Alana (18 page)

“Do you find my body amusing?” Crystal asked from beneath half-lowered eyelids, her lips forming a diminutive pout.

The man shook his head slowly. “No, I find you a wonderful and stimulating companion. I was just thinking how smart you are and how well you utilize your gifts in comparison to another woman I know who is trying to play a man’s game.”

“And you think that funny?” Crystal asked in a light voice.

“Women should not try to compete in businesses that they cannot handle,” he said. “They should content themselves with feminine responsibilities.”

“Am I not in business?” Crystal asked, purposely keeping her voice sultry.

“Exactly,” the man declared, draining the champagne and holding the glass out to her.

After she refilled it, he smiled again. Then his eyes roamed her breasts, drinking in their fullness. His breathing deepened, and Crystal knew what would happen in a few moments. Still, there was time to learn more.

“Exactly?” She repeated his last word in an effort to get him to continue.

“Yes, you’re in business, but it’s a business suited to you. It is a woman’s business. This other woman is trying to run her late husband’s shipping company.”

“Oh–but what is wrong with that?” Crystal asked innocently.

“Only one thing. The business is insolvent and riddled with debt. In trying to find a partner to salvage it, she shows how much a fool she is, and how little she knows. Especially,” he added after he took a large drink of champagne, “since other interests are after the company. What she needs is a blind fool to back her, not a man with brains.”

“I don’t understand. Do you mean that there is somebody who is trying to buy her company and she won’t sell it to him?”

“Not just somebody–but yes, that's exactly what I mean. Besides, I’m not stupid enough to waste my money on a doomed business and a virtuous widow.” The moment he stopped speaking, he smiled lewdly at Crystal and spilled several drops of champagne onto her breast.

After putting down his glass, he bent and kissed the bubbling liquid from her skin. Knowing that any more questions would have to wait, Crystal put her glass down and wound her fingers into his hair as his mouth grew more demanding on her breasts.

Then Crystal Revanche blanked out her mind, chased every thought away, and willed her body to respond even as disgust with what she was doing welled up within her.

Two hours later, Crystal sat in the large tub, letting the hot water cleanse her body of the man who had left a half hour ago.

Leaning her head on the edge of the tub, Crystal closed her eyes and replayed a later conversation they had had.

“Who is this woman?” Crystal had asked after the man had satisfied himself again.

“Why are you so interested?”

“I am interested in many things. How else can I learn the likes and dislikes of men so that I may please them?”

The answer, as foolishly simplistic as it had been, seemed to satisfy the businessman, and he’d indulged her questions again. “Her name is Alana Landow,” he’d told her.

Then, using all the skill she had, she learned that the Landow woman had come to him seeking a partner to help her save both her business and her home. As Crystal had already learned, he had refused her.

As the man spoke, Crystal began to feel the old pains and the anger that went with them. She had not let them surface; rather, she had stroked his chest and smiled inanely at him while he told her everything.

He spoke of a powerful man, part of a consortium that wanted to own the Landow Shipping Company. Crystal’s customer had told her that this man had engineered Alana Landow’s financial difficulties so that he could get control of her business.

As she had listened to the story, her mind had turned cold. Too many coincidental references had nagged at her. Finally, when the man seemed talked out, she looked down at him, a seductive smile on her face.

“And who is this man who makes you so afraid?” she’d asked in a calculating tone that she knew would evoke the right response from him.

The man lying next to her had sat up, anger registering on his face. “I am afraid of no one.”

“Yet you did not try to buy the company outright from the woman. I have heard you talk about taking an opportunity when offered. Surely, if she is about to lose her home, you could have made a good deal for yourself.”

The man had shaken his head slowly. “That is why you are in this business and not in mine. Crystal, my dear, no one, unless they are as rich as Methuselah himself, would go against Charles Ledoque and James Allison.”

And with the names of the two men ringing in her ears, Crystal had found out just what she had wanted to know and what she had already half-expected to hear.

From that moment on, until the man had finally left, she had played the innocent, never once mentioning anything more about business.

Crystal opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. Although the hot water eased some of her tension, it did not help to reduce the knot of hate that had arisen at the mention of Charles Ledoque.

“Poor woman,” Crystal whispered as the memories of her own life paraded across her mind like an evil play that had been haunting her for four long and terrible years.

Hearing about Alana’s troubles had opened up Crystal’s old wounds, bringing back all the terrible times of the past. She remembered having to relinquish her family’s business in order to save her brother’s life. She remembered, too, the leering faces that had laughed at her after she’d signed away everything, telling her that her brother was already dead, hanged as a Federal spy by the Confederate Army.

Shame flooded Crystal. She tried to stop the flow of memories, but she was helpless to do so, and she finally allowed them to go free. As they did, she drew strength from them, reaffirming her resolve and determination.

The day after she had signed the papers and had learned of the duplicity of Caruthers and Murdock and of Rafael’s death, she had gone to Abraham Hampton and told him everything. He’d advised her to stay in the house and keep all the doors locked until he had gone to the authorities and set matters to rights.

Crystal had done as he asked. Bu,t that night four men had broken into her home. They had attacked her, bound her, and then set lire to the house. The caretaker had discovered them leaving. To her horror, they had beat Jamie senseless and dragged his body into the bushes, leaving him for dead.

Then her nightmare had begun for real. The men had spirited her out of San Francisco that very night, and once they were away from civilization, the four had raped her mercilessly.

A week later, her mind on the verge of insanity, her body battered and bruised, her spirit almost broken, Crystal had found herself in a Nevada mining town, a prisoner in a brothel where she had learned there was no escape. Yet Crystal had found a spark within the recesses of her mind and had clung to it desperately, knowing that somehow she had to survive and avenge her brother’s death and everything done to her.

In order to wreak her revenge, Crystal had made herself accept what was happening. She’d known that to accomplish what she’d set her mind to, she would need money–a lot of money.

So, Elizabeth Montgomery had allowed herself to be turned into a whore. She took on the name they gave her, Crystal, and buried the one given at birth. Although she was a prisoner of the bordello, she began to accumulate money from her customers. At the same time, she made a friend in the bordello–the cleaning boy, a mute former slave who was being treated far worse.

As horrible as her life had become, Crystal had seen how terrible Chaco’s was. She had taken pity on the ill-treated black boy and helped him whenever she could. In return, Chaco would always stay near her, in case one of the bordello’s customers decided to beat Crystal up–a not unusual occurrence.

Within three months, they had formed a bond of friendship that was soon unbreakable. In that time, Crystal had begun to teach Chaco a way to speak.

As part of her life as a wealthy and educated young woman in San Francisco, Crystal had been a volunteer teacher in the school for the deaf and mute, where she had taught young children to use sign language. In Nevada, Crystal had put that experience to good use. Every day, while the bordello slept, she had taught Chaco how to communicate.

A year later, Crystal had put away enough money to escape. She had told Chaco of her intentions, and he had asked to come with her. Her plan was simple: Crystal, with the judicious use of a gold piece, had convinced another of the whores to cover for her and use Crystal’s room for the night so that she could make her escape.

As it had turned out, she needn’t have bothered, for as she and Chaco were climbing out of a back window, a fire had already started on the lower levels of the building.

In the confusion surrounding the fire, she and Chaco had made their escape. From Nevada, they had gone back to San Francisco, where Crystal knew she could not show herself. But once there, she had spent three weeks investigating the men who had taken over her business.

What she learned in that short amount of time had given her the base from which she would gain her revenge on all of the men involved–and especially on the faceless man who controlled all the others. Caruthers and Murdock had simply followed his orders. She did not learn that man’s name, but she did discover another link: A man called Charles Ledoque, who lived in Charleston.

Four months later, Crystal and Chaco had arrived in Charleston, where she had purchased the old Pomeroy house and had set up her business. The money flowing into her accounts since then had been put to good use. Within a year, Crystal had learned all she could about Charles Ledoque. As her knowledge increased, she also discovered that Ledoque was but another step upward in the powerful consortium that included Caruthers and Murdock.

When Crystal had arrived in Charleston, she was no longer Elizabeth Montgomery. From the day she stepped into the house on Tadd Street, she had become Crystal Revanche–taking the French word for revenge as her new name.

Rising, Crystal stood and let the water cascade from her luxurious curves. After stepping out of the tub and drying herself, she sat at her dressing table and brushed out her silver-blond hair.

A rush of sadness struck her when she thought of the woman she had yet to meet, Alana Landow. She felt sorry for her because Crystal knew exactly what was happening to her.

“And I will help her, if she will let me,” Crystal told the green eyes that stared so intensely back at her.

Alana
stared out the window of her hotel sitting room, peering into the gray, overcast day. She clasped her hands together so tightly, the knuckles showed white. Her mind was adrift, her thoughts revolving around one single thing–-the ten days remaining until Ledoque called in his notes.

For five weeks, Alana had done everything in her power to find someone who would become her partner. But, with each man she’d spoken to, she’d begun to realize more and more the impossibility of her situation.

She had met each businessman with high hopes and an open mind. Time after time, she had left with her hopes dashed. Either they did not want to do business with a woman or they did not want to risk their money on a shipping company that had no contracts and only liabilities.

Increasingly, Alana thought about Rafe. She wondered what might have been, had she but listened to her heart and gone with him instead of bending to the obligation that had held her to Jason.

A persistent tap called her back to awareness. Smoothing her dress, Alana pulled back her shoulders and walked to the door. The man she had been waiting for, Robert Matthews, had arrived.

Please let him be the one to help me, she silently prayed as her hand hesitated near the large brass knob.

Carlton DuPont had told her of this northern businessman a week ago and had arranged a meeting in his office. When it ended, Matthews had promised Alana he would give her his answer in a week. He was, she believed, her last hope.

Opening the door, she smiled at Matthews and invited him in. Robert Matthews was not overly tall, and his rotund body had a soft and pampered look. He had a round face partially covered by long sideburns and the chalky complexion of a man who spent too little time out of doors. Still, Alana cared little about his looks. Her only concern was for the help he might give her.

Matthews spoke as soon as he was seated across from her “I have given a great deal of consideration to your proposal.”

When he paused, Alana felt herself nod her head as if that action would urge him on. But, she sensed something else in the way he was looking at her. Refusing to let her thoughts get out of hand, Alana waited patiently for him to continue. When he did, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“I must tell you that I am interested in the Landow Shipping Company. However, I cannot accept a forty-nine percent partnership in exchange for bailing your company out of its present financial situation.”

Alana stared at him, sensing that he was not turning her down. She said nothing.

“When I came to Charleston after the war, I did so to increase my own businesses and to diversify into other fields. I can see the long-range possibilities of an investment in Landow Shipping–”

Get to the point!
Alana screamed silently to herself.

“–and I would like to become your partner, Alana.” When he said her name, the unmistakable intimacy underlying his voice was all too evident. “However, I will require a fifty-five percent share of the company,”

“My terms are firm,” Alana stated through suddenly clenched teeth. She and Carlton DuPont had gone over the figures enough times to know that forty-nine percent of Landow Shipping was worth much more than what she was asking. The two remaining ships alone had higher cash value.

Matthews smiled. “I will relent. Fifty percent…and one other thing.”

Alana could think of nothing else she had that he could want.

“Yes?”

Matthews moved self-consciously in the chair. His chalky skin took on a pinkish hue. “I have been away from my wife for a long time,” he said, each word coming just a little faster than the one before it. As he spoke, his eyes raked blatantly across the swell of her breasts. “I would expect a certain arrangement–a partnership in business as well as–”

“You are disgusting!” Alana spat as she stood to glare angrily down at him.

Matthews smiled wider at her outrage. “Do you think I haven’t discovered why you’re trying to find a partner? I’m your only choice, Alana.”

“You, sir,” Alana said in chilly tones, “are no choice at all. Leave–now!” Her last word was accented by the upward swing of her arm as she pointed one long, slim linger at the door.

She watched him, hatred pouring from her eyes as the man stood and went to the door. He looked at her once again and sadly shook his head. Then he was gone, and Alana was alone again.

Tears threatened to erupt, but she refused to yield to them. Staring at the closed door, Alana searched desperately within her for some last thread of hope; however, she discovered there was none.

“Oh, Rafe, if only you’d gotten my letter,” she whispered. Even the mention of her love’s name did not help her rise from her misery. She knew that Rafe would not approach her until she gave him the word, and she sensed that her letter had never arrived.

Slowly Alana sank back into the chair and stared out at the cold gray afternoon, trying to understand what had happened to the world she had once known, in which people helped each other in times of need and did not ask the impossible in payment. She wondered why there was no one, no single soul, who would come forth to help her. It seemed to Alana that only those who wanted to use her, either for their profit or their pleasure, populated this new world she lived in.

She sat in the chair for a long time, thinking of all the radical changes that her life had gone through in the short span following the war. She was so lost in thought that she did not notice any passage of time, but slowly she became aware of a knocking at the door. Forcing herself to regain her composure, Alana went to the door. Opening it, she found herself face to face with a beautiful, delicately featured woman whose silver-blond hair sparkled like jewelry in the low light of the hallway. The woman wore a high-bodiced blue chiffon dress with a collar that reached to just under her chin.

“Yes?”

“Mrs. Landow, may I speak with you please?” Crystal Revanche asked.

Puzzled, Alana motioned the woman in and then walked with her to the two chairs. After they sat, Alana raised her eyebrows in question.

“My name is Crystal Revanche.”

Alana stifled a gasp. She had recognized the name immediately and was shocked that the most notorious madam in Charleston was sitting across from her.

Suddenly Alana laughed. Her pent-up emotions broke free with her laughter. It took her a moment to control herself, and when she did, she found her laughter had brought tears to her eyes.

“Are you here to recruit me?” she asked in a bitter voice.

“Recruit you?” Crystal asked, puzzled.

“Yes. Everyone seems to want my body for their own purposes. At least you make no pretense about who you are and what you do.”

Crystal’s eyes widened. Then she too laughed. “No, Mrs. Landow, I am not here to offer you one of my beds. But I am here to help you,” she stated.

“Help me?” Alana asked in surprise. “How?”

“I’ve heard of your problems, and I know you’re looking for a business partner. I am in a position to be of service to you.”

“But why? Are you planning on closing down your, ah–business?”

“Not at all. Mrs Landow, I am offering you what you need. I will become your partner in the shipping business and pay off all your debts to Charles Ledoque. In return, I will need something from you.”

“As usual,” Alana said dryly. “Isn’t the shipping company enough?”

Crystal rose from the chair and went to the window. She spoke as she looked out. “I have learned that in life there are many compromises. It is a lesson that perhaps you too must learn.” Turning back to Alana, Crystal shrugged her shoulders. “You see, the good people of Charleston have recovered admirably from the war, or so it seems. They are beginning to reset order within the town; they are doing their best to close all the businesses that are not, as they say, in the best interests of their society.

“In other words,” Crystal continued, “they’re cleaning up Charleston, and the first thing to go will be businesses such as mine. Bordellos have outlived their usefulness now that most of the soldiers have left; Charleston’s virtuous young women no longer have to fear their lusty advances.”

Alana, listening intently to Crystal’s words, was unable to understand what the woman was getting at. “But how will a partnership with me help you?”

“Before I explain that, there is something else I must say.” Alana found herself drawn into the intense yet warm green eyes of the woman while she waited for Crystal to continue.

Before she continued, Crystal returned to the chair. Sitting gracefully, she interlocked her fingers and placed her hands on her lap. She stared at her upturned palms for a moment before focusing on Alana’s face.

“I was not always a whore, Mrs. Landow. In fact, my family was once quite wealthy. But–but certain things happened, and I am now as you know me. I am not ashamed of what I do.” Crystal paused to marshal her thoughts, knowing that she had almost said too much.

“Suffice it to say for now that I heard of your dilemma and that I despise Charles Ledoque. I am willing to be your partner and to help you make Landow Shipping into a profitable business. To do that, yu need more money than just the amount of your debts. In order to have that money available, I must stay in business.”

Finally, Alana understood what Crystal Revanche was trying to say. She stiffened in spite of herself, and her eyes widened with the final revelation of Crystal’s proposal. Before Alana could speak, Crystal slowly nodded.

“I see you understand. Riverbend is far enough away from Charleston so that the good people will not be overly upset. Yet it is close enough to Charleston to be convenient. Riverbend will be the way for me to stay in business, and the money that flows into its doors will be the means by which Landow Shipping will grow.”

Alana knew that her jaw had dropped halfway to her chest, but she could not control her wildly spinning mind.

Crystal stood again, a shadowy smile on her face. “Now that I have truly shocked you, I will leave you to think over my offer. When are the notes due?”

“T-ten days,” Alana whispered.

“I will contact you in a week. If you are in agreement–if you want to be your own woman and control your own life without someone else ruling over you–remember that I offer you the way. Good day, Mrs. Landow.”

With that, Crystal Revanche turned and let herself out. In the hallway, she nodded her head to a figure in the shadow, and a tall black man stepped out of his concealment. With a rapid motion of her hand, she spoke to Chaco. The word she signed described simply what she felt–perhaps.

Inside her hotel room, Alana struggled with her stormy thoughts, wondering how she could even consider what Madame Revanche had asked.

Forcefully, Alana made herself stop floundering and think clearly. The ramifications of Crystal Revanche’s offer were unending. Without any doubt, Alana’s place in society would change; everyone she knew would look down on her and label her a whore. She would be dirtying the memory of her entire family, and of Jason’s family as well.

Then she thought of the alternative: life with Charles Ledoque. It was a terrifying vision that filled her with the chill of death. Would I be any less a whore with him? she wondered.

More confused than ever, Alana did her best to push everything from her mind. Standing, she went into the bedroom and to the door that connected it with the servant’s room. She knocked once and opened the door.

She smiled at Kitty and spoke with new determination. “It’s time to pack and return to Riverbend,” she told her.

~~~~~

Rafe paced angrily in the office of the Magee and Montgomery Mining Company. In the room with him were Abigail Hampton and Caleb Magee.

They had chosen this building to open their San Francisco offices because it was located near enough to the waterfront to be useful and far enough away not to attract any undue attention.

For three months, Rafe had been busy setting up the offices, hiring people he knew would be loyal and spending whatever free time he had investigating the company that had taken over Montgomery Shipping. By the time Caleb had come to San Francisco from the desert mine, Rafe had found himself no closer to the answers he needed. Now, as he made plans to learn more, Caleb and Abigail both rose against him.

“Son, you can’t just walk in there and ask them questions.”

“I can’t?” Rafe replied in a tense voice, his features stiff. “Watch me.”

“Rafael, Caleb is right. They killed Abraham and as good as killed Elizabeth with their own hands. Do you think they won’t do the same to you?” Abigail asked.

“Not if they don’t get the chance.”

“By marching yourself into that building, you’re giving them that chance. Son, I didn’t spend those long months riding the desert with you to see you get yourself killed now,” Caleb said in a low voice. “The least you can do is to take some advice.”

Rafe looked at the old prospector and then at Abigail. He saw the barely perceptible nod of her head and exhaled slowly as he sat on his chair.

“Go ahead,” Rafe ordered Caleb.

“We’re rich now, you and me and Abigail,” Caleb began, smiling warmly at Abigail Hampton. The three of them each held an equal share in the mine and the mining company.