Shaken to the Core

by Jae

  Lord, what was happening to their city? Just yesterday, everything had been fine, and now…Kate still couldn’t believe it. Would nothing stop this inferno?

  At the top of the hill, she paused, unpacked her camera, and took several photographs of the burning city. Looking at the destruction through the lens of her camera somehow made it more bearable. As she pressed the shutter for the last time, a sharp aftershock wrenched the ground out from under her. With both hands wrapped around the camera, she couldn’t break her fall.

  Strong arms caught her but couldn’t keep them upright. They went down together in a semi-controlled descent. The aftershock lasted only for two seconds; then everything went still.

  “Are you all right?” Giuliana asked, her arms still around Kate.

  She nodded. “How about you? Did you hurt yourself?”

  “No.” Giuliana patted her hips. “I have better…pillows than you.”

  “You mean you’re better padded?” Kate snorted. It wasn’t as if Giuliana was overweight. She just had curves in all the right places. But she couldn’t very well tell her that. Then she remembered that she was still holding her camera. With trembling fingers, she checked to make sure the camera and her precious glass plates had survived the aftershock and the fall.

  Everything seemed intact.

  “Thank you.” With a sigh of relief, she pushed in the bellows, closed the camera, and placed it back in its carrying case, next to the revolver. She regained her feet and helped Giuliana up. “Let’s go home.” For today, she’d had enough excitement. Now she longed for some water, food, and a soft bed.

  But they’d have to make it past her parents first.

  This time, they didn’t even make it inside before her parents were upon them. They had dragged two of the high-backed chairs from the morning room outside, either to keep an eye out for Kate or because they were afraid of being trapped in the house if another earthquake came.

  Kate’s mother jumped up and flew down the granite stairs, directly at Kate. For a moment, she looked as if she was about to slap her, but then she collapsed against her and started to sob. “Don’t you ever do that to me again! Your father and I were frantic with worry when he returned home and you weren’t here. We thought you were dead!”

  “I’m sorry, Mother. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Kate held her for a moment before gently freeing herself.

  Her father rose from his chair. His cravat was missing; his vest was torn in several places, and his once-pristine shirt now looked more gray than white. Apparently, he hadn’t had time yet to change into a set of clean clothes. “Where have you been all day?”

  “It’s a long story.” Kate’s gaze flickered to Giuliana. She would leave out the part about them driving around to take photographs. “We were pressed into service helping to transport patients to the temporary hospital in Golden Gate Park.”

  Her father looked past her toward the street. “Then where is the automobile? The soldiers didn’t confiscate it for good, did they?”

  “Um, kind of.” Kate swallowed down the big lump in her throat, took a deep breath, and added, “I think they blew it up.”

  “Blew it up?” her mother echoed. “Why would they do such a thing?”

  “We ran out of gasoline right where they wanted to create a firebreak.”

  Her father clenched his fists around his already battered bowler hat. “Do they have any idea what that automobile cost? Do you have any idea?”

  Kate knew it to the cent: three thousand two hundred dollars. It was the most expensive vehicle on the market right now. Her father told her so nearly every time he allowed her to take out the automobile. She ducked her head. “I know, Father.”

  “It is not the fault of Kate. She could not stop them,” Giuliana said quietly from behind her. “If she tried to save the automobile, she would be killed.”

  Her father’s mustache twitched. He took a step toward Giuliana.

  Every muscle in Kate’s body tightened, ready to block his path if he should take another step.

  But he just threw his hat across the garden and stomped into the house.

  Slowly, Kate puffed out the breath she’d been holding. She looked to where her father had disappeared and licked her dry lips. Lord, she would give her two best dresses for a single sip of water. “I’ll tell you all the details later,” she said to her mother. “Right now, all I want is a glass of water.”

  Pulling Giuliana with her, she walked up the stairs.

  Her mother’s voice reached her at the door. “There is none. No juice or milk either. We ran out this afternoon. I sent Obedience out to fetch some.”

  Kate traded gazes with Giuliana, knowing that Biddy could be gone for a long time because there was no water anywhere. Well, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about Biddy making life for Giuliana harder than it already was.

  They went straight to the kitchen, where Kate opened the faucets. Not a single drop of water ran out. She checked the ice box. No milk and no juice, just as her mother had said. Kate’s mouth felt more parched by the second.

  With a slight limp, Giuliana went to the larder and returned with a can of condensed milk.

  “Oh, you’re a lifesaver! I could kiss you! Uh, I mean…not…um…” Now her cheeks burned along with her parched throat.

  Giuliana just smiled.

  She didn’t seem to think anything of it. And why would she? Kate was the only one who sometimes dreamed about soft lips pressed to hers at night. But right now, she wanted something else even more urgently. She was thirsty enough to drink the condensed milk straight from the tin, so she reached out for it.

  “Wait.” Giuliana opened the ice box.

  “There’s no milk or juice left. I checked.”

  Giuliana reached into the ice box. When she turned back around, she held the pan that collected melted ice water.

  This time, Kate bit her tongue before another I could kiss you managed to slip out. How smart Giuliana was! Kate imagined that all over the city, the wealthy people were surviving only with the help of their more down-to-earth servants.

  Giuliana poured the water from the pan into a pitcher and mixed it with the condensed milk.

  Now the nourishing liquid would be enough for all of them.

  Kate nearly wrenched the glass Giuliana held out to her out of her hands. When the cool liquid ran down her parched throat, she let out a moan and gulped down the rest. A drop dribbled down her lip, and she quickly flicked out her tongue and caught it.

  When she looked up, Giuliana stood holding her still-full glass with both hands, staring at her as if hypnotized. Before Kate could ask her what was wrong, Giuliana quickly lifted the glass and emptied it before pouring two fresh ones. “I bring them to your parents.”

  “You don’t need to do that. If they’re not paying you, they can’t expect you to serve them. Besides, I have some groveling to do.” Kate took the glasses and, careful not to spill a single drop, carried them to the parlor, where she could hear her parents’ voices.

  “What’s that?” Her mother stared at the concoction.

  “Condensed milk with melted water from the ice box. Giuliana’s idea,” Kate said, barely holding herself back from beaming proudly.

  Her mother wrinkled her nose but emptied her glass even before her husband did. “Your father couldn’t get any money from the bank, and who knows when the banks will open again. We can’t pay her, if that’s why she’s doing this.” She pointed at her now-empty glass.

  Did everything have to be about money? Kate sighed. “All she wants is a place for the night.”

  “Tell her she can bed down in the attic.”

  In the attic, with Biddy, who would make her sleep on the floor when she returned, just to be mean. “She can sleep with me.” Heat shot up her neck and into her cheeks. “I mean…My bed is big enough to hold two easily.”

  “Kathryn, really, that’s taking hospitality a bit too far,” her mother said with a shake of her head. “A young lady o
f your standing doesn’t share her bed with a maid.”

  “Standing? What standing?” Her cheeks heated again, this time with anger. She gestured at the window and the glow of the fires in the distance. “Right now, everyone in the city is the same, just trying to survive.”

  “Enough!” Her father smacked his empty glass down on the table with a loud crack. “She sleeps in the attic, or she’s out on the street!”

  A bitter taste coated Kate’s tongue. “Is that how you repay her for saving my life?”

  Her mother gasped. “S-saving your life?”

  Oh, darn. Kate hadn’t meant to blurt that out. How was she supposed to explain? Her mother would probably say that a young lady of her standing didn’t break into drugstores either. “Someone…um…threatened me with a rifle, and Giuliana stopped him.” Better not to mention exactly how she’d done that.

  “What has this world come to? It’s Sodom and Gomorrah out there!” Her mother jumped up and clutched her husband’s arm. “Can’t we leave the city and go to the summer house on Belvedere Island?”

  Belvedere was beautiful, and Kate normally loved spending time on the island, but right now, she wouldn’t leave the city. Not while there were photographs to be taken at every corner.

  Her father studied her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Yes,” he said after a moment. “First thing tomorrow morning, we’ll pack a few things and go. Market Street is still burning, but somehow we’ll find a way to make it to the ferry. I sent Hank and Mrs. Tretow home to be with their families, but Obedience can stay and look after the mansion.”

  Oh, don’t worry. I’ll do that. But she’d fight that battle tomorrow. “What about Giuliana?”

  “She can’t come with us,” her mother said. “You know there’s only room for the three of us in the summer house.”

  Not that it mattered, since Kate was determined not to go to the summer house anytime soon. “No, I mean, can she sleep in my room tonight?”

  Her mother shook her head. “I told you she will sleep in the attic with Obedience.”

  “But there’s just the one cot up there. After all Giuliana has been through today and after what she did for me, we can’t make her sleep on the floor.”

  Her mother sighed. “I’m not heartless, you know? Fine. I’ll get her an extra pillow. But tell her it’s just for this one night, all right?”

  Kate nodded but didn’t intend to do any such thing. Once her parents left for Belvedere, she was the mistress of the house. She’d just have to find a way for Biddy not to tell her parents that she’d let Giuliana stay.

  CHAPTER 16

  Winthrop Residence

  Nob Hill

  San Francisco, California

  April 19, 1906

  Giuliana lay in the darkness and listened to Kate’s soft breathing only a few feet away. Her body was dead tired, but her mind was still busy sorting through everything that had happened today. The bed, with its feather pillows and thick mattress, was also much softer than the cot she was used to—her cot that was now just ashes, along with the rest of her possessions.

  Her sigh made the red drapes surrounding the bed drift outward. Gently, careful not to aggravate her aching limbs, she rolled over and faced Kate, who slept rolled up like a little kitten.

  Kate…A wave of tenderness swept through her. She reached out a hand but stopped just shy of touching her. Are you out of your mind? What would Kate think if she woke up and found Giuliana touching her? Would she jump out of bed, upset, or did she feel that tug between them too? It was a strange feeling, really, but at the same time, it seemed to grow so naturally every second she spent with Kate.

  The red velvet canopy and the drapes surrounded them, shutting them off from the rest of the world. She watched Kate in the glow from the fires in the city below. Kate’s eyelashes fluttered against her pale cheeks as she dreamed. Giuliana could have watched her all night, but she knew she had to get some sleep, so she rolled over, away from her.

  Her gaze went to the window. Strange. The curtains were drawn shut. Why was the glow in the room still so strong that she could watch Kate? It hadn’t been that way when they had gone to bed a few hours ago, had it?

  Quietly, she slipped out of bed, ducked beneath the drapes, and went to the window. Her body still ached, but at least the swelling in her ankle had gone down after she’d put it up for a while. After a quick glance back to Kate, who slept on, she pulled back the curtain a little and peeked through the gap.

  A huge wall of flames blazed just one block away. Firefighters with axes and hoses ran down the street and disappeared into the smoke. When Giuliana reached out a hand as if to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, the glass of the window was warm to the touch.

  “Kate!” She ran to the bed and ripped aside the drapes to shake Kate’s shoulder. “Kate, wake up!”

  With a gasp, Kate shot upright. Her gaze darted around until she found Giuliana.

  “The fire comes!”

  Kate jumped up and moved toward the window, but Giuliana pulled her away. “No time! Get dressed.”

  Her fingers visibly trembling, Kate threw a skirt and a shirtwaist from her closet at her and then hurriedly changed into her own clothes.

  Giuliana caught glimpses of smooth skin before rebuking herself. Madonna, what was wrong with her? Nob Hill was on fire! There was no time to stand there and admire the way the red glow made Kate’s skin look even softer.

  She struggled into the clothes Kate had tossed her way. The skirt was too long and the shirtwaist so tight in the chest that she hardly dared to move her arms, but there was no time to look for something that would fit better. She shoved her feet back into Biddy’s shoes, groaning as the leather scraped over her blistered heels.

  Kate was faster and ran ahead of her. She hammered her fists against her parents’ bedroom door. “Mother! Father! Wake up. The fire’s coming!”

  Bedsprings creaked, and Mr. Winthrop started cursing.

  Together, Kate and Giuliana hurried down the stairs.

  As they sprinted past the grandfather clock in the hall, it chimed four times.

  Kate wrenched open the front door.

  A hot wind hit them—the same wind that was driving the flames up Nob Hill. Cinders whirled through the air and stung Giuliana’s skin like mosquito bites. Ahi! She quickly shook them off, but more kept drifting down.

  To the northeast, Chinatown was a pool of fire.

  Young men were running past them, each carrying a framed painting from the Hopkins Mansion, which was now an art institute. A block to the east, firefighters were training a stream of water on the Hopkins Institute and the Fairmont Hotel.

  “Water!” Hope blossomed in her chest. Giuliana turned toward Kate and her parents, who appeared behind her. “They have water.”

  “Must be from the old cistern on Mason Street,” Mr. Winthrop said as he knotted his robe.

  For what felt like an eternity but must have been closer to an hour, the firefighters managed to hold the fire at bay.

  Several neighbors came out of their houses to watch.

  Another glow came from the east—the first faint rosy light of dawn.

  Somehow, the start of a new day gave Giuliana hope. She looked over at Kate, who gave her an encouraging nod and stepped a little closer until their shoulders were nearly brushing.

  It wasn’t for warmth. Normally, nights on the hill were chilly, but now sweat dampened Giuliana’s tight shirtwaist. The heat from the fire was like a furnace. It prickled her skin, agitated from exposure to the fire the day before—and it grew more intense as another fire broke out on the street to their right, threatening the Hopkins Institute from the other side.

  Sailors ran up to help the exhausted firefighters. They picked up a hose and directed it at the new fire.

  A stream of water shot out of the nozzle—and then stopped.

  Giuliana’s gaze darted over to the other hose. No water there either. “Oh no. No more water.”

  “
Retreat,” the captain of the firefighters shouted to his men.

  Soldiers rushed out of the dense smoke and spread out in all directions, knocking on doors.

  “You have to get out!” one of them shouted toward the Winthrops. “Nob Hill is doomed.”

  “I’m not leaving,” Mr. Winthrop said. “This is my home. I’ll fight the fire.”

  So that was where Kate got her stubbornness—and her bravery. Giuliana would have smiled if the situation weren’t so serious.

  “With what?” the soldier shouted. “Your bare hands?”

  “If I have to. We’ll drench some blankets with water from the ice box and—”

  “You’ll be burned to a crisp before the fire even reaches you,” the soldier shouted. “The fire’s hot as hell. You have to leave—now!”

  Mr. Winthrop hesitated and glanced toward the quickly approaching wall of fire.

  Their neighbors rushed from their homes, most of them in their night attire. The soldiers herded them west. The darkness and the smoke seemed to swallow them after just a few steps until the Winthrops and Giuliana were the only ones left behind on Nob Hill.

  “Cornelius, please.” His wife tugged on his arm.

  “All right.” Mr. Winthrop nodded toward the soldier. “Let me get some papers and my wife’s jewelry, and we’ll go.”

  “No time for that! We have to go now, sir!”

  The roaring of the flames was getting closer.

  “Hell and damnation! All right.” Mr. Winthrop threw one last glance back at his home and then led his wife down the stairs.

  “My camera!” Instead of following them, Kate rushed back into the house.

  “Kate, no!” both of her parents shouted.

  But Kate didn’t listen. She disappeared inside before the soldier could stop her.

  Giuliana wanted to charge after her, but the soldier’s grip on her shoulder held her back.

  “No!” He dragged her toward the gate.

  Giuliana started to struggle and kick, not caring that he held a rifle. She grabbed one of the gate’s bars and hung on for dear life. The metal was warm beneath her hands. “Kate!”