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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2946806" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 144, “The Merchant’s Association”, Thursday, March 23rd , 1882:Ruby watches Minerva sprint from her room as she shakes her head. Why is everyone always in such a rush around here? Ruby sits in the big chair by the window and pulls her leg up underneath her. Let's see... lunch, jewelry shopping, what other trouble can I get into today? I haven't had a chance to talk to Kate in a while, maybe a visit to the El Parador. Ruby glances around the room, full of red flowers. And today I think I'll wear flowers in my hair. Nanuet had been outside training the puppies when he saw Minerva leave. Jake is at that meeting, now would be a good time to work on my surprise with Ruby!. Nanuet finishes with the dogs and is sure to find them some choice scraps from the kitchen as a reward. He cleans himself up and then makes his way upstairs and knocks on Ruby's door. Ruby’s thoughts are then interrupted by a knock.  "Miss Ruby, I know you are not sleeping this late! I spent the morning working with your pups, now time for you to help me."  She smiles and opens the door. The puppies run in and start jumping on her. She picks up Lucky and cuddles with her, rubbing her nose on the pup's wet nose. "I missed you too!" She turns to Nanuet. "Come on in."Nanuet spends some time with Ruby working in secret on what they had discussed the previous evening. After some time Ruby reminds Nanuet that she has to get ready for a lunch engagement, he thanks her for her time and takes his leave of her. He makes his way to the Promise City hotel to make arrangements for dinner. "Yes, that is a table for two, we'll be sure to be dressed appropriately. Thanks again!" He then makes his way to the Comstock house in search of Minerva. "Hello Bea, would the Priestess Minerva happen to be in?"  Bea, responds that she believes that Minerva is out back practicing. "She certainly has been spending a lot of time swinging that sword of hers. So much pent up energy. That girl never sits still." she says shaking her head.Bea shows Nanuet the way to the back yard where Minerva can be found practicing. "Thank you kindly ma'am. I also wanted to let you know that I enjoyed the food you packed for the Priestess the other night, it was delicious." "Oh, you're too kind!" Bea exclaimed, blushing slightly. "Well I have work to attend to." she says as she shuffles off. Nanuet finds a place where he can watch Minerva while remaining concealed. He studies her form closely, almost like a large cat on the hunt, studying his prey. Her hair, damp with perspiration clung to her smooth skin in dark ringlets. Her graceful form moved back and forth as she swung her rapier at an unseen foe. The gown that she wore hid her slender figure but Nanuet was almost glad for that. Nanuet could feel something moving within his spirit. He fought back the desire to run to her and sweep her up in his arms. Slowly and quietly he made his way into the yard trying to not disturb her practice. He got as close as could and still remain safe from the blade of the rapier before he spoke. "One of these days you are going to hurt someone with that thing." he says loudly, startling the young maiden. "And with the skill you display I can only hope it will not be me!"  Minerva lowered her blade and turned to see the dark eyed Indian grinning at her. Hiding her nervousness she turned and with an exaggerated swing of her hips sauntered over and stood before him. He could not help but notice the way her lightly labored breathing caused her breasts to rise and fall over the scoop neck of her blouse, or the light sheen of sweat which covered her exposed skin. Standing close she grinned and wickedly replied, "Si Senor, one can only hope." And laughing she wiped the sweat from her brow on the sleeve of her blouse.  “This is a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the honor of your presence on this fine afternoon?""Well I am glad to know that my presence pleases you." Nanuet says with a wink. He then clears his throat and in his best impression of a formal voice he states "I had enjoyed your company so much the other night when we chaperoned Chester and Clarisse that I wanted to invite you to dinner again this evening, just the two of us. If you would be so kind to accompany me I have made a 6:30 reservation at the finest restaurant in town."Nanuet's invitation and bold wink take Minerva by surprise and she looks at him blankly, "Dinner? You want to go to dinner. At the finest restaurant in town... "  "Yes, Senorita, Dinner. Tonight at 6:30. Is that agreeable with you?!" he replies, inwardly smiling that he has set her off balance. "OH! Why Si, Senor, That would be lovely." She looks down at her disheveled appearance and back up at the amused look on Nanuet's face. "Well then, I think that perhaps, I should freshen up before this evening. It would not do to appear at the best restaurant in town dressed as I am. If you will excuse me, Senor I shall be ready promptly at 6:30." she says and regally walks out of the yard. She strolls around the corner and checks to be sure that he can't see her and then bolts back to the Lucky Lady to find Ruby for the second time in less than a few hours.After Nanuet left Ruby starts preparing for lunch. I wonder what Jake is up to after that meeting? It must be over by now. she thinks as she selects her clothes for the day. She chooses a ruby red dress with black lacing to match her red flowers. She carefully dresses and places three large red blossoms in her hair. She picks up her single red rose from the goddess and puts it to her nose. Even though it is now covered with the glittery substance she can still smell it. Already you set me to work, she laughs to herself, Helping my friends find their love and happiness. Shaking her fiery red hair around her, And my greatest challenge is to be my own. She sighs and places it back on the table.  Fingering her earrings she heads for the door when she is again interrupted by a knock.  Minerva had run up the stairs to Ruby's room and knocks frantically on the door. "Hold your horses, I'm coming," Ruby says and pulls the door open. Minerva enters without waiting to be invited in. "Senor Nanuet has asked me to dinner! I do not know what to do. Not that I think that he would be anything less than proper, he treats me like his sister. I attempted to gain his attentions with my attire the last time that we dined but apparently he did not notice. Por Favor, Ruby. Show me what to do so that he will notice that I am a woman. I don't even know how to kiss a man!" She says in a panic. Ruby laughs, shaking her head. “Alright, come in, come in.” She guides the jittery Minerva back into her room. “I hope you at least accepted his dinner invitation!” she laughs. “I will help you dress tonight for dinner.” She looks Minerva up and down. Almost the same height and build, she notes. She goes to her closet and pulls out her used to be favorite dress, the red one. “You will wear this gown, you will look like the beautiful and exotic Spanish flower that you are. And believe me, there will be no way he won’t notice you are a woman! Of course, when you wear this dress you’ll be showing off some of your most womanly assets, this is no time to be shy,” Ruby smiles knowingly. “I wore this dress on my first date with Jake.” “Now, how to kiss a man, well… there are lots of different ways. But in your case, I think the best thing to do is make him come to you, but let him know you are willing. So what you do is this.” She takes Minerva’s arms gently and stands her straight. “Now I’m you, ok?” She stands next to Minerva and flips her hair, pushing it off her face. “You must have a look in your eyes that show you want the kiss, so make eye contact but don’t stare too hard or he’ll get scared. It helps if you bat your eyelashes a bit, you know, look up at him. Then you lean in slowly,” Ruby starts to lean in, “And make your lips look nice and kissable like this,” Ruby parts her lips slightly, “And only go most of the way. Stop about here,” Ruby is only inches from Minerva’s face, “And then close your eyes and wait. There is NO question that he will come to you. And then,” Ruby hugs her friend, “The sweetest reward will be yours.” "Like this?" Minerva says puckering her lips in the mirror.  "No, no, not so obvious! Look, watch me," laughs Ruby and demonstrates in the mirror. "See, soft and subtle like this. Just part them slightly." Minerva observes Ruby. “Well you certainly do that well, but what if he doesn't respond? I will look foolish standing there with my lips jutting out like a fish!" She says and puckers her lips in an exaggerated kiss.  “He will respond, trust me. After all, you are a beautiful woman and men cannot resist our charms!” Ruby and Minerva spend some time together in front of the mirror practicing, puckering their lips, making ‘come hither’ eyes and romancing the pillows until they both dissolve in a fit of giggles. Kate began her morning two hours earlier with a large breakfast provided by Dorita and some letter writing. The letter Maggie sent to Jake had reminded her that she still had not written Maggie herself. She wrote a nice chatty letter, leaving out most of the danger they were currently in.  She had woken early, and as she was finishing up she noticed Pedro getting ready to leave. She heard him mention a Merchant's Association meeting and approached him. "Would you mind if I went with you? I'm going to have to join the Association soon, I'd like to see what it's about."Pedro tells Kate "You are welcome to attend. Non-members are always free to sit in, although they cannot address the group unless first recognized by the chairman. I would be happy to have your company. Only two of the fifty-five or so members are non-human, myself and Mr. Wong, and I always feel somewhat out of place there."Jake has found a seat beside Niles Hoover. The Town Hall is packed, with Hoover commenting that the only time more people were ever there was during Minerva's first worship service. Burton Lumley is holding a clipboard and checking off names. When nearly every seat borrowed from the Comique, Lucky Lady and Alhambra are filled Bill Watkins grabs a few men to go get more from the Great Western. They soon return with the chairs. Niles comments to Burton when he walks by, "Full house, huh?" Lumley replies, yeah, what with all the spectators. He gestures to the side wall where twenty-five filled chairs for non-members sit. Jake recognizes Stanley Barker, Chumbley, Melissa Smith, bank teller and Vigilance Committee Member Derrik Avery, Deputy Sheriff Colin Hunter, rancher Forest Morand, Postmaster Eddie Palmer and mine owner Elton Hubbard among those seated to observe. Among the observers are a blond woman dressed in Indian garb, a half-orc wearing oriental armor and two armed men dressed in cowboy garb. Niles asks "Who we waiting for?" Lumley replies "Only ones missing are that wood elf Pedro and Ike Sherman from the Papago Cash Store. Ike's not in town right now but his wife Jesse is sitting over with the audience to watch. She asked to vote for him but our bylaws don't allow that." Chester helps bring over chairs from the Lucky Lady to the Town Hall. Then he leans against the door frame. Eduardo figured that Chester had pulled guard duty before in the service, so he'd be well-suited for keeping a watch for trouble outside the Merchants Association meeting. He holds his rifle in his right hand casually and thinks “I wonder what they're talking about in there“.Pedro arrives, accompanied by Kate. He takes one of two remaining seats in the members area and she finds her way over to the audience, sitting in one of two empty chairs, which are on either side of Chumbley.  "Good morning, Mr. Chumbley," Kate said quietly. "Hard at work already, I see. Are these meetings always so crowded?" "No, never" he replies.Burton heads up to the podium to start the meeting.  The meeting begins with Lumley striking the gavel against the podium to silence all conversation in the room. He begins "The first item is to introduce the Association to two new members, who I ask to stand when your name is called. The first is Colonel Michael Seawell, who is the Managing Director of the Seawell-Morand Mining Company. They have established offices in the building that formally housed Bauer's Union Market. The second new member replaces Parker Baxter of the Promise City Herald, namely the owner and publisher of the town’s new paper, the Promise City Mirror, Mr. Josiah Arcadiam. Would both of the new members please stand. As Arcadiam stands a number of people point and say "Arcade!" Others point to the two cowboys seated with the woman in Indian garb and the half-orc and comment about them being Arcade's Gang. The looks on the faces of the five Vigilance Committee Members show their displeasure to this turn of events. Lumley pounds the gavel and says, "All right. Let's get right o it. Most of you have either read the newspaper or heard the rumor that our Town Marshall Wyatt Earp will not be returning. Neither will his brother, Deputy Marshall Warren Earp. Our representatives went to Tombstone and the Earps turned in their badges." Lumley holds up the two metal circles, each with a star in the center. Some muffled comments fill the room. He continues "So the only items of business on today's agenda will be the appointment of two new lawmen." A short debate follows as to the need for a total of four. Adair states "We should get rid of that wood elf. He doesn't even carry a gun. The only reason that he hasn't been killed by somebody yet was that he was a friend of Wyatt Earp." Neil Cassidy says, "I've dined with Mr. Rodriguez and have gotten to know him. He prefers to use knives to handguns, but is also proficient in using a rifle. He has also done a commendable job as Deputy Marshall." Adair says, "Figures you'd defend him, elf lover." Lumley pounds the gavel to call the room back to order. Lumley says, "This Association has appointed both Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Martin as Deputy Marshals and we need to retain them." Mitchell Berg says, "In order to maintain continuity with this change in lawmen I make a motion that both current Deputy Marshals retain their present position for a period of not less than least three-months." Cole Rixton seconds the motion. A short debate follows, with Frank Condon objecting to making any long-term commitments, stating that the new Marshall should have the authority to hire and fire his deputies. Fisk agrees with Condon, but his saying that appears to hurt rather than help that position. Lumley calls for the vote.  The vote passes by a vote of 33 to 21. The discussion then turns to the appointment of a new Town Marshall. A long debate follows about the type of person to find, with the crowd evenly divided between hiring an experience lawman or appointing a town resident. Sam Slade suggests "Let's do both and hire Colin Hunter." Lumley asks Hunter if he would be interested in the position. The Deputy Sheriff declines, saying that for the time being he is content with his present job, given the undefined jurisdiction of the Marshall's job. But he does add "However, if this town ever decides to incorporate I might be interested in running for the position." Hamilton Fisk then says, "If it is a present Deputy Sheriff that we are looking to hire then another one of Sheriff Behan's men would be a good choice. He has a Deputy by the name of Buckskin Frank Leslie who I believe might be interested." This leads to considerable side conversations in the room, as Leslie's reputation is well know in this county. Chumbley mutters "Maybe I should have stayed in Tombstone. If they hire him I'm out of here."   “"I might consider going with you. He can't seriously think that would pass. Mr. Fisk is a snake, but I never thought he was stupid. He's showing his unsavory connections," Kate whispered back.Porter Norris of the Indian Head Saloon seconds Fisk's nomination of Leslie. A debate follows during which Leslie's history is discussed. Chumbley is called upon to confirm or deny some of the rumors about Leslie.   The halfling says "While Leslie is probably the fastest gun in the county, could have given Deadeye Douglas a run for his money, he has a quick temper and doesn't answer well to authority figures. He has a reputation for spending time with loose women, even during his previous marriage to a woman whose husband Leslie killed when he caught them having an affair. He works as a bartender and is known to drink to excess." The Vigilance Committee Members all express their dissatisfaction over this nomination and several townspeople are swayed. The vote isn't even close, coming out a lopsided 7 in favor, 36 against and 11 abstentions.   Frank Condon then stands and nominates Bill Watkins. Zeb Cook immediately seconds that nomination. Watkins stands and begins to outline all that he will do for the town as Marshall in what sounds more like an acceptance speech than a nomination.Kate clenched her hands around her handbag. Much as Mr. Watkins was a decent man, voting him in would be voting the Vigilance Committee into power. And if they were too morally strict for her.... Leslie might have been better.Jake asks Lumley to be recognized. "Bill is a fine man and an outstanding citizen. However, he doesn't have the experience necessary for the job, and there is the conflict of interest between the Vigilance Committee and being the law enforcer of the town. This country was built on the separation of church and state. Both are important for the well being of the community, and the separation of those are also crucial to it's well being. I won't pretend to be able to speak with eloquence on the topic, but neither will I challenge the wisdom of the founding fathers on it." Jake moves his gaze around the room as if to look for someone with more wisdom than the founding fathers before continuing. "Why don't we consider promoting Chester Martin to the position, this group already decided he was the next best choice for Deputy. He has proven he is not afraid of the Cowboy gang, I nominate him."Doctor Eaton says "Point of Order. Mr. Chairman, a motion is currently on the floor for a vote on Mr. Watkins. A second motion cannot be entertained until that vote is cast." Lumley says, "You are correct sir. I believe that we should hear any further discussion on Mr. Watkin's qualifications." Several more people then speak, all in favor, praising Bill Watkins for his contributions to the town.  Hamilton Fisk then stands and says "Are you people crazy? There was a shooting incident last Sunday. The shooters fired from inside Mr. Watkins boarding house while he was there! He can't even police his own business let alone the town!" The familiar voice of Judge Nathan Isby then speaks from the back door, stating "I believe that I can shed some more light on that subject. I am not a resident of your town but if the Chair would be kind enough to recognize me I believe I can be of assistance."  Lumley immediately recognizes the Judge, who walks toward the front of the room. Isby calls Bill Watkins forward and hands him a round iron ring with three keys on it and says "Is this yours?" Watkins says, "No, I do not believe so." Isby then calls Lincoln Hood, the town's locksmith forward and says, "Mr. Hood, we spoke last night. Could you please tell the Association about these keys?" Hood says, "Yes, I made these last week for Kirby Watkins, he said that his father asked for them to be made." Bill Watkins looks dumbfounded. Isby asks, "Mr. Watkins, where is your son now?" Watkins replies, "Away, doing some business for me in Tucson." Isby says "No Sir, he is not. Mr. Watkins, my suggestion is that you withdraw your name from nomination, as you now have family matters to attend to instead which should require your immediate attention. Your son Kirby is currently being held at the Willcox Jail. I have a confession from him that he provided these keys to Mr. Pony Deal. These keys are to the Great Western Boarding House's back door and the rooms that belonged to the Earps. He was unaware of what Deal had intended and I have not charged him with any crime. I have asked the Deputy Sheriff in Willcox to release the boy to you." Watkins withdraws his name from nomination. Lumley takes up Cook's motion which is seconded by Cole Rixton. Frank Condon then stands and says, "Mr. Cook. I believe that your nomination contradicts an earlier vote, where this body decided that Mr. Martin should serve for three months in the capacity of Deputy Marshall. As you know, Mr. Martin worked for me as a guard, he has both his strengths and weaknesses. While I could speak to these issues I would prefer to keep my thoughts to myself. So as not to contradict our earlier vote perhaps you would wish to withdraw your nomination instead?""We all have our strengths and weaknesses sir, and there are many stories to tell." Jake locks his gaze with Condon. "If the chairman would allow me, I rescind my nomination at this time to allow for other nominations to be made. However, I reserve the right place the nomination on the floor again for a vote if another suitable candidate is not found. Like all of you, I am anxious to keep the town safe and prosperous."</blockquote>

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