River Queen Rose. Shirley KennedyЧитать онлайн книгу.
The solicitor also smiled. Ruffling a pile of papers on his desk, he addressed Talbot. “You brought the check?”
Talbot patted his right breast pocket. “Just drawn up at Wells Fargo.”
With a smile of satisfaction, Mr. Field dipped a pen in a bottle of ink and held it out to Rose. “I have some papers for you to sign, Mrs. Peterson. If you’ll step to my desk?”
She started to rise but couldn’t unbend. It was if she was glued to the chair. Deke’s frank advice rang through her head. If the law says you own the hotel and the farm, then so you do, and those in-laws of yours can go take a flying leap. No! She must get out this chair and sign. Again she tried to rise, but her legs refused to move. Dulcee’s wise words crowded Deke’s. If I had it to do over again…I’d have the courage to speak up, say what I wanted to say, and the consequences be damned.”
Seconds went by. Get up! There was still time. If she got up this instant, they’d never know she had the least objection, but if she waited any longer…
Her knees still refused to unbend. Heads began to turn. Coralee, who sat next to her, gave her a nudge. “Mr. Field wants you to sign the papers, dear. You need to go to his desk.”
Ben bent forward and peered around Coralee. “Get up there, Rose. I want this thing signed and done with.”
Too late. The time had passed that she could continue her role as the passive, obedient daughter-in-law. By God, I’m not going to do it. She breathed deep and steadied herself. Even though her heart was pounding, she willed her voice not to shake when she spoke. Instead of the stark fear she expected, a flood of relief ran through her. With far more ease than she expected, she stood and addressed the puzzled solicitor who still held the pen in his outstretched hand. “Are the hotel and farm truly mine, Mr. Field?”
“If you were legally married to Emmet Peterson, they are.”
“Then I don’t choose to sign.” She turned to Mason Talbot. “I’m sorry you’ve gone to this trouble for nothing, sir, but the property is mine and I’m not selling.” With a firm lift of her chin, she turned to Ben and Coralee. “Until this moment, I planned to go through with it and sign. Now I find I cannot. I hope you understand. It’s just…honestly, why should I? If the property is mine, then so it is. You can rest assured, you’ll always have a home on Emmet’s farm however long you choose to live there. As for the hotel, I don’t want to sell because I want to run it myself. Can you possibly understand?” She braced herself for Ben’s wrath. Like Emmet, he had a temper which mostly he managed to control. She’d witnessed a few occasions when he’d lost it, though. His scalding fury had been so frightening, everyone ran for cover.
To her surprise, Ben hardly looked at her. With an easy smile, he turned to the solicitor. “You must forgive my daughter-in-law, Mr. Field. She has just lost her husband, so naturally she’s not thinking clearly.” He threw Rose a quick glance loaded with sympathy. “We’d best get her home and put her to bed.”
“And I’ll get her a nice glass of warm milk.” Coralee stood up and patted Rose on the shoulder. “There, there. It’s going to be all right.”
Rose was so dumbfounded she couldn’t speak. She’d been prepared for her in-laws’ wrath but not this. “I don’t need a glass of warm milk, and I don’t need to go to bed. I meant what I said.”
“Well, of course, you do,” said Coralee. “Whatever you say.”
Go to bed? Warm milk? How outrageous. She had to get out of there. Head held high, she marched from the office of Archer Field, out the front door, and into the teeming traffic on J Street. She started walking, hardly noticing where she was going. She’d been braced for their anger, not their sympathy. How dare they treat her that way? As she continued on, the street became more crowded. She passed a long row of hotels, all with saloons with swinging doors and tinny music pouring through. Men in rough miners’ clothes seemed to be constantly shoving in and out. They seemed a rough lot, smelling of whiskey and tobacco, jostling and shouting curses. A man in a scraggly beard and dirty clothes pointed at her. “Look there! Ain’t she sweet?”
Dear God, she needed to get out of here. The man came staggering after her. She was about to run when…was someone calling her name? She stopped and turned. Deke was approaching on Sidney. As he rode up to her, he frowned down and asked, “Rose, what are you doing here by yourself? Get on.” He reached out his arm. She hesitated. Surely he didn’t have the strength to pull her up. “Take it,” he commanded. So all right then. If he thought he could do it, who was she to argue? She grasped his hand. In an instant, he swung her up and behind him in one effortless motion. Before she knew it, she was seated with arms around his waist, and Sidney was moving up the street at a brisk pace. “Thanks,” she called.
“Blimey, girl!”
Deke said no more until he pulled Sidney to a stop in front of a long wooden building open in the front. “Welcome to the restaurant where all the miners come.” He dismounted and asked, “Need help getting down?”
“I can manage.” She’d ridden horses all her life and swung off with ease.
He retrieved his crutches. Soon they were seated at one of the rough-planked tables, cups of coffee in front of them. “We’re lucky it’s not dinnertime,” he said. “This place is a madhouse then.” He cocked his head. “Now tell me, what were you doing on J Street by yourself? Not a good idea, you know, going for a stroll on one of the rowdiest streets in town.”
“I’d rather not discuss it.”
“Then we won’t,” he replied easily.
She bit her lip. He’d just rescued her. Besides that, the poor man was crippled. She could at least be polite and give him an honest answer. “Sorry. I’m a bit upset, but it’s not your fault. Do you remember what we talked about? That I own the hotel and the farm?” She told him what had occurred in the solicitor’s office. When she mentioned Mason Talbot, his face clouded.
“That scum.”
“You think so? I found him to be quite obliging, and congenial as well.”
Deke remained silent.
“Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not that I don’t care, but Mr. Talbot seemed quite apologetic about the duel and what happened.”
“Mason Talbot apologetic?” Deke got a strange look on his face, as if he wanted to say more, then thought better of it. “Just go on.”
“Nobody took me seriously. My in-laws thought I needed to drink warm milk and lie down. So now what do I do?”
“Sounds like you’ve already done it. What do you care if they don’t believe you? You didn’t sign the papers and that’s what counts. Good for you. You own a hotel, and that’s that.”
She took a moment to ponder. “You’re right. I’m the new owner of the River Queen. It’s just now sinking in.”
“Have you seen it yet?”
“Only on the outside. When Ben saw it, he decided it was much too rowdy for delicate females like myself.”
“You’ve got to see it. I’ll take you.”
“Of course I want to see it.” She regarded Deke with new eyes. Such a nice man, and not bad looking at all. She liked the way deep dimples appeared in his bronzed cheeks whenever he smiled. So far, the conversation had been all about her, and that wasn’t right. “How are you doing, Deke? Do you know where you’re going yet?” Without thinking, she flicked a glance at the crutches resting beside him. “What can you do?”
“I won’t be panning for gold anytime soon. There are other ways to make a living, though. I’ve got some ideas.”
“So you’ll be staying in Sacramento?” He nodded. “That’s wonderful. I’m glad to hear it.” And she was, surprisingly so. Deke was easy to talk to, besides being helpful.