Cupidon's Blog

Bojour Cherie!

I am Cupidon! Pint size companion to Clio Dulaine. I know all the dirt of the people here abouts in Saratoga Springs. I smoke cigars with Mr. Clint and he says I should "start one a them there blogs on the internets." So here I am to give you all the gossip.

They say charity begins at home so I will give the goods on Mrs. Dulaine. First of all. She is not a countess. She wants me to call her "her ladyship," but that is just a little joke with us. Just like Mr. Clint was never a colonel in the army. Second of all Angelique is not black. She is a white woman in make-up. I think Clio thinks it is more chic to have black maid so she makes Angelique put on the make-up. But I ask you, what is the deal with the eyebrows? She went crazy with the eyebrows.

Now you might have heard a word or two around the Springs about Mrs. Dulaine and Bartholomew Van Steed. I think, meh, she likes his money, but she is in love with Mr. Clint. You watch, Cherie, she will always go back to Mr. Clint even though his idea of money is winning $500 in a card game. Did she not follow him here from New Orleans? She may talk about getting revenge for her mama and marrying a rich man, but I can tell, in her heart it is all Clint, Clint, Clint all the time. Let me tell you another thing, Cherie. That door between their rooms is never locked, not even once. They are alike those two. Always lying, always angry and always scheming to "get the other fella first be he gets you."

The big talk around Saratoga Springs is the railroad, the so-called Saratoga Trunk line between the coal fields and the rest of New York. Bartholomew Van Steed owns it, but Mr. Soule and his cronies are trying to get it away from him in the courts. So Mr. Clint says he should hire some tough guys and take it back, station by station. I tell Mr. Clint when the day comes to fight, Cupidon will be there by his side. I despise Mr. Soule because when Mrs. Dulaine addressed him he sat there in his seat like a lump. Maybe she is only a pretend countess, but still a gentleman should stand up and greet her. He is no gentleman and he will not keep the railroad. Oh no, Cupidon will see to that.

I should say something about the social scene here. Everyday the place to see and be seen is at the spring drinking the waters. As usual with these things the water is terrible, nasty stuff. It was a mystery to me how this place could be so popular-- a musty old hotel full of rich stuffed turkeys drinking disgusting water? That was until I met Mrs Coventry Bellop. As Mr. Clint says, she is one tough old battle ax. (He say that to me in private, not to Clio because she likes Mrs. Bellop.) Now this Bellop uses her influence to make the resort popular among her set of folks. If they decide to go elsewhere she convinces them to stay because she knows the dirt on all of them, even more than Cupidon! They are all scared of Mrs. Bellop, even Mrs. Van Steed, Bartholomew's mama. Oh, Mrs. Bellop should write a blog too! But that would not do because she makes her living by keeping her mouth shut. In return for this service, the hotel overlooks her bills. It is quite an arrangement. I guess she sees something of herself in Mrs. Dulaine, so she has decided to keep quiet about New Orleans and all of our mischief there for free.

Well, that is about all for now, Cherie. Angelique is coming to roust me for an errand. I better post this before she can stop me.

Au revoir!