Brighter than Gold (Western Rebels Book 1) (44 page)

“Chinese prostitution,” she replied casually.

“What?”
Jack looked heavenward as if for guidance. “Kathleen, I don’t really think that—”

“This is a very serious problem, Jack. If you won’t print a story about it, I’m sure I can find a newspaper that will.” She met his gaze with calm defiance.

“I won’t be blackmailed with that threat forever, you know! You and I are both aware that other papers would love to print a sensational article under the byline of the
wife
of the
Star’s
editor, but those are not fair tactics on your part. You cannot coerce—”

“Jack, I believe that this is a story that needs to be in print, and when you read it, you’ll agree. Listen to me a moment.” She waited. “Are you listening?”

He perched on the edge of the desk and replied with exaggerated patience, “Yes.”

“It’s really hideous, Jack. Most of the girls who come over from China have no choice about doing this, and when they arrive here they’re assigned to tongs, those secret Chinese societies that make them sign seven-year indenture contracts. Can you imagine? Their living standards are deplorable, and they routinely contract venereal diseases and receive no medical treatment. Is it any wonder that they turn to opium to—”

“Have you been spending time in the Chinese quarter again, Kathleen?” he interrupted in ominous tones.

Before she could reply, Mrs. Gosling appeared in the doorway. “Sir, there is a Mr. Clemens here to see you. I thought that perhaps you had already left—”

Katie and Jack both stood up immediately. “Show him in, Mrs. Gosling,” said Jack.

Sam entered to an enthusiastic chorus of greetings and hugs.

“This is an unexpected surprise,” Jack said as they settled down around the fire. “You look as if you just stepped off the steamboat!”

Clemens smiled sheepishly. He was, if possible, even more disheveled than usual. His tousled hair and mustache were in need of a trim, he hadn’t shaved, and his clothes were rumpled, as if he’d slept in them. “That was tactfully put, my friend. I apologize for not preparing myself properly for this event, but I fear that an eagerness to reunite with the two of you overcame me.” Sam’s eyes danced. “I just arrived last night, went straight to the Occidental Hotel and slept for fourteen hours, and now I am here. Do you mind?”

“We are simply delighted!” Katie exclaimed as Mrs. Gosling placed a tray of coffee and pastries on the marble-topped table before them. “Do you want a proper breakfast? The cook would be glad to prepare one for you.”

“Maybe later.” Smiling, Sam gazed upon them with affectionate eyes. “Katie, you look spectacular, and it’s not just the dress and the hair. Stand up and let me feast my eyes on you for a moment.”

She complied, pirouetting in her laurel blossom-pink gown with its fashionable Zouave jacket. Her black curls were caught in a thick cluster at the nape of her neck, and her lovely face shone with happiness and fulfillment.

“Good God, the headstrong little sprite I knew just three months ago has been transformed into a radiant woman!” Clemens exclaimed, then added warmly, “I’m glad to see that the two of you are so happy. It renews my faith in the dream of romantic love and the institution of marriage.”

“Kathleen may be a radiant woman, but the headstrong sprite hasn’t departed,” Jack told him as they ate cranberry muffins. “She’s led me on a merry chase all this past month.”

“I wanted to work,” she protested. “Once everyone found out about my lurid past in the saloon and branded me a wild woman, I decided that it was no use keeping up pretenses any longer. When I told Jack of my intention to write for a newspaper, he refused to give me a job at the
Morning Star.
So, I went to the
Morning Call
—”

“Oh, no!” Sam laughed. “If you had written me for advice, I could have told you to avoid that paper at all costs!”

“Well, it was all a ruse, anyway,” Jack interjected. “Katie didn’t
really
mean to write for the
Call,
she just wanted to scare me into giving her a place at the
Star.”

“And it worked,” she confirmed, beaming. “I am now a reporter for the Star—and a good one. Isn’t that so, Jack?”

“You may be competent, but you’re incorrigible. If you continue to write such controversial articles, you’re going to make enemies, and you’re going to get into trouble.” He turned to his friend. “She won’t listen to me, Sam. Every time I threaten not to publish what she writes, she starts talking about looking for work elsewhere.” He narrowed his eyes at Katie, but there was an undeniable note of affectionate respect in his voice.

“Sounds to me like you two have a rollicking good marriage, and I’m not fool enough to take sides,” Sam declared. “Besides, if Katie gets into trouble here, she can always run away like I did. She has a ready-made refuge in Columbia!”

“Oh, God,” Jack said, giving him a dark look. “You’re a great help.”

“Enough about us,” Katie declared, offering Sam another muffin. “What’s been happening in Columbia? Did you ever find your pocket of gold in Jackass Gulch? How are Lim, and Gideon and Abby? Has the Griffin returned?”

“Whoa!” Clemens held up his hands. “One thing at a time. I know you will both be shocked to hear it, but I never did strike it rich pocket mining. Matter of fact, I didn’t strike much of anything at all.” His eyes twinkled under bushy brows as he took a sip of his coffee. “Finally, I decided that I’d rather be poor and ragged in San Francisco than in Jackass Gulch, especially during the winter. Oh—I almost forgot. I do have one accomplishment to report. I have an idea for a story that I started writing last week. It sounds crazy—it’s about a jumping frog contest in Angel’s Camp—but I think it will work. As for Columbia, little has changed. Gideon and Abby are very happy. I saw them at Christmastime; they invited me to the saloon for roast turkey, and it was the best meal I’d had in weeks. Lim Sung, as I recall, is planning to come to San Francisco. In fact, he may have left already.”

“His mother told me that she had found a lovely girl for him,” Katie said, nodding. “I think he’s too young to marry, but it’s none of my business, and of course, I’d be delighted if he were in San Francisco. Yong Sung has
two
laundries and a herb shop here now, so Lim is needed.” She paused. “Is there any news regarding Aaron Rush—or the Griffin?”

Sam glanced at Jack. “Well, Rush continues to be a rather ominous presence in Columbia, although he hasn’t done anything too dastardly of late. His main weapon is fear.”

“And the Griffin?” Katie persisted. “Has he returned?”

Jack almost spilled his coffee when he heard Sam reply, “As a matter of fact, he has. It would appear that this has been a lean winter for the Griffin, because he can no longer afford to play Robin Hood. Word has it that he’s held up two stages this past month and robbed
everyone
on board, and none of the passengers had any connection to Aaron Rush. In fact, both stages were carrying shipments from the only two independent gold strikes made in the Columbia area this winter.” Stroking his mustache, Clemens observed, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that the Griffin was in league with Aaron Rush.”

As Jack stared in consternation, Katie leaped to her feet and cried, “I
knew
it! That highwayman is as low a villain as Aaron Rush himself!”

* * *

“What the devil possessed you to spin that preposterous tale about the Griffin?” Jack demanded. “Have you lost your mind?”

Jack had brought Sam to the Bank Exchange Saloon on Montgomery Street because it was one of the few places he could be certain that Katie wouldn’t suddenly appear to interrupt or overhear their conversation. Jack drank water while Clemens sipped Pisco punch, a Peruvian brandy concoction invented by Duncan Nichols, the colorful man who presided over the saloon.

“As a matter of fact, I thought that it was quite ingenious of me to tell Katie that the Griffin had returned. Don’t you see? Now there is absolutely no possibility that she will ever suspect
you.
You need worry no longer on that score.” Sam gazed around the marble-floored saloon as he spoke, drinking in the sight of valuable oil paintings hanging on the walls and fabulous crystal chandeliers dangling from the high ceilings. “Good Lord, it’s good to be back in civilization again! The foothills hold many charms, but I’ve missed this bawdy city.”

“Would you mind returning to the subject of the Griffin for a moment?” Jack asked through clenched teeth.

“Of course not. As a matter of fact, that’s the main reason I came back. You see, I wasn’t actually spinning tales when I said that the Griffin had reappeared in the Columbia area and was robbing stages. Someone is impersonating you, Jack.”

Wyatt’s face darkened. “Aaron Rush?”

“Or one of his henchmen,” Sam agreed. “That does seem to be the likely answer, doesn’t it? He’s doing what he and Van Hosten liked to do best—take gold from the few men who are still lucky enough to find it on their own, only this time pinning the blame on the Griffin. You must have really made him angry when you went to see him that night. He couldn’t take revenge through Katie, and the Griffin disappeared as well, so he’s found more devious means.”

“Christ!” Jack shook his head in disbelief. “It begins to seem that there’s only one way to put an end to this madness once and for all.”

“I’m sorry to have brought you this news. It would appear that you and Katie have found happiness together; that you have filled the emptiness in your life...”

“And now I’ll have to go back to Columbia.”

“Well, perhaps it would be best to put an end to this business once and for all. I certainly wish you luck.” Pensively, he drained his Pisco punch. “I wish there were something I could do....”

Jack grinned at him, one brow arched. “Oh, but there is. You’re going with me, Sam.”

Clemens responded with a sickly smile. “I was afraid of that.” He sighed, “No, strike that. Actually, I was resigned to it before I left Jackass Gulch. I had hoped to indulge in a bit of female company first, however. How soon do you want to leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

Sam groaned. “You’re a cruel man. I doubt that even
my
considerable charms will win me the... affections of a desirable woman in one night!” Jack’s only response was unsympathetic laughter, so he sighed in resignation. “All right. Tomorrow, then. What about Katie? What will you tell her?”

“I sure as hell can’t let her know where I’m going, because she’d want to come, too. The truth will have to wait again, but it will be told. Even before you arrived today, I had made up my mind to tell Kathleen the truth about her father’s death. I hate having secrets of any kind from her; it goes against all the principles upon which our marriage is based. But first I had to win her trust. When I return from Columbia, and this mess is cleared up once and for all, I’ll tell her that I was the Griffin.” A tiny muscle pulsed in his jaw. “I’ll tell her the truth and take my chances....”

“But not now,” Sam clarified.

“No.” Jack sighed harshly. “Not now.”

* * *

Hazy moonlight, filtered by fog, drifted softly over the large testered bed. Katie liked to awaken to light in the morning, so Jack no longer slept with the drapes closed. It was one of the many compromises and alterations he had made in his life-style over the past weeks, and he found that they were surprisingly painless. Jack had learned, as Ambrose had predicted, that he could bend without breaking, and that the process itself was oddly satisfying.

Now, in the timeless hours between midnight and dawn, Jack and Katie lay together, her slim body snuggled into the curve of his. Jack’s arm was around her, his hand cupping her breast. He had swept her long hair up over the top of the pillow so that he could smell the sweetness of her neck, kissing her there from time to time. Katie imagined that she had never in her life felt as secure, serene, and protected as she did during these exquisite nights in Jack’s arms.

On this particular night, however, her sleep was troubled. Finally, turning onto her back, she awoke with a start to find Jack staring down at her.

“Are you all right?” His face, strong and tender, was poignantly dear to her. She hadn’t grown complacent about waking up next to Jack. It was as if each morning were both Christmas and her birthday. “Oh, Jack,” she whispered brokenly, “must you go away?”

He cradled her against his chest. “I’ve told you that I must, sweetheart, and that I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He took a deep breath, grateful for the darkness as he lied, “Sam is certain that this newspaper in Carson City is the perfect one for me to buy, and you know how much I’ve been longing to make that sort of investment. We’ll ride straight through, spend as little time as possible doing business, and come back. I’ll be home before you have time to miss me.”

Katie tried to swallow her tears. “But I miss you already.”

Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he turned her face up so that he could gaze into her glistening eyes. “I love you with all my heart, Kathleen. Do you believe me?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“I swear before God that it’s the truth, and I want you to hold my love close to you while we’re apart.” He kissed her gently. “Promise?”

Katie tasted him on her lips and smiled. “Yes.” She snuggled nearer, closing her eyes. “I promise.”

* * *