The night breeze pushing through the window cooled his skin, reminding him that he was naked. Damn! He was about to get into a gunfight, and he was naked! How would the paper write that up if he was killed? He could feel the texture of the boards under his feet. He was intensely alert, ready for anything.
He heard whoever was trying to break into his room breathing on the other side of the door. The hall lanterns were lit, and a sliver of light shot in under the door. From the saloon below, he could hear the nighttime revelry, a playing piano, and someone laughing.
Matt waited.
Whoever was coming into his room wasn’t breaking into it. They had a key! The doorknob turned again and the door began to swing open, spilling an ever-widening arc of light into the room.
Matt watched the door ease open, away from him. As it did, the arc of light turned into a bar of light that splashed all the way across to the foot of the bed. A shadow filled the door, gliding in through the opening, backlit by the lantern on the wall in the hall beyond.
What the hell?” Matt whispered in surprise, letting his breath escape in a rush. The person trying to get into his room was a woman!
Matt grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled her inside. He closed the door quickly behind her, the motion pulling her against him. She let out a cry of alarm.
“Who are you?” Matt asked, backing away from her.
“My name is Lily,” the woman answered in a frightened voice. “Lily Langtry.”
“Lily Langtry? I’ve heard of you,” Matt said, lowering his pistol. “The next question is, what are you doing in my room?”
“I might ask you the same thing,” Lily replied. “This is my room. I’ve been staying here for two weeks.”
“What?”
“I’m a friend of Moreton Frewen,” Lily said. She chuckled. “However, I am not a friend of his wife, Clara. So when I come to visit, I have to make other arrangements. This room is my other arrangement, and has been for the last two weeks.”
“I, uh, don’t know what to say,” Matt said. “I rented a room, and this is the room the bartender gave me.”
“Wait a minute, I think I know what must have happened,” Lily said. “I was in Room Three, but I asked to be changed to this room. There is some construction going on down the street, and when they get started in the morning, the hammering and sawing awakens me. I complained about it to Johnny this morning, and he gave me a key to this room. He must not have told Harry. I’ll go back across to Room Three. I really didn’t expect to see you in here.” She paused for a moment, and Matt saw a twinkling of humor in her eyes. “And I especially didn’t expect to see so much of you.”
Matt felt his cheeks burning, and he was glad that it was too dark for her to see that. He stepped back into the shadow to restore some modesty, if not dignity.
“You don’t have to keep looking, you know,” he said.
Lily laughed, a low, throaty laugh. “I see your point,” she said. “I’ll just step back across the hall now. I do apologize for disturbing you. Good night, now.”
A slight morning breeze filled the muslin curtains and lifted them out over the wide-planked floor. Matt, clean from his bath the night before and wearing his new clothes, moved to the window to look out over the town, which was just beginning to awaken. From the laundry, he could hear the chattering of the Chinese employees as they built the fires to heat the water. Boxes were being stacked behind the grocery store as a team of four big horses pulled a fully loaded freight wagon down the main street.
A stagecoach was sitting at the coach depot, and one man was on top of the coach receiving luggage from another man who was passing it up to him. The door of the coach was open, and passengers were just now getting onboard.
From somewhere in town, Matt could smell bacon frying and his stomach growled, reminding him that he was hungry. He splashed some water in the basin, washed his face and hands, then put on his hat and went downstairs. It was too early for the normal clientele, but there were a couple of people already here and they were sitting at separate tables, staring silently into their breakfast beer. Neither of them paid any attention to Matt as he walked through the saloon. The bartender was not the same one who had been on duty the previous night.
The morning sun was bright, but not yet hot. The sky was clear and the air was crisp. As he walked toward the cafe he heard sounds of commerce: the ring of a blacksmith’s hammer, a carpenter’s saw, and the squeak and rattle of the departing stagecoach. He knew that the hammering and sawing must be the construction that Lily Langtry mentioned last night.
Matt smiled as he thought about his encounter with the famous actress. It had been an embarrassing moment, but he had to admit that it was also funny.
Fifteen minutes later, as Matt was enjoying a breakfast of coffee, bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, Lily Langtry came in. Seeing Matt at one of the tables, she smiled and crossed the room to him. Matt stood up.
“Good morning, Mr. Jensen.”
“You know my name, Miss Langtry?”
“Of course I do,” Lily said. “Would you mind if I joined you?” she asked.
“No, not at all. I would be pleased with the company,” he said, pulling out a chair for her.
“My, that’s quite a breakfast,” Lily said. “How long has it been since you have eaten?”
“It’s been quite a while. Not since supper last night,” Matt said.
Lilly laughed, then, as he held the chair, took her seat. She ordered a cup of hot tea and toast with butter and marmalade.
“You expect something like that to hold you till dinner?” Matt asked.
