The Lost Girl
Page 15
Charity’s eyes widened with sympathy for the girl. ‘She must be so disappointed.’
‘I sorry for her, too. And is more bad. Arrangement is now made and bride price paid, so Chinese people see girl as wife to me, and she is not now able to marry another person. Chinese wife live with family of husband so she must live as servant to honourable mother. I am able to see this is not nice for girl.’
‘You see that because you’re a nice person, Chen Fai,’ Charity said gravely.
A pale pink hue spread across his cheeks. ‘I’m glad you think I’m nice, Charity.’ He hesitated. ‘In China, unmarried man and woman must not be alone together, must not talk together. This mean I must not speak to you like this, and walk with you, even if American family watch us. It is very bad for reputation of woman. I tell you this long time ago when I not want you to be friend of Su Lin.’
‘I remember,’ she said, and she pulled her single braid over her shoulder and started sucking the tip of it.
Smiling, he gently separated her hand from her hair.
‘But we are not in China now. In China, unmarried Chinese girl is not seen outside home by people who are not family, but we not easily able to live here if Su Lin never come out of room behind store. So Su Lin do like an American girl and she come out. Chinese people in America understand this and it not harm her reputation. If we do one thing different from in China, we also can do another thing different. Do you agree?’
She shifted her weight from one foot to another. ‘I guess.’
‘So I like to walk with you, Charity. You want to come with me to river over there tomorrow?’
He pointed towards the river.
She looked up at the dark eyes that gazed at her with warmth and hope, at the mouth that smiled a smile which reached the eyes, at the face she’d grown to know so well since she’d met Su Lin, at the man Su Lin called a good brother and who’d never shown her anything but kindness.
She took a deep breath. ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Why not?’
Chapter Twenty-Two
Three weeks later
September, 1882
Sitting in the back of the chuck wagon, a mug of coffee next to him, Joe finished reading the letter for a second time. He let the hand holding the letter rest on his knee, and pulled his hat low over his face to protect him from the glare of the unforgiving sun.
It was good news about his pa and the breaker’s job. It must have been difficult for him to have had to be supported by his sons for all that time, and not been able to contribute to the home himself. His pa would feel much better about himself now that he was back at work.
And Sam was walking out with someone, was he? That really brought home to him how long he’d been gone and the changes he must expect to find when he returned. He tried to picture the superintendent’s daughter, but beyond the fact she was blonde, he couldn’t see her at all in his head, having always kept as far away from the mines as he could.
As for the new Act stopping the Chinese from going in and out of America – he raised his hat slightly and glanced again at the letter – and then Chen Fai asking Charity to go walking with him … Well, it was no great surprise. He’d long realised that at some point, the Chinamen in Carter would stop seeing her as too American in her ways, and start seeing her for what she was – a sweet young Chinese girl.
And one of only two Chinese girls in Carter.
But she was a Chinese girl with an American family to support her, and she was never gonna end up in a crib or a sporting house like so many of the girls shipped over from China. And nor would she become a thing to be used by men in a railroad camp, which was probably what had happened to her mother. When Charity was old enough, she’d be someone’s wife. He’d make sure of that, and the folk in Carter knew it. He may not be there to keep an eye on her interests in person, but he knew his ma and pa would be looking out for her.
So why did he feel so empty inside, he wondered, as if a bit of him had fallen away.
Frowning, he scanned the letter again. He’d write in his next letter that she shouldn’t spend too much time alone with a man of Chen Fai’s age, he decided. Maybe that was what was disturbing him. He and Chen Fai were similar in age, and he knew how he and the other drovers spent the evenings in the towns they passed through, with the women they met.
Not that Chen Fai would be thinking of anything casual like that, of course.
In everything he’d done, he’d shown respect for Charity. He had a home and a business, and he’d want a wife and a son who could take over that business one day. Calling on Charity as he’d done showed that he was thinking about her as a wife.
And Chen Sing must have agreed to his son visiting Charity. He knew enough about Chinese ways by now to know that Chen Fai would never have knocked at the Walker house that day if Chen Sing hadn’t given him permission to do so. Chen Sing, too, would be looking at the future.
But he was sure that when Charity agreed to walk with Chen Fai, she was too young to have been thinking about such things. It was Chen Fai’s kindness to her that will have been foremost in her mind, contrasting as it did with the way in which the Carter townsfolk treated her. But hopefully, she wouldn’t one day confuse her gratitude for the Chen family’s friendship with the way in which someone should feel about the person they were going to spend their life with. Such a mistake could cause her great unhappiness.
Then he mentally shook his head and smiled inwardly – he was getting way ahead of himself, thinking of Charity as someone’s wife. He took off his hat, smoothed down his hair, put the hat back on and pulled the brim into position. How she would laugh at him if she could see into his mind, he thought as he jumped from the rear of the wagon. She was still only a child, and as far as she was concerned, she and Chen Fai were going for a walk, and that’s all there was to it.
But it was time he went back to Carter for a visit, he decided as he walked across the sun-baked ground to join Ethan. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to get there, though, as by the time the drive had ended, it’d be too late to get to Wyoming before the snow set in, and he’d already signed for the round-up the following spring. But after that, he’d keep his eyes open for a drive that finished within striking distance of Carter, and when he found one, he’d go and see Charity and his family. He’d find work in Carter for the winter months, which’d give him time to see how his folks were getting on, check that they’d got what they needed, catch up with Charity and Sam, and then leave again in the spring.
It’d be interesting to see what Charity looked like now she was more than four years older, he mused. She probably still had that wide, happy smile of hers, but would just be a bit taller.
A wave of warmth spread through him as he remembered the trusting way in which she used to slip her little hand into his larger one, and how they’d stand side by side on the craggy peaks overlooking Carter.
Yup, he’d go back as soon as he could. After all, he was responsible for her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Two and a half years later
Early March, 1885
The knocking was loud on the door.
Charity paused in scraping the mud from the carrots and turnips they’d bought at the company store the evening before, and glanced towards the door in surprise. It wouldn’t be Chen Fai, she thought, dipping her hands into the jug of water next to her and wiping them dry on a rag.
With the hatred of the whites for the Chinese getting worse with each passing month, Chen Fai had long ago stopped coming to the Walkers’ house.
The moment he’d heard she was looking to work more hours in the town, he’d given her a job in the store, and they’d been able to relax and get to know each other away from the eyes of the white community.
The knocking sounded again with increased urgency.
She smoothed down her pinafore, and moved swiftly across to the door.
‘It’s all right, Charity; I’ll get the door,’ Martha called to her, hurrying into the ro
om. ‘Finish the carrots before you leave for work if you can – we’ll need them this evenin’.’
She went back to the bowl of vegetables and picked up the knife as Martha opened the door.
‘Why, Eliza Culpepper!’ Martha exclaimed, seeing the woman standing on the doorstep, her breath a cloud of white vapour in the raw morning air. ‘This sure is a surprise! Come on in and sit down. You look real cold, and fair worn out, if I might say.’ She stood aside to let her into the room. ‘Here; give me your coat and I’ll hang it up.’
‘Thank you, Martha,’ Eliza said.
‘You can bring us some milk and biscuits, Charity,’ Martha told her, going across to the table. ‘And then you can leave for work. I’ll finish the vegetables later.’
Charity dried her hands again.
‘Oh, no,’ Eliza said quickly, glancing anxiously at Charity as she sat down. ‘I need the gal’s help, Martha. It’s Seth; he’s ill.’
Martha gave an exclamation of dismay. She leaned across the table and took hold of Eliza’s hand. ‘Oh, Eliza. I sure am sorry to hear it.’
Tears sprang to Eliza’s eyes.
‘What’s the matter with him?’ Martha asked gently. ‘Seth’s a good man, and whatever’s wrong with him, if there’s anythin’ we can do to help, we’ll do it. Hiram will say the same when he gets back from the mine.’
‘I’m grateful for your willingness, Martha; it’s mighty neighbourly of you,’ Eliza said, her voice shaking. ‘I confess, I’ve never been so afear’d. We were sitting at home at the end of the day, like we’ve been able to do more often recently, now one of the lads is living at the stable, and Seth got up from his chair to go for some water, and fell to the floor. Just like that. Without any warning. He was all bent over, holding his chest real tight, and I could tell from his face that something powerful was paining him.’
‘Oh, dear God, Eliza!’
‘Curled up like a babe, he was, saying his chest hurt something bad. I’m telling you, he couldn’t breathe, and I feared for his life. I sent Greg for the miners’ doc – Greg’s the new stable lad. Waiting for the doc felt the longest wait I’ve ever had. Seth was blue around the mouth by the time he arrived.’
‘And what did Doc say?’
‘That Seth had probably gotten ill because of anxiety. You know how he frets about the lads not running the stable properly if he’s not watching them.’
Martha nodded. ‘I know it’s gotten to be a worry with him.’
‘It’s all the different boys he’s had working for him. They aren’t hard workers like your Joe was. Joe had the right instincts about dealing with horses as well as with folk. These days, Seth always feels he needs to check that the lads’ve done what they should’ve done.’ Her voice broke.
Martha tightened her grip on Eliza’s hand. ‘He’s gonna be all right, though, isn’t he?’
‘The doc said so, but only if he rests. He’ll be laid up for quite a while. Poor Seth – he’s an active man and he’ll hate that. And this is the time the livery’s starting to get busy.’ She broke down in tears, freed her hand from Martha’s, dug into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. ‘You should see him, Martha,’ she sobbed. ‘He looks so grey and so ill, just lying there.’
‘Don’t you fret so, Eliza. The doctor knows what he’s doin’ – he’s had to deal with enough minin’ accidents and illnesses. And you know he’s an honest man – he’d tell you straight out if he thought Seth wasn’t gonna make it.’
Eliza nodded. ‘I know that,’ she said, and she wiped her eyes.
‘D’you want Charity to get some herbs like Chinaman Doc gave us for Hiram after his accident? Is that it? She’d do that; wouldn’t you, gal?’ She turned to Charity.
Charity took a step forward. ‘You know I would.’
Eliza blew her nose. Her eyes watering again, she stared at Martha. ‘It’s not that, though I reckon those herbs might help. Chen Fai would get them if I asked, and I think I’ll do that. I expect Joe told you that Seth drops by the mercantile in the evenings from time to time. But no, it’s not that.’ She wiped her eyes again. ‘It’s bigger than that and I sure hate asking, especially with you so busy helping Phebe and Sam with the baby.’
‘What is it, then?’ Martha asked, her forehead creasing in anxiety.
Eliza took a deep breath. ‘Seth’s not gonna be able to rest just by staying in bed – he’s gotta rest in his mind, too. And that won’t happen if he’s fretting all the time about what’s going on in the stable.’
‘I reckon I can see where this is goin’, Eliza.’
Her eyes red-rimmed, Eliza stared into Martha’s face. ‘None of the lads Seth’s taken on since the day Joe left could run the stable for more than a week or two. And Greg’s only just started. It’ll go to ruin, and you know Seth – the stable’s his life. If he didn’t have that to look forward to …’ She pulled out her handkerchief and blew her nose again.
‘You want us to ask Joe to come back to Carter and run the stable for Seth till he’s back on his feet?’ Martha asked gently. ‘Is that it?’
Eliza nodded. ‘If Joe was running it, Seth’d be able to relax and he’d get better. If we had sons, they’d do it; but we haven’t. Your Joe was like a son to him. It’d be for a month or two. Six at the most – probably till the fall. With the snow flying less and starting to melt, someone must soon get down to ordering supplies for the rest of the year, and there are horses to buy and equipment to mend. But it’s not Seth asking; it’s me. I know it’s a lot to ask—’
Martha shook her head. ‘It’s not a lot to ask, Eliza,’ she interrupted. ‘Helpin’ each other is what neighbours do. Of course, I can’t answer for Joe,’ she went on, ‘but Seth’s been a real good friend to him and I’m sure Joe will come back if he can. The snow’s still thick on the high ground, but if I know my Joe, he’ll find a way of gettin’ through to Carter as fast as he can.’ She turned to Charity. ‘Where’s Joe been spendin’ the winter months? He won’t have moved from there yet.’
‘In Kansas. On a cattle ranch just outside Ellsworth.’
‘Then you go and send a letter to Ellsworth right now, gal. Let Joe know what’s happened as briefly as possible and ask him to come home. A soon as you’ve written it, take it to the mercantile and tell them it’s got to get off sharpish.’
‘I’ll do it right now,’ Charity said, and she hurried out of the room.
‘You don’t know what your kindness means to me, Martha,’ Eliza said with a watery smile, and she squeezed Martha’s hand in gratitude.
‘Oh, but I do. I still remember what Seth’s kindness meant to Joe when Seth gave him a horse and a fine saddle so he could ride off and be a cowboy. That was a generous thing Seth did, and I know Joe will be glad of a chance to say thank you in a way that’s not just sayin’ it with words.’
‘You’re making more of what Seth did than it was.’
‘No, I’m not. We felt your kindness to us then, and you’re gonna feel ours to you now. No matter how old Joe’s got, nor how many years it is since he left Carter, I know the way he’ll think when he gets that letter. He’ll wanna help Seth more than he’ll wanna go on the spring round-up.’ She vigorously nodded her head.
Eliza’s eyes filled with tears again. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘There’s nothin’ to say,’ Martha said with a warm smile. ‘You just dry those eyes.’
Eliza put the handkerchief to her eyes again. ‘I must get back to Seth,’ she said, standing up and straightening her bonnet.
Martha got up and went across to fetch Eliza’s coat.
‘Joe will probably wanna live here, havin’ been away so long,’ Eliza said as she tightened the ribbons under her chin, ‘so Greg will continue to sleep at the stable and keep an eye on the horses at night. But Joe can use the other room in the back for whenever he wants.’
‘I’ll tell him that. Now, you be sure to give Seth our best wishes, won’t you?’ Martha said, helping Eliza on with her coat
‘You think on this, Eliza Culpepper,’ Martha said. ‘You might just be doin’ us a favour, too. It’s been seven long years since we last saw Joe, and recently I’ve had a powerful hankerin’ to see him again.’
‘As any ma would.’
‘And Hiram’s of a mind to see him, too, though he’d never say as much. I know Joe’ll never stay in Carter as he’s got no future here, but we wanna see the man he’s become, and you’ve given us a good reason to ask him to come home, so the gratitude isn’t all on one side.’
‘But there is a future for Joe in Carter, Martha,’ Eliza said, pausing at the door. ‘If he comes back to the town, you can tell him that if he decides he’d like to stay in Carter after all, he can carry on at the stable with Seth, and the stable will be his one day, along with our house behind it. He’d never have to choose between leaving Carter or going down the mines.’
Martha drew in a sharp breath. She grasped Eliza by the hand, her eyes telling Eliza what she was too overcome to say.
Eliza shrugged. ‘Like I say, we’ve no sons. Joe’s always been special to Seth and me. And he always will be, even if he’s not able to return.’
Chapter Twenty-Four
Less than an hour had passed after Eliza’s leaving when Charity left the house, a letter in her hand, and hurried across the ground between the miners’ houses and town holding her skirts high enough to keep them out of the piles of yellowing snow mixed with pit-dust. As soon as she reached the boardwalk, she half-ran to the mercantile store, trying to avoid sliding in the layer of watery slush that coated the slippery boards.