Laid

AN: I thought I was just going to write a snippet for the fic lab. However, when I started writing, it just kept flowing. So, this is just a very small part of something I will be expanding. I'm not sure when.

The Everleigh Club opened February 1, 1900. It has been suggested and documented in scholarly research that "have you been Everleighed," was shortened to the commonly used "getting laid."

Bella's eyes were wide as she exited the Chicago's Grand Central Station. Rochester, New York was by no means a small town, but Chicago was like nothing she had ever seen before! The streets were filled with people walking, carriages being pulled by strong horses, and even horseless carriages. She had heard of such things, but no one in Rochester owned one.

Mr. and Mrs. Hunter were expecting her at their boarding house, but she wasn't sure how to get there. Bella looked around hoping to find a friendly stranger who could possibly help. She saw a porter gather bags and approached him.

"Excuse me, sir. Could you please help me."

The tall dark skinned man turned to her. "No need to call me sir, miss." He doffed his cap. "How can I help you?"

"In what direction would I find 20th and Dearborn?"

"Well, you'd need do go that way, miss." He pointed southwest. "But you shouldn't be goin' there, miss. That's not the kind of place for someone like you. That be The Levee. What are you looking for there?"

"I have arranged for a room in a boarding house."

"Miss, you should go that way," he pointed south, "to Hyde Park. You'll find an Elanor house there. It's clean and safe for a lady like you, and only $2.50 a week."

"Oh," Bella muttered as her eyes became glassy. "Thank you for your help."

She plastered a smile on her face and adjusted her carpet bag in her arms. Everything she owned was in that bag. When her parents died of the fever she lost almost everything to the bank. After the leftovers were sold and the community raised money for her, she had $30. When she first counted it, it seemed like so much money, but then her second class fare to Chicago cost $17.

At 18 and an only child of only children, Bella had to either go to the poor house or take care of herself. Her neighbors, Mr and Mrs. Lauren, allowed her to temporarily board with them while she found a job. For weeks she searched for opportunities throughout Rochester. All anyone could offer her was washing and ironing or sewing apparel in need of repair. She would not be able to pay to continue to board with the Laurens with such jobs. Mrs. Lauren often talked about her cousin, Mrs. James Hunter, who lived in Chicago and ran a boarding house. People were going to Chicago to do office work, perhaps she could do the same. With that in mind, Bella began corresponding with Mrs. Hunter.

Smiling once again at the porter, Bella turned to go south. She didn't want to tell him she couldn't afford a place like that. She had struck a deal with Mrs. Hunter. She would work at the boarding house in exchange for her room and board, then once she found a regular job, she could begin paying a discounted rate for as long as she decided to stay there. This dealer solved her problems. She had a place to stay, didn't have to use any of her meager funds.

ooOOoo

Months later Bella was looking for a new place to live. The Hunters worked her to exhaustion. She had no time to look for a job in one of the office buildings. The $13 she arrived with was gone. Mr. Hunter offered to keep it in their safe, which was robbed just weeks after she allowed him to put it there. And the way that he looked at her frightened Bella. Whenever she found herself alone with him, she found a way to leave his company as quickly as possible.

Bella traveled down Dearborn looking on a rare free afternoon, trying to find a way out of the Hunters' boarding house. She stopped in at Mr. Vultori's saloon. He was a kindly old man who always helped others in the Levee District whenever he could. Bella hoped he could help her. She told him about the troubles she's encountered and her fear of Mr. Hunter. Mr. Volturi already kew her story. He wished he could help her, but no one defied James Hunter. He had connections to Chicago's underbelly and could destroy a business in just a word or two. Hunter had made it clear throughout the Levee that Miss Swan was his.

With Mr. Vultori's refusal, as kind as it was, Bella was despondent. She sat on a bench outside of the saloon, head in her hands, and shoulders shaking as she cried. She felt the slats on the bench move as someone sat next to her. Feeling humiliated to have been discovered crying out on the street, Bella wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and sat up. She avoided looking at whoever was next to her. A soft feminine hand tapped her knee.

"It's okay, honey. We all deserve a good cry now and then."

Bella turned to see a well dressed, petite young woman.

"Tell me, why were you crying?'

Bella was not one to burden others with her troubles. It had been incredibly difficult to ask Mr. Volturi for help. Perhaps it was her exhaustion. Perhaps it was her desperation. Everything flooded from Bella's mouth, from the death of her parents, traveling to Chicago, boarding at the Hunters', and her fear of Mr. Hunter.

"I had $13 when I arrived in Chicago. I bought myself a pretty hat to celebrate my arrival and gave the rest to Mr. Hunter for safe keeping. He told me recently that they had been robbed and my money was gone. Though I think he or Mrs. Hunter took it for themselves." Bella sniffed her runny nose.

The young woman offered Bella a handkerchief. "I'm Alice, and I just might be able to help you."

"You sound well educated," Alice said.

"My mother was a teacher before she married my father. I attended school through the eighth grade, then my mother insisted I read the newspaper everyday to know what was happening in the world. I haven't read a newspaper in months. I miss my books, too. But I've been so exhausted, I'm not sure I'd be able to read anyway."

"Come with me," Alice said while holding her hand out to Bella.

Alice took her to the most opulent mansion in all of the Levee. Bella knew where she was, but said nothing, just followed Alice as she took her to her room. Alice opened the bedroom door for Bella to go in. "This is my room."

Alice sat Bella on the seat in front of the mirrored vanity to help her clean up. She gave Bella a cloth to wipe her face. Alice sprinkled a soft dusting of talcum on Bella's hair to clean it, then combed through her long locks. "You have beautiful hair."

"Thank you." Bella swallowed, feeling slightly embarrassed by the compliment.

"I have an idea," Alice said with excitement. She reached into a vanity drawer and pulled out a beautiful set of combs. Bella looked at them with awe.

"Those are beautiful!"

"Let's see how they look in your hair."

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly wear those."

"Yes, you can, Bella, just for fun."

Alice brushed the sides of Bella's hair, holing it back with the combs so it cascaded down her back. She then went to her closet pulled out a beautiful blue dress. "Try this on."

Bella began to protest, but Alice stopped her. "Just for fun."

Acquiescing, Bella changed out of her old dress and put on Alices dress. It felt a little scandalous wear a dress that did not fully cover her shoulders. Alice then gave her one small spritz of perfume.

"Bella! Look at yourself! You are beautiful!"

Bella twisted and turned as she observed herself. She felt beautiful.

"Come on, I want my friends to see you."

Bella allowed Alice to lead her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She took Bella to a parlor where a number of young women sat talking and reading. "Ladies, this is my new friend Bella."

Bella blushed. The women gathered around her and told her she looked lovely. One young woman who seemed to hold herself differently, very bold and self-assured, approached her.

"Bella, it's lovely to meet you. I'm Ada."