Present:  Col. Mackenzie, Matilda   "Did your escort abandon you?"   There he was, the dashing colonel in his fine uniform. Matilda smiled but shook her head in the negative.   "No he did not. The good doctor had requested a dance with me, I had agreed, we danced, and now the dance is finished," she explained the obvious.   Glancing around, she spotted Danforth, "Looks like he is in the process of asking someone else to dance. Pretty much how a dance like this is supposed to operate you know?"   "Now as for me, I am a woman of my word, and I also promised you a dance. Shall we do just that when the next one starts?" she figured that was what he was leading up to anyhow.   The current dance was well along and given it's nature jumping into it in the middle was not practical, unlike a simple waltz. They could chat though until the next one.   "So did you go to West Point, colonel? I would imagine teaching our military leaders how to dance would have been high in priority at such an illustrious institution?"  she grinned.

Present: Charlie, Clara, Arabella, Brendan on the dance floor   Smiling, Charlie nodded, "Yes, I am having fun."   Well there ya go! No issues at last, Clara was pleased, she was getting all she had really wanted out of this dance - a chance to dance with a boy. Actually she hoped to dance with more than one before the night was over but you had to start someplace.   "You actually are a smooth dancer, Charlie," she complimented him sincerely.   Soon the dance devolved into the next part where the individuals had to separate once more, then thread past each other as they faced their other partners, in other words Arabella and Brendan. A glance at the orphan girl and she was looking all serious even snooty so Clara did not bother but instead caught Brendan's eye, giving a clear enough nod of acknowledgement. And then they were past each other again.   The dance was almost over now, a pity, it had been actually quite exhilarating!  

Leah & Jonah   "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." “Exactly Jonah! Pull them in to this like the partners they are, make them understand this was not some man’s idea, nor a woman’s for that matter. It was us, together, last winter, you and I, and then came Doc Boon to join in. It’s not Saint Steelgrave’s Hospital, it’s Kalispell Hospital.” She paused and took a sip of punch for more reasons than one. He voice had risen.   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." “Helena? Why Helena’s no Saint Louis, or Baltimore, or New York.  On it’s way though. Montana’s a bit behind, but it’s got it’s comforts, it’s opera house, and fine dining. Might be dirt streets still and a great deal false fronts like we have right here.” She smiled then. “But it’s there, and we’re here, so point taken. She paused again, setting down the cup. “Wait for a stage, as unreliable as they can be, or hire a carriage?” She took a sip looking over the rim of the cup at him. “Perhaps a day to think on it?”   As much as Kallispell suited his needs, he was craving a little civilization!   @Bongo

Addy's nose wrinkled up -- she hated change, but she knew he was right -- then she nodded.  "Yer right.  I got change given ta me, an' I'm grateful ta be able ta help th' boy, an' ta do that, we'd need a proper home." “Yep, a proper home’s all any of us needs, Addy.” He looked up from the spoon load of stew, “Sometimes that need changes, because things change.” H smiled ,and just before he took that spoonful he added, “Things changed.”   Didn't need to be big, just two bedrooms, besides the kitchen and common room.  "He'd be thrilled, I think, ta have his own place.  Might be th' first time he's had somethin' like that, I don't allow as he ever had a proper house with his Ma."  Yeah, she could get more comfortable with the idea looking at it from that angle, and honestly, it might be nice to have more than one room, and room to move around.  "I'd appreciate yer help on that.  Thank ya, Speed, this ain't been easy." “I know it ain’t, things of that sort ain’t never easy, ‘course, now, that’s what they say about responsibility too, it ain’t easy.” He smiled at her across the table. “You make your runs, earn your pay, there’s folks in town well aware of what you’ve done for that boy, and finding you the right place, they’ll all help. Might outta eat up, we got work ahead of us both.”  

[Pronto, Emeline, Bridget and Jay at the end]   "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!"    “Man need ta have his options. Dish washin’ mine, when my hands’er too slow for gun work.” He winked an nodded. “Yes sir. Options.” 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!"   “Reckon I can handle that as well. Some don’t appreciate taste testers. Sorta an art form, down Persidio way. Texas.” He stood straight, face straight, then he looked at Em. “Didn’t know I was fully trained, did’ja?”   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!"  @Bongo@Javia