by AmyFleming
“I only told him a few months ago. Before that, he thought I was his aunt.”
Charlotte bit her lip. For once, she had nothing to say.
Annie grasped Charlotte’s arms. “Will you keep this a secret? Folks around here think Eliza is his mother. It’s not for me. It’s for Tommy.”
Charlotte finally nodded. “Tommy is a great kid. But you must know he won’t be able to keep this a secret forever.”
“I’m taking him away as soon as I can, so I had to tell him.”
“Do the Dredgers know that?” Charlotte asked.
“I’ve paid Otto Dredger for Tommy’s room and board since I left him here. He knows I want to take Tommy away from here.”
“And Mr. Dredger is his father?” Charlotte was surprised a father would be so willing to give up his son.
“That much is true,” Annie said. She took her horse out of a stall and led it to the barn door.
“Wait,” Charlotte said. “There’s something I need to ask you.”
“What?” was Annie’s terse reply.
Charlotte took off her hat and inclined her head towards Annie so she could see the dark roots growing in.
“Well, well,” Annie laughed. “The new schoolteacher dyes her hair. That’s pretty vain, Charlotte. Folks around here will be shocked.”
“Back in Kalamazoo, my friend Ora and I went to a beauty parlor and we had our hair dyed. It was a dare. Now here I am, in the middle of nowhere, with no place to buy any more hair dye.”
“I do know what people will think,” Annie said.
“Can you help me out? I don’t know who to ask. I went past the store the other day, but the only kind of cosmetics they have is Ponds Cold Cream.”
“I can get you some hair dye. Come by my place, Tuesday after school. From the front, it’s the Men’s Club beside the Powder Horn. Walk down the lane and come up the back way. There’s a stairway there. No one will see you.”
“Where do you get it from?” Charlotte asked.
“They sell hair dye at the store, but they keep it under the counter. I’ll get some for you tomorrow.”
Charlotte followed Annie out of the barn. Annie rode her horse astride, no sidesaddle for her. She took the road leading up towards the mine. It was farther to get to town that way, but she would be able to cross over Bandit Creek at the ford and circle back to the stables without anyone seeing her.
Tommy was playing in the yard. “Come on inside with me,” Charlotte said. “We’ll start lunch for your mother.”
Tommy looked relieved. “You can keep a secret,” he said. “That’s good or I’d be in trouble with my dad.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tuesday, after school, Charlotte climbed up the backstairs of the building where Annie Hamilton lived and worked above the Men’s Club. It was a poorly kept secret in town that prostitutes worked in the rooms upstairs. Most of the girls were gone already, to the Powder Horn Saloon next door. Annie was dressed in a simple white dress with an apron over it. She looked like any wife, dressed to do her housework.
The hair dye process was a two-step procedure. First Annie applied some bleach along the roots of Charlotte’s hair and after letting it sit for a while, she rinsed it out and applied a concoction that looked like bits of flowers and some chalk. It was a pasty mess that would give the bleached hair a golden yellow color.
“I really appreciate you doing this for me,” Charlotte said.
“It’s nothing,” Annie said. “I need you to keep my secret about Tommy, and this is a chance for me to find out how he’s doing in school. Most of the teachers would never talk to me. But then, none of them knew that I am Tommy’s mother.”
“Did you ever meet Eileen McArthur?” Charlotte asked.
“She would cross the street when she saw me coming.” Annie said. “The last time I saw her was the night she disappeared. It was practically dark and she was walking home alone.”
“It’s all so strange,” Charlotte said. “She left all her stuff at the school and her trunk is still in my bedroom at the Dredger’s place. It’s almost like everyone thinks she is coming back.”
“In that little room? Do you still have to share with Maud?”
“And Elyse too. How did you know that?” Charlotte asked.
“I used to be the teacher here.”
“Oh,” Charlotte said. There was no need to ask Annie what happened. A bastard son fathered by a married man would end any teaching career.
“Have you ever had your hair waved?” Annie asked.
“No, can you do that too?” Charlotte asked.
“Sure,” Annie said. She heated a plate and then applied it to Charlotte’s hair. Charlotte looked in the mirror at the resulting blond waves. “Hey, I look like I’m eighteen,” she said, delighted. “Annie, you could open one of those beauty parlors. You know, like Elizabeth Arden in New York. I went to one, back in Kalamazoo.”
“Not in this town, I couldn’t,” Annie said. “None of the women would ever come to me.”
*****
Charlotte ran down the backstairs of Annie’s place straight into Sheriff Alec Forrest.
“What the hell are you doing in a brothel?” he demanded. This girl was driving him crazy. Riding astride, poking around at Annie’s place.
“Men’s Club” she said. “It’s a Men’s Club.”
“Charlotte,” he said letting go of an exasperated sigh. “What were you doing up there?”
“I was visiting Annie. She used to be the schoolteacher here,” Charlotte told him. “I wanted to see if she had any idea what happened to Eileen McArthur.”
“And did she?”
“No, she didn’t. I have to run, Sheriff. It’s getting late and Luc Branigan is going to drop me off on his way home.”
He watched Charlotte as she sped away down the alley. She looked angelic with her blond hair framing her face but there was something different about her hair. She looked a little more stylish today.
He shook his head. He hadn’t thought of talking to Annie Hamilton about the missing schoolteacher. Charlotte was a smart girl but he had warned her to be careful. He never intended that she would go around talking to people about Eileen McArthur. He would have to meet up with Charlotte again, and tell her to keep out of this mess.
Charlotte was quite a girl. Filled with enthusiasm about her job, and in many ways fearless. Cute as a button and she could play the piano, too. Coming home and listening to her play brought back memories of his parents before they came west. After his parents died, it never occurred to him he might have a family again. He resolutely put those thoughts out of his head. His job as sheriff here in Bandit Creek could be dangerous. There was no room for a woman.
A lot of the work he did in Bandit Creek consisted of keeping a lid on the brothels. There were a few of them in town, but the Men’s Club located right on Main Street was a high-class establishment. They had their share of miners, but most of the clients were the wealthy men from the town who could simply disappear in the laneway behind their homes and arrive at Annie’s place by the back steps.
Things could really heat up when a miner fell in love with one of the girls, but the girls all had contracts with whoever owned the whorehouses. The owners weren’t about to stand by and see one of their girls run away, still owing money. There were fights that usually ended up with some poor miner getting shot.
Alec knew his way around the Powder Horn Saloon and the rooms over the Men’s Club next door. Like most men, he preferred to use the back entry.
He found Annie down in her room. She was clearing away something that had a harsh smell of bleach.
“Miss Hamilton? How are you?” he asked politely.
Annie laughed. “You’re the only person who calls me that anymore.”
“Old habits die hard,” he said. “And you were my favorite teacher.”
She laughed, a little sadness in her voice. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?” She seemed to feel a little awkward. Maybe becau
se she used to be his teacher.
“Tell me what you know about Eileen McArthur.”
“Nothing to tell, Sheriff. I never met her and we never spoke.”
Her offhand manner was a dead giveaway. “There’s something you’re not telling me, Miss Hamilton.”
“Not a thing, Sheriff, not a thing.”
*****
After the Sheriff left, Annie took her time getting ready for her first Tuesday evening visitor. As she changed her clothes, she thought about the day Eileen McArthur had disappeared.
Luc Branigan had been drinking and he’d stopped her on the street outside the Powder Horn. He was angry about something and kept asking her if she thought Dredger was taking an interest in Miss McArthur. Annie thought Luc was just saying those things to see if he could upset her. Somehow, Luc knew Otto Dredger had been her lover. She could only think that Otto must have been boasting, although why he would want to boast to Luc was beyond her.
Annie had replied that Luc was drinking and that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him.
They saw Miss McArthur cross the street to avoid them, and Luc got even angrier, if that was possible. That’s when Luc had left her. As she watched him stride away down the street, she saw Tommy a block ahead, carrying a lantern. It was all so confusing. What could she say to the sheriff about any of this?
It all brought her back to Luc. Luc was a young cowboy working on his father’s ranch when Annie came to teach at Bandit Creek. She used to see him every day when he picked up his brothers and sisters at school. Often he would drive her back to the Dredger ranch where she was boarding. She had imagined she was in love with the handsome cowboy, but then Otto Dredger turned his charm on her. She’d been so foolish. And with a married man. What had she been thinking? When Luc found out he had been so angry, and so hurt.
On that day a month ago in October, Luc was angry again. Luc had lost another woman to Otto Dredger. So that was why Annie couldn’t tell the Sheriff about the way Luc had stalked off down the street. She was certain he never could have harmed Eileen McArthur. And why would Annie want to hurt Luc more than she already had.
*****
Annie poured the sherry when she recognized Pastor Mile’s step on the stairs.
The pastor was excited this evening and couldn’t wait to tell her his good news. He had been offered a new church in Seattle. It was a city with a bigger congregation and a bigger church.
The time passed quickly and it was nearly time for him to leave before he led her to the bed.
Annie had sex with many men, but few of them were concerned about her pleasure. The pastor was the exception. Sometimes she wondered who had taught him to be so skilful. Tonight he wanted to sit and watch her undress. He knew how to touch her, where to stroke, how to excite her. It seemed to increase his pleasure to be able to arouse her and truth be told, with him, the act was not as much of a chore as it was with her other clients.
When they were finished, he lay beside her for a few minutes, holding her.
“I’ll be sad to see you leave,” Annie said. “You, of all my guests.”
“Would you say that to anyone?” he asked, his voice suddenly serious.
“Most men don’t really care what I think,” she said. “There’s no need for me to say anything.”
“You could come with me,” he said slowly.
“You and me and Mrs. Miles?” she asked. “Somehow, I don’t think that will work.”
He turned her head to face him. “You don’t understand,” he said. “It’s a new life for me, a new start. I want you to be part of my new life. Come with me. We’ll introduce you as my wife. No one needs to know about all of this.”
“Me, the minister’s wife. I can’t imagine it.”
“Annie, I knew you when you were the teacher here. You will do just fine.”
“What about your wife? You can’t just leave her here.”
“Honestly Annie, she doesn’t want to come. Things have changed between us so much. She loves our house here and she loves living in Bandit Creek. She would still have all that.”
Annie knew that he was just making excuses. “How do you know she doesn’t want to go with you?”
“She wants me to go ahead of her. Find a new house. If I find something that I like, then she wants me to send for her. I know she won’t come. I’m staying here until Thanksgiving. If she wanted to come with me, she’d come then.”
She looked at the ceiling. Maybe it would work, but she honestly didn’t believe that Pastor Miles was the kind of man who would abandon his wife. But then, at least she’d have a place to stay while she looked for a new place in Seattle.
“What if she changes her mind?” Annie asked.
“We’ve talked and talked. She refuses to go with me. I think that she’s hoping that I’ll go to Seattle and then change my mind and come back.”
“I have a son,” she said. “I’ve been saving my money to leave Bandit Creek and take him with me. I thought I might open a little business, like a hat maker or a dressmaker. Now I’m thinking -- maybe a beauty salon.”
“I always wanted a son,” he said.
“Me, the minister’s wife,” she said again. This time she was smiling.
*****
When Dredger came for his money that night, Annie knew he could tell she was happy about something.
“Any news?” he asked. “Have you heard anything more about the Ellis Mine?”
She knew he would be happy when she told him her latest news. “One of the miners was here on Saturday. He was complaining he had to work Thanksgiving Day when the mine is supposed to be closed. They’re loading up a shipment to bring into town for the four o’clock train. He said they have to stay at the mine until two o’clock and he wants to be at home with his family. You’ll be able to get your money from Ellis Mines then.”
Dredger took a sip of his whiskey and then saluted her with his glass. “I always like it when someone pays a debt they owe me.”
Annie took the hint and gave him the last of the money she owed him. It had taken a long time to save enough money to pay her debts. Otto had given her a place to live and paid for the doctor when Tommy was born.
“This is the last payment I need to make to you,” she said. “After this, I won’t owe you anything at all.”
“That is good news. But you still need to pay me for keeping the boy.”
“It’s not fair that I have to pay you for Tommy’s keep.”
“He’s your son, Annie.”
“He’s your son, too.”
“Is he? Sometimes I wonder if there wasn’t someone else.”
“Otto, you know that’s not true.” Annie took a deep breath. “I’m leaving Bandit Creek. On Thanksgiving. I want to take Tommy with me.”
She wondered how Otto would respond to this news. He always said she was welcome to take the boy as soon as she paid him back the money she owed him.
He just shrugged and said, “Fine, take him with you.”
Chapter Fifteen
In the morning, Charlotte assigned the roles in the Thanksgiving Pageant. All of the girls wanted to be Indian princesses, but Charlotte needed some of them to be Pilgrims as well.
One little girl, Nellie Welch, came up to Charlotte’s desk and explained that she had to be an Indian princess because her mother had made her a special Indian princess dress. That was when Charlotte realized the pageant had taken on a life of its own. She arranged all of the children in a circle and explained that there were no small parts and everybody had to work together as a team if they wanted a pageant that would impress their parents.
Eventually, Charlotte got all of the roles sorted out and the children started learning their lines. Dylan Branigan was being his usual energetic self, so Charlotte took him to one side and explained that she had a very special job for him. He had to learn everybody’s lines in case anyone missed the Pageant. The show must go on and it would be up to him to fill in for anybody. It was a huge j
ob, but Dylan promised Charlotte he could do it.
Tommy Dredger wanted to be the Indian, Squanto, so Charlotte got him busy making a headdress. Somewhere, he found some feathers he could use for his headband. After seeing Tommy’s headdress, all of the boys wanted to be Indians, but Charlotte convinced them that some of them had to be Pilgrims.
The very little children would be turkeys, a deer, some corn and a pumpkin. They had just a few words each to say and Charlotte had them rehearse their lines together.
The next week passed quickly as Charlotte adjusted to her new life in Bandit Creek. When it got colder, Luc Branigan or one of the men from the Branigan ranch was always ready to pick up the Branigan children at school. Charlotte and the Dredger kids would catch a ride as far as the turnoff to the Dredger ranch.
Despite the friction between the families, it was pretty clear that Tommy Dredger and Dylan, Luc Branigan’s youngest brother, were best friends. They were two years apart in age and always played together in the schoolyard and sat together in school.
One day after school, Charlotte was walking down near the creek and she saw Luc Branigan and the two boys skipping rocks into the river at the ford. Luc looked like a boy himself, as he sent the rocks skimming along. The friendship between the two younger boys was apparent and Luc Branigan was not discouraging it.
When they finished playing, Tommy crossed the creek to the Dredger’s side. Luc’s voice carried through the crisp air. “Don’t tell your dad you were out here playing with us, Tommy. Remember, it has to be a secret.”
Poor Tommy, how many secrets was the boy expected to keep?
*****
Saturday afternoon, Mr. Dredger offered to take Charlotte on a tour of the ranch. They went out to the barn and Lee saddled up the mare for her. She looked at the sidesaddle with resignation.
“Let me help you up on that horse,” Otto Dredger offered.
His hands lingered for a second as he grasped her waist.
“I’ve a spot that I want to show you,” he said, leading the way along the creek. After about a mile, he turned off onto a path that climbed up the base of Crow Mountain.