CHAPTER19
It was dark when they pulled into Helena. Daisy sat between Lee and Ellis on the hard bench of the wagon as she gazed about at the small town. It was much bigger than Treasure Falls, but nothing compared to Charleston.
The main street in town had two saloons, three brothels, two mercantiles, a dressmaker, and so many other little shops, like bakeries, five and dimes, and specialty shops. Everything that Treasure Falls was missing and yet Daisy knew she wouldn’t trade where she lived.
“Where are we staying the night?” she asked.
“We’re going to check in at the hotel, and then Ellis and I are going to the brothel,” he said.
She knew it was not a place where women went, but after her initiation into sex, she was curious. “Why can’t I go?”
“Because this is not an appropriate place for a woman,” Ellis said. “Especially our wife.”
“But it’s a place my husbands should be allowed to visit without me?”
The two men glanced at one another and frowned. They hadn’t considered how she would feel with them going into a brothel. Sure, she had no doubts about them, they were good men, but still, no woman wanted her man to be tempted.
Glancing back down the street, she turned and gazed at her husbands. “So you’re going to leave me alone in the hotel. I’m supposed to just sit there and wait for you while you go to a brothel and are tempted by women.”
“Don’t worry, we know what we have. We won’t be tempted,” Lee said.
The two men glowered at her.
“When I get bored, I often get into trouble,” she said. “And this city has so many places to explore. So many temptations. There is the dressmaker’s shop, several mercantiles, saloons, and other exciting shops. One looked particularly interesting. What is a fine dining club for gentlemen? Why is it just for men?”
Ellis began shaking his head. “Never go in there. That’s where wealthy men dine and often meet with ladies that their wives don’t know about. That’s where they take their mistresses.”
She tilted her head and raised her brows. “A cheating husbands club. Lovely.”
“Yes,” Lee said.
Placing her finger on her lips, she bit her bottom lip and tilted her head with a saucy smile on her face. “All right. You can leave me behind at the hotel. I’ll find something to keep myself entertained with while you’re gone. I’ve never been in a saloon. Maybe that’s where I should go.”
Both men at the same time said, “No.”
She giggled. “Well, where is a woman to go to be entertained?”
A groan escaped Lee and he shook his head. “All right, you can go to the bordello with us, but you will wear a mask and not say a word. Do you understand me?”
A grin the size of Texas spread across her face. “Thank you.”
Ellis turned and shook his head.
“You give in way too easy,” he said to Lee.
“I’m not willing to find out what kind of trouble she could get into while we’re gone. At the bordello, we are in control.”
“That’s what you think,” Ellis said.
Daisy giggled, but she didn’t say a word. She’d gotten her way and now they would not leave her alone. Besides, she wanted to see what she escaped.
After they dropped off the wagon at the stables, they walked down the street and found a hotel for the night. Then they had dinner. Finally, it came time to see if they could find Lee’s sister. Daisy dearly hoped they would not see her working as a whore.
Lee would be devastated and she didn’t want to see her husband hurt.
The men covered her face with a scarf that hid everything but her eyes. She could barely breathe as they entered the place. A piano player was banging out a song on an old piano. The noise was deafening.
Dear God, she’d gotten so lucky.
When they walked in, the madam pulled them aside. “No women are allowed unless you’re taking her upstairs.”
The older woman didn’t smile, and in fact, she looked mean as hell. Like she could shoot to kill, step over the body, and continue working. No questions asked.
“We are,” Ellis told the lady. “But we’re going to need a room with a peephole. We want to see what’s going on in the rooms next to us. And even the downstairs room if you have one.”
The woman smiled and took their money and then led them up the stairs.
Daisy was so busy trying to see everything that was going on. There was a bar where men sat drinking. There were scantily clad women walking around the room, whispering in men’s ears, and one lady wore a dress that was tied at the waist. Whenever a man said something to her, she would open her dress and expose herself to him.
“Oh my,” Daisy said.
“Are you going to ask the madam about Beth?” Ellis whispered when the madam couldn’t hear him.
“Not until we look around. I’m afraid she’ll throw us out if Beth is working here. I just hope to God, she’s not here.”
When she walked in the door of the bordello, she couldn’t help but remember how the man had followed her about the streets, trying to capture her and put her to work in Charleston. But she’d outsmarted the man. And thank God, she had.
This could have been her life.
At the top of the stairs, the madam took a key out and opened a door. “One hour.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the men said and pushed Daisy inside.
The room was small and only held a small bed.
“Strip,” Ellis said.
Stunned, she stared at him. “Why?”
“You wanted to be here and now you’re going to get the full experience,” he said.
Lee laughed and walked over to the peepholes. “I hope I don’t see Beth here. That would be awful.”
“How could you see her?” Daisy asked, removing her shoes and stockings.