Odd Meeting of Opposites

Players: Meriah and Kelly

Summary: Two opposites meet for business

Date: May 1883

Odd Meeting of Opposites


Gemstone

The priest had arrived earlier in the day, just past noon and already there was quite the buzz that the priest was not simply passing through at the bishop's orders to hear confessions and give the monthly sermon. He was asking around, asking a lot of questions once he set up lodgings at the hotel. After learning that there was two distinct offices for purchasing land, he went to the one where he knew there might be a little more room for dickering over the price. So sticking out like a very sore thumb, the fiery red haired priest walked into the casino and brothel, definitely disrupting business as he walked to the bar and asked for the owner. After all, how do you carouse, gamble, drink, and curse in front of a man of God?

Meriah looks up from her books as the whole brothel goes absolutely still. Her dark brows raise as she watches the man come in. "Interesting…", she murmurs to Buck, who only chuckled in his deep voice.

One of the girls points down the bar towards Meriah after asking for the owner, the girl not about to say more than she needs to at the moment, not even being able to pretend to not be a sinner the way she is dressed, behind a bar, serving alcohol. Gliding in quite the agile manner over the floorboards, he comes to stand near Meriah with as soft smile tugs at his lips, those bright green eyes of his twinkling a little. "Grace and peace of our Lord be upon you, my child. I understand that while you are not the owner of this establishment, you speak for the man?"

Meriah raises a glass of amber liquid to her lips and sips at it before replying. "And may the grace and peace of our Lord be with you as well….", she finally says in her soft, sultry voice. "I do speak for Monsieur Chavelle, depending on the situation. What can I help you with?

"The Church of Rome wishes to purchase land so that there might be a church built in this town and while I will respect the laws of man until God tells me otherwise, I do not have to respect the price given to me for a plot by the city lot commissioner. I am under the impression that your… Colonel Chavelle, was it, I believe?" He raises a brow as he draws up a chair and seats himself. "I understand that he holds the deed on a good deal of land and I was hoping that he might be willing to part with some for a more kindly price. Perhaps considering the discount in price to be an offering to our Lord." he folds his hands, giving a slightly broader smile.

Meriah raises her brows as she listens to the man. Her smile enlarges as he speaks. WHen he is finished, she leans forward a bit. "We already have a church, non? Though not of the Faith, it is still a church. Most are pleased to go to it."

Listening to her as she leans forward to speak to him and in turn, he leans forward as well, speaking conspiratorially. "You have come to the rub, mistress. It is not of the Faith and I am sure that many of the ladies in your employ would feel much better about their salvation were they shrived on a weekly basis. I would also hate to leave here with any ill-will between your master and the Church. As it is still a free country, I may still hold services outside your doors."

Meriah chuckles a bit and watches the priest with her dark eyes. "That would drive away the customers, non?", she says. "And if you were to purchase this land you wish…how would you be building the church? With your own hands?"

"Would it drive away your customers?" Kelly asks as he leans back, a small look of shock on his face but he recovers quickly from this. "Well, we would not wish that to come to pass." he says as he sits back in his chair as that question is put to him. He lays his palms out before him, actually looking quite soft yet even as he looks at them, every few seconds there is a slight tick in the fore and middle fingers of both his hands. "I have brought with me a conscript of money from Rome and while I am not about to shirk from the path the Lord has put before me, I shall be looking for masons and carpenters to help realized Rome's vision."

Meriah watches him over the edge of her glass for a moment. Then she gives a nod. "We have both here. As well as someone who owns a mill for the lumber you will need…", she says quietly. "Which lot are you looking at?" If she noticed the ticks in his hands, she did not show it.

He clasps his hands in front of him once more to hide those ticks and cocks his head to the side for a moment, as if studying the woman before him before he answers. "Put me out of the way, if you will or put me out of the path to your choice establishments but I desire enough room for a fine church and a yard of rest for the faithful that have passed on."

Meriah nod slowly. "And how much are you willing to pay for this land? That is a large parcel, if you are going to build the type of church that those of the Faith are used to….", she says, her english slightly accented with a french tone.

Kelly naming a slightly low figure for the kind of land he is asking, and in town but he retains that soft yet confident smile, raising his brows. "And of course, should this land be granted I will give me greatest of attempts never to step foot in this establishment ever again." he promises, looking around, people still milling around and very afraid of having a good time.

Meriah shrugs. "I do not mind if you are here, non? You pay the same as others…", she says, shaking her head. She names another figure, slightly higher.

"You may not mind my presence but I believe your customers share a different opinion." The priest gives a light chuckle before he thinks about her figure named and says another figure that is somewhere in between the one he had named and the one she spoke though leaning slightly more towards his side. "If we settle on that figure now, it shall be paid cash in the morning."

"If we settle on that low figure now, Monsieur Chavelle will have my head…" Meriah says quietly. She names another figure - lower than her first but higher than his last. "cash is always welcome. We never do things on credit."
Kelly has reconnected.

"If we settle on that low figure now, Monsieur Chavelle will have my head…" Meriah says quietly. She names another figure - lower than her first but higher than his last. "cash is always welcome. We never do things on credit."

"Not even trusting of a man of the cloth?" Kelly asks but he smiles all the same and nods at the figure she names. "Done. Your master shall have his money though for that price, I am hoping that you might put me in touch with the vendors needed to see this edifice of the Lord erected."

'He is not my master, non? Just my boss…." Meriah says quietly, toying with her glass again. "As for the lumber, speak to Monsieur Llewellyn. HE might have a line on the stone as well, hmmm?"

"Boss." Kelly states, seeming to roll this clarification around in his mind for a moment before he nods, slowly standing from his chair. "Well, I shall not hold your establishment hostage any longer than necessary. Good day, madam." he says before turning away from her and walks to the door, standing in the doorway before he turns back, making the sign of the cross in the air. "God bless and keep thee, may He cause His face to shine upon thee, and grant thee peace! Amen." he says loud enough for those gathered to hear then turns to depart.

Meriah chuckles a bit and leans back, watching the priest disappear. She automatically makes the sign of the cross as well, as if out of deep habit. "Amen…"


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