Inherited: Unexpected Family

She scribbled another note. “We’ll have to change that, too.”

Jude put his hand on the paper and she looked up. “I won’t let you come in here and change everything, especially since the Fourth of July Ball is less than a week away.”

“You said I was in charge of the books and I could do anything that would bring in revenue.” She pulled the paper out of his grasp. “We shook on it.”

“Within reason.”

“This is within reason.”

He stared at her for a moment and then said, “We can talk about it after the Fourth of July Ball.” He led her out of the ballroom and down the hall toward the kitchen.

As she made notes about the peeling wallpaper and the cracked glass in the back door, she couldn’t stop thinking about the letter tucked inside her trunk. What did she really know about Mr. Allen? Her father must have trusted him...shouldn’t that be good enough for her?

“How did you and my father come to be partners?”

He showed her the back staircase that led to the upper rooms. “I met Clarence when he first came to town working for the Little Falls Company as a carpenter. The company was started by Abram Cooper and two other men to establish Little Falls. They construct buildings, build roads, operate the mills and sell property. I owned the American Hotel—what’s now the Batters House—and Clarence lived there. He told me he had always wanted to go into the hotel business, so when I sold the American to buy the Northern, I asked if he was interested in becoming partners.”

“How long were you partners?”

“Two years.” He climbed to the top of the back stairs and stood to the side to let her pass in front of him into the hallway near her bedroom. “Your father was a good man and I was sad to see him go.”

She bit her bottom lip as she listened to him speak. He seemed truly genuine. If her father had been in business with him for two years, and still felt it safe enough to send for her and her sisters, shouldn’t that be enough for her to trust Jude? It would have to be. She couldn’t walk around suspicious of his every move.

“We have twenty-four guest rooms in all,” Jude said as he opened the one across the hall from hers. It was currently unoccupied. “There is a bed, a bureau and a rocking chair in each room.” He closed the door and stepped across the hall to open another. A set of stairs led up to the third floor. “It’s a large, single room under the rafters. Martha and Violet sleep there. If you’d like to see it, you can ask Martha to show you.”

Elizabeth wrote more notes. The guest room drapes needed to be cleaned and the quilt on the bed needed to be patched. She looked up and found Jude trying to see what she wrote. She tilted the list up. “Where does Pascal sleep?”

“In the barn loft. He takes the overnight shift at the front desk, so he sleeps during the day.” Jude took the back stairs down to the main level. “I’ll show you the barn. We have one of the best in town. Some of the local men rent space from us to house their animals. For a small fee, Pascal feeds them and mucks out the stalls.” Jude pushed open the back door. “We also own twenty-five acres of cornfields, so I keep our tools and equipment in the barn, as well.”

She paused. “Cornfields?”

“On the outskirts of town.” He held the door open for her. “There are several business owners in town who have wheat and cornfields to earn a little extra income and provide for the community. It brings in much-needed money to pay for a couple months of mortgage over the winter when business is slow.”

She scribbled notes as fast as she could and then stepped into the shadowed alley between the hotel and barn. “You reap and sow the fields yourself?”

“With help from Pascal—yes.” Jude closed the back door and started toward the barn. It was covered in the same white clapboard siding as the hotel.

A tall man passed on Broadway and paused. He waved hello to Jude and entered the alley at a leisurely pace.

Jude turned to Elizabeth. “I’d like to introduce you to a friend.”

Elizabeth had met so many men at lunch, she was sure this one would be yet another she’d soon forget, but they were all potential customers, so she acquiesced. “All right.”

The man approached, and the first things Elizabeth noted were his kind eyes and his handsome smile. She found herself offering him a genuine smile in return.

“Miss Elizabeth Bell, this is my good friend Reverend Ben Lahaye.”

“Reverend?” Elizabeth looked at Jude. “You attend church?”

“Only on Sundays,” Reverend Lahaye said with a grin. “Jude wouldn’t miss a chance to hear me preach.”

Jude grinned. “If I missed your sermon on Sunday, I wouldn’t know what to banter with you about the rest of the week.”

Reverend Lahaye took Elizabeth’s hand and offered a slight bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bell. I’ve already heard much about you and your sisters.”

“The pleasure is mine, Reverend Lahaye.”

He let her hand go. “Call me Ben. I wouldn’t know how to answer to Reverend Lahaye.” He was an attractive man, with high cheekbones and a wide mouth. If she wasn’t mistaken, he looked Métis. She’d read about the people who lived mostly in northern Minnesota and southern Canada. They were descended from French fur-trading fathers and Chippewa mothers. She wouldn’t know it by his clothing, which looked much like Jude’s, or even his hair, which he cut just below his ears, but in his features she saw Indian ancestry, and his last name indicated he was also French.

“Will you be joining us this evening?” Jude asked his friend.

“If Miss Bell will be here.”

Elizabeth looked between the two men. “I don’t know where else I’d be.”

“Splendid,” Ben said. “I hope you’ll save a dance for me.”

“A dance?” Hadn’t there been a ball the night before?

Jude shifted on his feet. “I’ve invited a few friends to the hotel this evening to welcome you and Grace to Little Falls. I thought you might enjoy a little dancing.”

He’d remembered her comments from the night before and planned a dance for her? His thoughtfulness surprised and delighted her—much more than it should—and she offered him a smile. She would enjoy the opportunity to dance again.

She looked at Ben. “I’ll save the first dance for you.”

It would be too forward to ask Jude for a dance, but maybe she’d get to find out if he was good on his feet, after all.

* * *

Jude stood in the lobby after supper, waiting for Elizabeth and Grace to come down the stairs. Rose had been put to sleep and Violet had agreed to stay in their sitting room for the evening to keep an ear on her. Pascal would watch the front desk and Martha would keep the coffee and refreshments going—though after Elizabeth’s comments earlier in the day, he wondered if she’d approve.

The doors opened and a group of Jude’s acquaintances entered. “Where are the mesdemoiselles you told us about?” Pierre LaForce’s French accent punctuated each word. “I have come to sweep them off their feet.”

“They’ll be down shortly,” Jude said. “Make your way to the ballroom.”

The men moved on and Jude paced across the lobby. He had invited about fifty men in hopes that several of them would catch the eye of each Bell sister. No doubt word had spread and others would come, but he couldn’t control the numbers. Single women were so scarce in the territory, they might attract dozens more.

Another group entered and Jude sent them on to the ballroom.

Jude looked at the wall clock and paced across the lobby. If the Bell sisters didn’t come soon, the men would get anxious and Jude would have trouble on his hands.

Finally, two sets of feminine boots appeared at the top of the stairs under two brightly colored hems. For some reason, Jude’s heart rate picked up speed as they made their way down the steps.

Elizabeth and Grace had gone up to change as soon as supper was over, but now they descended and Jude couldn’t take his eyes off Elizabeth. She was the prettiest woman he’d ever met. Yet, it was more than her looks that attracted him. Her eyes were filled with intelligence and she had a drive and a determination that he admired. She carried herself with a graceful mixture of confidence and humility. She wore a blue gown, tight at her slender waist and belled down to the floor. Her dark-brown hair was done up in ringlets with a blue ribbon woven through the curls. Delicate earrings dangled from her earlobes and matched her necklace.

Her sapphire eyes caught the light and sparkled when she looked his way. Color filled her cheeks—but was it from excitement or was she embarrassed to catch him admiring her?

The innocence of the thought warmed him and made him smile. He’d spent most of his life around women who no longer blushed at being noticed by a man. It was refreshing to be near one who wore innocence and purity like a garment.

The door opened again and another group of men entered.

Elizabeth and Grace looked their way.

Catcalls and whistles pierced the air, and while Elizabeth’s blush deepened, Grace seemed to thrive on the attention.

“Gentlemen,” Jude said above the noise. “I’ll kindly ask you to be respectful or you’ll have to leave the hotel.”

“I’m not leaving until I get a dance,” said Alec O’Conner.

“Then I’d advise you all to keep your remarks to yourself and head into the ballroom.” Jude leveled him with a serious gaze. “Or you’ll be on your way out.”

The men grumbled their agreement and walked toward the ballroom.

“How many friends did you invite?” Elizabeth asked Jude.

“A few dozen or so.” He offered his arm to her. “Shall we?”

She gingerly wrapped her hand around his arm and he tried not to notice how good she smelled.

“I don’t know about you,” Grace said as she smoothed the front of her green gown, “but I’m beyond excited to dance again.”

Elizabeth wiggled her fingers just enough for Jude to notice. “Me, too.”

He hadn’t kept track of how many men had entered the hotel—and he was surprised to find at least eighty standing before them when they entered the ballroom.

Already, the fiddle and mouth organ were being put to use, but no one was dancing. How could they? There were no other women in the room.

Another catcall filled the ballroom, followed by whistles and shouts of approval.

Elizabeth tensed at his side and her hand gripped his arm tighter. “This is what you call a few friends?”

He grinned. “I have more.”

She glanced up at him and smiled at his joke.

“Gentlemen,” Jude called, putting up his free hand.

The room quieted as eager eyes roamed the women from head to toe.

“I would like to present to you Clarence Bell’s daughters, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Grace.” Jude indicated each woman. “They have just arrived in Little Falls and will be living and working here at the hotel. They are here to enjoy an evening of visiting and dancing. As you can see, there are only two ladies and far too many men—”

“I’ll say,” said a man in the back and the group broke out in laughter.

“So you won’t all get a chance to dance,” Jude continued. “Be gentlemen and don’t forget your manners.”

Jude nodded toward the stage and met the fiddler’s gaze.

The music started up again and the men swarmed around the ladies. Jude extracted his arm from Elizabeth’s grip and took a step away.

Her gaze found his and he smiled, satisfied that his job was done for the moment. “Have fun.”

“Where is Reverend Lahaye?” she asked over the din.

It pleased Jude to know she had remembered Ben. Of all the men Jude knew, Ben was the most worthy of her attention. Jude looked around the room and spotted Ben near the mirror, not pushing or demanding attention.

Just like Ben.

For once, he’d like his friend to be a little more aggressive. Maybe he’d have a wife by now if he was.

“He’s over there,” Jude said to Elizabeth.

“What?” Elizabeth mouthed—it was too loud for him to hear the word.

Without thinking, Jude took her hand and began to tug her out of the crowd.

She maneuvered through the throng. Her hand was warm beneath her glove. When they were beyond the thick of it, she stood close and smiled up at him. “What did you say?”

Jude was so taken with her smile, he couldn’t think for a moment. “I don’t remember.”

Her smile slowly faded as she became serious. “I asked if Reverend Lahaye is here.”

“Oh.” Jude pulled his gaze from hers and pointed across the room. “He’s being inconspicuous by the mirrors.”

At that moment Ben noticed them and left his sanctuary.

“Where are the women?” Elizabeth asked as they waited for Ben.

He hadn’t even thought to invite other women. His only concern had been to get the single men in the door.

“There you are,” Jude said to Ben. “Elizabeth has been looking for you.”

She pulled away from Jude’s hand and shook Ben’s.

Jude’s skin was hot where she had touched him—but it cooled considerably as she gave her full attention to his friend.

“I’ve been looking forward to our dance,” she said warmly.

Ben grinned down at her. “I hope I’m not too rusty.”

They moved away without another word to Jude, their heads bent toward each other as they laughed and took their place on the dance floor.

Jude was soon joined by dozens of men who were forced to watch the ladies waltz with other partners. The dance floor cleared off and the music began in earnest, but Jude’s temporary victory over Elizabeth and Ben diminished when he spotted Grace and her dance partner.

Hugh Jones, one of the most notorious desperadoes in Little Falls, held Grace as if he already had claimed her—and perhaps he had. Several break-ins and fights had been attributed to his gang, but the citizens were helpless to stop them—just as the other men were helpless to stop him from dancing with Grace now.

Sheriff Pugh was rumored to be one of the desperadoes and he didn’t bother to enforce the law. Judge Barnum tried to hold them accountable, but without the support of the sheriff, it was pointless.

The gang members rarely showed their faces in the Northern, but they were frequent customers at Dew’s place, a brothel and saloon south of town, near the river.

Why had Hugh come? Was it simple curiosity to meet the Bell sisters? Or was he looking for trouble?

Hugh’s cronies peppered the edge of the dance floor, waiting for their turn to dance with Elizabeth and Grace. They would have to contend with over eighty prospective grooms who stood nearby—not to mention Jude, who suddenly felt a deep responsibility to make sure Clarence’s daughters married well.

Chapter Five

Elizabeth rubbed her temples as she squinted at the ledger and put in the appropriate numbers from a receipt. A soft breeze blew in through the open window of her sitting room and ruffled the green pages of the book.

She had wanted to work on the books yesterday, but getting ready for the dance had prevented her from finding the time. Now, hours after they had come home from church and finished the lunch dishes, she was in her room working to balance their accounts and fix all the errors Jude had made in the past month. She didn’t like to work on Sundays, but she was eager to get a better understanding of the business.

Memories of the previous evening made her smile when she recalled all the fun she’d had dancing. Ben had proven to be an entertaining partner and she’d enjoyed their one dance, but the others had been just as eager to please her.

Jude had stood on the outer circle of the dance floor all evening and watched. Not once had he approached her to dance and it had disappointed her more than it should. The one sour note in her evening had been the inordinate amount of time Grace had spent with a gentleman named Hugh Jones. He had monopolized her time and Grace had allowed it.

The clock chimed three times. She should go down and help Martha with supper preparations, but for some reason spending time in the ledger, adding and subtracting from the figures her father had entered, made her feel close to him. It had been years since she’d felt any sort of bond to the man who had walked out of their lives and left her to pick up the pieces.

She looked back at the last column she’d added and paused when a strange noise filled the air from outside. It sounded like a drum—yet it was playing a beat she’d never heard before.

Elizabeth stood and walked to the window that looked out over the tops of the buildings all around her. The Northern stood higher and prouder than most. Her mother would have loved this hotel. It was exactly what she and Papa had dreamed of owning.

The sound grew louder and soon a chant rose above the drum—yet she couldn’t see anything from her position at the back of the hotel.

“Lizzie!” Rose ran into the room from the hallway. She had been spending the afternoon with Martha, who had invited her to go on a walk. “Come quick! Mr. Jude said I must ask you if I may watch the war dance.”

“War dance?” Elizabeth’s chest tightened at the ominous name. “What are you talking about?”

Rose ran across the room and took Elizabeth’s hand, pulling until they were standing in the hallway. “It’s right outside our front door!” Rose squealed in delight.

“There’s a war dance in front of the hotel?” Concern filled Elizabeth as she raced down the hall with Rose close behind. “Where is Mr. Jude?”

“He’s in the lobby waiting for me.”

They came to the stairs and descended to the lobby, where a crowd of guests had gathered at the windows. Jude stood among them, his gaze directed outside.

Elizabeth lifted Rose and pushed through the crowd. “Pardon me.”

A young man moved aside just as Jude turned toward her.

“Is it all right if I go outside now?” Rose asked.

“No, you may not go outside.” Elizabeth held her sister tight and addressed Jude. “What’s happening?”

“There’s no need to worry. It’s just a war dance.”

“No need to worry!” Her voice was louder than she intended and she glanced around her to find several people looking in her direction. She spoke quieter. “A war dance?”

“It’s not really a war dance. They’ve already been to war and now they’re celebrating.” He stepped aside and motioned out the window. “The Chippewa are not here to hurt us. Have a look.”

Elizabeth walked to the window and looked outside. Directly in front of the Northern a large circle of Indians danced to the rhythm of a drum. A man sat on the ground with a drum positioned in front of him and he beat it with a stick. In the center of the circle, three young women held long poles with hoops at the end. These poles were beautifully ornamented with ribbons and bells and scraps of red cloth. In the outer circle, at least a dozen men and women danced in single file, crouching low and then jerking upright, lifting one foot and then the other. They stepped out on their toes and then came down on their heels in a movement that looked awkward, yet mesmerizingly beautiful at the same time. Their leggings and tunics had tassels and other colorful ornaments dangling from them.

“They wear bells on their clothing, so it makes noises when they dance.” Jude spoke from right behind her. “It really is perfectly safe.”

Someone opened the door and a few people left the lobby to stand on the porch.

“Would you like to go out and see it closer?” he asked.

She put her hand to her throat and shook her head. “No, thank you.”

The noise grew more intense and another peek outside revealed that more Indians had joined the dance and now several townspeople had come out to watch.

Sunshine beat down and the dancers began to glisten with sweat. More than one warrior was among them. Their feathers bounced in their hair and their loincloths rippled around their waists. They looked fierce. If this was a celebration, why did no one look happy?

Some had hatchets hanging from ropes at their waists and more than one wore a rifle slung over his back.

Rose wiggled out of Elizabeth’s arms and tugged on her skirt. “Let’s go out and see, Lizzie.”

“No.” Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t want you out there.”

“Are you afraid?” Jude asked.

Everything inside her demanded that she run back to her room, lock her doors and cover her ears until the sound went away. But then she remembered his earlier implication that she was too weak to withstand life on the frontier. This was part of that life. She couldn’t show fear now. If she did, she’d just prove him right—and she couldn’t do that.

She straightened her back. “I’m not afraid.”

Rose’s face perked up. “Then we can go?”

Elizabeth glanced outside and saw numerous children in attendance. “I suppose.”

Jude looked surprised for a moment, but then he opened the front door wider. “After you.”

Elizabeth took Rose’s hand and walked through the door with her chin held high, though her knees were shaking beneath her gown.

He watched her closely, the planes of his handsome face quirking into a half smile—something she chose to ignore.

Instead, she skirted past him on the porch and forced herself to watch the dancers.

After he closed the door and joined her, she asked, “What are they celebrating?”

“Victory over their enemy, the Dakota.”

“Why do they celebrate here, and not in their own village?”

“Little Falls sits in a contested zone between the Chippewa and Dakota. They celebrate here to claim the territory—and, I suspect, to keep us aware of their presence. Do you see the young ladies in the center?”

She nodded. The women were beautiful with their dark hair flowing freely to their waists.

“Each hoop they carry represents the death of an enemy warrior. In this case, there were three Dakota who were killed in their recent raid.”

A shudder ran the length of Elizabeth’s spine.

Rose strained to leave her side, but Elizabeth held her sister’s hand tight. “It’s time to go inside, Rose.”

Jude turned with her. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She shook her head, her whole body ill. How could they celebrate killing?

He took a step closer. “Are you all right?”

No, she wasn’t all right. She was terribly frightened. Why had she thought this place was the answer to all her prayers? Things had been so much safer in Rockford. Never once had she seen an Indian victory dance. Here, Jude and everyone else acted as if it was a common occurrence.

She glanced into his face and saw his concern. He truly thought she was too weak for life in Little Falls—and he should know. What other atrocities would she face?

But what were her choices? She had to succeed here, because she and her sisters had nothing in Rockford to return to. She would have to pull herself together. A strong woman wouldn’t behave like this. “I’m fine.” She straightened her shoulders and forced herself to look back at the dancers.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to watch.”

Rose moved her head this way and that to get a better view of the dancers, so Elizabeth picked her up to see over everyone’s heads. “Yes, I’m sure.”

He nodded, but didn’t move away from her. After a few moments, he spoke. “Despite how this looks, they are friendly.”

She didn’t respond. How could she? She had little comprehension of Indian life.

“Their enemies are the Dakota in southern Minnesota, not us,” he continued. “They fight back and forth. The deaths they’re celebrating are the restitution they’ve gained for the death of three of their warriors from a few weeks ago.” He put his hand on the small of her back. “I really am sorry I frightened you. Would you like to go back inside?”

His touch surprised her—not only because he reached out to comfort her, but because it was so tender.

His brown eyes were full of compassion, and a strange feeling stirred within her. “It wasn’t your fault—and I really am all right.”

He dropped his hand back to his side and cleared his throat. “The last time they danced—”