Angela's Hope (Wildflowers) (22 page)

“Ted wrote this for you dear.” Clive handed over the note; he enjoyed her deep scarlet blush.

“How is he doing?” Angela asked to keep her composure.

“Today he sat up for most of the day. He bested me at checkers several times, the rascal. Tomorrow I may challenge him again in the evening. I can expect he will be testing the boundaries of his stitches soon. He is not one to be idle for too long.” Clive laughed.

“I understand that well enough.” Angela sighed. “I am also tired of being so still. This bruise kept me from walking for too long. I do not want to give into the pain, yet I know I must give it rest.”

“If it is only aggravated you should see improvement soon.” Amber said with an encouraging smile.

Angela was eager to read the note from Ted but waited until Clive had left before she excused herself to her room to go over the letter.

She had to say the first time she read through it she blushed and was overwhelmed. She knew that Ted liked her; the stolen kisses had proven that. But to know how deeply he was feeling, and his reasons were beyond her hopes.

She was attracted to him from the earliest moments she had met him as well. She knew he was a young man of Godly character. According to everyone around her he was a hard worker and had integrity.

She read through the letter several more times. Each time she pondered over his chosen words. “You are very dear to me.” The word dear was a sweet endearment that worked within Angela’s heart as she thought of him. She wanted to be sure before she let her heart trip over that invisible line. But with how he “deeply admired” her she had to admit to herself that she felt the same way.

It had only been a few weeks of courting and he knew he would not stay in San Francisco forever so she wanted to be sure that he was not obligated to make any promises to her. But what she did know was that he was a good young man, and caring for him was not wrong. She would definitely not dissuade him from continuing his good intentions, if that is what he meant in their relationship. She did not see him as the type to think of women as anything but something to be cherished and protected. She would pray that God showed her his full character, if he was a young man to be trusted with her heart. She finally was able to sleep after prayers and lots of thoughts over the words on that slip of parchment.

* * * * *

Ted was up and around within a few days. His stitches pulled and itched but he kept himself busy with light jobs that Clive found for him. Since he was educated and could read and handle numbers, he helped Clive with inventory of the mercantile and the warehouses.

While they were busy with counting of sacks of whole wheat kernels, the warehouse was buzzing with voices.

It seemed a fire had broken out on of the docks. The main bells weren’t ringing but a small hand bell could be heard through the hubbub of activity.

Clive and Ted immediately joined the throng of men as they ran to the docks to help.

Ted winced as the stitches pulled and he had to slow to a jog, Clive ran ahead and told Ted to take his time.

As Ted saw the small blaze spread across the end of the dock he paused to see if he could help with a bucket brigade. He could not see any kind of organization but knew someone should get one started. He saw a good place to get water and grabbed a bucket full of scales lying near a fish cleaning station. He knelt to the edge of the dock and rinsed it into a semi clean state.

He yelled. “Bucket line!” It was loud enough for a few people to get a hint to join him. A few men found buckets, as were usually plentiful near the docks. Men started gathering near Ted and with a few course words yelled and some cooperation the line was started. More added to it and soon the fire was getting the water it needed to begin to get a sense of control in the situation.

Ted knelt and dipped, so many times. He knew he had ripped a stitch. An older man realized that Ted was bleeding and took over the position and did the kneeling and handed the full bucket to Ted.  The system was working, the more men that joined or found more buckets the better it worked. The fire was out on one side and one building was not blazing so high. No one wanted to see the fire reach the city streets again.

After thirty minutes of concentrated efforts by over one hundred men the dock fire was out. There was a little damage to a few buildings that dared to attach to the dock but all could be repaired easily.

Ted and a few men stayed on to help clean up. Ted had no expectation of the situation being anything but a simple clean up but it got out of control so fast. Ted had no idea trouble had been looking for him.

Without a thought Ted felt himself being swung around by the shoulder. He saw the glimpse of his Uncle Hank, looking sweaty and disheveled. He was shocked at the discovery. It took Ted a moment to realize he was in a fight. A fist connected to his jaw with sloppy but painful force. Ted finally registered that his Uncle was really here, now. The last he had seen of this sad excuse for a relative had been before he left the boat, months ago.

“You thieving ——!” His Uncle cursed at him while he swung his fists around again.

Ted was not surprised to realize his Uncle was inebriated.
Probably why his punch hadn’t landed as hard as it could have
.

“You need to get your facts straight, old man.” Ted weaved away from his uncle’s advances.

“You stole my money.” His Uncle Hank yelled, he was making a scene but Ted didn’t care.

“I took my father’s portion and that was all. You killed him aboard that ship. You murdered him when you ate the last of the food. You let your own brother starve and die of scurvy.”  Ted said as he heard some men gasp; the docks were full of men that lived by a certain code. Aboard any vessel food hoarding or greed was a despicable act.

“He was too far gone, you know nothing you stupid boy.” His Uncle Hank slurred through his words and swung at Ted slowly again and missed, it threw off his balance. By then Clive was at Ted’s side.

“I think you need to sober up, sir.” Clive said with more than a dash of sarcasm in his voice.

Hank cursed at Clive, too. A few men were gathering closer. Ted’s Uncle was losing the respect of the crowd quickly.

Hank, in a final gesture, got a kick in and caught Ted on his bad leg right below his stitches. Ted yelled out but didn’t fall thanks to Clive who was there and steadied him. Ted could tell another stitch was pulled and blood was soaking through his pant leg.

A few men were grumbling about helping the idiot get sobered and without much ado Ted’s uncle was grabbed by four men. Two had his shoulders and two scooped up his legs and he was tossed off the edge of the dock. The water was shallow and he stood up sputtering and cursing everyone around him but he was aware enough that the crowd was against him, too. He had to head away from the dock and find a way to get back on land and away from the angry mob.

Ted and Clive walked slowly a few blocks as Ted explained the full story about how his uncle had been with the group to resupply the ship. The ship had allowed for every family group to send a representative to carry in supplies, fruit was very critical as everyone knew. Ted’s father had been showing signs of scurvy and Ted had been concerned. Ted saw that his uncle had hoarded and eaten all the fruit by the time he had gotten back from the supply expedition. There was no other way to say it but that his selfishness had cost his father’s life.

Clive was just as disgusted as Ted and did his best to soothe and console Ted but Clive knew there were some things that couldn’t be explained away.

“All I know is that my mother has no idea that my father is dead, and I don’t know how to tell her. I don’t want to write that letter.” Ted said as they rounded a corner, they were near the doctor’s office. He would need a few extra stitches, they wordlessly walked there.

Finally Clive shared his wisdom. “I know you may have a hard time with it, but I would be glad to help you write that letter. Your mother should know. It will allow her the time to grieve and you do not want her to have hard feelings for you as well. The truth is always better than not knowing. We can pray for her mourning to be over sooner than later. Then she can rejoice in your homecoming whenever that will be. Instead of it being the long awaited bad news of death.”

Ted thought it over and nodded.

“I will gladly accept your help and prayer over this.” Ted frowned. “She begged him to stay home. Now they will have nothing. The farm payment was not up to date. She certainly will have lost it by the time I even get back. Both her and her sister are skilled at sewing and embroidery and they will be able to get by. But there is nothing good I have to write about besides the few friends I have made here. Otherwise I would consider this the worst place to be.” Ted was frustrated.

“Let’s get you patched back up. We can work on your letter and get it aboard a ship headed back east soon. She will know and you will breathe and sleep easier for it. I promise Ted.” Clive helped Ted the next half block. Ted’s limp was getting more pronounced as the pain increased. Ted would have a few more down days again.

Chapter 21

Clive washed his hands outside the doctor’s office and took a moment to look up and down the dirty street. There was so much he despised about this place. He had never felt a place could be truly bad, only the people in it. The bay was lovely, and had it not been for the gold found last year at Sutter’s mill this town would still be the small port village, with a Christian mission a few miles away and Sacramento being a close enough neighbor to allow for more supplies if necessary.

Once Ted was stitched back up they headed up the street. Ted said he was able to get around. “Just no more fights.” Ted laughed.

Amber and Angela fussed over Ted once they heard about the fight and that he had to be re-stitched. Ted was put in the cushioned chair by the fire.

Ted and Angela spent some quality time together that night talking. They were feeling very comfortable around each other and the stories flowed. Ted shared about his family back East and Angela shared a lot about her relationship to Corinne and some of the early good memories of her family.

She read parts of the letter from Edith Sparks, he shared her joy in knowing a good man and woman were blessed with children who needed caring for.

The time was well spent. The two felt closer by the end of the night. Angela was thankful that Ted was able to open up to her. His feelings about the day’s events with his uncle had bubbled out of him. She was so sad to hear about Ted’s father, and had her own feelings about the despicable nature of his uncle but she kept them to herself mostly. She just wanted Ted to know that she was listening and she cared.

Angela was the one to sneak in a kiss before he left. Clive was waiting downstairs. Gabe and Amber seemed occupied with Silas so as Ted turned to make his way down the stairs Angela made her move. She knew it was forward but she was feeling affectionate and protective. He had been hurt and she wanted him to know she cared.

“By the way, I loved your letter.” Angela said and took a step back. She knew that was what he needed to know, that his feelings were returned.

The weeks that followed were good for them. Ted worked long hours but he took every chance he could to spend any amount of time he could with her.

As his bank account grew he realized his time with her was growing shorter. His mother and sister would need him to come back. He knew what
he
wanted to do and he was praying that he was doing what God wanted him to do.

* * * * *

March 1850

Angela felt a little silly, she had asked for time away and in the early morning Clive came by the mercantile to pick Angela up. The night before Clive had come to dinner and whispered in her ear that “The malted barley is in.” Her heart jumped in her chest but she tried not to show it.

Her and Clive had a secret. It was a dear-hearted and delicious one.

“I need to borrow Angela for the morning and afternoon, Gabe.” Clive announced nonchalantly after dinner the night before. Everyone seemed to take it easily with no curiosity. Clive and Angela did enjoy an easy friendship. Perhaps they all thought it was about more pamphlets or going outside the city to ask miners about Sean.

Angela dressed in dark colors and her work shawl before she met up with Clive in the morning. Her heart raced with her secret and she enjoyed the feeling of being the tiniest bit sneaky.

“Yer face is glowing, child.” Clive said with a grin. He was excited about their little project and had been working for months to get everything set up for today.

“Yes, I am enjoying myself. I feel a bit like a naughty child sneaking in the cupboard for a cookie.” Angela gave Clive a daring wink and grabbed his arm as they started walking towards the outskirts of town.

“We have all the legal papers and the warehouse we bought is on the outskirts. After today we will hire a few more employees to get things underway but it is a slow earning venture. We will have to wait three years for any good results.” Clive explained.

“I understand, I am particularly skilled at waiting.” Angela felt the cool morning air on her cheeks and thought of the future. Where would she be in three years?

It took them nearly an hour to get to the warehouse in the southern outskirts of town. The road could barely be called that. Mostly miners and wagons traveled the roads with supplies heading to southern parts of California territory. The Pacific Ocean was west and the warehouse was rather nondescript. Snug against a hilly and rocky terrain behind. A sign in front said “Warehouse C” with a “Q & F” underneath.

“Q and F?” Angela asked as they near the front of the building.

“Quackenbush and Fahey of course.” Clive gave her arm slight pinch and saw her blush.

“I cannot believe we are actually going to do this.” Angela allowed herself to be escorted in and the light from the windows illuminated the operation.

“Are you sure this is legal?” Angela gave Clive a nervous glance.

Clive wordlessly escorted her to the sidewall where a framed paper hung on the wall. “We have a proper license for the distilling of liquor.”

“Brian Murphy should be here anytime but I wanted to get a tour in before we got officially started.”

“I can smell the barley already.” Angela closed her eyes and tried to imagine her grandfather with his own building. Probably a smaller operation, in a shabby barn or even hidden in the woods.

“I discussed with Brian and he suggested we release an early version to whet people’s appetites for the whiskey but to also get the word out. The completed product would be smoother but the initial product would definitely have a kick. That is the part that is the least legal. Certain laws declared that the distillation process needs to go a certain way. But since we are not a part of the union and California is only a territory we have time to use the license and make up our own rules.” Clive explained as they walked.

Angela enjoyed seeing the operation with the large wooden casks and the huge stills. The stacks of crates full of the secret ingredients, barley, rye, and a few other things that her grandfather had been famous for. Her mother’s journals spoke of people coming from miles and traders and merchants spending good money for a jug of his whiskey.

“This seems outside my normal, but somehow doing this makes me feel connected to my roots, the journals are all I have left of my Irish roots. Everyone is dead but for Sean and even he is hidden from me. This feels like I am doing something.” Angela said as they finally sat on a bench by the front office. It was a sparse room with a large desk and a stack of papers on the top.

Angela and Clive both perked up when they heard a door open and shut and the sound of footsteps nearby. A large man walked over to the office area and his smile broke open as he saw Clive.

Angela took stock of the man Clive introduced as Brian Murphy. Large and burley with working man’s hands, Angela was drawn to him and enjoyed his easy banter with Clive. He would be the general manager. He would be the only one that would know the recipe outside of Clive and Angela. Clive offered him the job from a mill in Oregon. Clive had heard rumors about his managerial style, and how he used to get in trouble with the law in Ireland for smuggling illegal liquor into Britain for his family when he was barely in his teens. He knew the ins and outs of a still, and how to be a hard worker and stay out of trouble once he moved to the United States.

“Let’s get the ovens started. The first step is getting the Barley ready.” Mr. Murphy said and they all nodded, a bit excited to see how it would all begin.

* * * * *

The wet thud of flesh hitting flesh pulled Angela from her pleasant dreams. Once her mind was alert she could discern grunts and a few words spoken harshly.
Some things need not be repeated
, Angela thought after hearing some very colorful language. She sat up and felt her long braid pull against her neck, her long, thick hair was becoming a nuisance. She would have Amber trim a few inches off soon, the hair’s weight was giving her headaches again.

She carefully eased across her bed to the window that faced the street. The thuds and grunting hadn’t stopped and she cautiously peeked over the edge of the window, she did not want to be seen looking. Gabe and Clive had both warned her plenty about not getting caught up in the dark activities of San Francisco, as the gangs were becoming a dangerous and a heavy reality that she had to face. She didn’t understand all the politics involved but she heard a lot of rumors. Certain people did not like other ethnicities being allowed within the city. Others wanted law and others a free space to govern themselves. There was a committee for dealing with fire control and others who disliked who was or wasn’t being hired for the fire brigade. It was tangled mire of angry men with little outlet besides violence and alcohol, and very little law to protect the rest of the folks just trying to survive.

Angela never left the mercantile without accompaniment, ever.

As she peeked over the windowsill the men below were in a group of about twenty men, it was hard to determine in the darkness with only a few lanterns and torches held by the men on the outside of the group. Angela saw many scruffy beards and dirty clothed men, three in the middle of the group seemed to be exacting some sort of punishment on one man who was on his knees. Angela was horrified to see the state of the beaten man, his face no longer a face but just a bloody mess. She pulled away from the window, her heart pounding, she had no thought but just to stop the beating. She ran in her nightclothes to Gabe and Amber’s door and knocked softly.

“Gabe…” Angela whispered harshly.

“I am awake. I will be out in a moment.” Gabe whispered back. Angela heard a bit of scuffling from the other side of the door.

“The man outside, they might kill him.” Angela said savagely when Gabe appeared from his bedroom, haphazardly dressed, carrying a small wooden bat.

“I just saw myself. I will see what I can do to disperse the crowd. I do not want to bring a riotous crowd on this place but I cannot abide a murder on my front stoop.” Gabe said and headed to the stairs. “Help me make noise and light. Perhaps they will be scared away if we open for business.”

“Okay.” Angela could see what he wanted and followed him down the stairs. They both stomped and made each step exaggerated. Angela grabbed a handful of matches and began to light every light source available. Gabe went to clanging on the woodstove and was rewarded with a protest through the walls from young Silas.

“It cannot be helped, perhaps he will help chase the men away.” Gabe said with a shrug.

Angela tried to keep her attention on the task and not on the men outside but in a moment of weakness she glanced over her shoulder and saw some of the men dispersing from the area. The three men were still holding on to the one man but his arms were hanging limply at his side, it seemed the fight was gone from him. Angela said a prayer in her head for him as the fighter let his body fall to the ground. Two of the fighters fled, one stayed for just a moment and looked at Angela through the mercantile window, his face was dirty and one eye blackened, he met her gaze and his glare said volumes. Knowing she had been caught looking she snatched her gaze away in fear.

“He saw me.” Angela stated flatly. Gabe walked over to her.

“I saw that.” Gabe said slowly, his hand rested on Angela’s shoulder as she took a few deep breaths to calm her beating heart.

“It probably means nothing, let’s go see if we can help that poor man.” Gabe headed to the front door, Angela stood in the doorway, almost afraid to go out on the street.  It was still before dawn and without lanterns the street was black and menacing.

“Get me a lantern please, I cannot see.” Gabe stated. Then another voice joined in with a groan. The sound of the beaten man brought Angela’s fear back to the forefront, she nervously ran inside and grabbed two lanterns and was at Gabe’s side in just under a minute.

The beaten man was lying on his side. Gabe was whispering to him, asking him questions. He was answering in whispers.

“Angela, go back inside and lock the mercantile doors. I will leave this man for just a minute to get the doctor as he is just two blocks away. I do not want you to come outside.” Gabe’s voice was firm. He watched as Angela obeyed his orders.

She watched Gabe leave one lantern next to the man in the street and he took one with him as he began to walk up the streets toward the doctor’s residence. Angela prayed for him to be safe as that crowd of angry men were still out there. Angela just hoped that they would be far away now.

Angela spent several minutes near the door watching and waiting, her mind fluttering with fearful thoughts about what she was doing here. Her doubts and hopes mingled inside her.

Clive kept talking about how the city was in growing pains, to have so many show up in such a short amount of months would make any place a den of iniquity. It was interesting dinner discussion but so much more real when a man could be bleeding to death a few feet from her person. Would the men retaliate with Gabe’s business for interfering with their fight?

Angela suddenly longed for the lavender fields at Grant’s grove, and the pretty back bedroom and the mountains nearby. The peace of Corinne’s home was suddenly very desirable. The politics of small town Oregon seemed so much less violent to the gritty, muddy city she now resided in.