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The first time Belinda Burgess ever came to the Heart of Gold, she was wearing head to toe black. Black high necked dress, black gloves, black shoes, and a thick black veil hanging from a black broad-brimmed hat. She was dropped off by one of Perth's motorcycle rickshaws at the door and stood on the front step for almost five minutes.
"You think she'll knock?" Helen whispered as a group of the workers peered through one of the ground floor's windows with the lacy curtains. "Or is she just standing there?"
"I think she's just standing there," Kye replied. "I thought she might be like…splashing gasoline around, or something. But Lucy's got a better angle on her from an upstairs window and she would have shot her by now."
The knock eventually came, like everyone knew it would have to, and Helen opened the door.
"Hello and welcome," she said, putting on her usual greeting. "Come on in. Take a seat at the bar, why don't—"
"I'm here to speak with Petaline," Belinda interrupted.
"Sure thing," Helen said smoothly. "Follow me."
And she led Belinda into the office, where Petaline was working on finalizing their next medical supply delivery.
"I want to see Jonah," Belinda said as soon as she sat down on the other side of Petaline's desk. Petaline considered her for an uncomfortably long minute.
"That right?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he is my husband's heir," Belinda told her.
"Right, all that," Petaline said, nodding. "Gotta admit, I don't know if you've earned the right to see my boy."
"I think you ought to consider allowing me to be a part of his life," Belinda replied, a tight smile on her face. "If you want him to see his inheritance."
"I already had a law man comin' here with the papers," Petaline told her. "Don't lie to me. That money's already Jonah's. And if something happens to my boy, you know every penny's going to The Congregation of Highgate."
Belinda didn't say anything and Petaline sighed.
"Must hurt, hm? You let that man do whatever he wanted. You let him run around on you, encouraged him to father a child with a whore, cost your neighbors their husbands, and in the end he never really cared about you at all. Not even a red cent in the will."
"I know that money's in trust for Jonah's education and to be given on his eighteenth birthday, so you aren't going to see any of it either," Belinda snapped.
"Sure. But unlike you, I got money of my own. If you want anything from me, you'd better get on your knees and beg for it, because as far as I know, you're still in your marital home just because everyone involved in executing the will pities you."
"I won't beg."
"Sure. Where are the men who used to run with your husband? One would think you would bring some firepower if you really wanted to get your way."
"They all went home," Belinda admitted. "I haven't seen them since the funeral."
"Yeah, I know," Petaline said, and leaned back in her chair. "Ran back home with their tails between their legs and decided to pretend they'd never raised torches in the streets and sieged a brothel. You talk with their wives?"
"No."
"I do," Petaline told her. "Lydia Stern came out here two days after it all went down and gave me twenty credits and shared a lemon drop martini with me. She thanked me for killing your man."
"No she didn't."
"Mm. Hard to hear, ain't it? That the women who fawned over you at church socials dropped you like a hot coal the instant their husbands weren't out embarrassing themselves by blindly following a lunatic."
"How dare—"
"How dare I? Bold question to ask someone who owes you nothing. You really should be groveling after thinking you'd use me as a free surrogate to get your perfect little family."
"I didn't."
"Oh, yes you did. There's a convent on the other side of Perth," Petaline said as she stood. "They prefer novitiates fresh out of school but I hear they've taken in a widow once in a while."
"I—"
"I'll call you a cab," Petaline said. "If you ain't gonna stick around for a drink."
"It's inappropriate for a woman to drink."
"Yeah," Petaline agreed with an indulgent smile. She circled the desk and pulled Belinda out of the chair by her wrist, circling the other arm around her waist.
“I don’t think you should be—”
"Lots of things are inappropriate, aren't they? Let me show you to the door."
She had Belinda out of her office in seconds and the cab was outside Heart of Gold in no time at all. Petaline held the cab door for Belinda.
"You're the one who's all alone in the world, Belinda," Petaline whispered to her. "And upkeep on a house like yours is mighty expensive. You come back here when you’re willing to be a little sweeter, okay?”
The second time Belinda Burgess ever came to Heart of Gold, she was on foot; no motor rickshaw in sight. She was still in black, but her veil was gone and her long string of jet beads was also missing.
"I heard she pawned it," Helen said as they watched her approach the door.
"You would think she would have had more cash on hand," Emma muttered. "Under the mattress or something."
"Real rich folks don't do that," Helen said. "All their money's in stocks or whatever."
"That's you!" Kye said upon noticing that Jonah had crawled over to join them at the window. "Real rich folk right here with us." He scooped Jonah up and let him look out the window too.
"Kye, you better get him out of here. She's gonna ask Petaline if she can see him again, I think."
She did indeed ask to see Petaline again, but this time Petaline was in the main bar area and she ignored Belinda's snapping questions.
"Are you hungry, Belinda?"
"I…well…"
"It's dinner time for some of us. Pasta with chickpeas. Ain't fancy but it'll fill your belly."
"I mean, I wouldn't say no to a bit of it," Belinda said reluctantly.
Petaline showed Belinda to a seat at one of the barstools as Emma ladled some pasta into a bowl. After some hesitation, she passed it to Petaline instead of directly to Belinda.
There was a brief silence. Belinda eventually reached out a tentative hand for the dish but Petaline pulled it away from her and considered Belinda for a moment.
"Hm…maybe. But you need to do something for me first."
"I won't end my fight just for a bowl of pasta—"
"Tell me I'm pretty."
"I…excuse me?"
"You heard me," Petaline said. "Tell me I'm pretty and you can have some pasta."
"I'm not going to—"
"Okay. No pasta, then."
"You're—" The word left Belinda's mouth practically without her permission and Petaline looked at her with expectant eyes.
"Yes?"
"You're a very beautiful woman, Petaline."
"Why thank you, Belinda," Petaline said as she set the dish down in front of the other woman.
Belinda ate like she hadn't had a full meal for a few days, hunched over the bowl like the working girls she'd long turned her nose up at. Petaline brushed a lock of ginger hair away from Belinda's face and smiled when she was not met with a flinch.
"See how easy it is to get things in this house when you're sweet to me?"
Belinda looked at her with a flicker of fear, but Petaline just kept touching her hair and smiled at her gently.
"You mean it?" Belinda wondered.
"Of course I do."
The third time Belinda Burgess came to the Heart of Gold, it was with all her favorite clothes and what jewelry she had left and a paper saying that the money for the Burgess Mansion was in escrow.
This time Petaline joined Helen and Kye at the window as they watched her drag all her things up the path.
"Can't believe you got her to fold," Helen said. Petaline shrugged.
"If she hasn't grown a spine by now, she ain't ever gonna," Petaline told them.
"You think she'll end up whoring?"
"Probably not," Petaline admitted. "But haven't we always wanted someone else to do the cleaning?"