orchid blossom
Explorer
Ruby turns back to Jake with a confused look on her face. "I wonder why Colin ran out of here scared. Maybe he's still hurt?" She sighs and fights against the panicky feelings that are trying to rise up. "But he knows we're here..." She shivers as she looks at the slightly opened window, remembering her own longings, her dreams, her fear and she starts to grow pale.
When Colleen leaves the room Jake starts searching about. "No I wasn't interested in bedding Colleen, there is something strange here." He shakes his head at Ruby and continues. "I don't know why he is scared. I wonder why exactly, or more importantly who makes him scared." Jake looks under the bed, opens the remaining drawers and then examines the window for any additional clues. "He recognized at least one of us then. Or..." Jake stops and looks at Ruby. "Is it possible he is scared of someone else down stairs?"
"I didn't really think you wanted to bed her," Ruby says, kicking at some dust on the floor.
"Yes, it's possible it's someone else. Especially that Mr. O'Neil. Something is up with him. He was lying about not knowing how to play cards." Ruby watches Jake search around the room. "With this," she holds up some red hair, "It's kinda hard to not be noticed."
"Jake," Ruby calls his name to get his attention, "I'm getting more nervous now." She starts biting on her lip as her bad memories are starting to win her back over.
He stops and looks up. "I know." He tries to give her a look that is compassionate and reassuring. He's not sure if it was. "Something is strange and I want to know what. There is an edge here somewhere, I just don't know what it is."
Minerva and Nanuet enter the room in time to find Jake searching and Ruby looking very nervous. Minerva looks around at all the dust, the unused bed and the ancient unused chamber pot. "It doesn't appear as though this room has been used by anyone in quite a while. I wonder what they were doing in here." Minerva joins in the search. Looking for possible hidden exits out of the room, she checks the walls and behind the bureau but finds none.
"Meirde! I didn't see him come down the stairs. He probably left the same way that he left Ruby's room. How are we supposed to catch him if he can disappear into thin air?" Minerva walks over to the window and looks out searching for the moon.
Quickly and quietly Jake says, "We need to look at another room and see if it looks like this one, basically unused. Maddie said the door was enchanted, and Greely fumbled with it a bit before opening it. It would be good to know why. Don't close it yet," he says looking at Ruby, "but can you see if it looks like the mechanical lock will engage when we do? I wonder if the enchantment keeps this room private, and the thing hanging around Greely's neck is the real key. I wouldn't like the implication if Greely was involved. Though it could be that good paying customers are just treated well. When we are done in here and everyone is out, close the door and see if it will reopen."
"Another thing, O'Neil is looking for not just a book but THE book. No one would normally be that specific about finding Hoyle’s 1st edition. He is looking for a particular book for who knows what reason."
"It must be a code or something. Or he is looking for someone who he knows has one,” Ruby says.
Jake stops and looks at all three of them. "Colleen said Turner was afraid. I'll ask Greely if O'Neil was here when Turner arrived. If he was, then it is unlikely Turner is afraid of O'Neil and is worried about one of us. If O'Neil arrived after then it could be any of us. The rest of the crowd is pretty tame looking and locals, so I doubt it’s them." Jake scratches his beard, "Did you think of anything else?"
"What book are you referring to?" Minerva asks prompting Jake to explain Ruby's conversation with O'Neil. He said, "I don't want to embarrass myself, figured I would read up a bit before getting my feet wet. Heard that "Hoyle's Book of Games" was the best source out there, especially the 1st edition.
Minerva listens with interest as Jake explains that O'Neil continued to express interest in obtaining the book later in their conversation even though Ruby had offered to teach him to play. "It doesn't strike me as unusual that he would want to own a copy of the book. But perhaps there is something in the book that he is looking for."
I am at a loss as to what to do next. I wish that we were able to get into his room at the boarding house earlier. Perhaps one of us should rent a room for the night there," she says thinking aloud as she continues to nervously watch the night sky. "Did you notice all the bats earlier this evening when we were walking over here? It seems a bit odd does it not?"
Nanuet says, "They must have a place to live nearby, a cave or something, but I have never seen that many at one time before. They are drawn here for some reason, perhaps an unnaturally abundant food supply? From what I remember though they don't hunt or generally fly in large groups. Something must have disturbed their nesting area. As far as the room at the boarding house goes I am very hesitant about splitting the group up and having someone stay there when we think that he lives there. That is begging for trouble. Perhaps we can get the law involved and get the room opened that way?"
Minerva says, "Hmmm, Maybe we should find out where they came from? We must not forget that two other unfortunate souls have risen from their graves as well. They will be looking for a place to hide during the day. A dark cave would serve their purpose. And I wasn't considering spending the night at the boarding house. Just using it as a means to gain entrance into Colin's room.”
As the companions are having their conversation they hear another door further down the hallway open. They can hear a man and woman laughing and carrying on with lewd comments. The "couple" makes their way past the room that the group is in and continues past and down the stairs. They appear to be in a drunken or drugged stupor as they hold each other up and wobble down the steps.
Minerva steps out into the hall and watches the couple for a moment to see if she recognizes them, especially the man. She makes her way over to the room that they just exited and tries the door knob.
The door is indeed unlocked and it swings open. This room is furnished the same as the one Minerva was standing in but not as tidy. The bed has certainly been used as the linens are strewn about the room. The chamber pot is tipped over, it's contents spilled on the floor. An empty whiskey bottle is also among the mess as well as a set of women’s undergarments.
The smell assails Minerva's nostrils causing her to wrinkle her nose in distaste. She moves around the puddle on the floor. "Ugh, Disgusting." she kicks the bed linens and clothing with the toe of her boot and gingerly moves items out of her way as she searches the room. She finds a plate of half eaten food lying underneath the blankets as well as a small key.
Minerva picks up the key and looks around the room in search of something that the key might fit. She also searches the clothes on the floor and searches under the bed and in the drawers.
The key looks like it will probably fit in the door. Searching the underclothes and under the bed reveals nothing. The dresser drawers have a pouch of chewing tobacco, a mismatched pair of socks, and a dime store novel missing its cover. Minerva takes the key and tries the other doors on the upper floor, but it only fits the door to the room she found it in.
Back in Colleen’s room, Ruby tries to take a look at the door. First she concentrates her special ability on the door, seeing if she can sense where the magic is concentrated or what type it is. Next she moves on to the mechanical part, trying to do what Jake asked, finding out if the door was set to close behind them or not.
Ruby finds that her special sight is failing her as she examines the door. The harder she tries her head begins to throb. The lock itself appears to be normal in it's mechanical nature and can be locked from inside the room or from the key outside the room only.
Ruby puts a hand to her head while she keeps trying to concentrate. Finally she staggers slightly and has to hold onto the door frame to keep herself standing. "Ooohh, that's not nice..." she says. "Something about the door..."
She tries to shake it off and says, "I don't notice anything about the locks. I can't tell any special properties. It might be like you said Ja.. Alstair... and that with the special key you can get into a special room, just like..." Suddenly her mouth snaps shut and she covers her mouth. She says quickly, "I don't see anything," and rubs her head gently while continuing to hold herself up.
Jake moves over to her quickly and takes gentle hold of one arm. "What's wrong? Are you ill?"
Rub smiles meekly. "I'll be fine," she waves him off, "Just something strange about the you-know-what on the door. Let's find out if the others found out anything."
Ruby steps out the door and sees Minerva trying a key is some doors. She looks back to Jake, "We need to go somewhere we can all be together and make a plan. We have to speak to that man who is downstairs privately or break into Turner's room or something. But we should do it together. It's probably not safe for some of us to be downstairs."
Jake replies, "I'll talk to Greely right now and then chat with O'Neil for a moment. Maybe the smartest thing is to get hotel rooms and get together unseen there."
"Alright darling. But kiss me before you leave me."
He does and holds her perhaps over long. "Stay here with Nanuet and Minerva." Jake starts to release her. "Please?"
"Yes, I will," she says genuinely. "Be careful. I wouldn't want something bad happening to my husband. Especially since I don't get him that way for too long." Ruby smiles up at Jake. Jake nods and smiles back, then walks down the stairway to speak to Greely.
* * * * * * *
Jake reaches Greely and asks, "When Turner came tonight, was O'Neil, the man with the black coat over there, already here or did he show up after Turner went upstairs?"
Greely answers, "Mr. O'Neil was already here when Mr. Turner showed up. Why?"
"Colleen said something strange, perhaps she was just over wrought. Do you know if Turner and O'Neil know each other?"
"Mr. Jacobs," Greely responds, "You have a lot of questions. If Mr. Turner and Mr. O'Neil know each other they would have only met over the past couple of days."
"And you rented your prostitute out to someone who is destroying her, so let us not worry about how many questions I ask." Jake raises an eyebrow at him. "Why do you say they only would have met over the past couple of days?"
Mr. Greely's face starts to turn red. "You assume too much Mr. Jacobs. She is not my prostitute, as you put it. You have some nerve coming in here and accusing me of such things. I care about these girls and try to protect as much as I can. I would as soon as sell one of them as you would sell your wife."
"To answer your question," he spits out, "O'Neil has only been here for a week and Mr. Turner only returned to town a couple of days ago. Now if you will excuse me," his anger still rising, "I have work to do." He stomps off and heads into the back room.
"Heh." Jake seems pleased with himself and walks over to see Mr O'Neil.
Chester feels that pretending not to know the others is counter-productive, so he joins them upstairs. "What did you guys find out?"
Ruby whispers, "I thought we weren't supposed to know you?" Then she explains what they have learned and that Jake was going to speak to Greely then they were all going to get rooms at the hotel.
Chester whispers back, "Change of plan. I figure it won't take long for the locals to find out who we are. Anyway, it looks like he's flown the coop. Should we try to get into his room now?"
"What about Kate," Ruby whispers back frantically, "She's all alone downstairs..."
"If you have things in hand here, I'll go back downstairs. I'll keep an eye on her, but I won't ruin her disguise. OK?" Chester walks back to the bar and orders another beer. He scans the room for Maddie and finds her.
Ruby fidgets as she looks back and forth between Minerva to Nanuet. "Let's go downstairs. I don't want to be up in here anymore..." She glances nervously at the window.
"I think that is a good idea,” Minerva says. “I don't think we're doing much up here." she says and puts the key in her pocket and follows Ruby down the stairs. Nanuet walks over and closes the window tightly. He checks for a lock and slides the window lock shut then follows the ladies downstairs.
"Where are you staying Jackie,” Jake asks the man as he approaches his table downstairs. “Perhaps we can meet for breakfast. I have something to discuss that you might find interesting."
"I'm staying in the Gorden Hotel, second floor," he replies casually. "What is it you want to discuss?" He smiles cockily, "And are you bringing that pretty card playing wife of yours?"
"Constance and I are rarely parted." Jake leans in closely and whispers coldly. "Only one person ever gets to call me baby Mr. O'Neil. Do that again, and I'll forget you bought me a drink." Jake stands straight again. "Thanks for the drink, breakfast will be on me. We'll talk about opportunities in this little town." Jake tips his hat and smiles before turning and looking for around for the others.
When Chester came back downstairs, Maddie made her way over. "Mr. Martin? I wondered if you might be going over to the hotel soon? I'm quite tired and that boarding house didn't look fit for a rat. But the way people talk here I get the idea it wouldn't be safe for me to walk alone."
Jake pipes up after Maddie speaks, "If you two wouldn't mind, the Missus and I will be heading over to the hotel too and would join you."
Chester says, "The more the merrier, Mr. Jacobs. Are the other woman and her Indian friend also going there, too?"
"Thank you. Seems I had good luck, meeting you all on the train. I thought I would stay with my family tonight, but..." she stopped and looked around the room. "Well, I can see why maybe they aren't here anymore."
Ruby puts on a brave face and saunters over to Jake. She slips her arm through his, "I'm getting sleepy. Can we leave soon?"
Jake nods to his wife and moves towards their piled luggage. He pretends to move somethings around while changing the loads in his sawed off shot gun to normal ones. "The bags are ready," he says, "anybody else going to the hotel?"
Maddie picked up her own bag, which she had been taking with her from place to place in the saloon. "Yes, I'm exhausted."
Nanuet follows suit and begins picking up his bags. "Minerva, are you ready to go? I wanted to get these bags unpacked anyways, been dragging them all over town."
Ruby turns back to Mr. O'Neil. "Good night. It was a pleasure meeting you," as she smiles at him. "Perhaps more card lessons are in order if you'll be around."
"Si, I am ready. Let me help you with some of that." Minerva takes some bags to free up one of his arms and heads for the door with one hand on her gun under her skirt.
Jacky O'Neil gets up from his seat and walks over to Ruby kissing her hand again. "I'll be around at least for a while Miss Constance. I think we have a date for breakfast anyways, so I'll see you then." he says with a wink.
Ruby acts surprised, "Oh we do? My, isn't that a nice surprise. I'm normally not an early riser but I suppose you have to make exceptions some time, right?" She smiles again. "Good night."
As she walks out she looks back at him over her shoulder and flashes her dazzling smile and waits for Jake and the others.
Jake fumes a bit and the turns away from O'Neil. He uncaps the water Minerva gave him and spills some on his right hand. He conceals the bottle in his left hand and offers his right hand to O'Neil. "It is a date then."
Jacky shakes Jakes hand firmly. His forehead crumples a bit when he clasps Jake's hand in his own and he snatches a handkerchief and quickly wipes the water off his hand. He starts to say something then stops and thinks for a moment. "Yes, it's a date, I should be getting in around breakfast time, see you then."
When Colleen leaves the room Jake starts searching about. "No I wasn't interested in bedding Colleen, there is something strange here." He shakes his head at Ruby and continues. "I don't know why he is scared. I wonder why exactly, or more importantly who makes him scared." Jake looks under the bed, opens the remaining drawers and then examines the window for any additional clues. "He recognized at least one of us then. Or..." Jake stops and looks at Ruby. "Is it possible he is scared of someone else down stairs?"
"I didn't really think you wanted to bed her," Ruby says, kicking at some dust on the floor.
"Yes, it's possible it's someone else. Especially that Mr. O'Neil. Something is up with him. He was lying about not knowing how to play cards." Ruby watches Jake search around the room. "With this," she holds up some red hair, "It's kinda hard to not be noticed."
"Jake," Ruby calls his name to get his attention, "I'm getting more nervous now." She starts biting on her lip as her bad memories are starting to win her back over.
He stops and looks up. "I know." He tries to give her a look that is compassionate and reassuring. He's not sure if it was. "Something is strange and I want to know what. There is an edge here somewhere, I just don't know what it is."
Minerva and Nanuet enter the room in time to find Jake searching and Ruby looking very nervous. Minerva looks around at all the dust, the unused bed and the ancient unused chamber pot. "It doesn't appear as though this room has been used by anyone in quite a while. I wonder what they were doing in here." Minerva joins in the search. Looking for possible hidden exits out of the room, she checks the walls and behind the bureau but finds none.
"Meirde! I didn't see him come down the stairs. He probably left the same way that he left Ruby's room. How are we supposed to catch him if he can disappear into thin air?" Minerva walks over to the window and looks out searching for the moon.
Quickly and quietly Jake says, "We need to look at another room and see if it looks like this one, basically unused. Maddie said the door was enchanted, and Greely fumbled with it a bit before opening it. It would be good to know why. Don't close it yet," he says looking at Ruby, "but can you see if it looks like the mechanical lock will engage when we do? I wonder if the enchantment keeps this room private, and the thing hanging around Greely's neck is the real key. I wouldn't like the implication if Greely was involved. Though it could be that good paying customers are just treated well. When we are done in here and everyone is out, close the door and see if it will reopen."
"Another thing, O'Neil is looking for not just a book but THE book. No one would normally be that specific about finding Hoyle’s 1st edition. He is looking for a particular book for who knows what reason."
"It must be a code or something. Or he is looking for someone who he knows has one,” Ruby says.
Jake stops and looks at all three of them. "Colleen said Turner was afraid. I'll ask Greely if O'Neil was here when Turner arrived. If he was, then it is unlikely Turner is afraid of O'Neil and is worried about one of us. If O'Neil arrived after then it could be any of us. The rest of the crowd is pretty tame looking and locals, so I doubt it’s them." Jake scratches his beard, "Did you think of anything else?"
"What book are you referring to?" Minerva asks prompting Jake to explain Ruby's conversation with O'Neil. He said, "I don't want to embarrass myself, figured I would read up a bit before getting my feet wet. Heard that "Hoyle's Book of Games" was the best source out there, especially the 1st edition.
Minerva listens with interest as Jake explains that O'Neil continued to express interest in obtaining the book later in their conversation even though Ruby had offered to teach him to play. "It doesn't strike me as unusual that he would want to own a copy of the book. But perhaps there is something in the book that he is looking for."
I am at a loss as to what to do next. I wish that we were able to get into his room at the boarding house earlier. Perhaps one of us should rent a room for the night there," she says thinking aloud as she continues to nervously watch the night sky. "Did you notice all the bats earlier this evening when we were walking over here? It seems a bit odd does it not?"
Nanuet says, "They must have a place to live nearby, a cave or something, but I have never seen that many at one time before. They are drawn here for some reason, perhaps an unnaturally abundant food supply? From what I remember though they don't hunt or generally fly in large groups. Something must have disturbed their nesting area. As far as the room at the boarding house goes I am very hesitant about splitting the group up and having someone stay there when we think that he lives there. That is begging for trouble. Perhaps we can get the law involved and get the room opened that way?"
Minerva says, "Hmmm, Maybe we should find out where they came from? We must not forget that two other unfortunate souls have risen from their graves as well. They will be looking for a place to hide during the day. A dark cave would serve their purpose. And I wasn't considering spending the night at the boarding house. Just using it as a means to gain entrance into Colin's room.”
As the companions are having their conversation they hear another door further down the hallway open. They can hear a man and woman laughing and carrying on with lewd comments. The "couple" makes their way past the room that the group is in and continues past and down the stairs. They appear to be in a drunken or drugged stupor as they hold each other up and wobble down the steps.
Minerva steps out into the hall and watches the couple for a moment to see if she recognizes them, especially the man. She makes her way over to the room that they just exited and tries the door knob.
The door is indeed unlocked and it swings open. This room is furnished the same as the one Minerva was standing in but not as tidy. The bed has certainly been used as the linens are strewn about the room. The chamber pot is tipped over, it's contents spilled on the floor. An empty whiskey bottle is also among the mess as well as a set of women’s undergarments.
The smell assails Minerva's nostrils causing her to wrinkle her nose in distaste. She moves around the puddle on the floor. "Ugh, Disgusting." she kicks the bed linens and clothing with the toe of her boot and gingerly moves items out of her way as she searches the room. She finds a plate of half eaten food lying underneath the blankets as well as a small key.
Minerva picks up the key and looks around the room in search of something that the key might fit. She also searches the clothes on the floor and searches under the bed and in the drawers.
The key looks like it will probably fit in the door. Searching the underclothes and under the bed reveals nothing. The dresser drawers have a pouch of chewing tobacco, a mismatched pair of socks, and a dime store novel missing its cover. Minerva takes the key and tries the other doors on the upper floor, but it only fits the door to the room she found it in.
Back in Colleen’s room, Ruby tries to take a look at the door. First she concentrates her special ability on the door, seeing if she can sense where the magic is concentrated or what type it is. Next she moves on to the mechanical part, trying to do what Jake asked, finding out if the door was set to close behind them or not.
Ruby finds that her special sight is failing her as she examines the door. The harder she tries her head begins to throb. The lock itself appears to be normal in it's mechanical nature and can be locked from inside the room or from the key outside the room only.
Ruby puts a hand to her head while she keeps trying to concentrate. Finally she staggers slightly and has to hold onto the door frame to keep herself standing. "Ooohh, that's not nice..." she says. "Something about the door..."
She tries to shake it off and says, "I don't notice anything about the locks. I can't tell any special properties. It might be like you said Ja.. Alstair... and that with the special key you can get into a special room, just like..." Suddenly her mouth snaps shut and she covers her mouth. She says quickly, "I don't see anything," and rubs her head gently while continuing to hold herself up.
Jake moves over to her quickly and takes gentle hold of one arm. "What's wrong? Are you ill?"
Rub smiles meekly. "I'll be fine," she waves him off, "Just something strange about the you-know-what on the door. Let's find out if the others found out anything."
Ruby steps out the door and sees Minerva trying a key is some doors. She looks back to Jake, "We need to go somewhere we can all be together and make a plan. We have to speak to that man who is downstairs privately or break into Turner's room or something. But we should do it together. It's probably not safe for some of us to be downstairs."
Jake replies, "I'll talk to Greely right now and then chat with O'Neil for a moment. Maybe the smartest thing is to get hotel rooms and get together unseen there."
"Alright darling. But kiss me before you leave me."
He does and holds her perhaps over long. "Stay here with Nanuet and Minerva." Jake starts to release her. "Please?"
"Yes, I will," she says genuinely. "Be careful. I wouldn't want something bad happening to my husband. Especially since I don't get him that way for too long." Ruby smiles up at Jake. Jake nods and smiles back, then walks down the stairway to speak to Greely.
* * * * * * *
Jake reaches Greely and asks, "When Turner came tonight, was O'Neil, the man with the black coat over there, already here or did he show up after Turner went upstairs?"
Greely answers, "Mr. O'Neil was already here when Mr. Turner showed up. Why?"
"Colleen said something strange, perhaps she was just over wrought. Do you know if Turner and O'Neil know each other?"
"Mr. Jacobs," Greely responds, "You have a lot of questions. If Mr. Turner and Mr. O'Neil know each other they would have only met over the past couple of days."
"And you rented your prostitute out to someone who is destroying her, so let us not worry about how many questions I ask." Jake raises an eyebrow at him. "Why do you say they only would have met over the past couple of days?"
Mr. Greely's face starts to turn red. "You assume too much Mr. Jacobs. She is not my prostitute, as you put it. You have some nerve coming in here and accusing me of such things. I care about these girls and try to protect as much as I can. I would as soon as sell one of them as you would sell your wife."
"To answer your question," he spits out, "O'Neil has only been here for a week and Mr. Turner only returned to town a couple of days ago. Now if you will excuse me," his anger still rising, "I have work to do." He stomps off and heads into the back room.
"Heh." Jake seems pleased with himself and walks over to see Mr O'Neil.
Chester feels that pretending not to know the others is counter-productive, so he joins them upstairs. "What did you guys find out?"
Ruby whispers, "I thought we weren't supposed to know you?" Then she explains what they have learned and that Jake was going to speak to Greely then they were all going to get rooms at the hotel.
Chester whispers back, "Change of plan. I figure it won't take long for the locals to find out who we are. Anyway, it looks like he's flown the coop. Should we try to get into his room now?"
"What about Kate," Ruby whispers back frantically, "She's all alone downstairs..."
"If you have things in hand here, I'll go back downstairs. I'll keep an eye on her, but I won't ruin her disguise. OK?" Chester walks back to the bar and orders another beer. He scans the room for Maddie and finds her.
Ruby fidgets as she looks back and forth between Minerva to Nanuet. "Let's go downstairs. I don't want to be up in here anymore..." She glances nervously at the window.
"I think that is a good idea,” Minerva says. “I don't think we're doing much up here." she says and puts the key in her pocket and follows Ruby down the stairs. Nanuet walks over and closes the window tightly. He checks for a lock and slides the window lock shut then follows the ladies downstairs.
"Where are you staying Jackie,” Jake asks the man as he approaches his table downstairs. “Perhaps we can meet for breakfast. I have something to discuss that you might find interesting."
"I'm staying in the Gorden Hotel, second floor," he replies casually. "What is it you want to discuss?" He smiles cockily, "And are you bringing that pretty card playing wife of yours?"
"Constance and I are rarely parted." Jake leans in closely and whispers coldly. "Only one person ever gets to call me baby Mr. O'Neil. Do that again, and I'll forget you bought me a drink." Jake stands straight again. "Thanks for the drink, breakfast will be on me. We'll talk about opportunities in this little town." Jake tips his hat and smiles before turning and looking for around for the others.
When Chester came back downstairs, Maddie made her way over. "Mr. Martin? I wondered if you might be going over to the hotel soon? I'm quite tired and that boarding house didn't look fit for a rat. But the way people talk here I get the idea it wouldn't be safe for me to walk alone."
Jake pipes up after Maddie speaks, "If you two wouldn't mind, the Missus and I will be heading over to the hotel too and would join you."
Chester says, "The more the merrier, Mr. Jacobs. Are the other woman and her Indian friend also going there, too?"
"Thank you. Seems I had good luck, meeting you all on the train. I thought I would stay with my family tonight, but..." she stopped and looked around the room. "Well, I can see why maybe they aren't here anymore."
Ruby puts on a brave face and saunters over to Jake. She slips her arm through his, "I'm getting sleepy. Can we leave soon?"
Jake nods to his wife and moves towards their piled luggage. He pretends to move somethings around while changing the loads in his sawed off shot gun to normal ones. "The bags are ready," he says, "anybody else going to the hotel?"
Maddie picked up her own bag, which she had been taking with her from place to place in the saloon. "Yes, I'm exhausted."
Nanuet follows suit and begins picking up his bags. "Minerva, are you ready to go? I wanted to get these bags unpacked anyways, been dragging them all over town."
Ruby turns back to Mr. O'Neil. "Good night. It was a pleasure meeting you," as she smiles at him. "Perhaps more card lessons are in order if you'll be around."
"Si, I am ready. Let me help you with some of that." Minerva takes some bags to free up one of his arms and heads for the door with one hand on her gun under her skirt.
Jacky O'Neil gets up from his seat and walks over to Ruby kissing her hand again. "I'll be around at least for a while Miss Constance. I think we have a date for breakfast anyways, so I'll see you then." he says with a wink.
Ruby acts surprised, "Oh we do? My, isn't that a nice surprise. I'm normally not an early riser but I suppose you have to make exceptions some time, right?" She smiles again. "Good night."
As she walks out she looks back at him over her shoulder and flashes her dazzling smile and waits for Jake and the others.
Jake fumes a bit and the turns away from O'Neil. He uncaps the water Minerva gave him and spills some on his right hand. He conceals the bottle in his left hand and offers his right hand to O'Neil. "It is a date then."
Jacky shakes Jakes hand firmly. His forehead crumples a bit when he clasps Jake's hand in his own and he snatches a handkerchief and quickly wipes the water off his hand. He starts to say something then stops and thinks for a moment. "Yes, it's a date, I should be getting in around breakfast time, see you then."