Thurston House (36 page)

And that was what she did after she went to the bank that day. She strolled home slowly, and bought herself a bunch of fragrant flowers to put in a vase in her room at Thurston House, and with a sudden gesture as she walked home, she pulled the pins from her hair, and let her long dark hair flow free in the summer breeze, and she walked home with a smile on her face. It was easier being here, she thought to herself, and she still loved Thurston House, in spite of the tragedy that had happened there. And as she walked up Nob Hill, she was humming happily, and she was happier than she'd been in a long time, when she suddenly saw a car stop just in front of her, and the driver sat staring at her and then laughed.

Good God, Miss Thurston. I would never have recognized you. Is that you? It was John Harte at the wheel of a car and he appeared to be having a good time too.

It is. Did you just steal that car, Mr. Harte?

I did. Would you like a ride? This was neutral ground for both of them, and she looked at him with a happy smile and then decided what the hell. If he asked to buy her mine again, she could always get out and walk. He wasn't going to kidnap her, and no one would have paid the ransom anyway.

Sure. She was amused at the car he had bought. It was the same Model T she had had for two years, except that his was newer and a little more elaborate of course. They seemed to add a whole new bunch of gadgets every year. How do you like your new car?

I think I'm in love. He grinned, glancing at the dashboard, and then out the window at the hood before looking back at her. Pretty, isn't she?

Sabrina laughed, unable to resist the urge to prick his balloon. Almost as pretty as mine. She grinned and he looked shocked and then laughed out loud.

Do you have one of these?

She laughed. I do. I don't use it in St. Helena much though. My old roan horse seems more appropriate somehow. She had finally sold the stallion her father had loved. She never rode him and he was growing old. But I drive the car when I go any farther than that.

He looked at her then as though seeing her for the first time. You really are a remarkable girl. It's a shame we're archenemies in a way. If we weren't, I suspect we'd be friends.

If you'd stop trying to buy my mines from me every time I run into you, maybe we could be anyway. And then she wondered if his mistress would object, but she couldn't say something like that to him.

You're still not going to sell, are you? He smiled. For once he seemed unconcerned and she shook her head.

I told you before. The Thurston mines won't come up for sale until I'm dead.

And your vineyards, what about them? He was curious now, and he liked the sparkle in her eyes and her hair loose, and he was suddenly aware of the fragrant flowers in her hair. She was a remarkably pretty girl, and he had never really noticed that before, and she was certainly a match for any man. He knew that much, but that had to be a handicap for her in many ways. He wondered what she did when she wasn't working at the mines, and he watched her now as she answered him.

My vineyards will go to my grave with me too.

You don't seem concerned about having heirs to leave them to.

She shrugged and looked at him. You can't have everything in life, Mr. Harte. I have what I want ' the mines, the grapes, the land. My father loved it all, I would feel untrue to him if I gave any of it up. It was what he loved most in this world. Selling any of that would be like selling a part of him. So that was what was at the root of it. Had he known that, he would have understood how little chance he had of buying any of it from her years before.

You must have been very devoted to him.

She smiled at Harte as he reached Nob Hill. I was. And he was very good to me. it only seems fair that I carry on now for him.

His eyes were gentle on hers. But what a painful burden it must be for you sometimes.

She nodded slowly, feeling a sudden need to be honest with him. She had to tell someone. It is, at times. It's been difficult. She sighed and looked out into space. But I suppose there's a certain victory in surviving it, and doing well. It was frightening that first year. ' Her voice grew soft at the memory. When all those men quit, and Dan Richfield left' . She shrugged again and looked at him. But that was three years ago, and everything's all right now, she smiled again, so don't get any ideas about buying me out.

I may have to try again sometime, Miss Thurston. It's the nature of the beast, I'm afraid. He laughed with her, and she directed him toward Thurston House.

Just so you expect to be turned down again.

I think I'm used to that by now.

Good. There, that's it. She pointed at the gate she always kept locked and hopped out of his car to unlock it for him, and then she came back and looked up into his eyes. It was odd meeting him like this. Things were so much less intense here. They weren't rivals meeting here in town like this, they were just two people going about their lives harmlessly. She was wearing flowers in her hair and he had bought a new car and was delighted with it. It was like being different people than they usually were, and Sabrina was feeling lighthearted again as she looked at him. You don't have to drive me in, I can walk from here.

Why not let me drive you to the door in my new car, Miss Thurston? He was being very gentlemanly, an element that had never entered into their relationship before. They had been archenemies for most of the past three years, and then finally just faded from each other's lives, and suddenly there he was again, but harmlessly, and she wasn't in the mood to be angry at him, or even to think about her mines. Napa was too far away, and she was twenty-one years old, and just happy to be alive.

All right, if you insist, Mr. Harte. She allowed him to drive her right to her front door, and then with a small smile she turned to him. If you absolutely promise not to mention my mines even once, or make me an offer of any kind, I'd be happy to invite you in for a cup of tea or some port. But you have to promise first! She was teasing now, and they were both laughing when he promised solemnly and he followed her inside. But he was in no way prepared for what he saw there. It was the most splendid house he had ever seen, and in his forty-nine years he'd seen a few, but Thurston House was spectacular, and like everyone who saw it for the first time, he stood in awe beneath the dome. She had had all of the stained glass replaced three years ago, and all of the earthquake damage had been repaired. She had even had to replace the front door, which was badly singed by the fire, which had miraculously turned and fled at their front door.

My Lord, how can you live away from this?

She grinned. They had promised not to speak of the mines, and she was determined not to be the one to break the vow. I have other fish to fry.

He laughed at the answer she gave. Indeed you do. But I think if I owned this house, I would abandon everything else just so I could live here.

She looked at him in mock dismay. She was in an unusually good mood. Are you trying to break your promise and make me an offer, Mr. Harte?

I am not. But I've never seen anything as wonderful as this house. When was it built? He vaguely remembered hearing about it, but he had never actually seen it before, and now Sabrina told him some of the details, and showed him some of the more unusual features of the house, while giving him its history.

My father built it in 1886, two years before I was born. Suddenly, John Harte stared at her, and she looked surprised. Is something wrong?

He shook his head. No ' it's not as if I didn't know, but hearing you say it like that ' do you realize what it's like for a man of my age, to realize that his arch competitor, in truth his largest competitor, is twenty-one years old? You are twenty-one, aren't you?

She smiled at him, looking perfectly poised and very beautiful. Yesterday.

His voice was quiet and soft, and it seemed as though the war between them might be off. Happy birthday then.

Thank you. She walked him back into the living room and they both sat down and sipped their sherry again. She had had nothing stronger to offer him, but he seemed satisfied with what she had. He looked perfectly happy in fact. More so than he had in years, and so did she.

What did you do on your birthday? He looked at her with interest now. There was so much to this girl, so much strength, so many quiet things, and an inner depth he had never really noticed before, although he saw it so clearly now.

Nothing much. I came to town. She shrugged. Did you expect the men at the mine to bake me a birthday cake? He laughed but he felt sad for her. This girl actually had no one at ail, except the men who worked for her, and he knew that they still resented her, and always would. She would have had to die heroically in a fire at the mine for them to really think well of her. Anything less than that wouldn't have been enough.

John Harte was looking quietly at her. You're so young to have so much on your back, Miss Thurston. Don't you ever want to just run away?

She looked at him honestly. Yes. That's when I come here. You must feel that way too sometimes. He nodded and smiled at her. His life had been so much longer and fuller than hers. It seemed unfair that she should be trapped at her mines, and how unkind they were to her. He still heard it from his own men, and now and then someone she had fired or had refused to hire came to him. But they always went to the Thurston mines first because she paid so well. She couldn't afford not to pay them well, they disliked working for her so much. It was nothing personal, but it hurt their dignity to work for a woman, even more so a young girl. As he had felt before, he suddenly wanted to protect her again, yet here she was, in her enormous, lovely house. She had her house in town, her vineyards, she had everything, and yet nothing at all. His little Indian squaw, Spring Moon, had more. She had peace, respect, security, and at least she had him.

It's funny that we should wind up competitors, isn't it?

She smiled and shrugged. I suppose everything in life is like that. It's all so coincidental, and so unexpected, and so odd. Like meeting you today. She smiled.

I almost didn't recognize you, with your hair like that.

This time she laughed. I can't very well wear it this way at the mines, then they'd really give me a bad time ' can you imagine the things they'd say? She began to laugh even harder then and suddenly he was laughing too. There were times when she was just a very young girl, and no more complicated than that. She was wonderfully unassuming and uncomplicated, very down to earth, and then one realized who she really was, and it was startling. She was a dozen people woven into one, and yet she seemed so simple and so direct. It was confusing and delightful all at the same time, and it enchanted him.

You know, I like you like this. He was smiling at her, and without a second thought, he reached out and touched her hair with his hand. In Napa, he would never have dared to do a thing like that, yet here she was almost a different girl, and there was no harm in it, and for an instant, he even forgot Spring Moon.

Thank you. She blushed as she said the words, and his hand drifted from her hair to her cheek, and then suddenly she pulled back. She wasn't used to anyone being that close to her, not since her father had died, and it startled her now. She got up to pour him another drink, but his eyes never left her face, and when she returned, he spoke gently to her.

I didn't mean to frighten you.

It's all right ' I ' it doesn't matter. She sat down and looked at him earnestly. It's difficult to be two people at once. I think I had to harden myself in order to run the mines ' I think I forgot that I was ever anyone else ' and before that, actually, I was only a child. She was barely more than that now, and he was aware of it, but on the other hand, he was also aware of something more. And he also suddenly sensed how trusting and foolish she was. He had the vague feeling that there was no one else in the house with them. He saw no evidence of servants anywhere, and on the one hand she was so guarded and so careful, and on the other hand, she had trusted him, which she shouldn't have done. His brows knit as he looked at her, feeling suddenly fatherly. Do you stay alone in this house, Miss Thurston? She smiled at him. She always had, since her father died. It doesn't frighten me. I like coming here alone. She was a strange, solitary girl, but he thought her foolish here. You're not in the country here. I think it's very dangerous. I can defend myself. She smiled, but he wasn't as sure. I wouldn't depend on that. What if you can't find your gun? He remembered hearing about the shot fired at Dan. It's never very far from me, Mr. Harte. That's reassuring. He smiled at her and she laughed. I'm sorry ' I didn't mean to suggest ' Why not? His face was serious again. You shouldn't have trusted me either, you know.

She looked at him very seriously. I have several times been very angry at you, but you have never behaved improperly toward me, Mr. Harte. She still remembered his condolence call when her father had died, and he had been nothing but kind to her then. I think I have a good sense of people by now.

You shouldn't rely on that. Why don't you bring your housekeeper with you when you come to town?

She gets seasick on the boat, she smiled, and really, I'm perfectly all right here. If I'm safe at the mines alone until almost midnight every night, what can happen to me here?

Now he really looked concerned. Do your men know that?