River Queen (38 page)

“Then he’s fired. Again,” Julienne said with spirit.

He started twitching, then moving, then groaning. He turned over and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “Who hit me!” he roared.

“I did. And you’re fired. Again,” Darcy said. “Get off this boat right now, and don’t come back.”

He scrambled to his feet. “You can’t do that!” he said, his slablike face turning scarlet.

“Oh yes I can, and so can my sister. Now we’ve both fired you, Kahn. You leave right now, or I’m going to have you arrested. By the real police, I mean.”

Cursing under his breath, he walked slowly to the door. Abruptly he turned and demanded, “Give me my stick!”

Darcy shrugged. “I tossed it in the river. I suggest you throw yourself off the boat to look for it.”

Kahn’s eyes narrowed and he said in a menacing undertone, “You’ve got no idea what you’re in for, Ashby. You’re going to pay for this.” He made a crude mock bow to Julienne. “Be seeing you soon, Miss Ashby.”

“What did he mean by that?” Darcy asked Julienne. “That didn’t sound good at all.”

“I’m not sure,” she said uncertainly.

Rev said soberly, “Nothing good about that man that I can see. I’m going to pray hard for your protection, Miss Julienne. I’m thinking you may need it.”

KAHN WENT STRAIGHT TO Lyle Dennison. He told the story, and he was still in a rage. “I’m not putting up with that Ashby pup! Kicking me off that floating pile of junk!”

Lyle shrugged. “Forget Ashby and the
River Queen
, Kahn, you’ve got other things to do.”

“I got unfinished business on the
Queen
,” he muttered.

Lyle pulled a cigar out, put it in his lips, and then lit it with a match. He puffed some blue smoke in the air and said, “Don’t worry about it, Kahn. If you’re stuck on working the crew on the
River Queen
, just give it a little time. Then I’ll put you back on her.”

Kahn looked confused. “All this money you put in her? But you didn’t buy her, did you?”

“Not really,” he answered lazily. “At least, not yet.”

The truth was that Lyle really was more attracted to Julienne Ashby than any woman he had ever met. He even cared for her, in his own way. He respected her because he knew she was untouched, and that only increased his desire to possess her. But he had no intention of marrying her.

Lyle Dennison was a cunning man. He had figured it all out, within moments after he had offered Julienne a loan and he saw that she would take it. The bills he had submitted to her were, in reality, just under two thousand dollars. With the new crew wages and salaries, she was going to owe him at least nine thousand dollars. And Lyle had taken very great care to talk and explain continuously to Julienne as she signed the contract, and it had worked. She had never seen the $9,000 balloon payment due in three months. On October 19, 1855, Lyle Dennison would own the
River Queen
. He was sure that Julienne would come “under his protection,” as they so delicately put it in England, before she would let her family be thrown out on the street. And Lyle Dennison was a man that would do that, literally, without a second thought.

Now he continued, “You don’t really need to know the details, Kahn. All you have to know is—” he took another puff and blew smoke out in a long stream—”at the end of the story, I’m going to get the boat, and I’m going to get the girl. And you can do whatever you want on the
River Queen
, and I can do whatever I want with the girl. And then we’ll both be very, very happy.”

It was early afternoon when Dallas Bronte came back to Natchez-Under-the-Hill. Slowly he walked down the boardwalk. When he passed the Blue Moon Saloon, he heard the tinkling of the tinny piano and someone singing off-key inside. A sadness gripped him as he thought of how Lulie had died and a poignant wish formed in him.
If I’d only known then, Lord, what I know now, maybe I could have helped her more.
But that was past and gone so he put it behind him.

When he came to Inman & Sons, he went in and Mr. Inman greeted him in a friendly manner. “Do you know when the
River Queen
is due back, Mr. Inman?”

He answered, “She’s due in today. She’s carrying a load from New Orleans for me. I know when you were piloting her, she wasn’t late. Don’t know about this new pilot, it’s her first haul since she’s been all fixed up.”

“Thank you, sir,” he said courteously, and left. He walked down to Rumble and Wensel Groceries and Provisions, went in, and said hello to Mr. Rumble and Mr. Wensel, and some other acquaintances who welcomed him back warmly. No one asked him any questions, and he knew that the story about Lyle Dennison and Julienne Ashby going into partnership together would be all over the river, and they could guess the rest. He bought a sarsaparilla, went outside, and took a seat in one of the straight chairs that river men often sat on to watch the steamers come in and out.

He didn’t have to wait long. The
River Queen
came steaming in, shining in the sun, steam whistle blaring. She looked beautiful, like a brand-new boat. She was painted an immaculate white, all of the railings were new, with intricate gingerbread designs atop. Thin red stripes were painted all along her decks, and the paddle wheel was painted a bright cheery red. Her old stacks had been replaced with newer, higher ones, and were topped with ironwork that looked like crowns.
River Queen
was proudly painted on her side in crimson intricate script.

He watched her pull in with a critical eye. The pilot was showing off, bringing her in too fast, making the firemen pile on a big draw of steam to make the sudden reverse required to bring her to a stop. He watched the new crew lower the landing stages, with Ring shouting out crisp orders. Passengers came filing out, well-dressed men and women who headed straight up the street to the harbormaster’s office to await carriages and buggies. After that the deck passengers came out, workingmen and women with children, dressed in poor clothing. They mostly started to walk up Silver Street.

The two pilots hurried down the outside stairwells. Dallas recognized one of them, Nathan Killingsworth. He was known to be a good pilot but he did run boats hard. The other pilot was a young man that Dallas didn’t know. Both of them headed directly for the Blue Moon Saloon.

After the passengers were gone, wagons started pulling up to her gangplanks, and the crew and drivers started unloading. Dallas was a little surprised that the
River Queen
was carrying a load of liquor, cases and cases of it. But then again, he realized, Lyle Dennison was probably arranging their loads for them. Somehow he didn’t think that Aunt Leah, or even Roseann Ashby, would care much for hauling a ton of liquor to Natchez-Under-the-Hill.

Dallas watched and waited, but none of the Ashbys came out on deck or left the boat. Once the unloading was done, the new crew left, but he saw that Rev, Jesse, and Ring were still on the boat. Dallas stood up, picked up his knapsack, and went down to the
River Queen
’s berth. He walked up the landing stage, and heard Ring and Jesse talking in the boiler room, but he really wanted to see the Ashbys first. He climbed the stairs to the Texas deck and went into the ballroom. Inside the double doors, he stopped in amazement.

Crystal chandeliers had been lit, even though there were no passengers on the boat. He savored the rich glow of the walnut paneling, the almost luminescent floor of blond ironwood polished to a high degree, and the painted frames of the windows that lined each wall, admitting the last feeble golden gleams of the sun. The room was filled with round dining tables with white tablecloths, and chairs padded in sky-blue velvet.

He was still standing there, staring around, when he heard his name called. He saw Carley running full-speed, so fast that her pigtails seemed to stretch out behind her. She was laughing, and he dropped his bundle, stooped down, and grabbed her. He tossed her high in the air, caught her and then hugged her.

“Dallas, you came back!” she said in her high, little-girl’s voice. “Skillygalee, you were gone forever!”

“New word, huh? I like it. Where is everybody?”

“They’re coming, we’re about to have dinner. You’re going to eat with us, aren’t you? And move back into the captain’s cabin, he’s such a little ponce, I wish he’d go away and you’d be captain. And pilot. Okay? You’ll stay, won’t you, please, please, Dallas?”

“Where’d you hear the word
ponce
?” he demanded, but her answer was lost as Roseann and Leah came in, talking quietly. When they saw Dallas, they both stopped and stared at him in surprise. Then they hurried to meet him, and to his surprise both women insisted on kissing him on the cheek in the midst of their warm greetings. They both started asking questions at once, almost as imperiously as Carley had.

Finally Leah said, “Roseann, let’s stop gibbering like two pecking hens at Mr. Bronte, we’ll scare him off again. Please, Mr. Bronte, won’t you join us for dinner? It should be—”

Julienne came through the door, halted in mid-stride, her eyes widening. She and Dallas stared at each other for a few moments. Then she picked up her skirts, ran, and threw herself into his arms. In shock Dallas clasped her to him. Julienne tried to say something, but instead she just burst into tears.

“Skillygalee,” Carley said in amazement.

Roseann and Leah glanced at each other, and Leah said, “Perhaps we’d better . . .”

“Yes, of course,” Roseann said quickly. “Come along, Carley.”

“But I want to listen to what Julienne and Dallas are going to say!” she complained.

Roseann took her hand and said, “Yes, dear, so do I. But it wouldn’t be polite, so let’s go to my stateroom and we can have our dinner there.”

“. . . AND so I got saved that night, and baptized the next morning,” Dallas said quietly. “And I stayed with the Williamses for two nights, but I kept on remembering what my grandfather had told me, about getting off by myself, being completely alone without distractions, to really seek the Lord. So I went back to my old camp, and stayed there, and read the Bible, and prayed. Wandered around a lot, just thinking about things.”

“What made you decide to come back?” Julienne asked.

He hesitated, then shook his head a little. “Funny how I’ve never thought I was a dishonest man, but I don’t tell the truth all the time. Sometimes it’s hard to just say what you mean, tell people what you really want.” He looked straight into her eyes and said, “I feel like the Lord was telling me to come back. I feel like He wanted me to come back to the
River Queen
.
And I hope I can get my old job back again.”

Julienne laughed, a delightful sound that made Dallas grin. “I’ve heard you better be careful what you pray for. I’m offering you a job as pilot of the
River Queen
, Dallas. Hope you’re ready for what you’re getting into.”

He started to answer, but just then Robbie slipped through the door and came to their table. They looked up, and she curtsied prettily. “I’ll just clear, if you’re finished, Mr. Bronte, Miss Ashby.”

“Hm? Oh, yes, thank you, Robbie,” Julienne said.