by Zina Abbott
“I’ll take your warning under advisement, but I’m sure I can manage with the boots I have on now. My low-heeled boots detract from my current wardrobe, so I choose to not wear them.”
“You are dressed exceptionally nice today, Miss Brown. If you insist on helping sort through the dust and clutter of my office to try to put my bookkeeping to rights, perhaps you should change into something less formal. A regular gown, something less fancy, would probably be better. The flat-heeled boots probably wouldn’t detract then.” Bennett glanced her way. He quickly did a double-take. She stared at him as if he had taken leave of his senses.
“These are my regular clothes, Mr. Nighy. I didn’t bring anything terribly fancy with me. I made a point to pack my simplest outfits.”
Bennett raised an eyebrow in response. If what he had seen on her the day before and now were her simplest outfits, he hated to imagine what the fancy ones she had left behind looked like. “At least bring a coat and a hat that won’t take off in flight if a stiff wind kicks up. You did bring a heavy winter coat, didn’t you?” Beside him, Bennett could both hear and feel her huff of annoyance.
“Of course I did, even though it did take up a considerable amount of room in one of my trunks. We have winter in the East, and I am aware of the season.”
“And wear flat-heeled boots.”
After waiting almost a half hour, Bennett rose from the Howard’s parlor chair upon which he had been sitting as he heard Delphinia descending the stairs. He noticed she had on a heavy gray wool coat buttoned up under her chin and a hat that sat lower on her head. Ribbons tied under her chin secured it in place. She still wore her boots with the two inch heels.
After arriving at his store, Bennett left Delphinia in the office while he went to his upstairs apartment long enough to change out of his suit.
Miss Sarah Brown may insist on dressing like a fashion plate, but I intend to be comfortable.
When he turned his office—his office, Bennett kept reminding himself—he noticed Delphinia had removed her hat, gloves and coat. She still wore the rose pink and brown fashion plate-worthy suit from that morning. He sat on a stool from his storeroom since she had taken over his office chair, and he did as she directed. First, he sorted papers by size and color. Then she began to organize them by month. Several times she demanded to know where the date was on a particular paper, especially on some of the invoices he had written up. When he informed her he must not have written a date, she subjected him to a grilling until he came up with an approximate date based on when he had purchased the supplies or completed the work. Then she lectured him on the importance of dating all his documents. Within two hours he felt exhausted. Across from him, the woman showed no signs of fatigue.
Nothing distracted Delphinia from her task until through the walls they heard the faint sound of the train whistle. She lifted her head and queried Bennett. “Is that the train from Denver?”
“Yes. Are you expecting someone to arrive on it?” Bennett raised an eyebrow and studied Delphinia. Instead of answering him, she stared off into the distance, her hand still grasping a stack of invoices she was sorting in date order. A few seconds later, she returned to her task.
Bennett knew she was trying to appear unconcerned, but the coming of the train held meaning for her. He decided to prod a little harder. “This is the train the brides for the miners are coming in on. They all meet in Denver with the woman who is running the show for the mine owners. They usually come up as a bunch.”
Delphinia fingers continued sorting. “Yes, while at the mercantile I heard something along those lines. Then, too, I know Clara Howard has been working hard to prepare for their arrival.”
“I thought you may have heard about it from Aaron Brinks when you went to visit him last night. His wife was one of those brides who came up last summer.” Bennett waited for a response, but received none. He knew he was baiting her, but he didn’t care. He still hadn’t figured out what she was hiding. However, he could tell she was not indifferent to the brides coming in from Denver. Unless… “Is there someone specific you were expecting to arrive on that train?”
At his question, Delphinia froze in place. Other than Lizett Millard arriving with the brides, she hoped there was no one who was looking for her arriving on the train. Her father or his men couldn’t have found her this fast, could they? She had gone to great lengths, even using a disguise and another alias on the leg of her journey from Lexington to Chicago. Her efforts surely had bought her more time than this. Realizing Bennett watched her with far too much interest, she shook her head and resumed sorting the papers. However, her concentration had been broken.
Delphinia stacked the piles in an order that meant something to her and used Bennett’s three paper weights to secure all the loose papers in place. “I probably better get back to Howard’s and prepare for supper, Mr. Nighy. I will be back tomorrow morning and we can resume where we left off.”
I planned to spend the morning in my work shop.”
“This is more important. Please don’t touch anything. I have it organized the way I want and I don’t wish to redo my work.
Delphinia rose from her chair and reached for her hat only to find Bennett standing before her. The easy-going smile on his lips didn’t match the intensity in his eyes. “You don’t want to leave just yet, Miss Brown. If it’s anything like last time, Royce Bainbridge—he’s one of the mine owners—will load the ladies up in the two fancy surreys he and his brother own and take them on the grand tour of the town. Stay and watch them drive by here. It’s like watching a parade. Come on. I’ll set up two of those chairs from that dark walnut dining room set next to the window, and we can view them in comfort.”
In silence Delphinia studied her hand as she smoothed on one dark kidskin glove and buttoned it at the wrist. She considered Bennett’s suggestion. Maybe it would give her a bit of an advantage if she was able to see Mrs. Millard before she actually sought her out about her situation. “That sounds agreeable, Mr. Nighy. I appreciate the offer. After that it will be time for me to leave.”
“Let me get the chairs set up. Then we can only hope.”
“For what, Mr. Nighy?”
“They don’t take too long to travel down Church Street. That way you can get back in time to claim a chair of your choosing at the supper table. I imagine it will be crowded tonight.”
“I understand the mine owners are sponsoring a special dinner at the inn for the men and the prospective brides, so they won’t be at Mrs. Howard’s table tonight. Will you be taking your supper at Howard’s again?”
“No, not tonight.”
Delphinia wondered why a pang of disappointed settled on her at learning he would not be eating supper at the same place she would. She decided it was best she not analyze her response too closely. The thought that did stand out in her mind was that she should be at the special supper with the miners and the brides. She wondered if she talked to Mrs. Millard early enough it could be arranged.
“There they are. That’s Royce Bainbridge driving the front surrey. I think the woman sitting next to him is the lady from the bridal agency.”
Delphinia leaned forward and studied the woman who was probably Lizett Millard. She appeared to be short and a little overweight, but very fashionably dressed. Her chestnut hair appeared well-groomed, even considering she had spent several hours on the train and was now riding in an open surrey in weather that had been windy when Delphinia had been out in it. The style of the hat on Mrs. Millard’s head would rival any that could be found in New York.
Delphinia next studied the women who had come in on the train with a promise of marriage within the next few days. They appeared to be a diverse bunch. In the last surrey, the too-slender blonde in the faded calico dress beneath her wool shawl looked like she had signed up as a bride out of desperation. She looked more like a child than an adult with her fly-away hair under a fabric cap held to her head with fabric ties. Delphinia hoped there was a man for each one of
these hopeful women. In the back of her mind, she worried that she was the one out of place, from a background completely foreign to the ones from which these women came. Would there be a miner for her?
What Delphinia did not notice as she studied the small caravan making its way along Church Street was the intensity with which Bennett studied her.
As the last surrey disappeared from view, Delphinia tied her hat on her head and pinned it in place on top. She rose from her chair and handed her coat to Bennett on the assumption he was enough of a gentleman he would help her put it on. Buttons fastened, she started towards the door. “Goodbye, Mr. Nighy. Thank you for allowing me to view the parade, as you called it. I’ll be back about an hour after breakfast tomorrow to finish organizing your office.”
“Would you like me to escort you to the boarding house, Miss Brown? It’s snowing lightly now, but it may get heavier before you reach the Howards.”
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. The snow is manageable and there’s still an hour or more of daylight. I’ll be quite safe. Until tomorrow, then.”
Bennett folded his arms and watched her go.
Stubborn woman! Just because I caught her when she started to fall after she tripped, she has to prove she can manage these boardwalks and uneven muddy streets in the snow wearing those infernal boots.
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CHAPTER 16
~o0o~
Delphinia arrived at Howard Boarding House in time to witness the confusion of five women plus Mrs. Howard standing in the parlor talking excitedly. Mr. Howard and a young man she did not recognized asked directions on where to put the trunks and valises that were being taken off a wagon parked behind one of the surreys. Evidently, one of the surreys had left. Delphinia confirmed which woman was Mrs. Millard based on her taking the initiative to issue orders regarding who was sleeping where. Sensing this was not a good time to try to meet with her, Delphinia smiled and nodded to Clara Howard as she stepped around the gaggle of women and started towards the stairs.
Delphinia had climbed halfway up when she heard Lizett Millard call out to her brides. “Mrs. Howard will show you to your rooms, ladies. Now, you have a short time to rest from the journey. Just remember you need to allow enough time to prepare yourselves for meeting the men from whom you will select your new husbands. Except for you, Etta. You’ll enjoy supper here with the Howards.”
Did the woman actually trill her words, Delphinia wondered? Mrs. Millard sounded like she would have gotten along with her mother quite well.
Delphinia took her time removing her coat, hat and gloves. After checking to be sure between the wind that had been blowing stronger than usual and her removing and replacing her hat more than once that day her hair had remained in place, she finally made her way back down the stairs. Hopefully Mrs. Millard was not taking the same rest in her room she had encouraged for her brides.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Delphinia spotted Mrs. Millard in the dining room in conversation with Clara Howard. Delphinia smiled. Events were going as planned. She approached the two women.
Clara Howard noticed her coming and reached for her hand to pull her into the conversation. “Mrs. Millard, this is another one of my boarders, Miss Sarah Brown. She is staying with us until at least Wednesday morning, so you will have an opportunity to see her at table while you are here.”
All proper politeness, just like her mother, Delphinia noticed, Mrs. Millard turned to her with a smile. “So nice to meet you, Miss Brown. My name is Lizett Millard, however I preferred to be known by my first name, don’t you? Please call me Lizett.”
Delphinia graced her with her most charming fake smile. No, with the exception of family and close friends, or when it suited her purposes such as her business dealings with Winifred Shumaker that morning, she did not prefer to be called by her given name. However, now was not the time to make an issue of it. Too much was at stake. “It is my pleasure, Lizett. Call me Sarah, of course. I have heard much about your bridal service. Is it possible I could ask for a few minutes of your time to discuss a private matter with you?”
As if sensing a new customer, Lizett’s face lit with a bright smile. “I would love to meet with you while I’m here. Tonight is rather busy since I need to prepare to shepherd my latest group of ladies to an event, but I’ll be happy to meet with you after breakfast tomorrow.”
Standing straight and tall so she towered over the much shorter woman, and maintaining her smile, Delphinia looked Lizett full in the face. “Mrs. Millard…Lizett…it is important I speak with you before you leave to go to the inn. I promise it won’t take long.”
Delphinia watched the smile disappear from Lizett’s face as the woman studied her. She surmised the bridal agency owner was used to directing affairs to her liking. Delphinia refused to defer to her because if she was to have an opportunity to make a connection with one of the miners in order to marry this weekend, she needed to meet her potential groom this night.
Lizett offered a less than warm smile. “I believe I can spare about ten minutes, Sarah.”
Delphinia glanced Clara Howard’s way. Their hostess had begun to set the table for supper, but Delphinia did not want to take a chance the conversation would be overheard. “I wish to meet someplace where we can speak in private. My room, perhaps?”
In the room, Delphinia motioned Lizett to the reading chair. She carried the stool from the dressing table closer so the two women sat only a few feet apart. “Lizett, I wish to go to the dinner that is being put on tonight to introduce the women who came with you to the miners.”
Lizett assumed a smile as if making an explanation to a simple-minded child. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but that dinner is being hosted by the owners of the Prosperity Mine. They are doing so in order to introduce the brides I brought up to the men who will be their husbands, hopefully by Sunday afternoon. It is not open to those outside this group.”
“Lizett, I am a member of that group. I came to Jubilee Springs under the assumed name of Sarah Brown, but I have been signed up with your agency for months. You know me as Delia Brownlee.”
The smile dropped off Lizett’s face to be replaced by a scowl. “Delia Brownlee? I sent your tickets and money to you in June, Miss Brownlee. I expected you here then. Questions were raised that threatened my credibility, in spite of the care I took to explain your absence.”
My inability to arrive at that time was regrettable on my part as well. I was…detained by circumstances. Unfortunately I also was in a situation where I was unable to contact you to advise you I would be delayed.”
“Were you in prison or a hospital? If not, I see no reason why you could not have sent a quick telegram, at the least.”
Delphinia forced her body to not quake. The woman’s words cut too close. Hadn’t her mother threatened to have her admitted to an asylum for unbalance women? From what little Delphinia had heard over the years, those places did not help the ill as much as they were houses of horror. Even though the ornamental iron bars her mother had ordered to be installed over her bedroom windows were quite decorative, did they not serve the same purpose as prison bars? She swallowed and answered. “No. But I was unavoidably detained.”
“I had two good prospects lined up for you to meet, but you failed to arrive. I cannot stay in business long if I tolerate that lack of commitment to the process.”
Taking advantage of her height, Delphinia sat as straight as possible on her bench and waved away the bridal broker’s complaint. “I quickly discerned the one miner would have been better characterized as a fortune-seeking bounder rather than a good prospect, Lizett. Mr. Brinks had possibilities. However, he was no doubt corresponding to one or two women besides me. Even if I had been here last summer, there is no guarantee he would have favored me over the woman he chose. I’ve met her. She’s a lovely young woman, although from quite a different background than I am. Perhaps his choice was for the best.”
“No, it was not for the best. My handwriting analysis for both Mr. Brinks and Miss Dalton showed that they were very poorly suited for each other. She should have married another miner named Stanley Turner. I warned both of them, but they ignored me. If the match between the Brinks doesn’t work out, I refuse to be held accountable.”
The escalation of Lizett’s anger momentarily puzzled Delphinia. After meeting Aaron and Andrea Brinks, she thought the couple got along well and were quite happy with each other. Then she realized what really frightened the woman before her—having her graphology method discredited. Her means of using graphology to match marriage partners was the big selling point for her business. Without it, she was just another drummer hawking her wares on the street corner.
Her expression intense, Delphinia stared Lizett down. “Get over it, Mrs. Millard. I doubt anyone will blame you for the choices of others. I once again apologize that circumstances beyond my control prevented me from arriving when originally expected. However, I am here now. I am ready to consider marriage with one of the miners with whom you have contracted. I would like to attend the dinner with your party tonight for that purpose.”
Lizett shook her head. “It’s not that simple, Sarah…or Delia—whatever your real name is. When you didn’t arrive and there was no contact for over a month, I determined your contract with me as having been broken. It is null and void as far as I am concerned. Do you understand what I am saying?”
Fire in her eyes, Delphinia snapped back her answer. “Do not talk down to me, Mrs. Millard. I understand business and contracts. However, I do not agree with your explanation or decision.”
“Nevertheless, it is the one I have made. If you wish to use my service again, you must make whole my losses by reimbursing me for the tickets and money I sent you. After that, you must reapply. I would require you to write a new letter. Then I would need time to analyze it, and compare it to those of potential grooms. That could take weeks. Once I found one or two appropriate prospects, I would expect you to enter into a correspondence with them. Even if a decision to marry was made quickly, we would be looking at least two to three months.”