Chapter 16

 

 

B lythe had joined Nancy in stripping the beds to wash the sheets of their departed guests when she heard the train whistle announcing the arrival of the train from the west. She thought nothing of it, other than it was probably the train to which the special passenger car for members of the Draper Expedition returning to the East would connect itself. Mr. Edison and his friend had boarded the westbound train. Eli and his friends, loaded down with canvas sacks and a bulky, black camera case carried by Dr. Poechet, already left the hotel to collect their mounts from the livery. Except for one new couple who arrived and rented a room on the ground floor, the hotel was all but deserted.

About half an hour later, with her arms grasping the sides of a wide basket full of dirty sheets, Blythe stepped down the last stair onto the ground floor just as three men in Army uniforms walked through the front door of the hotel. Her lips parted and a tremble coursed through her. She turned to face them. Surely, it can’t be. He never wrote to say he is coming.

The shorter, wiry man on the right turned to the taller, barrel-chested, dark-haired man in the center—the one with chevrons on his sleeves. “That her?”

“Don’t know,” The center man growled quietly. Then he raised his voice. “Are you Blythe Greenly?”

“Yes, I am. Sgt. McGilvey?” Blythe felt heat rise into her face. Of all times to meet my intended, with my arms full of dirty laundry. Then again, once she started her job as a laundress, it would be a frequent occurrence.

“That I am. This here’s Private Henderson.” The sergeant pointed to his left. “The scoundrel on the other side of me is Private. Dalby.” Using his index and middle finger, he made a shooing motion toward her. “Can you get rid of what you’re carrying so we can go somewhere and talk?”

Blythe glanced at the laundry and back at the sergeant. Swallowing before she pressed her lips together, she raised her chin and shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. I’m working. Most of the hotel guests who were here for the eclipse just left. We have a very busy day ahead of us preparing the rooms for future customers.”

Sgt. McGilvey put his hands on his hips as he tipped his forehead forward. His curious expression transitioned into a scowl. “Look here, Mrs. Greenly. My men and I have just spent over a week catering to a bunch of prissy Eastern scientists from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Since they’re government, our commander received orders to send our cooks out to feed them, plus the rest of us were there for security. There are six of us with mounts who’ve been granted a twenty-four-hour pass before we have to be back at the fort. And you’re telling me you’re too busy to spend what few hours I have in town with me?”

“I cannot just walk away from my job.” Blythe stiffened her spine and shook her head as her gaze scanned the trio of men. She noted that the expressions on the other two now mirrored the disapproval she saw on Sgt. McGilvey. “I have responsibilities. Besides, Sergeant, you evidently received my latest letter since you seemed to know I was here. Why didn’t you write to let me know you received it?”

“Waste of time.” He jerked his hand to the side and shook his head. “I got the letter right as we were preparing to leave the fort. I figured there was no sense in writing since I’d be here soon enough, anyway. Besides, I was angry as a stepped-on rattlesnake that you came out here without me giving you permission first.”

Blythe’s eyes widened as she stared at him. I have to ask your permission before I can travel where I want? We are not married yet. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I hoped, once you read the circumstances I faced, you would understand why I did.” Blythe clamped her back teeth together. She tightened her grip on the laundry basket. “If I had known you planned to be here, perhaps I could have arranged something, especially if you could have come on a less busy day.”

“May I help you gentlemen?” Mary Hayes’s voice rang out as she walked down the hall toward the lobby.

Blythe turned to Mary. “Mrs. Hayes, this is Sgt. McGilvey and two of the men he serves with from the fort.”

“I don’t serve with them. They serve with me.”

Blythe’s voice caught and, turning to the sergeant, her eyes widened. She began to suspect he was very sensitive to pecking order. She returned her gaze to Mary. “He stopped by to see me, but I told him how busy we are right now.”

Mary smiled at to the three soldiers. “I’m afraid what she says is true. I can’t spare her at the moment. However, she will be free for a half hour at noon. She will also have an hour or two this evening to visit.” She turned her gaze to Blythe. “Mrs. Greenly, Miss Howard is waiting for that load of sheets so she can wash them. Please join her so you two can get everything on the line in time to dry.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Blythe dipped her head to the three. “Sgt. McGilvey, hopefully I’ll see you later.” Suppressing a shudder at the sight of her future husband’s scowl above his jutted-forward chin, she turned and walked down the hall toward the back door. She wondered why she felt a sense of relief that her job prevented her from leaving with him. As she walked, she listened to the conversation behind her.

“Do you wish rooms for tonight, gentlemen?”

“These two might. I won’t need a separate room for myself.” Sgt. McGilvey’s voice carried down the hall.

Blythe turned to corner into the kitchen and continued toward the back door. What did he mean by not needing a separate room?

As soon as she stepped outside and dropped the basket next to the wash water, Blythe closed her eyes and released a groan. In person, he seems nothing like he did in his letters.

“Is everything all right, Blythe?” Nancy’s voice sounded full of concern.

Blythe opened her eyes and turned to her friend who, wearing a questioning expression, stood with her hands clutching a sheet suspended above a washboard. “I’m fine. I was surprised, is all. Just a few minutes ago, Sgt. McGilvey and two other soldiers showed up in the lobby.”

“He’s here?” Excitement entered Nancy’s voice. She parted her lips in an open-mouthed grin. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you gone spending time with him?”

Her brow wrinkled, Blythe turned to Nancy. “I have a job to do, Nancy. If I just left with him, you would be stuck with all this laundry by yourself. Not only that, the Hayes would probably tell me I no longer have a job. I’d have no place to live and no way to support myself.”

“Oh.” Her enthusiasm deflated, Nancy turned to scrubbing the sheet. “I guess I assumed he came to marry you.”

“He said nothing about marriage.” Blythe shook her head. “For now, he just wants to spend time with me. In fact, he acted annoyed that I came here on my own without him first sending for me.”

“Hmm. That’s not like how it was with me and Herbert. Since last spring, every time he’s come to Rawlins, we’ve spent every minute we can together.”

Blythe walked over to the pile of damp sheets on the worktable. “Are these ready to be hung?”

“No, I have to finish washing everything. I’m heating the rinse water now. If you like, you can go over the sheets you brought down and scrub any spots and stains you find. Even with Mary having us wash sheets twice a week, with all that wandering around in the wilderness this bunch did, most of the pillowcases are filthy with hair oil and grime.”

“I’ll do that. It should speed the washing part.” Blythe picked up a couple of pillowcases and dipped them in the wash water. She moved them to a corner of the worktable and reached for the bar of lye soap.

“What’s he like?”

“We didn’t talk long enough for me to form an opinion.” Keeping her head down, Blythe concentrated on scrubbing the streak of ground-in grime from the pillowcase. He’s hard and did not behave very pleasantly, but I dare not say anything to Nancy. “We’ll get more of a chance to visit this evening.”

Realizing that she formed a positive opinion of Eli Morgan within minutes after meeting him, Blythe blinked back tears. I wish it was to him I made a commitment to marry, not Sgt. McGilvey.