and overwhelmed, suddenly young and very homesick. Almost certainly she would unwittingly get herself into trouble.
"Come," the woman said. "Stay with me. I'll turn up that husband of yours. My husband works for the railroad. He knows just about everybody around here."
Angelina hesitated.
The woman extended her hand. "May Hall."
"May Hall! Oh, thank goodness!" Angelina had never felt such relief.
"Didn't know I was all that famous." May laughed.
Angelina reached out to shake her hand. "Angelina Allessandro. We have a mutual friend, Tonio Domani."
May seemed taken aback. "Tonio?"
"Yes, he escorted me from New York." Angelina told May her story. "So I am afraid that something is wrong. There must be a reason why my husband has not come to meet me or why he has been silent this winter."
May nodded. "Well now, you really do have to come stay with us. Otherwise, Tonio would never forgive us. Once we get you settled and rested, we can check at the Bunker. They may know something about your husband. But don't get your hopes up. Lately, with the trouble brewing, miners have been transitory creatures. Coming and going and showing up irregularly for their shifts. Here, let me carry one of those for you." May grabbed one of Angelina's bags. "It's a fair walk to the house."
May's home turned out to be a modest house located on Pine Street between two undistinguished neighbors. After the walk through town and up the hill, Angelina vowed that she had never felt more relief at the sight of a dwelling. Hipped roof. Second story bay window above an inset porch. Gabled ells at front and side—so very quaint and welcoming.
"Be it ever so humble," May said as she led the way inside and set Angelina's bags down. "This way. Let me get you something to eat. You must be famished."
May's kitchen was as warm and homey as one would expect from the street view of her house. She put a pot of coffee on to boil then set out a plate of muffins and sliced breads, fresh butter and jam. Angelina found that she had an appetite she thought she'd lost.
May watched her eat. "You can stay in Tonio's room until we find that husband of yours. Tonio won't mind. I have half a notion he'll be itching to get to the Hole and his room up in Burke. Town isn't a safe place for the likes of him right now anyway. There are those that would like to use his talents for extreme measures." May frowned.
Angelina felt too tired and overwhelmed to ask what May meant. They made small talk until Angelina finished eating, then May showed her upstairs to a small bedroom. "You just lie down and have yourself a good rest. There'll be plenty of time to go looking for your husband when you're up to it."
Angelina thanked her. As May pulled the door closed, Angelina collapsed onto Tonio's bed, disappointed that it smelled only of freshly washed linens, not him. In fact, nothing about the sparse furnishings of the room gave any indication that Tonio had made it home. But it was his, May had said so, which gave Angelina some comfort as she pulled off her shoes and cuddled up to sleep.
Tonio got off the train in Wallace with the intention of heading straight to the Halls for a shower and meal, but he changed course as he walked down Sixth Street. The town hummed with activity.
It feels good to be back, he thought, striding along.
This town suited him. Its wild, boisterous nature matched his. The town itself aspired to greatness and wealth. What better place for a man with his ambitions? No one thought less of him for being an immigrant, a foreigner. The town's citizens ran the gamut from the whores at the Lux building, to the mining elite in their comfortable two-story homes. It was hard not to fit in with such a varied crowd. But one man would be looking for him. Tonio had no intention of talking to Ed Baker. Better to get something to eat and head out on the last train to Burke before Baker realized Tonio was back.
Tonio turned into the Fuller House. The large, partially stuccoed brick building was the finest hotel in the region and served the best food east of Spokane in its plush dining room. A day of scant rations and heavy work digging out the train engine left him with an almost bottomless appetite. And a desire to satiate