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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3819506" data-attributes="member: 8530">Great story Barad, I love the way that real history interconnected with our fiction.    The post has been updated Orchid.   On to the next chapter:Chapter Two-hundred-nine, “Conspiracy Theory“, Saturday, June 17th, 12:00 P.M.Ruby comments, "I am, really sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that, you deserve better." He replies, "Ruby, I know that you are concerned. You left a note with the hotel clerk at the Grand Hotel in Tombstone." He then selectively quotes it from memory stating "Please try to see me George. I would very much like to know that you are alright after that dreadful night. I am asking that you meet me alone, so just the two of us can talk."He moves closer and takes her hands in his. He looks down at her, into her eyes and says, "Ruby, I did not receive that note until three weeks after you wrote it. It was placed with other possessions shipped to me that I had left behind there. But it told me what I needed to know, that you were sorry for what had transpired and that you wanted to see me again." Ruby looks up at him, grips his hands in hers and smiles softly through her tears. "George, all I ever wanted is to know that someone truly cares about me. Not because of how I look, but who I am. So many men have said they love me and it wasn't true, said they cared but only wanted one thing. I need for you to know me for you to say you really care about me."He replies, "Of course I care about you Ruby. I have for nearly six years, the trip to Promise City merely reinforced that fact. Ruby, you were being manipulated and controlled by your business partner, that was obvious, I would not hold that against you. You may recall that at the time all that I asked of him was to give you time alone to think things through, and he would not allow it. But he is not here now, it is just us, and we can spend as much time as you need for the two of us to become reacquainted with one another." She releases one of his hands and instead places it on George's face. "You are so sweet and no matter what happens I don't deserve you as a friend." She leaves her hand there over long, his face smooth except for his chin beard.She drops her hand and continues. "You need to understand something about Jake. He wasn't just my business partner, he was my partner-partner. I did love him. I do love him and some part of me always will. I don't mean to say this to hurt you. But I had shut off my feelings for so long that I didn't care about anything, not even myself. Jake got me to change that, so we have to always be grateful to him, for helping me change that." She sighs, "Jake just can't love me like I need to be loved or give me what I need to have, this trip has proven it. He promised me he would always come for me and he didn't." She takes his other hand in hers again. "I would like to, no, I have to tell you the things you need to hear. But... I am scared. Scared of what you will think of me after I do."He lifts his head up and kisses her on the forehead. "That can wait Ruby, you have been through a lot. We will have plenty of time to talk. But for now we should get back upstairs before your friend Richard starts to worry." Ruby nods her head up and down. "Oh, but I wish we didn't have to go back. All I wanted to do was see you and all everyone else wanted to do was keep me from you." She releases his hands but then throws herself into his arms and hugs him tightly. He was tall, a good amount taller than her which was rare, but she liked it. She fit just right. Feeling safe, she suddenly doesn't want to let him go.“I know," she whispers, "We have to get back." He states, "We can wait a bit longer....this is nice." Ruby turns her nose to his neck. Breathing him in she says softly, "This isn't exactly how I pictured our first meeting George." She wraps her arms around his neck and stays in the hug, "It feels like nothing can harm us here. I meant what I said, I am lucky to have you as a friend." He hugs her tightly and replies, "I have been and always will be your friend."George's words make a few more tears fall from Ruby's eyes. She squeezes him, then pulls her face back leaving them only inches apart, staring into each others eyes. Ruby's heart start to pound and she bites her lip as they share the air around them in one of those 'moments'. Her natural instinct is to kiss him, and she wants to as she looks over his face. It was like she was seeing how handsome he was for the first time. She puts both of her hands on his face for a moment then takes a few steps away from him. "We should go back," she says, not really convinced. If something was going to come of this, her and George, no matter how unlikely Ruby wanted it to be different, needed it to be different.They head back to the elevator together and he pulls the lever for the top floor. He smiles and says, "Thank you for coming to Rochester, despite the risk is has put you in." Ruby leans back against the wall next to George and returns the smile, her heart light. "You're welcome George Eastman. I'd venture a guess that I'm going to get much more out of this than you. And I should be thanking you, putting you in danger that you weren't already in. I did say I was sorry for that and I mean it. Besides, I'm unfortunately used to being in danger as of late. As I said, I have much to tell you about and we'll have as much time as we need to go over it."The elevator stops at the top floor. Ruby starts bouncing out, stops and kisses George's cheek before continuing to bounce out. "Perhaps a picnic? Yes, I think a picnic would be fun." Ruby reenters the office and goes directly into the back looking for Richard. She still has a sill smile on her face when she finds him. "You should take a tour of the factory, it's amazing!" Ruby chirps. "Did you find out anything interesting in that book Richard?" He looks up from the papers which he has now arranged into a series of five piles. Ruby also notes that four bookmarks are in the journal.Richard replies, "Yes, I believe that I may have found something. Are either of you familiar with Byzantium Powder?" George replies, "No, but I am familiar with the word Byzantium, that was the an ancient city along the Mediterranean Sea. Roman Emperor Constantine renamed the city after himself, calling in Constantinople. The city is currently known as Istanbul." Richard replies, "Correct, and the powder that I refer to is made from a plant, a type of marsh fern, found only in the vicinity of that city. It is a rather rare commodity with some unique uses."Ruby states, "I'd like travel to Istanbul one day but otherwise I have no idea. What kind of uses are we talking about?" Richard "The primary use is as an inhibiter of magic." "Hmmm...," She looks to George to gage his reaction to the 'magic' issue. "Why would that be so important to a political party?" Richard asks, "Ruby, what do you know about William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States?" Ruby cheeks suddenly turn crimson. She didn't want to look stupid in front of George and for the first time she regrets not paying attention in school. She tries not to look at him when she answers, "Not much. Is there something I should know?"Richard states, "Harrison was a war hero from the War of 1812, the General who won the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Whigs ran him as their Presidential candidate in 1840. He was the oldest man ever elected President and wished to present himself as a man still with youthful vigor. So he wore no coat of hat at his Presidential inauguration, where he gave a speech that lasted over two hours. It was a cold wet, raw day in early March of 1841 and he caught pneumonia. Doctors and Priests worked diligently for the next month to cure him, but despite all efforts including no small amount of clerical healing magic he died of the illness just thirty days after assuming the Presidency."She says, "That's pretty sad for him. And silly. Why not just wear a coat!" Ruby thinks for a moment and taps her lips. "If you used some of that stuff...would it keep healing magic from working too?" Richard says, "That's where the clerk's journal comes in handy. It records something with the initials B.P., which I presume could mean the Byzantium Powder being given to a Doctor named Dorian Strathmoore on March 2nd, 1882. That was two days before the inauguration. Doctor Strathmoore was one of the physicians who cared for President Harrison during that month."George comments, "So you suspect that the President did not die of natural causes but was instead murdered. Even some forty-one years later that revelation would still resonate, it is likely that many of the conspirators may still be alive." Richard says, "Even if they aren't, their children and grandchildren are and this would put quite a blemish on many family reputations." Ruby exclaims, "And that would also explain why they would be so intent on getting this stuff back. If we found out this much information in this third of the papers then who knows what's in the other stuff that Jane has."Ruby pushes her hair behind her ears. "So what should we do? DO we still try to mail these papers away from us? George, so you know anyone here with affiliations to the Whig party? George says, "That party has long since ceased to be a political force, it's now promiarly Republicans, Democrats and Socialists." Richard says, "Yes, but this is all the more reason why we need to make sure that these documents are out of our possession before Geroge tries to clear our names." Ruby asks, "Why is that Richard? I'm not sure I understand all of what's going on. It's a bit embarrassing really."Richard states, Because the Pinkerton's are desperate for these things that we have. Once they know exactly where we are they will probably continue to follow us until they have an opportunity to do so. Better we not have them in our possession when that happens. I also wouldn't put it past them to search this building once Eastman identifies himself as your friend, better they not be here at all, even in the mail room." She says, "Alright. How do we go about getting rid of them now?"Ruby takes a few steps closer to George, standing close to him and looking him in the eye. "George, you said you know people you trust? Can we get out of here without someone spotting us? And where do we go? Are you sure you want to get involved in this danger? Once you do you can't go back." George says, "I know dozens of people who I can trust. And my getting out of here isn't an issue, I own the place and nobody is looking for me. Let's take those things down to the mailroom and get them all packed up for shipping and then I'll go find somebody else to handling the actual mailing."Ruby nods. "Alright George." They pack up all the papers, leaving them bundled together. Ruby finishes packing up all the belongings that didn't make it into her suitcase the first time. When George isn't looking she stows the photograph of him from Costa Rica in her bag, but puts back the picture of herself on his desk. "Let's go boys," she smiles and leads the way to the elevator.They make their way downstairs to the mailroom. To keep the Eastman name off the package he ignores the cartons and crates for outgoing mail with the company stamp on them, instead looking over boxes that the previous day's incoming mail came in. He finds one the right size that is stamped with the Wells Fargo Company logo on it. which they then pack and seal. He says, "I'll get a close friend to send this off using Wells Fargo and the carrier, once it gets mixed in with their other mail nobody would even suspect. Who should I address it to, probably not either of your names as the Pinkertons will soon know your true identities if they don't already."She states, "True, they'll know Richard's name too. Richard, what name do you want to send this to Tucson in? Not Jane's either, they'll probably know her too." Ruby pauses. "You know, there is a chance the Pinkerton's are in on this too, so we have to be careful not to give away too much." "How about we send it to Father Grappini?" Richard suggests. "That sounds like a good plan," Ruby nods. "We'll do that." Ruby lets Richard give George the information.George says that he will meet them back in his office in an hour or two. "Wait," Ruby grabs his arm before he leaves. In a concerned voice she says, "Where are you going? I don't want you to go somewhere without us. It's dangerous and something could happen to you." George replies, "I am in no danger, I have my driver who is also my bodyguard. I'm going to go visit a friend who owns another factory in town and ask him to mail this for me. Then I will go try to find the Police Commissioner and bring him back here to clear up this mess. Taking the two of you with me now would not be safe for any of us with the newspapers having misidentified the two of you as murderers and thieves."Ruby lets out the breath she was holding in and nods. "Of course, you're right." She lets go of his arm and puts a small smile on her face. "I didn't know you have a bodyguard! I'm sure you'll be fine." Almost as if she was convincing herself instead of agreeing. She gives him a quick hug, "Take care George and be careful anyway, okay?"Ruby releases him and watches him leave. She turns to Richard. "I told you we could trust him. Isn't he wonderful? He's a good man." Richard replies, "Well, I will say this about him, he is quite brave. When he thought I was Arthur 'Deadeye' Douglas he didn't hesitate to stand up to me trying to protect you. He's a smart enough man to have figured out that Deadeye would have needed him alive to get ransom, but I was holding a gun in my hand at the time. That man has no small amount of courage.""Courage," Ruby smiles. "I like that, it's romantic." Her eyes twinkle like a school girls. "You know, he let his cousin boss him around back in Promise City a little bit. Okay, a lot. But he almost doesn't seem like the same man as back then. He isn't the same man it seems." She realizes she is acting silly, so she coughs and changes the subject. "Ahem, right, so what should we do for the next hour? Just kick back and relax? I'm going to worry no matter what we do waiting for him to return."</blockquote>

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