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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3883048" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Two-hundred-twenty-five, “Back to the Lady“, Sunday, June 18th, 7:45 P.M.Jake was satisfied with how the players were redistributed. He decided that now was not the time for any special strategy other than to build his bank roll and observe all he could about these three. Any one of them was competent enough to make it to the final table. Even though Masterson was around half of the others stack, he could still come back. Nothing special to do just now except play better poker than the three experienced players sitting with him. That and enjoy himself immensely. Silver Jake Cook orders himself a bourbon. With a $ 100 ante the games become a bit more exciting, the pot staying at the minimum of $ 400 for most hands but increasing for some.At the Town Hall, Chester likes what he heard from Shaw. He sat in on the meetings when the platform was worked out, but he hadn't heard the whole thing together. He hopes that the gathered audience agrees that the middle ground is the way to go. Emery Shaw exits the stage and heads over to where his three children and niece have been watching the debate."I should go speak to Emery for a few minutes. What did you think, Mr. Booth?" Kate asked Edwin. "I could use a fresh perspective." Edwin Booth says, "Well, if it were me I would probably vote for your friend Shaw. He is the only one of the three who struck me as genuine, the other two remind me too much of politicians who I had known." "That may be his greatest advantage. I hope there are enough people who aren't entrenched in the extremes to see it. I'll be right back."She crossed the room over to where Emery Shaw was standing with his family. "Glad to be through with the debate, Emery?" Shaw replies, "That was probably the shortest ninety minutes of my life. It seemed like it had barely begun and then was over. Well Katherine, how did I do?" "I'm not sure I can give you a fair opinion; I was a little distressed by Mr. Condon using Diana's visit here to support his position. Honestly, I would have liked to hear more concrete plans, but that's probably a lot to ask when you don't know who you'll be working with or what you'll be asked to do.I will say, you were the most positive person on that stage, showed the most optimism, and seemed to care the most about the town without having ambitions for yourself. Mr. Condon tried, but some of his statements showed ambitions for his way of thinking if not himself. Mr. Fisk made some good points, but it still felt he was saying what was best for him." He says, "Why thank you Katherine, I was also offended by some of what both of my opponents stated, let's hope that others feel the same way. " Kate says, "I hope they do, too. It's disturbing that I'd rather live under Mr. Fisk than the Vigilance Committee."Chester says, "Let's go see Mr. Shaw." He and Clarisse make their way to Shaw and Kate. Chester shakes Shaw's hand. "Congratulations, Mr. Shaw. You did really well, there. Hi, Kate." Shaw says, "Thank you Chester, let's hope that it helps get that badge of yours upgraded." "I hope so. I wouldn't like what this town would look like if either the Law & Order or Freedom Parties get in. Either way I wouldn't want to live here." Kate smiled at Chester and Clarisse. "I hope you're doing well tonight." Clarisse says, "We're doing just fine, Mrs. Kale. I admit this election has me a bit nervous. Not knowing if Chet will win is nerve-wracking. And how are you?" Kate says, "Very well, Miss Townsend. I hope you all had a good visit with Janet Fly today."Clarisse says, "I agree about the Freedom party. That Mr. Fisk is not a good man. The town will slide into sinfulness if he has his way. I don't have too many qualms about the Law & Order Party getting voted in. The town will be safe at least. But I understand how many people won't like it, especially Mr. Cook. They'd put him out of business." Kate says, "And Mr. Cook is not a bad man, is he? The people at the Lady are not sinful people. We're a family and it's sad to think they might try to take our home."Clarisse replies, "No, he isn't. Chet thinks well of him and that's good enough for me. The people who live and work there may not be sinful, but those who drink to excess act in an indecent manner." Chester pats her shoulder. "Now now, remember, 'judge lest not ye be judged.' The people here work hard and they need to relax. If that means getting drunk every now and then, it doesn't hurt anyone."Kate asks, "Do you have any campaign plans for tomorrow, Emery?" He replies, "No, I thought I would go to the Earp Trail in the morning. I also need to figure out what to put in Chumbley's final paper before the election. Isby told Chumbley that he is not allowed to put out a paper with candidate advertisements on Tuesday but did give the little guy permission to sell any Monday papers he still has on hand. So Chumbly is planning to put out an edition tomorrow night between 10:00 PM and midnight so that he'll have plenty for Tuesday.""Won't that upset Judge Isby a bit? It's going against the spirit of his injunction against campaigning on the day of the election," she said, chuckling. She says, "Well Emery, I suppose I will see you tomorrow morning at Wyatt Earp's trial. Isn't Mr. Watson's trial tomorrow morning as well. I'll have to be there to testify for that." Shaw replies, "Yes, it will be a busy day at court. The Judge will first draw the jury for the Earp trial but it might take a little while to round them all up since some may be at ranches or mines a distance from town. While the Jury is being pulled together he will so some of the other trials."“Is there another trial beside Mr. Watson's?" She asked, while trying to think of the best time to get out to the ranch and fetch those horses. Shaw replies, "Yes, all of the folks who were caught cheating at the Lucky Lady plus Mr. Hardin for his hidden gun. Van Horne says he is pressing charges against all of them." Kate says, "Good. I know he was anxious to make sure the tournament was honest, and Jake was too. It's in the Lady and he wants the honest reputation there preserved. If you'll excuse me I'd like to talk to Judge Isby for a moment. I'll see you in the morning, Emery." She smiled at his children, who were more her age than Emery himself and politely spoke a few words with them with a special smile for her student Emily, then went over to Judge Isby."Excuse me, Judge. Might I ask a question about tomorrow?" Isby replies, "Certainly Mrs. Kale, I assume you wish to know when I will be needing you to testify at Mr. Watson's trial? I anticipate that will be between 8:00 and 9:00 AM." She says, "Yes, I need a chance to go out to my ranch in the morning. I'd prefer not to go tonight since it's already dark and it likely wouldn't be safe. Would there be enough time after Mr. Watson's trial and before Mr. Earp's to go? I can certainly go before if not." He replies, "Possibly not, I plan to start at 7:00 AM drawing the names for the Earp jury, then I want to try the poker cheaters so that any who are just fined and released can be on the 9:00 AM stagecoach out of town. Then I'll handle the Watson Trial and the Earp trial. It should be a busy day."She replies, "Alright, I'll go early then, it shouldn't be a problem. A very busy day indeed. After all that I hope we can have a quiet, peaceful election, although I imagine that's a fool's hope." He replies, "A peaceful election is what I am striving for, although in truth, I'm more than a little concerned about potential violence as the aftermath of the trial. I assume that Mr. Earp will lose at which case Upton will appeal and we will have to endure several days more of his being jailed while his gunslinger friends are still around."She says, "Unfortunately it's even too dangerous to try to move him somewhere else. I'll be glad when this is all over. I have some painful connections to the Earps and I'll be glad to see the last of them, especially Virgil." For a moment she looked small and vulnerable. She shook her head to clear it. "I will be here at 8:00 tomorrow, sir. Thank you." She said goodbye and went back over to Conrad and his brother. "Well gentlemen, shall we return to the Lady and see what's happened?"Conrad took her arm and they walked back over to the Lady. "Judge Isby plans on Mr. Watson's trial being around 8 tomorrow morning; we'll both have to be there," she told Edwin. "I'll be glad to get that behind us." He says, "As will I, although I will probably stay around afterwards for the remainder of the trial as neither of my traveling companions will be heading out until it is over with. Roosevelt finds it intriguing that Isby would even consider that Earp could get a fair trial in this town. Berwind just wants to be around to watch him hang."Kate says, "Without any wish to offend you, I don't care for Mr. Berwind much. If Wyatt Earp hangs I won't be there to watch it. I am surprised he's being tried here, especially since he was Marshall here for a time." Edwin replies, "Well, I guess that was your Judge's call. From what I hear the County Sheriff very much wants to see Earp dead, so a fair trial back in the county seat of Tombstone would have been far less likely."Kate answers, "The county sheriff is a criminal himself; Earp and his brothers were after him as lawmen. Frank Leslie would like nothing better than to see Earp swinging from the gallows. I don't know if Earp could get a fair trail anywhere. He's too well known. At least here opinion is fairly evenly split, so there's a chance that a fair verdict will come down, or at least be fairly reached." The reached the brightly lit saloon with quiet music floating toward the door.Kate states, "On to more pleasant things. I hope to see Evan Adair crying in his drink inside." Edwin says, "As would I, he and Conrad were at the same table together from noon until 8:00 PM yesterday and he took my brother for several hundred dollars." Kate looked up at Conrad who had been quiet on the walk over. "I would guess Adair was doing some cheating; we just couldn't catch him at it." She laughed suddenly. "Adair offered me work once. I believe I responded by throwing my drink in his face." Conrad says, "I doubt he was cheating, he doesn't need to, he plays poker very well. But you are both right, I would shed no tears to seeing him lose."They arrive back at the Lucky Lady at around 9:00 PM and see that the games have now been consolidated down to two tables with four players each and that Adair is indeed loosing. By this point in time at the Van Horne table, Adair continues to lose hand-after-hand. Jake notes that Adair keeps giving Van Horne an icy stare as he loses $ 1500 in the 45-minute period. Ivers wins just enough to keep her in the game and by 9:45 is down to her last $ 200. The winnings are rather evenly divided at that table between Hawkes and Maverick. At the Stevens table Cook and Masterson continue to win most of the hands with Duvall doing the worst.Kate says, "I'm not sure how needed I am here," Kate said, seeing things were well in hand and none of her other friends there at the moment. "I'm glad to see Jake has a sizeable pile. I'd like to see how everything comes out, but from the looks of things that might be almost morning and I'm going to have to sleep tonight. Well, it's still early. No hurry to be home to bed yet, I suppose."Conrad, Edwin and Kate get some food and beverages and spend the next fifteen minutes chatting and keeping an eye on the games taking place. Roosevelt stops in to join them after a while and says that he had a nice chat with the Judge's assistant Tomlinson who assures him that Judge Isby is a far man who will do his best to ensure that Earp gets as fair a trial as possible. Kate says, "Judge Isby is known for his fair-mindedness; he will do everything in his power to make sure the trial is fair. I'm still nervous about having so many strangers in town. With so much happening at once it's almost guaranteed that something will go wrong."The game continues to be played at the minimum ante. From 9:00 to 9:45 PM Cook is up another $ 200, Masterson is up $ 600, Enion is down $ 200 and Duvall is down $ 600. OverEnion has won three hands and is up by around $ 1000, Cook and Masterson have each won two hands but are each only up $ 200 due to their losses to Enion, Duvall hasn't won any and is now down $ 1400 from when he started. Similar play has taken place over at the Van Horne Table with Maverick now up around a thousand, Hawkes up a little, Ivers down a little and Adair down $ 800. Jake continues to focus on playing well to build his stack and learning his opponents. He does not attempt to sway the game in any other special way at the moment.The game at Steven's table is far too tame for Jake to accumulate the stack he is going to need. He increases the betting to move the action along. Job Kane has been spending the last two hours at the Lucky Lady getting some food and drink and then making the rounds, greeting the various spectators and thanking all newcomers for their patronage. At a quarter to ten he stops by Van Horne's table and comments, "You still have all eight, looks like it may be awhile until three drop off." Van Horne replies, "Indeed, I probably won't be needing your services any time soon. Why don't you go home and get some sleep, I'll send somebody over if we need you." "Alright then," Job replies and then heads out.At around 10:00 PM Edwin Booth says he should call it a night if they wish to attend the trial in the morning. Roosevelt agrees. Conrad offers to walk Kate back to her home. "Thank you, I'll just be a moment." Kate stopped over at the bar and told Harry to send someone if she was needed, then went back to Conrad. "Alright, my dear. It's been a long day." As he walks her back Conrad says, "A long day but a good day. I think that Emery Shaw did well for himself tonight. He also probably helped Deputy Martin's chances too, that young man is too soft spoken, never takes the credit for himself when he should."Kate says, "You're right about that. Part of it is modesty, but part of it is also that his skill involves knowing about and dealing with things that others won't. Would anyone else know about monsters in the night and how criminals can use magic to hide themselves. It's going to cause trouble between himself and Clarisse someday, I suspect." Conrad says, "Fear not about their relationship, you have your own relationships to deal with. I have continued to hear rumors that Emery Shaw plans to ask you to be his bride."With a wink he then lightheartedly adds, "Please be sure to inform me when you decide to accept his proposal, in order to give me sufficient time find an appropriate wedding present." "I don't know where these rumors get started," she laughed. "Well, I can imagine where that one did, since I had to visit him at the boarding house once or twice and Beatrice Russell has an active imagination. I'm not ready to be married again just yet, and Emery Shaw is not the leading candidate for my hand." She walked a little closer. "You don't really hear such rumors, do you?"He replies, "Of course I hear them, I keep my eyes and ears open. I had heard about Frank Condon's engagement yesterday, even before the young women knew about it, but kept quiet as I felt the fewer people who knew before her the better." Kate says, "Then what you knew was that he intended to ask her. I wonder if he'll have a large wedding like Rufus and Anita did, or if it will be small. I know you hear all the rumors, I just didn't realize there was a general rumor about Emery Shaw's intentions toward marriage."Conrad says, "Bea has a lot of friends. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, as back when Priestess Florencia was living there Mrs. Russell managed to quell a lot of the negative rumors regarding her relationship with your ranch co-owner Nanuet.” Kate says, "Well, if Bea is the source of that rumor I know I don't have anything to worry about. Beside, any interest he has in me should clear up in another month or so when certain facts become obvious."She turned more serious and sighed. "I worry for Minerva a bit. Nanuet seems to have disappeared and I imagine it's worse for her than if he'd never come back at all. We may someday have to figure out what to do about a partner who is no longer here." Conrad replies "Mother Jiminez believes that he is in the mountains receiving clerical training from the Apache shaman." Kate says, "That's a relief to hear, but I get the feeling that we will see very little of him from now on. Everyone seems to be slipping away."A moment of melancholy crossed her face. "My own training has been sadly neglected lately, and it's my own fault. I have made myself too busy and left no time for my grandfather. I feel I've given away so much there is nothing left for myself." Conrad replies, "You shouldn't worry too much about Mr. Gonzales, he has been keeping very busy himself the last few days working security at the Lucky Lady. That you haven't recognized him shows that he's done a good job, in fact I think that only myself and Ginnie have figured out any of his disguises."Kate looked downcast. "That only shows how far behind I have gotten. I never could see through the disguises. Ruby could, she could just sense things. But I'm sure Grandfather has been entertained. He always has something up his sleeve." Conrad says, "More a case of making sure something isn't up anybody else's sleeve. When Jefferson Soapy Smith was caught it was Gonzales who identified the cheater to the other security men." Kate asks, “So who has he been?" she asked. "I'm afraid my eyes have been too full of one man to notice another." Conrad replies, "I recognized him as a young human cowboy and also as an older human woman. There may have been others too."Kate chuckled. "I'll have to talk to him about it this week sometime. I'm sure he'll be glad to tell me all about how clever he was. Conrad, there's something I wanted to tell you about last night but with your brother there I couldn't. You remember Mr. Franklin? We discovered yesterday that he was a vampire. Last night after the tournament closed we took care of the problem. I stayed with Jeff Mills, mostly away from the creature, but I wanted to tell you that it happened. I wouldn't want you to find out about it later and think I was keeping it from you."Conrad says, "Franklin was another of those? Something struck me as odd about him but I wouldn't have suspected that. I am glad that you are safe. Next time please find a way to tell me earlier." Kate states, "I hope there won't be a next time, I don't want to be facing down these creatures anymore." She paused. "If you're angry please say so. I know I asked you to let me make my own choices, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't tell me exactly what you think of them. I should have pulled you aside last night and told you, maybe you'd have brought me to my senses."He replies, "No, I am not angry, I have had too good a weekend to be angry about anything." She says, "I will gratefully accept the reprieve. Edwin seems to have lost his reservations about you." Conrad says, "Yes, a truly positive outcome! As a brother he appears to be far more open to me than I believe he ever would have been as a father. I had no ulterior motives about wanting his fortune, but I don't know if he ever would have believed it. Now, I have no claim to his fortune, so that isn't an issue."Kate states, "Even if he had been convinces, there would have been matters of guilty feelings over not being there for you. The issue of your mother and perhaps seeing her again. You're a grown man and he would never be able to make up for not being a father, but the relationships between brothers, those are different. Brothers can be friends without those issues between them." Conrad says, "Indeed. Well darling, it is late and you should be getting off to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow, myself as well if I am one of the unfortunate souls whose name is drawn for that jury."She says, "I would think they would disqualify anyone so closely connected with me after Wyatt Earp saved Henry's life in Tombstone, you especially since you were with him. I certainly would not be allowed to sit on that jury, and I'm relieved. I should go inside and spend some time with Janet. She's leaving in the morning so Ginnie and I will be all alone again. I still want to know what transition Mrs. Eaton wanted her to help me with." They reached the back door of the house and Kate slipped her arms around Conrad's waist. "I'll see you early tomorrow morning then?" “Yes,” he replies. A long kiss follows and then Conrad departs.</blockquote>

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