“Me?” I said. “But I’m not even officially one of you.”
“That’s the point. No one pays us the slightest mind. We all want food, shelter, and hot water for washing right away,” she said. “But there’s more. We need to know about jobs, not just husbands, and now that we’re off the boat, we all want to be free to move about at will.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I replied, but I wasn’t sure anyone would listen to me.
The vast crowd of men had grown restless waiting for us, and some had clearly brought out strong drink. By the time we were all ashore, we faced a near riot of unruly, besotted men who seemed convinced they were in love with each and every one of us. After the navy band, looking festive in their dress blues on a floating barge tied to the dock, struck up “Rule Britannia,” the crowd of several hundred erupted into their own ribald version of this most patriotic of songs, the lyrics slurred and off tune.
We blushed deeply and kept our eyes glued to the ground, but Mrs. Burk clucked like a mother hen, prevailing upon each of us to stand tall in rows of two and to walk off the dock with calm dignity. “Come, girls,” she squawked, “show them how true Christian daughters of the empire conduct themselves.”
“Once I get my hands on some of that whisky, I plan on showing them a thing or two about how daughters of the empire really behave,” Alice murmured next to me.
I had come to accept Alice and her ways. In fact, I had grown fond of her. Under her brash exterior was a heart of gold. Still, I was somewhat dismayed at her chosen gown, which I thought gave these men the wrong impression. It was black muslin with a low-cut, close-fitting bodice, only partially shrouded by a red lace shawl. Dangling earrings made of red feathers, a red velvet choker necklace, and black gloves that sported fur trim at the wrists accented her entire ensemble. She had rouged her face and rimmed her eyes with kohl, and there was even a rather saucy black beauty mark pasted to one corner of her mouth. But I knew that Alice could take care of herself. The question was, could I?
As I gathered my skirts to step off the dock, I called upon all my inner resources to quiet my fluttering stomach. There was a surprising moment of calm, as if shyness had gotten the best of these lonely bachelors, but it didn’t last long. Then someone from the back shouted, “I love you, marry me!” and the crowd erupted into raucous laughter. More cries were taken up, and pandemonium broke loose. The few members of the navy there presumably to keep order had their hands full as men pushed from behind to get a better look, threatening to send some of those at the front spilling forward at our feet.
A small delegation of men, in starched white shirts and freshly pressed suits, stood at the front of the crowd and introduced themselves as the welcoming committee. One of them, a tall man who seemed to be the leader, doffed his hat and read slowly from a script.
“ ‘On behalf of Governor Douglas we would like to welcome you to the colony of Vancouver Island. May you prosper in this wonderful place and live long, fruitful lives here.’ ”
I couldn’t help but notice the sly sidelong glances as the dignitaries openly appraised us. I overheard one tell the man next to him that some of us were a bit long in the tooth and had seen better days. I may have left England far behind, I thought, but not the base attitudes of some of the men.
Florence nudged me, and I stepped forward. “These women have had a long, exhausting journey,” I said, “and now all they want is a place to rest, some warm water for bathing, and food, of course. They’d also like—”
“The welcoming committee has it all well in hand,” the spokesperson interrupted.
I tried once more to press our requests upon them. They continued to dismiss me, but I persevered, and they finally agreed to meet with me in the morning to address my other concerns.
A fair-haired man burst through the crowd and came to a stop in front of Alice.
“You are the most beautiful woman I ever seen. Will you marry me?” he asked, bending his knee. He pulled a large wad of bills from his breast pocket. “You can use this to buy the best wedding clothes you ever imagined. And we’ll have a wedding feast to top all, no expenses spared.”
A hush fell over the scene as everyone waited for Alice’s answer, but she looked dumbfounded and turned to me. “What should I do?”
I could see the young man was earnest and had a touch of youthful innocence in his wide, blue eyes. And while I couldn’t imagine saying yes to someone I had just met, I knew Alice didn’t have the luxury of waiting.
“Come what may, he doesn’t look the sort to treat you ill,” I replied. “But only you can decide.”
She said nothing for another moment or two and then, in a calm, clear voice, declared, “I will!”
With both hands, she took the money from her new fiancé’s hand and tucked it down the front of her dress. The groom jumped to his feet and twirled her around in the air as the crowd cheered.
The welcoming committee impatiently beckoned us forward, and Alice broke away to keep up with us, beaming with delight.
“Your friend has made an excellent match,” a slim, dark-haired man said, falling into step beside me as we continued along the edge of the harbour. “That’s Mr. Pioneer. He’s just struck a very rich vein of gold in the Cariboo.”
“I’m sure they’ll be very happy,” I said, taking hold of Sarah’s elbow and briskly moving forward. I hoped this man wasn’t trying to propose
