Chapter 5
The smell of coffee woke her from a deep sleep. She sat up, stretched her arms above her head, yawned and then shivered in the cold, realizing she was naked.
“Good morning.” Seth spoke from behind her.
She grabbed the blankets and covered herself. “G...good morning. Will you close your eyes so I can dress?”
“I will for now because we are just newly wed. But you will have to get used to us seeing each other’s bodies.”
She closed her eyes, even though she wasn’t looking at him. “I know, but it’s too soon. Give me some time to get used to...us.”
“I will. I’ll leave and get the ingredients for breakfast. I’ll be right back, but I’ll call before I enter.”
“Thank you. I’ll hurry.”
He walked past and out of the tent.
Belle scurried out of bed, dressing faster than she ever had. She’d just finished putting on her boots.
“I’m back.”
“I’m dressed. Come in.”
Seth entered with his hands full of supplies. “We have crystallized eggs, bacon and what’s left of the bread I took from breakfast yesterday. No sense in letting it go to waste. I’ll get Kitty’s napkin back to her the next time we go to town.”
“Sounds good.” She reached out for the food. “I’ve never used crystalized eggs. How do you cook them?”
“Add water until they are the consistency of regular scrambled eggs and then cook them.”
“Okay, I can do that. How many pieces of bacon do you want?”
“Three. Might as well eat it while it’s fresh. I don’t see the point in keeping it until it’s rancid.”
She smiled. “Good, we agree about that. I prefer fresh food. If it means we start on sparser rations sooner rather than later, so be it.”
“The only thing I don’t know how to do is to soften the bread.”
“Where is the butter we got yesterday at the mercantile?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I put it on the table.”
“If I spread a little butter on the bread and then fry it, it will toast the bread and heat it at the same time.”
“Sounds good. Let’s try it.”
“I need two skillets on the stove. I’ll move the coffeepot to the table.” She moved it and placed two good-sized skillets on the small stove. Then she placed a spoon of butter in one and the strips of bacon in the other. In a bowl, she added water to the eggs until she was happy with the consistency and then added that to the melted butter.
“Do you have a container for the bacon grease?”
“Sure do.” He picked up a can with a lid and handed it to her.
She poured the grease from the skillet into the can and then replaced the lid, which went about one-third of the way down the side of the can. The top was concave and had a strip of metal over it so it could be lifted off the can easily.
“That’s a great can. Did you get it in Dawson City or in Seattle?”
“Dawson City. Paid a fortune for that little can, just like everything else in Dawson City.”
“Don’t I know it. Amos didn’t leave me with any money. He dropped me off at the stable and then left. When he didn’t return all afternoon, I finally realized he’d abandoned me. I had what little I’d been able to skim from the household accounts. It was only about ten dollars and wasn’t enough to buy me a room for the night. I don’t know what I would have done if not for Kitty. That woman has a special place in my heart.”
His mouth lifted into a small smile on one side. “Kitty is special to many of us. Once, early on, she fed me when I didn’t have the price for a meal and let me do dishes to pay it back. I think she does that for a lot of the men as long as they don’t approach her drunk.”
“I knew she was nice to me, but I didn’t know that extended to the men, too.”
He shrugged. “Hardly anyone knows because those who do keep their mouths shut. It was very rarely that I sent a man to Kitty to be fed.”
She let the food cook while she poured a cup of coffee. “I can understand that. You might have to rely on her for yourself in the future.”
“True, but that isn’t the reason. I don’t want anyone to take advantage of her generosity. She’s too good a woman for that.”
Belle was glad for the clothes she had. She put on her hat and scarf. She tucked the scarf into her shirt so it didn’t hamper her cooking. She swore it was colder here along the river than in Dawson City. “Even though she runs a brothel?”
Seth sat at the table with his hands wrapped around a cup of hot coffee. “Even so. Besides, her girls are treated better than anyplace else in town. Last I heard, there was a waiting list to get into Kitty’s. Not because her clientele is any different—” He stopped and was quiet for a minute. “In fact, I suppose her clientele is different. She ensures that none of her girls are abused, and she bans forever any man who tries to mistreat them even once.”
Belle turned over the bacon and stirred the eggs. “Those are the same things I saw while I lived there. None of the girls were unhappy with their lot. They were making money. Some of them made a lot of money because clients often requested their services. Most of them would come visit me in the kitchen so they could get some treat when it came out of the oven. That happened a lot on cookie days. Everyone wanted a cookie or two they could take to their room. During the day most of the women didn’t have callers, so they read or mended their clothing or slept.”
He took a sip of coffee. “I always wondered what they did during the day.”
Belle stirred the eggs. When they were done, she plated them and added the bacon to the plates. Then she buttered the bread and put it buttered side down on the hot skillet the eggs had been in. “You’d be surprised at the education of some of those women. They can read, write and do numbers. They often calculated how much a woman should have after Kitty takes her cut. None of them were ever cheated. Kitty wouldn’t do that. Not ever, and the women knew that. At one point, while I was there, a girl tried to claim that Kitty cheated her. Some of those that knew numbers took all her information and calculated how much she should have. She actually had more than that by a few dollars. Kitty hadn’t cheated her but had been generous. Needless to say, that woman didn’t stay. Kitty doesn’t need someone like that around.”
She added the bacon and bread to the plates and placed a plate in front of Seth and one on her side of the table. They ate in an amiable silence.
Belle looked around them. The tent was almost homey. They had a table and two chairs at one end of the tent. Then the stove. Across from the stove were shelves with various foodstuffs. Then came the bed and the tent opening. About two feet from the flap, they placed the mattresses on the floor. They laid as close as they could be to the stove without getting stepped on during meal preparation.
After breakfast was finished and the dishes done, Seth looked at her, hands on his hips. “Are you ready to learn how to pan for gold?”
“I am. Are you ready to teach me?”
He pointed toward the tent flap. “You bet. Let’s go down by the river.”
She waved her arm wide. “Lead the way.”
She put on her coat.
Seth donned his coat, wool scarf and stocking cap.
They tucked the scarves into their coats to avoid them getting into the pans.
They walked down to the bank of the river and stopped.
Seth picked up two pans that resembled giant pie tins, and held one out.
“I put these out here this morning. Follow what I do. You need to scoop up some of the bed of the river and then put water into the pan, like so.” He showed her how to do it. “Then you hold the pan at a downward angle while you swish the water around slowly, taking all the dirt and sediment out with the water. The gold will sink to the bottom so that you can just pick it out. You won’t get gold out of every pan, but you will get it out of some. When you do, you put it in this bag.” He handed her a small leather pouch with a drawstring closure.
“Now you try it.”
She did exactly as he’d done. The icy water freezing her hands while she worked. When she reached the last of the sediment, she watched as two small gold nuggets appeared. “I did it. Look Seth. Look.” She showed him her pan.
“That’s fantastic for your first try. Do you think you can do that by yourself, or do you want me to stay for a while?”
“I think I can manage. You go on and do what you normally do.”
“Okay. I’ll be just up there if you need me.” He pointed upriver.
“I can see you, so I’ll be fine.”
She bent over and repeated the process. Her next two pans did not produce any gold, but the third one showed a sizeable nugget. She placed it carefully in the leather pouch he’d given that she’d attached to the belt at her waist. She didn’t want to drop it back in the river.
Belle kept dipping the pan over and over again. Finally, her back told her enough was enough. She placed both hands on her back and stretched, bending backwards.
Seth walked up. “Looks like you’ve had enough for today. Why don’t you go back to the tent and relax for the afternoon? Although, if you feel up to it, lunch would be great.”
She laughed. “I’m dying and you want lunch?” She shook her head.
He grinned. “What can I tell you? I’m a man.”
“I’ll fix lunch but then I’m lying down and resting my back. It’s killing me.”
“You know what? I’ll fix us lunch.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “You need to take off your boots and lie down for a while. Not too long, though, or your back will give you even more problems.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She peppered his face with little butterfly kisses.
He laughed again, wrapping his arms around her.
Belle kissed his lips for longer, unable to resist. After Amos, she didn’t think she’d ever want to kiss a man again, or anything else, for that matter. While she still wasn’t ready to have relations with Seth, she admitted his kindness was addicting. She’d never had a man be so gentle with her.
Seth looked down at her, his eyes darkened to a rich coffee brown. Then he held her head in one hand and her waist in the other. His lips pressed against hers, leaving her no quarter and no escape.
But she didn’t want to escape. She held him tighter, her body verging on volcanic. All of her lady parts were on fire for Seth. No one else, just Seth. She returned his ardor and his kiss.
He deepened the kiss, parting her lips and plunging inside for a deep, soul-touching kiss. She tasted him, his tongue rolling against hers. Dancing with her to some music only they could hear.
When they finally parted, she was breathless, though gratified to see him in the same condition.
He rested his forehead against hers. “You set me on fire, Mrs. Kirby. I’ll keep my word, but it will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
She cupped his left cheek, feeling better than she had in a very long time. She’d never felt like this before, especially not with Amos. Seth was more a man than Amos could ever have been, even on his best days. “But think how good it will be when we finally come together.”
Belle fellasleep for about an hour. She saw Seth had prepared and eaten his lunch before returning to the river. She must have slept hard if he didn’t wake her with his preparations.
She wasn’t looking forward to getting into the river again. Sighing, she looked to see what Seth made for lunch. She saw soda crackers, a can of beef, and a coffee cup. She lifted the coffeepot and felt its lingering heat. Figuring the beverage was warm enough, she sat at the table and ate.
When she was done, she put on her boots, waders and pulled a sweater over her head. She’d donned her long johns that morning. Despite her wool pants, it was still too cold to go without them. Lastly, she strapped on the pistol holster Seth had purchased for her.
Then she headed outside to do some more placer mining. She’d overheard some miners calling it that when she was still at the hotel. Panning was more descriptive of the method she used to look for gold.
After putting on her coat and hat, she exited the tent, tying the tent flap so the wind wouldn’t catch it. When she’d laid down, the weather was absolutely calm. Now, the wind was icy enough to go right through the coat, flannel shirt, sweater, pants, and long johns she wore. She didn’t like the look of the storm clouds on the horizon. They could bring rain or snow since spring had only been upon them for the last few weeks. She was thankful for the chest waders Seth had purchased.
Seth waved and walked toward her.
“How was your nap?” he asked as he stopped in front of her, setting his pan by the tent next to hers.
“Good. I feel much better now. I thought I’d go back to work.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Could you do some baking for dinner tonight.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “And what, pray tell, would you like for dinner tonight?”
He licked his lips and then grinned. “How about using some of that fruit we bought and making a cobbler or a pie? Whichever one is easier.”
She put her hands in her pockets. Now, she grinned. “Cobbler, it is. Anything, so I don’t have to go into the river again today.”
He laughed. “Can’t say I blame you for that. Between the icy water and the wind whipping down the valley, it gets mighty cold out there. As a matter of fact, I don’t know how long I’ll stay out. Do you want me to start the fire under the oven?”
“That would be very helpful. I’ve never built one in this much wind.”
“It’s tricky, but easier because the oven protects it on three sides.”
She jutted her chin toward the tent and waved her hands like she was pushing him. “Then I should be able to manage. You go ahead inside and get warm. I’ll be in as soon as I get the oven started heating.”
“I don’t mind taking you up on that offer.” He hurried to the tent and went inside.
Belle built the fire under the oven and then walked into the tent. She got the cobbler ingredients from their place on the shelves. She mixed the dough, then added the fruit to the Dutch oven, topped by dollops of the dough. She carried the uncovered pot out to the oven to bake and checked the time on her pin watch inside the buttoned chest pocket of her flannel shirt. Placing the pot into the oven, she noted the time. She could have made the dessert in the fire with just the covered Dutch oven, but keeping a fire going in this wind was impossible and dangerous. Embers could land on the tent and burn it to the ground in a flash.
For now, she had about twenty minutes before the cobbler would be done and she was freezing in the wind. She went inside and discovered that Seth had put the supplies back on the shelves. He had the dishes stacked to be washed with the dinner dishes.
“Brrr.” After setting the hot pads on the cot, its metal netting served as their temporary storage for wet clothes and other items, she took off her coat. She left on the sweater and walked to the table and sat across from Seth.
“The coffee’s hot.”
“Good.” She blew on her hands and rubbed them together briskly. Then she rose, got a cup, and filled it from the pot on the stove before returning to the table. “How’d you do out there today?” She took a sip of the hot, black liquid and felt the warmth all the way to her toes.
“Not bad. Found half a dozen good-sized nuggets from the stream feeding into the river. The same one where Barnaby and Sadie got most of their gold out of. It’s still producing. I should tell you I’m a wealthy man from that little stream. Barnaby used dynamite to blow up the gold streak and thought he’d gotten it all the way to the end. But I did more digging and found where it started again. That’s where I’m getting the nuggets from. I’ve been here for two years. The eight months I’ve been working this claim have brought me a good eighty to ninety percent of my money.”
She took another sip of coffee before speaking. “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense for both of us to work the stream? The river is yielding very little, so we should focus on the creek instead and get out of here before winter comes. Don’t you think?”
“I’ve been considering it. You’re right, the stream is yielding less and less each day. Oh, there are good days, don’t get me wrong. But mostly, what I’ve gotten today is the best we will do.”
“Then that’s even more reason for me to help you. We might double our findings with the two of us looking. Please, Seth, let me help you.”
He frowned. “I’ll think about it.”
For now, they’d have dinner and her tasty cobbler, which she planned on having for breakfast, too. She’d try to convince him of her plan at a later date.