"Come here and sit, Daddy," Daphne invited, sliding to her left in the big chair and patting the leather beside her. "Roy... er, Mr. Engel, was just about to explain the arrangements he has made for Clemmy."
Mitch smiled and sat, wiggling his hips against Daphne until they were both comfortably situated. "I think we already got on a first name basis with Mr. Engel, Sugar... didn't we, Royce?" He noted his daughter's tongue-slip and hastened to let them both know he had no illusions about what might have occurred while he was fucking Clementine. "That's fine, Royce," he continued, "Why don't you go on? I'd like to hear the details, too and this is as good a time as any. You want another pull on the jug? It's right there on the corner table, if you do." Mitch added, genially. "But, don't let us keep you up, either... you probably had a long day with some hard ridin'... feel free to excuse yourself anytime. There's a real comfortable cot in the tack-room you can use... I've slept on it myself, when ol' Charlie was ailin'."
"Thanks, Mitch," Royce answered sincerely. "Your 'hospitality' has already exceeded any expectations I had when I rode in. A cot in the barn will be just fine." He laughed, a little nervously. "But, sure, let me at least give you an overview. We can paint in the corners later." Daphne toyed with Mitch's hair and smiled placidly as she looked at Engel. He avoided her eye-contact, instead turning his head and looking fixedly over McFee's right shoulder, into the dining room beyond. He knew this old trick would convince his audience he was 'with them' without making them feel like he was staring them down.
Royce sucked in a breath and began. "We were very fortunate, really, Mitch. Of course the money was never an issue, thanks to your productivity and farsightedness." He saw McFee reach across and take Daphne's hand, squeezing it and smiling as Engel complimented them on their planning. "The main thing was identifying and securing the most advantageous placement for Clementine. We narrowed the field to two nearly identically top rated schools. Our choice was made for us when we found out the Chicago school's enrollment was filled and wait-listed."
Royce stood, walked to the fireplace and retrieved his shot glass from the mantel. He looked toward Mitch who merely shook his head, but pointed, with a sweeping open hand, at the small table to Engel's left. Royce uncorked the corn liquor, poured a finger-width into the glass and returned the jug to the table. Standing with his back to the fire's diminishing flames, Royce tossed back his whiskey and continued. "I actually always preferred the Ames Academy for Young Ladies, in Boston, but Mr. Lester had been thinking about a larger setting. Between you and me, I don't think he really understood your family business and location... but, be that as it may, Miss Hester Ames will be PERFECT for Clementine."
"How so, Royce?" Daphne interjected. "I gotta say, I'm a little bit worried that Clemmy might be too... oh, how should I say it, Daddy?... too 'OUTDOORSY?... you know for any real school in an actual CITY."
"Don't get us wrong, Royce," Mitch chimed in, supporting his daughters. "Clemmy is sure-fire to learn any school thing there might be... she is THAT smart! But, we're afraid for her, her never havin' been away from the mine, nor seen anyone but me and her Momma, at least until YOU rode in, which nearly made her faint, let me tell you." Mitch's leathery face softened noticeably and Daphne hugged him against her in their shared chair. "Is she gonna be laughed at, or ridiculed, because she isn't... ELEGANT?"
"Absolutely NOT," Royce emphasized, "That's exactly why I thought of Ames in the first place. Every four years she takes charge of three special young women in their 18th year and she works EXCLUSIVELY with them to develop whatever skill sets they may need. She does this for three years and when she's finished her students are polished to perfection in every regard. Then, Miss Ames 'retires' for a year to re-energize herself before she takes on another class. She's done this nine times, since graduating in the top tier of her class at Smith College, which, of course, is one of the finest institutions of higher education extant. She had one slot left for her tenth entering class and I prevailed upon her to accept Clementine." Royce ran out of steam about the same time he ran out of words lauding the Ames Academy. "Whew!" He exclaimed. "You know, that second lick of moonshine, on top of the mineral soak and my pack ride in, has hit me full force. Would you folks mind if I excused myself? I think I want to find that COT!" He chuckled wryly and put his glass on the mantel.
"Nothin' to apologize for, Royce," Mitch acknowledged agreeably. "I get you. In fact, Sugar," he added, turning to Daphne and pecking her nose, "I reckon we ought to turn in our own selves... You ready to snuggle with an old man?" He laughed low in his throat.
"Anytime at all, Daddy," Daphne replied, working on one of his shirt buttons, "You KNOW that." She got up from the chair and stepped over to Royce. "The tack room is just inside the lean-to on the right as you enter," she said, placing her hands on Engel's shoulders and squeezing in firmly. "Take a lantern and if we don't see you before breakfast I'll send Clemmy out to make sure you are..." she dropped her voice and mouthed the last word, "...UP." With a wink and another squeeze, she added, "Thanks for everythin' you have done for us, Royce," then, turning around to Mitch she said, "C'mon, Daddy, let's get you to bed."
Without ceremony, Daphne stuck out her hand and led her father from the Big Room, up another passageway, through another hewn oak door, into another natural cavern chamber. This room, though underground, breached the mountain's side at several points. Mitch had not only reinforced and redirected the vents, admitting external air flow without sacrificing elemental protection, he had also cleverly enlarged and engineered an existing natural adit and created a log and plank gable with a functioning mullioned window. The result was a master bedroom with morning light, fresh air, and needs be, an emergency escape route.
Daphne hung the lantern on its hook by the door while Mitch stoked the fire he maintained in the small pot-belly stove which constantly battled the cool temperatures in the subterrane. Even in July and August, life beneath a mountain at 9,000 feet elevation was far from a tropical paradise. The stoves, hearths and hot springs were necessary life support. For the second time since supper the McFees stripped. Daphne hung her full-length shirt-front dress in the wardrobe, while Mitch laid his jeans and shirt across the back of a straight chair near the massive oak bedframe. Hastily, each hopped and slid naked beneath flannel sheets, wool blankets and the cured hides of two black bears Mitch had surprised years ago.
Daphne cuddled close to Mitch and briskly rubbed his arms while he reciprocated along her spine and over her bottom. Quite soon they were toasty and smiling, which led to less essential hugging, and then prolonged, increasingly passionate kisses. "Daddy," Daphne breathed during an inactive interval, "I am SO happy our plan, your legacy, for Clemmy is working out." She pushed her right hand slowly along her father's thigh from behind his knee to his butt cheeks and back as they faced each other. "But I think we need to ADD to our FAMILY."
Mitch was taken aback. Daphne had never once, since Clementine's birth, expressed any desire for another child. Was she hinting at inviting Royce to stay behind and marry Clementine, instead of follow through with their plan? He frowned in the flickering light. "Really?" He asked, moving his left hand, from its resting spot on Daphne's tailbone, up to the nape of her neck and then into her shoulder-length sandy hair. He massaged her scalp as she continued to stroke his leg.