The Golden Bride

by Kimberley Woodhouse

  Biting her lip, she thought about it. The title of manager was quite appealing.

  Daniel patted her knee. “It will be more responsibility, but I know you’re up for the task.”

  His confidence in her made her heart soar. When he’d first mentioned it, she didn’t think there was any way. But now … The idea had grown on her and fast. She smirked. “Does that mean I can actually have a day off?”

  His laughter filled the room. “Yes. I will make sure you get a day off.”

  “And you said a raise?”

  “Yes, and a raise.” He stuck out his hand as if they were making a bargain. “What do you say?”

  “I’ll give it a try.” Taking his hand, she shook it vigorously. The exhaustion she’d felt earlier was now replaced by a thrill of exhilaration. Something new and exciting and quite impressive for a woman her age, or a woman of any age for that matter. And if she ended up remaining a single widow for the rest of her years, she’d need a good way to support herself. She could never allow herself to live off her brother. What if he got married and had a family?

  “Livvy,” Daniel said as he leaned in and hugged her. “Thank you. I’m so glad you came here. And not just so you can help me run my businesses.” His look turned a bit sheepish. “But because I didn’t realize how much I missed having family around. I didn’t realize how lonely I’d become.”

  “I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Where would she be right now if she didn’t have her brother?

  “Nonsense. We’re family.” He tweaked her nose like he used to when she was a little girl. “And by the way, I’ve been remiss in not telling you how great the restaurant looks with the flowers on the tables. Even a few of our crustiest customers have commented on the decorating.”

  “I’m glad. I’ll start working on the curtains soon, now that the fabric is in. What do you think about—”

  Knock, knock!

  The pounding made Olivia jump and put a hand over her heart. The kitchen staff were still cleaning up, so Daniel hadn’t locked all the doors of the restaurant yet. Anyone could come up the stairs and knock on their residence door.

  Daniel frowned. “I wonder who that could be.” He went over to the door, unlocked it, but only opened it a crack. “Joseph! Come in.”

  Hearing his name made Olivia instinctively put a hand to her hair.

  Joseph removed his hat and walked in, bowing to her, a grim expression on his face. “I’m sorry for the late visit, but I need to talk.”

  “Of course.” Her brother ushered their friend to the parlor.

  Olivia followed close behind.

  “What’s on your mind?” Daniel sat down and braced his elbows on his knees.

  Watching Joseph’s face, Olivia ached with the emotion she saw there.

  Their friend and guest looked to the flame in the hurricane lantern and stared for several moments. “I disguised myself and followed George Banister today. He went to Pacific Street again, but he wasn’t carrying supplies or food of any kind. The building he went to has thick drapes drawn at every window. George had a key and went inside.” Joseph swiped a hand down his face. “I tried to get closer, but a man confronted me and said no one liked a snoop, so I ran for several blocks to make him think he’d scared me off.”

  “Did you see anything else?” The words out of her brother’s mouth were clipped—like he was holding in his anger.

  “It was quiet. Too quiet. But I know it’s the same place where I heard all that wailing before. Like people in pain and miserable. I decided to go home and get cleaned up before I came here because I didn’t want anyone to see the filthy man that was snooping around Pacific Street coming to see you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I put you in any danger.” With that he’d turned and looked at her.

  The emphasis of his statement made Olivia scared. What kind of people were they dealing with?

  “There’s more. When I returned home, there was a note tacked to my door, telling me to watch my back.”

  Daniel scowled. “What do you think that’s about?”

  “I don’t want to rush to any conclusions. I have been a bit pushy with George at a few of the council meetings. And my mine is very successful—it could just be someone in competition. I don’t know. I don’t think anyone saw me today other than the man who confronted me. And no one followed me—I know that for a fact.”

  Olivia wasn’t sure what to make of all this information. Her heart pounded, and she felt a fierce protectiveness for Joseph as well as a healthy amount of fear. Who would threaten him? And was he in real danger, or was someone simply trying to scare him?

  Joseph leaned forward. “There’s more. Governor Riley replied to my letter. He said that if we are ever going to gain moral ground in our territory, the common man has to step up and help. I think he’s correct.

  “Then Dewei came to see me with news that burdened me further. He’s heard that there are indeed children being stolen and forced into slave labor here. I don’t know where they’re coming from, but Dewei overheard a man talking about another shipment coming in soon. There’s no sign of them or where they might be hidden, and that concerns me. But we already knew that San Francisco holds many dark secrets. There’s been talk of the Hounds getting more territorial and violent. People are afraid to stick their noses where they don’t belong, and so evil acts face no resistance.”

  He sighed. “I can’t tell you how difficult it was to watch a man like Dewei, who’s normally so stoic and unemotional on the verge of breaking down with tears in his eyes.” Joseph just shook his head. “I promised to help his family, and I can see how much he’s hurting for them, but now I feel tortured knowing that a lot more people are involved than we thought. Dewei said that the Chinese workers he knows in town have all been talking of the rumors of the underground slave trade, but no one seems to know anything about it or have any details.”

  Olivia looked to her brother. He sat there, his brow furrowed as he clenched and unclenched his hands. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “What should we do?”

  When Daniel lifted his head, his features were hardened. “First we pray.”

  They all agreed.

  “And second? We do everything in our power to stop this atrocity from happening in our city.”

  “How exactly are we going to do that?” Olivia wished she could read minds at that moment, because both Daniel and Joseph wore serious expressions that almost scared her.

  Joseph placed his hands on his thighs and stood. “We need a spy.”

  No number of mud puddles or piles of manure in the streets could slow Joseph down from getting to Livingston’s Restaurant. The rain had finally let up, but the streets would be a mess for some time.

  When he opened the door to the dining room, he removed his hat and flicked moisture from his suitcoat. He couldn’t wait to share his news with Daniel and Olivia. Pulling his pocket watch out, he glanced at the time. So, he was a bit early. That was all right. He just needed to get their attention as soon as possible. But as he looked around, he realized the place was packed as usual nowadays. It used to be that Joseph could always just go to their usual table, but not anymore. Daniel’s idea of opening another restaurant was a good one, and it was much needed.

  Olivia spotted him first, and her smile beamed across the room to him. Her dark hair shimmered, and she wore a dress that had become his favorite on her. It was blue and brought out the color in her eyes.

  Not that he should be spending all his time thinking about the lovely Mrs. Brighton, but Joseph found himself thinking about her more often than not. Even when his thoughts drifted to all the horrible things happening in their city, he couldn’t help but think of her and her safety, of her sweet heart and how she pledged to help them in any way she could. And, of course, lately he’d been thinking a lot about their future. Not that there was much chance of that—she’d made it clear she would never marry a gold miner. Then there was Daniel’s mention of her imperative state
ment that she wouldn’t marry again. But maybe God could change her mind?

  “Good to see you, Sawyer.” Daniel clasped his shoulder. “I’m pretty busy at the moment, but I’ll find you a place to sit as soon as I can.”

  Feeling a bit sheepish that his friend had snuck up on him while he’d been watching Olivia, Joseph nodded. “It’s not a problem, but I have news to share.”

  Daniel leaned in closer. “Good or bad?”

  “This is good. Encouraging in fact. I’d like to share it with you and Olivia as soon you have a moment.”

  His friend nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  After about a half hour passed, Daniel sent Joseph to a table, but it took another half hour before the lunch rush had died down and they were all seated together.

  “What’s this news?” Daniel didn’t waste any time.

  Joseph looked to Olivia and loved the eagerness he saw on her face. Her blue eyes were focused on him, and for a moment, he forgot what he was going to say. A kick under the table brought his attention back around to the information he had been waiting to share. He shot a look to his friend, who obviously found the whole situation funny. “I came to tell you that the council has selected Malachi Fallon to be San Francisco’s first captain of police.”

  Olivia clapped her hands. “That is wonderful news! We’ll finally have law officials to help straighten things out.”

  “This is good news, indeed.” His friend nodded.

  “But that’s not all.” Joseph took a sip of his coffee. “Fallon has appointed a deputy captain, three sergeants, and thirty officers to comprise our first police department.”

  “He’s a man of action, that’s for certain. I’m glad he didn’t waste any time.” Daniel dug into the food in front of him.

  When Joseph looked back to Olivia, he noticed the puzzled look on her face. “What are you thinking, Olivia?”

  She bit her lip—something he noticed she often did when she was thinking hard on a subject. “I was just wondering where they were going to have an office? And do they have housing for all those men? We all know that more tents are going up every day. There’s not enough room for all the people that are already here.”

  Her heart for people made Joseph adore her even more. “The schoolhouse on Portsmouth Square will be used as their office since all the students headed off to the gold fields, and I guess it will be a place for them to stay temporarily. But plans are already in motion to expand.”

  “Perhaps we could bring the men meals?” She looked to her brother. “Shouldn’t we do our part to help the law in our town?”

  Daniel chewed for several moments, and Joseph could tell he was thinking through all the options. “I think that’s a great idea,” he finally said. “We could do that once a day.”

  “That’s a lot of food, but with the small budget the city has right now, that would be a wonderful help and much appreciated by the men, I’m sure.” The council would be grateful for this news as well.

  “Have you had any trouble or resistance from Mr. Banister?” Olivia’s words were soft.

  “Not a bit.” Joseph could hardly believe it himself. George had been the bane of his existence. But now? The man was almost congenial. “In fact, he said that his employer is donating funds to help the budget for the police captain.”

  “What do you think the man is up to?” His friend’s question echoed one that Joseph asked himself numerous times a day.

  “That’s what I can’t seem to figure out. He’s slick and good at getting people to see his side, no matter what side that is. Now he’s a hero to the other council members for helping to get Fallon selected so that we finally have law enforcement.”

  “But you still suspect him, don’t you? Especially after what you’ve seen?” Olivia watched him carefully.

  “Definitely. I don’t trust the man. There’s some hidden agenda that none of us knows anything about.”

  “I haven’t liked him since I met him.” She lifted her chin. “I didn’t like how he took the boy the way he did either. How do we prove that he’s up to no good?”

  “That’s the tricky part.” Daniel looked at his sister. “At this point, we only know that things aren’t adding up. Joseph has seen him in a few situations that didn’t make sense. Since he seems to have an extremely wealthy employer—a man who appears to do no wrong and has an unlimited amount of resources—we need to find out if it’s George acting on his own or if the criminal activity goes much higher.”

  “But now that we have actual police, I believe that we can make headway,” Joseph assured her, and reached across the table to pat her hand for a brief second. It had been killing him to see the worry and dismay in her eyes. If only he had the right to console her. “We still don’t know what George is doing. And we have no idea if this is linked to the people being held as slaves or what Dewei has heard of as a slave trade. But I fear if we don’t stop this soon, it might escalate beyond even the police’s control. The city is growing every day.”

  Even though his news had been good news to share, the conversation had quickly turned to the serious nature of what was at stake. Perhaps he needed to change the subject. “Speaking of growing …” He turned to Daniel. “Have you thought more about building another restaurant?”

  His friend wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Indeed. In fact, I’ve already got a crew working on the new building.”

  “Already? However did you manage it?”

  “By offering to pay top dollar.” Daniel laughed.

  It made him turn his attention back to Olivia. “He tells me that you’re going to manage this restaurant once the new one is built?”

  Her face turned pink. “Yes. If I can learn everything. It’s a daunting task, that’s for sure.”

  “I have complete faith that you’ll do a wonderful job.” There was so much more that he wanted to say, but he’d have to wait to share his heart with her. For now, he’d have to be content to be her friend.

  “So do I.” Daniel grinned from ear to ear at his sister. “Now”—he turned back to Joseph—”what passage are we studying today?”

  Only one of the boys from the restaurant stayed for study that afternoon, but it didn’t bother Joseph. Every day, they would make an impact, even if it was just continuing to be a light in their dark place. Everything took time, especially earning trust and growing relationships.

  It played out all too real in so many areas of his life. The church they’d built. The Bible study. The city council. And … Olivia. That relationship was the hardest to wait for, particularly since he spent time with her every day. He often wondered if she suspected that he’d come to admire her. But she never treated him any differently.

  Daniel, on the other hand, had become quite a pest about it. Oh, his friend had a good heart and liked to tease him, but Joseph wasn’t sure about the timing. Had Olivia even told her brother about her aversion to men who worked in gold mining?

  As soon as they ended in prayer, Daniel headed to the kitchen with the boy. Joseph thought about his options and decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask her for a walk. She sat at the table with her Bible in front of her, scribbling furiously in a small book.

  “Olivia?”

  “Hm?” She continued writing and then looked up at him.

  “I was wondering if you’d like to go for a walk? Get some fresh air?”

  She laid her pencil down and blinked at him. “But it’s raining outside.”

  He looked out the window. For some reason, he hadn’t noticed that the rain had come back with a vengeance. “Ah, yes.” Disappointment filled him. “Perhaps another time?”

  “I need to run an errand tomorrow.” Her smile lit up her face. “Would you escort me then?”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  She closed her book and her Bible and then laid her hands in her lap. “Would you like to sit and visit for a few minutes?”

  “I’d love to.” As his heart picked up its tempo, he calmly pulled a c
hair out and sat facing her. “What are you working on in your book, there?”

  She blushed. “It’s my notes of everything I’m learning and of course the things that I need to study more.” Ducking her head for a moment, she picked at something on her skirt before looking back up into his eyes. “I’m sad to admit that I feel lacking when it comes to knowledge of the scriptures.”

  “I feel lacking every day in that area. It’s a good thing we have a lifetime to study the Good Book.”

  She nodded and bit her lip. “Joseph.” Her voice softened. “I wanted to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “You’ve taught me a lot about the Bible, and I appreciate that more than you know.”

  How could that be? She’d been a follower of Christ for much longer than he had. “I want to say praise be to God for that. And truly, I want to praise Him. But I find it hard to believe that I’ve had anything profound to say to teach you.”

  The expression on her face threatened to melt his heart. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. “Don’t discount what God is doing in and through you, Joseph Sawyer.” It was her turn to reach out and touch his hand. It sent a jolt of warmth up his arm. “I’ve learned a lot. And I’ve needed it. So thank you.”

  He had no response that was adequate to give her. All he managed was a slight nod. He’d wanted to be used by God ever since he’d been rescued out of his own sin and the Good Lord had turned his life around. But he’d never been in a position to really make a difference. At least he hadn’t thought so. Olivia’s words touched a deep place within him. With her gracious, loving way, she spoke her heart and encouraged him, and he began to realize that everything Daniel had told him was true.

  God wanted him to be willing. It didn’t matter where he started. He didn’t have to get all cleaned up with his life in order and perfect before the Good Lord would use him. No. He simply needed to offer himself up as a sacrifice—willing and able—for God to do His work through him. He closed his eyes for a moment and sent a quick prayer heavenward. What an awesome privilege to be a child of God. When he opened his eyes, Olivia was staring at him.