Homecoming Girls (8 page)

‘Everybody saved your life, you old dawg,’ Nellie said. ‘I don’t know how you ever survived without us women.’

‘Well, I guess I wouldn’t have.’ Isaac chewed on his empty pipe. ‘Jest a dirty digger is what I was till I was rescued.’

Nellie gave a huge sigh and shook her head. ‘You’d never think he was once a handsome buck,’ she said softly. ‘All the girls in—’ She stopped, as if suddenly aware of her listeners, but Jewel and Clara saw the impish affection in her smile as she responded to the grin and wink that Isaac gave her.

After luncheon they asked Mr Crawford to hire them a cab to take them to Yeller Creek, but as Jewel was making the request Clara suddenly said, ‘Could we hire a trap? I’ve seen some ladies driving them and it looks such fun!’

‘We have one at the hotel, Miss Newmarch.’James Crawford smiled at her and she thought how very handsome and charming he was. ‘We keep it for our visitors. You’re very welcome to borrow it.’

‘Oh, please!’ Clara said. ‘Do let’s, Jewel.’

Clara had never driven or ridden a horse. Having been brought up in a town where everyone walked unless going on a long journey, it wasn’t considered necessary, although, she mused, her sister, Elizabeth, now had her own chaise and managed to drive it around the town.

Jewel agreed, and the trap and a docile pony were brought to the front of the hotel.

‘I’ll drive,’ Clara said, taking the driving seat. ‘It looks easy. Ready?’ She laughed. ‘This is the next part of my adventures. I’ve sailed on a ship, travelled in a carriage across the plains of America and now I’m driving a horse and trap.’

She raised the whip she had been given and cracked it above the horse’s back, and smiled triumphantly as the mare responded by breaking into a trot. They set off down the bumpy road towards Yeller Creek.

Jewel opened her parasol. She had ridden on horseback and had taken the reins of a trap occasionally when she had travelled abroad with her parents, but she thought of transport only as a means of getting from one place to the next and not as something exciting in itself as her cousin obviously did. And yet they were both on a journey. Clara was looking forward, seeking places she had never seen and people she had never known. Whilst I, she mused, I am on a journey into the past in order to find myself.

They drove across the Western Bridge, over the rushing waters of the creek and on to Pike’s Road, which took them into the town of Yeller Creek.

This town was quite different from the one they had left behind. Dreumel’s Creek was tranquil, and had an air of contentment. It was quiet and peaceful and life appeared to move slowly. It seemed to have always been there, as though it had materialized gradually without pain or distress, discord or labour, and the buildings, the homesteads and the residents had put down their roots and settled themselves into permanence. No one, visiting for the first time, could possibly guess at the hardship that had made it what it was.

Yeller was a bustling, busy town, and here it was as if the stores and workshops, the houses, hotels, saloons and lodging houses, had been hurled up in a great hurry as the new owners rushed in to make their mark. Which they had, but each mark was different; there was no conformity or town plan as there had been with their neighbour.

When the rock was blasted through from the other valley, killing Pike, the man who had lit the touch paper, word soon got around that gold had been found and that good land was available. First came the miners and diggers who struck the rock or panned the waters of the creek in the hope of becoming rich; then came the settlers looking for land to build
on or farm. They staked their claims and put up temporary tents and cabins. Not all stayed; those impatient for riches moved on, selling their stakes to others, but those who stayed sent for their families and built permanent structures in which to live.

Inevitably there were some who, greedy for wealth, built more on their plot than was feasible; they put up two or sometimes three wooden buildings tightly packed together, without the benefit of a hand’s width between them, sold them to merchants and shopkeepers who had hurried to the developing town, and then moved up the valley and built for themselves on a larger plot.

It was a hotchpotch of a town, although with a certain charm, and anything that was not available in Dreumel’s Creek could be found in Yeller, from merchandizing and eating houses to theatres or brothels. Outside the town were sawmills and flour mills, abattoirs and blacksmiths, carpenters, lumber yards and breweries.

Jewel was cool beneath her parasol but Clara, driving, felt her clothes damp on her body. Her bonnet felt hot on her head and perspiration trickled down her face. She drew in with considerable relief when they saw the sign of their destination:
Yeller Creek Hotel
.

It was a similar size and style of establishment as the Marius with its overhanging portico and columns, but the Yeller Creek Hotel had blue-painted shutters at the windows and tubs of bright flowers on each side of the door. The latter was wide open, and they could see a cool dark hall with mirrors on the walls.

They tied the horse to a hitching rail and went inside. Clara took off her bonnet and shook her hair free.

There was no one behind the reception desk, but as they rang the brass bell a girl of about eighteen came running barefoot down the stairs. Her dark red hair hung in curls down her back and around her fresh and glowing smiling face. She stopped on seeing the visitors.

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Welcome to Yeller Creek Hotel.’ Then
she put her hand up to shield her eyes against the brightness coming in from behind them.

‘Jewel! Is it you?’ She took a breath. ‘Is it really you?’

‘Yes!’ Jewel laughed. ‘It is,’ and was almost bowled over as Caitlin rushed towards her with her arms open wide, swept her up and swung her round and round until she was quite giddy.

‘How lovely you are!’ Caitlin exclaimed as she stopped her whirling. ‘How beautiful! Oh my!’ She turned to Clara. ‘And this must be Clara.’ She put her hands to her mouth. ‘What an ass you must think me! But I’ve been waiting and waiting and every day thinking this would be the day when you’d come.’ She gazed wide-eyed at Clara. ‘It’s good to meet you,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry for my greeting. I was just overcome at seeing Jewel after so long.’

Jewel stepped towards her and gave her another hug. ‘And I’m so pleased to see you, Caitlin. I would have known you anywhere!’

‘Sure you would,’ Caitlin said wryly. ‘My hair is a giveaway every time.’

‘As my face is too,’ Jewel responded. ‘But let me introduce you properly. This as you guessed is my cousin, Clara Newmarch, and this, Clara, is my good friend of so many years, Caitlin Allen.’

Clara dipped her knee, but Caitlin put out her hand and grasped Clara’s.

‘Oh my,’ she said again. ‘You sure look so
English
!’

‘I know,’ Clara said, smiling impishly. ‘That’s what everyone has said since I arrived. So that’s
my
hallmark!’

‘Good afternoon.’ Another voice came from a doorway off the hall and they turned to see a woman who could have been Caitlin’s older sister, but was unmistakably her mother, Kitty.

‘Aunt Kitty!’ Jewel’s mouth trembled and she felt her eyes prickle with tears. ‘It’s been far too long,’ she said. ‘Far, far too long since we last met.’

Kitty squeezed her tight. ‘It has,’ she said. ‘We’ve missed you.’ She gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘You were just a bairn
when we saw you last and here you are, grown into a beautiful young woman.’

Clara wondered about her accent as she went forward to be introduced. It could be Hull, or it could be a mixture of something else. She dipped her knee and, as if automatically, Kitty did the same.

The older woman laughed. ‘Old habits die hard,’ she said. ‘I haven’t done that in many a year.’

‘You lived in Hull, I believe, Mrs Allen?’ Clara said. ‘You were a friend of Aunt Gianna?’

‘Gianna! Does she still go by that name? She was Miss Gregory when I first knew her, then Miss Georgiana.’ Kitty laughed and Clara could see where Caitlin’s exuberant spirit came from. ‘I think it was Isaac who first called her Miz Gianna and it suited her so well.’

She put her head to one side and gazed at Clara. ‘And you’re the daughter of Martin Newmarch and his wife, who was Miss Grace.’ She nodded sagely. ‘She was much admired when I was a girl,’ she said. ‘Especially by those of us who had so little. She was quite exceptional. I expect she still is?’

‘Yes,’ Clara said proudly. ‘She is. They both are.’

Kitty glanced from one to the other. ‘You’re both lucky to have parents who allow you such freedom.’ She seemed to give herself a mental shake. ‘Come in, come in. Let’s have tea and cake and scones and jam and pretend we’re in England again.’

‘Do you miss being in England, Aunt Kitty?’ Jewel asked later as they sat drinking tea in a pleasant room overlooking the creek, with comfy chairs and pictures on the walls.

‘No,’ Kitty said firmly. ‘There’s nothing and no one to miss, apart from your mother,’ she added. ‘And I do miss her. Without Georgiana I wouldn’t be here, enjoying what I have. Sometimes I wake up and can’t believe what we’ve achieved. I’m running my own hotel, I own a bakery; I have a handsome husband, a lovely daughter and a fine son.’ She smiled. ‘And in England I was a servant, just as Ted was. We’d never have accomplished so much had we stayed in Hull.’

She might, Clara thought. My mother did; but then she reconsidered. It was Georgiana’s influence that had changed her life too. But women have to want to change. They have to feel that desire for themselves and catch hold of any opportunity.

As they were chatting, Ted Allen came in to join them. He had heard their voices as he went through the hall.

‘Da! Da. Look who’s here!’ Caitlin jumped up to greet him, putting her arm round his waist and bringing him forward. She was full of energy, Jewel thought, and did everything at top speed. ‘Can you guess who this is?’ Caitlin stood her father in front of Jewel, who rose from her chair and smiled at him.

She wouldn’t have known him if Caitlin hadn’t said. The last time she had met Ted Allen had been when she was ten, but he hadn’t been around much as he was always so busy. He was an important man in Dreumel’s Creek as well as in Yeller, where he and Kitty had built the hotel, but in any case she and Caitlin had always had so many things to do and play at that she had seen very little of him. One thing she did know was that he had come to America with her father: her real father, Edward Newmarch.

Ted put out his hand. ‘Hello, Jewel,’ he said, and he still had a trace of a northern English accent. ‘It’s nice to meet you again. Been a long time!’

Jewel leaned forward and gave his cheek a kiss. ‘It’s nice to see you too,’ she said, her voice suddenly cracking. ‘All of you. It’s so lovely to be here again with you all.’

Then she remembered he hadn’t met Clara and introduced her. ‘This is my cousin Clara Newmarch.’

‘Ah!’ he said, his eyes flickering over Clara. ‘Pleased to meet you, Miss Newmarch.’

‘Clara, please,’ she said.

He nodded. ‘I remember your father. I met him a few times when I was working for his brother Edward.’ He gave a sudden grin. ‘Seems like a lifetime ago. I hope he’s well?’

‘He is,’ Clara told him. ‘And he asked to be remembered to you. He’s heard of all your achievements through Uncle Wilhelm.’

Ted pursed his lips. ‘Has he? The world is not so large after all, then.’

He sat down with them and asked about their journey on the ship and the train.

‘The railroad is getting closer to Dreumel,’ he said. ‘Another couple o’ years and it’ll be here. Not into the valley,’ he added. ‘I’ve seen the plans and they’re going to build a station out on the plain, where I dare say another town’ll spring up. I’ve staked a claim already,’ he said shrewdly. ‘It’ll be a good investment for Robert and Caitlin.’

‘Have you, Da? Really?’ Caitlin was astonished. ‘What’ll we do with it?’

‘Sell it,’ he said. ‘Or build another hotel.’ He turned to Jewel. ‘So if you wait another ten or more years before coming back you might find another town. What name will it have, I wonder?’

‘I might not wait so long,’Jewel said thoughtfully. ‘It depends on what I find out on this journey.’

He looked at her curiously. ‘Find out?’ he said. ‘Are you looking for something?’

‘Yes,’ she said softly. ‘I am. I’m looking to find out who I am. About my beginnings. About my mother.’

Ted Allen whistled softly through pursed lips. ‘But that’d mean going to California. That’s where your father was when Georgiana found him.’ He frowned slightly. ‘You know, don’t you, that I came to America with him – as his valet?’ he asked.

‘Yes, I did know,’ she said. ‘I think I know most of my father’s history, though I can’t recall when I was told, only that I always knew. Mama—’ She smiled. ‘Gianna always explained my background and made sure I never forgot it. I’m so grateful to her for that.’

She paused, looking thoughtful, and they all gazed at her, unwilling to interrupt her train of thought, knowing that she had something else to say.

‘But,’ she went on at last, ‘I know nothing of my birth mother. Only that her name was Tsui, and that my father met her in a bar in California where they both worked.’