Lily Cigar by Tom Murphy

Author:Tom Murphy [Murphy, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Historical, Romantic Suspense, Historical Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Suspense, Subject Value
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2014-10-06T16:00:00+00:00

Lily made her way down Rincon Hill, past the opulent houses of the rich, past fanciful iron fences and elaborately planted flower gardens struggling to take root in what just a few years ago had been sand dunes.

She felt like a ghost, so remote was she from this world of wealth and servants and never a care about whether you’d have enough to eat tomorrow. Or today.

Lily’s mind was hardly able to accept what Mrs. Dickinson had said and done. Maybe it had been wrong not to take the tram. But surely buying food for her baby counted more than that small scruple.

Lily felt as though something dirty, something contaminating had happened to her in that house. She breathed deeply, and tried to organize her thoughts. She could feel a pang of hunger deep in her belly, for it was well past noon now, and she’d had only a sip and a bite for breakfast.

At the bottom of the hill was a small greengrocer’s. Lily paused, tempted. Thirty cents for one apple, and not a very fine one at that! She looked at the apple, unimaginable luxury. A quart of milk could be bought for that much: enough to last Kate one day. What a fine thing it must be, to be a farmer. With peace and quiet and green all around you, and always, always enough to eat.

Lily stared at the display of fruits and vegetables like a woman obsessed. It was a meager showing. She felt herself sinking. And maybe it would have been all for the best if the Eurydice had sunk in that gale!

Lily turned quickly from the counter and walked on, unseeing, beyond tears.

The first street she came to was named Folsom, first of some twenty blocks she’d have to walk, and many of those uphill.

Lily stepped into the dry dirt road, lost in the depths of her troubles and only vaguely aware of a building thunder coming closer and louder. She never saw the stampeding carriage.

Suddenly there was a shout and a roaring and a clatter of hooves. Strong arms locked around Lily and dragged her back and downward.

“Whoa, there, lady!”

She was sitting in the dust and a tall stranger knelt in the road beside her, fanning her with a clean handkerchief, offering her water from a copper ladle.

“You must have fainted, ma’am. Are you feeling better?”

Lily blinked, realized she wasn’t dreaming, looked up.

The sun was behind him, and it made a bright halo all around the pale gold of his hair. She could see firm white teeth in his smile, but the face was shaded.

“I’m fine, thank you. What happened?”

“Damn fool—begging your pardon—nearly ran you down, stampeding his carriage like the world’s on fire. I grabbed you just in time.”

He offered his hand and pulled Lily to her feet. She could see him clearly now. He had a nice face, but it wasn’t the face that was forever associated with that kind of hair in Lily’s dreams. She smiled at the same time as she quickly dusted off her long skirt.

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