While Miss Vickie sorted the fire out, Cassie hefted a sack of cornmeal and carried it into the kitchen. Soon enough, a pot of grits was bubbling away. Not the best of breakfasts, she decided, but certainly not the worst she’d ever eaten.<br/><br/>“I was plannin’ on visitin’ the bank today,” she remarked,stirring the pot with a heavy wooden ladle, “And I would like you to join me. Don’t usually have much trouble makin’ desposits, but an extra set of eyes won’t hurt none.”<br/><br/>“Sure,” Cassie replied, tying the sack shut. “After last night, and what with the mine being closed, people might be a bit desperate.”  She let her hand brush the handle of her Colt. “No sense in taking chances, right?”<br/><br/>Accepting the first two bowls, she slid them out to waiting customers. “So. Discouraging poverty-stricken miners looking to make a quick buck, discouraging rowdy patrons be, and serving grits.”  Grinning, she looked back at Miss Vickie. “Any other particular duties I should keep in mind?”<br/><br/>-*-<br/><br/>Gritting his teeth, Tom heaved and strained as the steamer trunk came off the back of the wagon.<i>Goddamn</i>but the newspaper-lady hadn’t been kidding about the weight!  He could handle it - barely - but he was glad of Jeb’s sure hand keeping it from crashing down on him. Him and the other two layabouts the newspaper lady had managed to recruit.<br/><br/>“Right,” he gasped, straining to keep it up. “Y’all ready?  Let’s shift it.”<br/><br/>Swaying a little under the strain, the three men crept towards the door. They’d checked, thank to Jeb’s question, and it would fit. Barely.  As he did, he got a look at the latest arrival at the Dusky Belle.  Some pretty little thing, tiny and slim and blonde, and clearly rich. What the hell brought someone like her here?<br/><br/>"C'mon,” Jeb growled, let's get this damned contraption inside. I need a drink and some breakfast."<br/><br/>“Sounds... sounds good... to me...”<br/><br/>-*-<br/><br/>“Oh," she huffed, "where<i>are</i>my manners? Missy Huntington, charmed."<br/><br/>“Cassie Turner,” replied the taller blonde. “Likewise.”  She shook hands and smiled, just a little. This Missy Huntington might talk like s chatterbox, but there was a controlled strength in her deceptively soft grip.<br/><br/>Stepping back, she gestured at Miss Vickie. “And let me introduce you to my employer, Miss Victoria Freeman.”