Read Online The Prettiest Girl in the Land (The Traherns #3) by Nancy Radke - Free Book Online Page B

on the runs.”
    “That’s up to him,” I said. “He chooses who he wants to go with.
I’m surprised he came out here.”
    “He came out with that gent over there,” the first one said, and
pointed to where Gage was talking to one of the crew.
    So now I had them both found again. It cheered me up no end to
see Gage. I had felt deserted, and now knew I wasn’t. It was a comforting
feeling. I began to think I could depend on him.
    I had handled everything myself in Memphis, but it had been
sheer luck I’d found a good boarding house.
    I walked over to where Gage was.
    “Ruth, this is John Whitteman, the foreman here. I asked him
about places for a young lady to stay that were reasonable but in a good part
of town. He’s told me several places, but one he recommends above the others,
so we’ll go there first.”
    “Thank you,” I told him.
    “No bother, Ma’am. They have a big fenced yard where your dog
would be happy. Maybe he’d be,” he added doubtfully, looking over at the size
of Travers. “They have a cab stand across from the office. Give them this
address. And give this note to the landlady.” He wrote on two pieces of paper
and handed them to Gage.
    “Thank you.”
    “Thank you, to both of you. According to the other passengers,
you saved them and the coach. Take three days to rest, Ma’am, before you go
down to the freight offices. You’ll find you’ll need it.”
    The cabman didn’t want Travers up with him, so I called him
inside and shut the door.
    “Make sure he doesn’t chew up anything,” the cabbie said, then
started his horse down the street.
    “I will be so glad to stop riding in anything,” I told Gage.
    “I know what you mean.”
    It was probably two miles to the boarding house. The lady at
first refused to have Travers, but Gage handed her the piece of paper the man
had given him, and she let us right inside.
    “What did it say on that paper?” I asked Gage, as she showed us
to some rooms.
    “Didn’t look.”
    “Here, Miss, you can have this room. It has an outside door, so
your dog can come and go.” She opened it up and I looked out into her yard.
     “I hope he doesn’t dig holes.”
    “I don’t think so. I’ve never seen him dig. But he will protect
this house while we’re here.”
    “This way, sir,” she said, and turned to lead Gage away.
    “I’ll see you later,” he said.
    I nodded, already asleep on my feet. I wanted to bathe and
change clothes and sleep for a week. I sat down and tried to untie my boots,
and realized I had fallen asleep in the chair when I heard a knock.
    “Yes?”
    A maid entered, gave me a curtsey, and said, “Where would you
like your bath, Ma’am?” She held the door wider, to let in a man carrying a
large metal bath and another one with jars of water.
    “Anywhere,” I said.
    She motioned to a corner, then jumped when she saw Travers. She
clasped her hands to her breasts. “Oh. He scared me, Ma’am. Mrs. Jones said you
had a dog, but....” She stopped.
    “He is a little big for a house,” I agreed.
    “I’m Lila, Ma’am. Can I help you?”
    “Lila, I’m so tired I can’t even untie my boots, If you could
undo them—”
    “Course, Ma’am,” she said, and knelt to unlace them. “Your gent
said to take complete care of you. That is some trip. Not one I’d like to
take.”
    “How did you get here?” She had an accent of some kind, sort of
like the English gent.
    “I accompanied a lady from England. On a ship. When she left, I
stayed. There I’d always be a maid. Here I can work my way up to where I own my
own boarding house, or maybe I’ll marry one of the rich prospectors. Or a
stagecoach driver. In this country you can do anything you’ve a heart and mind
to do, so that driver could end up owning his own company. People treat you as
an equal. Why, the banker’s wife apologized to me the other day when I tripped
over her foot. She was concerned I’d hurt myself.” Lila pulled off my boots.
    “Oh!” I