Decker Malloy strode into the large ballroom that he'd been allowed to turn into his personal apartment inside of the Amsterdam Manor. The high vaulted ceiling room was well decorated with fancy furniture and fine decorations, although most of it was covered in dust as any other bachelor pad might be. He took his duster coat off and tossed it onto a velvet upholstered fainting couch, before striding over to his personal bar and fixing himself a moonshine cocktail. He pulled a second glass out and filled it with something, before walking over and presenting Eva with cup.<br/><br/>"Ahh, no thankie sai....I can't..." She persisted and politely waved the cocktail glass away.<br/><br/>"It's not liquor, it's just fruit juice, Even an idiot can see you are with child, ma'am" Decker said, and then reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling it up and wrapping her fingers around it. He could see that she was surprised by his assumption but she wasn't surprised, Decker's icy blue eyes showed his intelligence. Eva brought the glass to her lips and barely sipped the liquid, just in case he was lying and it was fermented,as it turned out it was indeed fruit juice and was quite good.<br/><br/>"Pomegranate....I have it shipped in from  overseas." Decker said, a small smile cracking on to his lips at hearing himself try to brag to this commoner woman.<br/><br/>"Tis very good sir....But as it is closing in on midnight, and as you've notice I am pregnant, I think I'd like to try and get some sleep, for my unborn child's sake...Where would you have me lay, That fainting couch looks comfortable enough, May I sleep there?" Eva asked, throwing in as many references to her expected state to her request as she could muster; her hopes were that he might find mercy on her because of it.<br/><br/>"Nah...You can have my bed..." Decker pointed at the large king sized feather stuffed mattress on the far side of the room. "Can't be having an expected mother sleeping on a davenport."<br/><br/>"oooh No really, I don't want to inconvenience you in your own apartment, the couch would be fine, I don't want to put you out none." Eva shot back.<br/><br/>"Oooh don't worry you won't be 'putting me out' none at all....In fact I'll be 'putting it in' and since yer pregnant there won't be no baby proof of it, and yer husband will be none the wiser....Now be a dear and strip down here in front of me, I'd like to have a taste of those milk swelled breasts before we get down to business." Decker said, his tone still soft, but his words were now cruel and his stroking of her pretty blonde hair made it all the worse.<br/><br/><br/>************<br/><br/><br/>Heck sat on the edge of the now vacant bed, sipping the water young Bethany had brought for him, he felt ridiculous in the makeshift kilt he was wearing. " I Don't suppose you got any clothes I could borrow? I can't see ya sending me out dressed like this...." He asked, seeing that only his boots and hat remained.<br/><br/>"We are a house of woman and girls...Would you like a nice Sunday Dress?" Lila inquired, her arms still folded under her large bosom. " Sides, you came in here naked, I don't got no qualms about tossing you out in the same manner you arrived!"  Lila finished and it drew a laugh from Bethany,  whom was staring awestruck at the handsome if not a bit overcooked man. "Off to bed with you!" She scolded Bethany.<br/><br/>Bethany outstretched both arms and pointed at her bed, which Heck was siting on. Heck got up and adjusted the sheets, and then he and Lila adjourned to the sitting room located on the lower floor. It was in the rear of the house, instead of the front like most sitting rooms, Lila used it for her nighttime clientele waiting room in order to keep the men's identities from being broadcast to the street outside.<br/><br/>Lila produced her flask of whiskey and took  another sip, she handed it over to Heck next. "Just a sip...I don't want you croaking over!" She warned, and he imbibed only the smallest of gulps, even that small bit caused him to cough and gag. "Told ya" she put in. "Thanks" he responded.<br/><br/>"So, what's yer name, and what's yer story...Ya at least owe me that..." Lila stated coolly,  She pointed up at her still swollen lips. In all reality she only expected<span style="font-weight: bold">half the truth</span>anyway, but she was owed something and since the stranger didn't have anything other than a hat and pair of used boots to his name, a story was going to have to suffice.<br/><br/>"My names James, but folks call me 'Heck'...." Heck started, but Lila cut him off, "I bet they do, you haven't caused nuthin but heck since you got here..."<br/><br/>"Nah, my middle name is Hector...you know, like the greek hero...Well any way, I was ambushed out in the desert..." He started to continue but Lila butted in again, "Injuns I suppose?"<br/><br/>"Nah ma'am...They was white skinned and they had the tempers to prove it too. Turns out they wanted what we was paid to protect, a stagecoach with some gold blanks in it. We was shipping them back from California territory and they hit us,they Gunned us down, killed almost everybody with the initial attack. Me and a few others held them off until we ran short on ammunition. So we grabbed the satchels of gold out of the Stage Coach and made a run fer it.  I am pretty sure the other's got whacked, but I managed to slip off into the river....That's where I lost my cloths, and when I finally got to dry land I started walking. 30 miles, took me two and a half days, through the desert and cooking my keister in the sun....I was so happy when I finally reached this town, being naked didn't even occur to me...That's when them Cowboys with the red bandannas got a hold of me." Heck lied, recanting a good but false story.<br/><br/>"Damned...them cowboys in the red kerchiefs....We call'em Damned" Lila said as she held up the red silk neck tie that Decker had left with her.<br/><br/>"Where'd ya get that If'n you don't mind me asking?" Heck put in.<br/><br/>"Same place I got this..." Lila said as she pointed at her lips. " We call'em damn, cause they work for a land baron by the name of Mr. Amster<span style="font-weight: bold">dam</span>, and cause they are damned villainous bastards, every last one of them....They took your gold, and You ain't prolly gonna get it back from them. I'd tell you to go to the law, but Sheriff Deschain and much in the way of disciplining them fellers. "<br/><br/>"You mean he works for this Mr. Amsterdam?" Heck  asked.<br/><br/>"No, He's his own man, but he just ain't got the manpower or the guns to do much about what Mr. Amsterdam gets up to.....The Mayor/Judge of this town is straight up bought and paid for though...he'll be of no help to you at all.<br/><br/>"Great!" Heck scoffed and reached out to take another swig of Lila's task, she hesitated but eventually gave in and let him have another swig, after the bad news he'd just gotten, she figured he needed one anyway.