Captive Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mr. Dodge leaned forward and gave Alan his full attention. “I was in the Third Cavalry.”
    “Ninth Infantry. Enlisted, much to my father’s chagrin. I was rebellious and left college to enlist. At the time it seemed cowardly to continue going to class while everyone I knew was fighting for the Union.” Alan gave a small bitter smile. “I might as well have stayed put for all the good I did. I was felled by the concussion of an artillery shell in my first battle and spent the rest of the war in a Confederate prison.” Alan forked a few peas and occupied himself with chewing. That was enough. He’d already shared more than he wanted to with the Dodge family.
    “It was a terrible time for our nation. Terrible.” Mrs.
    Dodge sighed then quickly changed the subject. “Mr.
    Sommers, you might be interested to know that a group of women is planning a fundraiser to erect an opera house for our community. The advent of culture is exactly what this city needs.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, happy to let Mrs. Dodge prattle on about the blossoming cultural scene. The woman clearly wanted to scale the walls of Nob Hill.
    When Mrs. Dodge finally drew breath, Alan seized the opportunity to pursue his own agenda with Mr.
    Dodge, picking his brain about city government and Alan’s chances of scaling those walls.
    “You thinking of tossing your hat in the ring?” Mr.
    Dodge finally surmised the reason for Alan’s questions.
    “Well, good for you. We need a man who will fight for Bonnie Dee
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    justice for the merchants. I know a number of men who would back you if ran for a spot on the Board of Supervisors. The city taxes have become outlandish, and a businessman can’t get a thing accomplished without bribing some do-nothing civil servant.”
    “Gentlemen, please,” Mrs. Dodge interrupted.
    “Heated discussions of politics go best with after-dinner cigars. Perhaps you might postpone your conversation until then.”
    The talk turned to weather—rainy and foggy—and then back to society issues—balls and fundraisers—
    until Alan was ready to yell from boredom. It didn’t help that Mrs. Dodge seemed even more interested in him as a matrimonial candidate for her daughter now that she envisioned him becoming a prominent local politician. She listed every accomplishment Cynthia possessed and managed to work in how useful such accomplishments would be for the wife of a community leader.
    In the end there was very little time for his talk with Mr. Dodge.
    “I’m not even certain I’m the right candidate for this office, but I do have the beginning of a platform and it won’t to be to everyone’s liking.” Alan sat across from Dodge in front of a dead hearth, holding a cigar he didn’t plan to smoke. “Stamp out corruption.
    No more bribes or kickbacks or paycheck padding.
    Honesty and a fair deal for everyone.”
    “A good campaign slogan.” Dodge puffed on his cigar. “Ambitious. But a difficult promise to keep.
    You’ll have to negotiate shark-infested waters and sometimes it’s necessary to feed the sharks a little in order to achieve your goal.”

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    Captive Bride
    Snakes and sharks. It seemed everyone had a favorite representation of those in power.
    “But I like you, and I’ll see what I can do to rally support for you at my club.” Dodge chuckled. “A fresh breeze sweeping away the San Francisco fog. That’s what you’ll be.”
    Alan was already regretting his rash impulse to get involved as he walked home later that evening with his coat collar upturned against a light drizzle. His hands were full with the store. Besides, was he really ready for a fight and for all the odious backslapping a politician had to do?
    But someone had to make a change in this city—
    this county—and it might as well be him. He could make up for his wasted years of inertia, interred in a prison camp, by doing some good at last.
    His path home took Alan through the edge of Chinatown, a foreign world no white man