"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows" - Helen Keller
"Mr. Crabbe can be very generous, Arabella introduced me to him also. And no, not at all, I do not blame you for being concerned about money. You are only thinking about your future, if you did not you would be a fool or worse," Miriam responded.
"You are very kind, thank you for making be feel... well, that I am not a complete Mr. Scrooge!" Frances smiled, reaching out her free hand and, finding Miriam's, giving it a squeeze.
"Now that we are friends, I promise I will do whatever I can to ease your financial situation. It's what friends do. I will talk to Arabella and see if she has any good ideas."
"Oh wonderful!" the blind girl said: words that would have sounded sarcastic from anybody else in Kalispell. "She does seem to have a fecund imagination. Tell me..." Frances' voice dropped, in case there were eavesdroppers around "... is Miss Mudd courting? Or does she have her eye on anybody?" God, Frances had missed gossip!
"Oh wonderful!" the blind girl said: words that would have sounded sarcastic from anybody else in Kalispell. "She does seem to have a fecund imagination. Tell me..." Frances' voice dropped, in case there were eavesdroppers around "... is Miss Mudd courting? Or does she have her eye on anybody?"
Gosh! Another difficult question to answer and remain an honest person. Miriam did not care for such moral quandaries. But she put on a game face.
"Oh no, Ara is too young for courting. As am I too, we are almost the same age I believe," Miriam replied.
"She was friends with a boy but he was shot dead in a gunfight. No one was arrested for it so I can only assume he was in the wrong. It was very hard on Ara though."
"Fortunately she likes her job....jobs....she plays piano at the local saloon and does cleaning work there too. She also plays organ at the local church, I hear she is really very good at it."
Storyteller / Shared NPC
OOC: This is a joint post by Julie and Wayfarer
IC:
The two combatants then separated but still faced each other, tensely awaiting the triangle sound. It only took seconds and officially the fight was now on. Robert was determined to be all business about this, ignoring what Crabbe said about trying to stretch out the fight. To him the sooner the bout was over with the better for BOTH boxers.
Robert wasted no time but moved forward to attack. His opponent's arms were up in a proper defensive stance to defend the head, as one certainly should. But he wondered how much punishment the other guy really had actually taken in practice, that is if he had even sparred. Even blocking punches with one's forearms hurt if the blows were sharp and delivered with force.
Robert came in with a series of hard jabs, contacting Charlie's forearms. He didn't expect to get thru but it was all part of the tactics, set your opponent up for something far worse.
Charlie had been doing his best to defend himself and even managed to get a punch or two in as well. However, it was plain to see that the rumours about Cullen were true...his opponent knew how to fight. After the first round, Charlie knew what he had to do. As he stood in the corner waiting for the next round to begin, he worked how he could manage it without been seeing to give up too easily. Both Mike and Sam were there with him and giving him advice on how to get around his opponent. He knew he would need one of them to help him carry off what he was planning, but who?
The triangle rang clear and loud to indicate the start of the next round. All he had to do was get through this round and make it to the next one, where he would end this fight, hopefully with his reputation intact.
"Er, would you fellers mind awfully standing to attention?"
Hector was having a whale of a time: not only watching and enjoying the visceral pastime of bare knuckle fighting from the safety and comfort of his ringside seat, but also basking in the self importance of being the official timekeeper, dinging his triangle with manly resolve as the fighters retired back to their respective corners.
Arabella too, looking for all the world like a monkey 'up their sticks' at the zoo, jumping about, as much as she dared, up her ladder, shouting encouragement and impractical suggestions at Charlie down in the ring. "Go on Charlie!! Hit him! Kick him in the shins! Sic him, boy, sic him! Punch the rascal's ears off of him!!" and other such imprecations.
And as for Crabbe, counting his thick wad of cash and only vaguely aware of the fight going on in the background, why he was in 7th Heaven.
But the feller who was having the grandest time of all was Lieutenant Greene, just from the pleasure of standing right next to Miss Caroline Mundee and feeling, at one point during the first round, the back of her hand accidentally stroke against the back of his. A chance touch of hand on hand, but it sent an electric thrill though his entire being which made it as difficult as heck to concentrate on the fight.
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows" - Helen Keller
"Oh no, Ara is too young for courting. As am I too, we are almost the same age I believe," Miriam replied.
Frances didn't know enough about love to know when it was 'too young' to fall into it, she only knew of the vague and strange feelings that she had started to feel lately. Maybe it was just loneliness: but she was aware that when certain men were in her presence and talking with her, she got a slightly different sensation that the just plain of old good company of other women, like Miriam.
"She was friends with a boy but he was shot dead in a gunfight. No one was arrested for it so I can only assume he was in the wrong. It was very hard on Ara though."
"Oh no! How awful for her... and him" she said, her smile collapsing with genuine sorrow. Funny how the idea of a some unknown young man being gunned down, breaking his lover's heart, almost moved her to tears, whereas the memory of her own brother's death in similar circumstances a couple of weeks ago rather left her cold.
"Fortunately she likes her job....jobs....she plays piano at the local saloon and does cleaning work there too. She also plays organ at the local church, I hear she is really very good at it."
"You should go and listen to her, we both should!" Frances suggested. "They won't try and convert you, I'm sure. I should really start going myself. I imagine the churches around here are, what? , Methodist, Presbyterian? I must admit, and I hope you won't be shocked Miss Kaufmann, I am something of a freethinker around religion, having been passed about over the years between so many different family members, of different denominations, all of whom tried to instil into me the 'one true' interpretation of the Good Book and how our Good Lord ought to be worshipped." she revealed.
Miriam related Ara's sad experience with that one young cowpoke (well certainly not some of the more salacious details of it, she was not a gossip) and it only brought the mood of the conversation down. She had been careless to even mention such a thing given this girl's brother also had just been shot to death. Trying to change the tone she switched to Ara's experiences in the saloon and in church, all quite musical.
"You should go and listen to her, we both should!" Frances suggested. "They won't try and convert you, I'm sure. I should really start going myself. I imagine the churches around here are, what? , Methodist, Presbyterian? I must admit, and I hope you won't be shocked Miss Kaufmann, I am something of a freethinker around religion, having been passed about over the years between so many different family members, of different denominations, all of whom tried to instil into me the 'one true' interpretation of the Good Book and how our Good Lord ought to be worshipped."
"Oh no, I can never go in that church...I'm not even exactly sure what denomination it is, Ara never said. But my parents would be absolutely furious with me going in there, even just for a listen," Miriam shot that idea down quickly. Well mostly.....
"I can find someone who will take you though," she added.
"As for your own beliefs, I am not shocked. America is a land of freedom of religion they always say. So you are entitled to whatever beliefs you have."
Caroline was there to take in the whole experience, the crowd, the excitement, two virile young men whaling the bejeezus out of each other, but less because she enjoyed the fighting more because she was more comfortable in crowds of - let's face it - almost all men than mingling with other women. Most of the townsfolk's female population probably wouldn't give her the time of the day or even actively despised her anyhow. No sewing circles, no bake sales, no church going events for her. Social events like this gave her something to do outside of her usual daily world of the saloon, a little variety.
Caroline had witnessed a lot of actual serious fist fights and all out brawls in her saloon work experiences so while she did not know the so called science of boxing, she could assess the two brawlers and confidently predict who was going to win. It was that dark haired Irishman, he knew his stuff. Not that she had placed a bet.
Just then her hand had accidentally bumped...more like brushed really against someone elses just as the first round ended. She quickly turned her head. It was that handsome soldier boy, the officer who looked far too young to be an officer. But then people on occasion said that about her too, she looked too young to be a veteran saloon girl. Looks could be deceiving.
"Oh excuse me, hon," then it hit her, he had been talking to her trying to make some lame bet which would end up in a dinner date regardless of who won. But the fight had started and what with all the cheering and jeering, she had turned to watch the action.
"Well, I guess we got a minute before the next round? So back to our conversation. Lemme make it quick. If you wanna take me out for dinner, just go ahead and ask me. Yer a gentleman and I'm a lady so why does it need involve some sort of wagering?" she got down to business quickly.
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows" - Helen Keller
"Oh no, I can never go in that church...I'm not even exactly sure what denomination it is, Ara never said. But my parents would be absolutely furious with me going in there, even just for a listen,"
"Oh, they are very devout, then! Please forgive me, Miss Kaufmann, I should never have suggested such a thing!" gasped Frances, horrified to have made such a faux pas.
"I can find someone who will take you though," she added.
That brought a smile back to the blind girl's face. "Oh, I can find my own way there, thank you for the offer. I am more worried that I'll get there and find them to be Baptists, and they might try to dip me." she grinned.
"As for your own beliefs, I am not shocked. America is a land of freedom of religion they always say. So you are entitled to whatever beliefs you have."
"Well, within reason, yes!" agreed Frances, and then returned to the other girl's family, seeing as she had brought up her parents. "So, your Mother and Father are still with us? That is wonderful. And do you have any brothers or sisters? I'm sorry, I am so nosey!" she laughed at herself.
"So your Mother and Father are still with us?" asked Frances.
"Oh yes," that one was simple to answer.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters? I'm sorry, I am so nosey," laughed the other girl.
"Yes, I have one of each, both younger than me," Miriam nodded, "it can be, on occasion, a lively household."
"My uncle back in New York, he has nine children in his family. The oldest is ...oh....seventeen I think," she smiled in amusement, "Their home can be beyond lively."
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows" - Helen Keller
"Yes, I have one of each, both younger than me," Miriam nodded, "it can be, on occasion, a lively household."
"That sounds wonderful!" Frances gushed with genuine emotion "I am so jealous!"
"My uncle back in New York, he has nine children in his family. The oldest is ...oh....seventeen I think," she smiled in amusement, "Their home can be beyond lively."
"Nine?!" laughed Frances "All right, that is maybe too lively a household, even for me."
The conversation was drifting to a finish, and Frances felt sad about that. Miriam's companionship had made her feel warm, connected to the world of other people. Now she would climb the stairs in her dark world and be more alone than any other person in town. Even the expectation of her no good brother stumbling into their tiny rented rooms in the early hours of the morning had been some sort of company. Now even that was gone, every evening was the same: all was silent, all was still.