floor landing. "Explain yourself."
"We been talkin' to a lot of gals like us down at Aunt Sally's and they'd sell their petticoats to live in a nice clean safe place like the Crazy Arrow."
Caroline was quiet for a moment then, "How many girls, Jenny?"
"Twelve countin' the hash slinger."
"Twelve girls plus our seven?"
"Twenty countin' you, Miss Caroline."
"Oh, my!" At two dollars per night, the possibilities were breathtaking but so were the pitfalls. "It could never work," she mused as they continued down the stairs to the main floor. "I haven't the linens or the mattresses for so many and Lord only knows how we would keep us all in hot water and soap. I would have to charge more than they do at the Last Stop."
"That wouldn't be unreasonable if you provided meals, Miss Caroline. I can speak for all of us when I say the food at Aunt Sally's ain't all it could be."
Once again Caroline was stopped in her tracks by the blunt truth of Jenny's statement. "Do you mean cook for everyone?"
"You can cook, can't you, Miss Caroline?"
"Well, of course I can," Caroline said. "I can make a fine split pea soup and a palatable veal stew but cook for so many? I doubt I even have the necessary pots and pans and dishes and—"
"We have our bridal ware with us."
"I draw the line at using your things, Jenny."
"Don't seem like there's any other way, does it?"
"I suppose there's always a bank loan to consider."
Jenny gasped. "The bank loan money to a woman?"
Caroline glared at the girl. "Is that too impossible a notion to even consider, Jenny?"
"Seems they won't even rent a room to a woman in Silver Spur, Miss Caroline. Somehow I can't imagine what they'd say if you were to ask for money."
"Well, no matter," said Caroline with a sigh of resignation. "It was a foolish idea anyway."
#
That foolish idea, however, lingered in Caroline's mind all day long and that evening when the others left for supper at Aunt Sally's, she sat down at a table with pen and paper and began to figure out exactly what she would need to begin such a venture.
It's only conjecture, she told herself, a game played to wile while away some extra hours. But the numbers she put down on paper were too tempting to dismiss.
"It's possible," she said aloud to the empty saloon, unlikely but still possible. If everything Jenny told her about the other twelve girls was true, she had a chance to make this idea work.
When she told Abby about her findings later that night, the outspoken young maid was silent as a tomb.
"Say something, Abby!" Caroline demanded, pacing the length of her bedroom suite. "You have as much at stake in this as I do. I certainly will not be angry if you decide to finish packing your trunks and depart on tomorrow's stagecoach."
"And if I go, I'll be goin' alone, is that it, miss?" the maid countered.
Caroline turned and faced the brown-haired girl. "Yes, you will, Abby. I haven't traveled all this way to give up without a fight. If there's a chance to make a success of the Crazy Arrow, I would be a coward if I turned away."
"This town is the devil's house incarnate," said Abby, crossing herself. "Gambling and drinking and—" Her cheeks turned a vivid shade of red. "My sainted mother would be spinnin' in her grave if she knew I had come to such a place."
Caroline had to laugh. "Your sainted mother would be quite surprised to hear of her demise, Abby. You can leave for Boston tomorrow with no hard feelings. I shall send you back with references and a full month's wages."
"You would be displeased with my work, Miss Caroline?"
"Of course not!"
"You be tired of my company?"
"How could I be when you are the only one I can speak frankly with?"
"You be lookin' to replace me with one of the Wilder girls?"
"Never."
"Then I'm staying, Miss Caroline, and it was so nice of you to be askin'."
Caroline's relief was boundless but she owed it to the girl to let her know what she would be facing. "We may fail yet, Abby. This venture
"We been talkin' to a lot of gals like us down at Aunt Sally's and they'd sell their petticoats to live in a nice clean safe place like the Crazy Arrow."
Caroline was quiet for a moment then, "How many girls, Jenny?"
"Twelve countin' the hash slinger."
"Twelve girls plus our seven?"
"Twenty countin' you, Miss Caroline."
"Oh, my!" At two dollars per night, the possibilities were breathtaking but so were the pitfalls. "It could never work," she mused as they continued down the stairs to the main floor. "I haven't the linens or the mattresses for so many and Lord only knows how we would keep us all in hot water and soap. I would have to charge more than they do at the Last Stop."
"That wouldn't be unreasonable if you provided meals, Miss Caroline. I can speak for all of us when I say the food at Aunt Sally's ain't all it could be."
Once again Caroline was stopped in her tracks by the blunt truth of Jenny's statement. "Do you mean cook for everyone?"
"You can cook, can't you, Miss Caroline?"
"Well, of course I can," Caroline said. "I can make a fine split pea soup and a palatable veal stew but cook for so many? I doubt I even have the necessary pots and pans and dishes and—"
"We have our bridal ware with us."
"I draw the line at using your things, Jenny."
"Don't seem like there's any other way, does it?"
"I suppose there's always a bank loan to consider."
Jenny gasped. "The bank loan money to a woman?"
Caroline glared at the girl. "Is that too impossible a notion to even consider, Jenny?"
"Seems they won't even rent a room to a woman in Silver Spur, Miss Caroline. Somehow I can't imagine what they'd say if you were to ask for money."
"Well, no matter," said Caroline with a sigh of resignation. "It was a foolish idea anyway."
#
That foolish idea, however, lingered in Caroline's mind all day long and that evening when the others left for supper at Aunt Sally's, she sat down at a table with pen and paper and began to figure out exactly what she would need to begin such a venture.
It's only conjecture, she told herself, a game played to wile while away some extra hours. But the numbers she put down on paper were too tempting to dismiss.
"It's possible," she said aloud to the empty saloon, unlikely but still possible. If everything Jenny told her about the other twelve girls was true, she had a chance to make this idea work.
When she told Abby about her findings later that night, the outspoken young maid was silent as a tomb.
"Say something, Abby!" Caroline demanded, pacing the length of her bedroom suite. "You have as much at stake in this as I do. I certainly will not be angry if you decide to finish packing your trunks and depart on tomorrow's stagecoach."
"And if I go, I'll be goin' alone, is that it, miss?" the maid countered.
Caroline turned and faced the brown-haired girl. "Yes, you will, Abby. I haven't traveled all this way to give up without a fight. If there's a chance to make a success of the Crazy Arrow, I would be a coward if I turned away."
"This town is the devil's house incarnate," said Abby, crossing herself. "Gambling and drinking and—" Her cheeks turned a vivid shade of red. "My sainted mother would be spinnin' in her grave if she knew I had come to such a place."
Caroline had to laugh. "Your sainted mother would be quite surprised to hear of her demise, Abby. You can leave for Boston tomorrow with no hard feelings. I shall send you back with references and a full month's wages."
"You would be displeased with my work, Miss Caroline?"
"Of course not!"
"You be tired of my company?"
"How could I be when you are the only one I can speak frankly with?"
"You be lookin' to replace me with one of the Wilder girls?"
"Never."
"Then I'm staying, Miss Caroline, and it was so nice of you to be askin'."
Caroline's relief was boundless but she owed it to the girl to let her know what she would be facing. "We may fail yet, Abby. This venture
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