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<blockquote data-quote="orchid blossom" data-source="post: 2850234" data-attributes="member: 12815"><p><span style="font-size: 12px">A Walk in the Garden</span></p><p></p><p>"Alright." He gets the address. The train pulls into the station at 5:15 P.M.. The three gather up their luggage and depart. Mathias is waiting for Kate and Conrad with the carriage and driver to return to the house. He tells them that their father has made an appointment to tour the Perkins School for the Blind at 10:00 A.M. the next morning.</p><p></p><p>"He waited for me? Well, I suppose I haven't been gone very long. I'm glad I'll get to go along, I'm sure he'll be impressed.</p><p></p><p>And how are you feeling, Mathias? It was very kind of you to come along to fetch us, you didn't have to."</p><p></p><p>Kate talked quietly with Mathias for the ride back, detailing some of their trip for him and assuring him that they had experienced no trouble while there. Their fortunate meeting with Mr. Whitman had made things much easier.</p><p></p><p>They arrived back at the house just in time for dinner, and Kate spent the first few minutes back greeting Ginnie and her teacher. Her brothers were both there for dinner as well, and much of the talk was of their meeting with the Misters Whitman and the visitors who would be arriving on Friday. They also talked of the school for the blind and the visit they would be paying the next day.</p><p></p><p>After dinner, Kate spoke to her brother Henry for a few moments, saying she would like to spend some time with him in a bit. Then she invited her teacher to go for a short walk in the garden in the fading light.</p><p></p><p>Gonzales takes a walk with Kate outside. He says, "Ginnie is really enjoying the visit here. She's indicated that she would never want to live in Boston again, but these short trips have helped. Yesterday I went with her to visit her parents' graves. It was very personal for her and I was honored that she would have me accompany her. She spoke to them in private and I stood far enough away so as to not eavesdrop."</p><p></p><p>"The last time we were here she went there alone while we were busy getting the evidence of Mr. Tucker's trip to Europe. She must trust you very much, indeed. As I do," Kate said and smiled, squeezing his arm affectionately. "I think she needs to make some good memories of this city, and these visits can do that.</p><p></p><p>You've been a tremendous help with Ginnie, and I am lucky to have such a family to lean on. I feel perhaps, in trying not to crowd her with my presence that I have stayed too far back. I don't know. Conrad has an idea about getting her a little two-wheeled carriage and teaching her to drive and race it. What do you think?"</p><p></p><p>"I think that you'd better talk to her about it. Any decision you make for her without consulting her will probably be a bad one. She's gotten more independent this last month or two, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as she doesn't withdraw into herself again."</p><p></p><p>He smiles and says, "And I'm not sure exactly why, but she's really looking forward to this visit to the blind school tomorrow."</p><p></p><p>"I'm glad. I wonder what about the school has her curious....of course, school of any kind excites Ginnie," she laughed. "She and Miss Sullivan have similar stories, I'm happy they'll have a chance to meet.</p><p></p><p>I won't make the decision about the buggy for her, I just wanted to know what you think. Hoping you could make me feel better about it, I suppose. I just worry over nothing, the true mark of a mother, perhaps?"</p><p></p><p>Gonzales doesn't immediately answer. He eventually says with a hint of sadness and melancholy in his voice, "A parent should worry about his or her children. That's a parent's job."</p><p></p><p>Kate squeezed his hand and walked in silent comfort with him for a few minutes. She tried several times to speak, but nothing seemed right so she only tried to make him feel that she loved him.</p><p></p><p>"I have missed my lessons with you while we're here. I miss being called 'Sandpiper.'</p><p></p><p>I have some ideas about how we will fit my lessons into my schedule when I start school. I thought I would have them on the nights when I don't play at the Lady, and then during the day on Sundays."</p><p></p><p>He has a distracted look on his face and after a minute or two says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was...well....whenever you want time for lessons that would be fine."</p><p></p><p>He places his arm over her shoulder and gives her a bit of a hug. "You are like a daughter to me Katherine, I hope you know that."</p><p></p><p>Kate turned, making his half hug into a whole one and kissing his cheek. "I wouldn't have presumed to think so, but it makes me happy to hear you say it. You are part of my family now too, Grandpapa and Papa and Uncle all rolled into one. And I'm afraid I've given you cause to worry over the past few months."</p><p></p><p>She let go and took his arm again to resume their walk. "Whenever you're ready to tell about what took you so far away just a minute ago, I'm ready to listen."</p><p></p><p>He holds her hand tightly as they walk through the gardens. "Next week is the anniversary...twenty nine years since......since my counterpart killed my son and daughter. I imagine when next October rolls around you'll go through a melancholy similar to this too.</p><p></p><p>That day is always hardest on me because my other daugher and her family, as well as my son's family, will all get together with Dorita and Pedro for a remembrance ceremony. Of all of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren Dorita, Pedro and Sonoma are the only ones.....the only ones who have spoken a single word to me since that awful day. The others all hold me responsible."</p><p></p><p>"As you do yourself. There are no words I can say to change that. But the blame game is a dangerous one. If you go back far enough you can blame the gods because they created the world it happened in.</p><p></p><p>I'm sorry, it isn't fair of them to hold you responsible. The blame belongs to your counterpart. He created the situation, he caused the deaths, but he is far away and such a distant target of anger isn't very satisfying.</p><p></p><p>I will dare to say your children would not want you to blame yourself. If you could ask them, they would probably say they came willingly and knowing the risks. And they would thank you for the life and love you gave them.</p><p></p><p>It must be very painful to be separated from your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What a shame they do not know the love of their grandfather, who has so much of it to give."</p><p></p><p>"Well, that is one advantage to elves having such a long life, most of them have had the opportunity to know that. Twenty-nine years is a relatively small part of our lives, but it is hard while we are living in it."</p><p></p><p>"You are right about my children. Those two would have followed me to Hades and I guess you could say that they did. I should have died that day as well but he wouldn't allow it. He knew how much my family meant to me, how could he not? I could go on, but you need not hear the gory details.</p><p></p><p>He represents a far greater evil than I never thought possible to which my only comfort is the knowledge that I am his opposite. But he would never have existed if not for me and my recklessness. Twenty-nine years....the same year of the Gadsden Purchase. No coincidence in those dates. I was the one who encouraged Santa Ana to finalize the purchase, largely to put the resting place of Coronado's Sword out of my counterpart's grasp. He knew what I knew, that the great sword was the only way to destroy that evil artifact, the mirror that created him.</p><p></p><p>Dorita, Pedro and Sonoma crossed into the new land given to the United States shortly thereafter to begin the search for the sword. They traveled throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and the Indian Territory, retracing Coronado's route. That led them eight years ago to where they are now, the site of Coronado's encampment. They excivated pottery, daggers, human bones and other evidence that Coronado had been there.</p><p></p><p>That was before Promise City existed. At that point there were only three structures in town. The Figures family lived in a simple three room structure that the Cantina was later built on to, namely the three front rooms where Estaban, Angelica and Pepita now live. The other house was the Escobar place. Back then Manuel Escobar and his son Enrico worked half-a-year for Forest Morand's Rocking-H Ranch, just as they still do today. Otherwise there was only Father Valdez's church.</p><p></p><p>The town has been good for the family but has distracted us from our mission of finding the sword. I have this feeling now that time is running out, that we need to find the sword soon or it will be too late. I have no basis for that feeling, just a nagging intuition. Does that make any sense?"</p><p></p><p>"It does. There is far more in the world than we can ever hope to understand, and our intuition may be one of them. Perhaps it is just Miss Florencia's arrival, or this anniversary, or something in the air and the earth telling you something is coming. And living with so many humans cannot help but change the way you see time at least a little bit.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps you're just worried because you haven't been focusing on the search, and so feel you're wasting time. Whatever the reason, renewing your focus wouldn't be a bad thing."</p><p></p><p>"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a waste of time. I've befriended Arcade's Gang and helped to better develop them as a force to be reckoned with. When I return to Mexico to oppose my counterpart I will need them at my side. He won't expect that at all, thinking that my only support is my family and knowing that he has driven a wedge between them and me.</p><p></p><p>I have also made other new friends, whose help will be needed to finally locate this long lost artifact. Between my little birds and their friends we should be able to solve this mystery."</p><p></p><p>He hugs her again and kisses her forehead. "And most of all, I have found myself a daughter to replace the one that I have lost. I don't mean to say that you are like her, Ruby's personality is by far a much closer match, but you have helped to take that special place within my heart that had been missing for these past three decades."</p><p></p><p>Kate's eyes blurred with tears and she hugged him back fiercely. "Thank you," she said simply. "I couldn't ask for higher praise." She held on quietly for several long moments, then looked up. "Like Ruby, hmm? She must have been a handful."</p><p></p><p>He laughs, "That she was. Part of why Dorita has such an odd ongoing relationship with Ruby, I'm not the only one who has made that comparison. You should ask Dorita about her someday, but not this month."</p><p></p><p>He steers them back toward the house and says, "So, tell me what transpired between Conrad and his father."</p><p></p><p>"It went quite well, far better than I'd expected. We met Walt Whitman in the restaurant where we stopped for lunch...." Kate began and went on to describe the Player's Club and their meeting with Edwin Booth in some detail. "Conrad is very happy with the results, and I didn't expect half so much.</p><p></p><p>I was a little distressed by... well... Mr. Booth took me aside and suggested I should be wary of Conrad. That if he is a con man, my family's fortune could be at risk. He described how the kindnesses Conrad has done me might have just been a skilled actor gaining my trust. He even suggested Conrad might have been working with Johnny Ringo.</p><p></p><p>As quickly as I dismissed those thoughts, I hate that they were ever in my mind. I trust him, as foolish as others may think that is."</p><p></p><p>"There is something to be said for caution, I wouldn't fault the man for it. You and I both know better of Conrad, you from seeing what is in his heart and me from the fact that Mother Jaminez took him on as her apprentice. If he were less than genuine she would have known and had nothing to do with him."</p><p></p><p>"I can't say I would have known, my judgement isn't always the best. But everything in me tells me his is genuine, and I don't want to live life suspicious of everyone.</p><p></p><p>I understand Mr. Booth's caution. He explained how things looked from his side, and he has his daughter to consider. Conrad hopes to convince him someday.</p><p></p><p>And speaking of apprentices.... Conrad did ask me if I thought you might be willing to teach him a few bits and bobs of your specialty. I seem to remember you suggesting once that you might teach him how to make a conversation private."</p><p></p><p>"Hmmm, I'll have to give that one some serious thought. I stopped apprenticing men over a century ago. They don't have the same level of patience as women and aren't as pleasant to look at."</p><p></p><p>"Well, who is pleasant to look at is a matter of who you ask. I find him quite pleasant to look at," she laughed. "I don't think he wants to be apprenticed, Grand-père, only to learn a few simple things. The privacy, the armor I use, things like that. It's up to you, of course. I suppose I could teach him those things myself after I learn them, but if he's going to learn them he might as well have the best teacher available."</p><p></p><p>"Well I might do with him as I do with Madge, just some basic instruction in a few specific things. Don't expect me to ever teach him anything that will let him cheat at cards though."</p><p></p><p>"Of course not," Kate answered a bit stiffly. "You should know better than to think I would."</p><p></p><p>They head back inside. Conrad and Gonzales are invited to join Mr. Seagram, Professor Pickering and Colby Tucker for a men's only lecture over at Harvard that they head off too, leaving Kate, Ginnie and Mrs. Seagram to themselves.</p><p></p><p>Kate paced the parlor restlessly after the men left. Finally she blurted out, "It was like that at the Player's Club too. No women, as if we had no minds to think with or hearts to feel with. Are they so afraid of us?"</p><p></p><p>Kate's mother replies, "Well dear, the world is not all like the Utah Territory. Out there women have been given the right to vote."</p><p></p><p>"As they will in Arizona if I have anything to say about it. I can sit on the Merchant's Committee, I can run a school and a ranch, I can contribute just as much as any man but still be denied the right to vote. It's ridiculous."</p><p></p><p>"This never used to bother you, Jacqueline," her mother said quietly.</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps not as much. I would have liked to have gone to college; I want Ginnie to be able to if she wants," she said and looked over at her girl. "Maybe I didn't realize what a disadvantage it puts us at. Decisions will be made that change our lives and we have no control over it.</p><p></p><p>I just.... I don't like being treated as a lesser person because I'm not a man." She sighed and sat down next to Ginnie. "I'm sorry. What shall we do to pass our time until the gentlemen come back?"</p><p></p><p>Kate's mother suggests that they just sit and talk. She has one of the maids prepare a fire in the parlor fireplace and bring in a bottle of wine, and juice for Ginnie, before dismissing the young woman for the night.</p><p></p><p>Once they are alone she says, "So, tell me what is so great about this Arizona Territory that you would leave your loving family once again? I understand that this Mr. Booth has a great attraction for you, but I imagine that he might be willing to move given the incentive to do so. And you Ginnie would have much better opportunities here in Boston than out west."</p><p></p><p>"It's a very different place than Boston, Maman. I admit there is much I miss about living in here. Concerts, plays, parties. I miss green grass and gardens, and time for relaxing and even snow. And I do miss having a large house and beautiful clothes. Mostly I miss all of you and the friends I had here.</p><p></p><p>After Tom died, I had to change Maman. I couldn't stay the woman who was his wife or I would keep living in the past forever. So I stayed in Arizona and learned a different way of living. And I like it. I like working, and knowing what I have I got because I was determined to earn it. I have something to occupy my time instead of sitting through idle hours.</p><p></p><p>And it's freer there, Maman. Not that there aren't still busybodies worried about our moral fiber, but people are more themselves. And there's a feeling to the town like we all know we depend on everyone else. I like it."</p><p></p><p>"I think that I understand. I guess I just miss you terribly."</p><p></p><p>Kate went over and sat on the floor next to her mother. "I miss you too, and I expect I'll make this long trip more often than I really should. And think, Maman, it might not be good for you to have me here the next few months. The baby would start all sorts of talk."</p><p></p><p>Kate's mother immediately changes the subject and Kate realizes this isn't something that the older woman is ready to discuss yet.</p><p></p><p>The women continue to chat for the next few hours until the men return. The Seagrams head off to bed and Gonzales takes Ginnie back into the library to look a few things up, leaving Conrad and Kate alone together.</p><p></p><p>Conrad says, "Well, that lecture was interesting. It was about the stars, something I've never taken the time to really learn. Most star constellations have been named for the gods, although how they guess those points make the pictures they've drawn strikes me as somebody having too much imagination."</p><p></p><p>"I'm sure it was fascinating," Kate said without much enthusiasm. "One does rather have to look to find pictures in the stars, but imagination is a good thing. I just wouldn't name them after the gods.</p><p></p><p>Handy for navigation though, the constellations. If you were interested, I'm sure you could go with Professor Pickering's students stargazing when they come to Arizona."</p><p></p><p>He replies, "Well yes, that reminds me of an old joke. The young son asks his mother, "Mama, what makes a steamship sail?" She replies, "Dear, why don't you ask your father that. He was a ship's engineer in the Navy." The boy replies, "I don't what to know that much about it."</p><p></p><p>Kate laughed in spite of herself. "There are better ways to stargaze. Sitting quiet outside on a warm night, away from the city and all it's bright lights and painting your own pictures in the night sky. No lecturer can deny me the right to ponder the stars on my own, at least.</p><p></p><p>So what did they tell you about the stars that you didn't know before?"</p><p></p><p>He points to one specific one and says, "See that one, with the slight twinkling light to it. That isn't a star at all, it's the planet Saturn. I don't quite understand it but apparently the Earth's atmosphere makes viewing the planets different than viewing stars. When you see the twinkle that's really a planet close enough to be seen with the human eye."</p><p></p><p>Kate looked out the window, following Conrad's guidance. "Strange how you can't see as many stars here as in Arizona. Other planets are so far away. It's amazing we can see any at all."</p><p></p><p>They were standing close together in the window as Kate pointed out Orion. "It's the only one I can ever find, the belt is always so bright. I should have liked to have heard more about the stars."</p><p></p><p>"Then you should spend some time with Pickering and his students. The eclipse will not be until the first of June but they are tentatively planning to venture out West the week prior to that. Apparently there are other things in the cosmos worth watching as well at that time of year."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, I intend to. I'm hoping he will give a lecture to my students as well. I'd like to see Mrs. King's tutor bring such people in to lecture her grandson," Kate said, just a tad smug.</p><p></p><p>"Conrad, you wouldn't ever want to move here, would you?"</p><p></p><p>He is taken by surprise by her question. He replies, "Err, no, not really. If I were to ever live in a city again I would probably want it to be San Francisco. Beyond that, maybe Los Angeles or some other community along the California coast. But for now I am very happy with Promise City. Why do you ask? Are you thinking of moving back here?"</p><p></p><p>"No, I'm not," Kate said simply and with some surprise. "I couldn't live here again. I find... some of the conventions of society offend me now. I've grown used to the independence I have, and the acceptance. I guess I just wanted to know if you liked it."</p><p></p><p>He smiles and says, "I will always be happy to accompany you on visits to your family."</p><p></p><p>Kate peeked over her shoulder at the door, then leaned back against Conrad. "I'm glad. But this isn't the place for me anymore, not the place to live. I want more than this now. You understand, don't you?"</p><p></p><p>"I understand perfectly. Part of why I had to leave San Francisco was to put some distance between myself and my mother. She's a wonderful woman but while I was there I would always only be her little boy regardless of my age. I do enjoy this city, Boston, but honestly think that I would also tire of it rather quickly."</p><p></p><p>"This will always be home and I will always love it, but so much has changed. I've changed. We will have to indulge in our tastes for the big city with visits and then go home to our little exciting town. I suppose you're about ready to be heading back."</p><p></p><p>He replies with a smile, "Well, I still have some errands to take care of tomorrow, but yes by Friday I will be ready to head back. That and the fact that if I'm not back by Friday night Kate Higgins will probably fire me. That's the busiest night of the week at the Long Branch and you know how temperamental these women named Kate can be."</p><p></p><p>Kate turned to face him and took his hands. "And just what are you implying, Sir?" she laughed. "I, temperamental? I am the soul of reason," she managed to finish with an almost straight face.</p><p></p><p>"Sure, and I'll have ample opportunity to remind you of that in the upcoming months. Well, tomorrow looks like a busy day. I suppose we should round up our two companions and usher everybody off to bed."</p><p></p><p>"I suppose we should. This," she said, wiggling the finger with Mr. Gonzales' ring, "keeps me feeling strong and well, but I don't think it can do anything for my emotions. Maybe I should apologize in advance."</p><p></p><p>Kate got up on her toes and kissed his cheek, staying for just a moment there with her cheek laid against his. "Let's go get the others," she said and took his arm to lead him to the library, then off to their respective rooms.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="orchid blossom, post: 2850234, member: 12815"] [SIZE=3]A Walk in the Garden[/SIZE] "Alright." He gets the address. The train pulls into the station at 5:15 P.M.. The three gather up their luggage and depart. Mathias is waiting for Kate and Conrad with the carriage and driver to return to the house. He tells them that their father has made an appointment to tour the Perkins School for the Blind at 10:00 A.M. the next morning. "He waited for me? Well, I suppose I haven't been gone very long. I'm glad I'll get to go along, I'm sure he'll be impressed. And how are you feeling, Mathias? It was very kind of you to come along to fetch us, you didn't have to." Kate talked quietly with Mathias for the ride back, detailing some of their trip for him and assuring him that they had experienced no trouble while there. Their fortunate meeting with Mr. Whitman had made things much easier. They arrived back at the house just in time for dinner, and Kate spent the first few minutes back greeting Ginnie and her teacher. Her brothers were both there for dinner as well, and much of the talk was of their meeting with the Misters Whitman and the visitors who would be arriving on Friday. They also talked of the school for the blind and the visit they would be paying the next day. After dinner, Kate spoke to her brother Henry for a few moments, saying she would like to spend some time with him in a bit. Then she invited her teacher to go for a short walk in the garden in the fading light. Gonzales takes a walk with Kate outside. He says, "Ginnie is really enjoying the visit here. She's indicated that she would never want to live in Boston again, but these short trips have helped. Yesterday I went with her to visit her parents' graves. It was very personal for her and I was honored that she would have me accompany her. She spoke to them in private and I stood far enough away so as to not eavesdrop." "The last time we were here she went there alone while we were busy getting the evidence of Mr. Tucker's trip to Europe. She must trust you very much, indeed. As I do," Kate said and smiled, squeezing his arm affectionately. "I think she needs to make some good memories of this city, and these visits can do that. You've been a tremendous help with Ginnie, and I am lucky to have such a family to lean on. I feel perhaps, in trying not to crowd her with my presence that I have stayed too far back. I don't know. Conrad has an idea about getting her a little two-wheeled carriage and teaching her to drive and race it. What do you think?" "I think that you'd better talk to her about it. Any decision you make for her without consulting her will probably be a bad one. She's gotten more independent this last month or two, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as she doesn't withdraw into herself again." He smiles and says, "And I'm not sure exactly why, but she's really looking forward to this visit to the blind school tomorrow." "I'm glad. I wonder what about the school has her curious....of course, school of any kind excites Ginnie," she laughed. "She and Miss Sullivan have similar stories, I'm happy they'll have a chance to meet. I won't make the decision about the buggy for her, I just wanted to know what you think. Hoping you could make me feel better about it, I suppose. I just worry over nothing, the true mark of a mother, perhaps?" Gonzales doesn't immediately answer. He eventually says with a hint of sadness and melancholy in his voice, "A parent should worry about his or her children. That's a parent's job." Kate squeezed his hand and walked in silent comfort with him for a few minutes. She tried several times to speak, but nothing seemed right so she only tried to make him feel that she loved him. "I have missed my lessons with you while we're here. I miss being called 'Sandpiper.' I have some ideas about how we will fit my lessons into my schedule when I start school. I thought I would have them on the nights when I don't play at the Lady, and then during the day on Sundays." He has a distracted look on his face and after a minute or two says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was...well....whenever you want time for lessons that would be fine." He places his arm over her shoulder and gives her a bit of a hug. "You are like a daughter to me Katherine, I hope you know that." Kate turned, making his half hug into a whole one and kissing his cheek. "I wouldn't have presumed to think so, but it makes me happy to hear you say it. You are part of my family now too, Grandpapa and Papa and Uncle all rolled into one. And I'm afraid I've given you cause to worry over the past few months." She let go and took his arm again to resume their walk. "Whenever you're ready to tell about what took you so far away just a minute ago, I'm ready to listen." He holds her hand tightly as they walk through the gardens. "Next week is the anniversary...twenty nine years since......since my counterpart killed my son and daughter. I imagine when next October rolls around you'll go through a melancholy similar to this too. That day is always hardest on me because my other daugher and her family, as well as my son's family, will all get together with Dorita and Pedro for a remembrance ceremony. Of all of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren Dorita, Pedro and Sonoma are the only ones.....the only ones who have spoken a single word to me since that awful day. The others all hold me responsible." "As you do yourself. There are no words I can say to change that. But the blame game is a dangerous one. If you go back far enough you can blame the gods because they created the world it happened in. I'm sorry, it isn't fair of them to hold you responsible. The blame belongs to your counterpart. He created the situation, he caused the deaths, but he is far away and such a distant target of anger isn't very satisfying. I will dare to say your children would not want you to blame yourself. If you could ask them, they would probably say they came willingly and knowing the risks. And they would thank you for the life and love you gave them. It must be very painful to be separated from your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What a shame they do not know the love of their grandfather, who has so much of it to give." "Well, that is one advantage to elves having such a long life, most of them have had the opportunity to know that. Twenty-nine years is a relatively small part of our lives, but it is hard while we are living in it." "You are right about my children. Those two would have followed me to Hades and I guess you could say that they did. I should have died that day as well but he wouldn't allow it. He knew how much my family meant to me, how could he not? I could go on, but you need not hear the gory details. He represents a far greater evil than I never thought possible to which my only comfort is the knowledge that I am his opposite. But he would never have existed if not for me and my recklessness. Twenty-nine years....the same year of the Gadsden Purchase. No coincidence in those dates. I was the one who encouraged Santa Ana to finalize the purchase, largely to put the resting place of Coronado's Sword out of my counterpart's grasp. He knew what I knew, that the great sword was the only way to destroy that evil artifact, the mirror that created him. Dorita, Pedro and Sonoma crossed into the new land given to the United States shortly thereafter to begin the search for the sword. They traveled throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and the Indian Territory, retracing Coronado's route. That led them eight years ago to where they are now, the site of Coronado's encampment. They excivated pottery, daggers, human bones and other evidence that Coronado had been there. That was before Promise City existed. At that point there were only three structures in town. The Figures family lived in a simple three room structure that the Cantina was later built on to, namely the three front rooms where Estaban, Angelica and Pepita now live. The other house was the Escobar place. Back then Manuel Escobar and his son Enrico worked half-a-year for Forest Morand's Rocking-H Ranch, just as they still do today. Otherwise there was only Father Valdez's church. The town has been good for the family but has distracted us from our mission of finding the sword. I have this feeling now that time is running out, that we need to find the sword soon or it will be too late. I have no basis for that feeling, just a nagging intuition. Does that make any sense?" "It does. There is far more in the world than we can ever hope to understand, and our intuition may be one of them. Perhaps it is just Miss Florencia's arrival, or this anniversary, or something in the air and the earth telling you something is coming. And living with so many humans cannot help but change the way you see time at least a little bit. Perhaps you're just worried because you haven't been focusing on the search, and so feel you're wasting time. Whatever the reason, renewing your focus wouldn't be a bad thing." "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a waste of time. I've befriended Arcade's Gang and helped to better develop them as a force to be reckoned with. When I return to Mexico to oppose my counterpart I will need them at my side. He won't expect that at all, thinking that my only support is my family and knowing that he has driven a wedge between them and me. I have also made other new friends, whose help will be needed to finally locate this long lost artifact. Between my little birds and their friends we should be able to solve this mystery." He hugs her again and kisses her forehead. "And most of all, I have found myself a daughter to replace the one that I have lost. I don't mean to say that you are like her, Ruby's personality is by far a much closer match, but you have helped to take that special place within my heart that had been missing for these past three decades." Kate's eyes blurred with tears and she hugged him back fiercely. "Thank you," she said simply. "I couldn't ask for higher praise." She held on quietly for several long moments, then looked up. "Like Ruby, hmm? She must have been a handful." He laughs, "That she was. Part of why Dorita has such an odd ongoing relationship with Ruby, I'm not the only one who has made that comparison. You should ask Dorita about her someday, but not this month." He steers them back toward the house and says, "So, tell me what transpired between Conrad and his father." "It went quite well, far better than I'd expected. We met Walt Whitman in the restaurant where we stopped for lunch...." Kate began and went on to describe the Player's Club and their meeting with Edwin Booth in some detail. "Conrad is very happy with the results, and I didn't expect half so much. I was a little distressed by... well... Mr. Booth took me aside and suggested I should be wary of Conrad. That if he is a con man, my family's fortune could be at risk. He described how the kindnesses Conrad has done me might have just been a skilled actor gaining my trust. He even suggested Conrad might have been working with Johnny Ringo. As quickly as I dismissed those thoughts, I hate that they were ever in my mind. I trust him, as foolish as others may think that is." "There is something to be said for caution, I wouldn't fault the man for it. You and I both know better of Conrad, you from seeing what is in his heart and me from the fact that Mother Jaminez took him on as her apprentice. If he were less than genuine she would have known and had nothing to do with him." "I can't say I would have known, my judgement isn't always the best. But everything in me tells me his is genuine, and I don't want to live life suspicious of everyone. I understand Mr. Booth's caution. He explained how things looked from his side, and he has his daughter to consider. Conrad hopes to convince him someday. And speaking of apprentices.... Conrad did ask me if I thought you might be willing to teach him a few bits and bobs of your specialty. I seem to remember you suggesting once that you might teach him how to make a conversation private." "Hmmm, I'll have to give that one some serious thought. I stopped apprenticing men over a century ago. They don't have the same level of patience as women and aren't as pleasant to look at." "Well, who is pleasant to look at is a matter of who you ask. I find him quite pleasant to look at," she laughed. "I don't think he wants to be apprenticed, Grand-père, only to learn a few simple things. The privacy, the armor I use, things like that. It's up to you, of course. I suppose I could teach him those things myself after I learn them, but if he's going to learn them he might as well have the best teacher available." "Well I might do with him as I do with Madge, just some basic instruction in a few specific things. Don't expect me to ever teach him anything that will let him cheat at cards though." "Of course not," Kate answered a bit stiffly. "You should know better than to think I would." They head back inside. Conrad and Gonzales are invited to join Mr. Seagram, Professor Pickering and Colby Tucker for a men's only lecture over at Harvard that they head off too, leaving Kate, Ginnie and Mrs. Seagram to themselves. Kate paced the parlor restlessly after the men left. Finally she blurted out, "It was like that at the Player's Club too. No women, as if we had no minds to think with or hearts to feel with. Are they so afraid of us?" Kate's mother replies, "Well dear, the world is not all like the Utah Territory. Out there women have been given the right to vote." "As they will in Arizona if I have anything to say about it. I can sit on the Merchant's Committee, I can run a school and a ranch, I can contribute just as much as any man but still be denied the right to vote. It's ridiculous." "This never used to bother you, Jacqueline," her mother said quietly. "Perhaps not as much. I would have liked to have gone to college; I want Ginnie to be able to if she wants," she said and looked over at her girl. "Maybe I didn't realize what a disadvantage it puts us at. Decisions will be made that change our lives and we have no control over it. I just.... I don't like being treated as a lesser person because I'm not a man." She sighed and sat down next to Ginnie. "I'm sorry. What shall we do to pass our time until the gentlemen come back?" Kate's mother suggests that they just sit and talk. She has one of the maids prepare a fire in the parlor fireplace and bring in a bottle of wine, and juice for Ginnie, before dismissing the young woman for the night. Once they are alone she says, "So, tell me what is so great about this Arizona Territory that you would leave your loving family once again? I understand that this Mr. Booth has a great attraction for you, but I imagine that he might be willing to move given the incentive to do so. And you Ginnie would have much better opportunities here in Boston than out west." "It's a very different place than Boston, Maman. I admit there is much I miss about living in here. Concerts, plays, parties. I miss green grass and gardens, and time for relaxing and even snow. And I do miss having a large house and beautiful clothes. Mostly I miss all of you and the friends I had here. After Tom died, I had to change Maman. I couldn't stay the woman who was his wife or I would keep living in the past forever. So I stayed in Arizona and learned a different way of living. And I like it. I like working, and knowing what I have I got because I was determined to earn it. I have something to occupy my time instead of sitting through idle hours. And it's freer there, Maman. Not that there aren't still busybodies worried about our moral fiber, but people are more themselves. And there's a feeling to the town like we all know we depend on everyone else. I like it." "I think that I understand. I guess I just miss you terribly." Kate went over and sat on the floor next to her mother. "I miss you too, and I expect I'll make this long trip more often than I really should. And think, Maman, it might not be good for you to have me here the next few months. The baby would start all sorts of talk." Kate's mother immediately changes the subject and Kate realizes this isn't something that the older woman is ready to discuss yet. The women continue to chat for the next few hours until the men return. The Seagrams head off to bed and Gonzales takes Ginnie back into the library to look a few things up, leaving Conrad and Kate alone together. Conrad says, "Well, that lecture was interesting. It was about the stars, something I've never taken the time to really learn. Most star constellations have been named for the gods, although how they guess those points make the pictures they've drawn strikes me as somebody having too much imagination." "I'm sure it was fascinating," Kate said without much enthusiasm. "One does rather have to look to find pictures in the stars, but imagination is a good thing. I just wouldn't name them after the gods. Handy for navigation though, the constellations. If you were interested, I'm sure you could go with Professor Pickering's students stargazing when they come to Arizona." He replies, "Well yes, that reminds me of an old joke. The young son asks his mother, "Mama, what makes a steamship sail?" She replies, "Dear, why don't you ask your father that. He was a ship's engineer in the Navy." The boy replies, "I don't what to know that much about it." Kate laughed in spite of herself. "There are better ways to stargaze. Sitting quiet outside on a warm night, away from the city and all it's bright lights and painting your own pictures in the night sky. No lecturer can deny me the right to ponder the stars on my own, at least. So what did they tell you about the stars that you didn't know before?" He points to one specific one and says, "See that one, with the slight twinkling light to it. That isn't a star at all, it's the planet Saturn. I don't quite understand it but apparently the Earth's atmosphere makes viewing the planets different than viewing stars. When you see the twinkle that's really a planet close enough to be seen with the human eye." Kate looked out the window, following Conrad's guidance. "Strange how you can't see as many stars here as in Arizona. Other planets are so far away. It's amazing we can see any at all." They were standing close together in the window as Kate pointed out Orion. "It's the only one I can ever find, the belt is always so bright. I should have liked to have heard more about the stars." "Then you should spend some time with Pickering and his students. The eclipse will not be until the first of June but they are tentatively planning to venture out West the week prior to that. Apparently there are other things in the cosmos worth watching as well at that time of year." "Oh, I intend to. I'm hoping he will give a lecture to my students as well. I'd like to see Mrs. King's tutor bring such people in to lecture her grandson," Kate said, just a tad smug. "Conrad, you wouldn't ever want to move here, would you?" He is taken by surprise by her question. He replies, "Err, no, not really. If I were to ever live in a city again I would probably want it to be San Francisco. Beyond that, maybe Los Angeles or some other community along the California coast. But for now I am very happy with Promise City. Why do you ask? Are you thinking of moving back here?" "No, I'm not," Kate said simply and with some surprise. "I couldn't live here again. I find... some of the conventions of society offend me now. I've grown used to the independence I have, and the acceptance. I guess I just wanted to know if you liked it." He smiles and says, "I will always be happy to accompany you on visits to your family." Kate peeked over her shoulder at the door, then leaned back against Conrad. "I'm glad. But this isn't the place for me anymore, not the place to live. I want more than this now. You understand, don't you?" "I understand perfectly. Part of why I had to leave San Francisco was to put some distance between myself and my mother. She's a wonderful woman but while I was there I would always only be her little boy regardless of my age. I do enjoy this city, Boston, but honestly think that I would also tire of it rather quickly." "This will always be home and I will always love it, but so much has changed. I've changed. We will have to indulge in our tastes for the big city with visits and then go home to our little exciting town. I suppose you're about ready to be heading back." He replies with a smile, "Well, I still have some errands to take care of tomorrow, but yes by Friday I will be ready to head back. That and the fact that if I'm not back by Friday night Kate Higgins will probably fire me. That's the busiest night of the week at the Long Branch and you know how temperamental these women named Kate can be." Kate turned to face him and took his hands. "And just what are you implying, Sir?" she laughed. "I, temperamental? I am the soul of reason," she managed to finish with an almost straight face. "Sure, and I'll have ample opportunity to remind you of that in the upcoming months. Well, tomorrow looks like a busy day. I suppose we should round up our two companions and usher everybody off to bed." "I suppose we should. This," she said, wiggling the finger with Mr. Gonzales' ring, "keeps me feeling strong and well, but I don't think it can do anything for my emotions. Maybe I should apologize in advance." Kate got up on her toes and kissed his cheek, staying for just a moment there with her cheek laid against his. "Let's go get the others," she said and took his arm to lead him to the library, then off to their respective rooms. [/QUOTE]
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"Here There Be Vampires" A Promise City, Arizona Story Hour
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