there. They could cut expenses immediately by sharing a room. So far, no one had moved the trunks, and Evie slipped out of one room to go to the next. She knew the perfect gown to sell. It seemed only fair that she should sell such extravagance for the purpose she had in mind right now. Maybe a fair exchange could be made.
She folded the gown carefully, wrapped it in a newspaper, and tied it securely with a string. She wouldn't let anyone know that she was resorting to selling her clothing.
Hiding her destination was another matter entirely. Everybody knew everybody's business in this town. It hadn't been easy meeting Starr and the other two saloon girls. Evie had had to wait until she had seen Starr going into the general store late one evening. She had hurried from the hotel in time to "accidentally" bump into the other woman as she left the store. The accident had started up a conversation, and before long Evie had wrested the information from Starr that the saloon girl had never learned to read or write.
It was a daring act of defiance to stand in a public street talking to a fallen woman. It was even worse to offer to teach Starr the rudiments of education. Evie might never have done it had she not been desperate. But she had accomplished it with a smile and a flutter of eyelashes when confronted with David Powell's accusations, and he had fallen like a ton of bricks. The schoolteacher now had permission to lend grammar books to saloon girls.
Evie almost grinned at the thought of the stately Mr. Powell actually believing that she meant to teach Starr how to read and write and lead her to the path of righteousness. He obviously thought all women were idiots. Starr wanted to run her own bordello, and she needed the basic mechanics to do so. Evie wasn't about to stand in the way of ambition.
She looked in on Daniel one more time before slipping down the stairs. It was Friday night and the worst possible time to try to meet Starr, but she had little choice in the matter. It was early. The men from the farm and ranches surrounding the town hadn't had time to ride in yet. Starr knew Evie couldn't come at any regular times.
It might have been better if she could have sent word ahead, but Evie didn't want to give herself time to think about this. She refused to think of what was happening to her insides as anything more than an infection like gangrene that had to be stopped, but if she gave herself time to think...
She wouldn't. Slipping down an alley beside the general store, Evie clutched her package carefully under her arm. She didn't want to be a coward, but she could always fall back on the gown as her excuse for being there if she had to. But the visions of the future if she chickened out were not pleasant. Even in the books she read, women who found themselves in her condition ended up floating in the river for their sins.
Evie hurried up the rickety wooden stairs behind the saloon as Starr had instructed. Rain began to patter against the building as she did so. The rain was bound to be a good portent. It meant there weren't as many men wandering around outside the saloon as there might have been had it been a warm, dry night.
Her stomach knotted as she knocked at the door at the top of the steps. Evie refused to acknowledge what she was doing, what she was going to do. She had to see Starr. That was all she told herself as she waited for someone to answer.
The youngest saloon girl opened the door, and her face fell with disappointment at Evie's presence. But she offered no complaint as she led Evie into the private parlor that the three girls shared. It had once been the bedroom of a fourth girl, but the bed was covered now with a swath of wine-colored velvet to which someone had sewn gold tassels and added matching bolsters. It almost looked like a couch instead of a bed. Evie tried not to think of what the piece of furniture had been used for previously as she sat down on it now.
The younger girl disappeared down the hall to find Starr and didn't return with her employer.
Starr was alone and already dressed for her evening performance