"Oh, my, no." James shook his head. "Why, there's an entire fraternity of scholars at Oxford dedicated to unveiling the secrets of the undead. A secret fraternity, mind you, but very knowledgeable."
"So that's your story, is it? You're running errands for this educated group? What, did they take a special interest in American spooks all of a sudden?"
"Hardly," James said indignantly, "nor am I here at their behest. As I said earlier, I am in the employ of Lord Harcourt."
"You never did say what you do for him. You some kind of property minder?"
"Not at all. My services follow my interest."
"So you tell him about vampires?" Cora asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Essentially, yes. Actually, my line of work is remarkably similar to what I imagine yours might be. We're both mercenaries of sorts." Cora failed to hold in another gale of laughter, much to James's annoyance. "You've not much experience with manners, have you?"
"All kinds," Cora replied. "I just never learned none."
"So I see," James said, standing to his feet. "Well, I shall leave you to reflect on those encounters in the hope that you may learn from them still. Our tickets make us traveling mates, so I suppose I must leave my trunk here, but I believe a rather lengthy stroll about the train is in order."
Cora watched him leave before resuming her vigil at the window. She'd met Englishmen before in her travels, but hadn't had the opportunity to speak much with one. The last one she'd run into had been in a St Louis sheriff station. He'd been bound for San Francisco when his train ran afoul of the James Younger Gang. Lost all his possessions, he'd said, and he was mighty angry about it. That sort of thing wouldn't have happened on a British rail, he'd said. Cora and Ben had been there chasing after a spook that ended up being another misunderstanding, so she'd stopped by the station to inform the lawmen there that they'd be moving on. The foreigner hadn't appreciated her cutting in on his time with the sheriff and made sure she'd known it. He could have been speaking Blackfoot for all the heed she paid him, which only made him angrier.
This James Townsend was different. Cora had never given much thought to the possibility of actually studying vampires as a hobby. Leave it to a bunch of old English codgers to think that such a thing would be interesting. What little schooling she'd received in her life had come from Ben when he'd taught her to read. She liked it well enough, though she'd never taken to it like he had. She couldn't fathom someone devoting an entire life to reading books. Her back got itchy if she sat too long in one place, and besides, nobody ever did anybody else any good by reading. It was much better to ride through the world doing good for those as needed it. Better money, too.
Cora glanced skyward through the window. A thick mat of cold, heavy clouds covered the peaks ahead. Old Man Winter was setting up for a tantrum, it seemed. She loathed the idea of hunting that wendigo creature in a blizzard. If Father Baez was right, the blizzard would only make it stronger. Still, when the special bullets arrived, she and Ben would hunt it, snow or no snow.
Leaning her head against the wall, she pulled her hat over her eyes. Best to rest up before reaching Leadville. She closed her eyes and let the swaying of the car relax her, hoping she would be asleep by the time James Townsend returned to the cabin.
SEVEN
Mart Duggan's cold blue eyes bored into Cora as soon as she stepped off the train. "Where in the hell have you been?"
"Where I said we was going," Cora said, taking a step backward.
"Well, you should have been here doing what I'm paying you to do," the marshal replied.
"You ain't paid us nothing yet."
Duggan ignored the comment. "We had a run-in with that creature right here in town, and I lost me a good man to it."
"See now, didn't I tell you that, marshal? I said it would start eating up your townsfolk. It's called a wendigo, if you want to know."
"I don't give a damn what it's called." Duggan pointed his finger in her face. "What I want is to see it dead."
"All in good time," Cora said. "Thanks to our little trip, we've got the means