Tracie Peterson - [New Mexico Sunset 03] Page 9

  “Yes, is that a problem?”

  “Well, I was just considering my clothes,” Angeline replied. “You see, I never planned to be away from home more than a week or two. I only have four outfits at best and they are becoming a little worn.”

  “Umm,” Willa said, surveying Angeline intently. “Yes, it would be appropriate to clothe you better.”

  “I have a vast wardrobe at home in Bandelero, but I would need to send for my things and there’s no real way of knowing whether my folks would send them or not. I have some money, but it certainly isn’t enough to refurbish my attire.” Angeline’s words were straight to the heart of the matter.

  “You can’t very well show up as one of our best speakers and look unkempt. I’ll work on the matter immediately. In the meantime, I’ve brought you these.” Willa pulled out a stack of papers from her valise-styled bag.

  “What are these and what do you mean ‘best speaker’?” Angeline questioned, taking the papers from Willa.

  “You have a gift, Angeline. I’ve already made up your agenda. You will give three speeches while we are in Washington. You will speak first at a small reception where there will be several representatives from each of the forty-eight states. You will speak no longer than ten minutes.” Willa motioned Angeline to the table at the far side of the room. “For that occasion, you will give this speech. I just finished writing it for you about an hour ago, so you will need to memorize it and make it characteristically your own.”

  “I have no intention of speaking, Willa. I’m too new to this,” Angeline protested.

  “Nonsense. You’ll do as you’re directed and you will do quite well at it. The next speech will be given at a luncheon for our suffrage association. This again, will last about ten minutes. Here is the speech for that occasion.” Willa pointed out the paper and pushed it aside. “Lastly, during our rally at the Capitol, I want you to speak similarly to the way you did in Santa Fe. I tried to recapture the mood and the gist of what you told those people. They were moved to tears there, and you will no doubt capture the hearts and minds of many in Washington. You might even catch the national paper’s eye and that would truly be a boon to our cause.”

  Angeline couldn’t believe the way Willa had it all planned out. “Do I get any say in this?”

  Willa stared at her in mute surprise. “Of course not. I am your mentor, I will teach. You will listen. The time is right for a young, beautiful woman to step forward and help open the eyes of the nation.”

  “But I’m not even old enough to vote, if we had the vote,” Angeline declared.

  “It is unimportant. Now you read these over and memorize each and every line. I will get to work on clothing you and will come back this afternoon to see what progress you’ve made. Don’t bother going downstairs for lunch. I’ll tell them to send something up.” Willa got to her feet and moved to the door. “It is very important to the cause, Angeline, that each of us be prepared.”

  Angeline remembered Douglas’s words about preparation. “I don’t mind being prepared,” Angeline muttered, “I’d just like a say in what’s being prepared for me.”

  “Pshaw!” Willa denounced her concern. “You’re just a child, Angeline. What would you do differently?” Angeline’s blank expression gave Willa the fuel she needed to continue. “You know nothing about what is necessary to plan a march or a rally. I have the experience and you don’t. It’s that simple.” With that, Willa was gone before Angeline could even open her mouth to reply.

  Angeline did as she was told, although her heart was far from in it. She read the speeches over and over, wondering if she believed any of the words. Women’s suffrage had seemed an important cause, but now Angeline just felt used. Used? Wasn’t that what Gavin had said they were doing to her?

  “Oh, Gavin,” she whispered and sighed heavily. “Where are you?” She thought instantly of the hotel room number he’d given her. Perhaps I should check on him, Angeline thought to herself. After all, he was injured. Maybe he’s taken a turn for the worse. She had just gotten to her feet, intent on finding out, when Willa barged in without bothering to knock.

  “Well?” she questioned the surprised Angeline. “Have you memorized the speeches?”

  “No,” Angeline replied in a rather stilted manner.

  Willa frowned. “Why not?”

  “I haven’t had the time for one thing. For another, I’m just not sure I can give these,” Angeline said and held up the papers. “They aren’t my words. They aren’t the way I feel.”

  “No one needs to know how you feel, except that you demand equal rights for your sisters. Angeline, we’ve been all through this before.”

  Angeline plopped down unladylike into the nearest chair. “Willa, I don’t even know if I’m going to Washington.”

  Willa was genuinely taken aback by the younger girl’s response. “Of course you’re going.”

  Angeline frowned. “Willa, I’ve tried to be patient about this but I feel like everyone is telling me what to do and no one cares about my feelings. I have parents who are no doubt worried about me and love me. I know they want me to return home, and I believe I can remain here and still help suffrage. After all, I have good connections in New Mexico and can write letters. . .”

  “Write letters, bah!” Willa interjected. “You need someone like me to teach you. Angeline, you can’t keep your head buried in the sand forever. The world is an ugly, cruel place out there, and this is war!”

  “Yes, exactly,” Angeline stated, quieting Willa. “I have two brothers who are in the army. The entire world is waiting to see how the United States will respond to the sinking of the Lusitania and the atrocities in Belgium. It is war and while it very well may be a European war at this point, it could easily become an American interest as well.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Willa protested.

  “It does to me! You and Douglas both seem to think you can lead me around on a chain and I will perform like some type of circus animal. Well, I have news for both of you.” Even though Angeline spoke Douglas’s name, she also thought of Gavin’s pushiness. “I have a good mind of my own, and I will make my own decisions.”

  Willa eyed Angeline suspiciously, then gave her a tight-lipped smile. “You’re just overtired. Douglas is a good man, and he is quite attracted to you. You could do far worse.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I think you know very well what I’m talking about,” Willa answered. “You are falling in love with Douglas and it frightens you. Douglas would make an excellent husband, so stop fretting.”

  Angeline’s mouth dropped open and, for a moment, she couldn’t say a word. Willa took that as confirmation of her statement. “Douglas Baker is a wealthy, powerful ally, and to have you aligned with him in marriage could be quite beneficial to all concerned.”

  “I have no intention of marrying Douglas Baker!” Angeline exclaimed. “Willa, you must stop this at once. You may look upon me as a child with no will of my own, but my own mother could very well set you straight on that.”

  Willa held her angry reply and crossed to the door. “Memorize the speeches, Angeline. I’ll return in the morning and we will go over the material.”

  Anger raged up inside of Angeline, and as Willa closed the door, she couldn’t help but hurl her shoe against it. Unable to think clearly, she took herself to her bedroom and threw herself across the empty bed in order to decide what she should do next.

  ❧

  Angeline never realized how very tired she was. When she awoke the next morning, still fully dressed from the day before, she began to calculate the toll that Willa and the cause were taking on her. She’d barely had time to wash her face and fix her hair when noises sounded from the sitting room, bringing Angeline to investigate.

  Willa instructed several bellhops where she wanted them to put the boxes they carried and quietly ushered them from the room with a handful of change to share between them.

  “I have your new clothes
,” she announced unceremoniously. “Try them on and make certain they fit.” The order didn’t set well with Angeline. Especially in light of the way she’d spent the night.

  “Willa, would you please leave. I’m afraid I just woke up and need some time to bathe.”

  “Nonsense.” Willa was already pulling open boxes. “Try this first,” she said and tossed a burgundy gown to Angeline.

  Angeline caught the heavy satin and held it up to inspect it. “The style is much too old for me,” she muttered.

  “Your manner of dress is too childish. I want to present a beautiful, sophisticated woman of the world. I want to mold you into an image that women will strive to emulate. Beauty and grace should be synonymous with the suffrage cause, and with your help, it will be.”

  Angeline felt hostile, and there was little charity in her words to follow. “You could benefit by your own advice, Willa. You aren’t an ugly woman, yet you dress in a mannish style, and you wear your hair entirely too severely to look feminine.”

  Willa was unmoved. “I dress as I do because I have too little time to waste on frills and pampering. You, however, can draw a new generation. These younger women will look to you as a role model. Now go try on the dress.”

  Angeline did as she was told, quite unhappy that Willa was unwilling to listen to reason.

  The gown rustled lightly as Angeline pulled it over her head. The graceful princess lines of the dress were accentuated with painfully narrow stays that would barely allow Angeline room to breath. The cut of the neckline draped alluringly across the bodice and left little question as to the femininity of Angeline’s form.

  “Come, let me see,” Willa called from the sitting room, and obediently, Angeline did as she was told.

  Willa nodded in approval. “You look most lovely. There are shoes to match in one of these boxes. You may wear this to the reception.”

  Angeline could take no more. “Willa, the dress is beautiful, but it isn’t me. I would like to have a choice in my clothes and in my itinerary. I want a say in where I go and what I do, not to mention with whom.”

  “Angeline, we’ve discussed this before. Now, why don’t you try on this white dress?” Willa tried to ignore the fire in Angeline’s lavender eyes.

  “No!” Angeline stared hard at Willa and put her hands to her hips. “I am not a child to be ordered about. If you want my cooperation in any matter, then you will discuss it with me as an adult. If you do not see fit to treat me in a respectful manner and include me in the planning of situations that involve me, I will return home and forever leave the cause of suffrage behind me.”

  Willa paled just a bit, but not enough to make Angeline believe she’d taken her seriously. “I mean it, Willa! Stop trying to run my life or I’m going to leave!”

  With that Angeline fled from the room and stormed down the hotel hallway, uncertain as to where she would go or what she should do. Dressed as she was, Angeline drew appreciative stares from the men on the staircase and it wasn’t until she’d made it all the way down to the lobby that she knew she had to return to her room and change.

  Grudgingly, she turned and made her way back upstairs. What was she going to do, and how in the world could she convince Willa Neal that she was not an ignorant child?

  “Lord,” she whispered, “I know I’ve put You alongside as one of my many causes, but I’m starting to see a real need for a better walk with You. I need a deeper understanding of what You want for my life.” Shaking her head and continuing the hushed prayer, Angeline wished most adamantly that she could speak with Gavin.

  ❧

  Gavin had heard the murmurs and hushed comments before he’d even glanced up to see what the commotion was all about. What he saw was rather shocking, but like everyone else in the lobby, he was mesmerized by the vision on the staircase.

  “Angel!” he whispered, and she did seem very much like a heavenly illusion. Then, much to his amazement, she turned on the bottom step and rushed back upstairs as though she’d forgotten something important.

  Gavin got to his feet as if to follow her but realized he needed to stay put. Douglas Baker was due to join his cronies for a drink, at least that’s what a well paid bellhop had passed on to Gavin not fifteen minutes earlier. With the picture of Angeline in the burgundy gown still fresh in his mind, Gavin forced himself to sit back down and wait.

  “One of these days, Angel,” he breathed almost painfully. “One of these days.”

  Chapter 13

  Willa left Angeline’s room quickly after the younger girl had stormed from the premises. She had to find Douglas and talk to him about Angeline. Rather, she had to figure out how they could better control Angeline.

  Painfully aware of the asset that was about to slip through her fingers, Willa cautiously made her way to the lobby via the back stairs. It would do her no good to have another confrontation with Angeline just yet. No, it would be better to discuss her thoughts with Douglas and see if together they couldn’t get the spirited girl under their control.

  The hotel lobby was busy as always. This seemed to be one of the many gathering places in downtown Denver where business deals were made and broken. Willa had chosen the hotel for just such a reason. It never hurt to find oneself rubbing elbows with the very powerful and very rich. It cost a small fortune to maintain the four suites they held here, and Willa knew that without Douglas’s additional help in the matter she would never have enjoyed the luxury.

  Spotting Douglas in his exquisitely tailored suit, Willa ignored the men who surrounded him and pleaded with him for a private moment of his time.

  “I must say this is a surprise,” Douglas said, following Willa to a small sofa in a far corner of the lobby.

  There were people everywhere and Willa uncomfortably glanced around her at the nearest occupants to ascertain whether they could prove harmful. “I’m sorry for the disruption, Douglas,” Willa began, deciding that the people around her were of no consequence. “Angeline is fast becoming a problem. She had a bit of a fit this morning when I brought her the clothes.”

  “A beautiful young woman and she got angry at new clothes?” Douglas questioned with a chuckle in his voice. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, believe what you want, but it’s true. She’s even more angry about being told what to do. She wants to call her parents. It seems perhaps that friend of hers, you remember, the Lucas man? Well, I think perhaps he stirred up feelings in her that she can’t quite deal with. She hasn’t been the same since he came into the picture.”

  “I took care of him in New Mexico,” Douglas stated flatly. “What more do you want me to do, kill her parents?”

  Willa seemed aghast for a moment. It was impossible to tell if Douglas was just saying the words for effect or if he really meant to offer the solution as a viable possibility.

  “Don’t give me that shocked expression, Willa. Just cut to the heart of the matter and tell me what you want me to do.”

  “We need better control over Angeline. She’s threatened to walk out. I need her connections and the money behind them or we’ll never get the vote in New Mexico.”

  “And where do I fit into this?” Douglas questioned, remembering to keep his voice down.

  “Perhaps you would woo the girl and get her to marry you. As your wife, Angeline would have to respond more respectfully to instruction.” Willa’s statement was offered so matter-of-factly that Douglas was now the one silently stunned.

  Finally, a slow grin spread across his face. “I would very much enjoy the pleasure of husbanding Angeline Monroe. However, I doubt very seriously that you could convince her to agree.”

  “I’m not suggesting you ask her, but rather you tell her. Force her if necessary. Use the threat of her parents. It doesn’t matter. If you have her under control, then we can get at her connections.”

  “Angeline doesn’t strike me as the kind of girl who will be easily swayed by idle threats,” Douglas replied.

  “Then don’t ma
ke idle threats!”

  Willa’s voice rose enough to cause Douglas to glance around at the nearby hotel guests. No one seemed interested in their rather lively conversation, however. In fact, the man directly across from them was thoroughly engrossed in a copy of the Denver Post and seemed not to even notice that other people occupied the same room.

  “Look,” Douglas whispered. “I’ll do what I can. I also could use Angeline’s connections as you well know. But I’m going to have to persuade her to marry me, and perhaps that will result in her spending less time involved in the suffrage cause and more time on my arm.”

  “I can’t give her up to you,” Willa declared firmly.

  “What do you think you would be doing if she married me?” Douglas questioned. “Did you think I’d invite you on the honeymoon?” His face was twisted in a leering expression.

  “Don’t be vulgar with me!”

  “Then don’t be foolish in your dealing with me. I will get Angeline to marry me, but there is price to pay, my dear, dear Willa. You may control the child to a degree, but after we are married she’s mine and everything she does must come through me first. That includes the suffrage cause and any political contacts you make through her.”

  Willa considered the words for a moment and nodded. “Very well. If we are to be adversaries for her attentions, at least let us be cooperative ones.”

  “Rather like the United States and Germany and this insane agreed upon neutrality?”

  “Neutrality serves my purpose very well,” Willa stated and got up to leave. “I’d rather we never enter war and take the focus away from the rights of women in this nation.”

  Douglas got to his feet. “You seem rather unconcerned with the rights of one particular woman,” he said with a smirk. “I doubt you’d ever tolerate such a heavy hand upon your will.”

  “Just bring her under control, Douglas.”

  “So that she responds more respectfully to instruction?” Douglas used Willa’s words against her.