Is that what he called vandalism? “Nevertheless, sir,” she said, “if you cannot respect the rules, I will have to ask you to leave.”
He stared up at her, paling. “Leave? But there isn’t another suitable hotel for miles.”
“Very likely not,” Kate agreed sweetly. “But there’s always the Fire Hole to the north. I understand they’ve nearly managed the bedbug infestation.”
He cringed a moment, then rose, chin up. “Very well. I will abide by these childish rules. I’m leaving tomorrow, in any event. And you can be sure I will mention to the park superintendent that your hospitality was distinctly lacking.”
“If you feel you must,” Kate said. “I will, of course, be required to inform Captain Harris about the distressing incident with the stick and the mud pots. I don’t believe he’s settled on consequences, yet, but I doubt they will involve much jail time.”
He pushed past her for the hotel.
Kate shuddered. Unpleasant fellow. Most of her guests were far more understanding. And if they weren’t, they, like Mr. Ponsonby, would be shortly gone. Few stayed more than a day or two as they toured the park.
And the ones currently at the inn deserved her attention.
She returned inside to help her maids set the tables, then served beside them to keep the food and lemonade flowing while Danny ate his dinner in the kitchen with Alberta and Caleb. While the maids washed up, she managed a few bites of the beef stew before chipping in to dry and store the china and silver in the white-painted cupboards that ran the extent of one wall in the long kitchen.
“Another fork gone,” the tallest of the maids, Ida, said as she laid the last utensil in the wide drawer near the door to the dining room. She shoved her light-brown hair off her forehead, face sagging. “What, do they eat them?”
Sarah, the youngest at sixteen, giggled, blonde ringlets bouncing. “No. They collect them, like the rocks.”
“And why them either?” Ida asked, clearly perplexed. “Like that lady last week who wanted Caleb to break her off a piece from Morning Geyser.”
Pansy, who had been with Kate the longest, shook her head, blonde hair glinting. “They shouldn’t be taking anything from Yellowstone but memories.”
“And those pictures Mr. Haynes sells,” Sarah reminded her. “I’m going to bring one home to Ma when the season’s over.”
“Not long now,” Ida said with a grateful sigh.
Not long at all. With the exception of Alberta, all her staff would be leaving by the end of September, and work wouldn’t start again until late April at the earliest, when the roads cleared.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about next season,” Kate said, going to hold the door open for them to leave the kitchen. “I hope you’ll all consider returning.”
Ida smiled at her as she passed. “I’d like that, Mrs. Tremaine. Thank you.”
Pansy went so far as to drop a curtsey. “Me too, Mrs. Tremaine. The guests are ever so kind about leaving considerations.”
Sarah gave her a bright smile. “I’ll have to let you know. I hear the big hotel at Mammoth will be hiring. All the best people stay there.”
Ida and Pansy frowned at her as she flounced past.
Kate bit back a sigh as she watched them head up the stairs to the staff quarters. Keeping staff was never easy. Like Alberta, Pansy had worked here since Kate and Toby had arrived. Elijah had started a year later; she still remembered when he’d ridden out to meet Toby and convinced him to take a chance on a new tour company. Caleb was coming on two years now. But everyone else changed, found other work, better work. And now she had to contend with the fancier hotels the Yellowstone Park Association was building. She would have to advertise for help farther out, hope someone suitable would answer. After all, Alberta had originally answered an advertisement in Ohio.
She had planned to start the map right after breakfast the next day, but she had no sooner swept the plank floor around the tables when the rattle of tack and drum of horses’ hooves heralded the arrival of a stagecoach. The Wakefield and Hoffman group had a corral, stables, and rooms for their drivers to the north of her, but their passengers often preferred to stay at the Geyser Gateway. The driver carried off eight of her guests for Mammoth Hot Springs. Another six had already left with their driver for Old Faithful. After seeing everyone off, she had to make her morning tour of the geyser field, where she discovered one of her guests attempting to boil a fish he’d caught in the Firehole River in one of the hot pools. She ordered him back to the hotel and spent the next little while trying to retrieve the bones from the pool with a wooden paddle while Danny offered advice from a safe distance.
It was noon before she sat down again, and then she was interrupted by the arrival of Elijah Freeman. Funny—she hadn’t been expecting him today. She tucked her hair back into her bun and straightened her flower-printed fitted bodice before throwing open the wide front door.
“Welcome to the Geyser Gateway Inn!” she proclaimed as soon as Elijah drew his team to a stop.
Six pairs of eyes gazed back at her from faces displaying everything from delight to awe to concern. She understood. Some, like her, fell in love with the wondrous features of the park. Others found it all too wild.
Caleb hurried from the barn to take charge of the horses while the driver jumped down to land with a puff of chalk.
“Mrs. Tremaine, I bring you a distinguished group of visitors,” Elijah declared, whipping his hat off his tightly curled black hair. “All the way from Berkshire, England. Lord and Lady Cavell; their daughter, Miss Cavell; Sir Winston Wallingford; and their servants.”
Kate bobbed a curtsey and stepped aside as Elijah handed them down and
