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if… What if there were men who liked both?”
    “Women and cattle?” Dora snorted a laugh.
    “No, not cattle. That’s a horrid thought. Men who liked men and women. What if that’s just how they are? Have you had any of that in your experience?” Emily asked.
    Nodding, Dora gave Emily a soft smile. “You don’t talk of it much, but it happens. Some men will want to share a woman. Sometimes it’s a new young man who is nervous with a whore. Sometimes they’re just buddies who like to watch as well. Then some want a safe place to be alone. I had one pair who just wanted me to watch them. Easiest money I ever made.”
    “The town would’ve strung them up.” Emily’s head ached.
    “That’s why they paid me for my silence and a safe place where they wouldn’t get caught. They were passing through town. Miners. Guess they didn’t want to be found out making too much noise in the boarding house. Look, people like what they like. I gave up judging a long time ago. I don’t follow everything in the Bible. Thanks to my father, I couldn’t. But I do listen in church. I don’t judge others because I’ve had enough judgment on me. I surely won’t throw stones. Those men weren’t hurting or forcing anyone. It’s their nature. You’ve seen it in animals.”
    Emily rolled Dora’s very basic common sense around in her brain. It was so right. So simple. Yet radical talk if heard in public. “Why is the world so mean to people who are different? The slaves, the Indians, the Chinese working on the railroads—and women.”
    “People fear what’s different. It’s better to be kind like you are, but without your money, because you’d never get away with pushing votes for women and such. America doesn’t have a king but power is power. White men have most of it.” Dora went back to her letters. “I hope we get the vote, yet I know the world won’t change overnight. The sooner you accept reality and work with it, the better. Marry one of the Bonners and you’ll have more standing, safety, and, I’d wager, a very good marital life.”
    Emily laughed. There was no doubt there. “I don’t mean to bring up a difficult subject, but you would know this. How do you prevent having children until you’re ready, or to space them? I want children, but I want to be prepared.”
    “That I can help you with. But you must be very strict about it. One slip up is all it takes.” Dora seemed to relax as they hit on a topic that was appropriate for a young woman looking to marry. So many women died in childbirth that the knowledge of limiting how soon and how many was as valuable as gold.
     
    * * * *
     
    At dinner, Emily couldn’t stop smiling. Both men showed up in suits and she could smell the soap on them. They’d washed and gone to a lot of trouble for her. The flood of inappropriate memories warmed her body as well. Now she had to be proper.
    “So glad you two could join us,” Alice said.
    “We couldn’t believe those men followed you home from church.” Henry even ate like a gentleman.
    Emily was flattered and overwhelmed. Seeing them again with others around and all the rules of society imposed, she felt nervous. Being clothed and so appropriate felt nice because she trusted them so much more now. She knew their wilder side and craved it still. Her body pulsed for them. Picking one? The very idea gave her a headache. How could Henry and Jack separate from each other?
    Or was she an addition? Maybe a cover? She took a bit of chicken and chewed as she mulled the issues.
    “Are you all right, Emily? She had a headache earlier,” Alice said.
    “We could’ve rescheduled,” Jack said.
    “If you want us to come back another day…” Henry offered.
    Emily took a drink of water then shook her head. “I’m fine. Truly. It’s all the changes since I’ve been back. I thought it would be simply coming home, only my father would not be here. It seems the town’s view of me has changed overnight.”
    “Then