Page 94 of I Do, I Do, I Do
“Seattle? Why not here in San Francisco?” Zoe stopped. “Oh, Ben’s bank.”
“I want to get involved in important issues.” As Ben’s late wife had done. Juliette had thought a lot about Helen Dare’s involvement in the world around her and had decided she, too, wanted to discover if she was courageous enough to face societal wrongs and fight to right them. Maybe she and her money could make a small difference for the better.
“What kind of issues?” Clara leaned forward, interested.
“I don’t know yet. Now here’s my question. Do you think it’s scandalous for a single woman to live alone? And to get involved in issues and maybe travel a little?” She knew she would never marry again. If she couldn’t have Ben, she didn’t want any man.
“Not at all,” Clara stated firmly. “Especially if you live alone in a big city where attitudes are freer, and especially if you donate enough money to worthy causes.”
Zoe smiled. “After you’ve stood naked on a beach in front of several hundred men, I wouldn’t think gossip or scandal would worry you ever again.”
“You’re right,” Juliette said, laughing. “Still, there’s that little voice on my shoulder.…” She returned Zoe’s smile. “Have you thought about what you’ll do after we confront Jean Jacques?”
They had talked about the confrontation almost nonstop this week, and they had decided that Zoe would not shoot Jean Jacques. Killing him wasn’t worth the penalty Zoe would pay. But they had also decided they could not abandon a search that had now consumed nearly seven months of their lives. They had to see it through to the end. Each wanted Jean Jacques Villette to understand that he had ruined her life and any chance at happiness she might have had. They deserved to speak their piece and deserved to witness any remorse he might feel.
“This may surprise you,” Zoe began. “But after we’ve found Jean Jacques and had our say, I want to go home to Newcastle. I want to stay with my parents for a few months and look at Newcastle through enlightened eyes. I want to renew my roots and enjoy knowing who I am.”
“Are you hoping that Tom will eventually turn up in Newcastle?” Juliette asked gently.
“Maybe,” Zoe whispered. “It’s hard to accept that I can love this deeply and believe I was loved in return—but…”
“Ja, I know what you mean.” Clara sighed heavily. “Me? If I could do what I wanted, I’d follow the gold rush and put up decent hotels that served good home-cooked food. I would make a fortune.” She sighed again. “But if I returned to the Yukon, I would inevitably run into Bear, and that would break my heart. So maybe I’ll buy a small hotel or a boardinghouse in Seattle.”
Juliette leaned her curls against the back of the chair and closed her eyes. “It’s such a shame. I would have made a perfect banker’s wife. Zoe, you couldn’t possibly find a man more suited to you than Tom. And Clara, you and Bear are so wonderful together, so right.”
“We promised we wouldn’t say these things,” Zoe said in a choked voice. Standing abruptly, she smoothed down her skirts. “I need to finish packing. Didn’t you say the carriage would call for us at sevenA.M. tomorrow?” She leveled a forced smile on Juliette. “Thank you for this week in a suite, it was marvelous. And thank you for hiring a carriage to take us to Loma Grande. We’ll be more comfortable than we would have been in a stage.”
“You’re quite welcome,” Juliette said, smiling.
“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Clara asked, her eyes twinkling.
“It’s getting easier,” Zoe admitted, speaking between her teeth.
Then they laughed, blinking back tears of affection. Their long journey together was nearing the end, and they knew they would never again share another woman’s secrets or know her as intimately as they knew each other.
There was little about Loma Grande that could be consideredgrande. Like many California villages, Loma Grande had grown around a Catholic mission built years ago. It was a sleepy, leafy town, a town that roused itself for market day and then slumbered for another week in the pleasant California warmth.
“It reminds me a little of Linda Vista,” Juliette mentioned, looking about after the driver handed her out of the carriage.
Mature shade trees overhung an unpaved main street. She spotted the post office, a Ladies Emporium, a feed and seed store. She imagined the rest of the town: A few large homes would occupy the streets on either side of Main. Behind them would stand more modest dwellings. Tucked in the low hills curving around Loma Grande would be the fruit and vegetable farms that provided the town a reason to exist.
Clara slapped down her skirts and considered Loma Grande’s sole inn with a judgmental eye. “The veranda needs painting, but the flowers are bright and welcoming.”
“Jean Jacques is here somewhere,” Zoe said, wetting her lips. “It’s strange to think about.”
“Unless he’s left again. Unless he recovered enough to wander off in search of more wives,” Clara said sharply. Waving aside the carriage driver, she picked up her bag and strode toward the veranda. The door opened wide, and a tiny smiling woman bade them welcome.
“I’m Mrs. Wilson,” she announced, stepping behind the lobby counter. “Will you ladies be staying long?” she asked, turning the registration book to face Zoe.
“We’ll be here the rest of today and possibly tomorrow.”
After Zoe and Juliette had signed the book, Clara stepped forward and accepted the pen. She gave Mrs. Wilson a comradely smile of one innkeep to another. “As we were driving into town, it occurred to us that we have an acquaintance who lives in this area. His name is Mr. Jean Jacques Villette. Perhaps you could direct us to his residence. We’d like to surprise him.”
Mrs. Wilson’s eyes rounded, and her gaze darted over them. “Oh, my, my.”
Clara didn’t know how to interpret Mrs. Wilson’s drawn-out sigh, but it was clear the woman recognized Jean Jacques’s name.
Suddenly flustered, Mrs. Wilson retrieved the registration book and studied their names. “I don’t know anything about this affair, Miss Klaus—”
