Except that wasn’t true. They would never forget her, just as she would never forget them.
Which was why she was still sitting there when the elevator opened and a heavily laden luggage cart rolled out. One of the Negro bellmen was taking great care that the enormous stack of matched luggage on it didn’t tip.
A young woman and an older man came out behind him. “Be careful with that,” she snapped at the bellman. “Do you have any idea how expensive those cases are?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the bellman murmured.
“Honestly, where do they find these creatures?” she asked her companion. “He’s so stupid and clumsy. An ape could do this job better.”
“It’s all right, my dear,” the man soothed.
She heaved a dramatic sigh and sashayed around the luggage cart, stepping right in front of it so the bellman had to jerk it back to avoid running her over. The sudden stop upset the delicate balance of the luggage, and the smaller cases on top of the pile crashed to the floor before he could catch them. He only just managed to keep the entire load from falling over.
“You stupid idiot!” she screamed. “What’s the matter with you? I should have your job for that.”
“Now, darling, there’s no harm done,” the older man said.
“No harm?” she screeched. “Those cases are ruined. I want them replaced!”
The man continued to soothe her while she continued to heap abuse on the poor bellman, although Elizabeth had stopped listening. She watched them closely as the bellman picked up the cases and reloaded the cart. The woman was about her size. And the bellman—who was at least thirty—was moving the way someone moves when they’re furious but don’t dare let anyone know. And he wouldn’t dare, either, not if he wanted to keep his job. A man like that, a colored man serving rich white people, had silently taken a lifetime of abuse with no hope of any retribution. This time the white woman had caused the accident herself and berated him in front of everyone in the lobby. She might well try to get him fired, too, and after all that, the man probably wouldn’t even give him a tip.
But Elizabeth would.
She waited until the couple went to the front desk. They were still arguing, and it would take a few minutes for them to check out. More than a few, because the woman was making a complaint. The bellman had finished reloading the luggage, so Elizabeth strolled over to him. She slipped a five-dollar bill into his hand, which was probably more than he made in a week, and said, “These are my things. My cab is right outside.”
His eyes widened, and he glanced over to where the couple was still arguing at the desk. She saw him silently weighing his options. Anger flared in his eyes, and then he smiled grimly. “Yes, ma’am.” He pushed the cart a little faster.
Elizabeth followed, giving no indication she was with him. Outside, she saw Gideon pacing beside the cab, which had pulled down to the far end of the driveway. “Here we are,” she called and strolled down to where he waited. The bellman followed with the cart.
Gideon’s expression was priceless. “Is that all yours?”
Elizabeth had no idea. She turned to the bellman, who grinned. “Oh no, sir. Only the green cases is the lady’s.” The rest, Elizabeth supposed, belonged to the man who was with her.
The cab driver opened his trunk, and they managed to get most of the green cases into it. The rest went into the front seat.
“Will you get into trouble?” she asked the bellman when the driver and Gideon were busy trying to squeeze the last of the cases into the cab.
“Oh no, ma’am. They won’t remember which one of us took their luggage. We all look alike to folks like them. When my boss gets around to asking me, I’ll say the cart was just sitting in the lobby and a young lady told me it was hers and would I take it out for her.”
Which, of course, was almost exactly what had happened.
When all the luggage was loaded, Elizabeth made a show of reaching into her purse for a tip, but Gideon waved her away and produced a silver dollar for the helpful bellman.
“Thank you, sir,” he said, beaming with pleasure at the exceptionally large tip. Combined with Elizabeth’s fiver, he’d had a very good morning. “You have a nice day now, miss.”
“I’m sure I will,” she replied.
• • •
Gideon watched Elizabeth Miles from the corner of his eye as the cab carried them and her enormous pile of luggage back to the Willard. He would have been surprised to see any female carrying that amount of luggage, but somehow he hadn’t thought Miss Miles to be the kind of woman to require that much. Or to be wealthy enough to own enough clothing to fill it all. He considered himself a good judge of people, and seldom had he been so very wrong about someone.
“Did they give you any trouble at the hotel?” he asked.
“Oh no. After I settled my bill, they were more than happy to return my things. They didn’t even charge me for the days I was in jail.”
“They must’ve been surprised to hear where you’d been,” he said, watching her face.
She didn’t even blink. “They were actually very sympathetic. It seems the manager supports women’s rights.”
“That’s fortunate,” he said, thinking it was more than fortunate. So much for her concerns that her luggage might have somehow disappeared. He should be pleased, and he was, he supposed. He hadn’t expected any real trouble, but he had expected his own services to be needed. And appreciated. Maybe that was why he felt something wasn’t quite right with this situation. Maybe he was just suffering from wounded pride. Every other female of his acquaintance would have not only allowed but expected him to take charge.
But maybe Miss Miles was completely different from every other female of his acquaintance.
His mother had hinted at that very thing, hadn’t she? “Mother told us what you went through at the workhouse.”
She didn’t seem pleased by the change of subject. “Did she?”
“Yes. She said you were very brave.”
“All the women were brave.”
“Mother said you saved Anna that first night.”
She shook her head. “Hardly. I just picked her up off the floor when the guards threw her down.”
“And you tried to talk Anna out of participating in the hunger strike.”
“Anyone with sense would’ve done the same thing.”
“And you endured force-feeding instead of giving up the hunger strike.”
“I told you that myself.”
“Then you do remember,” he teased.