glass, which she knew from her training contained cold tea. She slugged it down as she’d seen the men do, and then made a face as if it were strong, but good.
“Thank you for the drink," Lily said. "I need to move about now, but I’ll stop and see you again later.” She smiled sweetly at him.