“I’m fine. They didn’t do anything too terrible. Did they give you something to eat?” Ronan grinned.
Elise breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange how much she enjoyed seeing Ronan smile.
“Yes, they fed me. It was some kind of porridge. What are we going to do? Do you think we are really going to get out of here alive?”
“I don’t know. I hope so. How sick is the boy? Can you help him? I don’t know if these Indians will stick to their word. Some do. Some don’t. Let’s hope these are the type that do. I mean, they are letting you visit me, so that’s something.”
Elise sat back on the bare ground, folding her legs modestly to one side. She didn’t know if that was much indication of the Indians’ plans for them.
“The boy has a terrible fever. I don’t know much about sickness. All I know is what my father went through and what I learned from reading. My father would get terribly hot sometimes. The doctor told me it was a fever and showed me how to lower it. That is what I am trying to do for the boy. He seems important, though.”
“Your father … was he sick a lot?” Ronan’s eyes were full of regret and sorrow.
“Yes. He fell ill almost two years ago. At first, he was just tired and a little slower than usual. It got worse with time. He would go through fevers and sometimes vomit his food. He would barely be able to speak some days. He got weaker with time as he lost weight.” Elise hated talking about her father’s sickness.
The years she had spent caring for him were some of the best and worst ones for her. She had grown closer to her father while caring for him, but that didn’t erase all the terrible things that had happened either. She hated to remember her father that way.
“I’m so sorry. I never knew that things were that way.” Ronan looked down at the ground. “I always meant to come back. I suppose I was embarrassed, worried about what he would think of me, afraid even that he wouldn’t forgive me.”
“He would have forgiven you. He did …” Elise stopped. She wanted to tell Ronan what her father had said to her when he died, but was Ronan ready for that? Was she ready to share that? She was starting to build trust with Ronan again, but that didn’t mean she was ready to tell him everything.
“I suppose I will never know now. I wanted to do this to pay back my debt, but it seems that I have only gotten you into more trouble than I saved you from.” Ronan’s eyes twinkled.
“This was as much my fault as yours. We shouldn’t blame one another. We should just work through this the best we can. I just …” Elise wavered. She knew that she shouldn’t show her fears to Ronan. She shouldn’t let him see how afraid she was of what they were going through, but it was like she couldn’t help it.
“What is it?” Ronan leaned forward as much as he could with his restraints, concern etched in his face.
“I’m scared. If I can’t help the boy …” She was certain that admitting to her feelings made her a little weaker in Ronan’s eyes.
“Hey,” Ronan’s voice was calm but also demanding her attention.
Elise raised her eyes from Ronan’s boots where she had been staring to meet his.
“You don’t have to feel bad for being scared. Goodness, I’m scared myself. The Indians are in control right now, and we have no idea what they want to do with us. Just do your best. I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t.” Ronan’s words of trust made Elise feel worse. What if she let him down?
“I should, and I do. There is nothing wrong with having a backup plan. We will try to find a way to escape, but if we can’t, you may be the one to get us out of here.”
Elise nodded. “Thank you.” She felt her chest swell with hope. Ronan was going to form a plan, and even though they had ended up in one of the worse types of situations that she could imagine, she trusted in Ronan and his experience.
“You should go. I don’t want them to get suspicious about us talking for too long.”
As if the Indian chief heard them speaking, he stepped into the teepee, making a quick motion to Elise.
“I suppose I do have to go. I’ll try to come back soon.”
Ronan nodded. “Be brave and stay safe.”
Elise forced a smile even though there was nothing to feel happy about. She wasn’t feeling brave. She wasn’t a hero, and she certainly wasn’t sure that she could do anything for the sick boy. She was terrified that they wouldn’t get out of this situation, and she didn’t want it to be her fault.
She followed the Indian chief back down the row of teepees until she was taken to a very large teepee similar to the one Ronan was being kept in. The difference was this one wasn’t empty. There were several families inside, making food and preparing for the evening.
Elise noticed one person in particular. It was the girl who was watching her earlier. She was breaking corn kernels into a bowl. Elise walked over to her, and the Indian chief did nothing to stop her.
Elise held her hand out as if to ask for a corn cob. The girl handed her one, offering a shy smile.
Elise pointed to the corn as it fell into the bowl with the rest.
“Corn.” Elise smiled.
The girl looked uncertain. But then her lips turned up at the edges, and she repeated the word, “Corn.”
After their brief interaction, they didn’t talk more, but it was like there was a connection between them. They worked silently beside one another until all the corn was shelled, and it was time for the evening meal.
Elise was actually looking forward to resting for the evening, but she followed the Indian chief to the boy’s tent to check on him.
He seemed to be in about the same state as she left him, but he wasn’t as feverish as before. She was hopeful that there would be progress the next day.
Elise wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing for the boy, but she was certainly trying her best.
Chapter 18
Ronan looked up to see Elise stepping into the teepee. It was their fourth day in the Indian village. Elise had come to see him almost every single evening since they’d arrived. According to her reports, she was making progress.
She crossed the small cozy space and sat down in front of him. Ronan was no longer secured with rope.
“What happened?” Elise eyed him curiously. “They decide you weren’t a risk anymore?”
“Yes and no. This morning, the chief came in here and had me untied. He told me that if I tried to run, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.”
“I see. I don’t know what to think of him. There’s this girl, the one I told you about. Apparently, she’s the boy’s sister. Her name is Little Sparrow.” Elise’s eyebrows furrowed together in something that looked like worry.
“Really? So, you don’t know what to think of the girl or the chief?”
“Both.” Elise shrugged. “It was the chief who told me she was the boy’s sister and also told me what her name was. I have been making friends with her. She’s very bright. I’ve taught her many words in English over the past several days. I can tell that the chief cares about the boy. I think it must be his son.”
“I’m glad you’re making a difference. Goodness knows that we could use some friends around here.” Ronan frowned. He had been thinking about the deal that the Indians had presented them with upon their arrival. He was becoming more and more worried that they didn’t mean to keep that deal. It didn’t make sense for them to keep the deal. But then again, maybe they were the good type of Indians and wanted to honor their word. It was too difficult to tell.
“Elise, we need to think about what we will do if we can’t get out of here. How is the boy? Is he any better?”
“He’s doing all right. But he is still a bit sick. The fever broke this morning. I think he will be fine. They should probably let us go as soon as he gets back to normal. Then we can continue to California.”
Ronan nodded somberly. “We won’t be able to catch up to the wagon train anymore, but we can make it on our own. It’s not the first time I will have
done it.”
Elise smiled. “It’s going to work out. I’m sure you were right about that. And now that they’ve given you a bit more freedom, I don’t have to worry about you so much.”
Ronan wasn’t sure that her new hope was well placed, but he didn’t have the heart to make her feel bad about it, so he didn’t correct her. He wasn’t going to make her more afraid of the Indians unless he had a reason to think they weren’t going to honor the bargain.
Elise went on to talk about all the different things she had seen in the village and how she’d been getting along. She spoke of the Indians’ dresses and how beautiful they were, and how quietly the moccasins they wore made them walk.
Ronan listened to her with a part of himself, but the other part was on high alert, listening for clues, for things that would help them out of this place.
“The horses, you should see them. They are majestic. Oh, and our horse, he’s getting better. They brought him here and fixed him up. His lame leg is almost back to normal.” Elise’s words made his head snap up.
“The horses? Where do they keep the horses?”
“They keep them on the outer side of camp, right by the woods. I think it’s because of the shade, though sometimes they let them out of the coral so they can pasture. Some of them are so beautiful. They are spotted and wild-looking, but they are very muscular.” Elise’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
Ronan stored the information for later. If they were to escape, they would need some horses.
“I’m glad your horse is still here. It is nice to know he didn’t die out on the prairie.”
Elise nodded. “I felt so bad to know we had just left him there.”
An Indian who Ronan didn’t recognize stepped into the teepee and motioned for Elise to come.
“I suppose I have to go, but I will be back soon.”
Ronan forced himself not to show how disappointed he was. Her company was something he looked forward to in order to make the days a little less long and dull.
“Remember, keep your eyes open for ways that we could use to leave if we need to.” Ronan said the words so softly so that only Elise could hear him.
She had a sudden look of caution that showed him that even though she had found a way to manage their situation, she hadn’t forgotten they were captives.
Ronan watched as she left. As she ducked out of the teepee, he caught sight of something that surprised him. There, outside of the teepee was another white man. He looked to be a trader. The man wasn’t far from his teepee.
He had a wagon stocked full of items that looked like they were for trade. A couple of Indians were coming and going from the wagon. They were bringing things and leaving with other things.
Ronan had met many traders who traveled to the Indian villages and traded their wares for things that Indians made.
Ronan stayed at the edge of the teepee, watching the trader doing business. Eventually, things started to slow down, and the Indian chief approached the trader.
Ronan could hear their conversation. It was almost a relief to hear someone besides the Indian chief speak in English. Ronan listened to every word, but he especially became interested when the trader began to speak about him and Elise.
“I saw that you have a white woman here. Did she agree to be here?” the trader asked, glancing in the direction of where Elise had passed shortly before.
“She is,” the chief said. Even Ronan could hear that he was lying.
“What about the white man? One of your warriors mentioned him.” The trader crossed his arms over his chest. “Not that I care much, but it’s not like you to take prisoners.”
“They are not prisoners. They are helping with something.” The Indian chief looked visibly nervous, even though Ronan had no idea why he would be.
“I’ll be back in one moon like I normally am. Are they still going to be here then?”
“I don’t know. We will see.”
“You could let them go now. I can take them back to our town.”
Ronan clenched his jaw, listening to the trader. Everything that he decided to do would depend on the chief’s answer. According to Elise, the boy was almost better, so why wasn’t the chief planning their release?
“I can’t let them go. They know too much about where village is. They must stay.”
Ronan’s heart sunk at the chief’s words. He fell back on his heels. So, his suspicions about the chief and his tribe were correct. They didn’t want to let them go. Maybe they thought Elise was skilled with medicine and wanted to keep her around just in case. But Elise didn’t belong in an Indian village. Neither of them could stay here long term.
He was going to take Elise all the way to California, no matter what he had to do to accomplish that.
Now he just had to wait to speak with Elise again and make sure that she was on board with the plan. He needed to make sure they escaped before the Indians realized they were aware that they didn’t plan to let them leave peaceably.
***
Sleeping the night and waiting the next day until Elise’s evening visit was like torture. He kept thinking about what would happen if the Indians decided that it would be safer to keep them apart.
When Elise finally showed up, Ronan had to keep himself from rushing over to her and letting his whole plan spill out. He needed to stay calm. He tried to act as normal as he could. They needed to keep it a secret that they knew the Indians weren’t going to let them go.
“What’s wrong?” Elise asked as soon as she approached him.
“Did the chief stay close to the teepee?” Ronan asked, glancing toward the door. If the chief were there, he would probably overhear what they said to each other.
“No, he walked away to talk with some people a little way away. Why?” Elise looked concerned.
“They aren’t going to let us go.” Ronan was starting to let the panic get ahold of him.
“What do you mean? The boy is better. He was sitting up and eating this morning. I would think that he’ll be running around with the other boys again soon.”
“I know. And that is a good thing, but they don’t plan on letting us go. What I don’t know is why. Maybe they liked the fact you helped the boy heal and want to keep you around in case anyone else gets sick.”
“But the chief, he said we would be free to go if the boy got better.”
“Yes, I know. I heard him talking to a trader yesterday. The trader offered to take us to safety. He refused, saying that we were going to stay here. If he had any intention of letting us go, he wouldn’t have said that. He said we know too much about where the village is.”
Worry and then fear filled Elise’s face as she realized the implication of what he was saying.
“What are we going to do?” Elise asked.
“We need to escape. I know it’s going to be hard, but we need to find a way to do it. If we don’t do it soon, then we may not have another chance. Once they know that we are aware of their plan to keep us here, they will become more careful about letting us talk or roam freely. They are going to know that we will be mad.”
“So, what is your plan to escape? It is dangerous? There are a lot of warriors. There are only a few women and children.”
“I know. You made friends with the girl, Little Sparrow, right?”
“Yes, I did. But I don’t know if she will help us. Not to mention that I don’t know how to speak her language.”
A Long Way to Love: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 13