Fireblossom

by Wright, Cynthia

  Fox mulled over all these changes, realizing again that a prosperous future awaited those smart or crazy enough to stick it out. He and Maddie had decided to stay. He would start up his own sawmill, with Titus as the manager, and they'd begin by planting seedlings to replace the trees they took down. Progress would continue with or without them, and at least Fox and Maddie had scruples.

  Now, however, he was trying to get a feel for his town again. Preacher Smith's killing baffled him. He didn't want to think that any of the people he knew at Bear Butte could have done such a thing, but, remembering He Dog's words in the council tent, he knew it was possible. The Lakota Indians had a different point of view regarding whites arrogant enough to trespass like thieves in sacred Paha Sapa. The citizens of Deadwood could never understand how the Indians felt; in truth, they had no interest in understanding or sympathizing with them at all. To do so would mean seeing them as fellow human beings, with rights and feelings, and that would complicate everything. The chasm between Indians and the whites was too great, it seemed, to ever be bridged.

  Was Sun Smile in danger here?

  Fox wandered into the badlands, listening and watching as he tried to get a sense of Deadwood's mood. It wasn't a difficult task. Within minutes Garnet Loomis blew out of the Gem Theatre like a frigate in full sail. Clad in a cheap gown of magenta silk trimmed in torn feathers, her debauched face painted in a way that seemed to accentuate each line and roll of fat, she was like a walking advertisement for the badlands.

  "Wait justa minute, dearie!" She grabbed his shirtsleeve and held it fast. "What's your hurry? Come on in and I'll letcha buy me a drink!"

  Her breath already stank of whiskey, but Fox tried not to make his revulsion too obvious. "It's kind of you to ask, Garnet, but in case you haven't heard, I'm a married man now. Newly married, in fact."

  She reached up with her other hand to touch the locks of dark hair that curled over his collar. "God was sure workin' hard when He made you! Doesn't seem right that one woman'd have you all t'herself! Well, at least our little Victoria don't hafta pine for you no more. A couple of days ago, a millionaire from Denver proposed to her. She went off with him this mornin'. Gonna live in a mansion and be a stepmama to three youngsters!"

  "Is she indeed?" Fox's heart lightened at the thought. "I hope she is very happy. Victoria is one of the kindest women I've ever known. I might not be here if not for her."

  "And what about Lorna?" Garnet hissed, wagging her head toward the red-haired girl seated forlornly at the bar inside. "Don't think we don't know how you broke her heart, and how you wanted her in the first place 'cause she looks like the snooty girl who thought she was too good to have me in her house!"

  "You're referring to my wife," Fox replied coolly, "and I hardly think that Lorna is in a position to worry about having her heart broken. It seems to me that that would be an occupational hazard for upstairs girls. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have other business—"

  Suddenly Garnet's voice dropped to an evil-sounding whisper. "I knowed you was an Injin lover that first day I metcha! You think you're better'n the rest of us in your house on the hill, but you can't make up your own rules and get away with it!"

  "What the devil are you talking about?"

  "That squaw. You think the people in this town'll stand for that?"

  "That's right, Garnet," called a familiar voice. "Our friend here has set himself up as a sort of sultan in that house that's tucked away from the rest of the town."

  Fox pivoted to see who'd spoken. Graham Horatio Winslow III, who had obviously been drinking, waggled his fingers.

  "What did you say?" Fox challenged in deadly tones.

  "Just that you're like a sultan up there with your own little kingdom and a white wife and an Indian wife. One shudders to think what sort of goings-on—"

  "Winslow, I suggest that you shut up before something very painful happens to you," Fox cut in. "Sun Smile is my wife's half-sister. She has come to live in the Avery household at the request of her father, Stephen Avery. Sun Smile was widowed recently and is still in mourning, but we hope that she'll come to find happiness with her new family, since the future for the Lakota Indians is so bleak." He looked at Winslow, and then Garnet, who yawned as if bored. "I have treated both of you with enough courtesy to give you a truthful explanation. I would hope that you would return that favor by correcting any malicious gossip that you might overhear." Fox pierced Garnet with a stare as sharp as splinters of blue ice, and she dropped his sleeve and took a step backward. "I bid you good morning."

  Graham stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "There's something about you that's just not right, Mr. Matthews. I'd bet my family fortune that you have a secret, and I mean to discover what it is. Maybe it's common for men around Deadwood to be known by just one name, and not have a past—but why would an eastern gentleman like you, with an education and a fancy, well-bred mother, do that unless you have a secret? You even dressed up like a miner and acted like you were from the West, until your mama turned up to expose you! Simply inexplicable. I for one am proud as punch of each and every letter in my name, and—"

  "Winslow, you are a long-winded fool," Fox cut in, then turned and walked away. He hadn't proceeded more than a few steps when he heard Graham Winslow begin to speak again.

  "Lorna! Loorrrna!... There you are! Just the beauty I've been searching for!" The rest of his speech was lost as the young man from New Haven—with the extremely important name—staggered into the Gem and out of sight.

  * * *

  "Sun Smile would like to join us for tea, wouldn't you, dear?" Holding the hand of Maddie's half-sister, Annie Sunday drew Sun Smile into the kitchen of the Avery house. "Madeleine, Susan, would you think me overbearing if I asked that we take tea in the parlor today? I thought that it might be best for Sun Smile to experience this properly the first time." Annie Sunday's kindly voice brooked no argument from any of the parties concerned.

  Maddie and her grandmother exchanged glances. "Actually I was thinking of inviting you to our home for tea. That's why I'd just come in—to ask Gramma if—"

  "But you cannot mean it!" Although Annie Sunday smiled, there was no humor in her demeanor. "In fact, I ought to apologize to you on behalf of my son. He wasn't raised to live like that, and I must tell you that I was shocked when I arrived and had a good look at that... cabin. I'm certain that he improved it to some extent before your wedding, but the place is no more fit for a proper tea than that tiny cottage where I now live." She paused. "Besides, it would be good for Stephen to join us. And while he may be much improved, he's still tired from the excitement of the wedding and should not be forced to leave the house."

  Her reasoning was so sensible that they had to agree. While Maddie helped her grandmother prepare the tea and slice pieces of cake, she noticed that Annie Sunday had placed Sun Smile on the settee and then brought Stephen out to sit beside his daughter. They made an oddly affecting picture: the earnest white man in his tailored trousers and stiff-bosomed shirt seated next to the neatly dressed yet spiritless young woman.

  Maddie decided that Sun Smile seemed even more disturbing in her ladylike gown because she still looked so much like an Indian with her straight black hair and dark skin. Moreover, her eyes still burned with grief and pain, and another emotion that Maddie feared might be rage.

  They all took seats in the parlor. Annie Sunday began to talk about the plans she had for Sun Smile: reading and writing and sewing and cooking, to name a few. Stephen voiced his approval and reached for his daughter's hand. Although Sun Smile did not resist, she continued to look straight ahead while he beamed at her.

  Sipping her tea, Maddie tried to decide what she thought about her new mother-in-law. Annie Sunday had an annoying habit of taking charge of everything and everyone in sight, but how could Maddie argue in the face of her sensible ideas? Now that she and Fox were truly married, she hoped that she would have an opportunity to become better acquainted with his mother. Perhaps the
y might even be friends if the woman could back away just a bit from her efforts to control nearly everyone Maddie loved.

  Perhaps a good starting point would be a private conversation between herself and her mother-in-law. She might share what she had come to understand about the Lakota Indians, in the hope that Annie Sunday would not try so hard to force Sun Smile into the mold of a white woman. She was just about to invite the elder Mrs. Matthews to visit her when a rumbling noise reached her ears.

  "What's that?" asked Stephen.

  Annie Sunday went to the window and peeked through the ruffled curtains. "Why... I believe that must be a—mob coming toward the house! I am reminded of some of the crowds that used to cause a ruckus in the streets of Washington before the Civil War broke out." She put on her spectacles, nodding. "I believe they're angry about our dear Sun Smile."

  A torrent of emotions swept Maddie; she was surprised by the force of it. Jumping to her feet, she looked first at Sun Smile, whose eyes were as wide as a doe's, then at her father.

  Benjamin came clattering down the stairs, shouting, "What'll we do? What'll we do? Where's Fox? Shall I get the gun?"

  Maddie put a hand on his shoulder to stop him before he could scramble toward Stephen's room for the rifle her father kept propped against the window sill. "No. I'll get the gun."

  When she passed her father, she saw that he was squeezing Sun Smile's hand so hard that her fingers were white; his other hand was pressed to his chest. Clearly he was in pain.

  "Madeleine... I can't let you go out there. I'm the man of the family—"

  "Nonsense, Father," she replied briskly. "You're ill. Do you think I'd allow you to risk your life over a foolish incident like this? I'll deal with those ignorant louts." When she returned with the rifle, she surprised herself with the wave of affection she felt toward Sun Smile. It caused her to reach out and caress her cheek. "Don't worry about a thing."

  Even Annie Sunday appeared to give in after considering what position to take. Although normally a dominating presence, she was not the sort to take charge when violence threatened. Now she stood aside and watched with a gleam of respect in her hazel eyes as her daughter-in-law threw open the front door and stepped onto the porch.

  What appeared to be a sea of angry faces filled the open area in front of the house. Someone yelled, "Injin lover! Bring out that Injin! She might be the one who killed Preacher Smith!"

  There was a general rumbling of agreement. Deep in the crowd, a derby pulled down low on his head, was Graham Winslow. "They're all animals!" he was crying in an attempt to stir up the mob. "Can't be trusted! We won't be safe until every Indian in Dakota Territory is dead!" Each time he spoke, other voices rose in a chorus of repetition.

  Finally Maddie pointed the rifle into the air and pulled the trigger. And then again. When the mindless shouting died down, she turned the gun toward the mob and yelled, "You all haven't the sense God gave a mule! My dear sister is no threat to any of you, or to anyone else! She is a member of my family and a peaceful person—with as much right to be in Deadwood as any of you. More, actually, since the Indians inhabited the Black Hills long before our silly white faces intruded. Now, unless you want me to shoot right into you, I suggest that you all turn tail and run as fast as you can off our property!"

  With that, she cocked the hammer and watched as the people began to retreat. Gradually their grumbling ceased, and a few even offered her an apology in parting. When she went back into the house, she set down the rifle and walked to the settee. Her father was smiling, tears in his eyes. She hugged him, then turned to her sister and hugged her, too.

  "Welcome to our family, Sun Smile," she whispered against her cheek. "You'll be safe with us for as long as you care to stay."

  Maddie felt certain that she wasn't imagining the feeling that Sun Smile hugged her in return.

  Chapter 27

  September 15, 1876

  Paradise itself could not be more sublime than our life, Maddie thought. Her heart caressed each word as she formed them in her mind. In the first days of her marriage to Fox, she had waited for the joy to abate, yet the more she loved, the more it seemed her heart could hold. Both Maddie and Fox knew that what they were making together was a treasure beyond price, and they were wise enough to share a deep sense of gratitude.

  Snuggling against Fox's tapering, tanned back, Maddie wrapped her arm around him and pressed kisses to the nape of his neck, to his shoulder blades and down his spine. Her hand felt the muscled ridges of his belly, then strayed lower to find Fox fully and invitingly erect. His body never ceased to amaze and intoxicate her.

  "Maddie," he mumbled, apparently still asleep, "I have a bite. A big one."

  "You do?" She propped herself up to peek at her husband's profile. His hair was tousled on his brow, and he looked engagingly boyish and worried. Maddie had learned that it was not uncommon for Fox to make sudden, clear statements in his sleep. Sometimes they were alarming, the product of nightmares, but more often when she heard his words she wanted to giggle. "What are you biting?"

  Fox frowned. "I—what—?" Apparently unwilling to leave the dream, he burrowed facedown into his pillow.

  Unable to restrain herself, she nuzzled his shoulder and ran her hand down the sculpted surface of his back and buttocks. The morning sun drenched the bed with warmth, so she swept back the covers. After a moment Fox turned his head and opened one eye.

  "I was fishing," he muttered accusingly.

  "Oh!" Green eyes twinkling, she tried not to smile. "I see!"

  He pretended to begrudge her his embrace as she crawled into his arms. In a voice husky with sleep, he complained, "It was the biggest rainbow trout I've ever seen, and the setting was magnificent—a secluded rushing stream high in the Hills, a crisp morning, my wife perched on the bank, watching in adoration as I reeled in the thrashing monster." He sighed. "It must've weighed twenty pounds."

  "Is that possible?" Maddie asked, her cheek against the strength of his chest. "A twenty-pound rainbow trout, I mean?"

  "That's not the point! It was a dream, and I was enjoying every moment." He saw by the sun that he had overslept, yet still he lingered in the feather bed. Maddie was nibbling at him, her hair like a soft stream of fire across his body. They seemed to drink from the same well of joy these days, and when his naturally more brooding nature rose up, Maddie surrounded him like an enchanting light, infecting him with her own relentless high spirits. Gradually Fox was learning that his sense of foreboding was pointless; all that was real was the present moment. Marriage to Maddie made each day so magical that he found himself worrying less and less about tomorrow. "It's late," he said now without conviction.

  Wearing only a wispy lawn chemise edged in lace, Maddie straddled his hips and smiled with confident sensuality. She tossed her head back so that her hair swept over Fox's thighs, then drew the chemise over her head to reveal her narrow waist and creamy breasts.

  "You're insatiable," Fox declared, his voice a mixture of amusement and arousal as he reached out to touch her.

  "It's not my fault," she replied, fairly purring under the play of his fingers. "Maybe it's this bed. Did you put a spell on it when you built it?"

  "I think we did that together, on our wedding night, my darling." With that, he drew her into his arms and they made love with sweet, feverish ardor.

  It was nearly ten o'clock by the time Maddie and Fox were dressed, fed, and ready to begin the day. Sitting at the table as he finished a second cup of coffee, Fox gazed around the house that his wife had worked so lovingly to transform into a home these past weeks. Her touch was everywhere, from the flowers that brightened every tabletop, to the pictures on the walls, to the cozy, inviting settee and various other pieces of furniture that now filled the spacious rooms. Many things had been Colleen Avery's, sent for by Stephen to give to his daughter. Maddie's favorites were a ladder-back rocking chair with a woven rush seat, a decorated warming pan to use in their bed when winter struck, a set of silver candle
sticks, and a beautiful hand-painted dower chest. The house was a happy mixture of family heirlooms and new pieces that Maddie and Fox had chosen together. Whenever Fox opened the door and stepped into this home, the sense of well-being and contentment that swept over him was powerful.

  And in spite of the challenges of his new work, he also felt a tug when it was time for him to leave the house. It came now as he stood and set down his cup. Maddie was making a great effort to become a real cook, and she looked up from the pie crust she was mixing. "Are you sure you wouldn't like another egg?" she asked. "More ham?"

  Fondly he shook his head. "I've no doubt that Titus is despairing of me. He's probably been at the sawmill, overseeing construction, for hours while I lay abed."

  "He understands," she said, smiling.

  "For the moment. Now, give me a kiss, but don't try to take advantage of me again..."

  Maddie cuffed his arm, wiped her hands on her apron, and then stepped into his embrace. She walked him to the door, kissed him again, and then watched him walk out into the morning sunshine. It was a spectacular day: Indian summer with the promise of frost at night. As Fox left his wife and started off to fetch Watson, Annie Sunday's cottage door opened and she looked out.

  "Daniel, you're lazier than you have a right to be, you know."

  With an indulgent smile, he paused to kiss his mother's cheek. "Fortunately I have you to remind me of my shortcomings."

  "Don't be impudent." Annie Sunday wagged a finger at him, then asked, "How do you like the curtains?"

  Fox thought for a moment before he realized that she was referring to the curtains she and Susan O'Hara had helped Maddie sew. The crisp, light panels of gathered muslin had gone up two days earlier. The triumph, as he saw it, was not the curtains, but the relationship that Maddie had worked so painstakingly to forge with his mother over the past weeks. As difficult as it was to believe, all three households now got along better than he would have ever dreamed possible.