well.
Letty stared at each one as if she’d never seen such a specimen before, eyeing them from head to toe, taking in the sodden state of their clothing as well as their raw, chafed hands and faces. They had to be miserable. They didn’t have to be rude.
“Mr. Feasley, I’d be obliged if you’d go ahead and cut off those lengths for me. I’ll be right over to pick them up.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said quickly, and took the bolts to another counter to measure off and cut.
Letty pushed her hat to the back of her head and then sauntered toward the women. The room grew quiet. The women who’d been hiding behind the anonymity of the crowd were suddenly singled out by Letty’s stare. With her between them and the door, they were forced to stand their ground.
“Ladies,” Letty said. “Real miserable weather we’ve been having, isn’t it?”
One of them started to speak, but another woman, somewhat older and definitely more aggressive, elbowed her and frowned.
Letty grinned, changing tactics.
“I’m sorry. I just assumed you could speak English. Obviously that’s my mistake. I knew there were a lot of foreigners who’d come chasing gold, but I guess I didn’t realize how many.”
Two of them fidgeted. Letty could tell they wanted to answer her, but the big one was obviously in charge, and she wasn’t talking.
Letty peered at the woman, then took a step closer and raised her voice to just below a shout.
“Maybe you just can’t hear me good. That would be my mistake, too. Lots of people are hard of hearing. There’s no sin in that. I suppose I should have spoken up. I said… real miserable weather we’re having, isn’t it?”
Someone snickered in the back of the room. Letty heard it, but never broke her stare. It was past being a matter of pride.
The big woman lifted her chin and stared down her nose at Letty, as if she was looking at a bug.
Letty looked around at the people who were staring, and shrugged.
“Any of you people speak their language?”
No one spoke up, although a couple of men standing nearby grinned.
“Too bad,” Letty said. “Someone needs to tell that big woman in the middle that there’s a dried-up booger hanging out of her nose. With her being taller than just about everyone in the room, it’s a right scary thing to be looking at.”
The woman gasped and reached for her nose as the crowd erupted into laughter. When she felt the offending bit of offal hanging from her nose, she turned a bright shade of red.
Letty, however, was done with the drama and turned toward Feasley, who was waiting with a sack of cornmeal and her fabric.
“Reckon I’ll be needing a packet of needles and some thread, too.”
“Yes, ma’am, got ’em right here. I’ll send the bill to the bank as usual. Will that be all right, Miz Potter?”
“That’ll be fine,” she said, and gathered up her purchases, dropped them into an oilskin bag, and headed out the door.
The crowd parted to let her pass and then closed up behind her.
Letty tied the bag behind her saddle, and then with monumental effort, managed to mount by herself, despite standing in the mire.
She struggled with a sigh of defeat as she rode away from the store, and told herself she didn’t care. She was halfway out of town when she happened to glance toward one of the saloons. Through the doorway, she saw a room full of men availing themselves of the amenities offered, as well as the women who were part of the deal. Thankful that she was no longer a part of that life, she started to look away, when a familiar face caught her eye.
Alice Mellin was standing near the doorway and looking in at the crowd. Her shoulders were slumped and Letty could tell she was trembling. Her features were gaunt, and the dress hanging on her body was soaked clean through. She had no coat, no jacket, no extra clothing of any kind to protect her from the chill of the rain. At that moment, a knowing shot through Letty that caused her actual pain.
Alice Mellin was on her last legs. Either she gave up her dignity and walked through those doors, or she was going to die.
Letty pulled her horse to a stop and turned it toward the saloon. She had the means to stop this woman’s step into hell, and knew that she would never be able to face herself again if she