"Work is fine for killin' time, but it's a shaky way to make a living."
Mature Content: No
With: Ben Simons, Charles Wentworth Sr. and Rebecca Wentworth
Time of Day: Evening
"You cheated!"
"No...I just used the laws of probability to my own advantage. Unfortunately, my opponent saw it as cheating."
Ben smiled graciously at his uncle. Aunt Rebecca had warned him that his uncle wasn't going to like this unexpected visit. Well, visit wasn't the right word...more like an enforced stay. From what he had seen of Kalispell so far it was going to be a very long one.
Charles looked at his nephew and sighed heavily. Even though Ben was a likeable fellow, it was his choice of profession that he didn't like and now it had gotten the man into deep trouble. "What happened then?"
"Well, as you might have guessed, he drew his gun on me and that's when his wife stepped in." Ben paused for a moment looking for the right way to phrase the next part of his story. After quickly glancing at both his aunt and uncle, he stood up.
"What I mean is that is wife literally stepped in. She came bursting through the doors of the parlour and stood between me and her husband."
Sensing there was more to this than Ben was actually saying, Charles just nodded his head, leaned back in his armchair and waited for the rest.
"Thanks to her timely appearance, I was able to get away. I have no doubt she kept her husband at bay long enough for me to go back to my lodgings to collect my things and hightail it out of town. It's a good thing I travel lightly."
Rebecca smiled a little at Ben's remark. Turning to her husband, she said, "That's when he turned up in Washington. As you know it's too soon for Mary and the baby to travel and with Frederick starting work with that Senator, I was looking at taking the journey here on my own. Ben was a great help in getting me here safely."
"Yes, and I am grateful for that."
"It was a pleasure, Uncle Charles. It was also a good way to get re-acquainted with you, Aunt Rebecca." Looking up at the clock on the mantel, Ben smiled again, "Perhaps we can continue this over dinner and you can tell me more about this quaint town."
"And you can tell me more about this situation you've gotten yourself into, " Charles replied as he stood up.
Ben nodded, "Yes, it's a situation and one I don't see ending any time soon."
"Work is fine for killin' time, but it's a shaky way to make a living."
Ben took a sip of the brandy, he had as he stared at the fire in his uncle's study. The brandy was pretty good considering that he was out in the middle of nowhere but the middle of nowhere was the safest place to be at this time.
A noise alerted to him to the fact that his uncle had returned. Turning around Ben, smiled as he watched his uncle poured his own brandy. He liked and respected his Uncle Charles, who had been a man of influence in Washington. Whatever his reasons for moving out here and buying the local bank must have been good. Then again, all of the man's sons had by some sheer stroke of luck had all ended up in Kalispell as well. Wanting to be near your family was a good reason in anybody's book and Ben was no different. Maybe his enforced stay would give him the opportunity to get re-acquainted with cousins.
Charles took a sip of brandy before sitting down on one of the two large armchairs near the fireplace and invited Ben to take the other. When he had, Charles stared at him for a moment, "Now, perhaps you can tell me the parts of your story you didn't want Rebecca to hear."
A grin formed on Ben's face, "Nothing gets by you, Uncle Charles." Taking another sip of brandy, he leaned back in the chair, "I guess it started when I met the lady. I was new in town and didn't know that she was married until, well let's just say, until I was well and truly involved with her. Her husband must have found out and that's probably why he invited me to that particular game. A high stakes card game with some very influential men who had lots of money was very tempting and one I couldn't pass up. No doubt he had the rumours of me being a cheat, which are not true. As you know, I am very knowledgeable in mathematics and the laws of probability and I use that my advantage. As God is my witness, I promise you that I never have or never will resort to cheating to win a game of cards."
"That's good to know," Charles said, "I'll hold you to that promise because if I ever find out that you've done something dishonest, especially during your stay here, I'll be the first to make sure that you leave town."
Nodding, Ben half-smiled, "I have no doubt that you would."
After taking another sip of brandy, Ben continued, "Well, as you know the man did end up accusing me of cheating and was ready to draw on me, when his wife came. That's when I found that she was married. I didn't have much to think about it until later but at that point, I just grabbed what I had and took off as fast as I could. Thinking back, I am very grateful what she did for me. I have no idea of the consequences she suffered in doing so...maybe one day I will."
He paused for a moment to think of the fair-haired woman he had come to know and hoped that she was able to survive her husband's anger. As for him, that was another story. The man he had crossed was powerful and it seemed he had friends everywhere. The best plan was to come here where nobody knew of Bent St. Clair, professional gambler and once again become plain ol' Ben Simons.
No one is as important enough to walk wherever he wants. He's bound to run into something that will stop him.
Charles nodded as he listened to his nephew. Maybe spending some time in Kalispell might help the man to settle down but then again maybe not. Anything was possible where Ben was concerned.
He took another sip of brandy and leaned forward a little, "So what do you plan to do now?"
Ben told him of his plans to say in Kalispell for the unforeseeable future as he needed to disappear which was understandable given the circumstances. Hopefully, Ben would find something to do here that wouldn't cause trouble but once again anything was possible.
Seeing that Ben was at least being honest with him, the least he could do was give him a helping hand. Charles smiled, "Well you can stay here until you find a place of your own but don't expect any favours from me or your cousin Matthew."
"The only favours I expect right now is a roof over my head and somewhere safe to put the funds I do have with me. I'm happy to know that you will provide me those and I also promise that I will do my best not to put the family to shame while I'm here."
"A promise, I will most certainly make sure that you will keep," Charles replied. Standing he pointed to a table over in the far corner, "Now how about a game of cribbage. It's been a while since we last played and I'm eager to see if you are still a worthy opponent."
Standing up, Ben smiled, "I think Uncle Charles, you'll find that I have greatly improved my skills at this particular card game."
Another smiled appeared on Charles' face, "We'll see. We'll see."