Once Kitty was back behind the pulpit, she stood perfectly still, looking at the assembled group of people. Placing her hands on either side of the dais, Kitty took a deep breath. "I'm sure you think what I just did was a bit cruel, maybe a little mean spirited. And perhaps it was. But that was absolutely nothing compared to what I have gone through these last days."

Kitty waited for that thought to sink in then went on. "You know, I understood, the day I first put on a satin dress and high heels that I'd never be completely accepted into 'genteel' society. And I was fine with that. I was a single girl with no family and no other way to support myself and I just really didn't care what anyone thought as long as I wasn't homeless and hungry. And I've maintained that same attitude for most of these last years. It hasn't always been easy, and there were times it outright hurt, the way I was treated, but I knew my own worth and that was all that counted.

What some of you did to me was mean and heartless. But I don't think you are. I think you're just people who've gotten so full of their own righteousness that you've forgotten what true Christianity really is. It's not about how much better you are than someone else or how often you attend church or how much money you put in the offering plate. It's your personal walk with the man above and whether you can look at yourself in the mirror without flinching. I know that sounds funny, coming from someone like me but I just betcha Reverend Fetgatter here will agree with me." Kitty turned and looked over at the Pastor who nodded with a smile.

"I certainly do, Miss Russell. I certainly do."

Kitty looked again at the people before her and saw she had their full attention. "I'm not sure you could rightly call me a Christian since I don't go to church or spend a lot of time reading the bible. But I know where I am with the man above and though I have some things to work on, I believe He's willing to help me with them. My question to each of you this morning though, is what about you? For a while now, quite a few of you have noticed and pointed out every flaw I've got. And when that wasn't enough, you set out after my friends, my employees and my customers. You've done everything you could to make my life as hard as possible. But what about you?"

Kitty looked at the people she'd approached earlier. "Mildred, you might think no one knows that you like to gamble, but they do. Eula Belle, my girl Marge isn't the first girl that Mel here has sought out to give him the attention and affection that you obviously deny him. Same for you, Marcia. Same for several of you here." She turned her gaze to Mabel and Weaver Mills. "Mabel, Weaver seldom comes into my place and until that day you came in, he'd never made a play for me or any of my girls. But I doubt it's because he's so good. It's more likely he's so afraid of you, he wouldn't dare."

Mabel blanched and her mouth flapped open but she couldn't think of anything to say so she shut it with an audible snap.

Kitty straightened her shoulders. It was time to finish her one and only sermon and go back to her saloon. "I'm, uh, not a bible scholar and there's a whole lot I don't know about it. But I do know that somewhere in there, there's a verse or two about cleaning the mote out of your own eye before picking the beam out of someone else's. It seems to me that lately everyone's been worried about my vision without realizing how blind they are. I guess, if I gave it a little quiet thought, I just might find that I've been guilty of the same thing a time or two. And I'm willing to work on that. But what about you?"

Kitty saw a lot of people swallow hard and drop their gazes to the floor as she nodded to the Pastor and stepped away from the podium. "Reverend Fetgatter, I want to thank you for letting me speak here today. I appreciate it and I won't hinder your services any longer."

The good man rose from his chair with a broad grin and an outstretched hand. "You didn't hinder anything, Miss Russell. In fact, you preached, perhaps, a better sermon than I could even try to." The reverend looked out at his now chastened church members. "What Miss Russell said is true, you know. Coming into this church building doesn't make you a Christian anymore than walking into a stable makes you a horse. And if you really examine the word 'Christian' you'll find it means 'Christ like'. Can any of you say that's how you've been lately?"

All heads were dropped now and Reverend Fetgatter was pleased to note that several had a tear or two gathering in the corners of their eyes. "Ladies and Gentleman, I think we've had a good service today, or at least a instructive one and so I shall close our meeting with just this one last thought. Miss Russell?" He looked over at Kitty. "If you don't mind. I think I shall repeat your wise words." He looked back at the church members as they began to get to their feet. "I know where my life is with the Lord but what about you? Think on that, Ladies and Gentleman and I'll see you here next week."

As the congregation began to file out of the building, Matt, Doc and Festus stepped up beside Kitty and the Pastor.

"Boy, Kitty, you really let em have it." Doc grinned. "And they deserved it."

"Did they?" Kitty turned an unblinking and somewhat sad gaze at him. "I didn't want to embarrass those people, Doc. I just wanted them to leave me alone."

Matt nodded as he took her arm. "Well, they'll do that alright. From now on, they'll do just that. Come on, let's go get something to eat."

Kitty shook her head. "No, I think I'll go home, Matt." She looked up at him. "I have some reading to do."

"Alright." Matt agreed and stepped back, knowing not to press. This had a been a difficult time for Kitty and he knew when she was ready, she'd talk to him about it.

Saying nothing more, Kitty took her leave of her friends and walked home to her suite at the Long Branch. Once inside the sanctuary of her private rooms, Kitty kicked off her shoes, divested herself of her dress, wrapped a robe around her and then went to her dresser. Pulling out the bottom drawer, she reached into the back and pulled out a small black book.

Kitty's mother, when she died, hadn't left her much more than memories, a necklace and this book. It had gotten quite a lot of use when her mother was alive but not too much after that. Kitty walked across the room to her settee and sat down with the sacred tome, her finger lightly tracing the words on the front.

Holy Bible.

"Well," she sighed as she opened the book and settled back to read. "I guess it's never too late, even for a sinner like me."

The End

AN: Some people may agree with me on this and some may not. It's your choice. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.