[quote]“Lilly?”[/quote]

Vance was mildly surprised in Johnathan's tone of surprise about the inquiry into his cousin.  Mourning clothes aside, she was a beautiful [i]single[/i] woman, and Vance was sure he was neither the first nor the last man in Willow Springs to take an interest in the young Bostonian.  Vance listened to Johnathan's recap of his cousin, her marriage, her husband's death, and her financial situation.  The last one alone would be enough to form a line of suitors should that news get out and the black dresses vanish.

[quote]“If Jenny manages to pull off this party I think she will be out of her mourning clothes in a week.[/quote]

There had been some discussion of the party during the dinner earlier, accompanied by repeated inquiries from Jenny as to whether or not Vance would be interested and available to attend.  Each of the Stewart's seemed to have a different idea of what was the purpose of the party.  The one that interested Vance, of course, was whether or not it would be Lillian's [i]coming out[/i] event.

There was no certainty, of course, that anything more than friendship would ever come to occur between Vance and Lillian.  After all, she was a woman of means with a position of standing, and he was a wanderer who'd only recently arrived ... with a [i]Peacemaker[/i] strapped to his waist.

************************

The next day, as Lillian was opening her book and reading about monsters, one of Willow Springs's newest residents was attempting to make up for being one.  Actually, it wasn't Vance doing the deed but was instead Mister Bowers, who had arrived in the town just six months earlier to fill the recently vacated role of mortician.  The tall, thin, [i]scary in his own way[/i] man made his way to the telegraph office and handed the operator there a hand written note and a silver dollar.

"To Mister and Missus Robert Cooper of South Rivers Street, New Orleans," the operator read aloud, ensuring he understood the note.  He continued, "Deep regret and sorrow to you and yours with the news that your son was killed in an accident shortly after arriving in Willow Springs, stop.  His employer understands that financial compensation could never be enough to replace Robert, stop.  In any event an amount of $1,000 has been wired to the National Bank of New Orleans in the hope that it will ease your suffering, stop."

The operator looked up to the mortician with a questioning expression.  "I don't recall a boy being killed recently."

"Send that immediately, please," Mister Bowers said, ignoring the question.

"I do recall a coffin coming in the train couple of days--"

A second coin bounced onto the top of the table before the operator, and when he looked up he found a hard expression on the mortician's face.  "More fingers on keys, less words in mouth."

The operator shrugged and sent the message as the tall man in black turned and departed.

***************************

Vance hesitated at the door of his hotel room, drawing a deep breath before releasing it slowly.

"What's wrong, suga'?" asked the saloon girl still laying naked in his bed at the Golden Eagle.  She chuckled, telling him, "No one saw me come up the back way.  And I'll sneak out that way after a bit more nappin', if'n you don' mind me sticking 'bout a bit.  You plum wore me out, suga'."

Vance's hesitation wasn't about the more respectable crowd in the upscale hotel learning that he'd brought a two dollar whore into their midst.  No, his hesitation was all about what was out there beyond the door: daylight.  After paying up front for a month's lodging, Vance had had a laborer nail thick, heavy canvas blinds over the windows to keep the sun out.  He'd told the clerk the truth, that he would soon be working at night and needed deep darkness to sleep through the day.  Of course, that was only a fraction of the truth, but it was all Vance was about to tell any of the residents of Willow Springs.

He turned to look back at the whore.  Most men wouldn't have hardly been able to see her in the near darkness, but Vance's enhanced sight allowed him to see not just her but the fang marks on her neck as well.  Not that he'd been measuring for accuracy or anything, but he'd taken a bit more than a pint from her, the cause of her current exhaustion.  She wouldn't remember being fed upon, of course, because of his ability to mask short term memories.  But she would note the bite marks the next time she looked upon herself in the mirror.  Men had probably done worse to her in the past, so Vance wasn't expecting her to return to him and ask [i]what the hell?[/i]

"I'll need you to come around tonight again," he told her firmly, pulling out some coins and setting them on a table near the door.  Concerned that feeding on her a second time so soon might not be a good idea, he altered his offer, telling her, "Better yet ... you keep one of these coins for yourself ... and send that little Chinese thing that was sitting on my other knee last night."

"Maybe both'a us?" she asked with a hopeful tone.

Vance contemplated the idea of having two naked [i]donors[/i] instead of one, but held firm with, "Do as I say ... and there will be more coin for you in the future."

She agreed, watching him as he took hold of the door handle, hesitated, then opened it slowly.  The light of late morning spilled into the room, and Vance drew a sudden, deep breath as if he'd suddenly dove into an ice covered river.  He exhaled as the shock of daylight wore off, then headed out onto the second floor landing and down the stairs for the stables.

Mister Bowers had arranged a horse and the necessary tack for him the day before, and when he arrived the stable boy had the jet black beauty saddled and ready to go.  Vance tipped the boy handsomely, mounted, and headed off, following the directions Johnathan had repeated to him the night before after his unfortunate and stunning loss at the poker table.  

It was a healthy ride to the Stewart Ranch, and by the time Vance slowed and walked his horse through the opened gate, he was covered in a light layer of dust.  A ranch hand -- who had been expecting Vance and greeted him by name -- took the horse off to the barn and gestured the guest toward the house.  By the time Vance arrived at the large home's porch, an alerted servant was awaiting him with a smile.

"Mister Benjamin is taking care of some last minute business, Mister Vance, sir," she said with a deep southern accent, gesturing him to follow her into the house.  Vance took a moment to kick loose some of the dust and dirt from his clothes and boots, then asked if there was a place to wash up, being told, "Right this way, we'll getcha all fixed up for brunch."

He spent a few minutes in what they called a Water Closet down in New Orleans, and when he emerged the servant was there to escort him off to the parlour.  "I'll let Mister Benjamin know you're here."

It was only after the woman departed that Vance caught sight of someone else in the room, sitting in a chaise lounger across the room beyond a life sized, stuffed Grizzly Bear.  If it had been night time, Vance would likely have heard the woman's breathing even from across the room, and further, he likely would have recognized her personal scent, telling him that the object of his desires was right here with him.  

As it was, though, Vance didn't know it was Lillian until he'd quietly crossed the room to stand over top of the sleeping beauty.  He looked down upon her for a long moment, watching her bosom rise and fall with each breath and imagining it doing so much deeper and with more rapidity as had the whore's chest last night as he fucked her to one of her many orgasms.  Lillian had [i]dressed down[/i] a bit, still in black though not as formally.  Vance couldn't help but wonder whether that was the first step toward what Johnathan had foreseen.

Vance looked to the book that was about to fall from her hand, and taking it gently from her, backed and lowered himself into a deep, soft chair.  He looked at the title, then at one of the pages inside, and he couldn't help but think [i]Monsters, they do exist.[/i]

Then, suddenly, her eyes were open and she was looking right at him as his lips spread in a smile.