Denver

by Sara Orwig

  He took Louisa’s arm as if to lead her toward the dining room, but then instead stepped outside onto the back porch, where it was quiet and dark.

  “Mr. Castle, we have to go back inside.”

  “We will. Call me Dan, Louisa. You and I are going to know each other well. There’s a barn dance in two weeks, on Friday and Saturday nights at the new livery stable. Go with me Saturday night.”

  She nodded. “I’ll have to get permission from Mama, but she’ll agree.”

  “Good. We have another minute,” he said, and glanced through the kitchen window at the last of the taffy pullers, still lingering and getting more bites of taffy. He moved closer, holding her upper arms.

  “You look beautiful tonight.”

  “Thank you,” she said breathlessly, her face upturned. Dan looked at her full lips and bent his head, his mouth brushing hers, pressing, and opening her lips, which parted easily. Her tongue thrust against his as his arms closed around her, and he pulled her against him. His heart slammed against his ribs. She was soft and fiery and breathtaking.

  She pushed away, her breath coming in shallow gasps. “We have to go inside.”

  “I want to hold you in my arms and peel away all your fancy finery, your ribbons and lace and dress—”

  “Sir!” she gasped, but he could detect no anger in her voice. She hurried inside and he followed, glad that Reuben hadn’t started searching for her yet.

  He took her arm again. “I’ll pour you some punch. Come with me.”

  “There you are,” Reuben said, moving to the other side of her, his gaze snapping back and forth between Louisa and Dan. “Mr. Castle, this is one of your first parties in Denver, isn’t it?”

  “One of the first.”

  “Oh, yes. You were invited to the Shumachers’ because you do business with Louisa’s father. I’ve forgotten. What business are you in?”

  “I design and build houses,” Dan said as he poured a crystal cup full of pink punch and handed it to Louisa with a smile at her.

  “That’s right. You did the…house on Holladay Street, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did,” Dan said evenly, expecting Reuben to cause trouble.

  “So you’re a good friend of the…lady of the house?” he asked, laughing. Louisa blushed and looked away as if seeking another conversation, yet Dan knew she was listening.

  “It was good for my business. Right now snow is hampering my work. You don’t have to worry about such things, do you, Mr. Knelville?”

  “No. But someday, if you’re ever successful, you won’t either. Where are you from?”

  “Texas,” Dan lied, having rehearsed the answer before. “And where do you hail from?”

  “From Pennsylvania. You—”

  “Louisa,” Dan cut in smoothly, “where were you born?”

  “My family came from Kentucky.”

  “Do you remember Kentucky?”

  “Oh, yes. I remember fancy houses and lots of trees and flowers.”

  Dinah Mason joined them. “Louisa, my hands are red! I pulled taffy so much that my fingers feel as if they’re on fire. Look, Reuben!” she said, holding out her hands for his inspection.

  “While you two look at hands, excuse us. I promised Louisa one of the teacakes.” Dan moved her away from them and she laughed.

  “Shame on you! You promised no such thing.”

  “Well, now I will. Louisa, I promise you a teacake.”

  “Reuben is going to be angry with you.”

  He gave her a searching glance. “You don’t mind.”

  A smile hovered on her face. “No, I don’t. Reuben’s far too sure of himself.”

  “While on the other hand, I lie awake nights worrying whether I will get so much as a hello from you tomorrow.”

  “You do no such thing! I doubt if you’ve thought of me since the party at my house.”

  “That’s not true at all,” he said softly. “I was teasing. But I am awake at nights thinking about you, wondering when I can kiss you as long as I’d like.”

  “Sir, you shouldn’t say such things! We’re in a crowd.”

  “You know no one can hear me. Do you sleep peacefully at night, Louisa? Or have you had one or two thoughts about me?”

  His pulse jumped as she looked away and caught her full, soft lower lip in her teeth. She realized she had waited too long to answer.

  “So you do think of me when you’re in bed,” he said, giving his observation all the innuendo he could. “Think of our kiss tonight.”

  “You’re the most brazen man!”

  “I won’t do anything I shouldn’t—yet. Shall we join the others?” He tucked her arm in his, closing his hand over hers and running his finger along her knuckles. Emily was calling to everyone, motioning them to gather close to sing. Dan slipped his arm around Louisa’s waist, turning to watch her as they sang an old ballad, her soprano voice mixing beautifully with his bass.

  He ached to be alone with her, to pull pins out of her precise hairdo, to unfasten the fancy pearl buttons and untie the velvet ribbons. As they sang, Louisa’s cheeks became a deep rose, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

  Finally they broke up, and the late hour was signaled by the departure of the first guest. Reuben was at her side instantly. “Louisa, we should get our coats. Your father will be watching for you.”

  “You’re right, Reuben. Good night, Mr. Castle.”

  “Good night, Miss Shumacher, Mr. Knelville,” he said quietly. Then he slowly moved away, knowing Reuben would leave with her.

  Soon Dan thanked his host and hostess, then left with Cyrus and two other friends, taking them home in his carriage. He rode home, listening to the steady clop of the horses’ hooves while his thoughts were tangled with images of Louisa. The memory of her kiss burned as hotly as a fire in his memory.

  He was on Grant Street, having left Cyrus at his family’s imposing two-story house. A carriage approached, and Dan knew it belonged to Reuben Knelville, who had just taken Louisa home.

  As Reuben turned up the lane to his house, his carriage halted and Reuben stepped down. The carriage then moved ahead toward the Knelville carriage house.

  Reuben walked into the road, standing off to one side, his fists on his hips.

  “Someday, if you’re lucky, Castle, you’ll be able to afford a driver. If my father doesn’t like your work as a builder, he can influence many of his friends.”

  “And he’d do that for a son who is afraid of me?” Dan asked softly, ready to take on the irritating man.

  “Damn you. If you think I’m afraid of you, you’re just kidding yourself.” Reuben strode to the carriage and Dan dropped to the ground, raising his fists as Reuben swung.

  Both vented their anger. Reuben’s punch barely glanced off Dan’s jaw before Dan came back with one that connected and sent Reuben staggering backward. Reuben feinted, then his right fist shot out and Dan’s head jerked back upon impact. Dan shook his head, protected himself against a flurry of blows, and then slammed his fist into Reuben’s middle.

  There were shouts behind them. Cyrus and his younger brother, Cole, ran out of their house through the snow, jumping a hedge to try to pull the combatants apart.

  “Stop it, before my pa finds out and there’s real trouble!” Cyrus snapped, looking back and forth between the two men, who glared at each other.

  “Stay away from her. I’m warning you now,” Reuben said. He shook free of Cole’s grasp easily and stomped away.

  While Cole ran back home, Cyrus faced Dan. “What brought that on?”

  Dan wiped blood off the corner of his mouth. “Man’s a mean fighter.”

  “I guess he is. He boxed for his college team. He can probably beat almost anyone in the territory.”

  “That’s what you think!” Dan answered, his anger evaporating. “Thanks for stepping in. You probably saved me some teeth. My teeth and I thank you.”

  Cyrus didn’t smile, but stood frowning at Dan. “You’ve made a bad enemy
. He’s powerful, wealthy, and self-centered, and he always has the pretty ladies with him. Look at him now—he’s squiring Louisa. Oh!” Cyrus exclaimed as Dan cast a sharp glance toward him on the last statement.

  “Oh, no. You should forget Louisa Shumacher. Her father’s very particular about the men in Louisa’s life, and Reuben is her beau. You’ll lose more than teeth if you tangle with Reuben. And you’ve told me you want to settle in Denver and have the leading townspeople accept you. You won’t succeed if you cross him. His father is on the new board of directors of the Denver City Water Company. Colonel James Archer and Ralston Knelville are best friends. Knelville’s also good friends with Manfred and Elwood. He’s part of Benjamin Woodward’s Musical Union.”

  “I know he knows everyone. What’s the Musical Union?” he asked, brushing snow off his clothes and walking back to his carriage.

  “Mr. Woodward came out here for his health after the Civil War. He’s with the Pacific Overland Telegraph Company and he’s interested in music. He started the Denver Musical Union and they’re the ones who are putting on the cantata next month.”

  Dan nodded, his thoughts still on Reuben. “So if I’m to move in Denver social circles, I’ll have to step carefully around Reuben Knelville.”

  Cyrus grinned. “You will until you’re firmly established yourself. Then you can drop him down the well.”

  Dan laughed and clasped Cyrus on the shoulder. “Thanks for coming to separate us. It saved me some trouble.”

  Cyrus stepped back and Dan flicked the reins, waving as the carriage drew away.

  The next morning he stopped at Dulcie’s to eat breakfast, following her back to her bedroom afterward.

  Dulcie brushed her hair, watching him in the mirror as he moved restlessly around the room and stopped in front of the window.

  “Snow again! I can’t get anything built in this kind of weather. I’m glad we have a roof on the Potter house so at least we can work on the inside.”

  “All you talk about is work,” she said quietly.

  “I’m getting behind schedule.” He stood with his back to her, his wool shirt pulled tautly across his broad shoulders. His hands were hooked in his hip pockets as he stared outside. She moved across the room to the bed and shrugged out of the silk wrapper. She wore lacy underclothes and long black stockings with blue satin garters. She scooted back on the bed.

  “It’s snowy. It’s early. You don’t have to go to work,” she said in a seductive voice. “Dan…”

  He turned around, a frown furrowing his brow. His gaze swept over her and his frown vanished. A month ago he would have crossed the room eagerly. Now he stood and gazed at her.

  “You’re beautiful, Dulcie.”

  And you have someone else, she thought, keeping her smile in place. “Come here, Dan.”

  He came across the room and sat down on the bed. She wrapped her arms around him, knowing she was losing him and afraid it would be permanent. She knew him so well and she knew that once he fell in love it would be lasting and deep. There wouldn’t be a place for another woman in his life.

  “Dulcie—”

  She stopped his faint protest with her kiss as she rubbed her body against him. He was a man of strong appetites. He wouldn’t be able to resist her touches for long, but she suspected this might be the last time she would coax him into her bed. The thought of losing Dan made her cling to him desperately, using her wiles to hold him. Her fingers tugged free his shirt while she rubbed her bare thigh against his arm.

  “Dulcie,” Dan whispered, starting to raise his head.

  She kissed him passionately, pushing him down and stretching out beside him, sliding her leg over his and caressing him. Dan’s arms wrapped around her and lifted her, sliding her over him. She clung to him, moving her hips against his, knowing in her heart their relationship had changed.

  An hour later he moved restlessly around her room as he fastened the buttons on his pants. A cheroot was clenched between his teeth, and a spiral of smoke surrounded his head.

  “I thought you’d be here last night,” she said as she lay back and watched him.

  “I went to a party,” he said in an offhand manner, moving to the window. “Damned if it isn’t snowing again.”

  “You’re moving up in society.”

  “Dulcie, I love it here. I think Denver will be one of the major cities in the West. The more I get to know the people and learn what they’re doing and have done, the more I have to admire them. Before we came, the railroad was going to bypass Denver and run north of here through Cheyenne. When these people learned they would be cut off from the railroad, they did something about it—they incorporated the Denver Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company, and now the first train is scheduled to arrive here from Cheyenne this summer. The people in this town raised the money themselves. That all happened in 1867. Do you realize how much money they must have had to raise in such a short time?”

  Dulcie’s mind wasn’t on railroads. She wished she could get Dan back to bed with her, just to hold him. She didn’t want him to walk out the door and leave her, because she was afraid of how long it would be before he came back. And it plagued her to wonder who the new woman in his life was.

  “How was the Shumacher party? You never did tell me about it.”

  “It was nice,” he answered quietly, and Dulcie noticed the change in his voice.

  “How is Miss Shumacher?” she asked blandly, sitting up to pull on her wrapper. She had no idea whether there actually was a Miss Shumacher or not.

  “She’s beautiful,” he answered, and Dulcie looked up at him.

  “Describe her. I can’t remember if I’ve seen her or not. I get the ladies mixed up.”

  He gazed out the window, and his voice softened as he answered, “She has black hair and big blue eyes.”

  Dulcie stared at him, knowing now who was replacing her in Dan’s affections. It had been a mere guess, asking about Miss Shumacher, but she knew without question that it had been an accurate guess. “I don’t recall seeing her. I don’t know the Shumachers,” she said, knowing Mr. Shumacher didn’t patronize her house.

  “You wouldn’t forget her, Dulcie.” He turned around to look at her, stamping out the cheroot.

  “You’re in love with her, Dan,” she said, wishing she could hold back the accusation, yet unable to do so. She didn’t want to let him know how badly it hurt. She stood up, trying to sound brisk. “I knew you would fall in love with some little simpering slip of a girl someday. It was inevitable. There’ll be others after her. You can come back to me between them.”

  As she glanced in the mirror at him, he laughed and shook his head. “Haven’t you ever given even a little piece of your heart to a man, Dulcie? If you weren’t so good and kindhearted, I’d think it was impossible for you to love.”

  “Love is for the princess in the fairy tale,” she said haughtily, hoping her tone hid the hurt she felt. She wanted to cry out that she had a heart and it belonged to him. She loved him as she had never loved anyone else, but that was exactly why she couldn’t tell him the truth. She loved Dan and she wouldn’t ruin his life or stand in his way.

  “She should help you move into Denver society.”

  He laughed. “I have to move into Denver society to get her to give me the time of day!”

  “Oh, Lord, I hope she isn’t one of those prissy women!”

  Dan shifted impatiently, yanking up his coat. Dulcie was beginning to bother him with her questions about Louisa Shumacher. “I’m going to work.”

  “Sure, hon,” she said, lifting her face for a slight brush of his lips on her cheek. He looked down at her and patted her fanny.

  “You’re fun, Dulcie.” He winked at her and left, his footsteps fading as he went down the hall.

  She closed her door and moved to the window. In minutes she watched him stride away, walking briskly, bareheaded. Most people were hunched over from the cold, but Dan was swinging his arms as if it were a May morning while snow s
prinkled his shoulders. Tears stung her eyes. “Oh, Dan, my love. I hope she’s a good woman. I hope she deserves you and can make you happy. And I hate her.” She wiped at her tears. “Louisa Shumacher,” she said aloud, determined to get Lyle Workman, who ran a general store, to point out Miss Shumacher to her.

  Three mornings later Dulcie entered Lyle’s store. She shivered, smiling and nodding at the group of men clustered around the glowing potbellied stove.

  “Howdy, Miss Dulcie,” two of them said in unison.

  “How’re things at the house?” another asked.

  “How’s Silver Lady?” a regular customer of her house asked.

  “Silver’s fine, Thomas. Everything’s fine, except this cold spell has me freezing when I have to go out.”

  “Come over here, Miss Dulcie, and we’ll warm you up,” Jake Clozen said, and guffawed, while the others grinned at her good-naturedly. She laughed and passed them. There seemed to be only a few other females in the store. Three young ladies dressed in finery stood at the counter talking with Lyle, and another was shopping, gathering potatoes out of the barrel. She looked up as Dulcie approached, and smiled.

  “ ’Morning,” she said softly, and Dulcie gazed into wide green eyes.

  “ ’Morning,” she answered in return. The woman surprised Dulcie, because few of the town’s women would speak to her. But one sweeping glance told her this young woman wasn’t in Denver society. She was far too plain. Dulcie moved on to the counter, where the three young women turned to stare at her.

  “ ’Morning, Miss Dulcie,” Lyle said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  One of the ladies drew herself up. They were dressed in the latest fashion, and Dulcie knew they would never speak to her or even so much as nod.

  “Now, ladies,” Lyle said, “I can order—”

  “Mr. Workman,” one of the women said in frosty tones, “we’ll come back another time.”

  “Miss Shumacher, I’ll be happy to take the order. It won’t take more than a few weeks.”

  “We’ll be back another time,” she said emphatically, looking at Dulcie, who stared back defiantly, her gaze sweeping over Louisa Shumacher’s blue velvet coat trimmed in ermine, her fancy bonnet, her eyes flashing with annoyance.