Maybelle

Ezrah,

I have been too long on this trail, dear brother, and the days have all run together now. The coaches clatter all day, and the horses huff and fidget all night. We tip our hats politely to strangers and lend our hands when another is in need. However, we are but a traveling assembly put together by circumstance, neither kin nor companion.

Lest you worry too mightily, or report to the folks that your heart is heavy for me, I will relate to you and you alone that just two days past, I happened upon the most welcoming house I have come upon in a dozen fortnights. Lady Maybelle, the proprietor, and her girls provided all the care a man could desire, and more besides.

Skill in the manners of providing pleasurable company takes many forms, and none of us guests were left wanting. Maybelle and company know the trail, and that even the memory of a strong drink and a whispered compliment can sustain a man through the remaining days in the saddle. Drifting off to sleep, afterward, felt as close to Heaven as I have come of late, my appetites assuaged and my spirit uplifted.

I shall advise you further of this location, dear brother, when you are prepared to depart from the East.

Yours sincerely,

Ulysses