Chapter Fourteen
Doc walked into the Lily and came to a stop just inside the doors. A hauntingly beautiful voice was singing a sad lament. Lia stood on the stage, her voice carrying through the whole room. Everyone was silent and still as she sang.
“We will never know peace. We will never know gentleness. It’s all gone, taken and broken. When the stars fall and night comes, all will know what we knew.”
Doc swallowed hard, her last few lyrics bringing up the image of the Darkness eating planets to him. Blinking at the sound of people blowing their noses, he realized Lia was no longer on the stage.
“Brand is not going to be happy,” someone said to another at his table. “He told her not to sing laments last time he came in.”
Doc frowned, thinking of the man with the cane and what he was likely doing tonight. Fuck, I hope to hell he isn’t losing this place to one of the other two. Pushing the negative thought away, he headed for the bar.
“Westin,” Doc called out.
Westin motioned for him to wait until he was finished serving the people at the far end. After a minute, he made it down to Doc. “What do you need?”
“Beer to start with, but also a moment of Madam Lia’s time, if she’s amenable.”
Westin grimaced, “You’d be the fourth one to ask since she sang. She isn’t known to respond well to the offers.”
“Tell her I’m not asking for quality time. I just want a few minutes to discuss an idea.”
“Okay, but don’t blame me,” Westin said, pulling a pint for Doc.
“That bad?”
“Depends on what the other three say before she talks to you,” Westin said, “but normally, yes.”
“Noted, but it’s best to do this while it’s fresh in my mind.”
Doc kept an eye on the other men standing at the bar. Westin would lead one of the men through the door at a time and after about a minute, each man would leave, looking sad, upset, or both. After the third one, Westin gave him a head shake and motioned to the door. Draining his mug, Doc made his way to the door.
When he stepped through the wider than average door, Doc came into a hallway. There was another large door to his left, while a second normal-sized door stood ajar to his right. Stepping over to the right door, he knocked and waited.
“Come in,” Lia’s voice was flat.
He pushed the door open into the study. A bookshelf filled one wall, stuffed full of leather-bound books. There was a large desk taking up most of another wall, and a couple of stuffed chairs with a table between took up the other. Lia was seated in one of the chairs, her face neutral but her eyes cold.
“Evening, Madam,” Doc said, taking his hat off. “May I sit?”
Lia exhaled slowly, “Please. I’m sure your proposal will be different than the last three I’ve heard.”
Doc noted the undertone of sarcasm, but didn’t let it show. Taking a seat, he gave her a smile, “Your dress is lovely tonight; it brings out your eyes.” Doc wasn’t lying. The jade green of the dress did make her eyes stand out.
“Thank you,” Lia said stiffly, unsure if he was being serious or idly complimenting her to try smoothing the way. “Did you want a drink?” She touched the bottle of wine on the table between them.
Seeing just the one glass out, Doc shook his head. “Unless I was staying longer than I believe I am, it would be a waste.”
Lia’s eyebrow twitched but she nodded, “Very well. What did you want to speak with me about?”
“A tournament.”
Lia opened her mouth to say something but closed it, clearly not having expected that. “A tournament?”
“Poker tournaments, actually. I hear they used to be held at the Gold Strike, but that place doesn’t seem like it would be the right place for a real tournament. I’d like to see about holding a small one once a week and a large one once a month, with a big one once a year. Say... a ten-dollar buy-in for the small ones, a hundred for the monthly, and two thousand dollars for the yearly?”
“How do you propose to pay for the tournaments?” Lia asked.
“They’ll pay for themselves,” Doc smiled as he shifted in his seat, getting comfortable. “It’ll be a different game of poker than I’ve seen played here. You can fit ten players on the tables I’m thinking about. The buy-ins are added into the prize pool, and ten to twenty percent is withheld for the house. Take the rest of the money and split it down so the top three spots get money back. You can run hold’em in place of the other poker games to make more money, as well.”
Lia’s lips thinned, “‘Hold them?’”
“Hold’em,” Doc grinned. “If you have a deck of cards and some time, I can show you why it’s better than everything I’ve seen in town.”
Lia rose from her seat and went to the desk. When she came back, she had a deck of cards and a second glass. Handing him the cards, she poured them both a glass of wine. Doc took the cards and was quick to break them open and start shuffling. When she had the table set for him, he began to explain how the game was played and dealt an example hand. When he finished the explanation, Lia seemed to be lost in thought.
“I’ve never heard anything about a game like this,” Lia finally said.
“Not surprising,” Doc chuckled. “It’s a game where I came from, but I don’t think it spread this far.”
“Ten people can play this at a time you say, but our current tables aren’t large enough for that.”
“True, but I can show you the right dimensions for them. That would net you thirty players for the games. You’d need to run the game for a few days beforehand so your regulars know how it plays. I’d suggest playing limit hold’em for that, but no limit for the tournaments. The way those are played is different, too.”
“How?” Lia asked, leaning forward slightly.
Doc caught a glimpse of the tanned soft mounds down the front of her dress before he pulled his gaze back to her face. “Let’s deal a hand and I’ll explain.”
They had more wine and Lia’s eyes sparkled as she considered the possibilities of what Doc was telling her. “Why? You just came into town the other day.”
Doc sat back in the chair, sipping his third glass of wine. “Honestly? I like this place, and I’m kind of hoping to stay awhile. The girls here are honest, the drink isn’t watered down, and the dealers don’t cheat. You should be proud, Lia.”
Lia’s smile grew for a moment before it vanished entirely. “I’ll pass that on to the owner.”
“Would you want it back?” Doc asked idly.
Eyes narrowing, she glared at him. “What?”
“Would you want the Lily back?”
“What makes you so sure you can do that?” Lia’s voice was frozen, spiked with anger.
“I’m blessed by Luck, but Brand has to not lose it to Goodman or Suez tonight.”
Lia’s face went white, “No…”
“He is at the Gold Strike right now,” Doc said softly. “He was playing an invitation-only game with the two of them.”
Lia closed her eyes, her hands clenched into tight fists as she breathed hard, “That moron. He promised me.”
“You have less than a year left, right? I can help, if you’ll let me.”
Swallowing, Lia opened her eyes and stared into Doc’s. “Why?”
“The Lily speaks to me. I’m sure that I was brought here for this very reason.”
“We’ll talk later,” Lia said as she reached for a long coat. “I need to go.”
“Tomorrow,” Doc said, taking the hint and leaving the room before she did.
Westin gave Doc an appraising look for a long moment, but that look changed to bewilderment when Lia came rushing out the back and out the door. “What happened?”
“Bad news,” Doc said. “I’m going to use one of the baths. Can you have someone send a pot of tea, spiked with whiskey, and dinner to my room in half an hour?”
“Uh, sure,” Westin said slowly.
“Thanks.”
&nb
sp; ~*~*~
Stepping out of the bathing room, Doc came to a stop. Posy was waiting in the hall, “Did you need something, Posy?”
“I put your clothes in your room and I was coming to check on the bathing rooms,” Posy said back, looking down.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Posy shook her head, “No. I’m sorry. Fiala explained it to me.”
“Huh?”
“I thought you’d hurt her when she came running out of your room this morning.”
“Oh, that’s why you stopped looking at me?”
“I thought maybe you were one of the bad men,” Posy said softly. “I’m sorry.”
Taking a knee, Doc gave her a soft smile, “It’s okay, I’m not mad. If I had hurt her, you’d have been right to do so. Bad men don’t deserve to have nice girls smile at them. Friends?” He held out his fist, pinkie extended.
Posy looked up at him shyly, a smile on her lips. “Friends.” She extended her pinkie and wrapped it around his.
“Good. I did leave clothes in the hamper. You can drop them off when I go out in the morning.” Pulling a penny from his belt pouch, he held it out to her. “Thank you for doing good work.”
Taking the coin with a wide smile, Posy nodded, “You’re a nice man.”
Doc got back to his feet, chuckling, “I try. When you bring the water to my room in the morning, just knock and leave it on the floor for me, please. I feel a bit awkward answering the door in the blanket.”
“Okay,” Posy replied before she bounced around him for the bathing room door.
Smiling at her happy nature, Doc headed for the stairs and bed. When he came out of the hallway, Doc was forced to stop at the bottom where a number of people had blocked the stairway. Looking at the stage, he understood why— Cassia and Jasmine were doing a dance number together.
Doc gave a whistle along with the others in the room as Jasmine dipped Cassia, then brought her back up and spun her to the far side of the stage. When Cassia came out of the spin, she rushed back to Jasmine, who then picked up the smaller woman and hoisted her overhead. The piano played a soft slow tune fitting for a ballet, perfect for the dance they were doing. The end came soon after with both women going to the ground, entwined in each other’s arms.
The bar erupted in hoots and whistles as soon as the piano stopped playing. Cassia and Jasmine stood up and bowed to everyone. As they headed for the edge of the stage, the men who had crowded the stairs all began calling out to them, offering money to spend time with each of them. A small bidding war broke out, and the women listened until the men stopped trying to outbid the others.
“Well, we didn’t expect to be so wanted,” Jasmine said. She had a small lisp when she spoke, denoting her reptilian bestial heritage.
“Seven dollars to each of you for an hour,” one of the men said.
“What the fuck?” another man groused. “You’re just going to come in and swing your money around?”
Cassia frowned before turning to the first man. “I will decline. I have had an offer for my time for the rest of the evening already. I would have said so earlier, but it was easier to wait until I could speak uncontested.”
Doc glanced over his shoulder and saw Wenn smirking at him. “I wouldn’t go against the marshal if I were you,” Doc advised them.
All eyes went to Wenn. He looked like the cat who got the canary, grinning as he leaned against the bar. “I asked before the show. Wanted to beat the rush.”
“If you’ll all excuse me,” Cassia said as she stepped past them to Wenn. “I’m ready now, sir.”
“Well, let’s clear the area so we don’t distract them,” Wenn laughed, taking her hand and leading her up the stairs. “Sorry, Doc.”
“No apologies needed,” Doc chuckled. “I wasn’t in the bidding war.”
“Seven dollars for an hour sounds intriguing,” Jasmine said, looking to the other men. “Does no one else value me higher?”
No one spoke up and she bowed her head, “So be it. I’m yours for an hour. Let’s make arrangements with Westin.”
Doc chuckled as the other men grumbled and dispersed, letting him head up the stairs. He glanced back and caught sight of Fiala serving drinks. Catching her eye, he gave her a smile before he vanished up the stairs.
When he got upstairs to his room, he found the items he asked for on the table. Dropping into the chair, he poured himself some tea and thought about what he needed to do. Is setting up poker tournaments enough? It might not be and the idiot could have already lost this place to one of the others. Maybe I should take a trip outside of town? He paused, taking a swig of his spiked tea. If I could find a mine and stake the claim, then they would definitely want to talk. Not that I know what I’m looking for, but maybe my dwarven blood would help there... Doc started in on his chicken and mashed potato dinner, contemplating the ups and downs of his idea.
Chapter Fifteen
A gentle knock on his door roused Doc from his dreamless sleep. “Huh?”
“Your wash water, sir,” Posy said from the outside.
“Thank you.”
Getting out of bed, Doc used his magic to heal the bedbug bites. Guess I need to mention it to Lia personally, since the compound didn’t work, Doc grumbled to himself. With his blanket wrapped around him, he cracked the door open and found the hallway empty, save for the steaming kettle in front of his door. Smiling, he snagged it, ready to wipe the night stink away and get on with the day.
Doc greeted Dillon when he made it downstairs. “Morning. Is there a cup of that tar for me?”
“Sure. Did I need to tell the cooks to make you breakfast?”
“Not sure. Posy might have.”
“I’ll just poke my head back there, just in case.”
“Appreciate it,” Doc said, taking the mug from him. “I’ll be over there.”
“Got it.”
Doc was just taking his seat when Dillon and Posy came out of the door by the stage. Dillon was chuckling and Posy was carrying a plate.
“Your breakfast, sir,” Posy said as she put the plate on the table in front of him.
“Thank you, miss,” Doc smiled, putting a couple of pennies on the table. “Thank you for the water this morning, too.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” Posy smiled and took the money before bouncing away happily.
“That kid sure has taken a shine to you,” Dillon laughed from behind the bar.
“Always be kind and tip the staff well. In return, they will take care of you,” Doc said, picking up the fork and knife that came with the meal.
“Words of wisdom,” Dillon chuckled. “If only more people did.”
“That’s true of many things,” Doc added before turning his attention to his food.
~*~*~
“Doc, do you have a moment?”
Glancing up, Doc saw that Lia was standing at his table. He pushed his empty plate away and gave her a nod. “For you, Madam Lia? Always.”
“Follow me, please.”
Doc got to his feet, following her behind the bar. He gave Dillon a shrug when he caught the bartender watching him with inquisitive eyes.
Lia led him back to her study and shut the door firmly behind him. “Please, have a seat. Would you care for a drink?”
“Your drinks are always the best the house can offer,” Doc replied. “I will if you are.”
“Very well,” Lia snagged a bottle and two glasses. “I need to thank you for telling me about the game last night.” Taking a seat opposite him, she poured them each a glass. “I made it in time to watch Brand lose the old general store to Suez.”
“Suez is a cheat, at least according to the people I played with at the Gold Strike.”
“No one has caught him at it,” Lia said bitterly. “Gods know I’ve tried.”
“There’s always the next game,” Doc said.
“Which is what I wanted to talk to you about,” Lia said, picking up her glass. “Would you be willing to help me run tournaments
? It was your idea, after all.”
“What help do you need?”
“I need you to show my dealers how the game is played. All the fiddly bits, so they know what to expect.”
“It’ll take a day,” Doc said. “If you want it to be a surprise from the public, I’ll need a private room to teach them and say... two or three others to act as players.”
Suited for Luck Page 11
