The Rough Rider (9 page)

Lewis looked across the expansive yard that the carriage had pulled into and saw a young woman wheeling madly at full speed on the oystershell driveway that swept into a graceful circle in front of the house. “She certainly knows how to ride that thing, doesn’t she?” he exclaimed with admiration. “How about you, Uncle Mark? Have you joined the bicycling craze?”

“Not while I’m in my right mind,” Mark Winslow growled. “I think the blasted things ought to be against the law!”

“Daddy—!”

The young woman brought her bicycle to a stop in front of the horses, causing them to rear, and Mark Winslow shouted, “Esther, get out of the way!” Grabbing the reins tight, he got
the team quieted, but even before he did, the young woman came to stand beside him.

“Hello, Father,” she said. “Hello, Lewis! It’s great to see you again!”

Lewis grinned, and Mark turned to him, saying, “You’ll have to forgive her, Lewis, she’s not grown up yet.”

“I’m twenty-one years old,” Esther pouted, her full lips reddened by the cold February wind. Her cheeks were rosy also, and her black hair hung rich and full down to her shoulders. Her brown eyes took in her cousin and she reached past her father, putting out her hand. “Well, Lewis, welcome to New York.”

Lewis, somewhat overwhelmed by his beautiful, exuberant cousin, nodded. “Why . . . thank you, Esther, it’s good to be here.”

“Will you please get that pile of junk out of my way so I can get by!” Mark grumbled.

“Oh, I’ll do it, sir!” Lewis leaped out of the carriage and ran at once to pick up the bicycle. He’d seen several of them, but never up close.

“Have you ever ridden one of these?” Esther asked him as he moved it out of the driveway.

“No, never have.”

“Try it—it’s an experience of a lifetime!”

Lewis looked down at the fragile-looking machine and recklessly grinned. “All right—how do you do it?”

“Just bring your leg over it, grab the handlebars, put your feet on the pedals—and away you go!”

Lewis awkwardly threw his leg over the bicycle, took a firm hold on the handlebars, and put his right foot on the pedal. He shoved himself off with his left foot and fumbled frantically for the other pedal. He rode across the yard, aware that Esther was calling to him, “Hold it! Watch out! Don’t run into a tree!”

Lewis quickly discovered that riding a bicycle proved more challenging than he had anticipated. It required three
things—holding on to steer, pedaling, and keeping his balance. He was so preoccupied with trying to coordinate all three that he forgot to watch where he was going. Suddenly he heard Mark cry out, “Look out—!” Lewis looked up just in time to see a steel fence looming in front of him. He cried out, “Whoa!” and instantly ran the bicycle with a clash and clatter into the fence. He went flying over the handlebars and struck his head on one of the uprights. Flashing lights danced before his eyes as he fell heavily to the ground. Sprawled out on the lawn, he had never before felt so humiliated.

“Oh, did you hurt yourself?” Esther was at his side at once, pulling him to a sitting position. She reached up and said, “You cut your forehead—you’re bleeding!” She quickly pulled out a lace handkerchief and began to dab at it.

By that time, Mark was calling, “Bring him into the house before you kill him! Blasted fool machines are going to be the death of people yet!”

Lewis slowly stood to his feet and found himself looking at Esther, who seemed to be torn between tears and laughter. “I’m all right,” he said with a grin. “Good thing that fence was there or I might’ve run right into the Atlantic Ocean! How do you stop these things?”

“Well, not like that! I’m so sorry, Lewis. Come on—let’s go inside and take care of that cut.”

Lewis rather enjoyed the girl fluttering over him. He’d heard that Esther Winslow had grown into an attractive woman since he last saw her, though she was spoiled to the core. And now, he was pleased to find that she was filled with fun as well.

When they reached the front door they were met by Esther’s mother, Lola, who began to scold the girl at once. “I’m going to take a carriage whip to you, Esther!” Lola was a beautiful woman of fifty with hair as black as her daughter’s. There were traces of the earlier beauty that Lewis had heard of when she used to deal blackjack in a saloon in a town in the early years of railroading. She put out her hand and welcomed
Lewis, saying, “Come in before this daughter of mine kills you! Come along and I’ll put some antiseptic on that cut.”

“It’s really nothing, Aunt Lola!”

“It needs to be attended to. Now, come along.” She led the young man to a room off the kitchen where she found a brown bottle filled with some antiseptic. Taking a small cloth, she swabbed it on his forehead liberally and smiled when he blinked at the burning sensation caused by the amber medicine. “That hurts worse than the fall, I bet! Well, welcome to New York, Lewis. I wish you could have brought your parents with you. They’ve promised to come, but they keep putting us off.”

Just then Mark entered the room. “Stop fussing over him, dear, and bring him into the parlor as soon as you’re finished.”

When Lola had finished dressing his cut, she led Lewis into a sitting room, which was rather informally furnished. Two large windows at the end of the room were festooned with dark blue draperies, and a chandelier and two brass lamps on the wall reflected in the pier glass, which also mirrored an etagere.

“Sit down there, Lewis!” Mark motioned, throwing himself onto a settee covered with a light yellow material. “Supper ought to be ready soon.”

“Tell us about your trip,” Lola said, taking a seat by her husband.

For a while, Lewis spoke of his journey from Richmond. He was an athletically built young man, an inch short of six feet. He had light brown hair and dark brown eyes that lit up his squarish face. His mouth was wide and mobile and he smiled often, exposing a perfect set of teeth. Finally he said, “It was kind of you to ask me here for a visit, Uncle Mark and Aunt Lola.” He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “I feel like a bum really. I’m too old for school and don’t have a profession yet.”

“How old are you, Lewis—twenty-three, aren’t you?” Mark said, grinning lazily. His dark hair graying at the temples
gave him a distinguished look. “When I was twenty-three,” he remarked, “I was studying for the gallows. Any ideas at this time?”

“Not an idea in my head!” Lewis smiled suddenly and said, “I was hoping you might put me on in a position at the railroad—something that pays a lot of money and doesn’t require any work.”

“I’ve got the only one of those,” Mark grinned. “Don’t worry about it—I think we can find you a place.”

A tall woman wearing a gray dress covered by a white apron stepped inside the sitting room. “Dinner’s ready, if you please.”

“Be right there, Miriam,” Lola said.

They rose and Mark ushered Lewis into the dining room. It was an ample room tastefully decorated with oil paintings in gold-leaf frames on one wall; the other contained a bank of windows that admitted the sunlight during the day. There was a white cloth on the table, and the china and highly polished silverware glistened under the lights.

“Sit down and we’ll treat you to some good cooking!” Mark said.

Lewis took his seat to the left of his uncle, across from Esther, and watched as Miriam set out the meal. It consisted of pheasant, which he had never tasted before. It had been expertly prepared by a cook somewhere in the recesses of the kitchen. He found it juicy and finely flavored, and the vegetables were seasoned to his liking. Lewis enjoyed the meal and the casual conversation with his aunt and uncle. As his parents had told him, he found them to be the perfect host and hostess. After exchanging family news and a few interesting tales from Mark about his railroad career, the conversation came around to Lewis’s brother, Aaron, who was in the Klondike.

Mark said, “Your cousin Cass was here recently. When Aaron heard about his going to the gold mines, nothing could stop him.”

“I know—I wanted to go with him, but Dad said that one of us out on a wild adventure was enough. I was pretty sore about not getting to go, but I guess he knew best.”

“I just hope they get home in one piece,” Mark shrugged. “That’s dangerous country up there!”

“Well, I’m going to take you to something tomorrow that’s better than any old gold rush!” Esther smiled at Lewis as he looked at her, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “We’re going to a ball at the Astors’ with the Four Hundred.”

“The four hundred what?” Lewis asked.

Esther laughed aloud, and Mark and Lola smiled at each other.

“Why, Mrs. Astor’s Four Hundred,” said Esther.

“Who’s Mrs. Astor?”

“She’s the head of society in New York!” Esther said in surprise. “Surely you’ve heard of her!”

She spoke of the wife of millionaire John Jacob Astor, who ruled New York society. Her private ballroom could only fit four hundred people, so her invitation list was comprised of the top of New York’s upper society.

Lewis found this amusing and said, “How do you get into the Four Hundred?”

“You get rich!” Mark replied cynically. “You’ll see tomorrow.” He toyed with his fork for a moment, then tossed it on the table. “A bunch of foolishness. They should be made to go to work instead of throwing money away like it was water.”

“Don’t fuss, dear,” Lola said. “It’ll be interesting for Lewis.”

“Well, I’m not rich,” Lewis said, “but I’d like to go and take a look at those who are.”

****

The next night, Lewis was amazed at the size of the mansion as the cab pulled up in front of the sweeping staircase leading to the entrance.

As they all stepped out, Mark turned to Esther and Lewis and said, “You two go ahead. We’ll be right along.”

Esther could hardly contain herself, for she couldn’t wait to show her cousin the eccentric life of New York’s high society. Grabbing his arm, she said, “Come on, Lewis, this is going to be a night to remember. Not everyone has the privilege of dancing with the elite.”

As soon as they reached the door, Esther presented their invitation to the head usher, who escorted them to the ballroom. When they walked in, Lewis stopped in surprise at the scene before him. Never before had he seen such an ostentatious display of wealth. Massive crystal chandeliers showered their light on the hundreds of elegantly fashioned guests swirling about the ballroom. Glittering jewels winked from the hands and necks of every woman in the room, and the ladies in their luxuriant silk gowns seemed to be competing with one another for attention. The men escorted the women with finesse, decked out in black tails with richly patterned cummerbunds to add just a dash of color. Lewis was awestruck as he watched the dancers dip and glide to the strains of a Tchaikovsky waltz. As he surveyed the sumptuous scene, he spotted a table off to one side running the entire length of the ballroom, piled high with fruit sculptures and French cuisine, and dripping with fragrant flower bouquets and garlands.

“Come along—I’ll introduce you to some of the young women.” Esther pulled him along, adding, “I’ll tell you which ones you should dance with.”

After an hour of following Esther, Lewis found his head whirling. He danced with a dozen young women until all of them seemed to look alike. Finally, he protested to Esther, “Are all these girls rich?”

“Every one of them! Follow me, I want you to meet Alice Cates.”

“Who’s she?”

“She’s a young woman who delights in devouring young men!” said Esther as she pulled him across the ballroom.

Lewis grinned at her. “Sounds like a black widow spider. Don’t they eat their mates?”

“Alice doesn’t marry them. She simply meets a handsome man and sucks him dry, then tosses him aside.” She led him to a young woman surrounded by a group of men. Simply shoving her way through, Esther said, “I have someone I want you to meet, Alice. This is my cousin Lewis Winslow.”

“I’m happy to meet you, sir.” The young woman who turned from her suitors was beautiful in a rather strange way. She had blond hair and blue eyes, but there was an aggressiveness about her that was lacking in most genteel women. She put out her gloved hand, which was adorned with an enormous ruby ring, and held on to Lewis’s hand a moment longer than necessary. “I didn’t know you had any handsome cousins like this, Esther,” she said with a smile. “Where are you from?”

“Virginia.”

“I love Southern gentlemen! Come along now and dance with me!”

Lewis took her hand and led her onto the floor, and soon discovered that she was not an easy woman to dance with. He laughed, saying, “I guess we should take a vote on who’s going to lead—you or me.”

Alice laughed and squeezed his arm. “I know—I’m awful, aren’t I? But I surrender. You Southern gentlemen certainly know how to charm a young woman. I’ll have to be on my best behavior with you.”

The dance lasted long enough for Lewis to become attracted to Alice Cates. As soon as the music ended, a young man came to claim her. She shook her head and said, “No—not now, Roger, later.”

“Sort of hard on Roger,” Lewis smiled. “He looks like he’d enjoy taking a gun to me.”

“Oh, Roger wouldn’t do a thing like that—he’s too tame. What about you? Are you tame, Lewis?”

“I suppose I am. You don’t like tame men?”

“We’ll see,” Alice said, with a promise in her eyes.

After one more dance, Alice excused herself and made her way back to her circle of friends. Lewis watched as she took the arm of one of her admirers and teased him with her eyes.

Later in the evening when he spoke to his Aunt Lola, Lewis mentioned how attractive the girl was. “Yes, she is—and very rich! Her father owns a string of factories,” said Lola, sipping punch from a crystal glass.

“She wouldn’t be interested in a poor young man, I don’t suppose.”

Lola looked over to where Alice Cates was moving around the ballroom with a heavy middle-aged man. “Nobody knows what Alice will do! She does what she pleases mostly.”

Lewis danced with Alice twice more that night. On the last dance, she turned her eyes on him in a strange way. Finally, she said, “Come to my house tomorrow. I want to talk to you some more.” It was like a command, but Lewis found himself enjoying the way this beautiful girl acted toward him.