Thank you so much for reading! And a special shoutout to the followers of this story! Just a heads up, there will be some romance in this story, but it'll be a bit of a slow burn. I'm still on the hunt for a beta reader, so message me if you're interested. Thanks!

Marlowe

"Where are you taking me?" Marlowe inquired. After a mostly silent ride into Valentine, she had been expecting them to stop for supplies like Arthur had initially said they would be doing.

With a flick of his reins, Arthur steered the sturdy draft horses down a smaller path north of the main road. "We'll hit the general store on our way back. There's a small saloon in the outskirts we need to visit. That's it up ahead."

Calling it a saloon was a bit of a stretch, in her opinion. The dilapidated two-story structure looked on the verge of collapsing, with what may have once been a garden around the uneven steps leading to the door overgrowing the wooden slats. Despite it's disheveled appearance, a warm glow emitted from the windows on both stories, seeming inviting with the chill of twilight setting in.

Arthur brought the wagon to a halt off to the side of the structure and hopped off, moving around to Marlowe's side and holding up his hands to assist her down. After a moment's hesitation, she allowed him to. "After you," he said with a mock bow.

"I hope you're not planning on stopping for a drink," Marlowe quipped as she moved toward the steps of the saloon

"Not today," Arthur said with a rueful smile. "I went out drinkin' with young Lenny a little bit ago at the main saloon. Let's just say I'm still recovering from that night. Hold up now-" he threw out his arm to stop her. A couple was coming around the side of the building, a beleaguered-looking woman supporting a man with his arm around her shoulder. The man looked to be in horrible shape-dead pale aside from red rings around his eyes, each breath rattling wetly. Every few steps he had to stop for a coughing fit, sinking lower to the ground.

"Just a few more steps, Tom," the woman pleaded. "We've got to get you home."

"There's no point, Edith. Just….leave me here. You heard what...she said. I'm...a dead man."

The coughing fit that followed was more prolonged. Marlowe glanced up at Arthur in confusion. It was clear he didn't want to be seen by the couple.

The woman, Edith, half-carried, half-dragged the man to a small cart off the side of the road and helped him flop into the back. In the light of the setting sun, Marlowe could see tears shining on her pale face as she clambered into the driver's seat, flicked the reins, and set off back down the road.

"Who was that?" Marlowe asked hesitantly. Arthur didn't answer, instead watching the cart grow smaller and smaller down the road. His stern face was inscrutable. "Mr. Morgan?"

Arthur turned away from her and set off briskly up the steps. "No one you need to worry about. Now come on."

The warmth of the small tavern seemed to wash over Marlowe as she stepped inside. It was a lot busier than she would have guessed looking at it from the outside. The patrons were a pretty mixed bag, from cowboys in their five-gallon hats to ranch hand women sipping on whisky, to a few grizzled trappers laiden with furs.

"Well, if it ain't my favorite outlaw!" a cheery voice greeted loudly from the bar. Marlowe flinched, expecting the patrons to turn on them at the term 'outlaw', but none of them so much as faltered in their own doings.

From behind the bar emerged a curvy young woman, perhaps around Marlowe's age. Reddish-blonde hair fell in wild curls almost to her waist, framing a round face with stormy blue-gray eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose. She wore a white blouse with the top few buttons undone to show off her ample cleavage and light blue skirt with yellow apron over the top. Her bright smile was so infectious that Marlowe found herself liking the girl instantly.

Arthur accepted the woman's hug with a smile of his own. "Beautiful as ever, Lila. I see you're keeping busy."

The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, you know how it is. Been tryin' to get this place fixed up the last few weeks, so I hired a new bartender." She gestured to a gangly, nervous-looking young man behind the bar. Marlowe suppressed a giggle as she watched him nearly knock over a stack of glasses as he reached for a bottle to pour. Lila chuckled openly. "Bless him, he's cute but clumsy as hell."

"I'm sure you'll set him right," said Arthur warmly.

Lila seemed to suddenly notice Marlowe, her beaming smile growing, if possible, even larger. "Why, Arthur, you've brought a lady friend! And here I was thinking you just didn't like women."

Arthur flushed red, a sight Marlowe was a bit surprised to see. "Pardon me, miss. Marlowe Reid, this is Miss Lila Levarr. She is the proprietor of this fine establishment.

The girl curtsied awkwardly. "You flatter me, Arthur. There ain't nothing fine about this establishment, at least not yet. And it is a pleasure meeting you, Miss Reid. Can I grab you anything? You hungry? Elton over there may be clumsy, but he makes a damn good lamb chop."

"Oh, no, I'm not hungry. Thank you though."

"Well I am," Lila said. She looked over her shoulder. "Elton! Three of your best lamb chops for myself and my friends here! And some glasses."

"Yes, Miss Levarr, right away." Elton dropped the glass he was holding, cursing as it shattered.

Lila gestured for them to sit at the nearest table, plopping down beside Marlowe. "So, what brings you to my little shack, besides to introduce your lady to me?"

"I am not his lady," Marlowe said firmly.

Lila looked almost disappointed. "Well, a girl can dream."

"Was that Thomas Downes coming out of your back door?" Arthur inquired in a low voice.

"Unfortunately," Lila said somberly. "Poor man has tuberculosis. And he's in the end stages at that. There was nothing I could do to help him."

"Tuberculosis, huh?" Arther leaned back thoughtfully. It may have just been her imagination, but Marlowe could have sworn she saw a shadow of relief in his eyes.

"Extrapolated by the fact that he sustained quite the beating earlier this week." Lila raised an eyebrow at him, now looking quite stern. "I trust you don't have anything to do with that?"

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Arthur seemed reluctant to answer. "I wish I didn't."

"You did that to him?" Marlowe stared at him in disgust.

"It ain't like that," Arthur tried weakly. "He owed a debt to our camp, and wouldn't pay up."

"Yeah, that sounds familiar."

"Can we not do this right now?" Arthur turned his focus back on Lila. "I have mouths to feed, just like every other sap on this earth."

Lila tsked. "You make it very difficult to feel sympathy toward you, Arthur. Now, I can tell you need something from me. What is it?"

With a great sigh, Arthur lowered his voice. "Have you heard anything about the O'Driscolls getting ahold of some government bonds?"

"Oh yes," Lila nodded. "They brought in one of their men the other day for me to treat a snakebite. I overheard them talking about it while I was drawing out the venom."

"Wait, you treated him?" Marlowe interjected. "Are you a doctor?"

Lila smiled modestly. "I wouldn't say that. More like a healer and a researcher. I have a small clinic upstairs. Anybody who needs medical care is welcome, and they can pay me what they can."

"Including the O'Driscolls?" Marlowe asked in surprise.

"Even outlaws like the O'Driscolls," she confirmed. "So long as they follow my rules, I'm here to help. The instant they start making trouble in my establishment, they lose their medical care privileges with me."'

Arthur patted Lila's hand fondly. "She's the best healer in the country, so no fool has yet to risk getting blacklisted, especially those of us that choose to live on the wrong side of the law. Even Colm O'Driscoll respects that."

"Well, there have definitely been a few fools, but a little bit of oleander sage tends to deter others from following their footsteps," Lila winked. "I'm getting busier than ever with my clinic, hence Elton's new role here tending to the bar."

On cue, the young man appeared with a tray ladened with food and drinks. "Will that be all, Miss Lila?" he asked in a strained formal squeak.

"You've done splendidly, Elton," Lila smiled warmly at him. He blushed furiously and made his way back to the bar, catching his foot at least twice on table legs and human legs alike. "Cute and a good cook," Lila admired. "If he can look me in the eye when he speaks to me, I might just let him take me out."

"Did the O'Driscolls mention anything about if they'd gotten them fenced?" Marlowe pushed.

Lila took a long sip of whiskey before responding. "Why, I believe they did. Said they were expecting to make a switch on Thursday in the afternoon.

"That's in two days," said Marlowe eagerly. "Where at?"

The woman frowned in thought. "I want to say near Six Point Cabin. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a known O'Driscoll hideout, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that'd be it," Arthur said around a mouthful of lamb. "I don't think you'll be able to pull that off, Miss Reid. You'd need at least four or five men to handle that, and I doubt you'll get many eager volunteers at camp."

Marlowe's heart started pounding, ears burning. "So that's it, then? You expect me to pay your leader six hundred dollars back but give me no way besides indentured servitude to make it happen?"

"You can't seriously be considering taking on an O'Driscoll hideout," Arthur looked at her as though she was mad. "There'll be at least 20 guns about, probably more if Colm wants to supervise the switch with the fence personally."

"Fantastic," Marlowe snapped. "Maybe they'll do me a favor and shoot me. I can't imagine it going any worse than things are now."

"Do you really think you have it so bad now?"

"I'm a goddamn prisoner!"

"Shut up, both of you!"

They both jumped, startled at the harsh tone of Lila Levarr. Her blue eyes were very stormy indeed. "I'll not have you two fighting in my tavern. I have other patrons, after all, and patients upstairs."

Arthur looked away from Marlowe. "My apologies, Miss. Miss Reid, we best be on our way."

"I'll walk you out," Lila offered quickly. She seemed almost embarrassed.

At the doorway, Lila paused, taking Marlowe's hand. "Arthur, be a dear and get the horses ready. We'll join you in a minute."

Arthur hesitated. "Lila, I-" A stern look from the woman sent him on his way, muttering under his breath.

Lila turned to Marlowe and squeezed her hand. "Miss Reid, I want you to know something."

"What's that?"

She sighed and looked out at Arthur as he checked the reins on the horses. "Arthur...he's a good man. Really."

"A real gentleman," Marlowe rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what kind of trouble you're in with the Van der Linde's," Lila continued, unfazed, "but you need to know that there isn't much Arthur wouldn't do for that gang. They're his family. It will probably be his downfall, but there's a lot of good to it. And he is a genuinely good man, beneath all that gruffness and attitude."

Marlowe watched Arthur lean against the wagon and light a cigarette and sighed. "It's just that… I saved his life. I feel like the least he could have done was advocate with Dutch on my behalf. Instead, I've spent the last few days captive, and I really can't afford to lose any more time to them."

Nodding kindly, Lila reached into her pocket and withdrew a small vial. "I want you to have this, Marlowe."

She accepted it, studying the light purple liquid splashing around inside. "What is it?"

"Just a health tonic," Lila said ruefully. "I wish I had something of more value for you. Give Arthur another chance, will you? He's moved mountains for me when I've been in trouble, and I've seen him do the same for many strangers. I'm sure when his stubborn ass is ready he'll do the same for you."

This didn't make Marlowe feel much better, but she accepted a hug from Lila anyway. "Thank you, miss."

Lila waved her off. "Come back anytime you like. I'll even teach you some healing basics, if you want."

"That sounds lovely." Marlowe couldn't help but think that she would never get the chance.

Arthur

Yet again, the majority of the ride back to camp was silent. Marlowe had been deep in thought, staring off into the distance. At one point, she had asked him if he had a map, which Arthur had given her. She had it half-folded and spread across her lap, pouring what Arthur presumed was the area around Six Point Cabin. As they got within a few minutes of camp, he finally decided to interrupt. "You come up with some half-assed scheme yet?"

"Contrary to what my recent lack of success indicates, my schemes are normally three quarters-assed or better," Marlowe didn't look up from the map, shifting so she could read it a bit better under the lantern swinging from the top of the wagon.

Arthur smiled slightly. "So, is that a yes?"

"It's a 'shut up so I can think,'" she quipped.

"I'm starting to miss when you would just glare daggers at me."

He brought the wagon to a halt just outside the warm glow of the camp fires. Arthur hopped down and held his hands up to assist Marlowe down. Instead, the woman swung herself to the ground gracefully and turned on her heel to march off. Arthur put out an arm to stop her. "And where do you think you're off to?"

Marlowe huffed irritably. "I need to speak with Mr. Van der Linde, immediately."

"Oh, so you do have a plan?" Marlowe simply scowled at him. For a split, irrational moment, Arthur was entranced by her light violet eyes under her furrowed eyebrows. "Dutch don't take kindly to interruptions. You can't just stomp your way over with some cock-and-bull idea."

Turning on her heel once more, Marlowe sidestepped his arm and strolled away. "Watch me."

With an exasperated sigh, Arthur followed.

Blowing large rings of smoke with his cigar, Micah was resting on a large barrel just outside of Dutch's tent. Dutch himself was perched on his cot, reading from a large red-bound book. The former regarded Marlowe as she approached swiftly with a little smirk. "Someone's hair is on fire," he crooned. "Dutch don't want to be disturbed right now, lady. Don't you have some dishes to wash?"

"Dutch can tell me himself if he doesn't want to be disturbed," Marlowe said coolly.

Micah rose and blocked her way, a hand on his holstered revolver. "Quite a mouth on ya, isn't there? Now back off before this gets ugly."

"Oh shut the fuck up, will you?" Marlowe replied irritably, sidestepping him easily and approaching Dutch. Micah's hand gripped the handle of his revolver, but Arthur grabbed his arm and gave him a warning glare. Micah scowled deeply at him, but wisely backed off.

Dutch didn't look up from his book as Marlowe came to a stop in front of him. "If you don't mind, Miss Reid, I'm quite busy at the moment."

Arthur was a bit taken aback as he watched Marlowe yank the book out of Dutch's hand and set it on the crate beside his cot. "Clearly," she asserted bluntly. For the first time in Arthur's recollection, Dutch looked startled. "Now, I think we can both agree that it's time I paid you back for what I...stole."

Shaking his head bemusedly, Dutch folded his arms and regarded with amusement. "I couldn't agree more, Miss Reid. What did you have in mind?"

"In two days, Colm O'Driscoll will be exchanging military bonds for as much cash as he can get for them with a fence," Marlowe began. Her tone had shifted from angry to an excited, energized voice. It felt almost contagious, and Arthur would have put money on it being her voice she used when pitching a scheme to a potential victim. "Now, the bonds are very difficult to fence for more than about three or four thousand dollars, but that should still be more than enough to cover my debts, wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose it would," Dutch agreed cagily.

Marlowe continued. "It will happen at Six Point Cabin. The fence he's likely using won't show up if there's too many people around, so Colm ought to only have about five or six men, tops. We can swoop in and either take the bonds from Colm to fence ourselves, or rob the fence personally. Either way, you'll walk off with a tidy sum having humiliated the O'Driscolls."

"Stupid bitch," Micah muttered next to Arthur. "Dutch'll never go for it."

A very recognizable gleam had appeared in the leader's eye, however. Arthur had to give Marlowe credit: she knew exactly what to say to get Dutch's wheels turning.

Dutch stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, Miss Reid, that all sounds very well and good, but you've run into one small problem."

"And what's that?"

He gestured loosely at the camp. "You'd need at least four men or more to make that little plan of yours work, and I'm not sure you'll get too many volunteers to risk their lives chasing a wild lead."

Marlowe's face went slightly red. It was clear she hadn't expected any resistance. "It isn't a wild lead. Mr. Morgan found a reliable source that confirmed the exchange was happening."

Dutch cast a look over at Arthur. "How very...gallant of him. Arthur?"

With sigh, Arthur approached to stand beside Marlowe. "I took her into town to help me with an errand for the camp. On our way I stopped to see Lila, who gave us the tip about the O'Driscolls." Marlowe shot him an almost grateful look, perhaps the softest she had given so far.

"Ah," was all Dutch had to say.

"You can't expect me to stay your prisoner in this camp, doing chores to work off my debt," Marlowe pleaded to Dutch. "I have people relying on me too. Give me a chance."

Rising with a great sigh, Dutch took Marlowe by the arm and turned her to face the rest of the camp. "Well, then, I suppose you'll just have to ask nicely for some volunteers to go with you. Maybe one of these fools will take pity on you." He raised his voice so the full camp could hear. "Gentlemen! Miss Reid here has a plan to rob the O'Driscolls of their bond money in order to pay off her debt. As you can imagine, she'll need a few competent guns to assist her. Any volunteers?"

There was silence across the camps. Arthur spotted Tilly, Marybeth, and Karen about to raise their hands, but were stopped by a stern look from Hosea. Arthur looked back at the woman. Her violet eyes darted back and forth from person to person desperately. She looked at Dutch, her voice slightly shaky. "I'll do it myself, if I have to. I've infiltrated them once before."

Arthur felt slightly ashamed as he hesitated. He owed a large debt of gratitude toward Marlowe, and as much as he would prefer to avoid another run-in with the O'Driscolls, he knew what he had to do. "I'll join you," he said firmly. He couldn't help but turn slightly red when Marlowe shot him a small, grateful smile.

"I can go as well," Charles offered after a moment. Arthur wasn't surprised; he had made it quite clear that he didn't like the prospect of keeping the woman prisoner in the camp.

"And me," Javier stepped forward.

Dutch gave Marlowe a slight nudge. "Seems you've stirred up at least some pity. I'll join you as well. Any of the boys here will tell you, I don't like to miss out on a chance to harass that bastard Colm."

"You won't be sorry, Mr. Van der Linde," Marlowe stressed.

Dutch looked her sternly in the eye. "I certainly hope not, for you sake. You can't con a conman, Miss Reid."

"Well, then you're not much of a conman at all," Marlowe didn't miss a beat, her eyebrow raised slightly.

For a long moment, Dutch stared at her. Then he burst out laughing and patted her on the back. "Oh, Miss Reid," he chuckled. "Had we met under different circumstances, I think we would have been great friends."

Looking forward to the next chapter!