Chapter Three
Being the madam of the most notorious brothel in Montana Territory came with certain privileges. Financial security and independence rode high at the top of that list for Glory Winters. In fact, she would go so far as to say that those were the only benefits that really mattered. For they allowed the other freedoms to exist. Without them, she’d never have been able to open her home to women running away from unfortunate situations. Nor would she have had the resources to purchase nearly an eighth of the town of Helena, making her the single most prosperous female landholder.
Unfortunately, those very same privileges that she so enjoyed came with some definite negatives. One of those negatives sat across the table from her now. He grinned, giving her a flash of the gold crown capping his left bicuspid as he tossed back the remainder of his brandy. Glory suppressed a shudder as he swallowed, making the beginnings of what would soon be a double chin wobble as he did so. He brought his handkerchief up and pressed it to his mouth before wiping it across his sweaty forehead.
“Excellent beefsteak as usual, Miss Winters.”
Drawing on the impeccable manners she’d been taught at her mother’s knee, Glory offered him a dazzling smile. He was a guest and she wouldn’t insult him, but making conversation with him made her skin crawl. “Thank you, Mr. Harvey. I’m so pleased you enjoyed your meal.” She intentionally drew out the vowels to make her Southern drawl more pronounced. It never failed to charm even the most cantankerous gentleman. Though she used the term gentleman loosely in the case of William Harvey. The only thing noble about him was his dress. He was a snake in the trimmings of probably the most expensive suit she’d ever seen on a man. For a town that had made millionaires out of humble miners, that was saying a lot.
“You’ve done quite well for yourself here.” He sat back in the chair, leather creaking as he laced his hands over his lap.
Glory kept her smile in place. The words hung heavy in the air between them, filling it with silent tension broken only by the hushed conversation at one of the other tables across the dining room. Harvey always had something up his sleeve. She recognized this as the moment before he would strike and she tried to prepare herself for how bad the bite would be. One thing she had learned in her years here was to never underestimate the greed of men, especially when they saw a woman who had something they wanted.
Harvey wasn’t the first to want a stake in her business. He wouldn’t be the last.
“You’re too kind,” she said.
“And you’re too humble. I remember when this place was little more than bare floorboards and straw mattresses.”
She tried not to wince. Victoria House had never been quite that shoddy. When she’d arrived with her dear friend Able, the place had been a neglected mansion that had seen better days, but it certainly hadn’t been a hovel. They had slowly transformed it into the grand club it was today. She’d hired a proper chef, and they had several dining rooms and parlors where gentlemen could come to relax surrounded by opulence. There were plenty of saloons down the road where they could go to get a whiskey for half the cost with cheaper buy-ins for poker and faro, but they came to Victoria House because they liked the atmosphere. The dust of sophistication that coated the mansion fed their need for luxury.
These men had pulled gold, silver and copper from the earth to make themselves wealthier than they’d ever dreamed possible. The social salons of New York and London might not welcome their new money, but Glory was happy to give them a taste of that same opulence right here in Helena. Even her gowns came straight from Paris. The men were more than willing to hand over a portion of their riches for a taste of that life.
“Well, I’ve always known the value of a little hard work. As do you.” She wasn’t above pouring on a little flattery.
He inclined his head as if it were quite the task to lord over the men who did the backbreaking work of maintaining his gold mines. “It’d be a shame to see all of this hard work go to waste.” He raised a hand and indicated the room with its silk wall coverings, Persian rugs and brass finishings.
Ah,
