“She can stay,” Eden whispered to the wall.
“What?”
She sniffed and looked to the ceiling for a moment to push the moisture away from her eyes, then turned to face Levi. Clearing her throat, she met his gaze and spoke with conviction. “She can stay.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The knot in Levi’s gut uncoiled at Eden’s concession. He touched her shoulder. “Thank you.”
She gave a jerky little nod, then turned and pulled away. The tears in her eyes had not escaped his notice, and he questioned the rightness of pushing her to take Chloe in. A woman’s reputation was nothing to trifle with, and Eden had reason to be concerned. But surely her standing in the community would overshadow the girl’s unfortunate upbringing. In fact, having Eden as her champion could open a new world to Chloe, a world of respectability and perhaps even faith.
However, as Levi followed Eden back into the parlor, a troubling thought took hold. Had he been pushing strictly for Chloe’s sake, or had he been paving his own road to acceptance? His brow furrowed. When Eden suggested sending Chloe away, the first thought that flashed through his mind had not pertained to the girl’s welfare. No, he had speculated on the likelihood of Eden sending him away when she learned of his own shameful past. Convincing her to open her heart to Chloe could make it that much easier for her to open her heart to him.
Yet at the same time, he knew Chloe’s arrival on the heels of his vow to the Lord had not been coincidence. God had used his presence in that alley for Chloe’s good. He was sure of it. Bringing her to Eden was the right thing to do. He just had to be careful not to stir his personal motives into the mix.
When they crossed the threshold into the parlor, Chloe jumped to her feet. “I’m sorry, Miss Spencer. I never shoulda let him talk me into coming here. A girl like me ain’t fit company for a fine lady.”
Levi stopped in the doorway, blocking the exit with his bulk. The kid had that bolting look about her again.
Eden took a more direct approach. She hurried to Chloe’s side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Well, I’m not sorry at all that you came. In fact, I believe Mr. Grant did us both a favor by bringing you here.” Eden glanced back at him. Her lashes dipped shyly as if in apology for her earlier reluctance, but the sincerity shining in her eyes made him proud of her in a way that went beyond simple admiration.
“You’d . . . you’d let me stay?” Chloe asked, incredulity written on her face.
Eden smiled at her. “Yes.”
Chloe tossed her bag onto the sofa and swiveled out of Eden’s hold in order to face her squarely. “I ain’t no loafer. If I stay with you, I’ll earn my keep.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Eden succeeded in keeping her face straight, but Levi could hear the smile in her voice. “Mr. Grant tells me that you have experience in kitchen work. Is that correct?”
“Yes’m. I mostly scrubbed pots and pans at the Hang Dog, but I can throw a meal together when it’s called for. I’m real good with eggs. Old Nell couldn’t stomach cookin’ when she was hung over, so I handled breakfast for anyone who managed to get outta bed afore noon. It was usually just me and Roy, the barkeep, but he never complained ’bout my eggs and coffee. ’Course he’s sweet on Mama, so he might not a said nothin’ on her account.”
“Your mother works at the saloon?”
Levi had started walking toward a chair but stopped at the tightness in Eden’s voice. Chloe picked up on it, too, for she crossed her arms over her chest and set her jaw.
“That make a difference?” the girl challenged. “It ain’t too late for you to change your mind. She’s done her best by me, and I ain’t ashamed to claim her. If you got a problem with that, say so now.”
“Calm down, kid,” Levi said, trying to ease the growing tension in the room. “Give her a minute to take it in.”
Eden bit her lip but held firm to her determination. “I’d never ask you to disown your mother, Chloe. I apologize if I gave you that impression. I guess I just assumed you were on your own. Hearing about your mother caught me off guard. Nevertheless, if you are interested in staying, you’d be welcome here.”
Chloe uncrossed her arms, though her eyes remained wary. “All right, so long as we’re clear.” Her chin dropped as she scuffed the toe of her shoe against the rug. “Sorry I snapped at you.”
Levi looked from one female to the other. “You two going to be all right?”
Eden kept her focus on Chloe while she answered him. “We’ll be fine. We just need some time to get to know one another—that’s all.”
Chloe offered no disagreement.
“Good. I’ll be on my way, then.”
Eden finally looked his direction and he gave her a teasing wink. “Wouldn’t want to . . . mar the reputation of . . . the two of you by lingering too long after dark.”
A smile tugged the corners of Eden’s mouth upward, and Levi’s pulse responded. Now that Chloe was safely transferred into her care, he was having a hard time keeping his mind off the fact that Eden looked even better with her hair down than he’d imagined. And when he passed the reading room on his way out and caught sight of a book lying half open against the leg of his chair as if it had just toppled to the floor, he picked up his pace to the door.
A man could handle only so much evidence of his fantasy being reality without wanting to bring the rest of it to life, as well.
After Levi left, Eden ushered Chloe upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. She had to admit, the girl didn’t look like what she would’ve expected from one who lived in a saloon. Her dress was plain and prim, an ordinary gray muslin buttoned clear to her neck. No unseemly flesh on display, no flashy colors to attract a man’s attention. The girl’s face was clean of all cosmetics, and Eden couldn’t smell any evidence of perfume as she leaned close to help her unpack her bag.
“So, how old are you, Chloe?” Eden shook out a petticoat and folded it against her chest.
“Sixteen.”
Eden paused for a moment, then opened a drawer in the bureau and laid the petticoat inside. “I would have guessed younger.”
“That’s because of Mama’s disguise.” Chloe undid a few buttons on her dress to reveal a tight binding around her breasts, then fastened the dress closed again. “This and my drab clothes usually kept men from noticin’. Although Mama warned me never to let myself be caught alone with a man, ’cause some liked ’em young and wouldn’t care about my lack of experience.”
Chloe spoke with such nonchalance, as if protecting herself from vile advances were an everyday occurrence. Of course, in her world, it probably was. Eden bit back a moan and turned away from the girl, ostensibly to lay out a nightdress upon the bed, but in reality she hoped to hide her pity. How could the Lord allow an innocent child to grow up in such a place? She thanked God that Levi had convinced her to take Chloe in. The child deserved a place to sleep where she could be safe, where she could learn the ways of womanhood without worrying that some inebriated cowboy would manhandle her.
“We planned to leave Spencer soon,” Chloe said, drawing Eden’s attention. “Mama knew I was gettin’ too old to hide in the kitchen much longer. We was gonna take the train and act like we didn’t know each other so that I would be free to look for work in a café or restaurant somewheres. I guess we waited a little too long.”
Eden sat on the edge of the bed and peered up at the girl. “What happened?”
“Bad timing.” Chloe shrugged. “I know better than to go into the main room after dark, but Old Nell’s bottle run out, and she sent me to fetch another from Roy. Mr. Salazar, the owner, was hobnobbin’ with some gent at his special table in the corner. I saw the man in the Hang Dog afore, but never upstairs, so I didn’t think much of it when I caught ’im looking at me.”
Chloe dumped the last of her belongings onto the bed beside Eden. A brush tumbled out along with a deck of playing cards. She took up the cards, slid them out of their box, and began manipulating them as if they were
an extension of her hands. Chloe’s gaze fixed itself somewhere on the wall above the bureau as she lowered herself to the corner of the bed. But even without her attention, the cards danced in and out of her fingers like drilling soldiers responding to her silent command. Not a single one stepped out of formation.
Eden didn’t hold with gambling and card playing, especially for a young lady, but the shuffling action seemed to soothe Chloe, and heaven knew the child deserved some soothing after all she had been through.
“Mr. Salazar found me in the kitchen a few minutes later,” Chloe continued, her voice small and sounding far away. “He told me to go up to my room but not to lock the door. His friend wanted to visit me. Just to talk, he said. But I knew different. A man’s got more on his mind than talkin’ when he comes to a gal’s room.”
Eden’s heart cringed. Letting instinct guide her, she picked up the brush that lay on the bed between them and scooted closer to Chloe.
“I told ’im I wouldn’t let his friend in my room. Mr. Salazar said I would or he’d make things hard on my ma.”
Eden untied the ribbon at Chloe’s neck and pulled the brush through a few strands. The girl stiffened at her touch at first, then seemed to relax. She even turned her back to allow Eden greater access as she resumed her tale.
“I knew what to do then. Mama and I’d worked it all out. I was never to give in to threats, Mama said. No matter what. That’s how they control you, and she made me promise to never let no man control me. So I went up to my room and locked the door. Then I got the rope I kept under my bed, tied it to the bedpost, and let it down out the window. I threw my stuff in a sack and was ready to go when the man showed up. Salazar’d given him a key.”
This Salazar person should be horsewhipped, Eden decided. He and his friend. Maybe it was time for the Ladies Aid Society to take a more active role in ridding Spencer of its more unsavory element. She’d have to bring up the suggestion at the next meeting.
“How did you escape?” Eden had already worked through all the tangles in the girl’s hair, but she kept stroking, hoping it would help Chloe feel safe.
“I yelled at him to get out, but he forced his way in. Said he’d paid for my time. He hit me.” She hunched her shoulder up toward her jaw, and Eden saw the beginnings of a bruise near her chin. “But I was ready for him. I clobbered him over the head and knocked him out cold.”
The brush stilled in Eden’s hand. “You knocked him out?” The girl was smaller than she was, no match for a full-grown man. “What on earth did you hit him with?”
Chloe glanced over her shoulder, a smirk quirking her lips. “A chamber pot.”
“A chamber . . .” A giggle rose up in Eden. She tried to hold it in, but it erupted out her nose. Chloe chuckled at the indelicate snort, and soon both of them were laughing so hard their eyes watered. The release was heavenly.
“Oh, Chloe,” Eden said as she wiped at her eyes and struggled to catch her breath. “I think I’m going to like having you here.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The following evening—on the Lord’s Day, no less—Levi found himself once again outside the Hang Dog. It was still early, the sun had yet to disappear behind the hills west of town, but that fact did little to ease Levi’s nerves. A noble mission had brought him here this time instead of his own willfulness, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t weaken once inside.
With a quick prayer for added strength, Levi took a deep breath and stepped into the saloon. The place was nearly empty. A lone cowboy stood at the far end of the bar, staring into his beer while three old-timers played poker at one of the tables. A spirited tune echoed from the piano beneath the stairs, but the detached expression on the player’s face neutralized the happiness of the notes. A pair of women in exposed corsets, leaning against either side of the instrument, straightened from their positions and gave Levi a thorough examination.
He turned away, his mind dangerously flooded with images of plentiful bosoms and limbs encased in black stockings. He swallowed hard and concentrated on his task.
The note Eden had given him seemed to press against his chest from within his pocket. She had presented it to him after church that morning on Chloe’s behalf. The girl had chosen to stay behind and keep an eye on Verna’s pot roast, although Eden shared his suspicion that her true motive for missing services had more to do with her fear of running into the man who’d accosted her than her desire to baste a hunk of beef.
Wisely, Eden had not pressured her to attend. But perhaps unwisely, she’d promised to get word to the girl’s mother that Chloe was safe. Levi wasn’t about to allow Eden to traipse into the Hang Dog to deliver the message herself, so he’d volunteered for the duty.
The barkeep glanced over at him and set aside the glass he’d been wiping clean. Slinging the dishtowel over his shoulder, he moseyed down to Levi’s position. “What’ll it be, friend?”
Levi eyed the bottles on the shelf behind the man’s head. He’d probably draw less attention to himself if he ordered a drink. But the minute that rationalization entered his brain, he evicted it. Better not give the devil a foothold. He forced his gaze back to the barman. “You Roy?”
The thin fellow raised an eyebrow. “Yep. Who’s askin’?”
Levi lowered his voice. “A friend of Chloe. I have a note for her mother.”
Stillness came over the man for a moment, then he blinked and jerked back into action. “Beer it is.” He grabbed a glass and unstopped the spigot on the keg behind him. Rich amber liquid flowed into the glass, forming a foam on top. He plunked it down in front of Levi.
“No, I didn’t—”
“Ah, you’re in the mood for some company, are you? I can fix that.” He motioned to someone at the back of the room. “Violet? Come here, honey. This gent’s in need of some . . . conversation.”
Heat rose up from Levi’s collar. “You don’t under . . .” The word strangled him. But it didn’t matter, for Roy leaned in close and hissed in his ear.
“No, mister. You don’t understand. Salazar worked Vi over good when Chloe turned up missin’ last night. If he catches her swapping messages with you, he’s bound to hand out more of the same. I ain’t about to let that happen. You got something to say to her, you do it my way. And make it convincing.”
Levi dipped his chin an inch to let the man know he’d cooperate, then turned to face the woman sashaying in his direction. For Chloe’s sake he’d do all he could to minimize the amount of trouble his being there might cause her mother. Unfortunately, minimizing her trouble meant maximizing his own. Not an encouraging prospect.
A man at a back table lit a cheroot, the flare of his match briefly illuminating his swarthy face. Levi hadn’t noticed him when he’d first entered the tavern, but that was probably due to the fact that the man wore all black and lingered among the shadows. The possessive way he watched Violet move across the room, though, hinted at his identity. Salazar.
Committed to playing an uncomfortable role, Levi leaned an elbow on the bar and pivoted to face Violet. He let his gaze rake over her as would be expected, but he schooled his mind to see her as Chloe’s mother, not as a vehicle of pleasure. And amazingly, that simple change in perspective truly altered his perception.
The woman was small-boned, like her daughter, but stood several inches taller. When she reached his side, she curled her hand around his bicep, a practiced pout on her lips. She drew little lines on his arm with her fingernail and peeked coyly up at him from the corner of her kohl-darkened lashes. “Such marvelous muscles,” she purred. “So strong. You and I are going to have us a mighty fine time.”
Her face looked young—younger than he’d expected—but her eyes had a flatness to them that reminded him of men who’d been trapped behind prison walls so long they’d given up on ever being released. She rubbed her leg against his and leaned seductively into his side, yet the only thing that stirred in him was sorrow. What had happened in her youth to lead her to this place?
L
evi smiled down at her, cupping his palm over her fingers. It might not be within his power to save her, but he could offer reassurance that her daughter would not suffer the same fate. “Got a room where we can . . . talk?”
“Sure thing, handsome. Follow me.”
Salazar’s stare burned into Levi’s back as he climbed the stairs, but the man made no move to rise. Thankful for each step that increased their distance from his table, Levi stayed on Violet’s heels until they closed themselves behind her door.
The moment the latch clicked into place, however, Violet turned on him. “Where is Chloe?”
Startled at her quiet vehemence Levi staggered backward. “How . . . how did you know?”
The woman’s eyes were far from flat now. They sparked with fire and a mother’s passion that lent her deep blue eyes a violet hue. More than a flower had inspired her name.
“Roy signaled me before we left the bar.” She waved the explanation away impatiently. “Now, tell me where she is.”
“At the library,” Levi finally spat out. “Unharmed.”
Violet lifted a shaky hand to her throat. “Thank God. Maybe he does hear a whore’s prayers after all.”
Levi winced, recognizing the pain of self-loathing. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the note Eden had written, hoping it would ease the woman’s mind. “Here. The lady who took her in wanted me to give . . . a note to you.”
She stared at it, making no move to reach for it. Instead she twirled back toward the door and unhooked a filmy lavender dressing robe from a nail that protruded from the wood. Keeping her back to him, she slid her arms into the sleeves and tightened the sash. Then with one hand holding the material closed at her neck, she turned and accepted the folded paper.
After she scanned the few words on the page, Violet pinned Levi with a look. “Can I trust this Eden Spencer to treat my girl good? I’ve heard of the Spencers. Know her daddy practically owns the town, even though he spends most of his time in Austin with his political cronies. People like that usually avoid people like Chloe and me. At least here, I could keep an eye on her.”