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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3185234" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-eight, “A Surprise Visit”, Friday June 9th, 1882, 4:00 P.M. After their daily afternoon conference was over and Ginnie had run off to Mary Kelly's to work, Kate went upstairs to her room where Jake's bundle lay. She laid each item out on her vanity; a belt buckle, a ring, and a pair of cufflinks. Despite the fact she was on the second floor she walked to each window and closed the curtains. She had only done this spell once before when Mr. Gonzales had taught it to her, but she was a quick study and remembered it well. She had not studied that morning, so sat down with her spell book and memorized the necessary spell three times, foregoing the more powerful spell she could have learned instead. It was three hours later when she emerged from the house with the tightly wrapped bundle in her pocket and looking for Jake.Out of habit Kate first went to the Lucky Lady, still not used to the fact that Jake and Ruby had done the incredibly improbable and bought a house. She turned her steps there when he wasn't at the saloon and found him tossing cards into his hat.  "It must be hard work to look that lazy," she said, stepping onto the porch. "I have a package for you."Jake slaps a hand over his chest and looks mortified. "You cut me deep, Mrs. Kale. You think me shallow? I do not merely look lazy, Madam, I am lazy." He sits up and offers her a seat as well.  "But think of all the years it took you to cultivate such talent." She took the offered seat. "Those were some interesting bits and bobs you gave me earlier. Did you want to discuss them out here?""You figured them out already?" Jake sits up straighter. "We could double talk out here, but why put you at any risk? Come inside, I can offer you some lemonade." Jake stands and opens the door. "I can offer you some, but actually having any is another story." As Katherine enters the house he adds, "I am always amazed that people actually go shopping and have all those various things in their pantry. That and they can actually combine them to make tasty treats. Here, please take the nice stuffed chair. I will get you some water." From the kitchen she hears, "Do not fret, someone else cleans the glasses and dishes."  "Here." He offers her a tall clean glass of water. "Interesting bobs?"Kate sat down, a little mystified at his solicitude but keeping her opinions on it to herself. She took a drink then set the glass down and pulled the kerchief out of her pocket. "I've seen something like this before, in the lynch mob. I pulled it off one of them and exposed his face. Body terribly burned; I think he was at the farmhouse when we rescued Nanuet and Chester. This one does the same job, changes someone's appearance just like my hairclip does. Might be a way to get some information if someone could masquerade in this disguise. The ring makes an animal friendly toward you. This one's geared toward rodents for some odd reason. And these," she said and picked up the cufflinks, "are my personal favorite. Put the wearers hands next to each other so the links touch, speak the command, and they act as handcuffs."  Jake listens intently while she describes the items.  He says, "Interesting. Your hair clip is like Tex or Mr. Austin. Any idea who the buckle pretends to be?"She replies, "You'd be in a better position to know than I would. Any one of the people killed yesterday perhaps? Or an anonymous rancher, someone so plain no one would think to note them. Maybe they're doubling someone in town. Someone would have to try it to find out."  Jake answers, "Like I told you, it looked like Dooley Wilson. Could be it was not...." Jake seems hesitant about something before finally speaking, "I would rather not try it on just now. Nor do I need to have rats stopping by for a drink right now either," he wrinkles his nose. "You ought to test out those cufflinks on Conrad," with a gleam in his eye he continues, "seems like that would be, um, entertaining."  "We don't, um... entertain one another in that way," Kate said, blushing hard but obviously not offended. "It should be simple enough to find out if Dooley Wilson is still about town, just drop by the Long Branch."He says, "Agreed. That should be easy to figure out. Harder will be to figure out who I blew to pieces if Dooley is still at the Long Branch. I can put these toys in my safe unless you have a better spot. Maybe tomorrow we can try out the belt buckle. Is there any precautions to take?""Locking them up should be precaution enough. They aren't going to explode or do any damage without someone behind them. You don't need any competition in the saloon rat business, so you definitely want that ring locked up," Kate teased. "When we try the buckle we probably just need privacy. We don't need rumors of someone back from the dead or someone long lost returning.""Funny, saloon rats... I wonder if this ring would work on me? I better lock it up tight." Jake gives her a wink. "Last chance on the cufflinks. No? Alright. Hey, speaking of Conrad, could you ask him if he sees Dooley tonight? That would be less suspicious than me asking after him and I have to deal tonightShe says, "You mean me leaving work at the Lady to wander over to the Long Branch and inquire about their pianist isn't suspicious?  Don't worry, I'll stop by and check. If Dooley's there I can just tell Conrad I missed him today and wanted to say hello. And since I've played piano there once or twice, it would make sense for me to note Dooley's absence. I should warn you though, if Dooley's gone they may try to steal your pianist."   "Steal from me?" Jake laughs. "That is a dangerous business. I will just take my chances."Kate finished the glass of water and stood. "I should go. It must be almost seven-thirty. I have to get to work at your saloon and you have a game to start soon. Thank you for the comfortable seat and the drink."  "Yes, you are welcome." Jake stood up and looked a little awkward, an expression that was not at all common on his face. "Heh, I guess I am not much of a host. Not used to having a guest in my house. Heh, not used to having a house." He shrugs. "Thanks Katherine. See you in a few minutes."  She says, "You did fine. It's just like welcoming someone into your saloon. Say hello, make sure they have what they need, and spend a few minutes chatting. I'll see you at the Lady." Jake saw her to the door and she made a quick trip home to change her dress and meet Ginnie. The two walked together to the Lady to work the busy Friday night shift.  Jake made his entrance at the Lucky Lady ready for poker the same way every time. A man dressed in black linen trousers, tailored white silk shirt open at the neck, a set of silver jack of spade cufflinks on his sleeves, a short barrel fast draw Colt peacemaker hung low on his right side, a knife hidden in his well worn boot, and a friendly smile on his face walks nonchalantly into the saloon. If he was a boat on a placid lake Silver Jake Cook would have made nary a ripple. He works the crowd in a wide circle, appearing from nowhere, exchanging greetings and pleasantries while making his way to the bar for his first drink.True to her word, Ginnie arranged things in the Lady so Kate didn't have to start off serving drinks. Instead she went straight to the piano. Miss Townsend wasn't there yet so she played as it pleased her. And since Ruby wasn't back yet she felt free to play some classical pieces along with the saloon songs that seemed to be the preferred fare. Although now that she'd been in town longer, she realized the Lady got the crowd that preferred a more subdued atmosphere than could be found at the Palace or Comique, but more relaxed than the formal Long Branch. They might not want classical music all the time, but it was appreciated now and then.  Conrad would be starting his game around now, so Kate figured she would head over to see him after Miss Townsend's first set, he would probably be set for a break by then.  Neil Cassidy joins Chester for supper at the Lady. He says, "Hi Chet, just came off duty and have the night off. Figured I'd spend it here, I hope Jake's in the mood to lose tonight, I feel lucky." They dine and converse mostly in small talk. Chet mentions getting all of his signatures. Cassidy says, "Yeah, I spent today doing that myself. I've been asked to be a candidate for Town Council for the Integrity Party."Chester lights a cigarette when he finishes with his meal. He says, "Integrity Party, huh? Who's in charge? Ever since the splits happened, I can't keep track of who's in which party." He laughs. "I'm in the Unity Party now. I'm glad I'm not directly running against you. I'm not sure if I could win, then."Neil relies, "Derek Avery's our Mayoral Candidate, the one running against you for Marshall is Colonel Michael Seawell. I hear his son is in your party for Town Council. Don't spread this around but Avery and Shaw have already started talking about combining Unity and Integrity into a single party. If that happens I'll be one of the folks to drop out, as being on the Town Council would mean I'd have to resign as Deputy due to a conflict of interest."  Chester replies, "That's interesting. Whoever said that politics was boring? So you'd rather be a deputy than a councilman. I don't blame you. Better a bullet in the front than a knife in the back."Neil says, "Well said, I believe Helen feels the same way. She's now on your ticket for a council spot but I think she'd rather be a deputy too."  Chester grins. "I had a feeling she might. Good as she is with a gun, she'll make a powerful voice on the council. There'll be no ignoring her once she gets her mind on something. But enough of politics. How's business been doing? I bet Tombstone is using a lot of your lumber." Neil says, "You're damn right they are. We've been having trouble keeping up with demand. That means more money flowing into the cash registers."  The evening's evening entertainment starts. Neil excuses himself and heads for Jake's poker table. Chester gets to the bar and orders a drink. He sits and enjoys himself. .With Job out-of-town Jake manages to quickly assemble a full table of the regulars - Weller, Walters, Cassidy, Garcia, Wainwright and Berman, with ranchers Emery Shaw and Forest Morand waiting in the wings for some of the first six to drop out. Surprisingly Al Brower is not around tonight. Darla Peacock and Tony Lucky each have full tables as well and Clarisse has the crowd enraptured with her singing. Both Harry Rote and Sandra Wainwright are now alternating chores at the piano, freeing Kate up to head over to the Long Branch. When Kate arrives she sees that Conrad has a full table. The piano is empty and Kate Higgins comes up to Kate, asking her if she would play for a while as her pianist Dooley Wilson hasn't shown up for the second night in a row.   Katherine Kale says, "I can play for a little while, but I'm working at the Lady tonight so I'll have to go back. There's plenty of help there so they'll be alright for a while. Have you any idea where Mr. Wilson is? Not that I know him well, but I had not heard he was an irresponsible person at all."Kate Higgins replies, "No, this is quite unlike him. He is usually rather responsible. I understand you have another job but if you could just play for a while, maybe until Conrad's next break in the game, I would appreciate it.“   "It's no trouble. I hope Mr. Wilson returns soon and without a distressing reason for his absence." Kate asked what type of music was wanted, then sat down and played. Something about playing here, perhaps the fact that she had absolutely no responsibilities here, always allowed her to get lost in her playing.Kate plays for around fifteen minutes. As she is finishing up one of Mozart’s concertos she suddenly notices that the usual saloon background sounds cease. She turns and sees that the patrons of the saloon all appear as statues, frozen in whatever position they were last in.  A familiar voice to her left then says, "You play this instrument very well." She turns to see the Goddess Diana now standing beside the piano, attired as an Indian woman in a native buckskin dress and sandals, with the same bow and quiver of arrows strapped to her back as Kate saw six weeks earlier.   Kate was silent for a moment, shock clear on her face. Her hand unconsciously rubbed the wood of the piano. "To make music has been one of the great joys of my life," she said simply.  She took a few deep breaths. "Forgive me, I had not thought to be so blessed as to be favored by your presence again. Especially in such a place as this." Kate desperately wanted to ask the reason for her visit, but to ask after a goddess' intentions was presumptuous at best.  Diana smiles and says, "Such a place as this? Why would I find this place any more pleasing or displeasing as the church where we last met? Because of the drinking, gambling and trading of flesh? The vast majority of the Olympic deities frequently drink to excess, most gamble, and more than a few engage in various liaisons that most members of your clergy would find truly shocking. But I came here now not for that but to enjoy your music. Yes there are tens of thousands of pianists on this world with more technical talent than you, four within this very town, but none who put as much joy into the act of playing as you have been doing tonight. And Mozart has always been one of my favorite composers. He himself was blessed by one of the Olympic Muses, otherwise he never would have been able to create such great works at such a young age.""To the great fortune of us all. I was raised on Mozart, Bach, Strauss, so many others. The first time I played here... I had just learned how my husband had truly died and I poured out so much pain and anger, I sometimes think I left part of myself in this instrument. I am happy to know my playing pleases you." She was quiet again for a moment. "I do not follow the clergy, they are not mine, but I suppose I still remember the lessons I was taught as a child. I should remember not all I was taught was true.   I hope you will forgive me for asking, but I have been uneasy in my mind. Mother Jimenez told me she believes the measles were brought to the children of the town through your influence. If it is so, there must have been a reason, but is it truly so?"Diana says, "Yes, I was responsible and there was a very good reason for it. I am able to see events as they will transpire unless they are changed. But unlike others from Olympus, I for one do not like to radically interfere with the course of the affairs of mortals. My preference is to make very subtle changes where I see fit. In this instance I foresaw a great tragedy in your future. The easiest way to change it was to give a disease to a child, which would cause no lasting harm to that child or those that who the child came in contact with and which the medical personnel of this town could deal adequately with.  As a result Katherine, you were not teaching in a Promise City classroom at noontime fifteen days ago. Instead, you were standing on a train platform in Tombstone and greeting the arrival of your family. An invisible Wyatt Earp was present on that same train platform then. Because of you being there he became aware of who your brother was, and therefore went out of his way to save the young man's life some five hours later."Kate's eyes closed but tears still managed to fall from them. She swallowed several times until she felt she could again speak. "I felt there must be a reason if it was true. I'm not sure I could have survived another loss, I... when I learned how Tom died, afterward I just kind of stopped. If we had lost Henry as well..." she shivered.  "Thank you. I had no idea you were watching out for my family as well as myself, at least while they were here. I don't know what I've done to deserve your blessings, but I am grateful."Diana replies, "Katherine, I am watching after you, not your family, other than situations which would have negatively impacted your mental well being. For that reason I met earlier this day with the clergy of this region. Like you, I also choose to not follow the regular dealings of the human clergy of your nation, as I have found them to be far too regimented and human-centric for my tastes. But my blessing upon you will soon be apparent to others and it would not do for them to stone you to death, brand you with a scarlet letter A, or any other such nonsense that they may be practicing at the present time. So I personally told them what has occurred, so that they will be a help rather than a hindrance to you going forward.""Oh." Kate had to smile just a bit. "They are not stoning or branding just now. Mostly it will be gossip and clucking tongues. There will be those in town who will want nothing to do with me, and those who will ostracize me, but I should come to no physical harm. Conrad offered to marry me when I told him, so that others would not question my condition. But I couldn't. I cannot imagine this child having any name but Kale. I have a few weeks yet before it becomes obvious," she said, self-consciously rubbing her barely rounded belly. "I will be glad to have the clergy understand, most of them here are more open-minded than those back east. Miss Florencia especially. But I hope they will not feel they should have some kind of dominion over my boy because of his... unusual beginning."Diana replies, "They should not treat him any differently, after all, it isn't my child but that of you and your husband so is fully mortal. This is interesting territory you have here Katherine. So much of the land within hundreds of miles is so barren, it is good that you have found for yourself an oasis of fertile pastures to build your ranch. The game in the nearby mountains are plentiful once more and challenging to hunt. I have enjoyed these last few weeks in the region and my being here has provided the opportunity for me to meet and help a dwarven follower of mine who had escaped my notice until now.""Yesterday, with the vampires? A friend told me about it, a bit after the fact," Kate said with a little edge. "There are those in this town who will not welcome the proof of at least one gods acceptance of other races. She must be a very strong woman to strike out on her own path. It's good she landed here in Arizona, where many minds are more open.  It is a beautiful land here. We're fortunate that the mineral strikes were found among the fertile lands rather than the desert. That would have driven me back to Boston and I value this life far to highly to wish for that. The game is recovering quickly from the visits of the earth spirits then."Diana replies, "Yes, nature abhors a vacuum and this land is too rich for animals to not be attracted back to it. Up in the mountains I have managed to tag white tail deer, mule deer, bear, wolf and mountain lion. As for the undead, these vampires, Hilldi's associates did quite well in dispatching this pair of them. With their experience the remaining pair will most likely soon perish as well, provided of course that the hunters get to them before they can sire any more of their kind."Kate says, "I only know of one other, there are two? One was Mortimer Turner, up in Wilcox, by the hunters you mean Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Harker? Or Jake and the Priestess? One of the vampires they slew was the pianist here. They had magical items that could change your appearance so we wanted to make sure it really was Mr. Wilson, that's why I came tonight. Since he hasn't been here it really must have been him. Can you tell me who they are, or is that undue influence?"Diana replies, "I do not know their names, only that they travel in pairs. One pair was here while the other pair was in that northern town. That pair have now been driven from it, their resting places there destroyed. But these four had been prepared for that eventuality, with each pair also housing resting places for the other two, so the other two will be coming here now. Hilldi should remain, she can help the hunters."Kate says, "I will make sure the others know, they should be prepared. They may be here already... I feel so helpless, I know I can't help them but I'm not used to staying behind.  Thank you for telling me, it will be an advantage to them. There have been so many mysterious deaths, I don't know if the townspeople will believe the truth if they were told. It reflects badly on the lawmen here even though they are good people." Kate fell silent. It was difficult to know just was appropriate to say to a goddess and what wasn't. "Will you be in the area through December? I feel I am keeping you from other things."Diana says, "No Katherine, I will be taking my leave of you now. I came here to help set the stage for your child's birth. A devoted follower of mine will serve as your midwife and ensure that the child will be born safely. You have kept me from nothing more pressing, I have enjoyed the hunting in these mountains and wished to personally see this enchanted land where you reside. But I must go, I have other followers on other worlds who I must now attend to. We may not personally see one another again."Kate states, "I understand. I had never expected to see you personally again after our meeting in Boston, I consider this second meeting a great blessing. How will I know this midwife? I had thought to have Dorita or Maria help me, but I'm certain they are not who you mean."Diana replies, "She will seek you out. I told of her the circumstances behind your child's inception. She was very skilled in midwifery before but I have blessed her further, so that children that she delivers will all be born healthy. The town will be needing that, as Aphrodite's influence a few month's back has led to a significant number of women in this region to now be with child. Yours will be among the first of many Children born during the months of December and January."Kate smiled. "My boy won't be lonely then. I'm glad such a blessing can come from the chaos of that time." She laughed suddenly. "I just know I'm going to be peeking at every woman I know trying to guess who.  I will watch for the coming of your chosen midwife. I hope she and I will get on well."Diana smiles and says, "It should be a very educational experience for the both of you." The Goddess then begins to fade away.  As had happened in Boston, Kate slumped when the world suddenly began to spin again and the overwhelming feeling of the presence of the goddess was gone. She looked around the room, but everyone else was going on as if nothing had happened. Which indeed nothing had for them. Kate took a few deep breaths to steady herself, then turned back to the piano keys. When Conrad's break came up she excused herself to spend a few moments with him, promising to meet for dinner tomorrow. She had intended to tell him tonight what she'd learned about Mr. Wilson, but her mind was not settled.  He did walk her back to the Lady before returning to his game, and the night passed quietly there.</blockquote>

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