Victoria and Daniel were out for a walk when they came upon the building site of a large house.
"Another mansion?" she asked looking with wonder at the scale of the construction.
"Yes, another man who made his riches in the gold fields, I hear," Daniel replied. "I guess I'll be meeting him soon." As the bank manager he met personally with all of the bank's wealthier clients.
She looked wistfully at the soon-to-be mansion. "Henry said we would live in a house like that," she said. "In New York City, full of servants."
"Being rich isn't as wonderful as most people think," he said. "It changes them. Makes them wary and suspicious of anyone who tries to befriend them."
She thought back to Nicholas. He hadn't seemed like that, but then again, he didn't appear to have any close friends and he never let a woman get any closer to him than as an entertaining diversion. Maybe he was like Daniel was describing.
Daniel's words brought her back out of her thoughts. "A modest house with a bit of land around it and a family. That's all anyone really needs," he said. When she didn't respond, he urged, "Don't you agree?"
"Yes, it sounds lovely," she replied distractedly.
Daniel assumed her change in mood was due to memories of Henry, but in reality it was memories of Nicholas telling her that he loved her that had upset her. Was it true? Had she managed to break through and touch his heart? He certainly hadn't been looking for love when they met, but according to him it had found him. Mentally, she shook her head. She couldn't possibly mean that much to him. Other than saying the words, he had never shown even for an instant that he felt that way. It didn't matter, she thought. He was in her past now. She gazed up at Daniel, the man who was in her future. So why wasn't she happy?
A week later, Mrs. Fraser was chatting with her at the bakery. "I heard that the owner of the newest mansion has arrived in town. They say he's devastatingly handsome and still rather young. I daresay the young women of this town will be behaving quite shamelessly in their pursuit of him," she laughed.
"But his house isn't finished," Victoria commented.
"I hear he's renting the old Thompson place. You know, that big blue house?" she prompted.
"Oh yes. Do you know his name?" she asked, wondering if it was anyone she was acquainted with.
"No, that I don't know. No one seems to know. It's quite a mystery," the older woman replied.
"Maybe he doesn't want anyone to make a fuss over him, and he prefers to keep to himself," she suggested.
"Well, then why is he showing off, building such a grand house? Have you seen the amount of marble that's going into that home?" she said, rolling her eyes. "My goodness!"
Victoria couldn't help but laugh. At that moment, Daniel came through the doors to collect her. Mrs. Adams immediately asked, "Mr. Sinclair, what do you know of Oregon City's most recent wealthy citizen?"
Smiling, he admitted, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Fraser, I haven't met the man yet. And as I'm sure you know, there is a great air of mystery surrounding him. No one knows a thing about him. Except that he's apparently going to be quite popular amongst the ladies." Taking Victoria's arm he joked, "I'm going to have to keep my eye on you. Make sure you don't go falling for handsome millionaires."
Laughing, she replied, "I don't think you have to worry about that. I'm not much for millionaires and he can't possibly be any more handsome than you." She touched him on the chin as she made her last comment. Unbidden, a comparison to Nicholas came to mind, as it often did. And as always, Daniel came up lacking. Barely acknowledging the thought, she quickly shoved it to the back of her mind.
As was expected, over the next few days the only thing anyone talked about was the town's newest resident. All anyone knew of him was that he was young and very handsome.
Daniel and Victoria were sitting on a bench in the garden of her boarding house when he said to her quietly. "I have a meeting with the town's mystery man tomorrow."
Having been unable to resist being drawn into the drama surrounding the man, she eagerly asked, "You do? What is his name?"
"I don't actually know. For some reason, it was not given to me. I was only told that he has requested a meeting tomorrow morning." Turning serious, he continued, "Don't tell anyone. The interest in him has grown to ridiculous proportions and we're worried about a crowd of onlookers at the bank. This man obviously wants some privacy."
"I won't tell a soul," she promised.
Daniel arrived early at the bank the next morning. He also was very curious about the gentleman he was meeting and was eager to make a good impression. At nine o'clock his secretary announced that his appointment had arrived. Daniel stood as the man entered the office.
"Good morning, Mr. Sinclair," he said, shaking Daniel's hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nicholas Andrews."
"Welcome to Oregon City, Mr. Andrews," Daniel welcomed him. The rumors were true, he thought, this tall blonde man was going to drive the women of this town to distraction. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief that Victoria was such a level headed young woman and wouldn't have her head turned by this man's good looks.
They spent the next few hours discussing Nicholas' finances. When it became apparent that his wealth had come from running hotels and gambling houses and the subsequent sale of those establishments, Daniel had to admit, he was surprised. "I didn't realize such money could be made in the actual town of San Francisco."
"Yes, I'm surprised myself at how well I did," Nicholas commented. "I had initially thought that I would expand and continue building , that the gold rush would keep making me money forever. But it was rather abruptly brought to my attention that the gold rush wouldn't last forever and that my business would most likely dry up at that point. I curbed my expansion plans and just saved the money I was making. After awhile I quietly put the word out that I was interested in selling my assets and I soon had an offer. I had also heard that Oregon City was a growing town, full of promise so I decided to come here to settle down."
As Nicholas was leaving, Daniel asked, "You say you ran several gambling houses?"
"Yes, that's right," he replied.
"I'm acquainted with a woman who worked in a gambling house. Perhaps it was one of yours. Maybe you knew her."
Nicholas' guard immediately went up. Forcing his voice to remain casual he said, "I oversaw the general operations of the houses, not the smaller details, like staff. However, I may remember her name."
"Victoria Somerset," Daniel suggested. "Tall, slim, black hair and dark blue eyes."
Nicholas' heart skipped a beat. She was still here. He recalled how horrified she had been when he had first suggested that she become a card dealer. Had she changed her opinion of the job so much that she would admit it to a casual acquaintance or was this man more than that? Again forcing his voice to remain neutral, he feigned thoughtfulness. "No, I don't recall anyone by that name," he lied. If this man was his competition he wanted every advantage. "People came and went so frequently that, after awhile, I stopped trying to keep track of them."
"Well, I hope you like Oregon City. Feel free to come by anytime."
"Thank you. Good day, Mr. Sinclair." Nicholas left the bank and quickly climbed into his waiting carriage. Once he was back home, he went straight to his study. Even though it was still morning, he poured himself a brandy and quickly gulped it back. She was here, in this town and she knew that man. Perhaps quite well. He pictured Daniel in his mind. Tall, handsome, and the exact opposite of him in coloring and respectability. He was precisely the sort of man she would be looking for. He hoped he would be able to compete. Not only compete, but win.
The word went around town quickly that Daniel had met with the mysterious new resident that morning. He had never been approached by so many people as he was later that day as he made his way to the bakery to walk Victoria home. He declined to give out any information whatsoever, wanting to protect the man's obvious desire for privacy. He even refused to answer Mrs. Fraser's abundant and persistent questions.
When they had finally reached the seclusion of her boarding house's garden, Victoria teasingly asked him, "Well, do I get to know who the man is?"
Suddenly noticing a scuff on his shoe, he pulled out his handkerchief and bent over to attend to his shoe while saying, "Yes, his name is Nicholas Andrews. He didn't make his money in the gold mines as I had thought but rather in various business interests in the actual town of San Francisco." He buffed his shoe and didn't notice Victoria's reaction to his statement.
Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the blood drain from her face. She suddenly felt faint and clutched at the seat of the bench to keep herself upright.
Still focusing his attention on his feet, Daniel continued, "He said he owned gambling houses so I asked if he knew you."
Horrified, she suddenly truly feared she would faint. Forcing herself to breathe evenly, she managed to ask in a normal voice, "What did he say?"
"He said he didn't know your name but that people came and went so frequently that he stopped trying to remember everyone." He sat up and examined his shoes.
She again focused on her breathing. He must have been lying to Daniel. He couldn't possibly have forgotten her, she thought, suddenly hurt that he might have. He had said he loved her. However, it had been several months since she left, it was possible. Without her constant presence in his life and his bed, perhaps she had quickly faded from his memory, replaced by another lonely miner's wife. But he was here. Why else would he have come?
Daniel finally noticed her pale face and distracted air. "Victoria, are you alright?" he asked, suddenly concerned.
Quickly coming out of her thoughts, she said, "The ovens at the bakery were overloaded today, I may have gotten a bit too much heat. I think I'm going to go lay down. Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked, rising, suddenly eager to reach the privacy of her room.
