“Why is that?”
“He’s dead.”
After a shocked moment, she said, “Tell me what happened.”
“It’s not a pretty story. You don’t want to hear it.”
“Oh, yes I do.”
Letty listened with rapt attention as Garth related the details of his encounter with Mathew. How he’d met his former employee on the trail; how the little man had admitted his guilt and pulled a gun. “Then he shot me, and I blacked out. When I came to, he was gone, or so I thought. I looked toward the creek, and there he was, lying under the water on his back. Thinking I could pull him out and save him, I rushed over, but too late. I will never forget his eyes—wide open and staring up at me through the water.” Garth shook his head, as if trying to erase a gruesome image from his mind. “He got off that shot just as I leaped on him and grabbed his throat. I didn’t see what happened after that, but I figure he must have stumbled backward and fallen in the creek. He still was carrying two knapsacks full of nuggets on his back. We’ll never know for sure, but if he’d been stunned by the fall, the weight of the gold would have held him down until he drowned.”
“That’s too horrible a fate for anyone.”
Garth lifted an eyebrow. “Even someone who tied you to a tree and left you to die?”
She’d think about that later. Right now, she was so grateful to be alive, she couldn’t condemn anyone, not even Mathew. But one thing she must say right now. “I owe you an apology. Mathew stole my brother’s shipment of gold. You had nothing to do with it, and I’m truly sorry I ever suspected you.”
Her apology seemed to amuse him. “Better late than never. You’re forgiven. Now let’s get back to town.”
They started the hike down the mountain, not stopping until they came to the spot on the trail where Garth had pulled Mathew’s body from the creek. In his haste to get to Letty, he’d left the body lying there, knapsacks still on his back. “Damn!” Garth exclaimed as he retrieved them and slung both on his own back. “They must weigh a ton. No wonder Mathew couldn’t stand up straight.”
As she went down the mountain, Letty got over the shock she’d suffered, her thoughts gradually returning to the ordinary problems in her life. Garth had rescued her, saved her from sure death. She’d be forever grateful, but now what? She kept expecting him to ask why she’d left San Francisco so abruptly, but so far, he’d kept away from anything personal. Maybe that was for the best. He loved Lillian Belmont. What more could he say?
Shouts of welcome went up when Letty and Garth reached the boarding house. Doc, all of them, had been worried sick and gave her a riotous welcome. In a never-seen-before gesture, Mrs. Del Vechio threw her arms around Letty and hugged her tight. “Thought you were a goner. Where’s Mathew?”
Garth didn’t stay long. “You need a rest,” he said. “Let’s have dinner at the Alhambra tonight. We have lots to talk about.”
After he left, Letty reveled in a hot bath and took a long nap. When she awoke, she took her time dressing for dinner. We have lots to talk about, Garth had said. Fine. She’d look her best while she listened to whatever he had to say, but the fact remained he’d lied to her about Lillian Belmont. By now, he must know he had a daughter. Lillian would have told him and was busy planning their wedding, if they weren’t married already. But if Garth was so madly in love with his mistress, why had he come to Empire? Was it just by accident that he happened to find her at Charles’s claim? She must brace herself for disappointment. Garth had a lot of explaining to do, probably more than he could or cared to.
In the ornate dining room at the Alhambra Hotel & Saloon, Letty studied the elaborate menu. “There’s so much to choose from,” she said to Garth who sat across the table. “Blanquettes of veal…oyster fritters…lobster tails. Where are the prices?”
Garth’s mouth quirked with humor. “Order what you like. In case you’ve forgotten, I own the hotel.”
She ordered the lobster and washed it down with the glass of Chateau Margaux Garth suggested. As they ate, he assured her the nuggets from the knapsacks were safely stored in the Alhambra’s vault. He’d see they were safely shipped to the east, sold, and the profits deposited to the Tinsley’s account at the State Street Bank.
“Mr. Winslow will be surprised,” Letty said.
Garth chuckled. “Mr. Winslow will fall off his chair when he sees the amount.” He would also make sure a proper claim was filed for Montezuma. It would be in her name, of course. Also, all necessary steps would be taken to retrieve the placer gold in the creek, as well as find where it came from. If he found the source, and he probably would, he’d take all necessary steps to set up mining operations for Charles’s rich vein of gold. “That is, if you want me to.”
Of course she did. She had no idea how to do any of that by herself. In turn, she told him about her stay in Empire and how Phineas Strauss had found her in front of his saloon and hired her to sing. “My so-called career was nice while it lasted, but I’m through. I hate to tell Mr. Strauss—he’s such a nice little man—but I’m quitting.”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “No regrets?”
“Not really. I’m not fooling myself that my voice is all that great. Those miners are so starved for entertainment, they’d applaud a duck if it could stay on key.”
Garth laughed and winced. Bringing his hand to his shoulder, he declared, “I’m a lucky man. If I had to get shot, the bullet couldn’t have hit a better place.”
“You’re sure you don’t need a doctor?”
“Absolutely not. Aside from an occasional twinge, I’ve forgotten it’s there.”
They kept the conversation light until the end of dinner when she finished her strawberry tart and the waiter cleared the dishes away. “So,” Garth said, laying his napkin on the table, “it’s time for some answers.” As he spoke, his blue eyes met hers, direct and probing.
The uncomfortable moment had arrived, just as she knew it would. The muscles in her neck tensed. What could she tell him? “I suppose you want to know why I left San Francisco in such a hurry.”
“What do you think?”
“I left you a note.”
“A very short note that told me nothing. Why did you leave?”
“I left because…” What should she say? She very much wanted to tell him the truth, but she’d given Lillian her word she wouldn’t. Honor and integrity were involved here. She’d never broken her word before and she wouldn’t now. “My reasons don’t matter. Suffice to say, I left because I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“I see.” Touching the fingers of both hands together, he sat back in his chair, seemingly relaxed, yet she could tell from the intense manner in which he was studying her that he wasn’t relaxed at all. “Was it Lillian?”
Yes, Lillian. Please, please, say she was lying and give me an explanation that I can believe. The words sat poised on her tongue, begging to be said. Instead, she sighed. With great deliberation, she placed her own napkin on the table. “I prefer to keep my reasons for leaving to myself. Nothing more need to be said on the subject.” She hated how straitlaced and starchy she sounded, but she had no choice.
He gave a slight nod, more to himself than her, as if he’d come to a decision. He stretched out his hand. “Take it.”
She didn’t think to argue, just reached across the table and slipped her hand into his. “You wanted to say something?”
“What are your plans?”
“Well…” She had to stop a moment and think. “If you can make the arrangements for the gold, there’s no longer any need for me to stay in Empire.”
“Fine. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“And go where?”
His hand gripped hers tighter still. “I love you, Letty Tinsley, so much I’d lay down my life for you and I just about have. You have doubts, and I’ve guessed what they are. All I ask is you come with me to San Francisco. When we get there, I promise I’ll clear up every last c
oncern you ever had about me. If I can’t, then go back to Boston with my blessing.” The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “Fair enough?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Fair enough.” How could she say no?
Chapter 22
San Francisco
Garth had learned a long time ago that a soft, controlled voice could be just as effective as a loud, angry one, if not more so. When he returned from Empire, he paused to remind himself of that fact before he knocked on Lillian’s door. Don’t curse, don’t yell. Not that he would have. The more he thought, the more he realized his ex-mistress was more to be pitied than anything else. Still, he’d have to deal with her, and this time without mercy.
Lillian answered, looking not the least surprised. She must have already heard he’d returned, and Letty with him. She swung the door wide. “Hello, Garth, so you’re back, I see. Do come in.”
He stepped inside. Give her credit, she must know why he was here, yet she met him with a steady gaze and waved him toward a chair with her customary grand air. “Won’t you sit down? I’d love to hear about your trip to Empire.”
“I imagine you would. I prefer to stand. What did you say to Letty?”
As expected, she brought a fluttering hand to her throat and gave him her wide-eyed innocent look. “Whatever do you—?”
“It won’t work, Lillian. What did you say to Letty?” Actually, he was sounding almost pleasant, and why not? Seething rage wasn’t necessary. Lillian knew him well enough to know he wasn’t going to give up until he got what he wanted, no violence of any sort required. “Letty gave you her word she wouldn’t tell me what you said. Being the honorable person she is, she’s kept her promise. I can guess, though. Shall I bring her in here? Would you like a face-to-face meeting with the woman you lied to?”
Lillian’s face crumbled. Her shoulders sagged. Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, Garth,” she cried, her voice stifled and shaking, “it was only because I love you.”
This was painful, more than he’d imagined. He heaved a sigh. “Just tell me the truth, Lillian. That’s all I’m asking.”
* * * *
Burning with curiosity, Letty sat waiting in her suite of rooms at the Golden Phoenix Hotel. The trip back from Empire had gone well. Garth had been nothing more than a considerate friend, attentive but impersonal, the situation between them never discussed. He’d left her here several hours ago with an admonition not to stray too far. She could only guess where he’d gone but suspected his absence had something to do with Lillian. At least she hoped so.
At last a knock on the door. When she opened it, Garth was standing there. A young woman she didn’t recognize stood beside him holding the hand of a pretty little girl with blond hair and blue eyes. Letty took a closer look. What was Lillian’s daughter doing here? She smiled and said, “Hello, Beatrice, how nice to see you again.”
“Her name isn’t Beatrice,” Garth said softly. “May we come in?”
* * * *
Mrs. Jenny Watts, the hotel’s head housekeeper, and her daughter, Eloise, didn’t stay long. In answer to Garth’s question, Mrs. Watts explained that, yes indeed, she recalled the day Miss Lillian Belmont had invited Eloise to her suite for “a little visit and some hot chocolate.” It had only been the once, and Eloise had not been invited back again. Looking puzzled, Mrs. Watts inquired, “Is something wrong?”
Garth gave her a reassuring smile. “Everything’s fine. You’re free to go.”
The burden that had lain heavy on Letty’s heart had lifted as she listened. After the pair left, she turned to Garth. “So Lillian was lying.”
“Indeed she was, and even borrowed a child she thought she could pass off as mine. Not all of it was a lie, though. I can’t deny that Lillian was my mistress, but we never had a child together, and I never would have married her.”
“I wouldn’t think you’ve lived like a monk all these years.”
He laughed appreciatively. “Lillian is leaving the hotel today. She’s agreed to apologize. I’ll get her up here right now if you like.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Letty had no thought of revenge. Not only had the poor woman lost the man she loved, she’d been caught in an enormous lie and must now feel utterly humiliated. “Just let her go, Garth. We have better things to think about.”
He stepped forward and cupped her chin tenderly in his warm hand. “Like getting married?”
She closed her eyes a moment, remembering all the times he’d gone out of his way to help her: when she got seasick, when Elfreda got bit by the scorpion and when he saved her from the crowd and got her on the Panama. And now this last, when she would have frozen to death had not Garth risked his own life to rescue her. But it wasn’t gratefulness that was making her heart dance with excitement. She had found her place in life and would love this man until her dying day.
“Like getting married,” she said and fell into his arms.
Epilogue
San Francisco, July 1856
Humming a little tune, Mrs. Garth Morgan bustled around the dining room of her mansion high on Nob Hill. She could leave all of this to the servants, but she liked to put the finishing touches on the elegant table settings herself. Not that she demanded perfection anymore. That God-awful trip across the Isthmus of Panama was years ago, but she hadn’t had a finicky moment since. She counted the plates. There would be…let’s see…eleven at the table tonight, and that included the mayor and his wife.
Garth appeared, handsome as ever in his derby hat and stylish suit. “Who’s coming for dinner?”
She was surprised to see him. “I thought you’d already left.”
He caught her in his arms and gave her a quick kiss. “I’m about to leave, darling. I’ll be meeting with investors concerning my new commercial building.”
More than she’d ever let on, Letty was delighted Garth had branched out into other, more respectful endeavors than running gambling saloons and was becoming one of San Francisco’s most highly respected businessmen. “Your mother will be there, of course, considering we’re throwing this dinner in her honor.”
“You two seem to be getting on well.”
“Indeed we are.” She had never met Mrs. Lenora Sternfield Morgan until she arrived a week ago for her first visit. Considering Garth’s description of her formidable demeanor and exacting demands, Letty had worried that nothing would please her, but she’d been wrong. From the moment her mother-in-law arrived, she seemed delighted with everything: the twenty-room mansion on Nob Hill, her son’s highly respectable standing in the community, Letty herself and, perhaps most of all, her two adorable grandchildren, Benjamin who was three, and Elizabeth who had just turned one. “She’s the perfect grandmother, and I love having her.”
“Thank God.” Garth’s smile displayed those dimples that had so enchanted her, and they still did. “Who else is coming?”
“Takisha and Chikelu.”
“Excellent. I’m always happy to see those two. It’s incredible the way they came to San Francisco as servants”—Garth shook his head in disbelief—“and look at them now.”
Letty heartily agreed. Chikelu wasn’t a hotel porter anymore. He’d started his own business, now owned the largest food market in San Francisco and was building another across the bay. To her delight, he and Takisha had married. Both were deeply involved in fighting for the rights of the black man. Sadly, there was much to be done. Even in so-called free-thinking San Francisco, blacks couldn’t serve on juries and were forbidden to ride the streetcars. But if anybody could change all that, it would be Letty’s stalwart ex-servant who was now one of her dearest friends. A formidable force, indeed. Along with her husband, Takisha had found her purpose in life and would fight ’til her dying day to end the discrimination.
“Millicent and Roger will be here, and William, of course.”
How blessed Letty felt that her family was together again! After Mother passed away, William came t
o live with Garth and her. A brilliant student, he was continuing his schooling in San Francisco. He would enter Santa Clara University when he graduated. Not long after William arrived, Millicent and her new husband came for a visit and decided to stay. Roger was a successful attorney and they’d bought a home close by.
Garth paused at the door before he left. “Shall we take Ben and Beth to the park tomorrow?”
“I’d love to.” She adored her children, and Garth adored them, too. What a perfect father he was. Perfect husband, too. Perfect everything. She loved him as much now as she had on her wedding day, probably more.
After Garth left, Letty put the finishing touches to the table. As she always did, she looked toward the dining room fireplace where a picture of her brother sat on the mantle. Ah, Charles how I wish you could be here. The day never went by that she didn’t think of him. Had he suffered when he died? What had Mathew done with him? Was he lying in a lonely grave somewhere, never to be found? But today was a busy day. She shouldn’t be dwelling on questions that would never be answered.
Upstairs in her bedroom, her maid had already laid out her gown for the evening, a low-cut ivory velvet with the whale-bone hoop to be worn underneath. She made a face when she saw it. Hoops might be fashionable and make her waist look tiny, but she hated how awkward they were, and unwieldy. If she wasn’t careful when she sat down, the bird-cagey thing could very well fly up in her face. She’d wear it, though. Somehow she’d gained the reputation as one of San Francisco’s most fashionable civic leaders. Not that she cared. Her last glimpse of poor Honoria was permanently engraved in her mind. That’s why she could never be pretentious, never put on airs, and if she caught herself acting even the slightest bit snobbish she’d remember that wealth and status mattered not one whit when you were in the jaws of a crocodile.
She was sitting at her dressing table, running a comb through her hair when the faint ring of the doorbell came from downstairs. Who would be calling at this early hour? Soon the maid knocked and entered. “Yes, Lizzie?”
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