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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1827128" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Thirty-one, “Evening Preparations”, January 6th, 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>The elf Nanuet had asked the pretty wood elf Sanoma “Do you know where else a man of my sorts can find a room around Promise City?" Sanoma says, "I would suggest that you try the Celtic church, the only other place might be the barn out back. I may be able to convince my father to allow you to sleep in the loft for some small coins. The town does not have a friendly face for the native people, there has been too much trouble between the whites and others." Nanuet smiles widely at the beautiful wood elf. "Thank you for your kindness. If you would speak to your father about the loft I would gladly pay a few coins for the space. Otherwise I will head over to the church. Please let me know." </p><p></p><p>After a long while, since the place is fairly busy and she has work to attend to Sonoma returns and lets Nanuet know that the loft is available. He kindly pays the "small coins" and works his way there to sleep, planning to rise before the sun and be ready to ride to the rustler's hideout.</p><p></p><p>Jake has been sitting at at the bar. He takes a deep breath and gives a heavy sigh. He motions to the bartender. "What I could really use is a double shot of fine Kentucky Bourbon. But if you don't have that, I'll take a whiskey." </p><p></p><p>Pedro calls over his hired hand Grant Keebler, gives him a handful of coins and tells him "Get over to Hoover's Wholesale Liquor and get me that bottle of Kentucky Bourbon that he had for sale." Keebler takes off and Pedro then pours a fairly small glass of whiskey and says, "You can have this one on the house until the other arrives."</p><p></p><p>Looking at nothing in particular, he lets the tension of the day drain away. He smiles a faint smile and says to himself, should be good poker tonight. And everything will be just fine. He relaxes and enjoys his drink for a short while before getting up to change into a freshly pressed shirt before going over to the Lone Star.</p><p></p><p>After changing his shirt he returns to the bar. Pedro apologizes, saying that the liquor distributor had already sold the bottle to somebody else. He gives Jake another whiskey free-of-charge. </p><p></p><p>Jake takes a sip of the whiskey and gives Pedro a nod. Jake raises his glass to Pedro and says "Sir, you are fine gentleman, and your cantina is obviously one of the finest in all the territory. I will recommend it to all my friends in Philadelphia. Here is to your health." </p><p></p><p>Pedro pours him another one, which Jake takes his time drinking it and wondering what was keeping the ladies. An hour later he is still waiting, although he has been enjoying listening to Sanoma sing and play guitar.</p><p></p><p>Ruby and Katherine both head downstairs. It is now around 7:30 PM. They see Jake is sitting alone at the bar, wearing a fresh shirt. He comments "I was wondering what was keeping you two." Katherine replies "I'm sorry, it was my fault. We got a bit, umm, distracted, and I had a visit I needed to pay before we left. We should hurry, otherwise we'll be late."</p><p></p><p>Jake says, "But now that I see you both it was worth the wait." He says with a wide smile. "Ruby, I see that your infectious cheerful mood has been caught by Katherine as well. It is a welcome change." He says to Katherine gaily and yet feels a tinge of remorse, knowing that there may yet be some dark reminder of the legacy of her husband’s death to deal with. "May I escort you both to the Lone Star?" he says with an exaggerated bow and a laugh. "Everyone man in Promise city will be jealous of me tonight."</p><p></p><p>Jake's comment looks to be prophetic, as a number of heads turn in their direction as the trio enter the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon. Tom Whipple leaves Jeff Mills to tend bar and makes his way across the room to greet them. </p><p></p><p>Lone Star it is crowded, but not nearly as much as the night before. There are about thirty people present in the room. The barstools are all full, as are most of the tables. A quick glance around the room shows that there are at least a dozen men who had visited the night before. </p><p></p><p>Tom Whipple says to Katherine "My, you look breathtaking in that dress." He then turns and calls over to Maggie "She'll be needing to take you up on that suggestion of yours." Maggie asks Katherine "Would you mind giving me a hand with something upstairs?" "Of course," Katherine answers, following Maggie toward the stairs. "I'm not sure I understand what all the fuss is about," she said chuckling. "It's just an afternoon dress. I know it's not the style here, but I must wear the clothes I have." Maggie replies "Oh, it's far more than that. You look wonderful, and I like what you've done with your hair too. You and Ruby are both so beautiful, makes me wish that I wasn't such a ugly duckling." Katherine replies,"There's more than one kind of beauty, Maggie. Like the kind that gives a job to a stranger who needs help and makes her feel as welcome as if she'd always been here." </p><p></p><p>Maggie gets out a key and unlocks a room, inviting Katherine inside. The room has a small post bed inside and several pieces of furniture. Everything in the room appears to be of a feminine nature. Maggie opens the closet and takes out a wooden box on the floor. "This belonged to my mother. She waitressed at my father's Saloon in Denver. I got my looks from him, she was beautiful, which is why this was needed." She takes what appears to be a small oval pillow, ten inches wide, six inches high and two inches deep. It has a cloth belt running along the top of it with a small blue gem clasp holding the pillow to the belt. Kate laughed softly. "Is this what I think it is? To umm," she looked for a delicate way to say it, "to go under my bustle?"</p><p></p><p>Maggie replies "Close, it goes over the bustle. My mother bought it from a French dancehall girl from New Orleans. Once you get it in place just touch the blue stone to turn it on. It's magical! Anyone who touches you on the pillow will get a slight jolt, not enough to hurt them. That is, unless they are stupid enough to let their hand linger." "Oh, that's marvelous. I have to admit I was a bit sore this morning." Kate swallowed. "Thank you, Maggie. Not just for this, but for taking care of me. I appreciate it so much. I'll bring it back to you at the end of the night." </p><p></p><p>Maggie replies "Oh no, you keep it for as long as you're working here. Otherwise it will just be sitting in the closet. I don't need it, the men leave me alone. And speaking of alone, I'll give you some privacy to put it on." Maggie leaves the room. Before putting it in place Katherine performs a test turning on the item, being glad she did as activating the gem requires more than just touching it, the stone needing to be turned clockwise for ninety degree. She practices turning it on and off, then puts the item in place. </p><p></p><p>While doing this she looks around the room, being bothered by what she sees. This room clearly belongs to Maggie, and only Maggie. There is an adjoining door to the next room, but that door is bolted shut from this side. Katherine had previously gotten the impression that the Whipples had a happy marriage. They certainly acted comfortable and happy when they were around each other, even to the point of occasionally finishing each other's sentences. Katherine had known other couples who maintained separate bedrooms. But that was back east, not out here where living space was at a premium and renting out another room could make money.</p><p></p><p>Downstairs, Tony Lucky has five players at his table and has already started his first game of poker. Jake recognizes two of the five as Tony’s regular players, two are unknown and the last one is Al Brower, one of Job’s Friday night regulars. </p><p></p><p>Oh wow, I knew it was gonna be a good night," Ruby says looking around. She leans over the bar peering behind it. "Are you prepared tonight Tom? Your going to need lots of bottles..." He gestures to several bottles, including one of Kentucky Bourbon, and says "All set. I picked up a whole new bunch this afternoon." Ruby is actually serious for a moment. "Do you think you can trust this crowd? Last night was a bit wild..." Ruby stops and laughs. "Forget it, I know it'll be fine." Ruby starts walking around, laughing and saying hi to everyone, flirting all the while.</p><p></p><p>There are four men currently seated at Job’s table. Jake recognizes two of them as Henry Weller and Neil Cassidy. He does not know the other two, but one is dressed like a prospector so Jake assumes him to be Ned Walters. The last man is dressed in clean white cotton shirt and a rumpled brown wool suit with a necktie stuffed into the coat pocket. A gold pocket-watch is on the table in front of him alongside a gold money clip that looks to be filled with fresh twenty-dollar bills. He’s drinking from a large glass filled with a clear liquid and cubes of ice, which in and of itself is curious since Maggie and Tom serve their drinks with ice chipped off from a large block.</p><p></p><p>Jake stands next to the table and says,"Welcome gentlemen. Job Kane asked me to run his table for him tonight as he is unable to do so himself. I trust you will all enjoy yourselves. Ruby looks to be in fine spirits tonight, so try not to get distracted." Jake smiles a faint smile around the table. "I know Mr. Weller and Mr. Cassidy. And you sir are Mr. Walters?" He asks pointing at the prospector. "A'Yup, That I am. Heard of me?" the man replies. </p><p></p><p>"And you sir" Jake continues looking at the man with the gold watch, "I apologize but I don't believe I have had the pleasure of meeting your before." "Evan Adair" the man states, offering nothing further. Jake says, "If you give me but a moment more, I'll get some fresh cards and we'll get started." Jake goes over to Tom and asks for some cards, "preferable two decks with different back designs." I have a feeling I may need them tonight." Tom replies "Watch out for Adair. He's really good. He owns and manages the Palace Saloon, the fanciest place in town. Actually won the place in a poker game around a year ago."</p><p></p><p>Jake leaves his hat behind the bar and comes back to the table, shuffles, offers the cut to his left and without much further comment begins the game. He pays special attention to Adair, making certain the man is not palming cards. </p><p></p><p>At his first chance when Katherine is out serving the tables he whispers in her ear, "If I give you a silver dollar during the evening, it is because I need Jeff Mills. Hopefully I won't but if I do, please be very discrete."</p><p></p><p>The first two hours of poker had gone by rather quickly. Both Henry Weller and Ned Walters lost rather large sums of money without acting at all concerned. Neil Cassidy only played a single hand during all this time, folding the remainder. A few others had gathered around the table to watch, but none made any attempt to sit and join in. The real battle that they were observing was between Jake and Adair. Jake has been holding his own and was actually slightly ahead, but he sensed that Adair has merely been humoring him and trying to size up his playing style. Jake considered that only fair, since he was doing the same with Adair. </p><p></p><p>While this has been going on Ruby had already sung two short sets. At Maggie's insistence she was now only allowed so sing a maximum of thirty-minutes an hour, being told to rest her voice the remainder. "Can't have you ruining that pretty voice now can we. It's what's bringing the money in. And besides, these people seem to drink more while they are waiting" she said. </p><p></p><p>Katherine and Maggie were taking turns alternating between waitressing and piano playing. During one of Ruby's long breaks Katherine dared to attempt a Mozart piece, which the audience was surprisingly receptive to. She had also received several compliments about her appearance, and no man had attempted to pat her bottom more than once. </p><p></p><p>The only thing that was bothering her was Tom Whipple. All week long he had kept a constant eye on everything that was going on inside the saloon which she equated with him being an attentive owner. But tonight he seemed to be particularly interested in watching her. She suspected at first that it was because of the change in dress and hairstyle, but now she was concerned that his attention might have something more to it.</p><p></p><p>Katherine tried to stay focused on her work. It was easier when she sat at the piano and she could float away with the music and enjoy listening to Ruby. She had dared the Mozart partly to ease her mind and was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received. </p><p></p><p>Still, it seemed she could feel eyes boring into her back. She remembered the argument Tom and Maggie were having the night before. Ruby had covered the noise with her singing, but after the incident with the harlot last night Kate was sure Suzie had been the subject of the argument. The woman's presence made Maggie furious. Katherine had thought it was only the idea of Suzie setting up shop in Maggie's establishment, but now it took on a deeper meaning. They had been led to believe that Tom Whipple didn't know Suzie was a strumpet, but perhaps he had known. Kate hated to think that he might have rented to her specifically to take advantage of her services. </p><p></p><p>She wished she could talk to Ruby or Jake. But in her current mood Ruby would be likely to ask him right out thinking it was just a misunderstanding. And saying anything to Jake would disrupt his concentration, which he needed very much just now. </p><p></p><p>Kate sighed. For now she would just keep her eyes open and hope she was mistaken. She laughed at herself for a moment. 'Only a few hours out of black and already thinking every man is looking at you. Shame on you.' But she wasn't fooling herself, and the feeling of being watched continued to crawl up and down her spine.</p><p></p><p>Before beginning her next set of songs Ruby looked around the Saloon. She checked to make sure the windows were open, which they were. She hoped Judge Lacey was still awake and that he would be able to hear her sing. He had been so nice to her today giving her the book and it meant something that someone could get such enjoyment from her singing. She started off by singing “My Dearest Heart”, his song of choice. </p><p></p><p>She continued with all happy songs, adding some more rowdy ones in towards the end. She looked over to Maggie who didn’t seem to mind too much. The patrons bought more spirits when they had drinking songs to drink to. </p><p></p><p>She watched Katherine from the stage. Kate looked a bit preoccupied and maybe even worried. She hoped she wasn’t regretting wearing the green dress. She thought about it for a moment then decided it was time to liven things up a bit for both of them. She started talking from the stage. </p><p></p><p>“So, I’m having a wonderful day, I hope you are too. It feels like nothing can go wrong today! Now I have this friend, Kate, your lovely waitress for the evening… give us a wave Kate…and she hasn’t been having the great day I’ve been having so I thought I’d help her out a bit. I’m sure somewhere in this room must be a nice, respectable, intelligent man to buy our lovely Kate a drink… anyone?” There are lots of hoots and hollers in response. “Now I said respectable and intelligent! Come on now, no lying! And don’t worry; anyone who doesn’t fit the bill can buy me a drink!” </p><p></p><p>Ruby walks off the stage and over to Kate. “Come on Katie, we’re going to loosen you up a bit tonight. It’s just one night so don’t get too worried.” Ruby gives Katherine a knowing smile walks her over to the bar with her arm over Kate’s shoulder. She hoped Tom was right about those bottles…</p><p></p><p>Katherine shrugged Ruby's arm off her shoulder and yanked off her apron. Her face was crimson and her hands shaking. Tom Whipple was bad enough, but all these men shouting as if she were for sale. "Ruby, I'm mortified! Why in the world would you...." Her voice dropped off. She couldn't come up with the words and Ruby wouldn't understand it if she did. </p><p></p><p>She tossed the apron on the bar. "I'll be back in a little while, I need some fresh air," she said as Maggie arrived. Kate didn't wait for the answer. She walked quickly out the door and ran back toward the El Parador. Once out of sight of the Lone Star she slowed down. If she could do as she wished, she'd never set foot in the place again. But she must work, and she truly liked Maggie and hated to disappoint her. Instead of going inside the Cantina (that horrible Juan Gomez was probably inside) she went into the stables</p><p></p><p>Ruby was concerned about Kate for about 2 seconds. "Maybe she was mad?" she thought. "Why would she be mad about someone buying her a drink?" She said out loud, "I'm sure she just needed some air. It is getting very hot in here. You can just leave these drinks on the counter waiting for her."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 1827128, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Thirty-one, “Evening Preparations”, January 6th, 1882:[/B] The elf Nanuet had asked the pretty wood elf Sanoma “Do you know where else a man of my sorts can find a room around Promise City?" Sanoma says, "I would suggest that you try the Celtic church, the only other place might be the barn out back. I may be able to convince my father to allow you to sleep in the loft for some small coins. The town does not have a friendly face for the native people, there has been too much trouble between the whites and others." Nanuet smiles widely at the beautiful wood elf. "Thank you for your kindness. If you would speak to your father about the loft I would gladly pay a few coins for the space. Otherwise I will head over to the church. Please let me know." After a long while, since the place is fairly busy and she has work to attend to Sonoma returns and lets Nanuet know that the loft is available. He kindly pays the "small coins" and works his way there to sleep, planning to rise before the sun and be ready to ride to the rustler's hideout. Jake has been sitting at at the bar. He takes a deep breath and gives a heavy sigh. He motions to the bartender. "What I could really use is a double shot of fine Kentucky Bourbon. But if you don't have that, I'll take a whiskey." Pedro calls over his hired hand Grant Keebler, gives him a handful of coins and tells him "Get over to Hoover's Wholesale Liquor and get me that bottle of Kentucky Bourbon that he had for sale." Keebler takes off and Pedro then pours a fairly small glass of whiskey and says, "You can have this one on the house until the other arrives." Looking at nothing in particular, he lets the tension of the day drain away. He smiles a faint smile and says to himself, should be good poker tonight. And everything will be just fine. He relaxes and enjoys his drink for a short while before getting up to change into a freshly pressed shirt before going over to the Lone Star. After changing his shirt he returns to the bar. Pedro apologizes, saying that the liquor distributor had already sold the bottle to somebody else. He gives Jake another whiskey free-of-charge. Jake takes a sip of the whiskey and gives Pedro a nod. Jake raises his glass to Pedro and says "Sir, you are fine gentleman, and your cantina is obviously one of the finest in all the territory. I will recommend it to all my friends in Philadelphia. Here is to your health." Pedro pours him another one, which Jake takes his time drinking it and wondering what was keeping the ladies. An hour later he is still waiting, although he has been enjoying listening to Sanoma sing and play guitar. Ruby and Katherine both head downstairs. It is now around 7:30 PM. They see Jake is sitting alone at the bar, wearing a fresh shirt. He comments "I was wondering what was keeping you two." Katherine replies "I'm sorry, it was my fault. We got a bit, umm, distracted, and I had a visit I needed to pay before we left. We should hurry, otherwise we'll be late." Jake says, "But now that I see you both it was worth the wait." He says with a wide smile. "Ruby, I see that your infectious cheerful mood has been caught by Katherine as well. It is a welcome change." He says to Katherine gaily and yet feels a tinge of remorse, knowing that there may yet be some dark reminder of the legacy of her husband’s death to deal with. "May I escort you both to the Lone Star?" he says with an exaggerated bow and a laugh. "Everyone man in Promise city will be jealous of me tonight." Jake's comment looks to be prophetic, as a number of heads turn in their direction as the trio enter the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon. Tom Whipple leaves Jeff Mills to tend bar and makes his way across the room to greet them. Lone Star it is crowded, but not nearly as much as the night before. There are about thirty people present in the room. The barstools are all full, as are most of the tables. A quick glance around the room shows that there are at least a dozen men who had visited the night before. Tom Whipple says to Katherine "My, you look breathtaking in that dress." He then turns and calls over to Maggie "She'll be needing to take you up on that suggestion of yours." Maggie asks Katherine "Would you mind giving me a hand with something upstairs?" "Of course," Katherine answers, following Maggie toward the stairs. "I'm not sure I understand what all the fuss is about," she said chuckling. "It's just an afternoon dress. I know it's not the style here, but I must wear the clothes I have." Maggie replies "Oh, it's far more than that. You look wonderful, and I like what you've done with your hair too. You and Ruby are both so beautiful, makes me wish that I wasn't such a ugly duckling." Katherine replies,"There's more than one kind of beauty, Maggie. Like the kind that gives a job to a stranger who needs help and makes her feel as welcome as if she'd always been here." Maggie gets out a key and unlocks a room, inviting Katherine inside. The room has a small post bed inside and several pieces of furniture. Everything in the room appears to be of a feminine nature. Maggie opens the closet and takes out a wooden box on the floor. "This belonged to my mother. She waitressed at my father's Saloon in Denver. I got my looks from him, she was beautiful, which is why this was needed." She takes what appears to be a small oval pillow, ten inches wide, six inches high and two inches deep. It has a cloth belt running along the top of it with a small blue gem clasp holding the pillow to the belt. Kate laughed softly. "Is this what I think it is? To umm," she looked for a delicate way to say it, "to go under my bustle?" Maggie replies "Close, it goes over the bustle. My mother bought it from a French dancehall girl from New Orleans. Once you get it in place just touch the blue stone to turn it on. It's magical! Anyone who touches you on the pillow will get a slight jolt, not enough to hurt them. That is, unless they are stupid enough to let their hand linger." "Oh, that's marvelous. I have to admit I was a bit sore this morning." Kate swallowed. "Thank you, Maggie. Not just for this, but for taking care of me. I appreciate it so much. I'll bring it back to you at the end of the night." Maggie replies "Oh no, you keep it for as long as you're working here. Otherwise it will just be sitting in the closet. I don't need it, the men leave me alone. And speaking of alone, I'll give you some privacy to put it on." Maggie leaves the room. Before putting it in place Katherine performs a test turning on the item, being glad she did as activating the gem requires more than just touching it, the stone needing to be turned clockwise for ninety degree. She practices turning it on and off, then puts the item in place. While doing this she looks around the room, being bothered by what she sees. This room clearly belongs to Maggie, and only Maggie. There is an adjoining door to the next room, but that door is bolted shut from this side. Katherine had previously gotten the impression that the Whipples had a happy marriage. They certainly acted comfortable and happy when they were around each other, even to the point of occasionally finishing each other's sentences. Katherine had known other couples who maintained separate bedrooms. But that was back east, not out here where living space was at a premium and renting out another room could make money. Downstairs, Tony Lucky has five players at his table and has already started his first game of poker. Jake recognizes two of the five as Tony’s regular players, two are unknown and the last one is Al Brower, one of Job’s Friday night regulars. Oh wow, I knew it was gonna be a good night," Ruby says looking around. She leans over the bar peering behind it. "Are you prepared tonight Tom? Your going to need lots of bottles..." He gestures to several bottles, including one of Kentucky Bourbon, and says "All set. I picked up a whole new bunch this afternoon." Ruby is actually serious for a moment. "Do you think you can trust this crowd? Last night was a bit wild..." Ruby stops and laughs. "Forget it, I know it'll be fine." Ruby starts walking around, laughing and saying hi to everyone, flirting all the while. There are four men currently seated at Job’s table. Jake recognizes two of them as Henry Weller and Neil Cassidy. He does not know the other two, but one is dressed like a prospector so Jake assumes him to be Ned Walters. The last man is dressed in clean white cotton shirt and a rumpled brown wool suit with a necktie stuffed into the coat pocket. A gold pocket-watch is on the table in front of him alongside a gold money clip that looks to be filled with fresh twenty-dollar bills. He’s drinking from a large glass filled with a clear liquid and cubes of ice, which in and of itself is curious since Maggie and Tom serve their drinks with ice chipped off from a large block. Jake stands next to the table and says,"Welcome gentlemen. Job Kane asked me to run his table for him tonight as he is unable to do so himself. I trust you will all enjoy yourselves. Ruby looks to be in fine spirits tonight, so try not to get distracted." Jake smiles a faint smile around the table. "I know Mr. Weller and Mr. Cassidy. And you sir are Mr. Walters?" He asks pointing at the prospector. "A'Yup, That I am. Heard of me?" the man replies. "And you sir" Jake continues looking at the man with the gold watch, "I apologize but I don't believe I have had the pleasure of meeting your before." "Evan Adair" the man states, offering nothing further. Jake says, "If you give me but a moment more, I'll get some fresh cards and we'll get started." Jake goes over to Tom and asks for some cards, "preferable two decks with different back designs." I have a feeling I may need them tonight." Tom replies "Watch out for Adair. He's really good. He owns and manages the Palace Saloon, the fanciest place in town. Actually won the place in a poker game around a year ago." Jake leaves his hat behind the bar and comes back to the table, shuffles, offers the cut to his left and without much further comment begins the game. He pays special attention to Adair, making certain the man is not palming cards. At his first chance when Katherine is out serving the tables he whispers in her ear, "If I give you a silver dollar during the evening, it is because I need Jeff Mills. Hopefully I won't but if I do, please be very discrete." The first two hours of poker had gone by rather quickly. Both Henry Weller and Ned Walters lost rather large sums of money without acting at all concerned. Neil Cassidy only played a single hand during all this time, folding the remainder. A few others had gathered around the table to watch, but none made any attempt to sit and join in. The real battle that they were observing was between Jake and Adair. Jake has been holding his own and was actually slightly ahead, but he sensed that Adair has merely been humoring him and trying to size up his playing style. Jake considered that only fair, since he was doing the same with Adair. While this has been going on Ruby had already sung two short sets. At Maggie's insistence she was now only allowed so sing a maximum of thirty-minutes an hour, being told to rest her voice the remainder. "Can't have you ruining that pretty voice now can we. It's what's bringing the money in. And besides, these people seem to drink more while they are waiting" she said. Katherine and Maggie were taking turns alternating between waitressing and piano playing. During one of Ruby's long breaks Katherine dared to attempt a Mozart piece, which the audience was surprisingly receptive to. She had also received several compliments about her appearance, and no man had attempted to pat her bottom more than once. The only thing that was bothering her was Tom Whipple. All week long he had kept a constant eye on everything that was going on inside the saloon which she equated with him being an attentive owner. But tonight he seemed to be particularly interested in watching her. She suspected at first that it was because of the change in dress and hairstyle, but now she was concerned that his attention might have something more to it. Katherine tried to stay focused on her work. It was easier when she sat at the piano and she could float away with the music and enjoy listening to Ruby. She had dared the Mozart partly to ease her mind and was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received. Still, it seemed she could feel eyes boring into her back. She remembered the argument Tom and Maggie were having the night before. Ruby had covered the noise with her singing, but after the incident with the harlot last night Kate was sure Suzie had been the subject of the argument. The woman's presence made Maggie furious. Katherine had thought it was only the idea of Suzie setting up shop in Maggie's establishment, but now it took on a deeper meaning. They had been led to believe that Tom Whipple didn't know Suzie was a strumpet, but perhaps he had known. Kate hated to think that he might have rented to her specifically to take advantage of her services. She wished she could talk to Ruby or Jake. But in her current mood Ruby would be likely to ask him right out thinking it was just a misunderstanding. And saying anything to Jake would disrupt his concentration, which he needed very much just now. Kate sighed. For now she would just keep her eyes open and hope she was mistaken. She laughed at herself for a moment. 'Only a few hours out of black and already thinking every man is looking at you. Shame on you.' But she wasn't fooling herself, and the feeling of being watched continued to crawl up and down her spine. Before beginning her next set of songs Ruby looked around the Saloon. She checked to make sure the windows were open, which they were. She hoped Judge Lacey was still awake and that he would be able to hear her sing. He had been so nice to her today giving her the book and it meant something that someone could get such enjoyment from her singing. She started off by singing “My Dearest Heart”, his song of choice. She continued with all happy songs, adding some more rowdy ones in towards the end. She looked over to Maggie who didn’t seem to mind too much. The patrons bought more spirits when they had drinking songs to drink to. She watched Katherine from the stage. Kate looked a bit preoccupied and maybe even worried. She hoped she wasn’t regretting wearing the green dress. She thought about it for a moment then decided it was time to liven things up a bit for both of them. She started talking from the stage. “So, I’m having a wonderful day, I hope you are too. It feels like nothing can go wrong today! Now I have this friend, Kate, your lovely waitress for the evening… give us a wave Kate…and she hasn’t been having the great day I’ve been having so I thought I’d help her out a bit. I’m sure somewhere in this room must be a nice, respectable, intelligent man to buy our lovely Kate a drink… anyone?” There are lots of hoots and hollers in response. “Now I said respectable and intelligent! Come on now, no lying! And don’t worry; anyone who doesn’t fit the bill can buy me a drink!” Ruby walks off the stage and over to Kate. “Come on Katie, we’re going to loosen you up a bit tonight. It’s just one night so don’t get too worried.” Ruby gives Katherine a knowing smile walks her over to the bar with her arm over Kate’s shoulder. She hoped Tom was right about those bottles… Katherine shrugged Ruby's arm off her shoulder and yanked off her apron. Her face was crimson and her hands shaking. Tom Whipple was bad enough, but all these men shouting as if she were for sale. "Ruby, I'm mortified! Why in the world would you...." Her voice dropped off. She couldn't come up with the words and Ruby wouldn't understand it if she did. She tossed the apron on the bar. "I'll be back in a little while, I need some fresh air," she said as Maggie arrived. Kate didn't wait for the answer. She walked quickly out the door and ran back toward the El Parador. Once out of sight of the Lone Star she slowed down. If she could do as she wished, she'd never set foot in the place again. But she must work, and she truly liked Maggie and hated to disappoint her. Instead of going inside the Cantina (that horrible Juan Gomez was probably inside) she went into the stables Ruby was concerned about Kate for about 2 seconds. "Maybe she was mad?" she thought. "Why would she be mad about someone buying her a drink?" She said out loud, "I'm sure she just needed some air. It is getting very hot in here. You can just leave these drinks on the counter waiting for her." [/QUOTE]
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"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)
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