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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2023285" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 89  “Baths and Bullies”, January 10th, 1882:When they arrive at the El Parador Ruby says to Kate, "I'll go grab my pants and meet you in your room." Ruby runs back to her room and grabs the leather pants and the green dress. She gets to Kate's room and tries the door as she says, "Kate, it's me..." The door is open and Ruby enters. Kate gives her a quizzical look and Ruby smiles. "So I told you I went shopping today? Jake was there and he told Mr. Lacey to get me the most alluring dress he had, in green preferably. So Mr. Lacey came out with this dress." Ruby takes the dress out of the box and puts it on Katherine's bed. "And I just love the color. But as you can see this isn't exactly my style, so I figured I would take it to the tailor. But when I got there the lady laughed at me when I told her all the alterations I wanted and she showed me her selection of dresses, which was just amazing and much more my style. So I was going to have this one altered anyway but then I realized something," she pauses to look at Kate, "This dress would be absolutely stunning on you and so I'm giving it to you." "Ruby, it's lovely," Katherine answered, trailing her hand along the fabric. "Thank you. But are you sure Jake won't mind? He didn't intend to buy me a gift, after all." "It's not from Jake, it's from me. I'll give him his change, after all he only bought a shirt. I intended to anyway." But come on try it on, I want to see how the color will look on you. Then we can take it to the tailors after we soak." Kate hesitated for a moment, shy about changing her clothes in front of Ruby. Changing out of her riding clothes would leave her no coverage whatsoever. But the allure of a new gown won her over, and she quickly began to change. "I took that box of jewels to Mr. Gonzales," she said as she pulled a clean shift over her head. "We discovered something very interesting. The elf who owned those jewels is on his way here, to the El Parador. He should arrive tomorrow. President de Sucre. His face is on some of those foreign bills we found from 1826. Mr. Gonzales was shocked, to say the least." "How does Mr. Gonzales know he's coming here?" Ruby asked with a frown. "And why would he be coming here to Promise City?" Ruby completely ignores Katherine's discomfort and helps her with the dress pulling at it here and there. "Wow Kate, take a look, I was right..." Ruby pulls Kate over to the mirror, standing behind her. "He used a spell to locate the owner of the box and his destination. It'll be a relief to return it. I haven't felt right having it." Kate looked in the mirror. The color certainly did flatter her, but without a full-length mirror it was hard to tell. "It will need some alterations, I think it's a little too big." "It will look better once we bring it to Mary Kelly. I'm sure you're used to having your clothes fit right anyway. A spell, huh? That is interesting, I didn't know there was a spell to do that. Anyway, are you ready? Let's go get these pants to fit," Ruby says smiling. She was glad to be going out and to put off seeing Mr. Gonzales for a couple more hours. A lot of her energy today had gone to avoiding thinking about this mornings adventure and the men who hadn't lived through it. Kate quickly changed back into the gray dress and carefully folded the teal back into its box. "I could use a bath."Katherine, Ruby and Sonoma, who had returned by the time they were leaving, made their way to Gilson's bathhouse. A few minutes later they were soaking, Ruby for the second time that day. This time, she was still wearing clothes, soaking in her newly acquired leather pants in an effort to shrink them to conform to her shape.  Kate paid the extra money to have good soap and a scented bath and sank in gratefully. Each day seemed busier than the last, and the bath was a refuge in some ways. Unfortunately, it allowed her to think about the ride out with the miners this morning. Before this, magic had been a wondrous thing. And it still was, but to have used it to kill a man gave her chills. To have killed a man at all made her sick to her stomach and gnawed at her mind. Many people found solace and forgiveness in their gods, but Katherine had not followed any god since she was a small child. She grabbed the washcloth and began to scrub.  Sonoma was quietly taking her bath, listening to Ruby and Kate's conversation.Katherine is surprised to hear Maggie Whipple's voice speak from the other side of the doorway to the bathhouse room she is in "Katherine, Ruby, are you in there?" "Yes we are Maggie."  Ruby was guessing Maggie was here to discuss her new "profession." Maggie's voice exclaims in a somewhat excited voice, "I thought I saw you come in here! Please see me when you're finished up. I'll wait for you out back." Ruby says, "Maggie, I have to stay in here for an hour... why don't you just come in?"Maggie comes into the room with Ruby. She seems a bit startled and says "I think you forgot to take off your pants."  She then leans close to Ruby's ear and whispers "Wonderful news. Tom and Flossie are engaged!" She then says a little louder "Where's Katherine, I want to tell her too." Ruby laughs. "I didn't forget, Maggie. I'm, uh, fitting them. But I wouldn't suppose you would know anything about that."  "Now, Kate is right over there, so tell us, what happened with Tom and Flossie? That's wonderful news!""I'm here Maggie, what is it? Do you need something?" Kate leaned over and began to pull a towel over to cover herself. "Sshhh" Maggie whispers to Ruby "Not so loud. Laurie Gilson is in the front room and I don't want her to hear. It was actually Katherine's idea, sort of. She commented about Flossie needing a friend, which got me thinking. I saw her rent a buggy at Drover's Livery and knew where she used to go to think when she got upset. So I tracked down Tom and told him to borrow a horse and ride out there. He came back an hour later engaged. Oh, I have to tell Katherine. I'll see you tonight at the Saloon."  She hurries out of the room and barges into the room where Katherine is soaking in the tub.Kate grabbed the towel and pulled it over herself as her face slowly turned crimson. "Maggie!" Then she got a good look at her friend's face. "What's happened? You look wonderful." "Yeah but..." Maggie hurries out of the room before Ruby can finish asking her question about how they are going to deal with the whole Tom and Maggie being married situation. “Oh Katherine, I’ve never seen my brother happier. He proposed marriage to Flossie and she accepted. Tom feels that he can now show father that he can now stand on his own in that our Lone Star is successful. Tom’s idea is that he and Flossie will return with father to Denver. He will ask Cousin Teddy to stay on and take over his share of the Lone Star here in Promise City and Teddy’s girl Alexis could replace Flossie over at the Comique. Alexis is one of the top performers at Father’s Lone Star in Denver. Once they’re gone I’ll then be able to petition Judge Isby for a divorce on the grounds that Tom abandoned me.” Kate exclaims, :Maggie, that's wonderful news! And you look happy too. I'd hug you if I weren't soaking wet. Do you think your father will approve?"Maggie whispers back "Sshhh, keep your voice down. We don't want Laurie Gilson to hear. I don't know if father will approve or not but we'll know soon enough. The stage from Tombstone should be arriving in an hour or two and I expect him to be on it." "Oh, I'm sorry. What's your father like Maggie? The only thing I know is that he wanted you to keep lying, and I'm guessing that's not all there is about him. But we'll meet him tonight, hmm?" Maggie says that her father is "a force to be reckoned with" but that he is a "good and deeply religious man". "I'm occasionally a force to be reckoned with myself. He might not be very fond of me though. I haven't been to church since my wedding. And before that not since I was, oh, about five years old. Maybe we should keep that to ourselves." Ruby whines from the other bath "Kate... is an hour up yet?" "Nearly Ruby. About another ten minutes!" she replies. Once the ten minutes have passed Kate lets Ruby know time is up and Maggie brings her a dry towel before leaving. Kate leaves her wet hair down to dry and a few minutes later she and Ruby are on their way to Mary Kelly's and Sonoma is returning to the El Parador. Neither Ruby or Kate mentioned their talk with Maggie to Sonoma but they both realized it would have been possible for her to hear the news.Jake walks over to the Marshall's office, stops in the doorway and looks inside. Jake sees that Wyatt Earp is inside, with a prisoner in each cell. Wyatt appears to be reading a book. Jake raps on the doorframe. "Sorry to interrupt your reading', I was just wondering how Morgan was doing." Wyatt says "Pretty good. He's had a very busy day that started rather early, so I sent him home to rest. I want to thank you and your friends for what you did for him Mr. Cook. The doctor said he had received some sort of priestly healing long before he ever got to town, otherwise he would not have survived.  I'm also not sure how you managed to get the stage to town without horses, and suspect that wizard magic was somehow involved. Given what you did for my brother I've decided to not investigate that any further. But be careful in the future, most folks around here are not as lenient about the use of wizard magics as I am."Heh," Jake laughs, "It wasn't any wizard magic, but thanks for that consideration. I got a rifle barrel that got bent like a mesquite branch steering the undercarriage. As much as I'm a bit shy o' wizardry seems that would have been safer than what we did. I'll show you the gun if you don't believe me." Jake looks along the front porch to make certain no one is coming up on him and then says to Wyatt, "Can we talk confidentially?""Not with them listening" Wyatt says, gesturing to the two prisoners. "Let's take a walk outside." Wyatt and Jake leave, and he locks the door to the Marshall's Office behind him. They start to walk north on Fremont Street and then east along Main. Wyatt stops at the corral fence to the Bar "H' Stables, where the horse sounds obscure their conversation."I have no doubts that you and Morgan will be doing what you can to set things aright with those who shot him. I'm just wondering if I have any information that may be helpful, or might be able to offer any help doing things that might be a bit unseemly for a Marshall to do. I got a business venture at stake, not to mention I don't want end my career any time soon with a spot on boot hill." Jake looks him straight in the eye and lies. "Or I'll mind my business if you think that is best"Wyatt Earp laughs "Unseemly for a Marshall! Mr. Cook, those outlaws shot a lawman. There's nothing I could do to them that Judge Isby wouldn't consider justified.  As for information, Morgan thought he heard somebody say something about Billy Claibourne. I've suspected him and the Clanton Clan to be part of the Cowboy gang for a while now but haven't been able to prove. Any information you have about that would be appreciated.""Did you talk to the Cartwrights or their friends after the rustler incident a few days back? I understand that Billy Claibourne was there and got away, as well as guy named Dell." Jake continues. "And the attempted stagecoach robbery Sunday, hard to say conclusively but men who were dressed similarly to Frank Leslie, Billy Claibourne and that Dell guy were seen with bandanas over their faces. And one of the ladies saw Billy Claibourne among the outlaws today." Earp thanks Jake for the information. "One more thing." Jake asks Wyatt before they head back. "Morand and some of the others felt setup. If that was the case, then your brother and the rest of us walked into a trap, not just outlaws preying on travelers. You buy into that?" Earp replies "Not yet, but I'll talk to Morand about it." Earp heads back to his office.Jake heads over to the Cantina and out back to the wagon full of ore just to check on things The ore wagon is fine. The workers at Brown's IceHouse have been alternating guarding the wagon along with the El Parador's handyman Grant Keebler. Keebler had tossed some buckets, a stepladder and some other assorted odds and ends on top of the tarp to keep people from thinking that the wagon contained anything of value. As Chester is making his way across town he almost collides with the half-ogre cavalry Sargent. The ogre pushes him back with both hands and says "Outta my way you Army deserter." Chester shoots back in Giant, "Are you going to believe Gamble? If that's true, why didn't he arrest me we you saw me, then. I got my discharge fair and square. How's it feel serving under a man who enjoys killing, sergeant? I got so disgusted by it that, yes, I left the service. What're going to do about that?" The half-ogre pushes Chester back again and calls him a coward.The half-ogre counters "So you admit that you don't have the stomach for soldiering. Gamble is a great man. You were in the Army and now you're not, I don't care what is says on your papers, I call you a deserter. Gamble told you to get out of town. You should.”  Chester answers, “Bah! Gamble's a bully. If that's who you consider a great mna, I'm glad I got out when I did. I can go anywhere I want. Instead of hassling me, you should look into bandits on the roads around here. The hills are just crawling wit' them." Chester snaps off a perfect salute, then shoulders past the half-ogre.Jake heads over in the direction of Berg's and encounters Chester along the way in some sort of a standoff with the half-ogre soldier. Chester gives the ogre a salute and walks away, only to be shoved from behind by the brute.</blockquote>

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