THE IMPERIAL ENGINEER (13 page)

"So you're kin to Emmet Lachlan?" Eagleton sat back and regarded Tony. "I guess
that means you don't need to work for a living?"

"Hardly. We're all expected to make our own way. Uncle Emmet and my father
don't believe in making things easy for us. Once we're done with school, we're on our
own."

"I've heard tell Lachlan is a wise investor. Any chance of meeting him
sometime?"

Tony had learned that Eagleton had a thousand schemes to make himself rich.
Some held promise. Some didn't. He was relieved when he was able to say, "It'll be a
while, I'm afraid. He's off on a world tour. In fact, they should be somewhere in the Indian
Ocean right now. I haven't any idea when they expect to come home."

"Too bad. I've got some ideas for a resort up the river a ways. I figure with all
these new rich folks, they'll be looking for a place to play. And we've got it all here in the
Wood River Valley. Fishing, hunting, spectacular scenery. We could build a place
something like Newport or Mackinac Island. A big hotel, cabins for them who want
privacy." He pulled out a cigar and bit off the ends. "There's no reason why we couldn't
keep it open in the winter, so folks could sleigh ride, or ski. What d'you think?"

"I think it's a great idea," Tony agreed, "if you can keep the noise and smoke from
the smelters down." The big smelter up in Ketchum kept that end of the valley overcast on
most days.

"Oh, hell, the mining boom won't last forever. They never do. Look at the Boise
Basin. All but dead. And I heard they're shutting down mines right and left in the
Owyhees." He paused to contemplate the end of his cigar. "The way I see it, a smart man
looks ahead, past whatever boom is going on. We've got to plan for the long haul, boy. For
half a century and more."

For a moment, Tony was caught up in his vision. What a challenge that might be,
to help plan a magnificent resort. Maybe he did have a future here, even if it wasn't quite
what he'd dreamed of.

* * * *

Monday Lulu sat down with her financial records and tried to estimate how much
money she had to live on through the winter. Uncle Silas had helped her plan investments
so she would have a steady, but small, income, but for the past while, she'd been taking out
far more than she'd been putting in. The allowance from her parents was enough to provide
her with clothing appropriate to her calling, but little else. She was entirely dependent on
income from her writing and from speaking engagements to keep food on her table and a
roof over her head. Thank goodness the rent on this apartment was part of her
compensation for this job.

This winter she had planned to travel less and to write more.
The Overland
Monthly and Out West Magazine
paid well, and had been receptive to her articles
before. Right now she had a humorous piece on Idaho gold camps all but finished. She'd
outlined several other short pieces aimed at
The Atlantic Monthly
and
The
North American Review
. And that new women's magazine--
The Ladies' Home
Journal
--she was still hoping to hear from them on the short story she'd sent.

The real question was whether she could afford to leave Hailey, or if she was
going to have to stay here, in the same town as Tony. Where she'd see him daily, where
sooner or later one of them would yield to temptation.

The trouble was, there were few positions as world-saver that paid a living wage.
She'd speak to Mrs. Duniway when she went to Portland next month. Perhaps it would be
possible for her to move to Boise, now that Imajean was no longer active in the suffrage
cause.

She closed the inkwell and tidied her desk. In a few minutes she was ready to go
to the telegraph office.

DESPERATELY NEED ADVICE STOP HAVE YOU ROOM FOR A GUEST
NEXT WEEK STOP LULU

"Send it to Mrs. Lucas Savage at Eagle," she told the telegraph operator as she
handed the form to him.
Now, all I have to do is avoid Tony for a week. That should be
easy. He's not apt to be at the grocer's, and I just won't go anywhere else.

She drafted one article and finished the sweater for Micah that week. Her house
was cleaner than it had ever been, and Mrs. Graham, her next door neighbor was well
supplied with cookies. By Thursday, she was feeling penned in and her cupboard was all
but bare. After speaking to Miss Petersham's class, she stopped at the market. Given the
way she felt--miserable and filled with self-blame and regrets, she needed to do something
to cheer herself up.

She'd make a pot of soup, her mother's cure for whatever ailed one. Thick, meaty
bean soup filled with chunks of ham, and crusty fresh bread to go with it. She bought ham
hocks at the Eureka Market, then went on to the grocer's to get the beans. As she was
coming out, the wind caught her skirt and swirled it about her calves. "Oh bother!" she
cried, grabbing at the flapping fabric as she tried to hold on to her full basket, her
still-dripping umbrella, and keep the door from slamming shut behind her, all at once.

"Let me get that, ma'am," said a familiar voice. For an instant she actually
considered brushing past him, as if he were a total stranger who'd offered offense. Just for
an instant. "Thank you, Tao...Mr. Dewitt."

"Always happy to oblige," he said, looking down at her with an evil light in his
eye, "particularly when I get such a good view of a trim ankle." His voice was low, so no
one else heard him.

She felt like whacking him a good one. "Mind your manners!" she whispered. "I
believe I can manage now," she said aloud.

She tried to brush past him, but he blocked the way. "I was on my way out, Mr.
Dewitt. So if you will excuse me?"

"You'll drown." Looking down at her shoes, he said, "Where are your boots?
Those dainty little things are about as useful as snowshoes in summer."

"I hadn't realized it was raining so hard," she admitted. "But these are old shoes,
so it doesn't matter."

"It does if you freeze to death. Summer's over Lulu...I mean
Miss King
.
Or have you forgotten how cold it can get in the mountains? I just heard it's snowing up in
Ketchum."

"Oh, dear. Then I'd better hurry home." She tried to dodge around him, but he
stepped in her way.

"I've got Mr. Eagleton's buggy. Let me give you a ride home."

A shiver made its way up her spine, The gusty wind felt twenty degrees colder
than when she'd walked to town. So even though she knew she ought to refuse, Lulu
nodded. "Thank you. I'd be obliged."

The buggy was parked no more than a few steps from where they stood, but even
that seemed like a long way when the wind again caught her skirts and swirled about her
legs. "Brrr. I think I'm very happy you're driving me. It's gotten much colder."

Once they'd turned off Main street, he spoke. "Somehow I thought you'd be long
gone by now."

"I'd hoped to be, but there were several tasks I had to finish first. I'm leaving next
week."

"Oh? Back East?"

"No, I'm going to spend some time with Katie and Luke, then go Portland for a
month or so."

"I hope you don't get stuck over there," he said. "I have a feeling winter's coming
early this year."

"One of my friends in Washington wrote that the weather is changing because of
that volcano in the South Pacific. It spewed out so much dust that sunlight gets reflected
away instead of reaching the ground."

"Krakatau? I knew it was the cause of our colorful sunsets, but I hadn't thought
about the other effects of the dust. Maybe I should have put off buying my bicycle."

"A bicycle? Why on earth?"

"I've moved into a place a couple of miles outside of town. Good road, and a
bicycle's less work to take care of than a horse." He pulled the buggy to a halt before her
house. "Here you are. Next time dress for the weather."

"I will. Thank you, Tony. I would have frozen, walking home."

He stepped down and helped her to the ground. Sill holding her hand, he said,
softly, "Take care of yourself, Lulu. Please."

She looked up at him, seeing more in his eyes than simple friendship. "You
too."

Quickly she pulled her hand free and walked to her door. When she was safely
inside, she turned and leaned her forehead against the solid wood.

"This will never work. I've got to go away. I've got to."

Now is the time to supply yourself with coal oil. May, Krieg & Co.
have just received a car-load of the best water-white safety 175 degree fire test which is
going off like hot cakes.

Wood River Times

~~~

A small package came to the office on Friday, addressed to Tony. It bore no
indication of the sender, although it had not come from the Post Office. Curious he opened
it.

Inside were the britches he'd worn the night of the fire, mended and clean, but
riddled with small holes. The enclosed note said only,
I tried to fix these. You might
want them for rough work. Take care.
It was signed with the looping "L" he
remembered from their childhood. A faint hint of the flower scent she wore clung to the
linen notepaper. He pressed it to his lips and sat for a long time.

He had no regrets. Making love to her had been right. Perhaps the rightest thing he
had ever done.

No, he had one regret. That she didn't share his sense of inevitability. Tony knew
there would be...could be no other woman for him.

Maybe he shouldn't have gone away, that night she'd first refused to marry him, so
long ago. If he'd stayed, he could have worn her down.

Or could he? Lulu defined stubborn. He had never known anyone to change her
mind, once it was made up. A memory arose, one that made him smile. There had been a
summer when the boys had built a fortress, up on the hillside behind the Lachlan cabin.
They had sworn to each other that no women were allowed inside. In mingled blood they'd
taken the oath. He still had the small scar on his left forearm to prove it.

Regina hadn't cared, for she'd never liked sleeping outdoors or cooking over an
open fire, which were the two major charms of the fortress, with its leaky roof and dusty
floor. But Lulu had been furious that they'd excluded her. She' d vowed to make them let
her join their brotherhood, called them chauvinists--a word they had never heard and
thought a vile insult. When they persisted in excluding her, she'd taken to sabotage. One
morning they'd awakened and found themselves walled in. Another day they'd gone to the
fortress and found a dead skunk across the entrance. The worst prank had been the ants.
Somehow she had dug up the better part of an anthill and carried it to the fortress in a
leather bag. The boys hadn't seen the ants when they'd gone to bed in the summer twilight.
The next morning they had discovered their beds infested with ants seeking the sweet cake
crumbs she'd tucked into every blanket.

Uncle William had interfered before they could drown her.

Now he laughed, despite the ache in his heart. Life with Lulu would never be
dull.

He pressed the paper against his lips once more, then laid it carefully in the box
that had held his britches.

Life with Lulu? If only he could....

* * * *

Lulu caught the train on Monday, having made arrangements to be away until the
first of the year. She had one speaking engagement scheduled in Baker City the middle of
October. From there, she planned to go directly to Portland, where she would help with the
production of
The New Northwest
while Mrs. Duniway was on a speaking tour
and attending a conference. She felt a certain trepidation at the prospect of being
responsible for the weekly newspaper, but was thrilled at the same time to know Mrs.
Duniway trusted her to do a good job. Perhaps while her mind was occupied, her emotional
confusion would untangle itself and she would resolve her conflicting feelings about
Tony.

Mr. Teller advised her to keep her apartment. "I probably wouldn't get it rented
anyhow, not before spring. And you'll be coming back, won't you?" Imajean added her
entreaty, reminding Lulu she did still have a job, even though there would be little work
for her until spring.

Not having to put her few possessions into storage was a relief. After due
reflection, she had decided that leaving permanently would be too much like running away.
Surely she and Tony could learn to behave as civilized adults, without letting their
emotions complicate matters. She liked this valley, with mountains on every side, liked the
bustle of town and the absolute silence only a few miles away. Someday she would move
on, but not yet.

The train slowed as it approached Shoshone, her transfer point for Boise. As she
checked to make sure she had everything, she sighed.
Yes, I have to decide what to do.
I hope Katie has some good advice for me.

* * * *

Once the telephone lines reached Bellevue and Bullion, Tony was kept too busy to
think about Lulu. Except for the last thing at night. And when he was driving to one place
or another. He still found himself watching for her, listening for her, hoping she'd step
around a corner or call out to him. Until he heard from one of the fellows in the Eureka
Market that she'd left on the Monday train.

Even after that, she crept into his thoughts whenever he stopped keeping his mind
busy.

One of his headaches was teaching people to use the telephone. He'd showed
every one of the subscribers how, but they still were having trouble. In desperation, he had
a small card of instructions printed up and sent one to each subscriber, asking them to pin
it to the wall next their telephones.

RULES

To call the central office, give one ring, then take the telephone off the
hook and as soon as the central office operator shouts "Halloa!" ask for the
number desired. Then as soon as the operator says you are connected, hang
up the telephone and ring again.