Like a River Glorious
Page 85

“You fetched him?” I glance around the ballroom, suddenly wary. Is he here? I had hoped never to see him again.
“Of course I fetched him. I figured he could work off his debt to me over time, but he is not fit for work.”
“Where is he?”
“Locked up on one of the prison ships, the Stirling, until I decide what to do with him.”
My stomach turns over. Hardwick won’t be able to do things like that if California becomes a state; it’s a crime in this country to lock someone up over a debt. My uncle deserves jail and worse, but not for that. It’s badness upon badness upon badness.
But I can’t help the relief that swells inside me at the thought of my uncle locked up. Maybe that makes me bad, too.
I’m silent for so long that Tom has to jump in. “We would like to make a deal with you, sir.”
Hardwick’s gaze surveys the four of us—me in my almost-golden gown; Jefferson, whose skin is as sun burnished and Cherokee as ever; Tom in his smart but inexpensive suit; Henry in his finery. “I assume you’ve come to beg for clemency,” Hardwick says.
I laugh, loudly and genuinely, and several people on the floor below us turn to stare.
“Mr. Hardwick,” I say, “we’ve come to help you.”
His lips part with surprise.
“You can’t imprison this young lady for destroying your mine,” Tom says. “You have no proof.”
“I have my word,” Hardwick says.
“Who would believe you?” Tom counters. “A sweet, small lass like this? Collapsing a whole mine?”
Hardwick’s frown deepens.
“And you can’t hold me responsible for my uncle’s debt,” I add.
“It’s true,” Tom says. “She was not in Hiram Westfall’s custody when he incurred it. If anyone could take on the debt, it would be Westfall’s heir, but he has named none that I know of, and as I’m sure you know, women cannot inherit.”
If women could inherit property, I’d still be in Georgia, working my family’s homestead. Funny how the thing that made me flee my home will be the thing that saves me now.
Hardwick’s gaze on me is frank and appraising. He is reconsidering his notions about me; I can see it in his eyes. After a long moment, he says, “Seems I partnered with the wrong Westfall.”
I waste no time pressing my advantage. “I’m prepared to pay my uncle’s debt, anyway, if you agree to my conditions.”
He raises an eyebrow. “How will you come up with so much money? You expect to succeed where your uncle failed? Let me guess: You wish to reopen the mine. You think you can—”
Another laugh bubbles from my throat. “No, no, nothing like that. I already have the money, sir. California has been very good to me.”
He contemplates us for a long moment. Then, “Follow me. All of you.”
Hardwick leads us up the stairs and down a hallway of doors. He opens one and ushers us inside. It’s one of the guest rooms, simply but cleanly furnished with a bed, a dressing table, and two oil lamps. The music of the orchestra and the buzz of conversation dim as he closes the door behind us.
Immediately, he turns to me and says, “What are your conditions?”
“Hiram Westfall must leave California, along with a man by the name of Frank Dilley.”
“Ah, yes, Westfall’s foreman. He’s dead.”
“Oh.” I had suspected, but I hadn’t known for sure. “Just my uncle, then.”
“And how do you propose I do that?”
“I don’t much care,” I tell him. “Just ship him somewhere far away. I’m sure a smart man like you with resources can make it happen.”
He rubs his chin with one hand, considering me. “Hmm, maybe Australia. You will pay in advance?”
I almost say yes, but Tom jumps in. “Half now, half when we see a passenger manifest, independently witnessed, with Westfall’s name.”
“Yes, half now,” I say.
“In addition,” Tom says, “we want your word as a gentleman and council member that when California becomes a state, you will use every means at your disposal to ensure that Glory is granted a proper town charter.”
Hardwick rubs at his chin. “I think I can manage that. Tell me, Miss Westfall, how did you come up with so much? Dare I ask if you stole it from your uncle?”
“Well, I can speak for four of us in this room and say that we are not thieves.”
He actually smiles. “How did you come by it?”
“Hard work and charity,” I tell him. “Glory is a thriving, wonderful place brimming with people full of good will. They gave us the money.”
Now he seems genuinely surprised. “That’s hardly what I’ve come to expect from miners.”
“Well, pardon my saying, sir, but maybe you ought to broaden your expectations.”
Tom steps in. “To be perfectly frank, California has been a somewhat lawless place this past year, but with statehood coming, that’s going to change. People who’ve prospered from their hard work and sacrifice thus far—like our neighbors in Glory—will sacrifice even more for the guarantee that they can continue to prosper under the new laws.”
“But why come to me instead of going to the governor-elect?”
Tom smiles with tight lips. “I presume that’s a rhetorical question.”
“Do we have a deal?” I ask impatiently.
“Self-interest rules us all,” Hardwick says. He turns back to me. “Yes, you have a deal, young lady. My man will draw up the papers tonight for you to sign.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Mr. Hardwick. We will all sign,” I say, indicating my friends. “In case you had any notion of later voiding the contract on account of its being signed by a woman.”
A slight widening of his eyes indicates I might have guessed right.
I spit into my palm and hold it out to him. “To our new arrangement,” I say.
After a moment’s hesitation, he spits into his own palm and grasps mine. “To our new arrangement.”
 
 
Chapter Thirty

It’s not a complex agreement, so his attorney is able to draft something quickly. Jefferson, Tom, Henry, and I each read it over carefully and sign it, then Hardwick does the same. We insist the attorney scribe a second copy that we can take back to Glory and show around, and we hand Hardwick two thousand dollars as a down payment, and that’s that.