[u][b]Mary Hawthorne - Her House[/b][/u]

“Na...no", Shelby said, clearly rattled by the accusation enough to drop her sassy comebacks for a moment, "I have some other business that needs handled. Sooner rather than later would be nice. I need the jar to...nevermind, I just need a fuckin’ jar damnit. What color bath do you want?” She raised her brow and smirked, “I can't draw for shit, but I'll try.” She placed her hands on her hips, “I'll just surprise you I suppose.” 

With that Shelby slipped across the hall to the bathroom, from which Mary could hear the tub being turned on. Still fuming, Mary went out and descended the stairs, and headed into the kitchen....her anger ebbed away as she located a mason jar that was empty and went back upstairs. It was not wise of her to take out her anger over being reminded of the life she had once had on the younger woman...after all that was a choice she had made herself. As she climbed back up the stairs, Shelby emerged from the bathroom and bowed and gestured towards it, “Ye bath is ready.” Then she straightened up, “I'll go ask Bolts for a jar, sorry I bothered you.”

"Don't be silly", Mary said matter-of factly as she handed Shelby the jar, "Here's your jar...", she added as she shed her bathrobe and let it fall to the floor, then casually kicked it across the floor into the corner, "....now if you please, wash my back and tell me about this business you need to conduct."

Mary settled in the tub, and Shelby obliged by soaping up and then washing her back while explaining her predicament. A variation of a age old tale....Shelby had been jilted by her lover, the young sickly woman who owned the horse, and sought revenge. Mary found this to be fortuitous...if Shelby was to follow in her footsteps, she would have to cut her ties with her past. Dealing with this Eliza woman and her friends could easily serve as a means to gauge how far Shelby was willing to go...if she proved squeamish it was better to learn now than later. An idea began to form in her mind. 

"You wanted to learn my ways", Mary finally said, "How would you like your first lesson?"

Mary patiently listened to Shelby's reply then answered. 

"What I propose will give you the revenge you seek", Mary replied, "But I'm warning you....if we do this there is no going back. You will see and do things that will change how you see the world forever. And you must swear you'll do exactly what I say once this begins....no matter [i][b]what[/b][/i] I ask of you, because it will mean both of our deaths if you disobey me."

"If you do as I ask", Mary concluded, "I will take you as my apprentice and teach you what I can." Her bath concluded, she stood up, and stepped out of the tub and bade Shelby dry her off. She then walked into her room and produced a old pre-war road map from a dresser. 

"Danvers is eight miles north-west of us", Mary explained, showing her on the map. "A mile to the North of that is a crossroads...here. Take my wagon and brahmin, and meet me there at noon once you've acquired your "friends". They are no use for our purposes dead....and Eliza and Sarah need to be in reasonably good shape. From there, we will proceed to our destination. If you do not appear there by the day after tomorrow...I'm going to assume that you've changed your mind and we'll never speak of these things again. I won't hold it against you so long as you keep silent about what you already know."

She then leaned forward and took Shelby's head in her hands and kissed her with some heat, pushing her tongue into her mouth, then let go. 

"Now go", Mary said, "Go and track down those who wronged you....bring them to me and together we will teach them a lesson they'll remember until they die."