The Bride's House (22 page)

“Papa said I might go shopping in Denver, but whatever I buy will need to be altered, so I’ll be forced to wear what I have already, and nothing is up to the mark.”

Mrs. Travers watched the girl with a smile of amusement. “What about that gray one you had made in the spring, the one that’s the color of a mouse bush? You’ve never even worn it. You’ve got it hid away somewheres.”

Pearl stopped, remembering it. “I put it away, because after it arrived, Papa told me he disliked gray dresses.” But she took it out, along with a brown frock for sightseeing, then selected hats and gloves and got out the pair of diamond earrings her father had given her. She’d thought them flashy and never worn them, but now they seemed just the right thing.

A dozen times in the next day, as she worked frantically to finish the housecleaning, the young woman returned to her room and removed another frock from the clothes press and examined it or took down a hat from the shelf and considered it. Once, she dropped the carpet beater on the grass and exclaimed, “I’d forgotten. I must take a dress to wear when we go out in the evening.”

“You go ahead. I’ll finish,” Mrs. Travers said, and indeed, if the old woman had not worked herself as hard as she had in her boardinghouse days, the cleaning would not have been finished by Thursday night.

But it was, and in the morning, the stable boy drove the two women and their baggage to the station, drove them there, at Pearl’s insistence, a full hour before the train was to leave. Pearl wore a black mohair dress that was severe but not unflattering, although she seemed to think it was, and she convinced herself that Frank Curry would be displeased at being seen with such a dowdy creature.

But Frank seemed not to pay attention to her outfit. He was waiting beside the tracks and grinned at the two women when he spotted them peering out of the window, rushing to help them step from the train. He engaged a porter to carry the baggage outside, where he hailed a taxicab, a motorized one.

“Have you ridden in an automobile before?” he asked, after he directed the driver to the Brown Palace Hotel.

“Not in Georgetown,” Mrs. Travers replied for the two of them. “There aren’t many, and they have to be put up on blocks most of the year. I don’t see the sense in them myself. I believe they’ll disappear when folks get tired of the novelty.” Then she added, “Of course, Pearl’s seen them here with her father.”

“I forgot you’ve been to Denver,” Frank said, sounding disappointed. “You’ve probably seen as much of the city as I have.”

“Not so much,” Pearl said quickly. “We meet with people at the Mining Exchange all day and don’t often spend the night. Papa doesn’t have time to see the sights.”

“Have you been to City Park? Or the zoo? Or the top of the capitol?” Each time Frank asked a question, Pearl shook her head, until the young man beamed at her again and said that in that case, he had plenty to show her.

So after the women left their luggage at the hotel, Frank ordered the driver to take them to the zoo. “A camel,” Frank told Pearl, pointing to an animal.

“Just like the pictures,” Pearl exclaimed. “I wonder what it would be like to ride such an animal. Oh, Aunt Lidie, wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to Greece and ride a camel?”

“Egypt. They ride camels in Egypt. The Greeks ride donkeys.”

Instead of simpering at her mistake and pleading feminine stupidity, Pearl said, “I’m glad you told me, Mr. Curry. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Perhaps they have camels in Greece after all. You should go there and find out and write me a postal to let me know.”

“To Greece?”

“And Egypt.”

“But how would I go?” Pearl thought the idea as preposterous as traveling to the moon.

“Wouldn’t your father escort you? If I were your father, I should do so.”

Pearl clasped and unclasped her hands in confusion. “I’ve never wanted to travel. I’ve always been perfectly happy to stay in Georgetown.”

“There’s a world beyond Georgetown, an exciting one, and you ought to see it. I wish I could show it to you.” They had drawn a little away from Mrs. Travers, who had spotted a trio of monkeys and was absorbed in watching their antics. “You’ve already taken the first step, coming to Denver by yourself.”

“Oh,” Pearl said, turning away and staring at the camels. She was not sure how to respond to such a remark.

Frank put his hand on her arm. “There are tours. You could go with Mrs. Travers.” He added slyly, “Or with a husband, if you had one.”

Pearl reddened and turned away. “You are making fun of me, Mr. Curry.”

“Nonsense. Any man would be proud to accompany you. I know of no woman more suitable as a traveling companion—or a wife.”

“Mr. Curry…” Pearl said, and stopped, thinking she should reprimand him but not sure why.

“I apologize for my boldness. But surely you know how much I admire you. You’re not silly like other women. You are anxious to learn about a subject, and you possess calmness and fearlessness.”

“Surely not fearlessness.” Pearl had to smile.

“Few other women have the pluck to ride to the bottom of a mine shaft in a bucket and walk through the tunnels.”

He started to say more—or at least, Pearl thought he did—but Mrs. Travers came up to them and remarked, “Have you been watching the monkeys? The little one looks just like a boarder I once had on Rose Street.” She laughed, but when the other two did not respond, she looked at them curiously.

“Oh yes, the monkeys,” Frank said at last, taking his eyes away from Pearl and looking at the older woman. “They’re very clever, aren’t they? Now, how would you like to take a drive about the city?”

As they passed the capitol building, he pointed to the dome and said they could go to the top the next day. “I remember you are a better climber than I am,” he told Pearl.

“Well, you won’t catch me gadding about up there in the air,” Mrs. Travers said. Pearl thought she saw Frank smile, and she hoped they could climb the steps together, just the two of them.

When they returned to the hotel, Mrs. Travers announced she was tired and that it would be a good idea to order supper sent to their room, “for you will want a soon start in the morning.” Pearl was disappointed. She wanted to spend the evening with Frank, but being agreeable, she nodded.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll take you to dinner and a movie,” Frank told them, “unless you prefer a play. There is the Broadway Theater just across the street.”

“I can see a play in Georgetown. I want to go to a picture show. Besides, Papa suggested it,” Pearl told him, a little surprised at herself, since she’d never cared to see a movie before. But then, she’d never been asked to attend a movie by Frank Curry.

CHAPTER 10

I
N THE MORNING
,
THE TWO
women took the omnibus down Sixteenth Street to Daniels & Fisher, the fashionable store that Frank had recommended, where Pearl chose a delicate pink wool frock that was cut in a severe style. The pink was an odd choice for a woman with Pearl’s red hair and pale skin, but it looked so stunning on her that Mrs. Travers sucked in her breath when Pearl modeled the gown for her. Made without trimmings, the dress gave the girl a sophisticated air. “You look pretty as thundersnow,” the older woman said, referring to that rare combination of lightning, thunder, and snow, a phenomenon that turns the sky a strange shade of pink. “It’s the color of your name,” Mrs. Travers added, a look of self-satisfaction on her face at her bit of poetry, because she was a plainspoken woman.

After the dress had been fitted, Pearl gave the clerk the Georgetown address, then asked suddenly, “Could you alter it today, so that I might wear it tonight?” The clerk consulted with the seamstress, and they agreed that it might be done and delivered that afternoon. “I can wear the dress to the picture show, Aunt Lidie,” Pearl said, her eyes glowing. “Now we must find something for you.”

Mrs. Travers protested that she had enough dresses to last her till the noon of doomsday, but Pearl insisted. “Papa said we were both to go shopping, and I mean to buy you something fine to wear.” So they found a tweed suit that Mrs. Travers pronounced finer than anything she had ever seen at the Presbyterian church in Georgetown, and the two hurried off to O. P. Baur’s to meet Frank for luncheon.

Inside the restaurant was a pink and white marble soda fountain the likes of which Pearl had seen only in photographs. The fountain stretched the length of the room, and a mirror behind the back bar made it appear even larger. Silver knobs and handles gleamed against the marble, and young men hurried back and forth with dishes of ice cream and tall glasses and spoons—“ice cream and soda water. It’s called a soda and was invented in this very restaurant,” Frank told them.

“Then we must have one,” Pearl exclaimed.

“I thought you didn’t care for ice cream,” Mrs. Travers whispered.

“Oh, but I do,” Pearl replied, adding softly, “Now.”

After they were seated at a table and had ordered their luncheon, Mrs. Travers announced, “We followed your advice and went to Daniels & Fisher, where we spent enough money to ransom the Queen of Sheba.”

“I did not know the Queen of Sheba had been kidnapped,” Frank said, and they all laughed. Then he added, “I’m glad for it. I’m sure the money was well spent.”

“I suppose you’ll see this evening,” Mrs. Travers said. “Pearl insisted that her dress be finished in time for the outing.”

Pearl colored, embarrassed that Mrs. Travers had told on her. “Where do we go next?” she asked quickly, looking aside to hide the flush on her face.

“I’m sorry it’s late in the year, or I’d take you to see a baseball game. But I think you would like the capitol building. We’ll climb all the way to the top. You can see Mount Evans from there.”

“I can see Mount Evans from home and up close. I’m too beat out to climb all those stairs just to look at a mountain,” Mrs. Travers told them.

And so, after they had finished eating—and Pearl had pronounced the ice-cream soda as good a thing as she had ever tasted—the couple delivered Mrs. Travers to the hotel, and then they walked the two blocks down Broadway to the capitol building. Pearl delighted in the structure, the dome that was covered with gold from the Colorado mines, the halls lined with marble, the grand golden staircase. They made their way to the top floor and found the wooden stairs leading to the dome. There were not so many steps, and they were not very high, and Pearl wondered if Frank had exaggerated the climb to Mrs. Travers to discourage her from accompanying them. The idea that Frank might have fibbed in order to be alone with her sent a thrill through the girl, until she decided that the more practical reason was Frank thought Mrs. Travers too old to manage the stairs and was only saving her from discomfort or embarrassment. As she ascended the stairs, Pearl felt Frank’s hand on her back, the warmth of his skin through her dress, and she moved slowly, savoring his touch.

As they climbed to the dome, they passed a party of four men coming down from the top. The men stepped aside on the landing to allow Pearl to pass and doffed their hats, exchanging pleasantries with Frank. Then as three of the men started down the steps, the fourth looked closely at Pearl and said, “Why, it’s Miss Dumas, isn’t it? We have met in Georgetown when I’ve called upon your father.”

Pearl did not know if she cared to be recognized, but there was nothing to be done about it, and she introduced Frank to the man. “May I present Mr. Frank Curry,” she said to him. “Mr. Curry, I have the honor of introducing you to Governor Shafroth.” The two men shook hands, and Pearl added, “Mr. Curry is an associate of my father’s. He’s in the molybdenite business. In fact, he is president of the Colorado Molybdenite Company.”

“Ah yes,” the governor said. “I wish you well, young man. I must catch up with my party. Germans they are, come to look at our mines. Give my kindest regards to your father, Miss Dumas.”

Pearl and Frank watched as the governor hurried down the steps and disappeared, and Frank said. “You are full of surprises. You never told me you knew the governor.”

Pearl shrugged. She was not so impressed with rank and office. “He wasn’t governor when I met him. He was plain Mr. John Shafroth, come to ask Papa about a legal matter. In another year—or three, if he’s not reelected—he’ll be
Mr.
Shafroth again.”

They reached the top of the steps and walked out onto a little balcony that circled the dome, Pearl glad that no one else was there. “Look,” Frank said, making a wide gesture with his arm. “Isn’t it fine? Straight ahead is Georgetown. We could see your house if the mountains weren’t in the way. I bet you can see for a thousand miles.” He turned to look at Pearl.

Pearl considered that. Then, since she was not one to exaggerate, she replied, “A hundred miles anyway.”

“A thousand miles straight up into the air,” Frank said.

Pearl stretched her neck, raising her head to stare at the clouds. After she looked down, she suddenly felt dizzy and reached out for the railing but clutched Frank instead. When she saw what she’d done, she drew back, but Frank would not let go of her. He took both of her arms and asked, “Are you light-headed?”

“Oh no,” Pearl answered quickly, because she did not want him to think her one of those women who fainted at the least thing. “I’m all right.” After a pause, she said, “You can let go of me now.” She wished he would not, however.