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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3384669" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-forty-six “Moria Enion‘s Past”, Tuesday June 13th, 1882, 12:00 P.M.Chester had told Jake "I better get back to town. Harker and the others need to know we've found the place." He puts his hand on Jake's shoulder. "Hermes grant you safe passage. I'll see you all later." The lawman mounts Lookout and gallops back to Promise City.Chester arrives back in town at around 3:45 P.M. He heads to the Territorial Offices where he finds Kevin Tomlinson. They then head over to the Promise City Hotel to get Father Harbrace and then to Boston Harker's house at the northwestern end of town where Jonathan Harker is staying. Boston Harker is still at work, giving the men ample privacy to hear what Chester has to say.At the conclusion of the meeting the hunters borrow Chester's map and agree to head back out there to investigate further. Chester thanks them and then goes to the Marshall's Office to inform Marshall Berg that he is back. Berg reminds Chester that he and Eddie are leaving in the morning for the balloon ride to Mexico, and to be sure to get a good night's sleep. Chester says, "Sure thing, boss. This guy had better be worth the trouble. The Mexicans aren't going to like a couple of gringo lawmen coming into their country." Berg laughs and says, "Somehow I don't think that Eduardo will be mistaken for a gringo."Chester then heads over to the O'Hara house to let Meghan know that Kate has been delayed and may not be back until some time on Wednesday. She asks, "What happened, Deputy?" Chester replies, "Oh, something came up that she has to take care of in Dos Cabezas. It's nothing to worry about." He gives her a reassuring smile. "Are you going to be OK here?" "Yes, I think so. Thank you for telling me." Chester tips his hat. "You're welcome, miss."This brings him to supper time, where he goes and collects Clarisse for a relaxing dinner at the Silver Dollar Restaurant. She says, "So, Chet. What have you been up to today? I've missed you." He says, "I've missed you too. All these investigations are taking up so much time. Even with the four of us, it's hard work." She says, “You work too hard Chet. After you're elected Marshall be sure to hire enough deputies so that you will get some time off."Chester takes her hand in his. "You bet I will. Heck, if I play my cards right I won't even have to go into the office." He smiles slyly. "I don't believe the town council would go for that idea. But we do need a couple more deputies at least." They finish dinner and go out to a field to watch the stars. Later Chester takes Clarisse to her home and he heads for his.Earlier that day at the school, Emily had watched with surprise as Nakomo and Mrs. Kale had both left school that morning. She smelled an adventure of some kind and it was tempting to follow them out. But Mrs. O'Hara and Mrs. Caudell would have stopped her anyway, and it was too soon to be making Uncle upset by running off and leaving school. While her mind was wandering Ginnie had stepped into Mrs. Kale's spot and was keeping her group of students going. She watched the younger girl curiously until Mrs. Caudell called her attention back to geography.The school day ended and Nakomo and Mrs. Kale hadn't returned yet. Emily had tried not to be distracted by her curiosity, but it had been hard. Something was happening and she wanted to know what it was. Uncle Emery had wanted her in school, and she had to admit it wasn't so bad. But Shannon O'Hara and Angela Young weren't that much older and they didn't have to be in school, they were adults. Of course, being an adult came with other things that she was just as happy to leave for now. For now she just wanted to know what was happening.She ran outside into the bright sunshine, not sure if Uncle was going to come get her again today, but she knew the way back to the boarding house if he was not. Emery Shaw arrives and says, "Hello Emily, I have a surprise for you. Tonight you won't have to stay at The Comstock House, you'll be in your own bed in your own room! I had some of the hands from the ranch in town today to clean and repaint our new house.We also purchased and had delivered some new furnishings from the furniture maker in town. Most of what the Sherman's left was in good shape, but I thought that you deserved a brand new bedroom set. All that's left is for us to head over to Kelly's Dry Goods to pick out the material for the curtains and drapes."In a rare moment of absolute seriousness she said, "You're spoiling me something terrible, Uncle. I've never had so many things, never mind just for me. I'm happy just to be here." The saucy smile returned to her face. "But I do like the idea of a room just for me. What color is it? Mrs. Kale and Nakomo left school this morning. Did something happen in town?"Shaw says, "Oh, they probably had to just go out to her ranch for something. That's part of the Cattleman's Association. I'll have some of the hands drop by and check on their way back to the Lazy-S." They start to head west down Sierra Street and he says, "Right now the walls are just a fresh coat of white, but we can paint whatever color over that you would like. Same with the furniture, it's just bare wood for now but we can stain or paint it whatever shade you wish."Emily replies, "I never had to choose colors, I don't have any idea what I'll like, although I can't imagine there's that many colors of paint in Promise City to choose from," she laughed. "Guess I'll just have to pick pretty curtains and match the paint to that." She paused for a moment as they continued walking. "I never thought I'd be excited about curtains and paint! I guess I am a girl."Shaw laughs and says, "Of course you're a girl! And as for spoiling you, my children are all grown, I don't have any grandchildren yet, and unlike my friend Colonel Morand I don't plan to start chasing after saloon-hall girls half my age, so who else do I have to spoil"?" They arrive at the house for her to drop off her school things and look at what the Lazy-S workers have done with the place. She sees that her new bedroom set is made of solid maple wood and consists of a full-sized bed, a new mattress stuffed with a combination of wool, cotton and feathers, two dresses, a night table and a full-length mirror mounted to the back of the door.They then head over to Kelley's Dry Goods, where Mary Kelley and her schoolmate Ginnie show her what they have in stock for fabric selection. Next he brings her to the opposite side of town, to a house along the southeastern hill around 100 feet east of the Great Western Boarding House. He explains that it is the home of the Enion family, and that Patrick Enion's part-time occupation is painting signs for the businesses in town. He therefore should have a large selection of paints.They knock and a woman answers the door. She invites them in and says that Patrick hasn't come home from his other job yet. Shaw asks about paints and she produces a color wheel that shows ninety-two different color shades that are possible with the dyes that her husband has available. He asks Emily to pick out what she wants, and he will order a gallon of it to paint her room.While Emily is looking at it he says to Mrs. Enion, "So Moria, I've heard a rumor that you are seriously considering playing in this poker tournament this weekend. Are you sure that you and Patrick can afford to undertake such a gamble?" She laughs and says, "Certainly I'll be playing, but I'm not planning to use our own money for the entrance fee. One of the gamblers coming owes me a favor from way back and will be paying that for me, he just doesn't know it yet. I'll pay him back after I win."Shaw laughs and says, "Well, if you play anything like your father did I'd say that will be a good investment on that gambler's part. If there are any side bets being taken I'll be sure to put at least $ 25 on you." She says smiles and says "Yes, but you may want to keep that information to yourself. Most people in town just think of me as a quiet housewife." He replies, "I'm sure they'll think otherwise by Sunday night."Emily looked up from the paint samples where she had been keeping one ear on the conversation. With a smile more knowing than one would expect to see on a young face she said, "You like the idea of surprising them, don't you? Just as much as the thought of winning." She smiles and replies, "No dear, winning is everything. Surprise is just helpful for getting them to underestimate you." She looks up at Shaw and the petite woman in her mid-twenties says, "You will keep my background secret won't you Emery?"He replies, "Well, there isn't any reason for me to share it as long as you were truthful about turning over a new leaf. The owners of the Lucky Lady are friends of mine and I would hate to see anything improper to take place during their tournament." She smiles and says, "Emery, you know that since I met Patrick I've stayed on the straight-and-narrow."He says, "I do, and optimistically hope to see that continue." He turns back to Emily and says, "Have you decided upon a shade dear?" Emily pointed out the light green color she favored, then said, "If we stain the furniture dark, dark brown it will be almost like staying in a tree. Well, maybe not but I'd like to pretend it all the same." He replies, "Very well, Moria, have Patrick mix up a gallon of that. If he wants to earn some extra money he can do the painting as well."Next they head over to Cole Rixton's furniture shop for her to pick out the specific shade of dye for the furniture and make arrangements for Rixton to come by on Wednesday and Thursday during the day to stain the furniture. They finish at a table at the Promise City Hotel and Restaurant, which is directly across the street from the Comstock House where they had taken most of their meals until now.While waiting for their food Emery says, "So my dear, what was your impression of Mrs. Enion?" She thought for a minute before answering. "Like a lot of people here, there's much more to her than she shows. I don't think being a quiet housewife will satisfy her for long; just like it wouldn't satisfy me. And I don't think I was wrong when I said the surprise is part of what's fun. She'll break out in some way, probably a good way, but she'll want to be more. I think she told you the truth about being good. I guess she must have been a pretty wild girl for a while."Shaw says, "That's an understatement. You may recall hearing that during the Civil War and the year following, when my family was staying with yours in Chicago, I was with the Army down south. We were an army of occupation until the surrender and an army of reconstruction afterwards, in both roles more of a police capacity than soldiering. Well, during that time Moria Stone was the youngest person I ever arrested, I believe she was seven at the time. She's the daughter of Michael "Mickey" Stone, a British con man and gambler.Like a number of Europeans they had the misfortune of visiting down south when hostilities broke out, and due to the blockades on southern ports became stranded there for the duration of the war. Of course, that didn't stop the pair of them from trying to make a living going from state-to-state playing cons where they could. Having a young daughter with him help to make Stone appear more genuine. Anyway, I first ran into them in Texas in '65 and arrested them doing another con the following year in Memphis. He served a short prison stint and she became a Ward of the State.I didn't see her again until last year when she and her husband Patrick arrived here. She was very surprised that I recognized her after all these years. I believed that she is genuine about wanting to take up an honest life, which is why I was troubled to hear her joining in the tournament. My visit just now was to warn her that I'll be keeping a close eye on her for potential trouble. I don't plan to warn the owners of the Lucky Lady directly, but it might be prudent for some school children to have an informal chat on the playground, as I believe some of your classmates bus tables there on weekends."Emily states, "So you don't want to hurt her reputation since she's living a different life now, but just in case you want someone's eyes to be open. I suppose I could mention it to Ginnie, but wouldn't she just tell her employers? Well, not if I asked her not to, I guess. I like Mrs. Enion, I hope we're both right. We could have asked Ginnie where Mrs. Kale had gone." Emily laughed. "See how nosy I am? I can't stand to think someone is having an adventure without me."Shaw laughs and says, "I'm sure that your teacher is fine, she has good friends to look after her, she just leads a very busy life." They finish the main part of the meal and then have a choice of desserts between blueberry pie, cherry pie, or apple strudel. Emily ate the cherry pie slowly, savoring each bit of the rare treat. "I guess I'm having all the adventure I can handle for now, anyway. What do we do tonight, Uncle? I'm sure there's more politics. And... I know maybe it's not as safe as you'd like, but when will it be okay for me to go around by myself. She smiled and added, "I like going 'round with you, but I don't think you want to climb trees."Shaw becomes serious and says, "Young lady, you are correct, it is not safe. Those people who rode into town on Sunday tossing dynamite were after the candidates and I am a candidate. If you want an opportunity to play in the out-of-doors I can make arrangements for somebody to take you tomorrow after school, but going off alone at night is out of the question."He sighs and says, "And yes, I will be busy tonight with politics. The final Town Council debate is this evening. I'll give you three choices, you can join me for that, you can spend this evening at the Kelley's helping Mary Kelley, Ginnie Flaherty and Shannon O'Brien finish the costumes for the play, or you can spend the evening in the company of Cornflower Peck. She's a Navaho woman whose husband works at the brickyard behind our house. He's a candidate for Town Council so will be at the debate, but she hasn't been joining him for those. They live around a block east of our house."She replies, "I'd like to be able to go for a ride tomorrow. It's much easier to be in this town than Chicago, but I'd still like to get in the open space. I guess I'll go to Mrs. Kelley's, but I won't be much help. I'm not a very good sewer. At least I know Ginnie and Shannon though." Following the meal Shaw takes his niece over to the Kelleys, where the three women are working diligently on the costumes. Shaw says he will return for her after the debate is over.Mary is a stern taskmaster, as they still have a few hours of work ahead of them given that the first dress rehearsal is the next afternoon. Emily is surprised by the quality of the material for the costumes, far better than she would expect for garments to be worn just a few times.Shannon talks about her new job at the First National Bank of Promise City and how she got it. Mary comments about how she was very resourceful, finding an opportunity and going for it. Ginnie asks, "So you're the only teller at the moment with the other two gone?" Shannon replies, "Yes, Mr. Stevens has been doing a lot himself. He's also had the part-time cleaning and maintenance man Chandler Wells helping out more too. As his last name implies Wells also works for Wells Fargo, as the back-up driver. He is a relative of that company's founders, Henry Wells, who began the company thirty years ago."Emily listened as she tried to be patient with the stitching. It never seemed to go quite where she wanted it to. She ripped out a couple stitches and tried again. "So you work here and you work at the bank. You must be awfully busy, don't you ever have time just to do what you want to do?" She replies, "I also work part time at the Cochise Boarding House, where I live. What I want to do? I've haven't thought about that much lately. My hobby is painting but I no longer have any equipment for that. I suppose that I should start putting aside some money to see about purchasing some paints, brushes and canvases."Emily’s states, "When you're getting started taking care of yourself I guess there's not a lot of time for hobbies. It's so strange to be here with Uncle Emery and have so much time to myself. At home I always helped Ma with my sisters and brothers and helped keep the house up beside going to school. But I always got to work in my garden. Working so much probably lets you feel nice and independent."She replies, "It does, especially the bank job. I enjoy my other two jobs too but neither of them pay very well. I've made sure that Mr. Stevens pays me at least as well as he did Mr. Snavely. I'm so glad I had gotten my math tutor at Belfast University to write me that letter of recommendation, and that I had been smart enough to make sure he left it undated. I was actually only eight to ten when I studied with that man, I'm sure Mr. Stevens assumed that my instruction from that Professor was more recent."Emily laughed. "I wonder what the Professor would think if he saw you now. He must have realized how clever you were when he wrote the letter. Do you both like living here?" she asked. Ginnie indicates that she does. Shannon says, "I do as well, there is great opportunity here. Mother enjoys her job as a teacher, never having thought it possible to have a job that pays as well as that which also allows her to bring six of her children with her. I like it here too, although I'm finding the attentions from some of the other boarders at the Cochise Boarding House are becoming tiresome."Mary Kelley looks concerned and asks "Which ones?" Shannon replies, "Oh, some of them, like Billy Glass, Rolf Larsen and Governor Pike have been complete gentlemen. But others, like Mike Moore, Porter Norris and Tony Lucky leer at me and throw innuendo into their every comment. Uncle Shamus and my brother Patrick makes sure that I am adequately protected, and I'm not without my own resources either, but those men still make me nervous."Emily looked at Shannon sympathetically. "The last couple years in Chicago some of the boys started getting like that. I'm glad to be away from that. No one's bothered me at the Comstock House, although I suppose you wouldn't want to move away from your brother and uncle. And maybe it's just Uncle being there that keeps them gentlemen. When boys got bothersome with me I usually just smacked them, but I guess you can't really do that."Shannon says, "Actually, I'm thinking about the Comstock House. The other tenants there all work for Elton Hubbard's Silverbell Mining, and Hubbard's clerk Earl Hogan lives there too and makes sure the men are all on their best behavior. Patrick and Uncle Shamus both work for Silverbell too. When Shamus first came here there were no vacancies, which is why he went to the Cochise instead. Maybe I should let them know the problems I've been having and see if they would consider moving."Emily states, "Uncle and I just moved out today. He bought Mr. Sherman's house and we're going to stay there starting tonight. So that's two rooms available at least. Mrs. Russell's awful nice, although I think she's a bit nosy," Emily laughed. "That's not quite right. Curious if things are going good for you is closer. I'm kinda sorry to leave, I like her. So what resources of your own do you have to keep those men away?"She smiles and says, "My father taught me how to defend myself, more than that in fact, he taught me the proper way to fight, using the Marquees of Queensbury Rules of '67, which superseded the London Prize Ring Rules that he fought under as a boy. I've been very tempted to show up at the amateur boxing over at the Palace some Saturday night and knock somebody down for a ten-count. But I'm out of practice though and some of the fighters are out-of-my-league, so that wouldn't be without its own risk. Plus I'm certain that Mother, Uncle and older brother would never approve. Plus the town might get suspicious if I tried, given how many people were snookered out of bets on my kid sisters during the horserace at the Festival.""It's hardly their fault if adults underestimated them because they're young. Horses go faster with lighter riders. But I know what you mean." Emily was quiet for a second. "Maybe you could teach me a little of that fighting? Uncle's a candidate, and he said earlier that puts us at risk. I knew that anyway, but it would be good to know how to defend myself a little. And of course I'm half-elf. That's two strikes against me."Mary Kelley interjects, "Don't underestimate yourself Miss. Emily, one thing that this election is trying to establish is that race doesn't matter, people are people. And your talking here to a trio of Irish women, we've each experienced prejudices as well. I'm third generation American and have all but lost the accent, but my husband Kevin came over here directly from County Cork just a decade back. Back east he kept running into the 'No Irish Need Apply' signs, which is why we headed west."Emily answers, "That's one of the reasons Uncle invited me to come here too, although I didn't have too many problems in Chicago. Most people in my neighborhood remember my Pa and left me alone. There's things I'm good at and things I'm not so good at," Emily said, holding up the sewing she was trying hard at. "I like being part elf, but just because some people here are trying to change things doesn't mean everyone here agrees. It's those people I'd like to be able to give a bloody nose if I have to."Shannon says, "Well, you and your Uncle now have your own house, so I suppose that Patrick and I could drop by some time and give you some pointers on self-defense in the privacy of your own home without anybody having to know what we are up to."</blockquote>

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