Chapter 1
“I see you, girl! Drop it!”
Rebecca dug her fingers into the loaf of bread and jerked her hand back, turning to push her way through the crowd. She cut across the aisle to the stall behind her and ran out into the adjacent street.
“Thief! Stop her!”
As usual, the baker chased her. Rebecca grinned and turned right when she reached the Market Hall and pushed through those people still trying to get inside, a chorus of shouts following in her wake.
As she did most days she snatched something to eat from the market, she kept running and cut down Wentworth back to Bay Street and didn’t stop until she felt like she was going to drop. She slowed down to catch her breath and looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw the baker still chasing her. “What in the world…”
He never chased her this far. She started running again, dodging the road traffic as she crossed the street. A wagon filled with an assortment of things sat along the edge of the road. Rebecca jumped into it, scurrying toward the front. Before she could find something to cover herself with, the wagon jolted and started moving. “Well, that’s even better.”
She settled back against a sack of grain and watched the pudgy baker chase after her. She smiled as the wagon picked up speed and threw her hand up to wave bye to him. She still didn't know his name. Not that it mattered.
The wagon stopped near the train station. She jumped out and found a shady spot to sit underneath an old tree. Her loaf of bread was still whole, only suffering large indents from where her fingers were still digging into it.
Her stomach growled, the hunger pain that followed it enough to bend her double. She tore off a piece of the bread and sighed the moment it hit her tongue. It wasn’t as warm now, but the seeds and nuts baked inside of it made up for it. Leaning back against the tree and ate another sizable chunk of the bread.
A chill wind blew down the street as she sat there. Rebecca pulled her threadbare cloak around her shoulders. Clouds were moving in. She’d have to find shelter soon or end up spending another night cold and wet. As much as she’d hated living in the orphanage, at least there she’d had a dry bed to sleep in. The thin mattress had been hard and the blankets always smelled musty, but she’d never had to worry about moisture from the ground seeping into her clothing. There were days she wished she was still a child. Being an adult was hard when you were homeless with no family.
Commotion down the street drew her attention. She turned her head to see what was happening and froze. The baker was still running. “Oh, for goodness sakes, old man!”
She jumped to her feet, shoving the bread into the bag she wore across her chest and ran toward the train station. As usual, a multitude of people lingered inside the building, and blending in wasn’t hard. She walked through the station toward the tracks and sat on a bench with an old woman who gave her a sneer before standing up and walking away.
"Yeah, I didn't want to sit near you either, lady." Rebecca reached into her bag and tore another chunk of the bread off the loaf, then crammed it into her mouth. She watched as Charleston’s elite scurried around the train station until she'd caught her breath, then stood and headed toward the rails instead of back to the street.
The number of people waiting to board the train was more than usual. She turned left to skirt around them, but gasped when someone grabbed her arm, her head snapping back when she was jerked to a stop.
“I got you now, girl!”
Rebecca stared up at the baker, shock rendering her speechless. He’d never run this far, and he had never caught her. Not once. Her shock turned to desperation to get away in a blink of an eye. “Let go of me,” she shouted as she struggled to pull away from him.
“You’ve stolen your last from me, you gutter rat.” He yelled to someone over his shoulder. “Officer! I have her.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened when she saw two men moving their way. She yanked on her arm, slapping at the baker’s hand where he held onto her and pulled away from him on the third try. She ran, ignoring the shouts of people she pushed aside and pulled her cloak and hat off so the baker wouldn’t recognize her in the crowd as she went. Wrapping them up in her hands, she pushed her way through those standing near the train and stopped when she bumped into someone. The girl reached out and grabbed onto her to keep from falling and smiled when she was stable. She didn’t look much older than she was, and Rebecca glanced behind her as the girl started talking.
“Ran all the way here, did you?”
Rebecca huffed for breath, her eyes widening when she saw the baker. She turned to face the train, hoping he’d not see her. “Something like that.”
The girl laughed. “I was almost late too. A case of nerves had me second-guessing everything but, here I am!”
The baker was yelling now. Rebecca ducked her head and bent as if tying the lace on her boot and sucked in a breath, holding it until he passed.
She took a quick glance over her shoulder when she straightened. The group of ladies she was standing amongst were all taller than her, and she hoped their height was enough for the baker to overlook her. The girl she’d bumped into touched her arm. “I’m Hazel Jenkins.”
Rebecca stared at her for a moment before leaning up on her toes to see where the baker was. He stood in the middle of the crowd, his head turning left then right. She lowered her head again and shoved her hat and cloak into her bag.
“What’s yours?”
“Huh?” she said when the girl bumped her arm with her elbow. Rebecca focused on her, Hazel, she’d said her name was and blinked.
“Let’s go, ladies! I have a schedule to keep.” A man near the door glanced at a paper in his hand before looking at Hazel. “Where are the others?”
A chorus of women said, “Here,” as Hazel started bouncing on her feet. “Oh my goodness, I’m so excited I can’t stand it!” She grabbed Rebecca’s arm and started pulling her toward the train. “Let’s go. We can be riding companions. We can sit together on the stagecoach too unless you’re traveling by steamboat.”
Steamboat?
Pushed and shoved, then pulled by Hazel, Rebecca found herself at the train door, the man who'd been talking to them calling out names and handing tickets to the ladies who answered. When he was down to one, he shoved it into her hand.
Hazel climbed the steps ahead of her and said, "I'll save you a seat," before vanishing around the corner.
The paper and accompanying tickets had very little information on it. Rebecca saw Atlanta, then St. Louis, and The River Princess. Was that the steamboat Hazel mentioned? There was also a name on it. Diana Hale. She wondered who she was and where she was going. Was she standing in this massive crowd waiting to board the train and looking to receive her ticket?
"You're holding up the line." The train conductor was staring down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Get on board if you're going. If not, move out of the way."
Rebecca stared up at the train. Could she get on and stow away to some unknown place with someone else's ticket? A hand against her back pushed her closer to the train.
You could. She bit her lip and stared at the ticket. Someone pushed her again.
“Let’s go, lady!”