“Indeed, you have a lovely house,” Ruth enthused with a sweet smile. “Does anyone live here with you?”
“No, my dear,” Alistair feigned a sad look. “It’s just me, and of course, small cottages at the back of the property for my household servants.”
Servants?Ruth frowned and asked, “Did you inherit this house as a part of an estate?” She followed him to the parlor that held ornate Victorian furniture neatly arranged throughout the large room.
Ruth sat at the edge of an upholstered red couch with gold leaf accents near a long polished table with Flemish scroll legs. Her whalebone skirt prevented her from sitting further into the couch and was again forced to sit upright.
A young woman dressed in attire similar to Elizabeth’s brought in a tray of tea and biscuits.
“A second cousin of mine, Erasmus Nagle, was a panhandler and acquired great wealth selling pots and pans to rural folk. He built a fabulous brick house in 1874. It was the first brick house in Cheyenne.” Alistair chuckled and poured two cups of tea. Ruth picked up a biscuit and tried her best to look interested. Alistair continued, “Well, Erasmus owed me a favor and I asked him to build me a grand house, far greater than any in Cheyenne—of course, not better than his, though. Then Francis Warren came along and built a bigger house next door. Erasmus was furious and built a bigger house at the end of the block and called it the Nagle Warren mansion. It’s on east 17th Street perhaps I’ll take you there sometime.”
“Oh? That sounds interesting. I’d like that.” Ruth said taking a sip of tea, “Is he a builder now?”
“No, he can be found at the Lakeview cemetery,” Alistair suddenly seemed disinterested. “He passed away in January last year from peritonitis. I have not seen his wife, Emma Jane, or George, their son, since the funeral.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” Ruth said, feeling sympathy for him. “It sounds like you were close.”
“While he was selling pots and pans and opening grocery stores, I was a practicing doctor,” Alistair placed his cup and saucer on the tray.
“What is keeping Miss Todd?” he declared, and his voice was heightened by irritation.
Ruth wondered whether it was the same girl who earlier brought the tea; she had seemed a little skittish. Ruth thought it must be hard to work for Alistair and wondered if Daniel was at the park yet.
The same girl returned and announced that dinner was ready to be served. She picked up the tea tray and disappeared as quickly as she came.
Alistair offered his hand to Ruth and helped her to her feet. She wondered if she would have to sit the entire time like a porcelain doll.
Ruth was astonished at the exquisite dining room. Erasmus Nagle certainly had an eye for beauty. The multi-pane windows were dressed with two pale gold panel drapes with softly dipping swags at the top. Hung from the ceiling was a chandelier with rose-shaped gas lights and four rose-shaped gaslights were mounted at each corner of the dining room. A large oval walnut table was covered with a white silk tablecloth with gold embroidery. Twelve cream-colored upholstered chairs with floral patterns were placed around the table. Crystal glasses, silverware, and fine china plates and bowls had already been set. In the center of the table was a vase filled with gorgeous autumn flowers. Ruth found the renaissance landscape painting that hung above a heavy walnut chest of drawers breathtaking.
“I see you appreciate fine art,” Alistair commented, preening for her benefit. “Take a seat, my dear. Miss Todd shall bring dinner out shortly.”
Miss Todd appeared with a tray bearing a bottle of red wine. She wore a housekeeper’s uniform and unlike Elizabeth, she did not wear a smile.
“May I offer you some wine?” Alistair said, his head slightly tilted, and his brows raised.
“No, thank you,” Ruth smiled, “I am not an imbiber of spirits.”
“You simply must taste this,” Alistair insisted eagerly. “The classic taste and bouquet ofMoulin des Carruadesis imported from France, directly from the Baron de Rothschild’s vineyard,” he boasted. “I assure you it is no easy feat to acquire wine of this caliber in Cheyenne.”
“I am sure it was not easy,” Ruth murmured politely, her smile fixed and pleasant. “I would rather have some water or juice. I don’t mind tea or coffee either.”
“Come now, Ruth,” Alistair’s tone became patronizing. “Are you going to pass up the opportunity to taste a wine so rare in these parts?”
“Thank you, Alistair; however, I don’t believe I’ll have liquor, wine or otherwise.”
“Very well,” Alistair opened the wine and poured himself a glass.
“The décor in this room is stunning,” Ruth remarked, impressed. “Could this be the same Erasmus Nagle that had interests in the mining towns of the Colorado Rockies? My father used to frequent the mines whenever there was a shortage of doctors.”
“Yes, yes,” Alistair sounded annoyed. “Nagle was a boastful fellow, especially regarding involvement in the discovery of gold in the Black Hills.”
“I see,” Ruth welcomed the small decanter of apple juice that was brought to the table. “What about other family? Surely you have brothers or sisters?”
“Everything you see in this room and this very house,” Alistair avowed proudly, “is of my own doing. I grew up in a poor town. It was barely a town at all; in fact, it probably has not even been mapped yet. My father was a hired worker for a farmer and my mother stayed home. My younger sister died of an unknown illness when she was ten years old, and my two elder brothers left to work in the mines, but we never heard from them again.”
“That is awful, I’m so sorry.”
“Do not be sorry; you bear no fault,” Alistair said in an attempt at honesty and for a moment Ruth thought she glimpsed someone who had a heart. “I observed that the more others were respected and honored, the more wealth and status they attained.” His head shook as he spoke, and his voice rose. “I vowed to become rich and achieve status, along with all the money that I could ever want. I despised my parents, and those that accepted their fate. I did not.” He waved his hand across the table to emphasize his possessions. “As you see now, my dear,” his eyes gleamed and he lifted his shoulders back. “I can give you anything you want.”
