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"You're goin' to be the madam?"
The girl laughed and sank down into a chair once again, working her hands nervously in her lap. "Yes. I've had this in my plans for some time now," she said. "But the time hadn't arrived for my big move. Not until last night."
"Last night?"
"The overdose of morphine? I administered it to Madam Valerie," the girl said, her eyes not wavering.
Eugenia scooted back on the bed, afraid once again.
"No one knows now, except for you and I," the girl said, her face shadowing with hidden torment. "You see, I had to do it. Madam Valerie had gotten out of hand. She mistreated most of the girls here. She had her way with all of them. Whenever she commanded. I only found this out yesterday when I discovered her here with you. I questioned all the other girls and they told me that they each had been forced to go to bed with her."
"But you…"
"I thought I was the only one. And the only reason I did it was to get to the position of madam myself."
"But what a life to lead, letting her touch and possess your body."
"Yes I know. But it also got me the finest silks from Paris. And the best of care; once I gave into her wishes."
"I could never have given in to her," Eugenia said, pouting, and wondering why such a nice girl, as this girl appeared to have been, could have gotten caught up in such a life of misery. "Why did you come here in the first place?" she added.
"I lived in Denver with my stepfather," the girl began. "My mother died when I was ten. Shortly after that, my stepfather taught me all the ways of love. After a while, tiring of the sexual abuse, I stole money from him and caught a train to Colorado Springs. I lived there for a while, then moved here, when I heard someone talking about the gold that was in such abundance."
"Had you planned to work like this? Or had you planned a simpler way of life?"
"I never dreamed of such houses as these parlors, but I guess I got caught up in it just like you just about did. I was almost starved when I was taken in by Madam Valerie."
"You're still so thin," Eugenia said.
"Yes. I know. It's the morphine habit. Keeps me dragged out most of the time," the girl said, tears misting her eyes once again. "But not so much that I can't run this business like it should be run."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean to make sure all my girls get the best of treatment. No kinky characters'll be able to touch any of them."
"What do you mean… by kinky?"
"You wouldn't believe what some of these miners have on their minds," the girl said. "Some even get so drunk they ask the girls to squat over them and piss on their sex organs while another girl fondles them. Things just as disgusting as that."
Feeling the stirring at the pit of her stomach, as though she was about to be ill, Eugenia scooted from the bed. She went to the vanity and poured herself a drink of water. "This is all so sick," she mumbled, turning once again to face this girl whose name she didn't even know yet.
"Yes. I plan to take care of my girls, make this the classiest parlor in all of Cripple Creek," the girl continued, her eyes lighting up. "I'll send all kooks down to the cribs. Let those girls take care of their twisted needs."
"Cribs?" Eugenia asked, setting the empty tin cup down, moving closer to this girl.
"I'm sure you saw them," the girl said. "Those shacks at the edge of town."
"Yes. I saw them," Eugenia said, remembering the girl's names painted on the doors and the two girls that she had seen with their faces so painted up, and how they had yelled at her so mockingly.
"Well, those are the houses the women moved to who strayed from the parlors of Cripple Creek, who wanted some independence. They take care of the biggest majority of the miners because they will agree to do most anything to get their money. They pretty much stay to themselves. I didn't want to end up there. That's why I went along with Madam Valerie and her twisted ways. I knew what I wanted. And now I have it."
"Will all the girls agree to your being the new madam?"
"Yes. They all like me and look up to me. And I've promised that I'll buy them each a new dress from Paris."
"Where did you get your money?"
"I've stolen it. Bit by bit. From Madam Valerie. She was so damned dumb, she didn't even know it. And now I'm going to use the money that she made here in her own parlor to make it an even better place for the men to frequent. I plan for it to be thought highly of by some of the most respectable people in town."
