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  “But he is not,” she pointed out. “Louis is a noble man, a kind hearted man who is a true

  Christian, not like the other man that you are all pushing in my direction.” She tightened her lips. “Just know this one thing, Henry, if it comes down to Ma and Pa accepting Andrew’s proposal then it will be the last time any of you will ever see me again.”

  Henry looked into Cora’s eyes and her words struck a deep cord. “You cannot mean that.”

  “I mean every word that I am saying. I love Louis Albert with my heart and soul and if I cannot be married to him then I will not marry any other man. I would rather spend my days as an old maid or if the worst comes to the worst and our parents think of forcing me to be married to Andrew Willard then I would rather die.”

  ***

  The temperature in the mine was cold and Louis pulled his thick pullover closer. He was grateful for the thick rubber boots that covered his feet. Reuben was a good friend and had sold him all he needed at a very fair price. Reuben had also helped him to make a special hat out of canvas. It had a leather brim on which he hung his teapot lamp which he was using to light the way. The lamp was made in the shape of a teapot and a wick burned out of the open sprout. The lamp had a hook that he inserted into his hat, and the tallow that he had filled it with made the wick burn brightly.

  He had been coming to these same mines for weeks now but so far he had found nothing, apart from a few particles of gold dust. The mine had been abandoned when all gold ran out and it was now inhabited by bats and other small rodents which scurried to hide when he approached. This was one of the mines that had produced the largest amount of gold in Last Chance but like many others had had a short life. Now no one came to it because some of the old miners said the ground was unstable and the mine could cave in at any time.

  None of this deterred the young man however, his one desire was to prove to the world that Louis Albert was a man like other men and he could strike gold and become rich like other men, and win the woman of his heart. He knew that Cora would gladly live with him in a hole if need be, but her parents were another matter altogether. They seemed to place a lot of value on material wealth and had seemingly been blinded by the Willards’ wealth. He, however, did not blame them because they were new in Last Chance and had not discovered the kind of person that Andrew Willard was. His parents were good folk but the son was a rotten apple, diseased to the core.

  Being in the boarding house he heard things, and he knew that Andrew was a very immoral man and a drunk, besides the gambling that he did and what was worse, he cheated at cards and used violence on anyone who dared oppose him. Just the thought of Cora his darling, the love of his heart ending up in the claws of such a wicked man made him shudder. Andrew would destroy the gentle Cora, and that made Louis the more determined to find the gold that would endear him to her parents. Cora belonged to him, with him and he would do anything it took to ensure that he won her parents over and married her.

  He put his shovel and pick axe on the floor, as well as his hat, taking care not to put the lamp off. He always carried a thick stick on which he had wrapped pieces of canvas that he dipped in tallow and he now lit the crude torch and stuck it on the wall of the cave that he had ventured into. Reuben had worked this mine and had told him that it was a very deep mine but so far Andrew had not even ventured halfway. The mine gently slopped downwards and Reuben had warned him never to enter it during the rainy season.

  “The place can get flooded real fast and many a man have drowned in those caves,” he heard the old man’s voice. It was summer and there were no signs of rain and that was why Louis worked in this mine. He was quite safe for now and he got down to work, first lifting the pick axe to strike at the rocks that lined up the walls of the cave. He knew that gold usually lay deep in the rocks and so it had to be dug out and his pick axe was quite sharp. He worked silently for a long while, humming hymns softly to cheer his heart.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Who are you, young man, and who do you seek?” Naomi Willows looked at the tall young man who stood outside her door. “Or do you seek lodging quarters?”

  “No, ma’am,” Henry said. “My name is Henry Richards and I am seeking a gentleman by the name of Louis Albert. I was told that he boards here.”

  Naomi was a sharp woman, and when Henry had mentioned his last name she knew he was here in regards to his sister Cora. Naomi was very protective over her boarders, and she knew that all ten of them were decent folk and she tried as much as possible to shield them from trouble of any kind if it could be avoided.

  “What do you want with Mr. Albert?”

  “I just want to speak with him.”

  “Mmmh!” Naomi shook her head, stepping back into the house to shut the door. “You will have to come back another day because Mr. Albert is in the hills and may be there for a while seeking the gold that will make you and your parents allow him to marry the woman he loves and who loves him.” She slammed the door in his face.

  Henry stepped back in surprise.

  Then the door opened once again, and the woman said, “You’re still here? Well, let me say folk like you have no business going to church because you are worse than pagans. Pretending piety and yet greedy for gain; that such hypocrisy exists in the church shows how far mankind has fallen. You would rather have a winebibber and immoral man as a husband for your sister, than a righteous young man whose only sin is that he does not have worldly goods. That poor man is determined to mine gold even if it kills him to do so just so you can be happy. I pity you and your parents, young man, and one thing that I know is that in this life we eventually pay for our sins and our misdeeds, and one day,” she wagged a finger at him, “You will all answer to a higher power about what you did on this earth. And now I have said my piece and will ask you to take your leave, young man.”

  As Henry walked away from the boarding house, he put his hands in his pockets. The woman right, in a way. His family had looked at Mr. Albert’s shabby clothes and judged him by that alone. Henry felt deeply mortified.

  “Lord, please forgive us,” he murmured, shaking his head. “We were ready to sacrifice a girl’s life for earthly riches, we need your mercy.”

  Something else struck Henry. The lady at the boarding house had referred to Andrew in derogatory terms, confirming what Henry had heard whispered around town. Because Andrew had been going around making subtle hints about him and Cora, many people in town had begun to believe that the family approved of the match and so would not say a negative word about the Willards, least of all Andrew. But Henry had heard a word or two and now the lady had not been sparing about Andrew’s character.

  When he got home he went in search of Cora, who his mother told him had gone to the spring to pick some wild berries to use in making pies. He followed the path to the stream and heard his sister singing sadly. Because she was not expecting him he was able to observe her for a while before he made his presence known. Cora was thin to the point of being gaunt and this was hidden by the large clothes that she wore. She looked exhausted and wasted and his heart constricted with compassion.

  “Cora,” he called out softly so as not to startle her and she turned around, holding a handful of ripe juicy huckleberries.

  “Oh Henry, it is you,” she dropped the berries into the pail she was carrying.

  “Ma told me you were here,” he bent to pick some berries from the pail which he stuffed into his mouth.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” she slapped his hand away playfully as he reached for more and for a brief moment he glimpsed the old Cora, but her face soon became serious again. “I want to make some pies and also to dry some in preparation for winter.”

  “That is a good girl there,” Henry wished he could hug his sister but it was too soon and she would probably push him away, which would hurt him so he instead chose to help her pick berries.

  “If you continue eating those berries at this rate we will have nothing to take back home,” Cora said, q
uite exasperated.

  “Sorry,” he gave her his best boyish grin and Cora’s heart melted a little bit. She missed the fun times they had shared.

  “Did you want something from me, Henry?”

  “Not really,” he sighed. “After we spoke the other day, I have come to a decision but you also have to help me with it.”

  Cora frowned at her brother. “What decision?”

  “Today I went in search of Mr. Louis Albert, the man whom you were corresponding with, but did not find him at his boarding house.”

  “Henry please, haven’t you humiliated the man enough? Leave him alone for my sake, I beg you.”

  “It is not what you are thinking, Cora, I went to speak with him because I would like to go mining with him.”

  “Why? So you can kill him and bury him in the mines to make him disappear?”

  “I take strong offense to that, Cora, and it hurts that you think I would do something so evil!”

  Cora had the grace to feel ashamed. “I am sorry, Henry,” she sniffed, her tears not very far off. “It is just that it hurts so much.”

  “I know that, Cora, and that is why I want to get to really know what kind of a man Louis Albert is before I can completely write him off as an unsuitable husband for you. I am ashamed to say this, but I feel as though we never gave him a chance to show us his character.”

  “Why would you do that for me, Henry, especially knowing that Ma and Pa are now bent on my marrying Andrew Willard?”

  “Because I love you so much, Cora, and it pains me to see you suffering so much. But like I said you also have a part to play in this.”

  “Which is?”

  “I am going to ask Louis to take me prospecting with him, which will enable me spend time with the young man.”

  “You call him young and yet he is fourteen years older than you,” Cora said dryly.

  “Will you let me finish?”

  “Okay, I am sorry.”

  “Should I find Louis Albert lacking in character and a good for nothing lout, I want you to promise me that you will forget all about him. If on the other hand I find him to be a man of substance and integrity and worthy of your love, then I am prepared to stand up for him and you before Ma and Pa. What do you say?”

  Cora thought for a moment, not quite believing that her brother was prepared to support her choice. “Are you really serious or is this just some ploy to get me to be amicable to you once again?”

  “Cora, when it comes to matters that have to do with your life I never joke about them. I am truly serious, but you need to promise that you will put Louis Albert out of your mind and life if he shows himself to be an unsavory character.”

  “You are the only one who has shown any kindness and support to me in this matter to do with Mr. Albert and even though I know you may still end up not liking him, you have my promise. Should you have real cause to prove that Louis is unfit as a husband for me then I will make myself get over him. But even if that should happen, I will not marry Andrew Willard,” she said strongly.

  “Then pray that your Louis is the man you believe him to be,” Henry said and his words cheered Cora. Her brother had called Louis hers, which was a hopeful sign.

  ***

  Ada grinned at her friend. Cora seemed so excited and waited impatiently for Ada to finish whatever she was doing. Immediately she had left the stream with the berries and after her talk with Henry, she could not contain herself and had asked her mother’s permission to go and see Ada.

  “I promised to take one of my books so she could read it to her class,” Cora said. “I will be back soon, Ma, I promise.”

  “That is okay, Cora. And while you are with Ada, could you ask her if she will be one of your bridesmaids?”

  “I will do that, Ma,” Cora said, leaving the house and jumping on her horse. Her mother smiled only as a happy mother of the bride-to-be would. Cora was coming around and in her mind she already saw the big wedding that would see her daughter married to one of the most eligible men in Last Chance.

  Ada finished putting the books into the small cupboard at the front of the classroom and then turned to Cora.

  “I can see that you are bursting with information, and it seems like good information so go ahead and shoot. Would you like to sit?”

  “Yes, though I cannot stay for long. I promised Ma that I would be back quickly.” Cora took a deep breath. “Can you believe that Henry has promised to support me in as far as my relationship with Louis goes?”

  “What? That is the best news I have heard in a long time. But what brought on this change of heart?”

  “I believe that it is prayer, and thank you for being very supportive of me, Ada, and standing with me in prayer. That is what has made Henry change his mind.”

  “That is what friends are for, and I like to believe that if I were in your shoes, you would do the same for me.” Ada hugged her friend. “But I have to ask, how will Henry stand up to your parents? Will they listen to him?”

  Cora smiled. “Of my two brothers, Henry is the tougher one and he has an iron will. When he is convinced that something is right, it is very hard to shake him out of his belief, and he can be relentless in getting people to bend to his will. If he says he will stand up for me then I am sure he will, though I am worried that after all this he will end up not liking Louis and then I will lose the man that I love.”

  “What has liking got to do with anything, Cora? Your brother does not have to like the man you are marrying, only respect him. And I am curious as to how all this is going to play out.”

  “Henry says he will go prospecting with Louis and spend time with him to find out what kind of a man he is and then he will act according to the revelation that he will get.”

  “Seems fair enough.”

  “Not really,” Cora leaned forward, her small body quite taut. “He made me promise that if he finds Louis unworthy then I will forget about him.”

  “And what will be the basis of his summing up Louis’s character?”

  “Much as I am afraid of how this will turn out, I know that Henry is a very fair person, and I know that he wants what is best for me. If it was Michael, I would not have agreed. I always feel that Michael is a little bit narrow minded in his thinking and making decisions.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Everything hinged on this one presentation of himself, and Andrew took special care with his appearance that particular Sunday. He considered it the make or break Sunday, the day in which he would push harder to get Cora to accept his suit.

  Ever since he had made his parents aware of his interest in Cora, his father had begun warming up to him. Victor Willard thought that a good woman could change his son and make him settle down, and he wholly approved of Andrew’s choice. Besides, he had interacted with the girl’s parents and found them to be sound and just the kind of relatives by marriage that he would have wished for.

  So it was up to Andrew to move things forward. Even though Cora was still showing signs of reluctance, her mother had informed him that she was nervous and shy and that was why she was being reserved.

  “Cora Richards, you will be my wife, and my father will see to it that you and your parents are given whatever you might want, so our marriage is as good as sealed,” he smiled into the mirror. He wished he could get the girl somewhere alone and show her just how skilled at seduction he was, but since he knew that it was a pipe dream, he comforted himself with the knowledge that her parents approved of him.

  His valet had trimmed his hair and parted it on the left side so he looked quite dandy. “You are a handsome man and that Cora should be grateful that you are showing her any attention at all,” he told his reflection. His white shirt was starched to perfection, his black trousers had been ironed and there was not a single crease on them. He put on his black dress coat that reached his hips. A bell-shaped felt hat with a two-inch curved brim completed his outfit and as he turned side to side, he knew he was smart.

  The outfit was
not for Cora’s benefit alone because he had a clandestine appointment with a woman that he had met two days ago. She was the wife of one of the rich miners in the area and her husband was in San Francisco on business and she was bored and lonely. He had been at the bank when she came in and when she had given him a coy look he knew that he had captured her interest. After greeting Cora he would beg his leave, citing an urgent matter that required his personal attention and then he would be off to spend the rest of the day and probably the night with the lovely Belinda White.

  If Belinda was not willing to spend too much time with him, he still had the option of Madam Fortune’s saloon. He had not been there in a few days and knew that he could always find the pleasure he sought with the tavern girls. Yes indeed, he was a happy man, a woman to wed and another to bed, that was the way for a man to live. He grinned at his own expression.

  “One of the smartest men in Last Chance and probably the whole of the United States of America,” he whispered. “Soon to be mayor of Last Chance.”

  When Ada saw Andrew Willard she was quite unmoved, unlike a few of the other ladies whose heads were in the clouds. Andrew was very smart and she accepted that, but his hidden vices overrode his manly physique, his artfully styled hair and his fancy clothes. She hoped her friend would not be swept away by the false front that Andrew was presenting.

  She had heard a very disturbing piece of news and it had shaken her to the core. There was no doubt that Andrew was a very evil man and she silently prayed that God would protect her friend and shield her from his wiles.

  “Father, You are merciful and forgive our sins, and You are able to change a man’s heart so that where a man was once completely lost he can be restored once again. I know that You created Andrew and know his heart but what I have heard about him makes me know that he is not repentant of his bad deeds and I leave all judgment to You for You judge righteously. My prayer is that Cora will not be misled into entering into a relationship with Andrew while his heart is still not inclined towards you. Lord, be merciful in Jesus name, amen.”