She turned as she heard the men thump up the porch steps and ran to unlock the door. “Good morning.” Her gaze went to Rand.
He didn’t look at her. “Breakfast will be over if you two don’t hurry up.”
“We’re almost ready. Let me finish my hair. Jacob, why don’t you take Amelia and Joel and go on ahead?” Sarah’s words were mumbled through a mouthful of hairpins, and she began to wind her braids up at the base of her head. With an understanding glance, Amelia adjusted her bonnet, then drew on her navy cape and followed Jacob and Joel out the door.
Sarah finished her hair with a few quick thrusts of well-placed hairpins, then looked up at Rand. “Is my being here going to be a problem for you?”
He looked away and swallowed hard. “Of course not. We’ll always be friends.”
She’d thought they were so much more. “I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
He shrugged. “You can stay here with Jacob and Amelia. And if you want one, you won’t have any trouble finding a beau. It’s so rare for the men to see any unattached women—you’ll probably have a dozen proposals before the week is over.”
Stung by his words, Sarah tossed her head back. “I don’t give my affections as easily as some.”
Hurt flashed in his eyes before his expression grew guarded. “Jacob said he’d probably be sent to one of the northern forts come late spring or early summer, so I reckon we can be civil to one another for a few months.”
He picked up her cloak from the foot of the bed and held it out to her courteously. She let its warmth enfold her before swishing away from him without another word. The wind struck her as she stepped onto the porch, and as she staggered, Rand caught her arm and steadied her. She was very conscious of his strong, warm fingers pressing against her arm through her cape.
His brown eyes were impersonal as he gazed down on her. “The wind is ferocious out here. Watch your step.” He led her across the parade ground toward the mess hall, the soft glow of lamplight shining out its windows and a lazy curl of smoke rising from its chimney.
With an effort, Sarah controlled her hurt and anger. She forced a smile and laid a hand on his arm before stepping into the mess hall.
It was a big open room filled with long wooden tables that seated eight to ten men. The tables closest to the stove in the center of the room were all filled.
“Rand!” Jessica, clad in a green dress, was seated across the table from Jacob, Amelia, and Joel at the table closest to the stove. She waved to them.
The other woman’s shining red hair was elegantly piled high on her head, and her pale complexion was flawless. Her mother had the same cool loveliness. Sarah wanted to like her, wanted to believe Rand had made a good choice.
She smiled at her. “Good morning, Miss DuBois. You look lovely this morning. I like your dress.”
Jessica smiled and the hostility in her eyes faded. “I hope you rested well, Miss Montgomery.”
“I did, yes. And please, call me Sarah.”
Jessica nodded, then looked up to Rand. “Don’t forget the new play at Bedlam is tonight. You did say you’d pick me up at seven, right?”
Rand nodded, and Sarah clenched her fists in the folds of her skirt until she could breathe past the pain.
“You must come, Miss Montgomery. You and your friends.” Mrs. DuBois fluttered her plump, white hands. “My husband has the lead role, and you’ll be able to meet all the officers.”
“Please call me Sarah,” she said automatically, her gaze on Rand and Jessica.
“It will be so pleasant to have other ladies at the fort.” Letty shuddered delicately. “One gets so lonesome for the refined company of other women in this primitive place. Perhaps we can get together for tea tomorrow?”
Sarah forced herself to smile and accept Letty’s invitation as she strained to listen to Jessica’s monopoly of Rand’s conversation. Obviously, he had spent considerable time with this woman and enjoyed her company. Did Rand really love her? Sarah swallowed hard. She’d accept whatever she had to.
The breakfast lasted an interminable amount of time as they ate the nearly cold flapjacks and grits and washed it all down with strong, hot coffee. Nearly every officer in the place found some excuse to stop at their table for an introduction. Jacob glowered at the attention Amelia received, but Rand just looked on impassively as the younger officers flirted with Sarah and paid her extravagant compliments.
After breakfast the quartermaster gave them rough woolen blankets, a couple of crude wooden beds with straw mattresses, and a water bucket. Amelia had brought a trunk packed with kitchen utensils and plates as well as some bright calico and gingham material, several sets of muslin sheets, and some quilts she’d made over the years.
“You’re so well prepared,” Sarah said. “Look at my meager belongings. I have to throw myself on your mercy.”
Amelia smiled. “I’ve been preparing for this for a year. Anything I own is yours, and you know it.”
As they carried their booty back to their quarters, Sarah was able to take a good look at their new home. Darkness had fallen so quickly last night, she hadn’t really noticed much about it. A front porch ran the width of the house with wide front steps. Two doors opened off the unpainted porch.
Rand opened the main door, and they stepped inside the wide, bare entry hall. The first door led to the tiny sitting room that looked out on the front porch. Sarah stood gazing around with her hands on her hips. There were definite possibilities. She walked through the narrow door in the small kitchen and surveyed the Sibley stove in the middle of the tiny room. There was just enough space in the corner for a small table. Hooks could be hung from the low roof for pots, and a small corner cupboard could be built in the adjoining parlor.
She turned to catch an expression of dismay on her friend’s face. “What do you think, Amelia?”
Amelia brushed a stray wisp of dark hair out of her eyes. “I don’t know where to begin. You take charge, Sarah. You’re so much better at decisions than I am.”
By midafternoon the tiny rooms had been scrubbed, Jacob had tacked the wool blankets to the floor in the sitting room and bedroom, fires blazed in all three fireplaces, and the beds were set up and ready for occupancy. Sarah and Amelia each had a lapful of material as they stitched curtains for the windows and cloths to cover the crates that would suffice as tables. Sarah could hear the thunk of axes behind the house where Joel and Jacob were chopping more wood. Isaac had told them to let the wood detail bring them more logs, but Jacob insisted he needed the exercise after the cramped stagecoach journey.
She glanced around the room in satisfaction as she sewed. They could write and ask Rachel to send a rug for the sitting room. With a few trinkets and pictures, it would be quite homey. At least it was beginning to feel like home.
FIVE
The bustling of the fort awakening for a new day surrounded the small quarters. Sarah yawned and slipped out of bed to peek out the window, wincing as her feet hit the icy floor. The sun glowed as it began to peek out of the eastern hills. The wind still whistled through the eaves, but the snow had stopped.
Her sense of anticipation faded when she remembered today’s plans. She and Amelia had promised Mrs. DuBois they’d come to lunch at eleven. The last thing she wanted was to hear details about the wedding. And Jessica was cruel enough to delight in seeing if she could make Sarah squirm. She pressed her lips together and turned to survey her wardrobe. She’d be cool and calm. No matter what Jessica said or how much it hurt, she wouldn’t let her see her pain.
By the time Amelia and Jacob opened their bedroom door, Sarah had already gone through her trunk and decided on a dress. It was a deep-green poplin trimmed
with black velvet and edged with lace. A sleeveless jacket of black corded silk went over the dress and cinched over her tiny waist. Her father had bought it for her from an elegant shop in Indianapolis just six months before he died. An intricate design of velvet ribbon adorned the skirt and sleeves. Sarah had always loved the dress.
“Good morning,” she called to Amelia and Jacob. She tested the curling tongs on the kitchen stove with a wet finger. It sizzled. Good. Almost hot enough.
“You’re up early.” Amelia yawned. “What’s the occasion?”
“Have you forgotten we have a date for lunch?”
Amelia eyed her uncertainly. “You seem almost pleased. I thought you were dreading it.” She put a skillet on the stove and turned to mix up a batch of biscuits.
“Don’t bother with breakfast for me,” Jacob interrupted. “I’m running late. I’ll grab something at officers’ mess.” He kissed Amelia and grabbed his coat off the hook by the stove.
“Be careful,” Amelia called before turning her attention back to Sarah.
“I was really hating the thought of having to be nice to Jessica, but then I decided it would just be a challenge. There must be some good in her or Rand wouldn’t care about her.”
Amelia smiled. “I wish you luck finding it. I haven’t seen it yet.”
“My, that doesn’t sound like you. I’ve never known you to have a bad word to say about anyone but Ben. You’re always telling me to have more patience with people.”
Amelia’s cheeks flooded with pink. “I know I shouldn’t feel that way, but she makes me uneasy just as Ben did.”
“Well, she’s not married to Rand yet. Papa told me to fight for him.” She swallowed at the thought of her father. “Could you help me with my hair? I want to look my best.”
Amelia nodded and the girls spent the next hour curling Sarah’s glistening red-gold locks. They pulled her heavy hair back from her face and let the back cascade down in tight curls. After pulling a few curls forward by her ears, Sarah was finally satisfied.
Amelia looked pretty and demure in a deep blue silk dress with a lace collar and lace around the sleeves. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose knot at the nape of her neck with a few loose curls escaping at the sides.
Sarah threw her best cloak of brown wool with bands of velvet fringe over her shoulder, tied on her green silk bonnet, and walked toward the door with Amelia in tow. Knowing she looked her best helped calm her agitation.
But when Mrs. DuBois opened the door and Sarah saw Jessica standing behind her, she felt dowdy and plain. Jessica wore a lilac-colored silk dress with an intricate pattern in the skirt. Rows of lace ruffles cascaded over the skirt and sleeves, and her lovely white shoulders were bare. Her hair was braided and looped in an intricate way Sarah had never seen. The style accentuated Jessica’s high cheekbones and big blue eyes.
But Mrs. DuBois was easy to like in spite of her daughter. “Come in, come in, my dears.” She fluttered her plump hands as she drew them inside the warm hallway. “We’ve been so looking forward to this, haven’t we, Jessica dear?”
“I certainly have.”
Sarah thought she detected the hint of a sneer in Jessica’s smooth voice. Sarah squared her shoulders as she handed her cloak and bonnet to Mrs. DuBois.
Jessica led the way into their cheerily decorated quarters. Since Major DuBois was a senior officer, he received more deluxe accommodations than a lowly lieutenant. The parlor was large with a soft flowered carpet on the wood floor. Dainty tables and a horsehair sofa and three chairs furnished the room. Garden pictures and gold sconces adorned two walls while the fireplace dominated the third. Sarah could see the dining room through the arched doorway. A fine walnut table and chairs on another beautiful carpet occupied the center of the room. A young, attractive black woman hovered near the table.
“Rose, please pour our guests some tea,” Mrs. DuBois called. “Sit down, ladies, please. I’ve been so looking forward to getting to know one another a little better.”
Sarah sat on the sofa, expecting Amelia to sit next to her, but Jessica quickly settled there. With a glance at Sarah, Amelia sat on one of the chairs while Mrs. DuBois took possession of another one.
“What do you think of Fort Laramie so far? Are you ready to return to Indiana?” Mrs. DuBois asked.
“It’s much more primitive than I expected,” Sarah admitted. “And so cold. It seems very isolated.”
“It’s really very jolly in the summer. More ladies are here, and we have dances and parties almost every night. Wait until then before you decide to leave us.”
“They’ll be gone by then, Mother. Won’t you?” Jessica addressed her last remark to Sarah.
Sarah forced herself to smile. “Who really knows with the army? We’re hoping to stay near Rand as long as we can.” She heard Jessica’s sharp intake of breath.
“Excuse me for a moment, ladies,” Mrs. DuBois said, seemingly unaware of the awkward pause. “I just want to peek in to see how our lunch is coming.” She scurried away and disappeared behind the door on the far side of the dining room.
As soon as her mother was gone, Jessica glared at Sarah. “Just what did you mean by that remark? I’ve already warned you not to meddle. Nothing is going to stop this wedding. You try and I promise you, you’ll be very, very sorry.”
“I didn’t mean anything other than we all love Rand and want to be with him as long as we can. He was gone three years and only home a few days before coming out here.” Sarah looked into Jessica’s eyes. “I won’t lie to you and tell you I don’t still love him. But I want him to be happy, and if that means marriage to you, I’ll try to accept that.”
Jessica’s face whitened as her mother came back into the room. The look she cast at Sarah was full of venom, and Sarah could see the effort it took for her to control herself in her mother’s presence.
The next hour was spent in light conversation over a delicious tea of dainty chicken salad sandwiches, tiny cakes, and cookies. The entire time Jessica’s anger seethed just under her smooth surface.
“Do come again,” Mrs. DuBois urged as she handed them their cloaks and bonnets. “I so enjoyed your company.”
After promising they would come again, Amelia and Sarah made their escape. Amelia let out a sigh as soon as the door closed and they stepped down onto the path back home. “You’ve made a real enemy, Sarah. Jessica seems capable of anything.”
Sarah sighed. “I meant to try to be on friendly terms with her. I really want Rand to be happy.” Tears sparkled on her lashes. “Watching him marry Jessica will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, though.”
They reached their door and Joel came tearing out.
Sarah caught him as he tried to rush past them. “Whoa. What’s going on?” Before Joel could answer, Rand strolled out behind him.
“We’re going ice fishing,” Rand said. “With your permission, of course. I was going to ask before I took him, but I wasn’t sure where you were, and he assured me you wouldn’t mind.”
“No, of course I don’t mind. And we were at the DuBois’s for tea,” she added as he turned to go.
He stopped and gave her a quick look. “I see,” was all he said. He cleared his throat. “Well, we’ll be going now. He’ll be back in time for supper.”
“Have fun.” Her heart ached as she watched him match his stride to Joel’s shorter one. Her brother looked up at him adoringly as they walked away. Would things ever be right? Was it even possible to untangle this mess? She sighed and followed Amelia into the house.
Rand rapped at Colonel Maynadier’s door.
“Enter.”
He stepped inside the room,
taking in the piles of papers scattered over the old wooden desk before saluting smartly. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Ah yes, Lieutenant Campbell.” The colonel looked up from his scrutiny of the document in front of him. He was a tall, spare man somewhere in his forties with blond, thinning hair and pale eyebrows. But there was nothing nondescript about his eyes. They were gray and eagle sharp. The soldiers under his command knew those eyes missed nothing that concerned the well-being of Fort Laramie. Rand sometimes thought the colonel could see inside his soul with those eyes. “Camp rumor has it that a certain Lieutenant Jacob Campbell is your brother and that he arrived a few days ago with a wife and her companion. Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Excellent. I have a proposition for you. Big Ribs and some of the other chiefs have asked for their children to be instructed in the basics of a white education. Learning English, a little reading and writing. I would like to request that Miss—” He peered at the paper in front of him. “That Miss Montgomery take over the task while she is here. Lieutenant Liddle informs me that she is a most gifted, intelligent young woman and not likely to be frightened by the Indian children.”
Rand swallowed his dismay. “I’ll ask her, sir.” The last thing he wanted was to get Sarah even more entangled in life at Fort Laramie.
He kept his face impassive as the colonel outlined his plan for the school. He’d had a hard time keeping his emotions under control the last few evenings as the five of them had curled up on the floor beside the fireplace and played checkers after he and Joel had returned from their fishing expedition. She laughed and teased like the Sarah he’d loved so long and so well. The last few evenings had been pure torture. How long must he endure her presence? He’d decided to turn his life in a new direction, and he would stick with it.
A Journey of the Heart Collection Page 9