by Kaki Warner
“Soon, Thomas.” Prudence stretched, her back arching, her hands clasped over her head. “Soon it will all be over and we’ll be safe.”
“That is my hope.” He watched her, his body reacting as it always did when he was near her. He could awaken every morning to this woman and know his life was all he could ever wish it to be. She gave him the purpose he needed. A place of his own. He could not live like a caged animal on a reservation. Nor could he shed all of his Indian ways and become a white man. But with this woman, he could have a home. A place to belong. A reason to take the next breath.
He ran a fingertip over the curve of her breast. “Did you sleep well?”
She slumped back with a drowsy smile, moisture forming in her dark eyes. “You know I did.”
“Then why do you cry?”
“That’s perspiration. This room is too hot.”
He grinned and thumbed her nipple. “Is it?”
“And because I’m happy.”
Laughing, he leaned down and kissed her. “Napevetano. I am happy, too, Prudence. I do not like to be apart from you.” Then, realizing he was drawing close to the subject he had vowed not to talk about, he rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. “It is late. Reverend Brother Sampson will be here soon.”
He yawned, wincing at the sting in the cut on his cheekbone. Lifting a hand, he felt that it was not as tender as yesterday, and the swelling was almost gone. But a dull ache still pulsed in his temple where he had been kicked. He hoped his hair would hide most of the bruise. He did not want Marsh to think the men he sent had done him harm.
Her hand stroked his back. “You’ll follow our plan, won’t you, Thomas?”
He looked at her over his shoulder.
“I couldn’t bear it if anything—”
“You are in more danger.” He reached for the clean clothing he had retrieved from his room during the night while Prudence slept. “You are the one who will be standing next to Marsh.”
Her laugh was bitter. “He wouldn’t hurt me. I’m much too valuable to him.”
As he dressed, she watched him, a frown between her dark brows. “Remember to wait until Lillie arrives before you show yourself.”
“I remember.” She had told him at least six times.
“And don’t forget to bring Lillie’s bag.” She nodded toward the pouch in the corner. “I’ve put her Christmas gifts inside.”
“You worry too much.”
“I know. But you are so dear to me, Thomas. If anything happened—”
“Nothing will happen,” he said for at least the tenth time. He leaned down to give her a last kiss, then straightened, branding the sight of her in his mind.
She was so beautiful, bathed in sunlight, her eyes still showing the passion he had awakened in the night. It took all his strength to turn away and let her dress.
By the time the reverend and the man who watched over the lobby arrived, they were dressed, packed, and ready. Prudence looked nervous, but happy. The clerked looked sleepy. It saddened Thomas that Katse’e was not with them, but he was glad Prudence had not told her of their marriage. He wanted to be with her when they gave her the news. He smiled, thinking of her squeals of joy.
The ceremony was short, and meaningless to Thomas. In his heart, he and Prudence Lincoln were already joined. But civilized people had their laws and rules, and if Thomas wanted to be the man Eho’nehevehohtse needed him to be, he would say the words she wanted to hear and put his mark on their paper.
As soon as it was done, the clerk pocketed the coin Thomas gave him and left. Thomas picked up his and Lillian’s clothes bags and threw them over his shoulder. “Reverend Brother Sampson will come to you as soon as the judge has the papers. I will wait until Lillian arrives.”
And because the white rules said it was now okay for him to do so whenever he wanted with his wife, he gave his beautiful bride a long, thorough kiss.
“Be safe, Eho’nehevehohtse.”
“And you, my love.”
Ten
“Just like I promised,” Marsh murmured in a voice that wouldn’t carry to Brother Sampson and Bessie Prescott, who stood talking by the last passenger car. “There she is.”
Pru almost wept with joy when she saw the familiar black carriage stop near the platform beside the depot. A woman in dark clothing stepped out, then reached back inside to help someone else climb down.
Lillie.
Relief hit so hard Pru had to clench her teeth to keep from crying out.
Safe. Thank you, God.
She started forward, then stumbled back when Marsh caught her arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Frowning, Brother and Bessie stopped talking and looked over at them.
Marsh shifted to block their view, then leaned in with bared teeth. “Don’t give me any trouble, Miss Lincoln. You know what I can do.”
She wanted to shout at him that she was Mrs. Redstone, not Miss Lincoln, and he couldn’t do anything to her now, but she had decided not to reveal that until Lillie was safe. No use stirring up trouble until she had to.
Out by the carriage, the woman bent to say something to Lillie, then straightened, her gaze fixed on Marsh.
Pru tried to jerk her arm from his grip, but his fingers tightened, digging deep into her flesh. “What is she doing? Why is she just standing there?”
“You didn’t think we would bring the girl along with us, did you?”
“What?” Pru twisted to look at him. “But you said you’d let her go.”
“Keep your voice down! I intend to let her go. But to the Prescott woman, not you.”
“But you never said—”
“Quiet! Or I’ll send her back to the school. Is that what you want?”
When Pru didn’t answer, he gave her arm a vicious twist that brought her up on her toes. “N-No.”
Thomas will be here soon. He’ll stop this madness. And once he gets Lillie away—
“What the hell?” Marsh had turned to wave to Bessie Prescott, but now stood motionless, his hand hanging in midair. “What’s he doing here?”
Pru looked back, saw Thomas step onto the end of the platform, and almost collapsed. Thank God. Her legs shook with the need to run to him, but it was too soon—he had to get Lillie away from the woman first. Hurry!
She watched him study the people standing beside the railcars. When his gaze found hers, he started forward.
No! Not yet! Frantic, she shook her head, hoping he would see and go to Lillie instead.
He stopped. She could sense his impatience and confusion from thirty feet away. Then he saw Lillie and headed in her direction with long, purposeful strides.
“Don’t think his arrival changes anything,” Marsh warned. “In fact, it makes it easier.” He waved to Brother and Bessie. “Get on board,” he ordered Brother. “And you,” he added to Bessie. “You’re not needed anymore. Run along.”
“But I thought—”
“Go!”
Bessie sniffed, affronted by his tone.
Rebellion flashed in Brother’s eyes, then faded as he turned to the fuming black woman. “Good-bye Miss Bessie. Thank you for your help with the choir.”
“My pleasure, Reverend. You have a nice trip, and God bless.” Then, ignoring Marsh, she stomped toward the station where the other two choir ladies waited to wave them off.
With a worried glance at Pru, Brother went up the steps of the last car.
Thomas had reached the carriage. Shoving the woman aside, he scooped Lillie into his arms. Even from this far away, Pru could hear the girl’s cries of joy.
Safe. Finally. Jerking her arm free, she glared at Marsh in triumph.
But he was smiling—that smug, I’ve-got-you-now smile. He nodded to the woman still standing beside the carriage.
She tossed
Miss Minty onto the wooden decking, then climbed back into the carriage.
“See? Just like I promised. And to make sure you keep your end of the bargain . . .” Marsh pointed toward the depot. “See those two men watching us?”
When Pru looked over, a man with a thick mustache pushed his coat aside to show the gun holstered on his hip . . . and the badge pinned to his vest.
Her knees wobbled.
“A nod from me and they’ll be on your redskin like hounds on a rabbit. So be warned, Miss Lincoln. If you don’t get on this train without a fuss, I’ll have the redskin arrested for kidnapping a ward of the state, and the pickaninny sent back to the home forever. Do you understand?”
“Why are you doing this? You said you’d let her go.”
“And I have. I don’t care who has the girl or what happens to her. As long as you get on the train. She and your Indian are simply insurance.”
Pru gaped at him, the horror of what he’d done finally dawning. She was trapped.
“Come now,” he said in a chiding voice. “Did you really think I’d trust you to get on the train once the girl was returned?”
No! She wanted to scream. Claw that smile from Marsh’s eyes. Tear this pain from her body.
Marsh chuckled, and in a tone that was almost gentle, said, “Please stop fighting me, Miss Lincoln. Don’t try to run out on me or slip away at the next stop. We’re going to Washington, and that’s that. Now wave goodbye to your Indian.”
Pru shook her head, unable to believe this was happening. How could she tell Thomas she was leaving him again? “You don’t know him. He’ll never let us leave. He’ll hunt you until—”
“Then make him leave,” Marsh growled in her face. “Send him back to his tipi with the girl, or watch them both get locked away for the rest of their lives.”
As the carriage rolled away, Thomas set Lillie on her feet and handed her Miss Minty. Then, holding her hand, he straightened and looked at Pru.
Her throat constricted. He seemed so tall and strong and unstoppable, with his feet braced and his shoulders thrown back. But she knew he was only flesh and blood. He could die as easily as any man. And without him, Lillie would be doomed to live a horrid life in an asylum, and she . . . she couldn’t live at all.
The conductor started down the line of passenger cars. “All aboard!”
Pru forced herself to look at the man beside her. With his pale skin and eyes, he looked like a bottom dweller, some bloodless creature that might have slithered out from beneath a rock. “Why are you doing this?”
He shrugged. “You know why. I need you to put your education proposal before the committee in Washington. And this is the best way to ensure your cooperation.”
“Why is my initiative so important to you?”
“It isn’t. Nor are you. But once you convince the powers in Washington to pay for it, I have people poised to see that I’m appointed to oversee all those funds. Hundreds of thousands of dollars at my fingertips.”
“You vile, despicable—”
Fury flashed in his eyes. “Watch your mouth, girl. The war might be over, but in some places, there’s still a bounty on niggers. And Indians.”
Pru saw Brother Sampson frowning at them from his window inside the passenger car. She almost called out to him, then realized he was as vulnerable as she was. There was nothing anyone could do. Not even Thomas.
And now she knew too much. Having admitted to her that he planned embezzlement, Marsh would probably kill her once she’d served his purposes. She was doomed.
But Thomas and Lillie could live. As long as she sent them away.
The pain of it pierced her heart. She could almost feel the blood leaking into her chest.
Marsh pushed her roughly forward. “Get it over with, Miss Lincoln. Tell them good-bye and make him believe it. And remember what I said.” His gaze flicked to the men waiting for Marsh’s signal. “We’ll have our eyes on you.”
* * *
Thomas watched her approach. Before she was halfway back to him, he could see by her expression that she was leaving him.
Helpless rage engulfed him, so sharp and painful his limbs went numb and tears pressed behind his eyes. He wanted to shout and break things. Shove his knife into Marsh. Peel the skin from his body.
But Marsh was not sending Prudence Lincoln away.
It was her decision to go.
The ache in his chest almost took his breath away.
It was over. Despite the words saying they were now man and wife, all that remained to him were memories of what he had let slip from his grasp. He let his gaze move over her as she drew closer, storing away for the long years ahead every shadow and sweet, soft curve. The proud line of her back, the brave smile, the intelligence in her dark, soulful eyes. He loved this woman—his wife. And she was leaving him. How was he to live with that?
“Where Miss Pru?” Lillian asked, yanking on his hand.
“She is coming. But you must be strong, Katse’e, and tell her good-bye without tears.”
“She leavin’? Without us?”
Thomas could not answer.
“When she come back?”
“I do not know.”
Her grip on his hand tightened. “You mean she maybe gone fo’ever?”
“Stop shouting, Lillian, and dry your tears.”
“But she cain’t leave! Not without me!”
“You are my daughter now, Katse’e. And I will not let anyone take you away ever again.”
The crying stopped. Her eyes widened. “I you daughter?”
“Yes. And the daughters of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers do not wail and weep like me’esevoto—little babies. Now smile and be brave.”
Thomas braced himself as Prudence stopped before them. But nothing had prepared him for the pain in her eyes. She did not want this, either, he realized. Yet she was still leaving him. “You have made your decision,” he said.
“Thomas . . .” Her voice cracked.
You are my wife, he wanted to shout at her. You promised to stay with me.
But when he saw a tear roll down her cheek, anger left him. This had been coming for a long time. He should no longer be surprised. Reaching up, he brushed the tear away with his thumb. “Do not cry, Eho’nehevehohtse. I knew you would leave.” He let his hand fall back to his side so she would not see it tremble.
“You wrong!” Lillian cried, her face twisting. “She cain’t leave! She ’posed be my new mama.”
“Oh, dearest . . .” Bending, Pru pulled the girl into her arms. “I love you so very much.”
“Then don’t leave me!”
“I must.” Letting the girl go, Prudence straightened and looked at Thomas. “I’ll be back as soon as I present my proposal to the committee. I promise—”
“No more promises.” Thomas struggled to take the emotion from his voice. “I have known for many months that there is greatness within you, Eho’nehevehohtse. It is right that you follow the path put before you.”
“Thomas . . . I-I’m so sorry.”
“Do not be.” Unable to keep from touching her, he framed her face with his hands. It was a moment before he could speak. “When I first saw you in Declan Brodie’s wagon, Prudence Lincoln, with your shy smile and great, wounded eyes, I knew that I would love you. And later, when I held you in the sacred pool, and spirits trailed ribbons of light across the moonless sky, I knew that I would lose you. I accept that.”
Shoulders shaking with silent sobs, she tipped her head against his chest.
Katse’e pressed against his leg, her tears wetting the cloth of his trousers. He felt like he carried the weight of the world’s sorrow on his shoulders.
He waited for the emotion blocking his throat to ease, then said in a ragged voice, “But know this, Eho’nehevehohtse. Through all the days I have left . . . until the last
sunset unfurls across the sky and the owl calls my name into the night . . . I will never forget you.”
“Thomas . . .”
“Go now.”
“No!” Lillian grabbed blindly at the air.
“Last call,” the conductor shouted.
“Miss Lincoln.” Marsh waved his hat. “It’s time.”
Thomas gently pushed her away. “Be well, heme’oone. And may the Great Spirit walk beside you.”
Sobbing, Prudence stumbled away.
“Daddy, please!” Katse’e cried, jerking on his hand. “You cain’t let her leave! You cain’t!”
A single glance back, then Prudence stepped into the last car, leaving Marsh standing at the rail of the rear observation deck, smoking a cheroot and watching Thomas.
The conductor signaled to a brakeman near the front of the train, then went up the steps behind her. After locking the chain across the stair opening, he stepped past Marsh and went inside.
The parting whistle sounded.
“Please, Daddy,” Katse’e wailed. “Don’t let her go with him!”
“Lillian—”
“No! Marsh bad! He hurt her!”
Thomas frowned down at her. “You do not know that.”
“I do! He hurt lots of folk. Hit and call names. Ev’rybody ’fraid of him.”
Thomas watched the well-wishers back away from the billowing steam as the locomotive rolled forward. At a wave from Marsh, the two men who had been leaning against the wall, watching them, turned and walked away.
“Do somethin’, Daddy! She don’t want to go! Marsh makin’ her.”
Doubt rose in Thomas’s mind. Lillian was right—it was plain that Prudence did not want to go. Then why did she get on the train? With Katse’e safe, what threat could Marsh use to force her to leave with him? And why would he let her live once she had served his purpose?
Marsh flicked his smoke onto the tracks. With a mocking grin, he tipped his hat at Thomas and went inside.
The insult fanned the fury still smoldering in Thomas. He felt the heat of it in his chest, his arms and legs. Felt the hot trail of rage burning through his mind. He breathed through his teeth as muscles tightened and senses sharpened and the fire that always came before battle ignited in his belly.