Posted November 21, 2020 | Clara Redmond-Lutz | With: Arabella, Brendan, Charlie
:: on the dance floor ::
As the two couples neared, Brendan decided not to ignore Clara anymore - he had made a point to look in the opposite direction whenever they had happened to be looking at each other - and so he flashed her a smirk that said "Havin' fun? I am."
Clara had been more concerned with not colliding with the other couple in their pursuit of the required dance step so did not expect Brendan to speak up to her.
"Yes, I am, very much so!" she hastily replied before Arabella took the young man away again in the opposite direction, well after all that was the expected move to make for this dance.
Then it was back to threading between couples before yet another lively jig, she faced Charlie,"I hope you are too, Charlie."
Surely the young man was not going to make this into yet another matter of contention.
Retired Characters and NPC Writer.
Posted November 21, 2020 | Jay | With: Addy, Mike
Jay took note that he just met the foreman of a farm, which could be a good contact to have.
"I'm a blacksmith." He added on to Addy's explanation about possibly hiring him for help.
"But I do general handy work, too."
Despite the fact that he did not officially ask Addy whether she wanted to be more than just a a friend, he somehow felt a little odd when Mike asked her to dance. Was he jealous? Because of a dance? And if so...why? His gaze darkened a little when he tried to figure out what on earth was going on.
Yet he didn't want to be impolite, so he added. "Go ahead. Maybe the next dance will suit you both. I'll quickly find the outhouse."
He handed Addy his drink. "Would you hold that for a moment...just set it down over there when you go dance."
His fingers brushed against hers and for a second their eyes connected before he left.
Posted November 21, 2020 | Leah Steelgrave | With: Jonah Danforth
"It's my good fortune, then, that he had the foresight to bring you here." He smiled, but then shook his head. "Detractors, still? "I'd have hoped that they would have given up by now. I'm sure they haven't counted on your tenacity."
“Tenacity is one thing, garnering support for the hospital, and the orphanage, may be a bit more than I had anticipated.” The she smiled. “However, it’s a simple land swap, and the construction and labor costs will affect the community not at all. That will be handled privately, and not out of the local bank. Oh, I still have my account there, but not as it was before Croft left and this Charles Wentworth bought his way in. I don’t trust him.
Slowly, he strolled with her toward the dance floor, although he intended to wait until the Gallop was done before stepping out. "The Ladies Society...smart. They may not have a direct say, or a vote, but they have husbands who want to keep them happy."
“It is a great opportunity to tell the ladies what the plans are, how it will affect the town, and that it was not conceived, nor was it arranged by anyone on the Town Council, which is what I believe their plan to be.” She paused s if to catch her breath. “I’m sorry, I am just ready to fight them for what they owe the town, and that has nothing to do with who arranged what or when.”
Posted November 21, 2020 | Barnabas Pike | With: Emeline, Bridget
Then she pointed at Pronto, as if to say ‘Can he join in too, please?’ She liked his beardy face and kindly manner toward her.
Pronto smiled, “I’m afraid I’m all thumbs when it come to bakin’ most anything. Heck My biscuits come out so hard was I to throw one, it’d knock out a grown man. But I’d be delighted to sample what you ladies were to bake.”
I took an oath for this job. The oath says bring him in. That's what I'll do.
Posted November 22, 2020 | Charlie Wentworth: With: Clara, Arabella and Brendan
:: on the dance floor ::
Then it was back to threading between couples before yet another lively jig, she faced Charlie, "I hope you are too, Charlie."
Charlie frowned slightly. He was beginning to have fun until that fellow spoke to Clara. A feeling had swept over him and it summed it up to being a little protective of Clara in a big brother sort of way. Sure, they had their differences but he considered her a friend and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Having made a mess of at the start of the dance, he didn't want to upset Clara any more tonight.
Smiling, he nodded, "Yes, I am having fun."
As the dance progressed, he continued to keep an eye on this jasper but found it had to do so because of the intricacies of the dance. One thing he knew for certain was that he would find out more about the man before the evening was over.
Posted November 22, 2020 | Weedy | With: Wyatt
:: in the hayloft ::
"Oh right!," now Wyatt got it then heard the rest of it before smiling, "Hey, that might be fun. Clara would never let me sleep in the barn at home. But yeah, if Pa is in a good mood, he might say I can stay in town for tonight. You ask Addy and I can ask Pa."
"Sure!" Weedy grinned, he'd never had company for the night...well, he'd never thought of it, really, except for Jay, and he wasn't exactly company, and he had his own place now. "I don't sleep in the loft very often, mostly in the Summer," he explained, but, of course, it was far too cold during the Winter, and most of Fall and Spring.
"Jay tried sleeping out there, but it was too cold. He's from England, that's why he talks so funny, and of course he needed a ship to get here." Weedy glanced at Wyatt. "We should ask him what it was like, being on a ship like that...just water around you." That would actually be a little disconcerting, having nowhere to go if something happened to the ship.
Posted November 22, 2020 | Wellington MacKenzie | With: Matilda
Wellington MacKenzie moved along the edge of the dance floor. He had gotten himself a glass of punch and tried to stay back from the swirling couples. He had been waylaid a few times by the more political minded townspeople. Various city council types and a man he thought had been the mayor. Each had greeted him and then began bending his ear about how thrilled they were to have an actual military garrison in the area.
MacKenzie had been happy at first to have the attention but soon it had grown tedious as he had to keep explaining he only had so much latitude in his activities in this area. Finally he had found a quiet spot beside a table and was finishing his glass of punch when he saw Matilda moving away from the dance floor. MacKenzie also noted she was no longer accompanied by the doctor. MacKenzie drained his glass and set it down before he moved on an intercept course.
He finally caught up to Matilda and fell into step beside her. "Did your escort abandon you?"
Posted November 22, 2020 | Brendan Connolly | With: Arabella (and Charlie and Clara)
"Yes, I am, very much so!"
Clara and the other man were off away from them again. Brendan grinned at Clara's flustered reply to him and at Arabella's mock indignation.
“Whoa Cowboy! You’re meant to be smiling at me not … in again, in, in, in, out, out, out … not a-grinnin at the opposition!! Two more o’ these, then the jig!”
"Sorry," he said as they moved through the motions of the dance, "but she ain't the opposition, really. Here..." He smiled down at her. "There...happy now? Ooop..."
They moved into the jig and he almost started going the wrong way, but stopped in time because he was watching Arabella's eyes. He could tell a lot about an animal from its eyes, but when it came to people's eyes he couldn't tell much except which direction the person was looking in. During a dance, that was quite helpful.
The dance was not as scary as Arabella had made it out to be, and now that he had gotten the hang of it, he didn't really want it to be over - even though he would be out of breath and ready for a rest by the time the musicians stopped. He needed to make a visit to the beer tent soon.
He glanced over at Clara and her partner again and met the eyes of the man she was dancing with - just for a second before both couples turned and he was looking back at Arabella. Why was the man watching him? It wasn't as if he had insulted Clara or anything.
Posted November 22, 2020 | Jonah Danforth | With: Leah Steelgrave
“It is a great opportunity to tell the ladies what the plans are, how it will affect the town, and that it was not conceived, nor was it arranged by anyone on the Town Council, which is what I believe their plan to be.” She paused s if to catch her breath. “I’m sorry, I am just ready to fight them for what they owe the town, and that has nothing to do with who arranged what or when.”
"All the more reason to get to the ladies early," Jonah commented, "so they know where the ideas are coming from, and are in the groundwork, so they feel like they have a stake in things."
But this was a party, a time to have a good time and set that sort of thing aside. "Tell me, just how modern is Helena? In comparison to, say, St. Louis? I wouldn't mind getting away for a day or two, maybe see a play or an opera."
As much as Kalispell suited his needs, he was craving a little civilization!
Posted November 23, 2020 | Emeline Pike
"There you have it!" Emeline declared with a laugh, "Bridget will help with the cooking, and Barnabas can try our efforts to make certain that they are as good as they should be." Then she added with a playful grin, "And Mr. Pike can do the dishes as well, he's quite the expert at that!"
She laughed again and gave Barnabas a quick kiss on the cheek. "Or you can just make certain that we behave ourselves and don't burn down the kitchen!"
Then she patted Bridget on the arm. "Don't worry one bit, we will have fun, we won't do any harm, and we can make whatever you like...well, so long as I know the recipe!"