Chapter 10: Respectable Woman

Denver, Colorado Territory, December 1862

Around Denver, work in the diggings came to an end too. The diggers moved into town, mostly bunking in primitive huts. This presented a problem for the poorest in the city. A group of women, the widows or wives of the hapless among the diggers, had used those bunk houses over the summer with their children. Now the influx of paying lodgers displaced them from their shelters.

One day in early December, Rose and Amanda had visited with the wife of Justice Pilkins, the undisputed alpha female in Denver. After returning Amanda to her home, Rose had McGuinn stop the buckboard when she saw a woman and two children sitting in front of a canvas lean-to that was perched against an adobe brick wall. They had a small, smoking fire going and were roasting a rat on a spit. Neither the woman nor the children had shoes, and their feet were blue with the cold.

Dressed in her new sheepskin coat and wearing warm fur boots, Rose felt bad looking at the miserable group. The woman looked up at her, and her eyes showed a flicker of hope.

"Have you no other home?" Rose asked.

"No, Madam. My husband drowned on the trek. I've tried to work in the saloon, but I ... I can't do what they expect of me. You wouldn't have a piece of bread, would you?"

"Not on me, but we have more than enough bread at home. Mr. McGuinn, please help the children up. They can spend the night in the tack room, can't they?"

Pat McGuinn knew better than to raise objections. The position with the Tremaynes had been a singular piece of luck for him. Good food, light work, and warm servant quarters under the roof were as close to paradise as he had ever come. He jumped from the driver's seat and helped the two kids up to sit on the tail end. The woman climbed up to sit next to him. She smelled badly, Pat noticed. Then again, she had to, given her soiled and torn dress.

"I shall have Mrs. McGuinn ready a bath for all of you," Rose announced from the back seat as Pat clucked his tongue to start the buckboard. Within a few minutes, the wagon stopped in front of the Tremayne residence. Rose climbed down from her seat. She looked at the woman.

"What is your name?"

"Mary O'Connor, Madam," the woman answered.

"Well, Mary O'Connor. Pat will show you a place to sleep. I shall send food for you, and our housekeeper will ready a bath. We'll try to find some clothes for you and your children too. I don't have to tell you not to try and abuse our hospitality?"

"Lord, no! Madam, we're right grateful. Will you really give us food? We had nothing but rats and boiled nettles for days."

"I'll see to it. You have to clean up first. Then you'll eat and after that, we can decide what to do about you and your children. How old are they?"

"Tim is twelve, Madam, and Emily is ten."

"I see. Go in and help Mr. McGuinn with the horses until the bath is ready."

Rose was adamant about the three putting in some work and cleaning up before they received food. She went inside. She quickly instructed their housekeeper, Mrs. McGuinn, before she found Jim in the study.

"Jim, dear, I have picked up a widow with her two children on the way back from the Pilkins'. Do you think we can feed them for a few days? The woman has no idea how to survive."

Jim thought about it. "Rose, there's quite a few families like those. Picking those three to help them is quite arbitrary, isn't it?"

"Yes, I know, but it's better than doing nothing at all."

Jim nodded, obviously acknowledging Rose's viewpoint. When he spoke again, Rose was surprised.

"I have spoken with Justice Pilkins about this issue. Well, not us two alone, the Marshal was there too, and Mr. Bolton from the Miners' Bank. There are a lot of displaced people roaming the streets, a lot of them completely desperate. Petty theft is on the rise the Marshal says. We were thinking, would you and Amanda want to organize some sort shelter for those without home? Justice Pilkins said that Prudence Pilkins would help too.

"Benson's livery stable had to close, and the Miners' Bank owns the house and the stables. Bolton says that we can rent it for small money and set it up for the women and children needing shelter. It will need some cleaning and partitioning, but it could provide the room for close to thirty people. Somebody needs to organize it and run it, though. We thought that you, Mandy, and Prudence Pilkins could form a committee. Are you interested?"

Rose stared at her husband, fighting a smile. "You mean I should be involved in a charity? I?"

"Why not? You get along with Prudence Pilkins, don't you?"

"Yes, but thinking of myself as being involved in a charity is so outlandish! The women in Independence would not even acknowledge my existence."

"Yes, Rose," Jim laughed, "you are becoming quite the respectable woman. I haven't met one person yet who does not like you."

"Maurie?"

"Oh yes, Maurie. He hates all of us, but he won't be around much longer. Bolton told me that Maurie defaulted on a loan. The Bank will take over the hotel."

Now that was a juicy piece of gossip! Rose could not help feeling a certain malicious glee. She suppressed the smug grin and refocussed on Jim's proposal.

"What about the running costs for such a shelter? Food, clothes, blankets, and soap?"

"The Mayor has promised some money to help getting those people off his streets. That should pay the rent. I talked to Ned; he and I will foot the bills for food. The boarders will have to organize the cooking and cleaning among themselves."

"We could organize tea afternoons to raise support," Rose mused. "We'll need donations of clothes and such if Mary O'Donnell and her children are an indicator. Shoes, too. Do you really believe that I can do this?"

Jim stood quickly and took Rose in his arms. "Rose, I think the world of you, and I want others to learn what a wonderful woman you are. You have to get involved with the other women here in Denver, and this will be a perfect opportunity. It's like giving out biscuits on Christmas Day, only more regular. You already picked up that hapless family to help them. Helping people comes to you naturally."

"I guess I like to help," Rose conceded. "Will you be there for me if I need advice?"

"Rose, I'll always be there for you. For advice or whatever else you need or want."

Rose snuggled close to Jim's chest. "Jim Tremayne, you are the best husband a woman can dream of. I don't deserve you."

"Oh yes, Rose, you do. You are the best that ever happened to me in my life. I'd give away all that gold we found rather than giving you up. With you at my side, I feel whole."

"You sure say the nicest things, Jim Tremayne, you darling man," Rose purred in his arms. With an effort, she disengaged herself from his embrace. "Let me check whether Mrs. McGuinn needs help. I love you!"

With that, she left the study. She was almost dancing along the hallway to the kitchen where she found their housekeeper. Mrs. McGuinn showed her exasperation.

"Oh, there you are, Madam! What am I supposed to do with these people? They're filthy, there's no other word for it. And their clothes!"

Rose held up her hand. "Mrs. McGuinn, we'll clean them up and put them into some better clothes. Get soap, brush and brimstone. You will look after the woman and the girl, and your husband sees to it that the boy cleans up. Once they are done with their bath, they get food. Nothing fancy, rather something filling. After supper, the mother and the girl can help you with the clean up while the boy will help your husband."

A half hour later, Rose returned from Harper's General Store, a dozen houses down the street. The shop assistant, another of those abundant orphan boys in town, carried her purchases. She had bought used dresses, pants, shirts, and three wool blankets. When she arrived, she let the shop helper carry the items to the door of the laundry room in the back before she sent him on his way with a silver dime for his trouble.

Entering the laundry room, she saw Mrs. McGuinn and Samantha assist the woman and the girl with the cleaning. Samantha had bound up her hair and rolled up her sleeves while she applied a brush and soap to the girl's back. The woman, Mary O'Donnell, was already finished and sat huddled in an old but clean blanket, while Mrs. McGuinn none-to-gently dragged a comb through the tangled, wet hair. With the grime washed off, Mary O'Donnell proved to be a pretty-faced woman, even if her eyes were sunken deep into her head. Rose wondered when these people had had their last decent meal.

"Thank you for helping out, Sweety," she smiled at Samantha.

The girl blushed. "I haven't forgotten whence I came, Mother."

Rose hugged her from behind.

"Still, I appreciate your help," she whispered into Samantha's ear. She raised her voice then. "So, you're Emily?"

The girl nodded shyly. She was frightfully thin, even thinner than Samantha had been last winter.

"I brought you some warm clothes. They're outside. Just let Samantha scrub you clean and then dress. As soon as you are done, we'll get some food into your tummy."

Mrs. McGuinn was finished with Mary's hair and she helped the emaciated woman to braid it. The housekeeper shook her head in dismay over the skinny bodies that emerged when the grime came off.

"I started a beef stew, Mrs. Tremayne. Could you take over while I look after it?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Mrs. McGuinn. I'll bring them to the kitchen once they are dressed."

She watched as the rotund behind of the housekeeper disappeared through the door to the kitchen. Emily was clean now too and sat huddled in a blanket much like her mother.

"Samantha, will you bring in my purchases? They are just outside."

"Of course," Sam smiled and quickly fetched the clothes Rose had bought.

Rose had the woman dress first. It would take some time before she would fill out that dress Rose thought. Once the woman was clothed, Rose put her to the task of combing and braiding her daughter's hair. With shaky hands, Mary O'Donnell completed that task while Samantha and Rose picked a dress and other items for the girl. They all helped Emily to dress, and Rose assessed the change with satisfaction.