Melting Silver

by Livia Grant

  “Excuse me,” she managed to squeak out, pushing to her feet and somehow making it to the back screen door on wobbly legs. She met Nettie coming back in with a pail of brown eggs. Emelie brushed by her to rush out into the sunshine.

  “Lordy, child. Where are you going in such a hurry?”

  Emelie heard the screen door slam behind her as she heard the men yelling at each other again.

  And just like that, her newly found safe-haven was ruined.

  ***

  “You mind if I sit with you for a spell?” Emelie looked up into the high-noon sun shielding her eyes with her hand to see Ruby standing in front of the bench she’d been sitting on for at least thirty minutes.

  Emelie had taken off, fully intending to go for a long walk to think over her options. She had been one step away from the public sidewalk that marked the departure from the Red Petticoat Saloon property when she’d stopped dead in her tracks, unwilling to test Gabe’s promise to punish her for a broken rule.

  She never bothered to answer Ruby. The spunky redhead sat down next to her anyway. She was in her pink petticoat uniform out in broad daylight for God and the world to see her and by the look on her freckled face, it didn’t bother her at all.

  “So, I’m guessing Jewel sent you to check on me,” Emelie eventually prompted.

  “Nope.”

  “Nettie?”

  “Nope.”

  “Gabe?” Oh God, she hoped Gabe wasn’t looking for her. He scared the bejesus out of her.

  “You know damn good and well it was Charlie who sent me.” Ruby broke out giggling. “Don’t act so surprised. Everyone’s talking. Charlie is sweet on you.”

  Warm honey seeped through her veins at the thought of the possibility. “Not at all. We’re both musicians is all. We have something in common.”

  “Uh-ha. If you say so.” Ruby was a very bold person. “Not that I blame you. He’s a definite catch, but…” She broke off. “Enough about that. I was hoping you could help me. We need to take a delivery of soiled linens down to the laundry. It’s a big bundle this time and I sure could use your help.”

  Emelie liked the idea of being helpful, although she doubted she’d be the best person to carry a heavy load.

  Together the girls heaved the oversized duffle bag onto a flat wagon and set off pulling it down the street towards the laundry. The load was heavy enough that they took turns pulling, taking their time and stopping to rest.

  “So how long have you worked at the Red Petticoat?” Emelie ventured.

  “Oh, since not too long after Miss Jewel and Gabe opened it. Believe it or not, I worked at the laundry before the Red Petticoat opened.”

  “That doesn’t sound like fun work.”

  “Fun? Goodness no. And no money either. I’m making loads of money these days.”

  Emelie examined the thin ring on Ruby’s ring finger. “I can’t believe your husband lets you be a gem. Isn’t he jealous of you being around so many men all day and night?”

  “Jeb? Hell no.” Ruby stopped and leaned in close to whisper, “Don’t tell Jeb I cursed. My bottom would pay the price.”

  Seeing Ruby grin, Emelie had to wonder, did women all get beat around these parts?

  Ruby continued on pulling the wagon as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “I mean, I guess it might help that he’s the sheriff. Ain’t none of the customers stupid enough to mess with the sheriff’s wife. In fact, not only do they all tip me nice trying to stay on Jeb’s good side, most every one of them will tattle on me in a heartbeat if they think I’m doing anything that might harm our child.”

  “I didn’t realize you were a mother,” Emelie said.

  “Oh, I’m not.” Seeing Emelie’s puzzled expression, Ruby giggled and stopped for a moment. She ran her hands over her dress, smoothing the fabric a bit until the definite shape of a baby bump became visible. Emelie’s eyes widened as Ruby smiled, running her palm across her tummy. “It will be a few more months until this little one makes his appearance.”

  Emelie was quiet as they switched spots and she struggled to pull the wagon up the small incline of Gold Street. She debated if the next question was too forward, but considering Ruby’s behavior, her curiosity got the best of her. “Didn’t Jeb have a problem marrying a… gem?”

  “You mean a fallen woman? Naw. I lucked out. I came right before my eighteenth birthday and Miss Jewel and Mr. Gabe wouldn’t let me start working upstairs until I was of proper age. I guess you could say Jeb courted me and convinced me to marry him before I could do much more than serve drinks and food.”

  “Lucky you. I bet not all the girls are that lucky.”

  “You’d be surprised. We’ve had more than a few gems find their prince charming while they worked upstairs at the Red Petticoat. Take Citrine. That’s Della now. She married Doc Norwood. Lapis became Mrs. Louise Rockwell when she married Mayor Rockwell and Callie even married the preacher!”

  Emelie stopped pulling in the middle of the street, turning back to face Ruby. “You’re making this up. There’s no way a preacher would marry a gem.”

  Ruby put her hands on her hips, “Are you calling me a liar?” she accused.

  “No. It’s just… well… okay maybe I am. I can’t believe a preacher would be able to… you know.”

  “Maybe not back in Wisconsin where you’re from or even in San Francisco, but here in Culpepper Cove where the men outnumber the women by so much, it happens all the time. Not many women are coming west these days and those of us here need to bring joy to the men folk as best we can. Some of the women do it with their bodies and you… well you do it with your voice. I can tell you that we make decent tips in pink petticoats, but the real money is upstairs. You’re right pretty. The men would eat you up. Have you given working upstairs a thought?”

  “Oh goodness, I couldn’t.” Emelie could feel the blood rushing to her face. She turned to resume pulling the wagon to avoid continuing the discussion down this path.

  “So you’re an innocent, then. I was too on my wedding night. Jeb had to teach me everything.”

  Emelie was thrilled to see the laundry up ahead. They couldn’t arrive fast enough if it might bring this embarrassing discussion to a close.

  Ruby refused to let her silence go. “It’s all right to admit it, you know. Nothing wrong with being an innocent, but I feel like I need to warn you. You’re gonna get an eyeful and earful of shocking activities. In fact, even if you don’t go upstairs, you’re gonna have to learn to flirt with the customers or you won’t make any tips. It’s kinda fun. A pinch here or a spank there. They love it when I sit on their laps and let them grab a little feel of my curves.”

  “I can’t believe your husband allows that.”

  Ruby’s laugh seemed genuine. “Jeb truthfully loves me working. Of course, it won’t be for much longer. Once our baby arrives, I’ll be too busy to work… at least for a while. But for now, I come home hot and bothered every night from all the petting I get at work. He says it’s fine with him as long as he’s the beneficiary of my attentions in the bedroom. Let’s just say we have loads of fun after he picks me up from work. Every once in awhile, we’re both so hot and bothered we have to stop at his office for a quick poke to tide us over until we can make it home.”

  Emelie was in awe of how easily her new friend spoke about sex. Words fell out of her mouth without any forethought. “It sounds like you enjoy it. How can that be? I think sex is awful.”

  Ruby stopped pulling again. “Ah… I’m a bit slow, but I think I’m putting the story together. You’re not an innocent after all.”

  “Innocent? No. Unfortunately, far from it,” Emelie whispered, regret spilling from her.

  Ruby didn’t ask. She stepped close and threw her arms around Emelie to give her a supportive hug. It was so unexpected that Emelie found tears pricking at her eyes at the spontaneous show of friendship from a woman she’d only met the day before.

  The women pulled out of the hug and Ruby continued her inq
uisition. “Who was it? An old beau? I hope it wasn’t any relation who violated you.”

  She didn’t want to talk about this at all, but she couldn’t let Ruby think poorly of her family. “Oh never my relation. My family is wonderful. In fact, I’m sure they’ve disowned me for running away and putting myself into danger as I have. No, I got what I deserved.”

  “Hey, no one deserves to be violated. And if the sex was as awful as you say, they were definitely doing it wrong because I think sex is the best thing in the world. Even better than Nettie’s chocolate cake, and that’s saying something.”

  Emelie couldn’t stop the smile from playing at her lips at that comment. “Well, I haven’t tasted her cake, but if it is anything like the other wonderful creations Nettie’s made since I got here, I’m sure it is like a slice of heaven.”

  No matter how much Emelie wanted it, Ruby wouldn’t let the topic of sex drop. “Not like the heaven a talented man can show you in his bed. Jeb makes sure to keep me happy since he knows I’ll be surrounded by men all night at the saloon. He wants me to remember no one can scratch my itch like him, if you get my drift.” Her new friend winked.

  They were thankfully approaching the laundry. Emelie tried to settle the topic once and for all. “Yeah, well no one’s ever bothered to scratch my itch.”

  “Never?” Ruby was incredulous.

  “Never.”

  “Oh, boy. You’re missing out.”

  Her memory went back to her dream that morning, remembering the glorious high she’d felt and wondered if there was a man who could make her feel that way. Ruby’s forward talk made Emelie say forward comments she never would have dreamed of saying to anyone else. “I don’t know how the gems handle the taste. Men taste something terrible.”

  “Why do you think Jewel put the enormous bath room in with two tubs? The gems make the customers wash up before going upstairs.”

  “Still… the—stuff—tastes terrible.”

  Ruby’s eyes sparkled. “You think? I’ve sorta started to like it.”

  “You’re crazy then. Even if it tasted better, I hate how it makes me feel. So…”

  “Horny?” Ruby grinned.

  “Stop! You are incorrigible. I was going to say helpless.”

  “Oh, I may complain to Jeb, but I adore it when he makes me feel helpless. Those are some of our best… well, you know.”

  “We need to change the subject. Do you always talk about sex so much?”

  “Well, sure. I do work in a brothel after all. And I hate to tell you, but so do you so you’d better at least pretend to like sex or you won’t make any money.”

  They dragged the wagon around the side door of the laundry. The drop off only took a few minutes. They had to wait ten minutes though to have the teenage boy who worked there load up the wagon with the clean linens and towels they needed to take back to the Red Petticoat.

  Emelie couldn’t help but notice that he would have finished a lot faster if he stopped sneaking peeks at the ladies every chance he got. As he was finishing loading the last bag of linens, Ruby leaned in to whisper in Emelie’s ear.

  “I think he likes you… a lot.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “That package of his in his pants. He looks downright uncomfortable.” Ruby giggled.

  Much to her chagrin, Emelie’s glance sought out the tented trousers a few feet away. The boy tried his best to angle himself so the women couldn’t see, but he had a vulgar appendage that didn’t want to be quieted.

  When he realized the girls were giggling at him, he stopped any pretense of hiding his boner and turned to them, a heated look in his eyes.

  It wasn’t until he started closing the last few feet between them that Emelie’s alarm bells went off.

  “How about you ladies take care of my little problem here and I’ll take a bit off your bill?” He grinned then, displaying his crooked yellowing teeth just before she focused on a familiar looking three-inch scar on his cheek.

  Something inside her snapped when he reached his hand out to grab her. The room felt like it was spinning. Memories of being sexually dominated by Albert and almost raped by the gunslinger with a similar scar before he erupted into flames rushed back to her, mingling with the picture of the young man in front of her—grabbing her—hurting her.

  She didn’t stop to think. Emelie moved on instincts. She had to get away. She lifted her long skirt and took off running, out of the laundry, retracing her steps all the way back to the Red Petticoat at a full-out run. She didn’t wait for Ruby. She didn’t think about the laundry. She only had one thought and that was getting back to her room and locking her door.

  By the time she burst through the winged doors of the saloon, she was completely out of breath and a hot and sweaty mess. She felt perspiration drops sliding down her body, but it didn’t matter.

  From her peripheral she saw Charlie standing near the piano across the room. He rushed towards her while from the right she could see Gabe coming from behind the bar headed her way. They converged on her as her wobbly legs gave out. She would have sunk to the floor if it weren’t for Charlie catching her.

  “What’s wrong, Emelie? You look like you saw a ghost! Did someone hurt you?”

  Her heart thumped in her chest from her exertion and she was so out of breath, she couldn’t have talked if she’d wanted to, which, of course, she didn’t want to do. Only now was she realizing that, in her fear, she’d left Ruby behind with the little pervert at the laundry. Shame consumed her as tears pricked her eyes. She couldn’t talk yet, but she had to send the men to Ruby’s rescue. She owed her new friend that much.

  “Ruby…” Was all she got out.

  Gabe stood straight, pulled a revolver from the holster he wore around his hip. “Where?” he demanded and when she managed to gasp, “laundry,” he took off running out the door in the direction of the laundry. Charlie scooped up Emelie and carried her to a nearby chair, sitting and pulling her into his lap. The second his arms moved around her, the dam holding back her tears broke and heartbroken sobs wracked her body.

  She heard Charlie telling someone to fetch a wet cloth and a glass of water. She didn’t know how to tell him she’d need a bit more than that to fix her. It was clear as the flashbacks of the burning gunslinger flashed before her that no matter how far away she ran, memories of being a murderess would crash back on her at the most inopportune times.

  A half-dozen of the gems had heard the commotion and had arrived to stand around them, trying to figure out what was going on. Jewel arrived as Gabe got back with a flustered looking Ruby. The anger was easy to see on his face, but the fact that he was taking long strides, pulling Ruby along making her jog to keep up with him filled Emelie with dread.

  He stepped in front of them, glaring down at her. She burrowed deeper into Charlie’s arms, although she wasn’t sure he would be able to protect her.

  “Would you care to tell me what the hell got into you that you left Ruby to run back alone?”

  She wasn’t trying to make him madder. She spoke the truth to his question. “Not really.”

  Titters of laughter ran through the gems until Gabe’s glance their way silenced them.

  “Humor me. See, Ruby here is already in a load of trouble with me. I need to understand how many punishments I’ll be dishing out this afternoon.”

  Ruby objected. “Hey, wait a minute! How am I in trouble? She’s the one who got spooked and left me alone. That’s not my fault.”

  He still held Ruby’s arm in his vice grip, turning to look at her. “You won’t be punished for being out alone.” Ruby started to relax until he pushed on. “You will, however, be paddled long and hard for not only forgetting to inform anyone where you were going, but for going out in your pink petticoats. You know damn good and well the kind of trouble that can stir up.”

  Ruby defended herself. “There isn’t a man in this town stupid enough to hurt the sheriff’s woman. I just forgot to change into my white petticoats.
Anyway, I’ve worn my pink ones to the laundry plenty of times and nothing bad ever happened before.”

  Even Emelie knew this was not the smartest argument Ruby could have made.

  “Wonderful. We’ll have to double or triple the punishment then in account of the other times.”

  “Wait a minute…” Ruby protested, but Gabe had turned towards the other gems gathered around.

  “And who’s gone to the laundry with Ruby in the past when she’s ‘forgotten’ to change? Seems you’ve earned a punishment session too for not stopping her.”

  The gems all started talking at the same time, trying to reason with Gabe. Through the instant chaos Emelie felt many angry glares aimed her way for stirring up trouble.

  Dottie said what she suspected everyone wanted to say. “This ain’t fair. Silver’s the one who broke the rules. Why should we all be in trouble?”

  “Stop worrying about Silver. I’ll deal with her in good time. She’s the new girl. You all should know better and, if not, perhaps you’d like Sheriff Justice to give you a reminder as well?”

  Charlie jumped to his feet, still cradling her in his arms. Emelie had to admit his arms felt pleasant around her—comforting.

  Jewel’s loud pronouncement stopped him in his tracks. “That’s enough! Everyone be silent, and, Charlie, stop right there.”

  Emelie couldn’t see what was happening, but the large room was suddenly so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even the one table of gamblers in the far back corner had stopped their game to watch the drama.

  “Glad to have everyone’s attention. Everyone except Ruby and Silver head back up to your rooms. You’re supposed to be resting up. We’re gonna have a long night ahead of us.” Emelie couldn’t see them, but they must have been standing still because Jewel added a brisk. “Now, ladies.” She could hear the shuffle of feet and mumblings as the gems took off towards the stairs.

  Gabe took charge. “The rest of you, to the office. Now, unless you’d like to take your punishment here where everyone left can bear witness.”

  Ruby stomped off, muttering under her breath. “Not fair at all.”

  Emelie had blown it. She’d finally made one friend and she’d screwed that up, but as much as that bothered her, a fear like she hadn’t felt since the gunslinger had carried her off took hold and wouldn’t let her go.