“A—a year?”
“Not to mention a great deal of money for legal fees.”
She didn’t have a penny to her name. How would she pay for legal fees?
“And,” Mr. Hall continued, “until then, Mr. Allen isn’t required to house you and your sisters. You’ll need to find somewhere to live.”
Elizabeth sank into a chair nearby and tried not to let panic overwhelm her. She’d been in a similar situation right after her father had left, before she found work with Mr. Brown. She had been so desperate to keep her sisters alive and there hadn’t been any work to speak of, she’d almost sacrificed her virtue. Would she be required to make that choice again?
* * *
Jude watched Elizabeth collapse into the chair, her shoulders rolling forward in defeat. She hadn’t received the news she’d hoped for—yet neither had he. It was clear these were Clarence’s daughters and they had nowhere else to go. He wouldn’t sit back and let the worst happen to them, no matter what it might cost his business. What kind of a man would he be? Especially when he spent his life protecting defenseless women just like her.
The Bell sisters weren’t all that different from the others, after all. They were victims of their circumstances and forced to make the best of their lives. Some women went into prostitution to provide for themselves and their families—but Elizabeth had been able to avoid that trap. She was clutching her father’s letter as if it was a lifeline, and in many ways, it was.
“I have a proposition, Elizabeth.”
She glanced up, yet didn’t really look at him.
“I have no doubt Clarence wrote that letter,” Jude said, “and regardless if it’s binding or not, I’d like to propose a solution.”
“What?” Her gaze finally focused on his face, though mistrust lay deep in her eyes.
Roald also looked at Jude, though with more calculation than Elizabeth.
“Shall we take a walk and discuss the terms of the agreement?” Jude asked her.
“W-What kind of an agreement?” She stood slowly and looked at him like he was about to propose a tryst.
“It’s a proper agreement,” he said quickly. “I’ll not ask anything immoral of you.”
Her cheeks filled with color and he looked away from her. If only she knew who she was talking to.
Elizabeth offered her hand to Roald. “It was nice to meet you.”
Roald bent over her hand in a great show of aplomb. “The pleasure was all mine. I do hope we meet again soon.”
Could Roald be the one who would capture Elizabeth’s attention? It wouldn’t be a bad match. Roald was loud and boisterous, but he made a decent living and was a good man. Yet he didn’t seem right for Elizabeth. She was almost regal in her bearing and she deserved someone who would complement her graciousness and not draw all the attention, as Roald was wont to do.
Jude opened the door and waited until Elizabeth passed.
“Sorry for troubling you,” he said to Roald.
Roald’s eyes were on Elizabeth. “No trouble at all.”
Jude joined Elizabeth on the boardwalk. She watched him warily and he wondered if she had trusted any man since her father left her.
“What is your proposition, Mr. Allen?”
The street bustled with people and several men stop to stare at Elizabeth. “Would you like to take a walk as we discuss my idea?”
She nodded and he led her up Broadway, past the Northern and toward the river.
“I am sorry about your loss,” he began. “And I’m sorry that your father left the way he did. I wish he would have told me about you and let me know he was offering his share of the hotel to you, but he didn’t and I’ve made plans and adjustments accordingly.”
She was silent as she walked beside him. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
“So I have a proposition. I will allow you and your sisters to continue living at the Northern, if you work for your room and board—”
“My father didn’t intend for us to simply work there,” she said with frustration in her voice. “He intended for us to be owners.”
“You didn’t let me finish.” He tipped his hat at an acquaintance, but didn’t stop to chat, though the young man looked like he wanted an introduction. “This town is rough—too rough for a sensible woman. I don’t know what your father was thinking when he wrote that letter. The frontier is no place for an unmarried lady to make her way.”
Elizabeth stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Are you saying I’m too weak to endure the frontier?”
He also stopped. “It’s nothing personal. Most women would struggle.”
“I’m not most women.”
“Maybe not, but you’ll be hard-pressed to make it through the year. After winter sets in you’ll be stuck—if you make it that long. So here’s my proposition. If you can make it until January, I will put you and your sisters on the deed. If, before that time, you decide life in Little Falls isn’t what you had hoped, I will pay for you and your sisters to go back to Rockford. I don’t have enough to buy your share of the hotel, but I have a little saved that could set you up in a comfortable place to live.” He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. If she and Grace were married before then, he wouldn’t have to pay for them to go back. They would all be happy then. Elizabeth and Grace would have homes with husbands to provide for their needs, and he’d have his hotel.
She started walking again, her shoulders stiff. “I think you underestimate me, Mr. Allen.”
“Call me Jude.”
“I’ll make it until winter,” she said with certainty, “and beyond. You’re stuck with me until I can earn enough money to buy your share of the hotel.”
“Buy my share?” He reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.
She looked down at his hand and up into his eyes, a pretty scowl on her face.
“It’s not for sale,” he said.
She lifted her chin. “Everything is for sale.”
“Not my hotel.”
She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “It’s my hotel, too—or, at least, it will be when I am still here in January. As soon as I have enough money saved, I intend to buy your share. It might take me a long time, but I have no intentions of going anywhere or doing anything else.”
Jude clenched his jaw. “I could make you leave right now, if I wanted.”
Her face grew still as she studied him.
“I won’t do that,” he said a bit more quietly. “I wouldn’t turn any woman out on the street, especially Clarence’s daughters.”
She swallowed and some of her bluster faded. “Thank you for that.”
“But I have no interest in having a business partner.” Especially a woman. “So my proposition still stands. You and your sisters may stay at the Northern, provided you work for your room and board, and if you make it until January I will put your name on the deed—and no more talk of buying my share.” He started walking again. “It’s not for sale and it won’t be for sale.”
She walked beside him, but she didn’t say anything until they reached the river and stopped to watch the logs float past. The waterfall was to their left, with the dam, sawmill, gristmill and cabinet shop on the eastern bank. Abram and Charlotte Cooper’s home was at the bottom of the hill where their boys were running around in the yard.
Jude turned to face Elizabeth. The sun played with the highlights in her hair and bathed her face. Her blue eyes reflected the water, and the wind toyed with the tendrils of hair playing about her cheeks. He had to steel himself against letting his thoughts wander. She was a beautiful woman, and he couldn’t deny he was attracted to her, but he had no unrealistic hopes about winning her affection. She was destined for another man and the sooner the better.
“Are you amenable to my proposition?” he asked.
“Good. Martha can use you and Grace in the kitchen and dining room. You’ll also need to help clean.”
She stood a bit straighter. “I will gladly help with the cooking and cleaning, but I would also like to look over the books, if I may.”
“Are you good with sums?”
“I worked at a general store for the past three and a half years and I was in charge of all the bookwork.”
“I will happily hand over the accounting to you.” After Clarence died it had fallen on Jude’s shoulders, and he’d be the first to admit he did a poor job.
“Then it’s settled. My sisters and I will live and work at the Northern until January when you will add us to the deed. At that time, we will address the terms of our partnership.” She held out her hand to shake his.
He took her hand and was surprised at the strength in her grip. She was a confident woman, he’d give her that, and if she had experience in business then she would be an asset. He might be a little more concerned if he wasn’t convinced that she and her sister would be married well before January.
The only thing that worried him was keeping his rescue work hidden. He wasn’t ashamed of it, but most people didn’t understand why he did what he did. If she learned the truth, he’d have to explain to her about his past and that was something that he was ashamed of.
He let go of her hand and indicated the road that would take them back to the Northern.
“May I look at the books immediately?” she asked as they walked.
“I give you full permission to do whatever you’d like with them.” Toss them in the river, for all he cared. They had been a bane to him this past month.
“And may I make a few suggestions regarding your budget?”
“If you can find a way for us to spend less and make more, then by all means.”
They continued on to the Northern, and when they walked inside, Rose jumped off the staircase’s bottom step and flew across the lobby into Elizabeth’s arms.
“Where have you been, Lizzie? I’ve been waiting for you all morning.”
“Does Grace know you’re down here?” Elizabeth asked.
The girl nodded, her eyes solemn, and then the nod turned to a shake of her head. “No.”
Elizabeth dropped her forehead to her sister’s. “You know you’re not supposed to leave Grace’s side. She’s probably worried.”
Rose noticed Jude watching her and she burrowed her head into Elizabeth’s chest as she peeked out at him. “Who is he?”
Elizabeth looked up. “This is Mr. Jude. He lives here, too.”
“Is he nice?”
Elizabeth studied him. “I don’t know—I didn’t think so, at first, but then he did something very nice today.”
Rose pulled back from Elizabeth’s chest and she smiled. “What did you do, Mr. Jude?”
Jude swallowed. He had never spent time in the presence of children before and didn’t quite know what to think of this one.
“He gave us a home,” Elizabeth said.
“He did?” Rose studied Jude closely, her wide eyes blinking slowly. “Thank you, Mr. Jude.”
He had no frame of reference for how to address the child, so he simply nodded. It didn’t feel right to accept her appreciation when he would be finding them another home as soon as possible.
Chapter Four
He thinks the frontier is too rough for an unmarried lady. The thought still riled Elizabeth hours after she and Jude walked home from the attorney’s office. She pulled a clean apron from her trunk and snapped it with a flick of her wrists to get the wrinkles out. With quick movements, she tied it around her waist and smoothed down the material.
“Too weak, indeed,” she muttered to herself and then looked over her shoulder to make sure she hadn’t woken Rose, who was taking a nap.
Her ex-fiancé, James, had thought the same. He assumed he was rescuing her from a life of poverty and shame when her father had abandoned them—and she had been so overcome with fear at the time, she almost believed him. But he wanted her without the responsibilities of her two younger sisters. If she had married him, she would have had to leave them. She could never have done that. Not only because she had promised Mama she would take care of them—but because she could never sacrifice her sisters’ well-being for the love of a man.
No. She had broken her engagement to James and faced her fears. In the process, she had realized she was a lot stronger than she—or James—had given her credit for. It hadn’t been easy, but she had done it.
And she’d do it again at the Northern Hotel. January would come and go, and she’d still be there, waiting to see her name on that deed.
A quick look in the mirror confirmed that her hair needed to be repinned. She had helped serve lunch and cleaned the dishes afterward in the hot kitchen, while Grace kept an eye on Rose. When all was finished, Rose had been put down for a nap and Grace had gone to clean one of the guest rooms with Violet. Elizabeth had asked Jude for a tour of the property to assess what needed attention so she would have an understanding of how the business worked when she looked over the books. There were always ways to cut spending and generate revenue.
She pulled out all the pins and combed her hair with her fingers, then she twisted the thick mass at the back of her head. With practiced fingers, she replaced all the pins and looked at her work. She shouldn’t care so much about her appearance with Jude, but she wanted him to think of her as a smart, competent and organized woman. Maybe, if he recognized her worth, he would put her on the deed sooner than January.
Elizabeth left her bedchamber and walked into the sitting room to get a piece of paper and a pencil out of the secretary to take notes. Jude had removed his journal and pulled papers out of the drawers the night they had arrived, but perhaps there were still a few supplies left for her. She opened the first drawer, but found it empty. The second and third were also empty. If she didn’t find something, she could always ask if he had paper at the front desk.
Elizabeth opened the last drawer and paused when she glimpsed an envelope crushed into the back. She pulled it out, thinking it could be salvaged for her notes. There was no name or return address on the envelope. She smoothed it down, opened the flap and pulled out a letter. The slanted handwriting was not her father’s, but maybe it was Jude’s. She quickly scanned the simple contents.
Take the young woman tonight. Proceed with caution and all haste.
It took a moment before the weight of the message hit her. Who would write such a sinister note? And more importantly, who had received it? Was it a joke to frighten her? Jude had said she couldn’t survive the frontier—was this his way of making a point? But how could he have placed the letter in the secretary without coming into the room? He wouldn’t have done that without her permission.
Would he?
That left her to assume the correspondence was legitimate. But what did it mean? Was someone stolen? Was Jude involved?
The wall clock chimed the hour. She needed to meet Jude in the lobby, but questions continued to fill her mind with horrible assumptions.
Elizabeth put the letter back in the envelope and slipped it into the pocket of her apron. She didn’t want to leave it out for her sisters to find—yet what would happen if she showed it to Jude and demanded answers? He would probably deny all knowledge of the note, or make an excuse to pacify her.
On second thought, she went back to her room and placed the letter in the bottom of her trunk, under her personal items. She’d do some investigating of her own before she approached him. She could always talk to Martha and Violet and ask if they knew of any suspicious behavior. If something didn’t seem right, she’d take
the letter to the authorities.
Elizabeth scurried out of her room, raced down the hall and descended the stairs. Jude stood in the lobby, speaking with a customer. The other man shook Jude’s hand and left the building.
When Elizabeth stopped at the bottom of the steps, out of breath, Jude turned, his eyebrow raised. “Do you always make such a dramatic entrance?”
She forced a smile and tried not to look wary. “Not always.”
“Shall we get started on the tour?”
“May I have a piece of paper and a pencil to take notes?”
He nodded and went behind the counter to grab her requested items. “Are you always so thorough?”
She took the paper and pencil. “Always.”
He smiled and walked her down the long hall to the right of the main stairway. “We have one of the finest ballrooms west of the Mississippi River,” he began without small talk and pushed open the wide double doors.
They entered the echoing hall and Elizabeth took in a surprised breath.
Beautiful parquet floors gleamed from the sunshine streaming in through the tall windows. Large mirrors reflected the creamy yellow paint on the walls and three chandeliers hung suspended from the high ceiling overhead. A raised platform stood at one end, where the orchestra probably sat during the balls.
“It’s amazing,” Elizabeth said.
“I like to hold a ball each month. It’s good for business and morale. We’ll also be hosting the Fourth of July Ball.”
“Do you charge an admission fee?”
“No.”
She scribbled a note on her paper.
“What?” he asked.
“We could bring in revenue if we charged a small fee.”
He frowned, clearly not convinced. “The balls always fill up the guest rooms.”
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