A Lady in Defiance (29 page)

Naomi only half-listened to Ian read a passage of scripture
as he finished up their little church service. She’d spent the last several
days so distracted and this morning was no different. She couldn’t stop trying
to reconcile the differences in Mr. McIntyre. The night he had forgotten his
hat and she’d taken it to him on the porch, the lecherous scoundrel had
attempted to pull her into his arms. Yet, the night O’Banion had so disgraced
her, she’d read compassion, even sympathy, in Mr. McIntyre’s eyes. His actions
made no sense to Naomi. Did the profiteering pirate have a heart, after all?

Ian’s voice ceased and she realized the group was looking at
the front door. It swung open and Mr. McIntyre entered. Naomi felt a strange
emotion when their eyes met and upon examination of it realized…she was
actually pleased to see him.

“I am sorry for the intrusion,” he apologized awkwardly,
twirling his hat in his hands, “but I was wondering if I might have a word with
you, Mrs. Miller.”

He sent Ian a knowing glance and the man nodded. Taking his
cue to provide McIntyre and Naomi some privacy, Ian suggested that he, Rebecca
and Emilio finish up in the kitchen. Rebecca, looking puzzled but apparently
willing to go along, offered up an excuse to leave the room. “We need to watch
that roast anyway. It should be ready in a few minutes. Mr. McIntyre, you’re
invited to join us if you care for pork roast.”

“Thank you. It smells too wonderful to pass up.” The group
filed out and he sat down opposite Naomi. She thought again of their encounter
on the porch, how she had nearly wound up in his arms, and the panic that had
followed. Her reaction still baffled her. She should have been furious with
him, not frightened like a child. Just what exactly was she afraid of? Why did
he cause her so many questions? “Your first several days have gone well?” he
asked, sounding a little unsure of himself.

“Yes. Rebecca and Hannah have turned out to be quite good
chefs and managers. I wonder every day what I’m good for.”

“Now that we’ve rid your establishment of O’Banion , I hear
you’ve become quite the cordial waitress.”

Naomi laced her fingers in her lap and tried not to drop her
gaze. Just the mention of the man’s name made her nauseas. “I have to admit
that I’m glad you decided to ban him. Thank you.” She licked her lips and
hurried past the awkwardness. “It’s hard work, though−I mean the cooking.
Especially on Hannah. She’s tiring more easily now. We expect the baby to come
sometime around October 23rd, give or take. We need to get her off her feet
more.” This was the first time she had broached the subject with Mr. McIntyre
since that day the Pinkerton man had arrived. It felt good to be able to
discuss it so openly.

“Have you had Dr. Cook come down and check on her?”

Naomi hiked her shoulder up and rotated it. The rumors of Dr.
Cook’s drinking made all the muscles in her neck tense. “Well, I wanted to ask
you about him. Ian said he has a checkered past and he drinks to excess.”

“
Ian?
” Mr. McIntyre blinked, but rushed past the
question, leaving Naomi to wonder why the use of his friends’s name seemed to
disturb him. “Uh, yes on both counts but he’s a fine doctor. I’ll have him come
down, cold sober, and check on Hannah. When it’s close to her time, I’ll keep
him sober.”

“That will have to do, then,” she huffed, resigned to the
situation as it was. “We should have had him come sooner but we were hesitant
about his credentials. Whatever you can do would of course be greatly
appreciated. Like everything else, though, Hannah’s health is in God’s hands.”
She smiled, trying to lighten her mood. “So, what did you need to see me about?”

“I want you to be suspicious of anything or anyone that
doesn’t seem right.”

Naomi didn’t like the sound of that. “Why? What’s the
matter?”

“Perhaps you heard that Rose attacked Lil several days ago.
You may not know that she nearly clawed her eyes out and carved three crosses
on her chest−” Naomi gasped. The brutality of the attack stunned her. Mr.
McIntyre dipped his head. “I’m sorry to be so blunt. Rose is running the Broken
Spoke now and staying out of trouble, but I can’t let go of the three crosses.”
He paused and then added carefully, “Truthfully, I don’t trust her yet and I
think you should be watchful.”

 “I don’t understand. Do you think what she did to Lil
was some sort of threat to us?” Naomi immediately thought of her sisters and
little Billy and feared for their safety. “Good Lord, what kind of a person
does something like that?”

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Rose was different
from the day you came into town. When I,” he paused as if searching for the
right words, “
Re-affirmed
the details of our working relationship, she
didn’t take it very well. I think it made her resentful…dangerous.”

“Reaffirmed?” Naomi couldn’t help but wonder what he
wasn’t
telling her.

“Rose and I were,” McIntyre tugged on his collar, “well,
intimate for a number of months and it gave her certain ideas that she had a
claim, so to speak, on some of my affairs. She was harboring under a gross
misconception.”

“Oooh,” Naomi dragged out a long, slow nod. “That explains a
lot of things; Rose was
jealous
, not just
territorial
, as you put
it. She saw us as a threat.”

Mr. McIntyre set his hat on the table in front of him. “I’ve
seen a lot of who−excuse me−prostitutes with nasty attitudes. They
so often come from horrific backgrounds, as did Rose. The fact is I’ve always
known she would be trouble, but I wasn’t exactly thinking with my head...”

Naomi rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her arms,
wishing that she didn’t feel a sense of dread down to her very soul. “What do
you suggest we do?” She was asking for his advice and prayed he wouldn’t gloat.

He didn’t. “Watch the customers carefully. Stay together, and
I would urge you to have those late-night prayer sessions in the hotel instead
of down by the stream.”

Naomi’s heart missed a beat
. Surely he hadn’t seen her
there?
“How did you know I go down there to pray?”

“I, well, you mentioned you take walks. I−I just
assumed you prayed.” Naomi let out a breath, mostly satisfied with the
explanation. “I know you know how to use a shotgun,” he continued, turning them
back to the matter at hand. “Do you know how to handle a revolver? Do you even
have one?”

“I have my husband’s. I can handle it if I have to, I think.”

“Keep it close.”

“Does Ian know all this?”

“Yes, but I asked him not to say anything until I could talk
to you. You need to decide what to tell your sisters. In the meantime, I have
stepped up patrols of the town and have my men watching the inn and Rose.”

“Thank you.” All of his shenanigans aside, Naomi was grateful
to Mr. McIntyre for not only sharing his concerns, but bringing them to her
first. He nodded and the look in his eyes was lacking in its usual arrogance.
He was worried, and now, so was she.

~~~

Rebecca watched from the doorway as Hannah stared at the
calendar pinned to her bedroom wall. The blur of motion and work at the inn
made the publication an inconsequential scrap of paper to everyone but her
little sister. Hannah had drawn an X through each day as it ended, but October
23 was circled with a question mark drawn in the center. It was only a guess,
give or take two weeks, the doctor had said. Another exhausting day of cooking
behind her, Hannah carefully drew an X through October 15.

One more down
, Rebecca thought.
How many more to go?

Sizing up her little sister’s weary appearance, she knew what
she had to say was the right thing. Though they had been letting her sleep as
late as she needed, it wasn’t enough. “Naomi and I have been talking. You’ve
got to get more rest. You can help us prep for dinner in the afternoons if
you’d like, but we want you to take the evenings off.”

Hannah rubbed her back and glanced down at her feet which had
been swelling uncomfortably over the last few weeks. With enough energy left
for some humor, she squared her shoulders and saluted. “Aye, aye captain.”

Rebecca smiled but it faded quickly when her hand went to her
pocket and she felt the note. One more thing for Hannah to worry over. But she
had a right to know...

“Listen,” Rebecca sighed, pulling the folded square of paper
from her pocket. “There is something else.” She held it out for her sister and
Hannah started to reach for it. “It’s Billy’s address at Harvard.” The information
froze Hannah’s hand in midair. “According to Ian, Mr. McIntyre went to great
effort and expense to get this information. In fact, the Pinkerton man Beckwith
delivered it personally.” Hannah dropped her hand and turned away. Rebecca
flinched and pressed the note to her chest. “Hannah, he is the father and that
gives him some rights.”

“Being a father is about more than bloodlines.” Hannah’s
voice wasn’t cold, exactly, but Rebecca didn’t miss the edge it carried,
either.

“It’s up to you, little sister. Whatever you decide, Naomi
and I will stand behind you. You didn’t promise Frank Page anything.” When
Hannah didn’t respond, Rebecca set the note on the bed. It looked so small and
inconsequential against the background of loudly colored quilting
squares. 

Hannah turned and Rebecca saw a quiet strength in her
sister’s young eyes. “I think I’ve come too far to travel back down that road,
Rebecca. My child is the only Page who matters to me now.”

~~~

Clutching a coat and a small, beautifully wrapped box of
fancy chocolates, Daisy raised her hand to knock on the hotel’s back door. With
the clatter of cooking noises and chatter coming from the kitchen, she realized
no one would hear her and slowly pushed open the door. Stepping inside, she
peered meekly over the batwings into the kitchen. She watched for a few seconds
as Rebecca, Ian and Emilio tended to the business of cooking with efficiency
and organization. Ian pulled orders off the rack in the window and hung them
over the stove. Rebecca and Emilio quickly discussed the orders and then flew
into motion. The three hustled and bustled about the kitchen like well-trained
soldiers, cutting meat, flipping steaks, stirring pots of steaming vegetables.
As Rebecca pulled a roast out of the oven and turned to set it on the table,
she saw Daisy.

“I−I brought these for Hannah,” she stammered, quickly
stepping through the doors and thrusting out her arms as if to pass off the
gifts.

“Oh, thank you,” Rebecca gushed, “Why don’t you give them to
her in person? I know Hannah would love to have some company. Really she
would.”

“I need more steaks.” Ian came to the table and pulled a
cutting board loaded with a slab of meat closer to him. “Good evenin’, Daisy.”
He yanked the knife from the shank of beef and raised it into the air for a
violent blow.

“Here, I’ll do that.” Rebecca took the knife from him. “Why
don’t you finish with those in the pan. Emilio, we’re going to need more
potatoes.”

The boy withdrew the spoon from the stew he had been stirring
and disappeared around the corner, heading to the recently-added store room.
Daisy realized she was just in the way and stepped out in the hallway. To get
upstairs she had to skirt the edge of the dining room which was full of
customers and she wasn’t supposed to be here. What if someone told Mr.
McIntyre?

She decided she wanted to see Hannah badly enough to risk
another talking-to by her employer. Head down and turned away from the guests,
she clung to the wall and darted up the stairs to the second floor. Apparently
no one saw her or paid any attention, and she strode quietly down the hall to
Hannah’s room. At least there was light coming from underneath one door only,
so she assumed it was hers. Daisy knocked timidly and waited for Hannah to let
her in.

“Mollie!” Hannah exclaimed when she opened the door. Exuberant,
she pulled Daisy into the room. “It’s so good to see you!”

Relieved by the joyous welcome, Daisy extended her gifts.
“These are for you, if you want them.”

Hannah took one look at the candy and clutched the box to her
chest. “Where did you get these? I love chocolate!”

Daisy waved the question away, preferring to avoid the
details. “A friend brings me things some times. The coat is huge on me, but I
thought you could use it to tuck the baby in when you need to go somewhere.”

Hannah reached out and hugged Daisy. “Thank you so much. You
are such a special blessing.”

Daisy hugged her back, tentatively at first, then with more
confidence. It felt good to have a friend. “How is the restaurant doing?” she
asked, pulling away. “The men sure have been talking about it down at the Iron
Horse.”

“Really?” Curiosity lit a glow in Hannah’s eyes. “What do
they say?” She took the coat and candy to her bed and gratefully plopped down
on the mattress.

Daisy quickly weeded out the crass comments, especially about
Hannah being with child. She had taken it upon herself to spread the rumor that
Hannah had been abandoned by her husband. That was something men in a mining
town could understand, since many of them had left home and hearth due to an
infection of Gold Fever. Starting to believe that their newest citizens were
exactly what they appeared to be, the men were finding things to respect about
the sisters.