Devlin's Curse by Lady Brenda Read Free Book Online

roulette and Faro tables. Esmeralda was a gambler; a profession that had been thrust upon her from necessity and one that had allowed her to travel from town to town. Her game was Two Card Monte.
    Her true purpose however, was very different. She performed exorcisms, healings and purging souls of unspeakable evil to remove demons and whatever malevolent spirits had taken hold of mortal beings. A talent she had honed early under the wise teachings of the old witch Annie.
    It was here in her new B Street house that Esmeralda planned to create a sophisticated and alluring web. The Emerald Salon, a place that would draw the most interesting cross hatch of the Virginia City populace both mortal and immortal, to her door. She had spared no expense in hiring the best skilled laborers. In just a few days her new Salon would be ready for her to move into but she needed the help of someone who knew the city. When young Jamie came to take her bags and check her out of the hotel she decided to make him a proposal. 
    “Jamie,” she said, “do you like your job here at the International Hotel?”
    Jamie shrugged “It’s an honest job ma’am, them’s hard to find around here.”  
    Esmeralda looked in his earnest blue eyes.  A vision flashed before her mind’s eye. She saw a young frightened Jamie in a cold barren shack, a shadowy figure of a woman lay lifeless on a dirty mattress. 
    Jamie squirmed under her gaze. He was eighteen years old and from the look on his face she thought he would jump at the chance at a new job. Esmeralda wondered if, as well as the bellboy job at the hotel, he worked nights in the saloons alongside other youngsters sifting through the soiled sawdust for any gold dust that might have fallen to the floor.
    “I have need for someone at my new house, someone to be my eyes and ears here in Virginia City”
    Jamie frowned. “What kind of house is it? I ain’t working for no bawdy house, no ma’am.”
    Esmeralda smiled. “You need not trouble yourself over that. I plan to open a fine Salon. One that caters to distinguished tastes."
    Jamie’s stance relaxed.  “Well then, I would be right honored to work for you.” he said.
     
    Leonard White was obsessed. Ever since he had laid his eyes on Esmeralda Jones on the stagecoach he’d been filled with lust. So much so that he found himself hanging out in the lobby of the International Hotel just to get a glimpse of her. He had seen her kind before. She was an adventuress. He also knew that she would not give him a second glance unless his pockets were lined with gold. She might come across as snooty as one of those destitute southern belles that he had dealt with during the war. So high and mighty until they had only him to turn to when their confederate dollars became worthless chaff. Then, they were only too happy to hike up their crinolines and give old Leonard a taste.
    This time he had decided that he wanted more than a taste. Virginia City was a place where a man could make a name for himself even if he did have a less than spotless past. The gold that Big Jim promised him was only the beginning for an enterprising man such as himself. It would not be long he fantasized, before he had that red haired beauty on his arm and in his bed.
    He looked up from behind his newspaper just in time to see Miss Esmeralda Jones sail by him with a tow headed youth carrying her bags. He got up and followed her.
     
     
    Devlin sat once more at his usual table in the Bucket of Blood saloon. He played poker with an ancient white bearded sourdough named Boots. Boots, with his long white hair and beard, had come to Virginia City in’49 with the first big strike. He knew everything and just about everyone in the town.
    Devlin found that whiskey enhanced the flow of information so he had bought a bottle of the finest Old Overholt Straight Rye whiskey for his companion. “Tell me about this Big Jim Diamond,” he asked.
    Boots screwed up his face. “He ain’t