"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
She cast a suspicious glance to the newspaper man, then shuffled closer to Frances and Jemima, looking toward Hector. "An' I ain't no bird, an' I ain't in yer hands!"
Well, between them all they got Frances back into her chair and the whole group trundled her along the main street of Kalispell until they got to a patch of grass opposite the church where a tree still grew which cast a shade on the turf on this bright sunny, dry day. Soon the picnic was spread and Hector reappeared with his fiddle and a big full bodied guitarro which Arabella snatched of off him and began to strum.
This put Hector in a fix: he wanted to dance with both Miriam and Tully, but didn't want to ask either of them first, for fear of insulting the other. The fact that the girl he didn't pick would actually be more relieved than anything, never occurred to him.
Arabella inadvertently came to the rescue, shouting to the newspaperman in their midst.
"Say Mister McVey, aren't you going to ask one of these pretty young ladies for a dance?! Not Frances though... she's saving herself!" she teased with her usual gurgling giggle. But where was Dr Danforth?
@[Flip]
"Every town needs a newspaper."
"Dance? Well now you know, I hadn't really considered it, but with a bevy of beautiful ladies on hand, and such fine music, fiddle, and guitar, I just might have to trip the light fantastic." Phin stated. This was a pleasant surprise, a picnic, music, and dancing on a fine fall day, how could that combination not inspire one to dance, maybe sing, and for sure sample the basket lunches?
"Miss Tully, would you care to dance?" He asked, he barely knew of the young woman, only seen her on occasion so she remained a mystery to him. But he did know her name, and what better way to get to know her?
Bongo
Wayfarer
Javia
"Oh, uh..." This was not at all what she'd been anticipating, was just supposed to be her, Frances, Jemima and the doctor, so she and Jemima could just sit and talk while Frances and Dr. Danforth sparked. But it had grown into so much more, and there was no real good way out. And now, this strange man was asking her to dance? At least they weren't alone.
"Reckon," she muttered, taking his hand ever so lightly. "Don't know nothin' how ta, though." Maybe everyone would focus on Horatio and Mariam, and not bother with her and...well, whoever this was! "Sorry if I step on ya." To that end, she kicked off her shoes, so it wouldn't hurt him so bad when she trampled his feet!
"Every town needs a newspaper."
He took her hand and led her out just a few feet, "Now I don't claim to be the best dancer in the country, though I had attended balls in Albany Georgia prior to the late war, so I do have some experience, and please, not to worry, this is about enjoying ourselves, or at least attempting to."
He understood that she was hesitant about dancing, and the fact that she said she didn't know how would certainly add to her dismay at attempting it, but, perhaps the trying of something new might in fact, make for a somewhat pleasant experience. She was an interesting young lady and one that appeared to him to be somewhat different from the other young ladies in town. A pleasant change, he thought.
" ... - - - ... "
Good old Mister McVay had helpfully dug Hector out of his hole: with Tully taken care of, he was free to ask Miriam for a dance!
"How about it Miss Kaufmann?" he asked, holding out a plaintiff hand to the beautiful Jewish girl. Far from feeling her to be an old conquest, who could now be tossed aside, Hector felt like a boy asking a girl to dance whom he had never been brave enough to talk to before. The feeling, no doubt, had its origin in a subconscious realisation that she was not at all interested in him.
"Go on, Dolly!" laughed Arabella, despite the fact that Jemima's brother was trying to steal her girlfriend, for she could never resist anything that was gay and romantic and exciting. She was even cock-a-hoop about Phin and Tully dancing to her rhythmic strumming.
Come, and trip it as you go / On the light fantastic toe.
Milton
@[Wayfarer]
@[Bongo]
"Every town needs a newspaper."
As they danced, Phin asked, "So Tully, I've seen you about here and there, now and again, and wondered, what is it you do here in town? I mean no disrespect, I just sort of wonder about that sort of thing with folks I'm not all that familiar with. You know, nosey newspaperman, always looking for a good story, or just to get to know folks without the story angle."
Phin did like to make friends where and when he could. Not always possible with some, and something of a mistake with others, such as Miss Arabella Mudd, or Spinster Granny Miggins who could be a handful in most any situation. Yet there were so many others that were not just interesting, but personable as well. Actually, he was fortunate to have found Kalispell.
"Now I don't claim to be the best dancer in the country, though I had attended balls in Albany Georgia prior to the late war, so I do have some experience, and please, not to worry, this is about enjoying ourselves, or at least attempting to."
Hesitantly, Tully nodded, then held up her hand, glancing at Horatio and his partner to see what she was supposed to do. At first, she was stiff, unsure of the steps and not wanting to get too close to the man, but Phineas was tolerant, guiding her gently and not making any demands, so that she eventually moved in so it was easier to follow him.
"So Tully, I've seen you about here and there, now and again, and wondered, what is it you do here in town? I mean no disrespect, I just sort of wonder about that sort of thing with folks I'm not all that familiar with. You know, nosey newspaperman, always looking for a good story, or just to get to know folks without the story angle."
"What I do?" Well, there was an odd (at least in her opinion) question, and she had to slow to nearly a stop to ponder on an answer. "I ain't no good story, Mister!" Again, she started to look for an escape. "I just...try an' stay outta th' way, but then that man...Miss Frances needed help, an' since th' tree..." She was on the verge of panic.
I took an oath for this job. The oath says bring him in. That's what I'll do.
Charlie was almost finished his round of the town when he started to head towards the church to find out what was going on. He could hear the music and as he got closer he was surprised to see Mister McVey dancing with the redheaded waif he had seen around town. The only time he had talked to the girl was when she was questioned about the incident in the so-called Kalispell Refuge for Christian Girls last month. Since Marshal Guyer was still recovering from getting shot in August, he was the only one available to investigate and found it to be a case of an accidental death, even though he was uncertain of what had really occurred. There were some things that just didn't add up but in the end he had done all he could due to his limited experience...maybe he if Guyer or even Pike were around it might have been different. A few weeks later, Judge Townsend made the outcome official and that was that.
As he approached the group, he wondered if Pastor Evans had given permission for this...whatever it was...meeting on the grassy area next to the church. An impromptu gathering like this would gain a lot of attention since it was happening practically in the middle of town and could get out of hand very quickly if the cowhands from the various ranches got wind of it. Saturday afternoon and night was already busy enough with various brawls and goings-on. What he didn't need was something else to stir up even more trouble.
(Edit: fixing up the details of what Charlie knew about Mortimer's death)
"Every town needs a newspaper."
"What I do?" Well, there was an odd (at least in her opinion) question, and she had to slow to nearly a stop to ponder on an answer. "I ain't no good story, Mister!" Again, she started to look for an escape. "I just...try an' stay outta th' way, but then that man...Miss Frances needed help, an' since th' tree..." She was on the verge of panic.
"Slow down Miss Tully, let's not get ourselves in a tizzy here. Just talk between friends, at least I hope we can be friends." Phin said as gently as possible. "You try to stay out of the way, I can understand that, and then you say, 'but then that man,' what man would that be, and did he mean you or Miss Francis any harm?"
He realized that he might be treading on thin ice here with his questions, no matter how soothing his tone of voice or innocent the questions might sound, but indeed there seemed to be a real situation here.
Tully stopped altogether then, looking down at the ground. "He done that ta Frances, busted her ribs, near killed her, an' was me led him there." Taking a breath, she turned her gaze up to Phineas. It seemed strange that he didn't know about what had happened that night, especially being a news man, but then, Lewis had told her that they'd keep things as quiet as they could, and stick to the story that the man had fallen on his knife and killed himself, not that Tully had killed him in self-defense.
Now, though, someone had asked about it, and he had to hear the truth, so that he didn't make things up about her. "Don't know his name," she whispered, her gaze going to the dirt again. "I thought it was th' church I run into, was dark an' foggy...turned out it was th' Refuge, an' he followed me in there...me an' Frances hid, then we had ta fight..."
At that, she stopped, but then looked at him again. "Ya can't tell mo one, ya can't put it in yer paper..."