Shaken to the Core

by Jae

  Finally, the chaser followed, the last act of the show that never got much attention since many people were already leaving the theater. Usually, it was the weakest part of the program, so Kate prepared for ten minutes of boredom.

  A man walked onto the stage. Swirling his black bowler hat and his ivory-tipped cane, he began to dance. Something about the way he moved attracted Kate’s attention, but she couldn’t say what it was.

  Giuliana seemed just as riveted. She leaned forward at the waist, close to the box’s railing.

  Two young women in the first row were fascinated by the dancer too. One threw a rose onto the stage, which the young man caught mid-air.

  Giuliana clamped both hands around the railing. “Madonna mia,” she whispered. “It is a woman!”

  Impossible. Kate squinted her eyes. The dancer’s hair was short and parted down the middle. His cravat was neatly tied, and the silver vest he wore showed no sign of female curves. He looked entirely male.

  But then he began to sing. The soprano voice immediately shattered the illusion.

  Kate gaped at the person on the stage. Heavens, Giuliana was right! It was a woman—and she was singing a song about being left by her sweetheart named Louise, another woman!

  Heat rose up Kate’s body as she continued to watch, uncomfortably aware of Giuliana nearby, who was still staring at the stage. What might she be thinking? Was she sickened by the sight of a woman in male attire, singing about her love for another woman? Would she start suspecting that there were other women like that—real, off-stage women? That Kate was one of those women? Or would she see it as just another performance that had nothing to do with everyday life?

  By the time the song came to an end, Kate was drenched in sweat. She cursed herself for the dumbest idea in history—taking Giuliana to the vaudeville. Calm down. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. But that thought did nothing to calm her racing heart.

  The curtain closed. People applauded and then stood to leave.

  Kate clapped her hands a few times, careful not to appear too enthusiastic about that last act. Without saying a word, she followed Giuliana out of the theater.

  Outside, fog had started to roll in from the bay, cooling Kate’s heated cheeks. She marched straight to the automobile and held out a hand to help Giuliana up.

  With one foot on the running board, Giuliana paused. She gripped Kate’s arm, not to hold on while climbing up, but because she seemed overcome by emotion. “That man…woman…” She shook her head. “I did not know women could do that!” Her eyes and her entire face seemed to radiate wonder, without any hint of disgust.

  Kate breathed a little more easily. She helped Giuliana up into the leather seat, furiously turned the crank, and then climbed up herself. For several seconds, she sat there without pulling away from the curb. “I’ve seen a man impersonating a woman in a vaudeville show once or twice, but never a woman who performed as a man.”

  “Were they like that woman…so…real?” Giuliana asked.

  “One was. He could have walked along Market Street dressed up like that, and no one would have thought he was anything but a lady.”

  “Do you think he did that? Dress like a woman when he was not in the theater?”

  Kate eyed her cautiously. Why was Giuliana asking her that? Did she suspect that the impersonators’ stage roles might be a reflection of their lives? “I have no idea.”

  “Incredibbili,” Giuliana whispered, more to herself, but didn’t say anything else.

  When the silence stretched on, Kate steered the automobile back toward the boardinghouse. The afternoon had passed while they’d been in the theater, but people were still out for a stroll or traveling in horse-drawn buggies. Traffic required Kate’s full attention, so she could only glance at Giuliana once or twice.

  They didn’t speak as they drove along Sixth Street. Giuliana appeared to be deeply in thought.

  When Kate stopped the automobile in front of the boardinghouse, Giuliana turned toward her. “Thank you,” she said, her gaze sincere. “I do not remember to ever have such a good time.”

  The rest of her tension left Kate. “Me neither.” Much better than spending the afternoon being interrogated by her mother about the dinner with William.

  “Thank you for coming to tell me of Mount Vesuvius,” Giuliana added, still not moving to climb down from the automobile.

  “You’re very welcome.”

  They looked at each other. Giuliana seemed just as reluctant to say good-bye as Kate.

  “I will see you tomorrow,” Giuliana finally said.

  “Yes. Until tomorrow.”

  Kate waited until Giuliana had climbed down and crossed the street. At the door, Giuliana turned and waved.

  Smiling, Kate waved back. She sat there with the engine running long after Giuliana had disappeared inside. Was it just her imagination, or had Giuliana been more curious than abhorred about the male impersonator? Was she just marveling at one more interesting act, or was she fascinated by the woman dressing up as a man for the same reasons as Kate?

  Of course, there were no answers here, and Kate knew if she got home too late, her mother would see right through the lie about having lunch with the Bakers. After one last glance at the boardinghouse, she steered the automobile toward Nob Hill.

  CHAPTER 10

  Winthrop Residence

  Nob Hill

  San Francisco, California

  April 15, 1906

  Kate was getting ready for bed when a knock came at the bedroom door. She paused with the hairbrush in mid-air. Her parents had already said good night and retreated to their bedroom, so an interruption at this hour was unusual.

  “Yes?” she called, her heart beating a little faster.

  The door was pulled open, and Obedience stood in the doorway, wearing a brown dress instead of her black maid’s uniform since she hadn’t worked today. “Your parents want to see you in the back parlor, Miss Kate.”

  “Now? I thought they were getting ready for bed too. Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”

  Obedience shrugged. “Apparently not, miss.” A tiny little smile lurked at the corners of her mouth for a moment.

  What on God’s green earth was going on? Had the entire household suddenly gone crazy? Well, there was only one way to find out. With a suppressed sigh, Kate reached for her chenille robe and slipped it on over her nightgown.

  Instead of retreating to the servants’ quarter in the attic, Obedience went to the stairs with Kate, as if Kate were a visitor who needed to be shown to the back parlor.

  Kate held her back. “It’s all right. You don’t need to come downstairs with me. Go on to your room. It’s your day off, so you shouldn’t be asked to work today anyway.”

  If she had thought Obedience would be grateful, she’d been wrong. The maid looked almost disappointed as she trudged down the landing. Kate had long since suspected that Obedience was the type to listen at doors so she could gossip about her employers the next morning.

  She waited until Obedience had disappeared around the corner before heading downstairs. The house was silent except for the ticking grandfather clock in the vestibule and heavy footfalls coming from the parlor.

  Was her father pacing? Had they gotten news that Aunt Eugenia was sick? Or had something happened to one of Father’s ships? Whatever was going on, it couldn’t be good.

  With growing dread, Kate entered the back parlor.

  Her mother sat in an armchair, leaning against its back as if it was the only thing holding her up. She lifted a little bottle up to her nose.

  Oh no. Her smelling salts. That was never a good sign.

  Kate paused in the doorway.

  “Come in and close the door,” her father said. His voice sounded as if he barely held himself back from shouting, and his face appeared as hard as if it had been chiseled from stone.

  Kate had only seen her father like this once, when the doctor had told them there was nothing he could do to save Corny.
Her hand shook as she closed the door behind her and took a step closer. “What’s going on?” she asked but was no longer sure she wanted to know.

  Her mother looked up from where she had her head bowed over the bottle of smelling salts. She regarded Kate and slowly shook her head. “I really don’t know where I went wrong with you.” She rounded on her husband. “I always told you not to spoil her so much. Now look what you’ve done!”

  “I never spoiled her,” Kate’s father said.

  “You allowed her to drive the automobile all on her own and traipse all over the city completely unescorted! You bought her those unseemly shirtwaists—”

  “What do I know of fashion? It’s what she wanted to wear.”

  Kate’s mother waved the bottle of smelling salts, spilling its contents all over the Persian carpet. “See? You let her do whatever she wants to. You never should have allowed her to go to that women’s college back east. I told you it was too liberal, and I was right.”

  Her husband groaned. “Don’t start on that again. That’s not the subject here.”

  Then what was? It had to do with her; that much was clear. Something she had done had displeased her parents. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

  Her mother set her smelling salts down on the table with a clunk. “Goodness gracious, Kathryn! Consorting with the hired help! What are people supposed to think?”

  Kate’s knees went weak. She clutched the back of a chair. “I don’t know what—”

  “Don’t add another lie to your list of atrocious behaviors!” her father shouted. “You didn’t spend the afternoon with the Bakers. Obedience saw you head into the Orpheum with Julie.”

  Her name is Giuliana, not Julie, the rebellious part of Kate wanted to say, but she clamped down on the impulse. So that was why Obedience had that little grin on her face and why she’d wanted to follow Kate downstairs; she hadn’t wanted to miss the spectacle she’d caused.

  “What kind of hold does that girl have over you that you’d lie to your parents because of her?” her father demanded to know.

  “H-hold?” Kate’s heart slammed against her ribs in a frantic rhythm. That was one of the words their dormitory mother had used when she had caught Esther and Florence kissing each other and engaging in other unspeakable acts. She had dragged them to the dean, and neither had ever returned to the college.

  “Why would you want to spend time with someone like her?” her mother asked.

  Kate raised her chin. “We…we’re friends.”

  “Friends?” Her mother looked horrified. “Kate…darling…I thought you understood your station. A maid is not a suitable companion for a young lady of your standing.” She swayed back and forth in the armchair. “I don’t even want to think about who might have seen you sit in the theater with her. Didn’t you think of the scandal this might cause?”

  “Scandal? It was just an afternoon at the vaudeville, Mother. It’s not as if we were—” Kate bit her lip before she could add, Kissing in the middle of Union Square.

  Her mother didn’t seem to hear a word she’d said anyway. She pressed a hand to her chest. “Can you imagine what Mr. Jenkins would say if he found out?”

  This probably wasn’t the best of moments to tell her parents he wouldn’t come calling on her anymore. “I never wanted to cause you any distress. Giuliana helped me with my photographs, and she’s become a good friend to—”

  Her father lifted his hand, cutting her off. “I will not hear it. No daughter of mine will keep company with servants. I forbid you from ever seeing her again.”

  “But…but…she works for us.”

  “No longer,” her father said. “I’ll dismiss her first thing tomorrow morning.”

  All blood rushed from Kate’s head, making her feel light-headed. Only her tight grip on the back of the chair kept her upright. “No! Father, you can’t do that. She needs the money. She—”

  “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do! Maybe your mother is right. I spoiled you too much, but that ends now.”

  “Then punish me, not Giuliana. I was the one who invited her to the vaudeville. You can’t dismiss her for that.”

  “I made my decision.” Her father’s steel-gray eyes were hard and held no hint of the indulgent twinkle Kate was used to.

  “Father, please.” She clutched his arm. “Please don’t do this. You can’t take away Giuliana’s livelihood. I was the one who pushed her to become friends.”

  “Mind your manners,” her mother said. “Don’t talk back to your father.”

  Kate drew breath to appeal to her father again, but he sent her a glare.

  “Enough. The decision is made. You should have thought of the consequences before you snuck off to keep company with a maid. Now go to bed.”

  “Father…”

  “I said go to bed!” A vein pounded in her father’s temple.

  For several moments, Kate stood there, her mouth already open. But no matter what she said now, she’d only make her father even angrier. Tears burned in her eyes. Lord, what had she done? Giuliana had warned her that a friendship between them was impossible, but she hadn’t wanted to listen. Now she’d ruined Giuliana’s life.

  A wave of despair gripped her. She rushed past her parents and blindly stumbled up the stairs, her vision blurring with tears. What could she do to make this right?

  * * *

  The sun had just risen, and the Old St. Mary’s Church rang out six times as Giuliana stepped off the cable car and climbed to the summit of Nob Hill. After a month in her new position, she was used to the steep hill and no longer had to gasp for breath with every step.

  She found herself humming and then realized that it was the song the impersonator had sung in the Orpheum. It hadn’t been the best act of the program, but it had stuck in her mind. A woman in male apparel was just too shocking to be easily forgotten. Back home, she’d certainly never seen anything like it. Strangely, the men’s shirt, the vest, and the bowler hat had even seemed to emphasize the singer’s femininity.

  She would have loved to go back and see that fascinating actress again. Would Kate be willing to come with her, or would she not want to see the impersonator again? Giuliana wasn’t sure. Kate had seemed stunned, even long after they had left the theater.

  When Giuliana entered the house through the servants’ entrance, the kitchen was brightly lit, but there was no sign of the cook. Maybe Mrs. Tretow hadn’t yet arrived from her home at the edge of the financial district. Instead, Kate was waiting in the kitchen.

  “Kate! Good morning.” Giuliana beamed at her. “You are awake early.”

  Kate didn’t return the smile. Her fair complexion seemed even paler than usual. “Something happened. You have to—”

  Mr. Winthrop entered the kitchen. “Julie.” He gave her a stern nod. “Could I have a word with you?”

  A lump formed in Giuliana’s throat. So far, Mr. Winthrop had never spoken to her directly; she hadn’t even been sure he knew her name. “O-of course.”

  When Kate followed them from the room, her father stopped so abruptly that Giuliana nearly collided with him. “Not you,” he said. “Go to your room, Kate.”

  “But, Father—”

  “Go to your room,” Mr. Winthrop repeated.

  Giuliana had never heard him speak in that tone with Kate. He had always seemed to dote on his only daughter. Alarmed, she stared at Kate, who met her gaze with a look of concern.

  Mr. Winthrop ushered her past a grinning Biddy into his study and closed the door between her and Kate.

  Cut off from her only ally in the house, Giuliana stood stiffly in the middle of the room. What was going on? She couldn’t help feeling that something awful was about to happen. Her throat was so dry that breathing started to hurt.

  Not saying a thing, Mr. Winthrop walked around his desk and settled in his chair. He regarded her with a look she couldn’t interpret.

  She licked her lips. Should she say something?

  He
pulled out one of his desk drawers, reached inside, and threw something on the mahogany surface of the desk. “For your services.”

  Giuliana stared at the gleaming coin. A half eagle. “Sir, you gave me money on Saturday.”

  “It’s for this week,” he said.

  “But today is only Monday.”

  “That might be, but today is your last day in this house.” He nodded at the coin. “I want you to take this and never darken my doorstep again.”

  She started to tremble and couldn’t stop. “This is because of the bookshelf, no? I promise you, I dusted it every day since—”

  “It’s not about the damn bookshelf. I admit you’re a good worker, but I need a maid who knows her bounds.”

  “Scusa? I do not understand. Know her bounds?”

  “My daughter and her future husband will inherit my company and the family fortune one day. She needs to learn to keep the right kind of company,” he said flatly.

  Giuliana stared at him. This was about Kate?

  He slid the coin across the desk toward her and waved at Giuliana to take it.

  She shook her head and slowly backed away. Money wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to keep her position. She wanted to keep seeing Kate every day.

  Mr. Winthrop flicked the coin halfway across the room. It landed at her feet. “Don’t be stupid. Take it.”

  It was clear what he was really saying: take it and go.

  Giuliana wanted to refuse. She wanted to scream and struggle, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. His mind was made up. Just as she had told Kate from the start—a friendship between a maid and the heir of a wealthy family was impossible, and now it had cost Giuliana her only means of support.

  “Oh, and take this too.” He slid a piece of paper across his desk. “It’s a letter of recommendation.”

  Giuliana didn’t move. Another employer might ask for a reference, but she couldn’t show anyone that letter. Not without being able to read it first. Who knew what horrible things about her he might have written?

  “Don’t worry,” he said as if guessing her thoughts. “I didn’t write it. Kate did.” He picked up a stack of documents from the corner of his desk and started to leaf through the papers, clearly dismissing her.