This excerpt is in draft form, and as such, undoubtedly contains typos among other grammatical issues, plot holes, reminder brackets, etc.
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“Going to Kansas City, ma’am?” Another porter checked her tickets, and then raised his eyebrows. “All the way to Montana, eh? It’s wild country out there. Are you traveling alone?”
She gave him a small smile. “I am, but there are people waiting for me when I get there.” She offered nothing more, and he nodded, marking her ticket for the first stop and tipping his hat as he held a hand out to help her up the stairs.
The train was surprisingly full already, and she walked slowly behind a man with his arms around two scantily clad women who seemed to be happy enough in his company. They passed into the sleeper cars, and she spotted an empty seat in the last section of the general seating car, across from a well-dressed, nice-looking man and a fresh-faced young woman with flowing blond hair and a fetching blue dress that matched her sparkling eyes. It was hard to say whether they were a couple or not. They seemed to be disagreeing about something as Madeline approached.
“May I sit here?” She asked, putting her valise and basket on the seat when the young woman nodded. She sat down across from them and looked out the window at the bustling sea of people still on the platform. Most were undoubtedly waiting for trains yet to come, as hers should be departing any time now. Taking a book out of her valise, she found her place and began to read as the woman and man exchanged a few more words, and the man got up and left.
“Where are you off to?” The young woman asked. Madeline looked up and closed her book.
“Rural Montana – a town called Meadowlark,” she said cordially. “I’m taking a position as a school teacher there.”
“Really?” The young woman smiled. “I’m going to Montana too! I hear there are a lot of single men out there, and I aim to meet as many of them as possible.” She gave Madeline a coy sidelong look and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “I’ll be honest, because you may not want to sit with me once you know, but I want to become a woman of the night. What do you think about that?”
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