Said the Spider to the Fly…

By Donna and Abs

Life in the town of Edan was incredibly boring for Lovelace. There was only one thing that made it worthwhile. Ever since he had met the lovely young MacDonald girl at the party, he had been carefully weaving a web of seduction. Little things. A flower for no reason, a word of praise about her garment, or reciting a romantic sonnet from memory. But all this time, careful to maintain all appearances of respectability. Soon he would have her so enamored of him, she would willingly give him all that he wanted when he reeled her into his trap.  

He had, of course, learned nothing from his previous dalliance, and this new conquest was just what he needed to convince himself that he had erred in Clarissa's case - but not by pursuing her.  By letting it get too far!  He was after easier prey now, but he would not stop trying to deflower innocent young women.  The notches on his sword would continue to mount up! 

So, when he saw Hope going to fetch some things from the mercantile, he met her on the way out, offering to carry her packages. Hope smiled at him. He was so handsome and courtly! Just the sort of man she had hoped to attract!

He had it down to a science, of course.  Hell, he made wagers on his ability to seduce!  So it was no surprise that he had her on the string.  "My dear Miss MacDonald," he said politely, "I was wondering if it is not too bold of me to ask to have dinner with you tonight?" 

She blushed prettily. "I would like that very much, kind sir," she said in delight. Lovelace smiled. The web was tightening. If he had his way, she would be his before the night was over. Once at her doorstep, he bowed to her, telling her that he would wait breathlessly till the evening hour. Then, with a pleased smirk, he walked away. 

*** 

Kit O'Brady woke.  As soon as he regained consciousness, he sneezed, then cursed.  There was a feminine giggle at the end of the curse, and he smiled.  "Oh, yeah," he said.  Leaning forward, he kissed the source of the giggle - and the sneeze.  "Thank you," he said. 

"Thank you," said Ingrid, blushing. 

There was an awkward silence - at least on his part, and he said, "I have to get going.  Any idea where I can get a horse?" 

Ingrid shook her head, a sad look on her face. She liked Kit, and he was a very attentive and gentle lover, but she knew he couldn’t stay. No matter how much she would have liked him to. "I can ask Candi. She has been here longer than me." She and Kit snuggled for a while longer, and then jumped up to bathe. After they were both dressed, they went down to the kitchen area, where they found Candi making a sandwich.  Ingrid asked her the same question, and she told him that the stage was in town, and would be leaving for Edan in an hour!  

"That's great," said Kit.  "Let me get my things together!"  Ingrid looked sad at this and he said, "I'm sorry, darlin', but I don't have any money left!  And in Edan they let you live without the stuff.  If I find a way of gettin' more, I'll be back to see you." 

She insisted on walking him to where the stage was waiting to say goodbye. It was so nice to have that freedom after the slavery of Sadaam!  In fact, when she passed Grayson sitting in a comfortable armchair and reading while on the way out, he actually smiled at her! Apparently he had thought she had done well for her first night.  

Once at the stage, Kit threw his small satchel up on top. The driver, Con Madigan, told him that he was making a regular run now, and that he would bring him back anytime he liked. So, after kissing Ingrid tenderly, and then sneezing, he climbed inside the coach.  

The stage also went to Camelot, but was on its way back from there to Edan.  Then it would go back to Camelot, to Esperanza, and then Edan again, making the run twice a week. 

As the horses cantered down the road, Kit let the rocking of the coach lull him to sleep. When he awoke, quite a few hours later, they were almost to Edan. He felt covered with dust from the trip. Once he got to town, the first thing he wanted was a hot bath! Then a good meal to fill the empty spot in his belly.  

*** 

About the same time, Robert Lovelace, Esquire, was knocking on the MacDonalds’ *very* humble door.  Well, he thought, he had had lower born than this one, and it was not her house. This God-forsaken place had such mean lodgings! 

Not that she was a peasant - after all, she was entitled to be called Lady MacDonald, by virtue of her mother's noble bloodlines. After a moment, Hope appeared at the door, wearing a dark green silk dress, a stylish bonnet on her head and gloves on her lily white hands. "I'm ready," she said with a smile. "I've been looking forward to this all day."  

"As have I," he leered.  "As have I." 

They went over to the saloon, which was one of two places that served dinner.  "Unless you would rather the 'Cantina'," he said it delicately.  "The music there is rather not to my taste." 

"It would be unseemly for me to be dining in a place like that anyway," she said. He had offered her his arm, and she had slipped her hand into his elbow, feeling proud to be walking next to such a grand looking gentleman.  

Not that a saloon was much better.  But Lupe refused to have gambling while "good people" were eating their dinners.  It was a hotel *and* a saloon, and it walked a fine line between the two. 

Inside, the couple were treated to the aroma of cooking pork and beef; Lupe always had her pot of stew on, but with the added population, she had increased her fare to include steak and ribs. 

Lovelace led Hope to a table that he had asked to be specially prepared for their dinner. It was covered with a lace tablecloth, and a bouquet of beautiful flowers was sitting in the middle of it. A bottle of wine was cooling in a bucket of ice on a tray beside the table. Hope clapped her hands with pleasure. "It's lovely!" she exclaimed.  

***  

Just then the coach pulled up, and Lupe stood in her chair, ready to go out to meet it.  "I'll do it," said Jonathan, hoping to keep her off her feet for five minutes, but Lupe just took his hand and rubbed her cheek against it.  "I will still have to make them up a room," she said reasonably.  "But you go meet the stage and I will man the desk."  She still stood up, but she did not go out into the night. 

Kit stepped out of the coach, looking around the dark streets of the sleepy looking town. What a change after Esperanza! Con tossed him his bag and then directed him to the hotel, telling him he would find a room, a hot bath, and food there.  

As he approached he saw a tall, good looking blonde man smiling at him from the doorway.  He felt no buzz, or urge to sneeze, so he knew the man was not Immortal.  But there was something more than mortal about him.  He just could not place it. 

"Welcome to Edan.  Can we get you a room for the night?" asked Jonathan.  

"Please," he said with a grin. As he was escorted in, he looked around, smiling broadly. The place reminded him of the Double Eagle! There were even a few "gambler types" at the bar, marking time until they could get a game started.  Mosby was having dinner with Prudence, but Kit thought he recognized Zane Cooper and Bret Maverick, who were sharing a bottle of whisky.  If they were in town, a good card game was a certainty!  Jonathan brought him to Lupe, who checked him in.  Kit wanted that bath badly, but he was also ravenously hungry.  

Once he had his room key, Kit made his way to his room. As he went past Bret and Zane, they smiled and raised a glass to toast his arrival, calling for him to join them. He grinned and said he had to wash up first. As he then walked past the dining area, he saw a pompously dressed man sitting at a table with a lovely young girl who was giggling and obviously enjoying herself as they shared a glass of wine over their meal.   

As he made his way through the hotel to his room, Kit decided he had made the right choice.  He would miss Ingrid - they had had some night together! - but here he could live without money, gamble risk free, and make new friends.  With satisfaction, Kit O'Brady went to his room for his bath.  

*** 

Hope was having the time of her life. This seemed like a dream come true for her. Lovelace was so perfect! He was well born and seemed to be a real gentleman, so attentive to her every want and desire. The meal had been wonderful, and she almost hated to see the last plate cleared away.  

But when it was cleared off, more fun was in store.  "Might I beg your company for awhile longer?" Lovelace asked.  "We might go for a walk in the moonlight.  It is so very fine tonight." 

"I would like that," she giggled, her head spinning slightly from the wine that she had drank. She had been flirting shamelessly with him, she knew, but he seemed to like it. "It is a beautiful night."  

Standing, Lovelace held her chair as she got up.  Then he offered her his arm, like any proper gentleman would do. She rose gracefully to her feet, looking up at him through long, coquettish eyelashes. She had no idea the fire she was playing with, he thought to himself as he guided her outside.  The darkness was his friend.  That, and the bottle of wine he'd filled her with! 

They strolled through the streets, talking about the woeful lack of any real culture in town. If he only could, he told her, he would take her to a real opera, or even a ballet! As he talked, he could almost see his carefully laid out web of seduction tighten around her. Steering her to a secluded wooden area, he stopped and turned to face her, cupping her face in his hand.  

He wondered if she would object to a kiss.  She might object later, but if he could not get a kiss without a scream, he would have to call off the plan.  For tonight. 

Leaning down, his slowly closed his mouth over hers, relishing the thought that most likely, no one had ever kissed her before. She stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed. Pushing his luck, he pulled her body close to his, enjoying the way her young breasts felt flattened against his body. But as his tongue forced its way into her mouth, she started to struggle.  

But he did not stop, and his hands tightened painfully on her upper arms.  He had her now and he was not letting her go. 

Hope was scared. He was being so rough! All thought of him being the perfect gentleman for her vanished as he pushed her up against a tree, kissing her so hard that he was bruising her mouth! She was fighting desperately now, trying to get away, but she couldn't!  

He moved her arms so one hand could hold both around the wrists, and then snaked the other up under her dress while continuing to kiss her.  He knew once he let her mouth go, she would scream. 

She lashed out with her foot, the sharp toe of her button up boots catching him painfully on his shin. Somehow she managed to get a hand free in her struggles, leaving her glove behind, and then raked the side of his face with her fingernails. Bellowing in rage, he slapped her hard and then threw her to the ground. "Here I thought you were grown up enough to please me! You’re nothing but a whimpering child! Go home to your dolls!" he growled, his hand reaching up to blot the bleeding scratches on his face.  

The noise caught the attention of someone who was also out for a bit of a walk.  Kit O'Brady had finished his bath and his dinner, but Lupe, Mosby had informed him, would not allow smoking in the saloon while she was entertaining diners, so the men had to go out into the night if they wanted after dinner cigars.  Doc Adams had decreed Prudence could not be around the smoke, so Mosby, Maverick, Cooper and O'Brady had come out together and were strolling while they were smoking, getting to know one another, when they heard the tussle! 

The four men ran towards the sound, and when they arrived they found Hope huddled on her knees, weeping pitifully as she held the side of her face with her hand. They looked her over, but other than a bruised cheek and a bleeding lip, she seemed unhurt. Her assailant was nowhere to be seen. Lovelace had vanished into the night!  

The men helped her to her feet.  "Did he . . ?" Mosby did not know how to phrase it without being a cad about it. 

"No," she sobbed. "He was just kissing me." She didn't want to admit to him having his hand under her dress. Luckily her clothes were all intact. She was shaking almost violently as she realized how close she had come to being forcibly taken by that wolf in a gentleman’s clothing.  

The men exchanged glances.  Just a kiss?  Hardly.  But at least it was not more.  Or they hoped as much.  "Do you want to see the doctor?" Cooper asked.  

She shook her head. Kit looked at the spreading bruise, and suggested that something cool be placed on her face. "Just take me home," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes as she rose to her rather shaky feet.  

"Of course," said Mosby.  "Come, gentlemen.  Let us all walk the young lady home.  No one will hurt you again," he promised her.  The four men then escorted her home, though none touched her if she did not wish it. 

Hope was quiet as they walked and when they got to her front porch, she thanked them for their kindness. "I'll be all right now," she said. Hope watched them walk away, still trembling. She then turned and instead of going inside her home, she slipped across the yard and into the Mission church. She had much to repent about!