by JLee Meyer
Without looking up Laurel replied, “That about sums it up. Women traveling alone sought a measure of safety by using their husband’s name, as well as observing propriety. Emily Post would have swooned any other way.”
“Swooned? Oh my.” Stef thought the remark was utterly charming.
She got up and found the wine bottle to refill the glasses she had supplied. She didn’t have much in her rooms, but wineglasses were a must. She observed Laurel, completely engrossed in a ledger, blond hair falling around her face in disarray. Her long, gloved fingers were tracing the lines, tapping to an internal rhythm. Some kind of mental sorting system perhaps. She was lovely.
“What?” Laurel was looking at her directly.
Stef felt her body stiffen and her face start to warm. What an odd reaction to a simple question. “Hmm? Oh, just wondering if you’d found anything interesting.” She thought she saw a hint of disbelief, but, hey, it was the best she could do. She’d been caught nakedly ogling. Okay, she had to rein in this thought process.
“Actually, some of the names are familiar. Something about them…I can’t put my finger on it.” Laurel tapped a ledger page absently.
Not terribly interested, Stef took a sip of wine and scanned the room Laurel had quickly organized when she arrived. Registration was in one stack, bookkeeping in another, room diaries in a third. They still had a long way to go. She reluctantly checked her watch. “I can get some fresh boxes and bring them down tomorrow. A lot of these are falling apart.”
“You’re right, it’s late. I’ll get over tomorrow as soon as I can. We can put them in chronological order and go from there. Maybe by decade.” Laurel stared at the registration ledger she’d been leafing through, then grabbed the one Stef had abandoned a few moments before. “Wow.”
“What is it?” Stef asked.
“The name right under Mrs. Nelson Doubleday. Daphne, Lady Browning.”
“So? Blue blood of some sort?”
Laurel had a small smile on her lips. “Yes, but that’s not what is interesting.” Her eyes were almost sparking. “Lady Browning was the married name of Daphne du Maurier. Ring a bell?”
After a moment, Stef offered, “She was a writer in the thirties and forties. Didn’t she write Rebecca? I’ve seen her name a lot. Didn’t know she was royalty.”
The reference to royalty seemed to amuse Laurel. “Du Maurier was in love with Doubleday. As far as I know, it was unrequited, but it’s been fairly well documented. In the least, they were dear friends. And, evidently, traveled together.” She carefully closed the ledger and pointed to the one she had been going over. “This name. Miss Harriet Brown. This ledger is from nineteen thirty-one.”
Peering over Laurel’s shoulder, Stef forced herself to not react to the fragrance she was wearing and kept her distance from the curve of her neck. “What about it?” She was so preoccupied, she almost missed Laurel’s reply.
“‘Harriet Brown’ was an alias Greta Garbo sometimes used.”
Stef stared down at the spidery signature. “So what you’re telling me is we could sell this on eBay?”
Laurel evidently didn’t realize she was only kidding. She seemed stunned and replied seriously, “What I’m telling you is your hotel probably was a destination for some very famous women. It’s never been reported before. This hotel could be an important part of women’s history. Our history.”
*
Laurel couldn’t sleep. She had driven home in a haze of anticipation. For once she was grateful that Rochelle had been drunk when she got home, because if she’d paid attention she would have realized that Laurel had only just arrived herself. But she’d stumbled to bed and passed out on her back, snoring loudly.
As had become her habit, Laurel went to the guest bedroom. It used to upset her that she had no real reason to sleep with her partner anymore. But over the past year, she’d begun to see the smaller room along the hallway as her refuge, and was always relieved to close the door and be alone with her thoughts. She rearranged her pillows, knowing her usual nighttime rituals would not transport her to sleep. She was still too excited to relax. After discovering the famous names, she and Stef had quickly scrambled through some of the other ledgers. They found several more references to the name Harriet Brown, and also some other aliases used by Hollywood women. Some, Laurel was sure, were anagrams for still others. She couldn’t wait to return to the hotel and continue the search.
The thought troubled her almost as much as it excited her. Knowing that Rochelle would try to usurp the project, she couldn’t share what she was doing, for practical reasons. Yet her emotions were also involved. Rochelle was her partner, but she didn’t want to share her joy with her. That was just plain wrong, and Laurel refused to accept the entire blame for her reservations. She took her feelings for what they were, an indication that her relationship was in serious trouble.
She went through a litany of alternatives that might help bring her and Rochelle closer together. More sex. No. Okay, get a dog. She wouldn’t bring a dog into this house. The poor thing would be terrified. And if she wouldn’t do that to a dog, she sure as hell wouldn’t do it to a child. Couples therapy was the obvious step, but Laurel was shocked to realize that she didn’t want couples therapy. That was for people who really wanted to stay together. A normal couple would try to talk things through, and Laurel had made attempts in the past. That was the problem, she already knew what to expect. When Rochelle was sober, she was usually hungover and rarely had a kind word for anyone, especially Laurel. Finding time to just sit down and talk about their relationship issues would never happen. Rochelle would start yelling almost immediately, blaming all that was wrong on Laurel. The situation would then escalate, and Rochelle was becoming increasingly willing to use violence to win any argument.
Laurel broke out in a cold sweat and searched for something else to think about. Stef. She felt her heartbeat slow, even as her body warmed. She didn’t know the woman’s last name, and all they had done was share a pizza and some wine. They’d talked about the project, nothing else, yet there was an intimacy between them. How was that possible?
Laurel rationalized that she was looking forward to delving into the project and was excited by the possibilities, but the truth was not quite so simple. She couldn’t stop thinking about the woman she’d spent less than five hours with, a woman she knew nothing about. Well, puzzle solved. You can fantasize to your heart’s content. As soon as you get to know her, disappointment will set in. Laurel was pretty sure Stef was gay, but she hadn’t asked. She also suspected she might be single but hadn’t asked about that either. And the reason she’d avoided those obvious questions was that she didn’t want to answer them herself. What a farce.
Her personal life was a mess and she refused to involve anyone else in it. The idea that Stef might want to know more about her was a delusion anyway. She had so much going for her; why would she be interested in a bookworm like Laurel?
*
“How was your date last night?” Denny and Sika were seated at the breakfast table when Stef appeared.
Catching the interest in Sika’s eyes, Stef busied herself with filling her plate with some toast and scrambled eggs. Mamaka could always read her with crystal clarity. Moving to the espresso machine, she tried for nonchalance. “It wasn’t a date, just a thank-you for letting her look at that stuff from the secret room.”
“How was that? Find any buried treasure?” Denny wasn’t going to let this go.
“No. We just organized, really. Some of the guest registration ledgers were interesting, though. There were a couple of entries that could have been from celebrities back in the thirties. Like Garbo.” From the looks on their faces, that got their attention.
Sika asked, “Who else?”
Satisfied that the conversation had been diverted from her, Stef said, “Writers, intellectuals, some very wealthy, all women. So I guess my idea of a hotel just for women travelers isn’t that original. This place was on the map decades
ago.”
Denny seemed thrilled with the idea. “Wow. We should use that history for promoting the hotel. ‘Destination for the stars.’ That has a ring to it. Right?”
“Yeah, we could get some old photos and have them blown up, maybe have an exhibit of the article Laurel will write. It could be great for us.” Stef loved the whole idea, especially because it would provide a legitimate excuse to hang around Laurel. She steadfastly refused to examine why that thought was so inviting. “What do you think, Mamaka?”
Sika looked pensive. “I think we should tread lightly. Let’s wait and see what your friend discovers. Perhaps there were other reasons these women came here.” With that, she stood and excused herself, saying something about needing to get to the flower mart before everything was picked over.
Staring at the swinging door, Denny said, “Well, that was strange. I would think Mama would be very excited about this. She loves women’s history. And we’re always talking about ways to promote the hotel.”
Stef shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Sika apparently changed her mind because she reappeared with a fresh cup of tea in her hand and sat down. “I would like to hear more about everything you’ve discovered, especially from the professor. Do you think she’d like to have dinner with us?”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Denny enthused. “We could make something special and eat in the dining room. Tell her about the restoration plans. Show her around.”
Denny had it all mapped out, a plan to impress one of the only women Stef had felt a flutter of interest in for years. She wasn’t sure how she felt about her best friend immediately stepping in to charm the captivating academic. She was sure that Denny’s motives were purely to help the hotel, but suddenly things felt like they were moving too quickly in an unknown direction. She didn’t want complications at this point in her life. Her plan was to slowly explore a friendship with Laurel. She needed to stay focused on that.
There was only one problem. Her plan had already dissolved into a process that had taken on a life of its own, one she had lost control of. The thought was extremely unsettling.
“I’ll ask her later this week,” she said with weakening resolve.
*
Stef knocked on the frame of the open door to announce herself. She’d observed Laurel deep in thought, flipping back and forth between several ledgers and making notes on a pad of paper. She was in her customary uniform of baggy jeans and shirt, hair pulled back, glasses on, latex gloves in place. She was breathtaking.
Laurel gave her a luminous smile of recognition and welcome. She knew she must have matched it because her heart was pounding. She had avoided visiting for most of the week, reasoning that it would be pathetic if she found excuses to hang around all the time.
Now, seeing Laurel amidst the detritus of the hotel history, she had to admit that she’d missed the quiet professor. A lot. No matter how busy she got trying to arrange for financing, paying bills, making remodel decisions, there was a part of her mind that held the image of Laurel as a refuge, a secret place she would visit. The prospect calmed her amidst the storm. And that worried her.
This woman probably wasn’t available and didn’t know Stef existed other than as a nice person she had befriended and resource for her project. Besides, Stef had an unbreakable rule: Never mess with a married woman. And she was pretty certain that’s what Laurel was. Not only did pining for unavailable women lead to heartache, it messed up any professional relationship going forward. She’d seen it before and had no intention of falling victim. No matter how much she was attracted to Laurel Hoffman, fantasy was going to have to suffice.
“Hey. How’s the project going?” She ambled in and tried not to have a visceral reaction to the unusual color of Laurel’s eyes. She’d been thinking about that color constantly and couldn’t name it. Green, but not dark or turquoise, more like lime. But not dark lime. She’d eventually gone to the paint charts and decided on chartreuse. But green chartreuse. Jade with gold flecks. She longed to study Laurel’s eyes, but knew she couldn’t be that close to Laurel without kissing her.
“What color are your eyes?” That one popped out before she could stop it. Nice self-control.
Laurel seemed startled by the question, then blushed and lowered her gaze. She was beautiful when bashful, which didn’t help Stef’s vow of detachment.
“Green, I suppose.” She tilted her head as she answered the question, as though studying Stef.
“Uh, yeah, but what shade? It seems unusual to me.” There, perfectly reasonable question.
“Well, my dad has blue eyes and my mother hazel. It must be a combination because my sister and I are the only ones with this color.”
“Your partner must love it. I mean, because it’s unusual, you know?” So very, very lame. Why not just come right out and ask what she really wanted to know: Are you single and are you interested in me?
The amused curiosity that had been present in Laurel seemed to disappear. With a noncommittal shrug she went back to her ledgers immediately. Subject closed.
Casting around for something, anything to change the topic, Stef asked, “Have you found out any more about movie star guests?”
Laurel smiled briefly, but her demeanor was neutral. “Not as yet, but I’m going to search the room diaries after I look through the rest of the ledgers quickly. I have a few more names that seem interesting.”
“Like what?” This felt better, nothing personal. Keep it work related.
“Well, for one thing, I think some very famous women stayed here regularly. I’ve seen their maiden names, married names, what could be anagrams, that type of thing. At first, I thought it was a coincidence. This hotel must have been the ‘in’ place for the rich and famous for a time. But it was solely women, not their husbands or male lovers.”
Stef was listening intently, drawn to the animation of this normally quiet woman. Her eyes were now definitely a lime color; fresh, sparkling. Without realizing it she must have moved closer. “Do you think it was a women’s club? Or some kind of sorority? I was in one in college, secret handshake and all.”
Deep in thought, Laurel stared at the pile of ledgers. “I considered that. The secret part, yes, definitely. I even wondered if it was similar to Marlene Dietrich’s infamous ‘Sewing Circle’ from the nineteen thirties and forties.”
“What was that?”
Laurel finally met Stef’s gaze. “A group of beautiful, rich women who were decidedly bisexual. They got together and ate and chatted and bedded each other.” She was blushing by the end of the sentence.
“Oh.” That was all Stef could utter.
She was absorbed in Laurel’s response, the subtle color on her porcelain cheeks, her darkened eyes. She was closer than before. So close that her lips seemed within touching distance. Her lips. Stef couldn’t tear her gaze away from them. They begged for attention, pleaded to be met with her own.
Laughter in the normally quiet hallway broke the spell that had them within inches of one another. They flew several feet apart as the current between them was severed.
Ember appeared in the doorway with Mrs. C on her arm, the two smiling broadly. She started to enter, probably oblivious to the interruption, but Mrs. C held her back for a moment fussing with something she was holding. When they came in, Ember quickly retrieved two card table chairs, as she had the first time they visited. Mrs. C continued to peruse the stacks of papers as Stef tried to reorient. She wasn’t sure what had just happened but she’d never experienced anything like it before.
Laurel seemed flustered, standing and looking furtively around, as if she’d misplaced something. She was rubbing her thighs with her palms, like she was trying to dry them. It was all very confusing.
Once seated, Mrs. C presented some delicate tea cookies and they each had one and talked about the research project.
After a moment, Laurel, evidently fully recovered, asked, “Mrs. Castic, do you have any knowledge about the women who used to st
ay here?”
The blue of Mrs. C’s eyes seemed to pale as she focused on the ceiling. “There was a society, an organization of women who were concerned about the times we were living in. We met fairly regularly, always here. We discussed books, events, all sorts of things.”
Laurel said, “So you were a member of this society.”
“Yes, I was.”
“Do you know when it was formed? Where I can find more information about it? I tried to look it up on the Internet and, as yet, nothing like you’re describing shows up. Was it secret? Were there dues? Was it a ladies’ book club type of thing?”
Chuckling, Mrs. C answered, “My, you are a researcher, aren’t you? So many questions. I’m not sure when it was formed, but it predated the San Francisco earthquake and fire, I think. I don’t believe it began in San Francisco, perhaps in New York or Paris. We discussed more than books, I can assure you. There were dues, but each woman paid according to her ability.”
“Were the members lesbian or bisexual?” Laurel seemed surprised by her own straightforwardness and quickly looked away, blushing.
Stef was riveted to Mrs. C. Her gaze remained steady. She seemed amazingly unflustered.
“In those days, most women were married or saw men. It was necessary.”
From nowhere, Ember asked, “What about you?”
After a moment, Mrs. C replied, “I did what was necessary.”
“Don’t we all,” Laurel said quietly.
Chapter Eight
Laurel slipped on a pair of nice jeans and chose a light sweater that she was always complimented on rather than the huge denim shirt she normally wore. She’d been out for the past three nights, foraging through the material at the hotel. Sometimes the task was tedious, but it was always better than sitting in the library trying to coax a paper out of the archives.
She had to admit that much of her pleasure in the project was the chance of seeing Stef. Over the past month they’d developed a friendly relationship, but Laurel was aware that they were intentionally keeping their distance. Except for Stef’s comment about her eyes and a partner, which Laurel had sidestepped as best she could, they still hadn’t spoken about anything except the material they were examining and progress with the hotel renovations. Laurel was content to avoid treacherous personal conversations. Even though Stef’s face occupied a great deal of her daydreaming, it was safer to see her in a purely professional capacity.