Roland smirked at his own pole-cat ignorance.  The nomenclature of the frontier was always catching him by surprise.

Upon seeing Quentin and Shade, his smile broadened.  Finally, they were in the bosom of friends- or at least one acquaintance.  But the friends of friends were usually sufficiently amiable.  The long trek to their destination was over, and the danger of an ambush on the trail was well past.

Roland held up a hand, "I can hardly lay claim to invention, Mr. Cantrell.  I merely proposed some minor engineering to bring your own idea into being."

He nodded, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thornton."

Then, "A Lady Barrister?  I should not be surprised.  This frontier seems to be founded on egalitarian ideals.  Those who can do a thing, do it, and damn the naysayers.  Pleasure to know you, Mrs. Mercer."

Finally, "Ah, the storied children of Lost Lake.  My true hosts.  Pleasure to meet you..."  He had somehow lost their names in the commotion.

Finally, they were inside, and the business of the evening was at hand.

"Well, I suppose the question of business before dinner, or dinner before business, hinges on whether the business of the day is likely to fray your appetites or tempers.  And... should the children hear of all this, or are they being kept from the darker details?"

It was Roland's own practice to discuss business over dinner, but he realized that was potentially ill-advised.

Addy squatted down to hug the children tightly, grinning.  "How'er you two doin'?"  As much as she insisted she 'didn't have a motherly bone in her body', Addy did well with kids, and enjoyed them.  "Look here."  She opened the pouch she was holding and poured some bright marbles into her hand.  "Now, don't go throwin' those at each other, nor feedin' 'em to th' chickens...they won't make pretty colored eggs!"

Straightening, she looked at the assembled group, then gave her opinion on supper verses discussions.  "I agree, best ta enjoy a good meal, then get ta business.  No sense ruinin' a good grub!"

Not that she thought this was going to be particularly contentious, but it was still best, in her opinion, to do your business on a full stomach, and not to spoil a meal with hard feelings!

The Thornton twins gave Addy enthusiastic hugs. Along with that, there were squeals and oohs and ahhs over the marbles. Even the usually shy Cody vocalized his delight and gratitude. Shade smiled. Addy sure brought out the best in the twins. 

"It is rare of late that we have dinner guests," Harriet said, having returned Roland's greeting "that I agree. We should have dinner first and then discuss business. That way, the twins can enjoy a visit with Addy before going off to play with their magnificent gift before bedtime."

Despite the fact that he and Harriet still bickered with one another quite often, Shade was glad she had assumed the role of Mistress of the House for now. She was quite adept at steering things in the direction they needed to go. Must have stemmed from her work in a court room.

"Right this way," Shade said to their guests, leading the way to the dining room where enticing smells from the kitchen emanated. Mary was putting the finishing touches on their dinner.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Lodge (Main Floor)

Roland was not the sort of man who needed to be invited to sit at the dinner table more than once.

As the townfolk would soon discover- much to his chagrin and despair- he was a man of hearty appetites.  One might wonder what he may have become in a less civilized age.  The liberties of the frontier were already working curious changes upon his mind and heart.

Settling down to eat, he looked about to see if it was the custom in the American West to send a prayer to the Lord before dining with the family.  He had seen people eat without ceremony often enough on the train ride over and subsequent visits to local eateries.  But family dining tended to have a special quality.  Perhaps it was because every act in a family home was taken with an eye towards instilling values into the next generation.

"A lovely home," he said, "and a lovely table."

He smiled all around, though his eyes lighted upon Addy a bit longer than the rest.

As much as Addy insisted (to herself) that she had no motherly instincts, nor a motherly bone in her body, she enjoyed children -- when they were happy -- and she relished in their laughter.  She was still grinning widely as she made her way to the table, settling in a chair that one of the men held for her -- an odd custom, but properness nonetheless, one she respected -- and found herself across from Roland, who seemed to be gazing at her a bit longer than necessary.

Of course 'necessary' was merely an opinion, and she opined that bringing a deep blush to one's cheeks was quite long enough to be stared at!

"Ya always put on a fine spread, Shade," she declared, trying to distract herself from those scrutinizing eyes, not that it was working!  "'Course, I ain't got much ta judge by, any time I don't hafta eat my own cookin' is just fine by me!"