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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3166495" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 191, “The Chase”, Monday, March 27th, 1882, 12:00 PM Conrad Booth asked Katherine Kale “Will you consent to being my wife?"   The glass fell from Kate's hand and landed sideways on the makeshift table. "Oh," Kate said, taking her napkin and sopping up the spilled wine. "I'm sorry. I...." She twisted her hands for a moment before she looked back at him. "That is a very generous offer, Conrad. But you must think very carefully about what you've just asked me. We haven't known one another long. I would be with you every morning when you woke, and every night when you went to sleep. And the days in between. You would suddenly have a daughter to raise and a baby on the way. Your life would be very different, and you might find yourself wishing you had not asked in a few months."He states, "Kate, you do not understand. While I would very much like to make a life with you I know that you are not ready. You were not ready to start again when it had been nine months since you last saw your husband, now it has only been nine days.   I am suggesting that we marry now, or rather this weekend at the festival, while your pregnancy is in its very early stages. Mother Jimenez feels that your pregnancy will go full term. She says that doesn't happen often around here, that births after eight months are not unusual. Nobody would ever suspect, especially if the Priestess should say a blessing in the ceremony for children. Kate, this would be the best for everyone. If you would like, you could even file for divorce in a month or two. I have no doubt that we could devise a story where Judge Isby would consider me not worthy of you, given my reputation as a dishonest gambler, and grant it to you. This would be the best thing for both you and your son."   Kate looked at him with tears quivering in her eyes. "You would do all this just to protect my reputation? Perhaps it would be best for my son, maybe even for me, but is it best for you?   as it so awful for you, growing up without your father?"     He replies, "Kate, this isn't about my growing up without a father. It's about us. I needed for Mother Jimenez to prepare this place so that you would realize that nothing was influencing me other than my own heart. Kate....I love you."Kate closed her eyes for a moment and covered her face with her hands. It was several long moments before she lowered her hands and spoke again.  "I believe you," she said softly. "And I care for you, but I need time. This is very sudden, and I'm..." she shook her head. "I don't know what I am. It is nearly a week until the festival, please give me that time to think things over. It's not a decision to be made in haste."Conrad replies, "I agree. Why don't we finish the meal? And you can tell me about that new piece of jewelry that you are wearing."  "Which one?" she asked in a sudden flash of humor, even as she wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. She took a few bites of food before going on, glad to have some distraction. "The ring is loaned from the girls at the El Parador. It will protect the baby from harm, and myself to a certain extent. Mr. Gonzales said only the baby and Mother Jimenez said it would protect us both, so I'm not depending on it for myself. With the trouble with the Cowboy Gang I couldn't guarantee the baby's safety. The bracelet..." Kate took a look around and dropped her voice despite the fact that it was unlikely anyone was around. "My teacher and I went to see a priest yesterday about the situation here. He gave us these to protect us from undue influence. So wherever I am now, no god of the Greek or Romans can affect my mind. He and Ginnie have them too, as well as Sonoma. She was very badly affected, it's good to see her herself again."Conrad replies, "That is good to know, especially about Ginnie as I was worried how this would impact one as young as her. What that Aphrodite Priestess is doing is wrong. Influencing the minds and thoughts of individuals without their consent is something that should not be allowed to continue. Although I am unclear as to what specifically can be done."Kate replies, "Ginnie has been in a protected place, like you have, and now she has one of these bracelets. I love her so much. She has been a big part of what kept me going, along with Ruby and Jake and my family at the El Parador. It's a relief that she can come out now, safe from influence at least. The priest we saw yesterday is a powerful man. Officials from the church should be coming to deal with the problem soon. Sonoma has been freed from her, and yesterday Nanuet and Minerva went to see his mentor. Mother Jimenez said he would be able to free both of their minds. With some of the other priests free, they will be able to tend more closely to their congregations. Mr. Valdez and the Norse priest are still affected. Getting them inside a protected place would clear them for a time, but I don't know how to protect them outside.  The Aphrodite Priestess might notice her power waning, as well. I will have to start watching for her as well as the Cowboy Gang."Conrad and Kate continue their lunch, eating all of the food. She notices that he has four glasses of the wine. The air is a pleasant seventy-three degrees with a light breeze. The sun is shining down, although they are shaded by the tree. The conversation remains light, with some talk of the festival. He comments about needing to still see the Kelly's about having a fencing uniform tailored for him.Kate says, "I'm looking forward to seeing the fencing and how you fair against Judge Isby's clerk. He seems very experienced. You'd best talk to Mrs. Kelley soon. With a costume party going on, I'm sure the Kelley's will be busy. Mrs. Kelley has a new assistant now, the eldest girl from the O'Hara family. They just moved in next to the Wong's. I'll probably have at least five of them in my school. There are nine or ten children altogether in that family.  I told Ruby that I might not attend the ball and she wasn't having any of it. Still, I'll be working with children all day, and who will work at the Lucky Lady if we all go dancing?"He replies, "You may wish to reconsider. When I heard that there would be a costume ball I sent a telegram off to my mother's theater in San Francisco, asking for them to send what they could spare. It should arrive in the next few days so I will have a wide selection for you to choose from."Kate's eyes lit up a bit. "It has been a long time since I went to a real party." She shook her head. "I don't know why I get so stubborn about not doing things I would enjoy. I suppose I still feel I shouldn't be enjoying myself, it must be my eastern upbringing. Why in the world did you have them send ladies costumes?" she finished with a laugh.  He smiles and said, "Well, I had hoped to maybe bring a date with me. You may not have heard the rumors but there is a certain young lady in town who has caught my eye."Kate laughs, "Are there rumors about such a thing? My goodness, this town does seem to be quite the gossip mill. I think that young lady would be very pleased to attend the costume dance with you. After all, you and she have danced together before.  You're very different from the man I first met, Conrad. But I'm glad to see your humor hasn't changed."He smiles and replies, "It is the pleasure of your company that brings out the best in me. Please give serious consideration to what I have asked. I think that we..." The expression on his faces suddenly changes as he focuses to the south. He then stands and looks around, both west and north. A very serious expression now covers his face.  "Conrad, what is it?" she said quietly, slipping her hand into her skirt where Tom's pistol was tucked away.Conrad replies, "I'm not sure. I saw some birds fly off a mile to the northwest a few minutes ago but didn't think anything of it. Then a larger flock of a different type of bird just flew off rather quickly and loudly three-quarters of a mile southwest. And if you look west, along the roadway that we traveled on, there's a very faint cloud of dust above the road three-quarters of a mile to a mile that way that seems to be getting closer. The tree line will block whoever or whatever it is for another few minutes until we can see them. I have a bad feeling about this.""So do I." Kate reached up and Conrad took her hand and helped her up. "The other night we were sharing what we've learned about the Cowboys. Chester said the last time we drove out toward the mountains Deputy Sheriff Hunter followed us. I was so nervous I didn't think of it today. We suspect he might be part of the Gang. They don't have any reason to be after you...." she said, looking at him seriously. "We should hide if we can. If I have to use my abilities to defend us... well, we'd have to be sure they couldn't get word back to town about what I can do. I can do something to protect you, but you'd look different and we can't be sure there isn't someone looking now."  He replies, "Kate, since we've got a few minutes until anybody arrives shouldn't we run? We've got a carriage and two good horses. The only direction open would be east, into the mountains. That's Apache Territory so they may not follow. We're not supposed to go there either, but you said you've got a good relationship with the Apache. Quite frankly I'd rather take my chances with the elves than the Cowboy Gang, know matter who I look like."She says, "You're right. Leave everything, let's go while we can. Are you a good enough rider to go bareback? The carriage will be slower, although it will block their view of us some."  Conrad replies, "I'd rather not spend the time unhitching the horses right now, time is of the essence. Plus I've never ridden bareback before. The carriage will offer us some protection. I also have a shotgun under the seat, it'll be a lot easier to shoot from carriage than a moving horse.""Alright, the carriage it is, then." Kate hitched up her skirts and ran over, clamoring in on her own. She dug under the seat for the shotgun as Conrad climbed into the driver's seat. "I'm not much of a shot, but I know how to handle it at least. Let's go."  The rifle is a double-barrel Remington-Whitmore. Conrad tells her "It's not loaded. There's a small metal box in the corner with the ammunition."  She opens the box to see that it contains only four cartridges."Not much ammunition," she said, calmly loading the shotgun as the carriage started forward. She laid the pistol in her lap and held the shotgun. "I'm guessing you brought this because of the Cowboys?"  He replies, "No, If I had I would have brought far more ammunition. I brought it in case of wolves or bears, this is a pretty remote area. If wild animals are hungry enough they might try to attack a horse. I've never had to use more than both barrels before, so figured enough for one reload would be plenty. Sorry. I also have my pocket Derringer, but that's only good for one close-range shot. I keep an emergency knife in my boot too, which thankfully I've never had to use."Kate says, "Let's not make today the first time. I have a derringer as well. With my pistol it gives us a few more shots. I'd rather depend on your driving through, Conrad." Kate tried to keep herself calm. "Seems we've both been a bit distracted lately."Conrad and Kate travel for a half-mile east followed by a half-mile to the southeast. Conrad does what he can to keep the carriage on as straight a path as they can. As they continue they begins to reach higher elevations. Looking back Kate can see seven rides over a mile back. It is too far away to make out detail but she can see that one of the horses exactly matches the color and markings of Johnny Ringo's."There's seven of them, a mile back. They'll be moving faster than we are. I'm almost flattered they thought they'd need so many for the two of us." Kate turned to look at Conrad. "One of the horses belongs to Johnny Ringo, I can't see well enough to tell if it's him, but I don't think he's one to let anyone else ride his horse.  Nanuet shot him square in the head the other day, and it bounced off. We may not be able to stop him if it comes to that."Conrad says, "Well we don't have to worry about them shooting at us if they're that far back. Too far for an accurate shot." He no sooner says that when a shot sounds and a bullet flies through the leather backing on the carriage and across the passenger compartment, missing Kate's head by around a foot and Conrad's by six inches. Conrad looks nervous, but trying to maintain his composure says, "That was probably just a lucky shot.""Lucky or not, a little more speed wouldn't go amiss. Stay calm now, I'm going to give you a little protection." Kate quickly spoke the incantation, balancing the shotgun on her lap as she made the gestures and touched Conrad, releasing the Mage Armor spell that would give him some protection. "It won't stop everything, but it will turn grazes into misses."  She then hefted the shotgun and looked behind them.Conrad decides to change direction, getting out of the straight away and putting more obstacles between them and their pursuers. The road is rougher but it prevents any shots from being fired at them. They manage to continue on for another half-mile, getting deeper into Apache territory. Conrad is paying full attention to this race, until he finds himself heading down into a box canyon. He turns shapely to the right to avoid it, almost overturning the carriage as the right wheels tip high up into the air. But the vehicle rights itself and he careens off and upward to avoid the dead-end canyon and get onto higher ground. As they continue to rise up the hillside four of the seven Cowboy riders come into view. Kate is unmistaken in identifying Ringo this time, leading the group some three-quarters of a mile back. He unslings his rifle and fires. The shot hits a tree twenty feet before the carriage and to the right, which burst into flames. Conrad quickly steers the horse to the left to get around it.  "There's four of them, closer now. Ringo is here." Kate held up the rifle waiting for any of them to be in range. She looked at the horse again, sad that she might have to shoot it instead of Ringo. That horse had been on her ranch for a while, and she hated the thought of hurting it.  "I have an idea," she said suddenly. Kate pursed her lips and whistled through her teeth, using signals she had been training Ringo's horse to understand. If she was lucky, the horse would remember and turn to run back the way it came.There is no noticeable reaction from the horse to Kate's whistle, although they are still quite a distance off so the sound may not have carried. Conrad turns into a small forest of scrub bushes and saplings, no tree more than twelve feet high. This proves successful, as the carriage is able to successfully ride over the trees, bending them down in the process while providing full cover around them to deflect any bullets. It also creates obstacles for those following, the bent trees making hurdles for the horses to have to either jump over to go around. They then run into a section of large rocks, eventually finding themselves trapped in a rocky area where they can travel no further in the carriage. "Too risky to try going back. I guess you need to teach me that bareback maneuver," he says to Kate.   She says, "Get them unhitched. Cut what you have to, try to leave some of the bridle, it'll give you something to hold onto." As they both worked at freeing the horses Kate gave him some quick tips on riding bareback. "Hold onto the mane, or the bridle if it's still on. Don't sit too stiffly, you need to bend with the horse or you'll fall off. Don't try anything tricky. Keep down low, you'll make less of a target for them to shoot at and it will be easier to stay on."   Kate stuffed the ammunition for the rifle in her pocket and handed him her pistol. "It's loaded, six shots. I'll keep the shotgun, I can ride bareback without holding on."  Conrad scrambled up onto his horse, and Kate unabashedly hiked up her skirts to ride astride on hers. "Let's go."Conrad proves to be a quick learner on how to ride bareback, although it has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. They find that despite both the lack of saddles and that these horses were trained for carriages rather than riders they are making better time. The are also now able to choose paths that provide even better cover, although they are leaving a trail easy enough for those behind them to follow. Kate is surprised that no Apache have been encountered yet, as they have now traveled at least a couple of miles into their territory. As they climb another hill and can get a better view behind them they make out dust on the hill a half mile back where they presume the quartet of riders are. They spot the other three rides on higher ground around a mile back."Why did they split up? I don't understand... Of course I don't understand them going to this much effort just to chase me down. They're still too far away for me to do anything.   We should have run into the Apache by now. We're only going to be able to keep going like this for so long. If we don't come across the Apache we could be in trouble. Flint said Naki-Yai was no longer visiting the ranch, I hope they haven't gone."   Kate nudged her horse to more speed. "I bet you didn't plan on all this excitement today."  He attempts a smile and says, "I will never complain that life with you is dull and uneventful."</blockquote>

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