Olivia's Mine Read online

  “I take it McMichael has no idea you are my daughter yet?”

  “None that I know of.”

  “Well then, let’s try to keep it that way. I want you to pretend your brother is just an acquaintance you ran into on the boat, nothing more. Do you think you can convince your gang of merry kidnappers to keep to the story?”

  “Well,” Olivia sighed, “Sarah might be a problem, she’ll want to tell everyone about Jason. The rest will think it a great adventure. Lucy will love the intrigue of it all and Frenchie’s a pirate at heart.”

  William laughed heartily as he saw Lucy getting more drinks for herself and Aaron. “I think you might have that observation backwards, my dear.”

  “Thank you for allowing them to come and enjoy the wedding,” Olivia said. “It was kind of you to invite them.”

  “Not at all,” William said. “Without them, there would have been a very important person missing from the wedding party. I am eternally grateful to all of them. Now if you will excuse me, I see Frenchie wants to dance with your mother...again. I’d better go help her out, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  Olivia had a truly wonderful time with her family and her friends. When she came home four days later, she found Frank acting quite sheepish. She eventually learned about the letter he received from her father, but not the contents of it. Whatever it said, it seemed to have put the fear of God into Frank. It also unfortunately widened the distance between her and her husband. He was cold and distant, and began spending more and more time at work, preferring to spend his nights there, or alone on the couch.

  “Well,” Olivia thought pragmatically, “if I’m going to be on my own, then at least I will have a job to keep me busy. And I’ll be able to afford a lawyer, should it come to that.”

  William had indeed sent Jason along to scout out the possibilities of a store, and Olivia’s dream was becoming a reality in a series of clandestine manoeuvres.

  McMichael was away in Vancouver, taking a look at private schools for his daughter. He was still determined she was going to one despite Maggie’s efforts to convince him otherwise. It was a stroke of luck that he was out of town, but out of town he was.

  Jason, upon his arrival, had said to anyone who asked that he was a war vet just taking a little time to recuperate from his injuries. Aside from spending some time at the café with Sarah, who everyone knew chased after every new man in town, he kept a low profile. He took a look around, found an old building that was vacant and quite suitable and took note of it. He did not make contact with Olivia. He never ran into Frank, not that Frank would have recognized the skinny man he had become, particularly with his beard and moustache that he sported pre-war now shaven clean. Frank had never paid much attention to him back in Seattle. He thought Jason was a bad seed. Jason returned to Seattle within a couple of days, slipping out with the same lack of fanfare that had greeted him. Sarah had decided that if keeping Olivia’s secret meant she could see Jason again, then that was what she would do.

  William and Aaron had decided between them to put up the money for the store, and leased the property directly from the government, who of course, were always more than willing to help out the Bower brothers of Seattle any way they could. There was a lot of ore moving across the U.S.A. on the railroad William had been instrumental in building. The facility they rented was technically owned by the post office, not the mine. The paperwork would not fly by McMichael. The space had been used as a storage facility before the new post office was built.

  Next, the brothers arranged for a line of credit between the store and the Eaton's Company, and copies of the fall and winter catalogue were to arrive as soon as Frenchie could get down to Vancouver to pick them up.

  This would all have been impossible to do had McMichael not been away for quite some time. All Olivia knew from Sarah was that he had originally taken Christina down to her new school and that something had come up, causing him to be away indefinitely.

  Although excited by the prospect of running her own store, Olivia was nervous about what to tell Frank. Her feelings ran from great excitement to absolute dread and back again as she saw the store taking shape. It had been almost impossible to keep the opening of the store a secret from him, but with McMichael away he had been even busier at the mine and hadn’t been paying her all that much attention. Frank had noticed the premises rented but assumed that his boss knew all about it. Now however, there was no getting around it, he was going to find out. Tomorrow. Jason had assured Olivia that it would all be taken care of, but Olivia was nervous all the same. Lucy had decided she wasn’t leaving Olivia alone, and moved in, taking over the couch and claiming she had “internal women’s problems” and couldn’t possibly be left alone for a few days since Frenchie had taken Maggie down to the city. This also forced Frank back into the marital bed, his back icily turned to Olivia's.

  The initial stock of wares for the store came up by a private barge hired by Aaron Bower, leaving Frenchie out of the picture on that one, and quite frankly, relieved. Catalogues he could hide, but not an entire store of goods. Aaron’s men unloaded the crates into the building in the wee hours of the morning to keep the prying to a minimum. William Bower had paid the big burly longshoreman handsomely for the job, and there was just one more thing he had to do now that dawn had broken. There was another letter to deliver to Frank Fitzpatrick.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  William glanced out the window watching the rain come down, turning his back to the man in his office. His attention had been somewhat wanting of late, as he was concerned for the well being of his daughter in Canada, he told his guest.

  “It can be quite un-settling, having your children away from you, even if they are grown,” the man agreed.

  “Maybe there’s something to be said for arranged marriages after all,” William admitted.

  “Married herself a bit of a challenge, did she?” the man asked politely.

  “You could say that. He’s not a bad man per sé, at least not in the beginning, but the wrong man, I knew it from the start, but her heart was set on it. And now it seems my initial lack of enthusiasm was justified.”

  “The hearts of our daughters we never want to break,” the man agreed.

  “My first daughter married God. I know that is a hard act to follow.”

  “And your youngest?”

  “My youngest married a professional man who owns acres of farmland. A veterinarian.”

  “But the middle one?”

  “The middle one I worry about. I never thought I would.”

  “In some regards, I’m lucky,” the man said. “I only have two daughters, no middle one.”

  William smiled. He turned back around to face his guest.

  “I’m sorry you had to come all the way down here to see me and that my secretary couldn’t fit you in until today. I’ve just been rather busy. Now what can I do for you John?”

  “I was hoping you would be able to entice your government to put more pressure on the CPR,” the man said. “I’ve been talking to the officials on my side of the border but they’re asking for numbers on the amount of trade that would be done as a result of a north-south extension.”

  “And can’t your government come up with some numbers? I would think that would be obvious.”

  “They have all the Canadian figures, but they are Canadian after all. You know Canadians. We never want to be the first ones in. They want to see some American figures for a comparison.”

  “I think John, that the economic benefits would be greatest shipping south, America being the largest market potential for them. It stands to reason they’ll be able to export Canadian goods to the lucrative U.S. of A, and that some measure of goods will also be imported back. Surely they realize that?”

  “They do indeed. But in order to justify the expenditures, they would like to see an estimate of revenue potential flowing both north and south.”

  “And revenue for your personal interests?” William
asked.

  “Of course,” John agreed. “That goes without saying. But my industry is certainly not the only industry that would benefit from a more efficient transportation route. We’ve seen how the east-west link has entered both countries into a new industrial revolution. This will by no means be on the same scale, but yes, there is money to be made William, and better you and I have some of it than others.”

  “Well John,” William said, “we tried this before the war but obviously each country had its own concerns going. Perhaps it is time to make a few calls and see how the rails are lying, so to speak. I don’t know how tied to your own job you are, but if this goes through, we could use a few good men assisting with the building of the railroad. They will be lands to acquire and men to employ and money to be raised and spent. I admire your entrepreneurship, I’ll give you that. Too bad the middle child is married. She’s a beauty.”

  John laughed.

  “I’m afraid I’m not quite ready to take the plunge again William. Arranged marriages aside.”

  William smiled.

  “I would be forever indebted to you William,” the man said, shaking William’s hand. “If there’s anything I can do for you in return, you only have to ask.”

  “You may live to regret that remark. Give me a couple of weeks John, and I’ll come up and we can discuss it further.”

  “I’ll have a room at the hotel prepared for you. It will be wonderful to have you back again. Nice seeing you William.”

  William watched as John Wesley McMichael left his office.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The curious were lined up outside the new Beachcomber Market long before Olivia was ready to open the doors. She heaved a big sigh. It had not been a good morning so far. Frank had been speechless when he learned of her new enterprise. He reacted like she had betrayed him, and in reality she had. The only thing he said to her in the hours since he read the letter from her father, was that she would never receive a cent from him again, and he would never step foot inside the store.

  There were two knocks on the back door, and Olivia hurried to let Lucy in. She had brought along a bottle of champagne just for the occasion.

  “If you think I’m going to smash this bottle over a piece of furniture to christen the store, you’re crazy,” Lucy said. “The bubbly is for us Olivia, let’s toast to our success.”

  Olivia warily took a glass from Lucy’s hand.

  “Tough night?” Lucy asked.

  “You could say that, yes. But it’s not like I didn’t know it was coming.”

  “I’m proud of you Olivia,” Lucy said. “Aside from providing me with a wonderful source of employment, I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself.”

  She raised her glass.

  “To you, to your father, your uncle, your brother and the rest of your wonderful family.”

  The first few hours had been incredibly busy. As word of mouth spread, more and more people, mostly the women, came by to take a look at what was being offered. They were already almost sold out of the silk stockings they had brought in, in a variety of sizes and colours. Some costume jewellery on consignment from the city was also almost sold out. It appeared the ladies of Britannia wanted to spoil themselves a little. Lucy and Olivia closed the store at five o’clock that night. It had been a good day.

  The night had been eerily quiet at home, Frank working until midnight and then sleeping on the couch. Just as well, Olivia thought. The silence was better than the fighting.

  The doors at the Beachcomber opened again at nine a.m. the next day. Lucy had arrived right on time.

  Olivia saw Jimmy Yada standing beside the counter.

  “Can I help you Jimmy?” she asked.

  A customer was a customer no matter what age.

  “My friend old Mr. Li would like to know if you could bring in some dried goods for him. He would like some dried mushrooms, and also asked if you could bring in some green Chinese tea, because he says his is getting old like him. I don’t know why he wants it, he’s got a ton of the stuff in his kitchen.”

  “How old is Mr. Li, Jimmy? Do you know?”

  “He told me he is eighty-three.”

  “Eighty-three! That’s remarkable. You talk to Mr Li a lot do you Jimmy? I didn’t know you could speak Chinese.”

  “I can’t, but he actually speaks English to me. He just pretends he doesn’t know any. There’s a lot of that going on.”

  Olivia looked over the list.

  “Do you spend a lot of time with him Jimmy?”

  “Yes. He is teaching me about the things in my father’s Chinese Medicine book. He told me that when he was younger, he too ran a store just like you’re doing now. A store with herbs and teas and things. My dad said it was an apothecary.”

  Jimmy stumbled a bit over the last word.

  “I want to be a doctor some day, so I find his knowledge very valuable.”

  “Very valuable indeed,” Olivia smiled. She found Jimmy’s vocabulary amazing for a boy of his age. “You tell Mr. Li that I think I will be able to help him out, but it may take a little time, maybe a couple of months, to get some of the items on this list. And tell him to come in and say hello sometime, if he feels comfortable.”

  “Okay Mrs. Fitzpatrick, I will,” Jimmy said, leaving the store.

  “Lucy, why don’t you put the kettle on?” she said, turning her back to the door momentarily. She could hear the door chimes indicating someone else was coming in. She turned and smiled.

  “What the hell do you think you’re playing at?”

  J.W. McMichael stood in front of Olivia.

  “Ah, you’re back. Don’t yell at me Mr. McMichael, or I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

  McMichael was flabbergasted.

  “You, ask me, to leave? Need I remind you who owns the lease on this property?”

  “Well actually, the government does, Mr. McMichael. At least that’s what it says on the tenancy papers. You might run the town but you don’t own it. At least not this building.”

  Lucy, still in the back, was concerned about the loud voices she was hearing.

  “Are you all right Olivia?” her voice rang out.

  “Quite,” Olivia replied.

  “Oh, that’s just perfect. You have Lucy working here too? Well, it will be a shame to have to put you both out of business.”

  Lucy came back into the store, carrying two cups of tea.

  “I gather you won’t be joining us, Mr. McMichael?”

  McMichael came up close to Olivia. She could feel the fire within him raging, as their eyes met defiantly.

  “Who gave you the money to do this?” he sneered. “Apparently I am paying that husband of yours far too much. That will soon change.”

  Olivia laughed aloud.

  “Frank? Frank doesn’t have the money or the gumption to open this store, Mr. McMichael. You weren’t the only one who was kept in the dark about this. I can keep quite a secret, can’t I?”

  McMichael face turned a dark crimson. It was the first time Olivia had seen the man embarrassed.

  “Don’t tell me you were foolish enough to squander your insurance money on this venture Lucy,” he said. “I thought you had more brains that that.”

  “Evidently she does Mr. McMichael, as Lucy is an employee of the store, not one of the owners. No offence to Lucy.”

  “None taken Olivia,” Lucy replied.

  “Lucy, will you leave Olivia and me alone for a minute?” McMichael asked.

  Olivia nodded to her friend, who went back into the staff room, her ear pressed against the door, just in case.

  “If you were so determined to open a store in this town, you should have come to me. I’m sure we could have made an arrangement.”

  Olivia could see Akiko outside, waiting to come in. Akiko could also see what was going on inside, and made a hasty retreat.

  “I did make an arrangement, Mr. Michael. Just not with you. Now if you don’t mind, you are scaring my c
ustomers away.”

  “Oh, Mrs. Fitzpatrick. I have not yet begun to scare your customers away. I am making you an offer again. Come to me at the end of the month when you can’t pay your lease and I’ll see if I can take some of your stock off your hands. Or didn’t you know I dabbled in liquidation as well?”

  “I think it’s time you left, Mr. McMichael,” Olivia said flatly. “Good day.”

  McMichael paused as he opened the door.

  “How could you do this to me?” he asked, the door slamming behind him.

  The question sounded so personal that for a moment Olivia was taken aback.

  “You can come out now Lucy,” she called to her friend.

  “Is the war over?” Lucy asked.

  “Not by a long shot,” Olivia replied. “The battle has just begun.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The door chimes tinkled announcing a new customer, but Olivia barely noticed. She was packing some of the stock back into the original packaging, hoping they could be returned.

  “May I ask what you are doing?” the customer asked.

  Olivia looked up to see William standing before her.

  “Dad!” she squealed, her face lighting up immediately.

  “Good, then that despair on your face is a fleeting thing,” he said, giving her a hug.

  “Well not exactly,” she sighed.

  “Where’s Lucy?” he asked, noticing she was not in sight.

  Olivia sighed deeper. It had been a month and a half since she opened the store.

  “Olivia,” William said sternly, “what exactly is going on?”

  “He’s won, I’m afraid,” she said. “I have no customers. It started with Akiko, she’s McMichael’s cleaning lady. Sarah told me he saw her come in here and told her if she ever set foot in here again, he’d fire her. I had a special order for a friend of her young son come in one day, and her Jimmy came to pick it up. McMichael he saw him leaving the store with the bag in his arms. Akiko got fired because he said he meant her whole family dare not enter the store, and that if the boy came in again, he’d fire her husband, the mine’s assayer next. Word spread through the Oriental community and they stopped coming in first. But then it spread to the other townsfolk and let’s just say very few have had the gumption to cross him. I had to lay Lucy off after only two weeks. I’m hoping I can return some of these things to get your and Uncle Aaron’s money back.”