Gwen's giddiness seeped into Anna as they gawked at the impossible expanse of blue ahead of them. "It's bigger than the world itself."

"We might be straining hyperbole there but I'll agree," Anna took a deep breath, "It's gorgeous."

"It's just…" Gwen spluttered, "I've not even got words for what it is."

"Few people do." Green joined them, opening his hand toward the ocean. "It's the edge of the earth, if you will."

"It's just the start of another world." Anna put a hand to her hat as a gust of wind picked up. "How was your meeting, Mr. Green?"

"It went well." He shrugged, "The people are out here are much more pliant to ideas."

"Are they?" Anna raised an eyebrow, "I would think the wilderness would make men harder and more wary."

"These are the same people who came here to dig gold from a mountain." Green snorted, "The educated don't make that kind of decision."

"I think there is education in the struggle for life and the experience here." Anna raised her eyebrow, "It's almost insulting to suggest that these people haven't educated themselves on the basics of survival to build a society on the edge of the world. That's a level of capability I've yet to find anywhere else."

"Civilizations have survived for thousands of years." Green almost twitched his lip in disdain as he turned his focus to those milling around the station around them. "What they're doing here isn't special."

"But they've survived, Mr. Green, that's what makes them what they are."

"In a way." He squinted and put a hand on Anna's arm, stopping her following Gwen from the station to where John guided the men loading their things onto a carriage. "I'd like a moment of your time, if you're amenable."

Anna looked down at his hand on her arm and then his face. "It seems I'm at your disposal for the moment, Mr. Green."

"I'd like to ask you something." He guided her to a quiet spot on the platform and Anna hugged her arms to herself as he removed his hat to touch at his hair. "I know this may seem forward but I'm at the cusp of greatness and I'd like to bring you with me."

"To greatness, Mr. Green?"

"To whatever the future holds for me." He dug in his pocket and produced a box. Anna could swear the blood in her veins ran cold as he opened it and held it toward her. "I want you to be my wife, Ms. Smith."

"I'm flattered by your proposal, Mr. Green, but I barely know you."

"Isn't that what marriage is for?" Green tried to laugh at the awkward beat between them. "To get to know one another?"

"The problem is that I already know what I need to know about you, Mr. Green, to say I don't think I want to know you better." Anna took a step back, "You're a man with great ambitions, Mr. Green, and I get the uncomfortable feeling those ambitions depend on my agreeing to your proposal."

"I'll admit that part of the reason I closed the deal was on the assumption that you would be a part of the venture." Green shuffled, "A critical part, of course."

"You mean a monetary part?" Anna shook her head, "I'm not just a bag of money with a face, Mr. Green, and that's the crux of the issue."

"You're a woman with a scandal hanging over her head who not only fled to New York but hopped a train with two men to run from it." Green stepped toward her, his tone menacing slightly, "Let's not pretend you're any better than me."

"The difference, Mr. Green, is that I offered no illusions about my interest in this journey for completely personal reasons of sight-seeing."

"And finding yourself a husband."

"Those are the reasons my parents and grandmother allowed the journey, not mine." Anna crossed her arms over her chest, "And even if you were a contender for my hand, which you're not, then your proposal would've eliminated you."

"Because I had the gall to do it."

"Because you don't understand the first thing about me, Mr. Green." Anna went to leave the platform but he stepped in front of her. "Please move."

"You can't tell me that you'd be more happy with anyone else." He threw his arm toward where John stood. "Like that old cripple for instance. He couldn't possibly make you happy."

"On the contrary, Mr. Green, I think he could make me very happy. Now let me by."

"You're under the illusion you've a choice in this."

"I've a choice in all things, Mr. Green, and it shows your poor breeding that you can't understand that my choice, in this case, isn't you."

"You-"

"Is there a problem here?" John stepped forward and Anna noticed the tremor that ran through Green. "Our carriage is waiting and it'd be rude to keep them waiting any longer."

"And here he comes, you're great defender." Green scoffed, "Just waiting for the right moment to swoop in and save her Mr. Bates?"

"I was hoping to render assistance, if required, but the pleasure would be if she asked me to rid us of your company." John nodded toward the ocean, "It's a large ocean. I'd hate to think of your body floating in it for the fish to eat."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Do I need to?"

They stared one another down a moment more, John standing a head above Green, until Green backed away with a sneer. "You're just like the rest of them."

"As long as it's not like you, Mr. Green, I'll be quite satisfied." John offered Anna his arm, "Shall we, Ms. Smith? It's a bit of a ride to the ranch and I'd like to make it before dark."

"I think we should, Mr. Bates." Anna faced Green, "I wish you well on your venture, Mr. Green, and I do hope our paths don't cross again."

Anna held her head high, keeping close to John as she lifted her skirt and took the stairs down the platform toward the carriage. His arm remained stiff and Anna forced her focus ahead. When he whispered to her ahs almost jumped.

"Are you alright?"

"Please just get me to the carriage and don't look back." Anna used his hand as Gwen opened the door, and climbed into her seat. As she turned the door closed and she blinked at John on the other side. "Are you not riding with us?"

"I am, just not in the carriage." He stepped back and called toward the driver, "Turn her around Mr. Moseley and let's get on our way shall we?"

"My pleasure to Mr. Bates."

The leads snapped and Anna put a hand to the side of the carriage as it turned north. Steady rolling soon rocked Anna into a cadence and she risked a look toward the platform but Green was gone. With a sigh she settled back into her seat and met Gwen's face.

"I do hope you're not going to tell me that you saw this coming when I already know you did."

"I wouldn't do any such thing milady." Gwen shrugged a shoulder, "We both knew what he was after and why he arranged the trip."

"I thought he might attempt to woo me a bit before he went after my money with such vehemence." Anna sucked her tongue between her teeth, "Is it something about me that seems to scream to men that I'm simple and easily had?"

"I think it's the unfortunate burden of your class, milady. Or all women in general."

"How'd you mean?"

"I've had many a man press an advantage toward me because they were bigger or stronger or thought that a wink was as good as a nod, if you follow my meaning."

"We're both in a unique situation to say that I do." Anna interlaced her fingers in her lap, "Is it worse, in your position, than in mine?"

"The benefit of my position, milady, is that I always had to share a room so no man ever barged in." Gwen paused, "But there have been one too many forced kisses in the corner."

"I endured a few of those."

"But you endured them while they spouted bad poetry or tried to dance you away from watchful eyes, milady." Gwen gave a laugh, "The men who kissed me in dark corners were trying their hands at getting under my skirts and spoke their true intentions with words I won't repeat here."

"Words, I'm guessing, you and I aren't supposed to know."

"The words that should make a lady, like yourself, faint." Gwen traded smiles with Anna, "But you're made of stronger stuff than that, milady."

"Am I?" She gave a little huff, "Sometimes I wonder if I am or if I just pretend to be. The willow must think itself so strong until it cracks in the thunderstorm that barely tickles the oak."

"Storms makes trees stronger, milady. Sinks their roots deeper so when the next one comes it bears the brunt."

"And you think we can bear the brunt of what lies ahead of us?"

Gwen nodded, "We've survived this far milady. We can make it further."

They chatted on lighter subjects for a time until Gwen's head tipped toward the side when her eyes grew heavy. Anna turned her attention to the road around them, taking in the view with deep breaths and exclamatory excitement she tried to curb so as not to wake Gwen. But the trees loomed larger as they ascended into the hills and Anna could barely breathe.

Even for as green as it was where she grew up, facing the reality that these vistas existed had her gaping. Mountains loomed like ever-present watchmen in the distance while the hills rolled in their green glory. All of it simply shattered her and she wondered if she could ever return to the noise and bustle of New York or the quiet contemplation of the English countryside. For all she could decide, with the sky growing darker the earnest effort of the laps on the carriage struggling to light the path around her, at that moment was the world she thought she knew no longer existed.

She was in the wild now.

When they rolled to a stop Gwen shook herself awake, blinking in the deep shadows of the carriage, and struggling to arrange herself. "I'm so sorry milady. I should've tried harder to stay awake."

"It's alright." Anna smiled, though Gwen would have to hear it rather than see it. "I contented myself with a visual conversation."

"For what I saw of it, it's gorgeous around here." Gwen gathered the few things inside the carriage as the door opened and a hand opened toward them.

"It's beautiful. You should see it when the sun rises over the hills. Paints everything pink and gold." Anna took the hand and descended next to a man with a neat tie and mustache that gave his face a soft glow in the light of his lantern. "It's one of the reasons I find an excuse to be up here."

"Are you not normally?"

"No, as Mr. Bates's accountant my skills shouldn't bring me up into this neck of the woods but I just love the calm serenity of it compared to Eureka." The man helped Gwen from the carriage and Anna tried to hide her grin when his mouth opened a little. "You've the most vibrant hair I've ever seen."

"Thank you sir." Gwen blushed, "It's rather red."

"So is the sky at dusk and yet everyone finds its beautiful." He took another minute to stare before coming to himself, extending his hand to shake. "Sorry, you must think me so rude. I'm John Harding."

"Gwen Dawson." Gwen bit at her lip before shaking herself all over and hurrying to step behind Anna. "This is Lady Anna Smith, my employer."

"Just 'Ms. Smith' out here though." Anna shook his hand, "Lady Anna seems a bit imperious so far away from where titles pretend to matter."

"We're all our titles though, aren't we Ms. Smith?" Mr. Harding raised his lantern and addressed the driver, "Should I send you some help with the trunks Mr. Moseley?"

"It'd be preferable since I'd struggle to manage them on my own."

"William and Alfred are just at the house, I'll send them to you." Mr. Harding directed the ladies forward. "Stay in the glow of the lantern and take care for the path. It's flat and even so you shouldn't have too much trouble."

"Do you know where Lady Anna'll be staying?" Gwen turned over her shoulder to speak to Mr. Harding, "I'd want her trunks brought up there first so I can get it all sorted."

"You'll both be in the state rooms in the second floor."

"Oh no," Gwen hurried to say, stopping them all in their tracks at the base of the porch. "Lady Anna is in a state room but I'm with the servants."

"Unfortunately we can't accommodate like that here." They all turned to see a shorter woman, with a distinctive Scottish tone, addressing them. "Unless you're a rough rider or a cattleman you sleep in the house in one of the rooms."

"But that's not my place."

"It is here." She walked down the steps toward them. "The only separation we've got here is for men and women. Men sleep on the east side of the house, nearer to the stables and the bunkhouse, and women on the west."

"How many women are here?" Anna

"Enough to make a house run properly, as it should." The woman leaned around Anna to address Mr. Harding. "I think you'd best get William and Alfred or poor Mr. Moseley might just hurt himself struggling over those trunks."

"Yes Mrs. Hughes." Mr. Harding nodded to the two of them. "I hope to speak to you both more at dinner."

"Do we dine together as well?" Anna could almost feel her eyebrows brushing her hairline and knew Mrs. Hughes saw it in the lights coming from the house as her own expression drew almost to disapproval.

"I do hope that doesn't offend any of your delicate sensibilities."

"I'm not offended at all. I'm intrigued by it all." Anna gave a little laugh, "I imagine many a dinner would've improve by a variance in the company I kept there."

"Then we'll aim to please here." Mrs. Hughes picked up the edge of her dress, "Follow me to your rooms please and you can freshen up before Mrs. Patmore decides we've gone too long without sustenance."

Anna took the lead, Gwen right at her heels, as they ascended the porch to enter the house blazing with light. Blinking a bit, in contrast to the darkness, Anna eyed the nearest lamp. Mrs. Hughes caught her stare and nodded toward it.

"Mr. Bates insisted on electricity as soon as he could get it. Cost him a pretty penny but he thought it would give us all a bit of comfort and help with the homeliness of it all."

"Do all the rooms have it?"

"He wired it into the house when he built it here." Mrs. Hughes pointed to the right, "The dining room is through there and the sitting room is on the left."

Anna peeked into both, gasping at the sight of a long, shining table with the grains of the wood burnished to gleam. In the other room comfortable chairs and cases with books glowed under the steady crackle of a fire. But the stairs before her took her breath.

Winding along the wall at either side before meeting above their heads and separating again, Anna traced the bannister with a hand while the leading steps of Mrs. Hughes guided her. The dangling chandelier drew Anna's gaze and she marveled at the care and brilliance to the white walls that echoed the light around the house. Risking a moment on the landing she felt the air in her lungs catch at the stained glass directly across from her in the arched entryway.

"Mr. Bates wants as much natural light in the daytime as he can manage." Mrs. Hughes's voice broke her reverie and Anna turned to her. "Believes the sun is the best source of light and has all the windows in the house directed to catch the best light for their location."

"Is Mr. Bates a scientist as well as a rancher?"

"He's a man of great talent and skill." Mrs. Hughes pointed to a large, multi-colored mural on the wall. "He painted that himself."

"I didn't know Mr. Bates was an artist."

He's a great many things, Ms. Smith." Mrs. Hughes waved a hand, "Please follow me."

Anna and Gwen picked up their pace and took the left staircase toward the women's wing. Mrs. Hughes tapped a window and Anna could see the lights of other wing when she turned her head to see. "That's the men's wing and there are strict rules regarding men and women fraternizing between the two."

"Nary the twain shall meet?"

"Exactly that." Mrs. Hughes opened two doors in the hall. "Men and women only meet in the common areas of the house. The study, the library, the kitchen, the dining room, the ballroom, the parlor, or the sitting room are all areas for fraternization. Women aren't allowed in the bunkhouse, for any reason, and men aren't to come up this staircase."

"What happens to the violators?" Gwen voiced and almost cowered a bit when Mrs. Hughes turned her gaze on her.

"Making plans to violate the rules of the house already Ms. Dawson?"

"Curiosity isn't a crime, Mrs. Hughes." Anna cut in, "I'm sure we're as ignorant of your customs here as you would be of some of the places we've been and we'd like to be informed as the details of our surroundings. If that's alright with you."

"Violators are sent back to Eureka, without exception or explanation." Mrs. Hughes pointed to the first room. "That'll be your room, Ms. Smith, for the duration of your stay and the other Ms. Dawson's. There's a connecting door, to make your stay a bit more manageable since I'm aware this is not what you're used to."

"It's an exciting adjustment, Mrs. Hughes."

"Each room has a wash basin and there's a shared toilet."

"Indoor plumbing."

"Of a sort." Mrs. Hughes shrugged, "It came in with the electricity and it's been a boon to this house, that'll I'll say."

"I'd imagine so."

"Any washing that needs done you'll coordinate with our laundry and when you want to wash yourself you'll use the bathhouse during the assigned times." Mrs. Hughes checked her watch before tucking it back into her vest. "William and Alfred'll have the trunks up here in a jiffy and I'll supervise that."

"The only time men are allowed up these stairs?"

"That's right." Mrs. Hughes nodded to both of them, "Dinner's at eight and it's a fabulous stew so I hope you don't miss it."

"Thank you Mrs. Hughes." Anna waited until she left before walking into her room, Gwen following her.

The walls pulsed a deep red and Anna almost whistled at the four-poster bed with its beautiful white blankets and pillows. She touched over them as Gwen investigated the closet and other spaces. When they met in the middle of the room again Anna shook her head. Gwen nodded with her and they peeked into Gwen's room through the connecting door. It echoed Anna's but with slightly different colors and they stood in the doorway between the two rooms, both taking a breath.

"I feel like we've just taken a very decided turn Gwen."

"That we have milady." She whistled, "This is the finest place I've ever stayed."

"I'd have to agree and I've stayed in some of the best manors in England." Anna waved at her room, "This is a different world."

"I think we crossed another ocean, milady." Gwen turned at the sound of a knock, "First the one that took us to New York and now the one that brought us here."

"I think we did too." Anna pointed toward the door, "Best open it before they crumple under the weight of those trunks."

"Yes milady."

Anna paced her room while the two men, matched almost in height with one sporting hair a bit more orange than Gwen's but both looking like kindred spirits. She smiled at them and directed the placement of the trunks until they sat where she wanted. When the room was quiet again Anna heaved in a breath.

"Time to get ready Gwen."