Tschi sprawled facedown and the earth soaked up the last of his life's blood. He gave a final gasp and lay still.
"Heed well!" Rebecca shouted. "The man you followed! The war chief you chose! His shame is yours! Go from this place and never return, lest you meet the same fate and your soul wander forever between earth and sky!"
One by one, the warriors gathered their weapons and melted away, carrying their wounded and their dead. The servants let out a cheer and ran toward Pride. Jonas and Tom came cautiously from the smokehouse.
Rebecca handed Shawny to a woman and crouched beside Kate's body. "Does she breathe?"
Pride cradled her head in his lap. He was weeping openly. "She took the ball meant for me," he sobbed. "She offered her life for mine."
"She's no different than she's ever been," Rebecca chastened. "I had two sons; one was a fool and one a mad wolf. If Moneto takes her from you, it will be no more than you deserve." She bent and laid her ear to Kate's chest. "Fetch water and cloth for bandages. She can't be moved until I stop the flow of blood."
Later, when Kate, barely breathing, had been carried to a bed of straw in the barn, Rebecca returned to the barnyard to kneel beside the body of her dead son. Tears dropped from the sorrowful brown eyes to mix with his blood. "The fault is mine, Tschi," she whispered. "I did not love you enough." Then she rose and hurried toward the main house to see if her box of medicines had been saved from the fire. Tschi was dead, and Kate still lived. Her tears could wait.
The kitchen wing was burned out. Damage was done to the floors and furnishings, but the stone and brick had acted as a natural firebreak. Much of the beauty of Ashton Hall was ruined, but the walls stood. Rebecca's chambers and those beyond the main hallway were intact.
It was the medicines that saved Kate's life. Pride would not have believed that a woman could lose so much blood and live. The musket ball had gone completely through her shoulder. It had been a small bore; the wound was bad enough as it was. For days, she hovered between worlds; Pride dripped broth and milk between her lips as she had done for the twins when they were small.
One day she opened her eyes and smiled at him. The next, she spoke his name. By the end of the week, she was sitting up and calling for her babies. Rebecca nodded at her son, and Pride knew that Kate would recover.
She remembered very little about the day of the attack; Pride didn't remind her. "You're better and that's all that matters."
"Tschi? I dreamed..."
"He's dead, Kate. He'll never harm you again."
"Did you kill him? With a knife?" she demanded.
Pride smoothed back her hair and tied it with a crimson ribbon. His lips brushed hers tenderly. "No, I didn't kill him. Now eat your soup and stop asking questions. You've lost a lot of weight. I don't like skinny women." He grinned at her boyishly. "Not too skinny."
"You'd rather have me fat?"
"Only if you were swelling up with another child."
Kate flipped the bowl of soup into his lap. "The next one you carry! Then we'll see how eager you are to have a dozen babies." Her eyes sparkled with merriment. "Ask me next year." Her voice dropped to a husky tremor. "Will we have a next year, Pride?"
He tipped her chin up gently and kissed her lips, "A lifetime of years, Ki-te-hi. If you want them."
Kate pulled his shaggy head down and answered with another kiss, one that promised more than teasing.
"You keep that up, and I'll be in that bed with you," he warned. His hand cupped her breast and caressed a swollen nipple.
Kate lifted the sheet. "I'll let you do all the work," she tempted. "I've nothing to do all day but lie here. A girl gets lonely."
Pride slipped out of his clothes and slid in beside her. She felt like a fragile wild thing; he was afraid of hurting her. "Kate," he said softly, "I've wronged you. I know better now. I know you told the truth about Tschi. Can you forgive me? Ever?"
"No."
"No?" He moved away and leaned on one elbow to look down at her. "You can't?"
"No. But I love you anyway." She nestled against him. "Ask me again in twenty years."
"You little witch. You'd make me wait that long, wouldn't you?" His mouth covered hers and they kissed, a deep kiss of passion. Kate's hand slipped down his taut, muscled thigh to brush against his growing desire.
"Or in the morning," she whispered.
The End
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Want more from Judith E. French?
Here's an excerpt from
DEFINAT LOVE
The Triumphant Hearts Series
Book One
~
Adam Rourke tried to conceal the dislike he felt for these frontier Pennsylvanians. They were a rude lot, and he had no doubt that Rebecca Bradford had been misused.
The German led the way to a log blockhouse.
The leather hinges squeaked. The dirt floor gave off a musty smell. The rough log walls would give no solace to a young and frightened woman. Adam found the girl huddled in the darkest corner. "Rebecca, Rebecca Bradford? I'm come to take you home."
There was no sign that she heard.
"Wait outside." The softness in Adam's voice nearly covered the steel. "Now." Blood pounded in his temple as he saw the bruise that ran down the side of the girl's cheek.
Adam squatted on the dirt floor. "Rebecca Bradford? I'm Adam Rourke. I worked for your grandfather at Sheffield. I gave you pony rides. Do you remember the black pony?"
Her voice came clear in the darkness, heavily accented. "Gray."
"Yes." Adam tried to keep the excitement from his voice. "I've come to take you home."
"No." Star Blanket rose. "I not this Beck-ka. I Star Blanket, of the Wolf Clan. Shawnee. I go back to my people." She moved gracefully along the side of the wall, her thick braid hanging over one shoulder. "Beck-ka'bad'ford dead. Iroquois kill. You set me free."
Trickles of sweat began to run down Adam's forehead.
Her unwillingness was the last thing he'd expected. "You're frightened. Once you're home at Sheffield, you'll feel better." He sighed. "These people have treated you badly. But you can trust me."
How easily they spoke of trust, these English-manake. Star Blanket's green eyes inspected him closely. He was a giant of a man, a head taller than any of the Shawnee warriors in her village. His hair was brown and waving.
His eyes, at least, were the proper color—brown—and full of intelligence. But they showed none of the fierceness that should shine through the windows of the soul. His hands were large and hard.
She searched her mind for memories of A-dam Rourke. The corners of her lips curved upward.
"Will you come with me?" A ray of light, coming through the trapdoor in the ceiling, illuminated her smooth, heart-shaped face. The breath caught in his throat. Once she was washed and dressed in decent clothing, she would be a real beauty.
The ragged gown hung on her, but even the dirty folds could not hide the womanly curves of her high, firm breasts and compact hips. The bare feet that peeked out from under the muddy hem were small and shapely. But it was her eyes that drew him, large and heavy lashed. They glittered in the dark cell like fiery emeralds. Bradford eyes.
"I will." But I do not promise how far. She lowered her eyes to hide the cunning there. She would not hurt him when she made her escape. But she would take away his horses and perhaps the fine English pistol.
~
To purchase
Defiant Love
from your favorite eBook Retailer,
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ith E. French's eBook Discovery Author Page
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Judith E French is the bestselling and award-winning author of nearly sixty novels, including historical romance, contemporary, mystery, and suspense. Her books are translated into a dozen languages and sold worldwide. She has written for Avon Books, Dorchester, Kensington, Harlequin, and Ballantine Publishers. Judith is the mother of bestselling novelist Colleen French, and the recipient of Romantic Times Magazine's Career Achievement Award for American Historicals.
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