SHE'D BEEN CRYING. Her eyelids were red and puffy, but she also bore a fresh bruise along her jaw and her lip was cut and swollen.

"Catherine," Lily said.

"No, no doctor," she replied. "I just need a place to stay for a night or so."

Lily masked her anger and quickly filled a basin of warm water. "Follow me. Ladies, I'm done in the kitchen," she called. "Thank you!"

She led Catherine upstairs. "No one will disturb you here in my room. You'll be safe."

This wasn't the first time the woman had come to her. Lily wished she could wring her own justice from men who abused women. If that suddenly became possible, Amos Douglas was high on her list.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Amos was angry when he came home last night," Catherine said. "Something to do with the bank, but I'm not sure. He didn't like the meal and the children were quarreling. He gets frustrated, and then he sends the children to their rooms and shouts at me because I'm not disciplining them well enough. I am having difficulty handling them, I admit. I just don't know what to do."

"They see their own father being disrespectful, so how are they supposed to respect you?" Lily asked angrily.

"He's not a bad person," Catherine said on a sob. "He's never laid a finger on the children."

"He hits you," Lily replied. "That doesn't make him a saint." She bathed Catherine's face. The woman was older than Lily, with lovely features and porcelain skin. "This happened last night?" she asked.

Catherine nodded. "He left this morning. I was afraid he would come back after the children had gone to school."

"Perhaps it's time you take the children and get away from him," Lily suggested.

"I have no money of my own to support us, and Amos would find me. It would only be worse then."

"I could help you," Lily told her. "We could get you far away from here."

Catherine shook her head, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. "I can't. John will be going to university soon, and I couldn't pay for that. I couldn't support the girls by myself."

Lily took Catherine in her arms and hugged her. "You can always come here. I'll do anything I can to help."

"I know. I know. Thank you, Lily."

Lily released her and got out a dressing gown. "Why don't you lie down and I'll bring ice for your lip."

Catherine seemed relieved to have Lily look after her. She lay with the sheets pulled to her chest and Lily rested a scrap of cloth filled with ice against her lip and jaw.

"You know how helpless I feel, don't you, Lily?"

Lily looked into her eyes without responding.

"I've never asked you this before. Have you been in a situation like mine? Has someone hurt you?"

Lily's hands fell still. She didn't share her story with many people. Only a few of the other women knew Lily's background.

"When I was a girl," she began softly, "my father dragged me and my mother from one camp to another. I worked long days panning for gold beside him. Sometimes the streams would be so cold I wouldn't be able to feel my feet until they started to throb during the night."

"That sounds awful," Catherine said. "I had a very pampered childhood in comparison."

"My mother died when I was sixteen," Lily continued. "My father traded me as a wife to a miner for a share in his claim."

Catherine's eyes revealed her shock and sympathy.

"After that I worked in the mine, and I cooked for both of them and did their laundry. My husband beat me whenever it struck his fancy, and my father didn't do anything about it. He was happy with his half of a worthless mine."

"How did you get away, Lily?"

"My husband died," she said simply. "Ownership of the mine went to my father and I ran away. I came here."

"That's when you met Madam Powell?"

"Antoinette gave me work in her kitchen and taught me how to make my own way. I learned that the miners paid well for having their laundry done, so I started my own business and saved nearly every penny."

That's when Lily had become friends with Mollie and Helena. But while she appreciated that the other women were also making a living, she recognized that they held as little respect for themselves as did the men to whom they sold their favors.

"What happened?" Catherine asked.

"Do you remember when the cholera epidemic struck the town? Several of the girls died, and Antoinette got sick, too. She was never well after that. I took care of her and the business. When she finally died, she left me everything."

"And you added on the dance hall and gave the women respectable jobs."

Lily nodded. "Not that anyone believes that."

"I do. I've been here with you." Catherine took a deep breath and adjusted the ice pack on her face. "I admire your courage, Lily. You've come so far on your own."

Lily stood and tidied up the stand near the bed. With a heavy heart she added, "I didn't have children to concern myself with. That's an added worry for you."

Catherine had been lying with her eyes closed for several minutes. Now she opened them and asked, "Where is your father, Lily?"

"He used to come into the saloon from time to time. Usually looking for a drink or money. He died a year or so back."

"So you own the mine?"

Lily gave Catherine a sidelong glance and admitted, "A lawman from Bear County sent my father's things. The deed was among them."

She still remembered how she'd felt when she'd seen that piece of paper. The ache still gnawed at a hollow place in her chest. The Queen of Hearts represented her value in her father's eyes. He'd traded her dignity for his share. "Yes, I'm the owner of a worthless played-out mine."

"I'm sorry, Lily."

She hung a towel on the rack beside the water basin. "It was a long time ago. I really don't think about it much anymore."

But it had shaped her. Driven her. Bolstered her and given her the impetus to create her own sense of self-worth.

"Rest," she told Catherine. "I'll bring your supper up later."

That evening she waited for someone to question her about Catherine's whereabouts. If Amos had gone to the sheriff, surely the sheriff would come looking here. He'd learned from the incident with Violet that Lily was likely to harbor a runaway female. But Lily had her doubts that Amos Douglas would go to the lawman about his wife. He wouldn't want to sully anyone's opinion of the town banker's character or family.

When Nathaniel Harding made his rounds, Lily was helping Old Jess open a crate of whiskey that Big Saul had just carried in and left behind the bar. She finished using an iron crowbar to loosen the lid and placed the tool under the counter, well away from reach.

"I'll take one of those Buffalo Bill specials," the sheriff said, leaning against the end of the bar where he could stand and see the entire saloon, as well as Lily's full length.

Lily filled a mug with cider, then grabbed the neck of the rye bottle. After twisting a slice of lemon into his drink, she handed it to him.

"Warm night," he said, raising the mug in a toast and taking a sip.

She couldn't help wondering if he was thinking about the night before, when he'd followed her. Did he wonder if she'd be going for another swim soon? It still rankled that he'd followed to see what she was up to. Apparently, he would always consider her under suspicion.

She wished she could tell him about Catherine and seek his help in protecting the woman, but things just didn't work that way. If the sheriff knew she was hiding Catherine from her husband, he might feel obliged to turn her back over.

It wasn't right. It was just life.

"Howdy, Sheriff." Spooner Brennan, who worked at the freight office, sidled up to the bar to stand beside the sheriff. "Mizz Lily."

"Evenin', Spooner. What'll you have?"

"Beer." Spooner glanced at Sheriff Harding. "Hear you bought the Pierson place."

In surprise, Lily looked to the sheriff for his reply.

The sheriff nodded. He met Lily's gaze, then glanced away. "News travels fast."

"Your boots're gonna echo in that big place," Spooner declared.

Lily filled a mug from the keg of beer behind her and set it before Spooner. The Piersons had been a family of seven who'd moved to Colorado some time ago. The house was a nice one and undoubtedly hadn't been cheap, especially with Amos Douglas selling the property.

The sheriff didn't have a reply; he merely shrugged.

Spooner sipped his beer and wiped foam from his upper lip. "You thinkin' about a family, Sheriff?"

Nathaniel Harding pierced him with a quelling look. "I'm thinkin' about a little privacy," he replied. "Don't get much at the boarding house. Or anywhere else, for that matter."

Lily hid a smile and moved away.

The Intolerants were late that evening, so the sheriff missed them while he was there, and Lily simply closed the front doors when she heard the women approaching. As soon as they'd moved on without incident, she once again opened the room to the night air.

It was well after ten when Amos Douglas pushed through the bat wing doors and made his way to the bar. At the sight of him, immediate anger rose inside her, but she forced herself to remain calm.

He ordered a beer and nodded in her direction. "Evening, Miss Lily."

She set down the rag she'd been using to wipe a table and moved to stand behind the bar in front of him. Amos didn't frequent her establishment often, but hers was the only one he did occasionally stop by. She figured he had his own supply of liquor at home and only dropped in from time to time to keep a finger on the pulse of the community.

The fact that he hadn't been here for months until tonight, when his wife wasn't home, didn't escape her.

"How's the family?" Lily asked.

"Fine, all fine," he replied, lying through his teeth.

"Those children of yours must be close to grown," she said.

"John's nearly finished with his schooling," Amos replied. "Next year I'm sending him east to attend university."

"And your daughters?"

"Margaret and Trudy are beauties like their mother. They'll make fine wives one day."

Of course the girls were being groomed to be wives and mothers. Women from wealthy families didn't work. "I'm sure you'll be selective in who you allow to marry them," Lily said. "Wouldn't want any harm to come to either of them."

He gave her a hard stare. "They will marry well."

Lily studied the man's unruffled composure, wishing she could expose his hidden disposition and bring him to justice. But there was little justice for the women of this land, and the fact set her teeth on edge. Five minutes in the dark with him in handcuffs and her wielding a big stick would take the edge off her temper. The thought brought a grim smile to her lips.

"And your lovely wife?" she dared. "How is she?"

"She's well, thank you."

"Give her my regards."

"I'll do that. And, Lily?"

She cocked a brow.

"Don't forget my offer. Improvements, furnishings, even a new location. If you should need anything, you come to me."

"As you can see, I'm doing quite well," she replied.

"Your establishment is of a caliber above any other," he agreed. "But remember, it takes effort to keep it that way."

Currently all her effort was focused on not knocking out a couple of his teeth, she thought, and walked away before she said anything she would regret.

The clamor of metal against wood echoed above the sound of the piano, and Lily turned to find the bizarre spectacle of a horse and rider entering the Shady Lady. The man in the saddle ducked his head to come through the doorway. Once inside, the horse shied, its rear hooves clomping against the floorboards. The man swung his hat and whooped.

"I hit a vein!" he hollered. "Gold!"

The frightened horse skittered sideways, knocking into a chair, from which a miner picked himself up and darted away. The table tipped, sending cards and coins flying.

Lily ran forward and grabbed the horse's bridle to keep its head down and to prevent further destruction. The animal used its rear feet to step sideways, and led Lily in a circle.

"Get this horse out of here!" Lily shouted at the rider. She recognized him as a miner who came through on occasion, but she didn't recall his name.

Thomas Finch came to assist Lily by grabbing the other side of the horse's bridle and taking the reins from the rider. Together they led the animal out through the doorway and down off the boardwalk into the street. Lily released the horse and stepped away. "Won't have you breaking up my place," Lily called to him. "I hope you had the sense to go to the assayer's office and the bank before you announced to the town that you'd hit a vein."

The man got a stupefied look on his face and stopped waving his hat.

Behind them, patrons poured out of the saloon onto the walkway and into the street. The man was swamped by other miners, all asking questions.

"Fool will be lucky if someone doesn't knock him over the head for any gold he has on 'im," Old Jess said from beside her.