Crimson Palace (22 page)

"Maud sees you as the saint who saved her and her sons and that’s all she sees. Everyone who really knows you knows that you’re a good, loving, hard working girl. Who cares what those old biddies with their mean eyes and tight lips think? You’re worth ten of any of them."

Shinonn had to laugh at Alex’s description of the town’s "upright" ladies, although the laughter was shaky.

"Oh, I guess you’re right. I never much cared what their kind thought of me when I was growing up.

Why should I start caring now? Not one of them ever so much as lifted a hand to help me when I could have used it. I suppose I’m just a little touchy right now."

"It’s only natural, my dear, only natural."

"I’ve just got too much time on my hands, too much time to think. I’m trying to take it easy like the doctor told me, but this sitting around doing nothing is worse than any work I’ve ever done."

"Well, let’s get to work then."

Alex came every day after that, spending hours working with her. He taught her every game he had ever known, all the games they would be playing in the casino and games that no one would ever expect her to know. True to his word, he taught her every dirty card trick he had ever seen. He wanted her to be as expert in the field of cards as his own knowledge could guarantee.

When she was alone she spent additional hours practicing shuffling and card manipulation techniques.

She learned to stack a deck while she shuffled with such skill that not even the most trained observer would be able to detect what she had done. Alex laughed in glee when she dealt him a royal flush, calling each card aloud before turning it up.

"I think I did my job too well. You’re downright dangerous!" He laughed with obvious delight.

"I could be, if I wanted. But nothing could ever make me cheat at cards. I’d never sink that low."

"No, you never will. But, you’ll sure as hell be able to spot a cheat when you see one. I pity the poor card shark who comes up against you." His eyes glowed in happy anticipation.

***

Shinonn could have sworn that the sound of her water breaking was what woke her, but it might have only been a dream. Suddenly she was wide awake, lying in a pool of warm liquid. Her abdomen felt tight, achy.

As she climbed out of bed, more water gushed from between her legs. She grabbed a towel from the nearby rack, hoping to catch the remaining flow of liquid.

"Mei Jung, come quickly!" she called, thankful that Sofie had insisted on having the young Chinese girl move in with Shinonn several weeks before.

"The baby is coming, Mei Jung. Run and get the doctor."

"How long you been in pain?"

"Pain? It’s not pain I’m talking about. Look at all this water! The baby must be coming!"

"Sometime water break first, then comes pain. But it not happen all at once. It take hours for baby to come. We have plenty time to make nice and clean bed for baby to be born in. I clean room, then go for doctor."

"You’re sure?"

"I sure. I be with many women who have baby. In my village, my mother was mid-wife. I help her many times."

"Why didn’t you tell us this before?"

"Nobody ask."

Shinonn’s jaw dropped in amazement as the tiny girl wrapped her with a blanket then helped her into the rocking chair.

"It pretty cold tonight, Miss Shinonn. We keep you warm. Pretty soon have bed all ready for you."

"Are you sure you shouldn’t go for the doctor now?" She felt the muscles across her belly tighten; an aching pain spread from her lower back to her abdomen.

"I go if you want me to. But I think the doctor like it better if we let him sleep. If pains get bad, I go quick. But doctor not do anything now anyway."

"You seem to know more about this than I do, but it is a little scary."

"Come, get back in bed. You be just fine, Miss Shinonn. Mei Jung never let anything bad happen, I promise."

Mei Jung pulled a clean gown over Shinonn’s head, drew back the covers and helped her mistress get comfortable.

"I stay right here beside you. You let me know when pains come and how strong they are. It will be morning soon, then I go get doctor for you."

She lovingly brushed wisps of wavy black hair from Shinonn’s brow.

"You rest now. Maybe you even sleep some more?"

Shinonn lay quietly, eyes closed, as she listened to the sounds of Mei Jung pulling the rocking chair up beside the bed. Glancing over to the chair she saw that the girl had made herself comfortable in it, obviously planning on being there for quite some time. It was clear she had no intention of letting her eyes leave her young mistress for a moment.

***

Pain pulled at her, dragging her from a troubled dream. She gripped at her belly, arching her back, a low moan escaped her lips. She felt Mei Jung’s light touch on her brow.

"It almost morning now. See how light it is outside?" She pulled the curtains aside. "I go find doctor now."

"Will it be soon, do you think?"

"Doctor know much better than I. But don’t you worry, you not have baby while I be gone. Baby make much more work than that!"

She gave Shinonn a little giggle and a comforting pat on the shoulder before leaving the room.

A particularly strong pain had just subsided. She lay panting, relieved for the brief respite, when the doctor strode through the door. Two steps behind followed Mei Jung.

"Well, today’s the day, is it, Miss Flannery?"

"I sure as heck hope so, Dr. Chandler. I’d hate to think this was just for practice!"

Another wave of pain gripped her, taking her breath away with its intensity.

The doctor was suddenly all business, checking the position of the baby, listening to the beat of both hearts, child’s and mother’s. When he was through he pulled the sheet up to her chin and sat down in the rocker.

"Everything is looking good, Shinonn. I don’t think you have a thing to worry about. I just wish all my new mother’s were in as good physical condition as you. I think we’ll have ourselves a new citizen before noon, if that’s all right with you."

Another, stronger pain attacked, pulling her into a pit of flaming agony, drenching her in sweat before it gradually lessened its grip.

"Right this minute sounds about right to me," she managed to say as the pain finally subsided.

***

She awoke to a peacefully quiet house. Curtains fluttered gently at open windows. The soft, subdued light told her it was nearly evening.

She turned in the bed and was suddenly aware that the huge mound of stomach had disappeared, that her breasts seemed full enough to burst.

The baby! She’d given birth to her baby! In a panic she realized that she couldn’t even remember if she had a son or a daughter. Where was it? Was something wrong?

"Mei Jung! Mei Jung, where are you?"

She was struggling to free herself of the tangle of bed clothes when Mei Jung came to the door.

"I am glad to see you are awake. I think your little girl is ready for her first meal." The girl’s eyes twinkled merrily. "I go bring her."

A daughter. Her very own daughter. An overwhelming sense of happiness enveloped Shinonn as Mei Jung gently placed the tiny baby into her arms. She slowly pulled the blanket away from the child, completely revealing her tiny body.

"She’s perfect. And so beautiful! I’ve never seen such a beautiful baby, have you?"

"Never, miss. What is pretty baby’s name, Miss Shinonn?"

"I think I’ll name her Jenna. Jenna Flannery. That’s a fine Irish name, don’t you think?"

"I not know Irish, but I think it very pretty."

"Well, little Jenna, shall we try to give you your very first meal? This will be a new experience for both of us!"

Instincts took firmly hold of the new mother and child and soon the sounds of suckling came rhythmically.

Chapter 16

"I don’t know, Sofie. This just isn’t me." Shinonn turned first to the left, then to the right as she critically inspected her image in the mirror.

"Sure it is, honey. It’s the new you. You can’t expect to run the casino looking like a sixteen year old prospector, now can you?"

"No, but I’ve never in my life worn my hair so fancy. And I sure as heck don’t want to wear any of that make-up." She indicated the pile of powders and rouges Sofie had brought with her.

"Just a touch, honey, just a touch. You wouldn’t look right all painted up anyway, that’s not your style.

But just a bit of powder to take away the shine, a touch of color on your cheeks and lips and a slight curl to the eyelashes, and you’ll be perfect."

"Perfect!" She spat the word out. "I’m about as perfect as a salted mine. I’m nothing but a phony."

"Nonsense! There’s nothing phony about you. You’ve only done what you had to do to survive in this crazy world. Just because you won’t lie down and let men walk all over you is no reason to look down on yourself. In fact, you should be proud."

"Miss Shinonn, I think you are the most beautiful lady in all of Virginia city. All other ladies will die with jealousy when they see you like this."

"I doubt that very much, Mei Jung. It won’t be jealousy they feel for me, more likely it will be disgust."

Sofie shook her head sadly. If only Shinonn could rid herself of such negative thoughts.

"Come on, let’s get back to the business of getting you ready to go to work. We’re going to buy you the most beautiful wardrobe this town has ever seen."

Shinonn groaned aloud at the prospect.

The dressmaker’s shop was discreetly located in the parlor of a house that was next door to one of Virginia City’s largest boarding houses. The room was crowded with tufted velvet settees and chairs and carved tables covered with fringed shawls; colorful cut glass lamps cast soft light on ornate statuettes.

When Sofie and Shinonn entered there were already three middle-aged women sitting and chatting at one end of the room. The three ladies looked at the newcomers with obvious distaste. One woman leaned toward the others and whispered furiously. Lips pursed and eyes narrowed. The three appeared to bristle with collective moral outrage at being forced to share the same room as Sofie and Shinonn.

A nervous clerk hurried over to greet the newest arrivals. "I see you’re right on time as usual, Miss Gunderson," she tittered. "Won’t you please come this way? We might as well get the lady’s measurements taken care of," she chattered nervously as she led them out of the room and into what had once been a bedroom.

Shinonn had never been to a dressmaker before, but after nearly an hour of measuring and note taking had passed, she began to suspect that the clerk was taking as long at the task as was humanly possible.

When they finally returned to the main salon she noted that the three "ladies" were nowhere to be seen.

The subtle change of expression on Sofie’s face corroborated Shinonn’s suspicions.

So, I’m not fit company for proper ladies, Shinonn thought. Although not one of those self-righteous women has a clue as to who or what I really am, they all felt perfectly justified to sit in judgment of me.

Well, I’ll be damned if I let the likes of them dictate how I run my life!

"My friend here needs several dresses, both evening and for everyday. The evening gowns must be extremely elegant, made of the best silks and laces. To create the most sophisticated, elegant effect, I think they should all be in black. The day dresses, of course, should be made in a nice variety of colors."

"Of course, of course. Let me show you some materials I think would be most suitable." The dressmaker sent the clerk scurrying for bolt after bolt of cloth. Black silk, black organdy, black taffeta, black tulle, black laces, all lay before the women. Next to the black samples, lay a pile of pretty summer prints.

"Scarlet."

Shinonn spoke the word with a decisiveness that startled everyone in the room.

"Forget the discreet black. Everyone in this town has decided that I’m nothing but a fallen woman. I might as well give them what they expect. I want every dress I wear in the Bonanza House to be scarlet red."

The dressmaker, the clerk and Sofie all looked at Shinonn as if she had gone mad.

"I mean it. If they think I’m a hussy, I’ll be the most brazen damned hussy they’ve ever seen."

"Honey, I think you’re making a mistake here. Nobody thinks bad about you. Just imagine how lovely you’ll look in this beautiful black silk."

"No, I’ve made up my mind. I wear red or I don’t work in the casino. It’s as simple as that."

"Well, have it you own way," Sofie sighed. "But I still think you’re wrong. In black you would look gloriously mysterious, so sophisticated."

"Yes, but I’m not ‘gloriously mysterious’. And I’m a far sight from being sophisticated. Let’s face it, I’m a rebel. I might as well go for shock appeal. But I would like some dresses made of black broadcloth for daytime use," she conceded. "We’ll just forget all about making up those sweet flowered calicos. They won’t do at all."

She grinned at the puzzled expressions on the women’s faces. "I’m going to confuse the heck out of those sour faced old biddies, aren’t I?"

"You know you’ll be the talk of the town with your new wardrobe, don’t you?" Sofie grumbled as they headed back to Shinonn’s little house.

"That’s the whole idea, my friend. If I’m going to be a fallen woman, why then I’m going to be the best damned fallen woman this town or any other town has ever seen. I’m going to be the woman every new man in town will have to come to see, just to see if what they hear is true. Every one of them will want to try his luck with me."

She drew herself a little taller, her chin jutting out with a new determination.

"I’ll be a legend, Sofie, just you wait and see. I’ll be the tramp that every man wants but no man can touch. And no matter how hard they try, not one of them will so much as lay a hand on me!"

Sofie had to smile, in spite of her original disapproval. The girl might be right, she thought. Nothing piqued a man’s interest more than the unattainable. And if you flauntingly dressed the unattainable in the most eye catching dress in the house, you might just have a gold mine on your hands!