The Lorimer Legacy (29 page)

The curved central staircase of the house had collapsed, but it was possible to climb down the wreckage. Alexa
heard her gown rip as a splintered banister tore at its skirt, but she did not allow this to delay her. She looked quickly round the drawing room as she entered, choosing the situation which would best explain her tousled hair. Even if she had had the ability to dress it again herself into the elaborate style which had caused gasps of admiration to greet her appearance at the ball, there would have been no time. When Frank's father hurried into the room a few moments later, he found her apparently in the process of extricating herself from beneath a fallen lacquer screen.

It was the beginning of a day in which nothing could be taken for granted. The morning developed the atmosphere almost of a party as more and more of the Davidsons' friends discovered that their own kitchens were not safe to use and arrived at the St Francis Hotel for breakfast. Alexa's remaining anxiety, about the safety of Margaret and Robert, was relieved when Brad brought them to join the group. Then the mood changed for a second time, with equal unexpectedness, as the first news arrived that fires were sweeping the city and threatened soon to be out of control: the hotel was declared to be in danger.

Mr Davidson had spent little time at the hotel, but had hurried off first to look to the security of his own business and afterwards to put himself at the disposal of the emergency citizens' committee; and Margaret and Brad soon followed to see what they could usefully do, while Robert later went off to collect her jewels. Alexa knew her own limitations. She could sing, but this was no time for singing: she had none of the practical skills or the brute strength which the present occasion demanded. Bewildered by the sudden turn of events, she was thankful at least that Frank was at hand to look after her and his aunt, and accepted his assurance that he had told Robert
where to look for them if the hotel was closed. When they were forced to leave, and had made their way to the Presidio, she sat patiently on the grass with Miss Halloran while places in a tent were found for them.

Daylight began to fade, and there was still no sign of Robert. Alexa began to walk around, looking for him and asking whether anyone had seen a freckled boy with bright ginger hair: but without success. As she turned back, afraid that she herself might become lost when darkness fell, she was conscious of the wind beginning to freshen, catching her long hair and tossing it over her shoulders. The breeze was strong enough partly to disperse the pall of smoke which had hidden until then the devastation of the city. The atmosphere on the Presidio hills, which for the past few hours had been one of an impromptu picnic, was chilled as gradually the chatter of conversation died away. One after another the citizens of San Francisco rose to their feet to watch their city burning. The crimson glow of flames in the east was far brighter than the rich sunset in the west. It was dramatic – in a way, even beautiful – but at the same time it was terrifying. The first shock of disbelief amongst the waiting crowds changed to a feeling of desolation. Even the youngest children, who had spent the afternoon happily playing, were infected by their parents' fear and fell silent with the rest.

Alexa had not yet had time to develop any sentimental attachment to San Francisco, but she searched the disaster area with her eyes as intently as anyone else.

‘Where is Van Ness Avenue?' she asked the woman standing nearest to her at that moment. Once it had been pointed out, recognizable by its unusual width, she sighed with relief. The fire was nowhere near it. There was no discernible obstacle to prevent Robert from making his way safely to the hills. If they had so far failed to find
each other, it must be only because of the thousands of people around. In the morning light, everything would be easier. As for Margaret, Alexa had felt no real anxiety about her once it was known that she and Robert had not been hurt in the earthquake. As long as anyone needed a doctor, Margaret would continue to work. Returning to the tent, Alexa was able to subdue her fears and hope that all would be well in the morning.

She was accustomed to warm blankets and comfortable beds, and to a sleeping pattern which started very late at night and continued until late morning, not from sunset to sunrise. Stiff and uncomfortable, she awoke in a tetchy mood, made less bearable by the knowledge that she must be careful not to reveal it. Everyone around her had lost his home, his possessions, probably even his livelihood, while she was still only a stranger in San Francisco. True, she had hoped to make it her home, but there had not yet been time to acquire any real stake in the city. The tool of her trade was her voice, and she carried it with her. When she was so much less unfortunate than so many others, she could not expect sympathy. The realization of that fact did nothing to improve her temper.

Like everyone else, she stepped out first of all to look down on the city. The fire had spread during the night. It was moving now so steadily that it could be seen to devour one block after another along a wide front. Alexa heard gasps of horror and hysterical tears as some of her neighbours saw for the first time that their homes had ceased to exist.

Frank, who had slept outside the tent, came to stand beside her.

‘You and Aunt Halloran must get out of the city,' he said. ‘Cassie will be taking it for granted that we shall all make our way to her as soon as we can.'

‘Is it possible to leave?' asked Alexa.

‘The ferry is running across the bay to Oakland. There were so many thousand people in the queue already yesterday that I thought it hopeless to join in. But it is the only way out of San Francisco, and San Francisco is ceasing to exist. Even if the wait takes a week, to join the queue now may be the best plan.'

‘But the fire, surely, is between us and the ferry.'

‘The earliest buildings to burn are now safe from any further fire. The streets are hot to the feet, my father tells me, but there is a way through – it's the way that relief food supplies are coming up here.'

‘I cannot leave without Margaret and Robert,' said Alexa. ‘Even if Margaret doesn't want to come, I must at least tell her where I am going.'

Frank nodded his understanding. ‘Look for them now, then, while I collect some food.'

Once again Alexa began to search, but this time she changed her mind after only a few moments. There were too many people, and most of them were on the move, searching for food or water. While she went in one direction, Robert might pass within a few feet of her, hurrying the other way. She had had a better idea. She climbed on to a rocky outcrop and began to sing.

Although Alexa loved to have an audience, it was not exhibitionism which made her display herself at such a time. She preferred people to stare at her when she was looking her best, not when her clothes were crumpled and her face dirty, and her long hair strained into peasant plaits. But if she sang something high and piercing, her voice would carry over a long distance. And if she chose an aria from
Carmen
which Robert had recently heard her practising in the apartment, he would recognize the sound at once.

Alexa never allowed herself to sing less than perfectly:
to be casual or slipshod was to risk spoiling her voice. She ignored the reactions of the people around her -some amazed, some admiring, and some almost angry that anyone could appear carefree when they themselves were despairing. Her interest at this moment was in one possible member of her audience only.

Robert came running, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, before she had finished the song. Alexa recognized at once that he had been distressed. She knew that he found it embarrassing to be hugged or kissed, especially in public, but she also guessed instinctively that he needed the opportunity now to express his relief. Still singing, although less loudly, she stepped down from her makeshift platform and whirled him round in the gypsy dance which the aria accompanied. She felt the tightness of his grip, and returned it in reassurance.

The relief of the reunion lasted for only a short time. She had been worried about him, and conscious that if he had suffered any kind of accident it would have been her fault for sending him out on her errand. Guilt made her first of all press for a quick assurance that at least he had been successful, and then snap at him in annoyance when she discovered that he had not.

Frank returned with the breakfast rations to find them still bickering.

Robert's face was sulky. ‘I couldn't help it,' he said. They were going to shoot looters. I heard them say so.'

That's ridiculous! You weren't a looter.' But Alexa sighed, reminding herself that she had no right to be angry. ‘My own fault, I suppose. I should have gone myself instead of leaving it to a child.'

‘I'm not a child!'

‘Obviously you are when it comes to getting past a guard. I wouldn't have let him stop
me
like that. All one has to do is to explain. But I suppose they weren't
prepared to take a boy seriously. Well, thank you for trying, Robert. Frank, I must go back to the apartment.'

‘You'll do no such thing,' Frank told her. ‘What do a few clothes matter?'

‘It's more than clothes. I left some jewels there.'

‘More fool you, my darling. Why didn't you have them in a bank?'

‘Because I'd intended to wear them at the ball. I only changed my mind when Margaret got upset about them for some reason, at the last moment. It didn't seem that one night could do much harm. Anyway, the jewels that I
did
put in the bank are probably lost under a pile of rubble by now.'

‘Let them go,' said Frank. He kissed her affectionately. ‘I can give you all the jewels you want.'

‘I know you can, dearest. But these are something special.'

‘Valuable, you mean?'

‘They
are
valuable certainly. Worth a small fortune, in fact. Nothing to compare with the Davidson fortune, but enough to make me feel that I shouldn't be marrying you as a pauper.'

‘If you hadn't a cent in the world, your face would still be your fortune,' said Frank. ‘And your voice is a second fortune. The Davidsons have nothing to offer in comparison.'

‘That's not the only reason why I want them.' It came almost as a surprise to Alexa to discover how strong her feelings were for the rubies. Most of her jewels – and she had owned a good many, whatever might by now have become of them – were important to her mainly as a visible token that she need never be poor again as she had been poor in her childhood. ‘They're a family heirloom. A legacy from my father. I really do want to fetch them, Frank. Van Ness isn't far out of the way. If
you take Miss Halloran directly to join the ferry queue, I could catch up with you almost as soon as you had a place in it. You said yourself that there might be several days to wait, so an hour won't make much difference.'

‘I don't want you wandering about the streets alone,' said Frank. ‘If you want your jewels, you shall have them. But I'll get them. You concentrate on finding Dr Scott, and when you've met up with her, don't let her get away again. I'll be back as soon as I can, and then we'll set about making our way to Cassie.'

‘I'd rather go myself,' said Alexa. It seemed to her that a woman might have less trouble than a man in persuading a guard that she was not a looter; and from what Robert had said it seemed that no other obstacles were likely to present themselves in that part of the city.

‘I already told you,
I'm
going,' said Frank. His eyes smiled at her as merrily as ever, but the set of his lips was firm.

Alexa was not accustomed to take orders from the men who loved her. Through many years of adulation she had become spoiled, expecting every whim to be indulged. Only Matthew had been strong enough to impose his own wishes, not once but twice. This was the first argument that she and Frank had had during their courtship, and Alexa was sensitive enough to see how important it was to Frank that he should win it. He was telling her that she would have to surrender some of her independence when they were married. Alexa accepted his decision with a smile and thanked him with a kiss.

The errand was bound to take him a long time. He had not yet returned when Alexa was able to report to Robert that she had found his mother working at a first-aid station. She had been less successful in persuading Margaret to cross the bay with Frank, but this came as little surprise. It was enough that she had been able to pass on
Cassie's address, so that they could all be sure of coming together eventually.

After a late breakfast of pressed beef, Alexa set herself to comfort Miss Halloran, expecting that a woman of her age and dignity would by now be upset by the primitive conditions which she was being forced to endure. But to her surprise the old lady was in fine form. All her stiffness of manner had dropped away, almost as though she were enjoying the adventure. She kept both Alexa and Robert enthralled by stories of the way in which she had travelled from Ireland forty years earlier, first in the steerage of an emigrant ship, then in the almost equal discomfort of an immigrant train, and lastly in a wagon across the desert and through Indian country.

Even the exciting experiences she recalled could not distract her hearers from looking frequently down towards the burning city. Alexa watched in horrified silence as the frontiers of the fire relentlessly extended themselves, leaping from roof to roof over the open spaces of streets and gardens. But in the early afternoon a sea mist blew in from the ocean, covering all the lower parts of the peninsula with a familiar white cloud which was immediately darkened by smoke into a black fog. The streets became invisible, and night appeared to fall far earlier than usual over the hills.

A series of violent explosions came from the direction of the built-up area, more startling because nothing of what was happening was visible. Rumours spread through the listening crowds. The arsenal had blown up, the firemen were dynamiting fire breaks, a gas main had been ignited, a warehouse full of spirits had exploded. Miss Halloran's chatter died away, and Alexa's worry and fear returned. She sent Robert off to stand in line for the evening rations of bread and water and Brad, ordered by his father to rest after two exhausting days, returned to
join them, bringing with him eggs and milk. They cooked the eggs on a neighbour's fire, and ate in silence.