Silken Savage

by Catherine Hart

  Faced with her father’s heartfelt plea, Tanya acquiesced with a reluctant nod.

  Edward kissed her forehead and heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Tanya. You won’t regret it, I promise you. You needn’t worry about my accepting Hunter and Mark. I’ll proudly claim them as my grandsons, because they are yours, part of you. They are bright, healthy youngsters, and I was a fool to try to deny them. Can you forgive an obstinate old man?”

  Once more she nodded, resting her head tiredly against his chest.

  “Come,” he said. “Let’s see how George is managing. Jeffrey Young is sure to be in a foul mood, and I’m none too pleased with him. It’s a good thing we decided to follow along behind. He’s been acting so strangely lately that I just felt he couldn’t be trusted.”

  “That’s another thing, Tanya. After this, you need not feel pressured to marry him. Your mother and I will not force him on you. We’ll leave the decision up to you.”

  They spent the night camped with the soldiers, Tanya and her sons protectively flanked by her father, her uncle, and Kit. The next day they started back toward Pueblo.

  Jeffrey was trying desperately to mend his fences with Tanya and her relatives. Shame-faced, he admitted that he’d gotten carried away. He tried to blame it on his anger and the heat of the moment; having just retrieved his runaway fiance. He apologized profusely, promising it would not happen again, and repeating how much he loved Tanya and wanted her for his wife.

  None of the Martins accepted Jeffrey’s excuses for his behavior, but for the sake of a peaceful journey, they did not argue with him. There would be plenty of time to deal with the problem once they were back in Pueblo. In the meanwhile, they treated him with cool politeness and kept their distance.

  &nbps;

  Once back in Pueblo, Tanya resumed her life with little change from before. The one exception was that her family was united in their efforts to shield her from Jeffrey’s persistent attentions.

  Jeremy felt terrible that Tanya had been caught and brought back. “I’m sorry Tanya,” he told her with a sad little sigh. “If only I could have kept them from knowing you were gone for a while longer, you might have gotten away.”

  “No, Jeremy, it’s not your fault,” Tanya assured him with a smile. “You were a great help.”

  With a look so hopeful it tugged at Tanya’s heart, he asked, “You’re not mad at me?”

  Tanya shook her head. “How could I be angry with you, my little friend? We tried and failed, but the blame lies with the weather and my impatience, not with you.”

  “Are you going to try again?”

  “No; at least not for a while. Jeffrey will be watching too closely, and I promised my father I would stay for the time being. I must learn to be more patient, it seems.”

  “Will you still teach me how to be an Indian?”Jeremy’s eyes pleaded with her.

  “You bet!” Tanya grinned at him, using one of Jeremy’s favorite expressions.

  Jeremy glowed. “Gee, Tanya, you’re the cat’s whiskers!”

  Tanya burst out laughing. “I’ll take that as a compliment, and if I’m the cat’s whiskers, youmust be his grin!”

  Though Tanya was on better terms with her parents these days, Julie was as incorrigible as ever. The final spark that set fire to Tanya’s temper happened on her third day back. Unexpectedly, she walked into the parlor to find Julie shaking Hunter back and forth, her fingers digging viciously into his little arms, his feet dangling off the floor, and his head snapping to and fro.

  Instantly furious, Tanya flew to the defense of her young son. Without thought, she launched herself at her sister, screeching and yanking at Julie’s hair until she released Hunter. With a swift glance at the toddler to assure herself he was alright, Tanya pushed her sister roughly away from him.

  Julie immediately pushed back, and the fracas was on. Scratching, hissing, pushing, hitting and pulling hair, the two girls went at it tooth and nail. Heedless of the earsplitting clamor they were creating, they screamed at one another, Tanya spouting Cheyenne at the top of her lungs.

  “Let me go!” Julie shouted as Tanya yanked on her hair. “It’s your brat who needs a good beating! You should see the mess he’s made of my crochet thread! Ouch!”

  A few minutes later, it was, “Stop it, Tanya! Ouchl I hate you! Why did you have to come back? Everything was so nice when you were gone!”

  Julie’s shoe landed a telling blow on Tanya’s shin, causing her to grunt in pain. “Ha!” Julie gloated. “That’s not half of what I’d like to do to you! I wish the Indians would have killed you or marked you up until you were so ugly, Jeffrey would never have wanted you again. But no, home you come, beautiful as ever, the poor mistreated princess who has to be pampered and coddled and catered to; and Jeffrey is as besotted as ever.”

  Julie’s sleeve gave way with a loud rip as Tanya tugged on it, rapping out a stream of Cheyenne oaths.

  “I wish I could get away with saying some of the things I know youare saying!” Julie retorted. “I wish Jeffrey could see the way you are behaving now. Maybe then he’d see I’m the better woman; and I don’t have half-breed sons to saddle him with. He was starting to come around, beginning to see me as a woman, before you showed up again!” Julie’s open hand made a perfect connection with Tanya’s bruised cheek.

  “Damn it, Julie! I ought to knock your teeth down your throat!” Tanya screamed, unconsciously lapsing into English in her desire to communicate with her sister. For several seconds she’d been trying to tell Julie that she had no interest at all in Jeffrey, but could not get her message across in Cheyenne.

  “Try it!” Julie taunted, too angry to realize she’d understood her sister’s words.

  Instead Tanya yanked out a handful of Julie’s abundant hair.

  “Yeouch!” Julie’s eyes filled with tears of pain.

  “Are you going to listen to me now, or do I have to snatch you bald first?” Tanya asked grimly.

  “Why should I?”

  “Because I’m trying to tell you I wouldn’t have Jeffrey Young on a silver platter! If you want him so badly, he’s yours, with my blessings. I’d be eternally grateful if you’d take the skulking moron off my hands!” Tanya yelled.

  “You aren’t serious!” Julie stopped dead in astonishment.

  “Do I look like I’m joking?” Tanya retorted hotly. “I have a husband! I have two wonderful sons! I never wanted to come back here! What more does it take to convince you that I mean what I say?” Tanya’s voice was shrill.

  “Truly?” Julie looked as if someone had just offered her a gold mine and she couldn’t quite believe her luck. “I thought it was just an act so everyone would feel sorry for you.”

  “Julie!” Tanya sighed in exasperation. She slumped down onto the sofa, plopping Hunter onto her lap. “I can’t help it if Jeffrey still wants me. I’ve done everything in my power to discourage him.”

  “You honestly don’t love him anymore?” The look on Julie’s face was so hopeful it made Tanya’s heart ache for her.

  “I doubt I ever did. I don’t think I honestly knew what love was before I met Panther,” Tanya admitted.

  Julie’s doubt was obvious. “That’s your Indian husband? But how can you possibly love a savage, Tanya?”

  Tanya’s smile was gentle in remembrance. “If you’d ever seen him, you wouldn’t need to ask. He is the most marvelous man I’ve ever known. He’s tall and proud and noble, and extremely handsome. Panther is strength and gentleness in the same person. I love him with all my heart and I live only for the day we will be reunited.”

  Julie was contrite. “I’m sorry Tanya. I didn’t mean it when I said I wished you were dead. I missed you, too, and worried about you. It’s just that I’ve come to love Jeffrey, and I was beginning to hope he would learn to care for me. Then you were found and I saw all my hopes and dreams going up in smoke. That is why I’ve been so hateful. I’m terribly jealous of you, you see,” she admitted.

  “And you were t
aking your spite out on my children; two little boys who could not defend themselves?” Tanya reprimanded with a frown.

  “Yes,” Julie whispered in humiliation, her fair complexion turning a bright red. “I’m sorry, Tanya, but I would have tried anythingto make Jeffrey think less of you and turn to me. Hunter and Mark were handy, and I was desperate. I used them to try to get him to see that marriage to you would make him unhappy. I also took my anger and frustration out on them unfairly. It’s not that I dislike them, Tanya. Actually I think they’re rather sweet, and Hunter is quite handsome.”

  “He takes after his father,” Tanya spoke around the lump in her throat.

  “Am I forgiven?” Julie asked hesitantly. “Can we be sisters and friends again?”

  Tears blurred Tanya’s vision. “Always,” she answered, reaching out to accept Julie’s outstretched hand. She sat Hunter on the floor and drew her sister into her arms.

  For long minutes the two girls embraced and wept on each other’s shoulders.

  “I missed you so much!” Julie confessed on a sob.

  “I missed you too! I love you, Julie.”

  “Don’t flood the rug, girls,” Aunt Elizabeth cut in on their private reunion, a broad grin on her face.

  Both girls turned to face her, and found Elizabeth, Sarah, and Melissa all standing in the doorway. Sarah was staring in open astonishment at Tanya.

  “Julie,” Elizabeth went on, “as often as you have aggravated me lately, today you have done wonders. I don’t know how you did it, and frankly I don’t care, my dear, but you’ve gotten your sister to speak English, and for that I thank you.”

  “We heard you clear upstairs,” Melissa commented.

  Finally able to speak, Sarah added reverently, “I’ve never heard a sound more beautiful than Tanya screaming at the top of her lungs in English.”

  Tanya and Julie grinned at one another.

  “I do believe this is the first time Mother has been glad to hear us arguing,” Julie laughed.

  “And probably the last,” Tanya added.

  That night at the supper table, Edward was in for a surprise. The women had conspired to keep Tanya’s decision to speak a secret until then.

  Out of the blue, Tanya requested, “Would you pass the butter, please, Papa?”

  Edward’s jaw dropped in amazement as he stared at his daughter. His hand suspended midway toward the butter dish, he stammered, “What …What did you say?”

  Tanya smiled saucily. “Would you pass the butter, please, Papa?” Tanya repeated.

  “I don’t believe it,” Edward said softly. “How? When? Why?”

  “Who cares?” George laughed delightedly. “Just count your blessings Edward, and for heaven’s sake, pass the poor girl the butter!”

  From that day on, bit by bit, Tanya started making concessions to her family’s way of living. One morning a few days later, she slept past her usual wake-up time, and Sarah went up to check on her. Upon peeking into the bedroom, rather than finding Tanya lying on her usual pallet on the floor, she discovered her daughter sound asleep in the soft bed. Her head was burrowed into the feather pillow and she was snuggled under several quilted comforters.

  With a smile, Sarah tiptoed into the smaller adjacent room. There she found Mark gurgling in his cradle and Hunter sitting quietly on his cot playing with his toys. Picking up the baby and taking Hunter by the hand, she led them quietly past their sleeping mother, pulling the door shut behind her.

  “Come on boys, let’s get you some breakfast,” she whispered. “We’ll let Mama sleep, shall we?”

  Another major change came later in the week, when Sarah presented Tanya with a small pair of cloth trousers and a plaid flannel shirt for Hunter.

  “Darling, I realized you wish to raise your sons in your own way, but you can hardly dress the boy in deerskin if it is unavailable to you at this point, and he has long since outgrown the things you arrived with,” she explained.

  Tanya agreed. “Yes, I’ve noticed how uncomfortably tight his breeches are, and his shirtsleeves are nearer to his elbows than his wrists.”

  “Then you don’t mind terribly that I’ve made these clothes for him? I thought he might like having an outfit like Jeremy wears, since he seems to admire him so.”

  “It’s fine, Mother. Thank you for going to all the trouble. It’s something I should have done weeks ago, but my mind has been on the other things.”

  Sarah sighed. “Tanya, dear, how long are you going to wait for him? It’s been months. If your — er — husband was coming for you, don’t you think he’d have done so by now?”

  Tears sprang unbiden to Tanya’s eyes, and her chin came up proudly. “He’ll come, Mother,” she insisted. “He wouldn’t desert his wife and sons. Something has delayed him, but I will not give up hope. Panther will come for us. I just have to be patient.”

  “Well, while you are waiting, couldn’t you consent to buying a few dresses for yourself?” Sarah suggested gently. “Your only two garments are stained and worn beyond repair and your uncle’s mercantile does not carry a selection of doeskin with which to make more.”

  Tanya smiled at this. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. If my son is to be clothed in the typical white manner, I guess I can too.”

  “It would be more reasonable,” Sarah pointed out. “Besides, who knows how long you will have to wait for — uh — Panther. While we accept your right to direct your own life, it would be unfair to make Mark and Hunter bear the brunt of ignorant people’s prejudice around town just because you insist on raising them as Cheyenne. They need to fit in, Tanya, and not appear so different from the other children. I don’t mean to offend you, but do you understand what I am saying?”

  Tanya nodded. “Yes, I do. It is good to know you are not ashamed of us, and I promise to cooperate a little more.”

  So it was that Tanya found herself attired in lovely new gowns and soft matching slippers, but she adamantly refused to be laced into a stiff corset. Around the house, she still wore her headbands, though her hair, at shoulder length, was still too short to be plaited into respectable braids. When she went out on her solitary walks, she also wore her moccasins, but in public she dressed as the other women did, with one exception. Tanya refused to remove the engraved wristbands Panther had given her on her wedding day under any circumstances. These marked her as Panther’s wife as clearly as a wedding ring would have, and she would wear them forever, or until Panther asked her to remove them, a circumstance which Tanya could not imagine occurring.

  Hunter preened himself in his new clothes, and Tanya was especially grateful that he was now toilet-trained. Of all people, his Grandpa Edward had taken over this chore, and Tanya hid a smile every time she saw the two of them headed for the outhouse, hand in hand.

  Edward had also presented Hunter with a new pair of moccasins he had made himself. Though not as well-made as Tanya would have produced, they were sturdy and the correct size, and Tanya was moved to tears by the gesture.

  “It is what he is used to,” Edward explained. “I can’t see my grandson cramming his feet into hard leather shoes or clumsy boots that might cause blisters and cramp his toes.”

  February waned into March and stiff winds blustered down from the mountains, rattling windows and bringing the last lingering snows of the winter. Hunter’s second birthday was celebrated with much enthusiasm, but with sorrow on Tanya’s part as she thought of Panther’s absence this year.

  The weather did not deter Jeffrey’s constant visits. The Martins could not understand how he could fail to see that he was not welcome.

  Tanya had no compunctions where he was concerned. Now that she was once more speaking English, she readily told him in no uncertain terms how she felt about him. After her near-rape, at no time did she allow herself to be alone with him, and many times it was Julie who sat through his visits with her.

  “I’m glad to see you are finally beginning to act normally, Tanya,” he commented, noting her new blue gown. “It w
ill make things much easier when we announce our wedding date.”

  Tanya’s tone was sharp as she answered him. “What must I do to convince you that I am notgoing to marry you, Jeffrey; now or ever? I already have a husband, and I certainly wouldn’t have any use for another!”

  “I see you are still using that excuse, but it won’t hold up in court. Indian ceremonies are not considered legal by the United States government, my dear. Besides, if your alleged husband meant to claim you, wouldn’t he have done so by now? Face it, Tanya, the bastard has abandoned you; that, or left you a widow.”

  Tanya ached to slap the sneer from his face. “Even if that were the case, Lieutenant, you are the last person in the world I would choose as a husband,” she grated.

  “You were eager enough once before,” he pointed out.

  “That was before I knew what kind of a person you really are,” she rebutted, “and before I knew what real love is.”

  “You’ll change your tune soon enough when you see how few options you have. How many men do you suppose will want you now? You are soiled goods, darling.”

  “If my choices are you and spinsterhood, I’ll choose the latter, thank you.”

  “Come now, Tanya. Can you truly say that, knowing what it is to share your bed with a man?” Jeffrey’s voice was silky, insinuating. “A few more months and you’ll be begging me to take you, with or without marriage.”

  Tanya laughed in his face. “Please Jeffrey, hold your breath until then, and we’ll make your funeral arrangements. You’ll be doing me a huge favor!”

  “You really shouldn’t say things like that to me, my love. I might hold a grudge and make you pay for them later,” he warned softly.