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All around me voices cried out, and someone turned on the car’s central light. Miss Barnes had positioned herself in front of me, an impressive dagger in her hand. She hid it, most likely before anyone else had noticed. If the man who’d been upset by the wind could have killed me with a frown, I’d have died on the spot. He began to rant about young men who couldn’t hold their liquor, which gave me an idea.
Picking myself up, I dropped into an awkward curtsy. “I do apologize for waking you with my nightmare. I’ll ask the porter to bring a bottle of brandy and glasses for anyone who needs some liquid restoration.”
Most people waved me off, though one man did insist I’d owe him a cup of coffee in the morning. The porter turned the lights back down and the car descended into silence.
Miss Barnes stayed at my side, and when we were the only ones left, she put a hand on my arm.
“I don’t know what that was about, but I doubt I’ll get any more sleep. Let’s dress and ask the porter to put away our bunks.”
“Are you certain? I apologize for waking you.”
She tightened the belt at her waist, having covered her nightclothes in a corduroy robe. “It’s only an hour till dawn, and, after that performance, I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to.”
“I do apologize.”
With a brief squeeze, she released my arm. “One of my cousins was given to having nightmares. At least you were able to charm our fellow travelers.”
“I may need to buy that fellow coffee in the morning, but no real harm done.” We shared a smile. I might have dreamed I was all alone, but here and now, I had an ally if not a friend.
Once we reached Portland, it was easy enough to find a train to take us the rest of the way to Seattle. It was a much shorter trip. After only a few hours we were dumped off at a busy station, crowded with men all bent on talking louder than the other fellow.
“Well.” I stood with my arms akimbo, surveying the scene. “Madam Munro’s instructions regarding how to reach the lighthouse weren’t terribly specific.”
Miss Barnes frowned at a piece of paper she’d taken from her clutch. “If there are other witches in the city, they haven’t drawn attention to themselves.”
“Seems odd there wouldn’t be any, and we can’t simply walk up to a stranger and ask.”
Her sidelong grin was much more pleasant than her frown. “You’re right about that. Perhaps we can find a policeman?”
“Or we can find a saloon and ask the bartender. They know everything.” I had great faith in the power of gossip. A good barkeep would tell us what we wanted to know, either out of kindness or in response to one of the stiff new bills I had in my wallet.
I might be a Fairchild in name only, but I still had access to the money bequeathed to me by both my mother and my grandmother. In these unusual circumstances, I had few qualms about greasing our way with family coin.
We didn’t have to go far from the train station to find a likely saloon. In fact, we had our choice of four. I let Miss Barnes decide, concerned I’d pick a place that would offend her sensibilities. I shouldn’t have worried. She chose a place called the Merchant’s Café, and if she was the only woman present, she remained completely unruffled by that fact.
She did ask to sit at a table rather than the bar itself. The place was longer than it was wide, with the bar along one wall and small tables lined up along the other. She took a seat facing the door and I went to the bar.
“Afternoon,” the bartender said. He was a pale man with eyes that bulged. “Still have a pot pie. It’s generous-sized, if you two want to share it.”
“We would, thank you. We’ll take that and a couple of root beers if you have them.” We’d earned a treat.
The bartender poured our soft drinks. “I’ll be out in a minute with the pot pie.”
“Thank you.” I put down three dollars, giving him the kind of warm smile that smoothed my way in most every circumstance. “Before you go, I have a question. We need to find our way to the West Point Lighthouse. Do you know how we get there?”
His answer came slowly. “No good reason to go there, so far as I’m concerned.”
I put down another dollar. “I know my own business, you see, and I’d appreciate anything you can tell me.”
“It’s your funeral,” he said, and shrugged. “Gotta go by boat, and good luck finding someone who’ll take you.”
With that, he stomped off. I returned to our table with the root bears, leaving the money on the bar. “Did you hear that?” I asked Miss Barnes.
“Your natural charm certainly worked wonders.”
I narrowed my gaze at her in mock offence, amused by the way she’d decided to treat me like a wayward younger brother.
“I do believe they could have heard him out on the street.” She took a prim sip of her root beer.
