Page 52 of Charlotte's Reckoning
The deputy snickered. “He ain’t kidding. Are you going with him to investigate, Marshal?”
“Nope. I’m going home to have supper with my wife for the first time in a week.”He walked around his desk, ready to leave. “Davey will show you to Doc’s and the Red Eye.”
Aaron offered his hand. Seth took it, prepared for a handshake, but he pressed something into his palm. Seth looked down at the star, similar to Davey’s, except it was brass with SHERIFF across the front.
“Since we haven’t made an official announcement, you’ll need that.”Jackson clapped him firmly on the shoulder then whistled as he strode out the door.
Outside, as Seth put his heels to his horse and followed Davey at a gallop, he had to wonder what the hell he’d gotten himself into.
Chapter 13
Catching Up with the Past
Charlotte wrung out the excess water before applying the cloth to the angry red welts and bruises covering the side of Prue’s swollen face. She had performed the routine countless times in the past two hours. Prue’s split lip and barely open black eye were a testament to the brutal beating she had suffered.
It turned out, her attacker hadn’t only struck her once, as she initially believed, but repeatedly. Despite the relentless assault, Prue had battled back. It had probably bought her enough time for the rescue.
When the cool, wet cloth touched her tender skin, and she winced, Charlotte regretted her aim wasn’t better. Two inches higher would have rendered him useless and reduced the risk to other women.
News of the incident had spread quickly. Everyone who worked at the Red Eye, upstairs and down, dropped into check onPrue. Several of the girls offered to sit with her for a spell. But two incidents in the first two hours of the evening had put Fenton in a foul mood. Losing two working girls on their busiest night would make things worse. Charlotte had expressed her gratitude but sent them on their way, resolved to remain with Prue through the night, facing the wrath of Fen, who didn’t like her absence from the floor, if she had to. It didn’t come to that, fortunately. After supper, with the kitchen closed for the night, their cook came to spell her.
Charlotte got up so the other older woman could sit by the bed. “Thank you, Molly.”
“There’s no need for thanks. Most of us have been where Prue is at some point.”
Her heart was heavy as she moved to the door because, sadly, this was true—physical abuse was commonplace in their line of work.
Ten years ago, when she and Fen arrived in Laramie and took overthe Bucket ofBlood—the owner didn’t have the money for a new sign and kept the original awful name, believe it or not—Molly was working upstairs. Five years later, with her hair more gray than brunette and her figure no longer as firmas in her youth, she couldn’t compete with the younger girls and fell out of favor with the customers. Fortunately, she could cook, and they needed one. It meant moving from upstairs to a converted storage room off the kitchen, half the size of what she had, but the poor woman would have been homeless otherwise.
It worked out for Molly, who seemed at home in the kitchen. That wasn’t the case for the others who had left the saloon. Charlotte tried to assist in finding them work when it was their time to move, but it wasn’t easy. Most took service positions, working in the bathhouses or doing laundry, but there weren’t enough jobs for former saloon girls to go around. No respectable business wanted a whore working for them, and the families who could afford household help wouldn’t think of inviting one into their home.
The splash of water stopped Charlotte with her hand on the door latch. She glanced back at the two women. Molly re-wetted the cloth and whispered reassuringly as she laid it on Prue’s injured cheek. In that quiet moment, a shiver swept through her. They represented the hardships faced by the women of Sixth Street, but more so, were a glimpse into her past and, without the Red Eye, her future.
Charlotte refused to let that happen. The reason she’d agreed to Fen’s far-fetched Wild West plan to begin with, was to avoid ending up like Molly—used up and callously cast aside before she was forty. Having partial ownership in the saloon provided her with a sense of security, but she’d been robbed of her future before.
“Are you all right, Miss Charlotte?”
Her head snapped up at her name. “What was that, Molly?”
“You’re pale and have been staring at the door for a while. I thought you might be ill.”
Charlotte shook her head as much to clear her thoughts as to reassure Molly. “I’m just distracted and angry. That should never have happened to Prue. I’m off to find Fenton and ask what he plans to do to keep it from occurring again.”
“Don’t cross Mr. Sneed, Miss Charlotte,”the injured young woman called anxiously.
“Don’t fret. Fenton is as angry as we are about this.”
Her claim was a guess. She hadn’t seen him since the incident. Despite being rough around the edges, and having an explosive temper at times, deep down, he was a decent man and cared about the people in their employ. They paid men to protect the staff and property for this specific reason. Someone had fallen asleep at the switch, and Prue suffered because of their mistake.
“Thank you again for what you did,”Prue said before Molly covered her face with a fresh, cool wet cloth.
In the hall, Charlotte leaned against the wall to collect herself. With the saloon teeming with staff and eager customers, a private moment was nearly impossible to find. Proving her point, the door to Fenton’s room at the end of the hall swung open. Serena, a new girl, at least ten years her junior, stepped out. When she spotted Charlotte, her crimson lips curled up in a smile. She’d been with them almost a month, but in that time, she hadn’t learned that cozying up to Fen, hoping to become the Red Eye’s next madam, was hardly a novel idea.
In his forties, Fen had a healthy appetite for women, but foremost, he was a businessman, shrewd and successful. Although faithfulness to any woman had never been his strong suit, he remained devoted to his bank account and a partner, who had consistently helped him maintain a healthy balance.
Charlotte straightened from the wall, waiting for Serena to pass before heading for Fenton’s room.
“He’s not in there,”Serena called after her. “He left me to enjoy his glorious copper tub while he went downstairs to see to things.”
