Chapter 9
As Maddie was carried along on the men’s shoulders, she held on for dear life. She could smell the stench of whiskey and unwashed bodies rising from them. This wasn’t the same as having Russian students pull her carriage, for these men were so drunk that by sheer accident, they could drop her and trample her. They were so drunk that if they did drop her, it would probably be an hour before they realized it. Also, she was worried that some of the men would think that she had meant her performance and believe that she was Carmen.
It was with great relief that she saw Captain Montgomery making his way through the crowd to her. He was at least a head taller than the other men, and he was a man with a mission, so he was perhaps using more force than was necessary. As she buried her fingers in the hair of one of the men holding her and tried her best to keep her seat, she realized she wouldn’t have minded if Captain Montgomery had made his way toward her by using a cannon.
When he got near her, she could see that he was very angry, but when he put his arms up for her, she didn’t hesitate. She let go of the hair of the man holding her and fell into Captain Montgomery’s arms. She hid her face against the wool of his jacket and snuggled against him as tightly as possible. She could hear the sound of his heart over the angry shouts of the miners, but she heard some other shouts and knew without looking that Toby and Frank and Sam were there also.
Captain Montgomery carried her back to her tent, which Sam had moved into the trees during her performance, away from the camps of the miners.
He dropped her without much gentleness on the cot, then turned his back on her and poured some whiskey. “Here,” he said, holding the glass out to her.
He can’t be too angry if he’s offering me food, she thought. She took a sip, then he jerked the glass from her hand and drank the whiskey himself.
“You don’t deserve any and I don’t trust any whiskey that you keep,” he said, scowling down at her. “That was some exhibition you put on in there. Did your Madame Branchini teach you that?”
“It was done purely on my own instincts.” She smiled at him. “Did you like it?”
“I’m glad the men couldn’t understand the words of the songs. Gypsy love, indeed.” He turned away to refill his glass.
She leaned back on the cot on her elbows. Her blouse was still open, Edith’s corset showing, and she just happened to notice that with her arms back as they were, her breasts plumped up rather nicely. “I’ve never done anything like that before. I think I did rather well, don’t you?”
He turned back and some whiskey splashed out of his glass when he looked at her.
She smiled as innocently as she knew how.
“If you keep playing with fire, you’re going to get burned.”
“Oh? And who is going to add fuel to my fire?”
“Not me, if that’s what you’re hinting at.”
That cooled her off. She sat up. “I should have known I wouldn’t get a compliment out of you.”
“Is that what you want? Your singing was magnificent. I have never heard anything like it in my life. Every note was like a precious jewel being given to the earth.”
She blinked a few times, hearing the sincerity in his voice. “But what about my acting?”
“Acting?” He snorted. “You weren’t acting. You were Carmen.” He gave her a look up and down. “But you can stop now.”
She snatched her blouse together and got off the cot. “Thank you so much for rescuing me from the miners, Captain, but I’d like to get ready for bed now, so perhaps you should leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“You can’t spend the night with me.”
“No, not spend the night with you, at least not the way it sounds. I am going to try to keep those men who you did your best to entice from coming in here to get you. Sam and Frank and Toby are going to sleep just outside.”
This made Maddie feel rather like an extraordinarily desirable woman.
“You can stop looking so pleased with yourself. I hope no one gets hurt.”
“I do too, and I’m sure they won’t with you looking out for me.” She smiled at him. “They did like me, didn’t they?” She began to hum the “Habanera” and, with her skirt held out, she moved about the tent as though she were dancing.
He watched her, frowning. “Is that who you want to like you, men like them?”
&n
bsp; “You don’t understand.”