"Name's Cora Oglesby." She kicked the bench in front of her, but Ben just grunted. "That sorry sack of sod there is my husband, Benjamin Oglesby."
"Always a pleasure, to be sure," James said.
"Ain't so often we see a Brit out here in the West. What brings you to our little corner of the world?"
"Business, as one might expect." James smoothed down his ruffled shirt. "I'm on my way to a place called Leadville to see to my employer's affairs."
"Well, ain't it a small world?" Cora said. "So happens Leadville's our stop, too."
"Splendid!" James clapped his hands together. "You will have to give me the proper tour! I've always harbored a desire to see the legendary American West firsthand!"
"You ain't been up there before?"
"Oh, good heavens, no! Do I look like the sort of man who frequents such backwoods places?" He sat up straighter. "As it happens, I'm recently come from London herself, and she's where I lay my head when I'm not running about in the wide world."
"How does that work out?" Cora asked. "I mean, what with your boss out here in the States and all."
"Oh, Lord Harcourt would never dream of getting the dust of such a rustic place on his jacket. No, he resides at court and takes his tea with the finest nobility. He's even been called before the Crown a time or two, or so he's told me. A proper lord, he is, and wealthy enough to keep his investments halfway around the world."
"Investments? He deal in liquor or ladies?"
"Neither," James replied. "Lord Harcourt deals in silver. He owns a mine to the north of the town of Leadville."
"Fine trade, as far as it goes," Cora said. "Whole reason for the town's existence, or so I'm told. Not that we ever had the money or gumption to dig for our own."
"I thought not."
"You thought not?" Cora asked, leaning toward him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" James waved his hands in surrender and leaned away from her. "I only meant that you don't really look the sort to dally about all day while others do your work for you."
"So you're saying we ain't fancy."
"No! Well, yes, but I don't mean to offend! I only meant to imply that you have the look of a gunfighter or an outlaw. A roguish look, if I may be so bold."
"How do you know we ain't? Maybe we're fixing to rob you blind and dump your corpse off the next bridge."
The blood drained from the British man's face. It was clear he hadn't considered such an option. He swallowed once, then looked down at his hands. They rode in silence for a few moments, listening to the clacking of the wheels beneath them.
Finally Cora laughed. "You look a sorry sight, Mr London. No, we ain't planning you any harm. Why, we'd just as soon save your hide for the right price."
"I shall keep that in mind," he said. His hand reached for something beneath his shirt as he muttered something under his breath. Cora could make out the shape of a cross through the cloth.
"You're a religious man, I take it?"
"Well, yes. As much as I need to be, at least."
"Is that right?" Cora crossed her arms. "How much does that come out to, do you find?"
"Enough to keep me alive."
"Well, ain't that an oddity? Most folk I met says they're into religion for what happens after death, not what happens before. What is it about religion as keeps you alive?"
"I can't see how it's really any of your business."
"Fine, have it your way," Cora said. "Just a mite surprised to hear a man give an answer that may as well have been mine."
James gave her a sidelong glance, then pretended to find something on his shirt that needed his immediate attention. Cora watched him fidget, a smirk on her lips. After a few moments, her gaze fell to the trunk. "Say, why do you carry all them books with you, anyhow? Ain't it a pain to lug that old trunk everywhere?"
"Well," James began, his eyes looking around the coach for words. "You see, I am something of a scholar, as you may have gathered."
"A scholar?" Cora asked. "So you're a doctor, then?"
"Well, not exactly. To tell you the truth, my area of expertise is somewhat… unusual."
"What's that?"
A furious blush crept across the British man's cheeks. "I expect you will find it rather odd, and I did so myself when I first