Thurston House (1983)

by Steel, Danielle

  I never forgot his being there with me' .I barely knew him then. He sighed. We never knew each other very well. But I admired him. And his men thought a lot of him too. People in this valley have nothing but kind words to say about Jeremiah Thurston. He tore out her heart with his words, and her eyes filled with tears as she turned away and brushed them from her cheeks with her slender fingers.

  I'm sorry ' I shouldn't have '

  Not at all ' She smiled through her tears and took a deep breath. It was so unbelievable that he was gone. How could he be? She loved him so ' she had to fight back a sob, and reminded herself that she wasn't alone, as she looked up at John Harte. He was almost as tall as her father, and his hair was as dark as Jeremiah's had once been, although the gray had crept into his as well. He was forty-six years old, and still handsome, just as Jeremiah had been right till the end ' the end ' the end ' she couldn't bear the words. Would you like some coffee, Mr. Harte? Hannah has some in the kitchen. She waved vaguely toward the doorway.

  No, I should let you get some rest. I know you came up from San Francisco today. Is it as bad as they say?

  Worse. There are breadlines everywhere, rubble in the streets, toppled chimneys, everywhere you look charred buildings. ' The tears rose in her throat again and she shook her head, unable to speak for a moment. It was just awful. And my father ' She forced herself to go on, as John Harte watched her, aching for her. He was on the Committee of Fifty, to save the city ' it was just too much for him ' his heart, you know' . She didn't know why she was telling him all that. But suddenly she had to say the words, had to tell someone, even though she barely knew the man. I'm sorry' .

  He held her shoulders in his powerful miner's hands. You have to get some rest. I know what you're going through. I did the same thing. I wandered and I ranted and I stayed on my feet until I almost went crazy. It'll only make it worse, Miss Thurston, believe me. Get some rest. You're going to need it for tomorrow. She nodded, the tears unchecked now on her cheeks. Suddenly she could no longer dam the flow. He was right. She was exhausted and half hysterical with grief. She just couldn't believe her father was dead, but when she looked into John Harte's eyes, she saw something comforting there. He was a nice man, in spite of what they said about him, that he was standoffish and proud, and something of a libertine, living with his Indian mistress. Perhaps that was why her father saw him so seldom. Sabrina correctly assumed that her father hadn't approved of John Harte's companion.

  I'm sorry, Mr. Harte. I'm afraid you're right. It's been a terrible few days. And she was going to need her strength for the funeral the next day.

  Is there anything I can do for you tomorrow?

  No, thank you. Our manager is going to drive me to the funeral.

  He's a good man. I know Dan Richfield well.

  My father would have been lost without him, or so he said. Dan's worked for him since he was eleven.

  John Harte smiled sadly at her. So much was going to change for her now, and he wanted to talk to her about it, but he didn't want to do it too soon. He had already mentioned it to Dan, and they had agreed that he should wait a week or two. She was still too much in shock to think about the mines, and Richfield could run them for her in the meantime. If there's anything I can do for you, Miss Thurston '

  Thank you, Mr. Harte. She shook his hand again, and he left riding a big black stallion back to his mine, and his exotic Indian mistress.

  Sabrina found herself wondering about him after he left, and what his mistress was like. All she remembered was a girl with jet black hair and a delicate dark brown face swathed in white furs the winter before when they had met somewhere. Sabrina had been intrigued, and her father had hastened to drive on, signaling only the briefest of greetings to John Harte, and ignoring the Indian girl in the white furs completely. Sabrina could still remember her questions to her father' Who is she, Daddy?

  No one ' some squaw' .

  But she's beautiful' . Sabrina had been fascinated by her, as though she knew that the alliance was clandestine and improper, which of course it was, except that John Harte had made no secret of it for more than nine years. As he saw it, he owed nothing to anyone, and he had a right to do exactly what he wanted. That was what he always had done, and he wasn't a man to mince words, or hide an Indian squaw somewhere out of the way. She was his woman and he was a freeman, so what the hell. She was so pretty, Daddy' .

  I didn't notice.

  Yes, you did. I saw you looking at her.

  Sabrina! He pretended to be annoyed, but Sabrina knew him better.

  Well, you did. I saw you. And she is a beautiful girl. What's wrong with that?

  Two things, child, to put it to you bluntly: They're not married and she's not white. Therefore we are supposed to pretend that she doesn't exist, or that if she does, she isn't lovely to look at. But the fact is, she is. She's a damn fine-looking girl, and if she suits John Harte, then so much the better for him. It's none of my business who he sleeps with.

  Would you invite them to our house? Sabrina was intrigued. He never had. But John Harte and her father had never been close.

  I would not. He didn't sound angry, but he sounded firm.

  Why not? She didn't understand.

  Because of you, little one. That's why. It wouldn't be proper. If I lived alone, I might, because I've always liked him. He's a good man and he runs a good mine, not as good as ours of course, he had grinned at her and she laughed, but it's a good one.

  Do you suppose she's smart? Sabrina was still fascinated by the Indian girl.

  I have no idea. And then suddenly he laughed at the innocence of his daughter, and he patted her cheek with a gentle smile as he answered. I don't suppose that's what he loves her for, Sabrina. Not all women are smart. Not all women have to be.

  I think they should at least try, don't you? She was so earnest, it always touched his heart.

  Yes, I do. There was some of Camille in her after all. Camille had been so damn smart, and so interested in men's things, particularly business. She would have loved to know more about his mine, if he had let her. But he hadn't thought it seemly for his wife to be involved in his business deals. And yet with Sabrina, it was all so different. He taught her everything, and showed her everything he did, almost as though she had been his son, and he was proud of how much she knew about the vineyards, the mines, the deals he made in the East. She seemed to understand everything, and a day didn't go by that he didn't share more of it with her. But times had changed, and he had grown old, and without Camille he had been lonely. Sabrina had been his companion for eighteen years, and now ' she was alone ' remembering the past ' hearing his voice in her ears. As she lay in her bed that night, she still couldn't believe he was gone. How could it be? And yet he was.

  And she knew it for certain the next day as the pallbearers carried his casket to his grave, as they all stood in the spring sun, and it was lowered into the dirt, and each of five hundred and six miners and one hundred and three friends shoveled a little dirt on top of him. Even Mary Ellen had come and stood at the rear of the crowd crying softly, and at last Sabrina stood looking down at him, her back straight, her head high, her face wet with tears, and she squeezed her eyes shut for one long moment as she clutched Dan Richfield's hand, dropped a handful of dirt on her father's grave, and moved on. They stood watching her as she rode home, and she felt as though her world had come to an end as she walked slowly up the front steps and sat down in his favorite kitchen chair. Every inch of her felt numb and Dan Richfield was watching her. His wife hadn't gone to the funeral, his wife was expecting again. Sabrina rarely saw much of her, she was one of those women who were unattractive and pale, and kept breeding every year, and Sabrina had never had the impression that she was overly fond of Dan. They just kept having babies, and he lived with her, but one barely even felt that they were friends now.

  Sabrina looked at him when they got back to the house. I still can't believe he's gone, Dan. I keep expecting to hear his footsteps on
the porch, hurrying up the stairs. ' I keep thinking I'll hear his horse. ' Her eyes were dry now as she stared emptily at him. It's hard to believe I'll never see him again.

  You will. In your mind's eye. He's so much a part of all of us that he'll never really be gone. It was a nice thing to say and she reached out and touched his hand with a small, wintry smile.

  Thank you, Dan. For everything.

  I haven't done enough. And one of these days, we'll have to talk, but now's not the time. It was still too soon for her, and he knew that. But she looked surprised at his words.

  Something wrong at the mine? I mean, did anything special happen this week? I haven't paid attention to anything but myself since ' She couldn't say the words, but he knew what she meant.

  No, of course not. Nothing's wrong, except that there are going to be a few changes now of course, and you'll have to tell me what you want. He had of course assumed that he'd be running the mine, unless she sold it of course, and he had already covered his bases by talking to John Harte about that. Whatever happened, he'd still be running the Thurston mines, whether John Harte bought her out or not. And of course he'd run them for her if she decided not to sell, but personally he thought she should. It was actually going to be better for him now. Jeremiah had always been a major presence at the mine, not just a figurehead, he actually still ran the entire empire himself, but Dan had worked very closely with him. And he was prepared to take over now, and to run the mines well for her. He was perfectly trained, and had been taught by the best, as had she, and he noticed her looking at him now.

  What changes did you have in mind, Dan? Her voice was very soft, her eyes hard. It was a combination he had seen often before, in her old man, and it made him smile now.

  You look just like your father when you look like that. She smiled at him then, but the eyes didn't soften, only the mouth. I just meant that sooner or later we'll have to talk about what you're going to do, whether you're going to keep the mines or sell.

  She looked shocked, and sat up straighter in her seat. What in hell made you think I'd consider selling ever? Of course I'll keep the mines, Dan.

  All right, all right. He was trying to keep her calm, but there was something about the look in her eyes that he didn't like. I can understand how you feel, and it really is too soon for you to make up your mind. She didn't like the gist of his words at all and she suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

  Just what exactly did you have in mind, Dan? That'd I'd sell the mines ' like maybe to you? Her eyes blazed and he was quick to shake his head.

  Hell, no, I could never afford to buy them from you. You know that.

  Did you make a deal with someone? Her eyes were relentless now, piercing right through him, and he shook his head again.

  Of course not. For chrissake, your father's only been gone for two days, how could '

  Never mind that. Vultures move quickly sometimes, I just want to be sure you're not one of them. She sounded strangely grown up as she shot the words at him, and she looked far older than her years as she stood up and walked around the room, thinking and then looking at him. I want to make something very clear to you. I'm not selling my father's mines. Ever. Do you understand? And I'm going to run them myself, from now on, just as he did. Dan looked at her as though he might faint from the shock, but nothing wavered or softened in her face. 'I'm coming in on Monday, and I'll go over what's there, but the truth is, he's been preparing me for this for years. It's almost as though he knew I'd have run them someday myself. She stood with her hands on her hips, and he looked at her as though she were crazy.

  Are you out of your mind? You're just turning eighteen, you're a child ' a little girl, in fact' and you're going to run the Thurston mines? They're the biggest quicksilver mines in this state, and your father wanted them kept that way. You'll be the laughingstock of every client he had, and in less than a year you'll destroy everything he built, Sabrina. You're out of your mind. Sell it, for chrissake. Make yourself a bundle of money, put it in the bank, find yourself a husband somewhere and go have babies, but for chrissake don't kid yourself that you can run your father's mines because you can't. It's taken me twenty-three years to learn everything I know. At least let me run it all for you. She knew that was what he had in mind, and she needed his help, but that wasn't what she was going to do.

  I can't, Dan. I do need your help. But I have to run them myself. That's what I was born to do.

  He looked at her with something she had never seen in his face before. It was fury born of jealousy and a thwarted plan, and he strode up to her now and shook his fist in her face. You were born to spread your legs to the man you're married to, and nothing else! Do you understand?

  Her eyes narrowed into bullets that could have killed him on the spot. Don't ever speak to me that way again! Now get out of my house, and I'll forget what you just said. I'll see you in my office on Monday. She was shaking as she stood staring at him. She knew how disappointed he was, but she had to take a stand now. She couldn't let anyone push her around. And he hesitated for just a fraction too long. And if you get out of hand again, you'll be working at another mine, Dan.

  He glared at her and strode to the front door. That might be just what I need. And it might serve you right too. He slammed the door behind him as he left, and for the first time in her life, Sabrina poured herself a drink. She took a shot of brandy, neat, and tossed it down. But she felt better after she had, and she walked slowly upstairs to her bedroom and sat down. She knew now what she was going to be up against ' You were born to spread your legs to the man you're married to ' was that what they all thought? What they would all think? Dan ' John Harte ' the men who worked for her now' . She knew now just how rough it was going to be, or she thought she did at least.

  She rode to the mine on Monday morning at six o'clock. She wanted some time to herself before she talked to the men. She read everything on her father's desk, and she had kept so abreast of all that he did that she found few surprises there. The only surprise she found was an unopened letter from some girl at a house in San Francisco's Chinatown. She was thanking Jeremiah for his generous gift the last time he'd been there, but Sabrina wasn't shocked. He had a right to whatever he did. And he had left everything in order at the mines for her. His attorney had read her his will the day before and it had been a simple document. It left everything to his only child, Sabrina Lydia Thurston: his investments, his real estate, his houses, his land, his mines. He had specifically mentioned that no other person was to inherit his holdings or his fortune. He had left it all to her, and the vehemence of his words had struck Sabrina as odd. Who else would even have tried to inherit something from him? She was all he had. And he had left a handsome gift to both Hannah and Dan, and they had been pleased by the amounts. She was hoping that Dan would be sufficiently mollified to behave himself today. She needed his support here. She imagined that it would come as a shock to the men too that she was planning to take her father's place. She knew that she could handle it, he had taught her so much in the past eighteen years, that she felt confident. But now she had to convince them of that, and she knew that working foi a woman could prove awkward for them too, particularly one as young as she was.

  She knew what she was up against, or so she thought. But the reaction she got was far worse than she feared, as she rang the big mine bell, signaling an announcement at the office. Three rings would have meant an emergency in the mine. Four a fire. Five a flood. Six a death. But she rang it once, and then stood quietly on the office porch waiting for them. She waited quite a while and rang it again. And eventually they came one by one in groups, talking and chattering, carrying axes and tools. Even that early in the day, they were already filthy from head to foot, they looked like what they were, hardworking men. There were more than five hundred of them standing there, listening to her. It was a breathtaking sight, the men who worked for her now, and she had to admit, she felt a thrill run up her spine. The empire was hers now ' the Thurston m
ines' .

  Good morning, men. She was their leader now. They worked for her, and she would stand by them as her father had. She felt a wave of warmth reach out to them. She would do everything she could for them. She would never let them down. She wanted to tell them that now. I have a few things to say to you. She was holding the same bullhorn her father had used, and they crowded around so they could hear what she said, and Dan Richfieid watched her from where he stood. He knew how they would react. They wouldn't take this shit from her, at least he hoped not. He was counting on them to play into his hand, and he hoped that they would. I want to thank you all for being there when I brought my father home last week. That would have meant everything to him. She paused, fighting back tears. You all meant everything to him. And he would have done anything for you. They nodded assent. 'Tin going to tell you something now which may come as a surprise. There was a look of sorrow on the faces of those closest to her, and she realized instantly what they thought. And one man called out, You're selling the mines. But she shook her head. No. I am not selling the mine. She could see that they looked pleased. They liked their jobs and were happy at the Thurston mines. Things were going to be all right. Richfield would carry on. Most of them had hoped he would, and there had been a lot of talk in the past few days, in the bars in town. There were even some healthy bets. And they all waited to hear what she would say to them now. The mine is going to stay exactly as it was, gentlemen. Nothing is going to change for you. I'm going to see to it myself, and in fact, I promise that to you. A cheer went up as they looked at her adoringly, and she held up a hand and smiled. Things were working out better than she had feared. I am going to be running the mines myself, just as my father did. With the help of Dan Richfield, just as he helped my father run these mines. I will maintain the same policies he did ' But they weren't listening to her now, they were beginning to shout and jeer at her' .