I Never Promised You A Rose Garden
By ABs and Donna

When they got to Edan, the three travelers from Camelot split up almost immediately. Rob Roy was headed toward the Mercantile, Ancelin the clinic, and Montoya his home. Since he lived alone, he was mostly
concerned for his garden – one of the main reasons he’d chosen that particular house in the first place.

Amazingly, the roses seemed untouched. It was as if they had somehow been protected from the heavy winds, but still rained upon so they could find nourishment in the water. He was delighted. His home, being adobe, was also unaffected. Pleased with the situation, Montoya started into the home to freshen up from the journey. Perhaps later he would go over to Kasumi’s for dinner. It pleased him to have a woman in every town, though he was far from winning Kasumi’s heart at the moment. That, he hoped, would soon be rectified.

But just as he was entering the hacienda, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Not knowing what it was, he turned and went into the garden, where he had seen it.

Amazingly, there was a woman sitting there. Montoya was startled, and even though she was very lovely, his first reaction was to blurt, “What are you doing in my garden?” in a rather abrupt and accusing way.

Carmen stood. She had been so in tune with the roses that she had not left herself open for his return.  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was just enjoying a moment of peace. Surely that is permitted?”

“Why, of course,” said Montoya, still surprised, but in a different way now. “You just startled me. It is a private garden, after all.”

“Yes,” said Carmen, her eyes growing suddenly hard.  “And it is yours. And I am intruding.” She started to leave.

“Now, did I say that? Someone as lovely as you can only add to my garden.”

Carmen thought, “You have no idea,” but she said, “Are you saying I may come back, if I wish? Just to sit and look at the roses? I will not interfere with you, I promise.”

Montoya bowed. “Mi jardín es su jardín,” he said, and Carmen nodded. 

“Gracias, Senor,” she replied, her accent fluently Spanish. She headed for the garden gate, and Montoya took a step to follow, but then he thought better of it. After all, he had already chosen Kasumi, hadn’t
he?

***

Things were slowly getting back to normal again in Edan. The new residents were settling into their new homes. The day after Connor brought the refugees into town, the three couples who wanted to get married were granted their wish. But there were still a lot of single men from that ship, and Larina had opened a boarding house for them. There was only one problem. 

She was too pretty! All the young men were falling all over themselves in an effort to woo her!  

At first it was annoying, but she could pretty much keep them at arm’s-length. After all, they were from a time when you did not just attack “decent” women in the streets. But news soon got back to them about her former profession – spread by the taunts the army men
still called to her – and then things got a little more worrisome.

About that time, the Bounty showed up. One of the passengers was an incredibly tiny Chinese woman named Wan Fa Lei. Hearing there was a boarding house for unattached men, she took her only surviving relative,
a quiet young man named Wan Sho, there to get him settled. Finding that the lady running the establishment was becoming increasingly more
flustered, she offered to help out.

Especially when one of the men made an overt pass at the pretty fae! Larina was trying desperately to ignore what was going on – she knew she could do a good job running a boarding house if only given the
chance – but if men think the woman is not so respectable, of course they will try for whatever they can get! Wan Fa Lei happened to arrive just at one of these times.

She reacted immediately. Grabbing the nearest object, a broom, she attacked the man, screaming at him in Chinese, and driving him out of the house. As he stood there in the street with a shell-shocked expression on
his face, she called out to him in broken English. "You no come back till you be good with lady. You hear?" 

“That’s no lady!” he protested. Others agreed, though she refused to listen, and taking a step forward, broom still in hand, it was clear she’d chase more out into the street if they did not back down. So they
did. But for how long?

With an offended huff, Fa Lei went back into the house to comfort the distraught Larina. "It no good for you here," she said to her. "Maybe you run other house. Maybe for young girls? They no call you bad names!"

Larina was in tears. “I thought this could do some good! There are so many men that need a place – but also someone to look after them! Who will look after them if I go?”

"I do," she offered. "They give Fa Lei hard time, she bash head in!"

Larina laughed, then sniffed. She believed it. “I just hate being a failure. I have family I can stay with, but I wanted to do something. You see, I have a fella . . . but he is in the army, so I can’t stay with him, even if we should get married some day. So I want to do something when we are not together. You know, to keep myself busy.”

"You no stay with husband?" Fa Lei asked. "Other army wife no stay either? Then it good if you run house for them!"

“Maybe but right now there aren’t any.” Larina thought. It was a good idea, though. There had to BE some eventually. Wasn’t Harper engaged? “Maybe I should look for a place, just in case,” she told the little Chinese woman. “It would have to be big, but not as big as this place.” As she stood, she snapped her fingers. “And maybe the women whose husbands are going to go do the railroad would stay with me, too. Safety in numbers, after all?”

"Is true! Also, new women who come stay with you till they find husband, yes?" One of the men was trying to sneak back in the house, but Fa Lei shook the broom at him. "Take shoe off! No wear in house!"

Larina hid another smile. “I’d have to find a very big house if that was the case,” she said. “People come here all the time.” But she liked the idea.  “Will you be all right here? I want to see if I can find somewhere suitable.”

"Fa Lei be fine! Go find place. Nephew carry your things there when do!" She pointed at the quiet young man hanging around. "He good boy. You see."

Larina smiled and nodded at him, and he seemed to blush. He was cute. But her heart was already won!  So she thanked the tiny woman one more time, and then went out to find a suitable “female” boarding house!

***

After a long bath, Montoya changed into a fresh uniform and made his way to Kasumi’s. He was hungry, but he also wanted to see her again. Both Jewel and Amethyst were just pleasant memories at the moment,
though the woman from the garden, whose name he had not even gotten, was hovering annoyingly in the back of his mind. He had to push her aside to concentrate on his suit. Tonight he would try and get the delectable Kasumi alone!

He made his way to her eating establishment. When he entered Kasumi's Kitchen, he frowned when he saw the object of his quest sitting at a low Japanese style table with not one, but three rivals! All of them, including the young Japanese girl, were wearing kimonos; the swords of the men were placed ceremonially on the floor beside the cushions they were kneeling on. 

Montoya had not brought his sword tonight, desiring just a comfortable meal, and he eyed the weapons and his rivals – for surely that is what they were – closely. Obviously, it would not be as easy to achieve his dream as he thought. The swords were all katanas, and beautiful; Montoya had once owned such a weapon, but the one that had come with him from Spanish America was not nearly so ornate or artistic.

Kasumi smiled when she saw him enter and rose gracefully to her feet. "Welcome back, Montoya-san. Do you wish to join us?"

Montoya nodded, bowing to her. “Very much, Kasumi. But why the armory?”

"They are Samurai," she said simply, as if that explained it all. Even though all three of the men were white, they had adopted that lifestyle and seemed comfortable with it.

This unnerved Montoya – he had always considered himself “Shogun”. And of course, he was a warrior in his own right. “I have always tried to adopt that philosophy myself,” he said stiffly to her. “But here, in Edan, going about armed has a tendency to . . .” He spread his hands, as if looking for a word.  “Frighten the populace. It is not like your culture,
and one must adapt.”

She shrugged and motioned for him to sit down to the dinner. "I am not frightened," she said, pouring him some tea. If anything, she found it reassuring.  Montoya took his seat. He knew that Immortals fought
and should be armed, but a truce had been called and unless traveling out of the city, he thought most of them trusted one another enough to go about unarmed. Perhaps he would start wearing his all the time, as
well. He still kept a pistol under his pillow, but tonight . . . well, tonight he had not thought a sword necessary. He had had hopes of using another weapon all together!

The meal was pleasant. Kasumi was equally attentive to each of them. They all had spent time in Japan, and shared their stories with the others. Blackthorn had been made Samurai by the Shogun himself, even though he was a foreigner. MacLeod had been the student of one, and Racine had earned the right to carry the sword in a battle for his life.

As the dinner progressed, though Montoya certainly enjoyed the stories and even participated with ones of his own, he grew more and more despondent inside. It would not be so easy to win Kasumi for himself. Not that he was giving up! It just would not be a simple as it had been in Camelot, where there had been no rivals for Jewel’s affection, and Esperanza, where a few gold coins got him the pleasure of Amethyst’s . .
. company.

After the dinner, they all rose to go their separate ways. Montoya watched as each man picked up their sword and sheathed it with a smooth, deliberate action. Each of the katanas they carried were
incredibly beautiful, and complimented the silk kimonos they wore. Kasumi showed them all to the door, and the four men walked out into the street. None of them had succeeded in winning her that evening, which was something he consoled himself with as he returned to his home, still alone.