To Tame A Rebel

by Georgina Gentry

  She pulled her towel around her, but she noted that the young boy’s gaze never left her body.

  Tommy blurted, “Our prisoner’s a girl?”

  “It’s a long story.” Jim sounded frustrated and angry.

  “Uh, the general needs an officer to take charge of a patrol, and they can’t find Captain Big Horse.”

  “He’s always disappearing,” Jim Eagle grumbled as he dressed. “It’s a wonder he doesn’t get busted in rank. Why the patrol?”

  Tommy shrugged. “Something about someone thinking they saw a bushwhacker on the perimeters of the camp. I think the old man’s afraid of being infiltrated by Yankees.”

  Jim Eagle finished buttoning his shirt. “He sees spies everywhere. He even thought she was one.” He jerked his head in April’s direction.

  “I told you that was ridiculous.” She tried to appear nonchalant. “I told you I’m just a whore.”

  “Shameful for a Cherokee girl,” he muttered. “Well, I can’t have you roaming the camp while I’m gone.” He strode over and caught her arm.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m gonna tie you back up until I return. You owe me some pleasure, remember?”

  How could she forget? She’d come close to losing her virginity to this man only moments ago. “I’m not in the mood anymore. I’ll give you your money back.”

  He shook his head. “Uh-uh. I’ll take it out in trade when I return.”

  “At least let me get dressed.” She grabbed up the shirt and pants as he led her back to the tree.

  Tommy watched with big eyes. “Aw, Jim,” he protested, “there’s no need for that; she’s not going to run away.”

  “And I’m making sure of it,” Jim said as he continued tying her. “Now, Tommy, you stay away from this whore, you hear me?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I said so. Come on, little brother.” He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, and they walked away, although Tommy looked back over his shoulder at her.

  April heaved a sigh of relief as she dressed. It was difficult with one arm tied to the tree, but she managed. What was she going to do when Jim Eagle returned? If she let him make love to her, he’d find out she was a virgin, and then he’d know she was a spy and maybe execute her or, at the very least, do whatever was necessary to find out what she knew. Why had she been stupid enough to get herself into this mess, and more important, how did she get out?

  After an hour or so, she heard someone coming. Her mouth went dry, but it was Tommy who walked into the camp. “Oh, it’s you. You didn’t go on patrol with your brother?”

  He shook his head. “I was on guard duty.” He watched her. “Is it—is it true what Jim said about you being a . . . well, you know.”

  She knew from the hunger in his young face what he was thinking. “Tommy, I’m sure you don’t have that much money.”

  Tommy’s face flushed, and he turned sullen. “Someday I’ll have plenty of money and be important, and no one will boss me anymore.”

  April nodded. “It must be terrible to be the younger brother and always have Jim ordering you around.”

  “I get damned tired of it. He treats me like a baby, and I’m a man.”

  Could she possibly persuade him to free her? She smiled at him. “You sure are. What happened to your other brother?”

  “Jim mention him? He usually never talks about Will, but I reckon he thinks about him a lot.”

  She indicated he should sit down by the fire. “What happened to Will?”

  Tommy sat down close to her. “Will’s one of the Keetoowa, the traditional members of the tribe. His unit of the Cherokee Rifles deserted back in ’sixty-one and went over to the Union. I think Jim felt betrayed.”

  “Will must have had his reasons.”

  Tommy shrugged. “I don’t know much about it except the Keetoowa cling to traditional ways and think the tribe will do better going with the Union than the rebels.”

  She favored him with a smile. “What do you think?”

  He grinned at her. “Nobody ever asks me what I think. Frankly, I’m not sure it makes any difference. You been in a big city?”

  She nodded. “I’m going back there first chance I get.”

  “That’s what I dream of.” The young Cherokee’s face was eager. “Will and Jim, they might want to go back to sweating on that ranch, but me, I want to go north and live in a big city. I want a nice house and a fine carriage, maybe a job in an office.”

  April wondered if she could enlist his help. She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Everyone ought to be able to follow a dream; that’s what I did. I was tired of being a traditional Cherokee girl.”

  “Maybe we’d end up in the same city.” His voice was eager. “I wish this war would hurry up and end.”

  “I do, too, Tommy.” She sighed and gave him her most winsome smile. “You know, Jim thinks I’m a spy, and when he gets back, he’s determined to get information out of me, no matter what he has to do to me.”

  Tommy frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Jim.”

  “I think maybe he feels the end justifies the means, and he’ll do whatever it takes.”

  He stared at her. “Will said that, too. Are you really a spy?”

  She touched his arm again and laughed. “Of course not. I’m just a girl who got caught in the middle of this war.”

  “That’s too bad, miss.” He shook his head.

  She let tears pool in her dark eyes. “I—I’m so afraid of what your brother will do to me.”

  “Don’t worry, miss, I won’t let him hurt you.”

  She had to try; she was desperate. “I don’t know how you can stop him, unless—unless maybe you turned me loose.”

  Tommy appeared shocked. “I—I don’t think I could do that. Jim would be real mad.”

  She dabbed at her eyes. “I know. I’ll just have to wait and take my chances. You saw what he was about to do when you showed up while ago.”

  There was a long pause as the boy seemed to think all this over. “That doesn’t seem like Jim.”

  “War does strange things to men.” April shook his head. “Being his little brother, you wouldn’t want to rile him.”

  He frowned. “I get damned tired of being the little brother. It’s time people started treating me like a man; I’m almost nineteen, you know.”

  April sighed. “I’m scared, Tommy, scared of what the rebs will do to me trying to get information.”

  “If I turned you loose, I could get in big trouble.”

  He was weakening.

  “Tommy, please. You could make it look like I escaped by myself.”

  He was visibly wavering. “I don’t know . . .”

  She cried some more. “If you don’t help me, who knows what will happen?”

  He thought a minute, then sighed. “I’ll do it.”

  “Oh, thanks.” She put her arms around his neck and hugged him.

  In turn, he grabbed her and kissed her clumsily. “I’m gonna be rich someday. I got big plans, and I’ll need a wife. Maybe we can meet in Boston after the war.”

  “I—I can’t promise that, Tommy.”

  “I’ll take that chance.” He took a knife from his belt and cut the rawhide that bound her. “I’ll get you some supplies, too.” He hurried out of the camp.

  April breathed a sigh of relief. She suspected that Jim might be the informant, but she wasn’t sure she could tell that to the major when he sought her out. He’d think she’d be at the Union fort, so maybe that’s where she’d better go when she left here. Or maybe she should just forget the whole thing as too risky and clear out. All that money wouldn’t do her any good if she were dead.

  Tommy was back in minutes with a knapsack of supplies. “Captain Big Horse is back in camp and asking about the prisoner.”

  She felt a chill go up her back, remembering how the captain had looked at her. “Where’d he been?”

  Tommy shook his head. “Who knows? He gambles, so maybe h
e’s meeting with some soldiers to play cards or shoot dice. Jim says he’s not a very good officer.”

  Could Captain Big Horse be the informant she was looking for? There was no way to find out unless she stayed in this camp, and that was too dangerous. The reward wasn’t worth her life. “Thanks, Tommy. I hope you don’t get in any trouble over this.”

  He grinned. “The war isn’t going to last much longer, and then, when I’ve got money, I’ll find you in Boston.”

  Hopeless daydreams for a young boy, she thought. Tommy would probably end up back on that ranch he hated, sweating over branding horses and cattle.

  There was no way she could take a horse without it being missed, so she nodded good-bye to Tommy, took the knapsack of supplies, and slipped away into the forest. By the time Jim Eagle discovered she was gone, she would be miles away.

  Jim rode into camp and dismounted in front of the general’s tent. Captain Big Horse stuck his head out, and Jim saluted. “Lieutenant Eagle reporting in, sir.”

  “At ease. Come on in, Lieutenant. The general has been waiting for your report.”

  Jim stooped his tall frame and went in, aching to ask where the captain had been when they needed him, but knowing he dare not. The captain was not much of a soldier, no better than Tommy. They both disappeared every chance they got, especially when there was work to do.

  “Ah, Lieutenant.” The old Cherokee smiled and motioned to him. “Like a drink?”

  Jim accepted it gratefully. “Sorry, sir, didn’t find any bushwhackers lurking anywhere near the camp. Must have been a false alarm or we scared them off.”

  The general nodded. “That’s good. How are you doing getting information out of your mysterious lady?”

  “How did you know . . . ?”

  “Your little brother told half the camp.”

  Damn Tommy. Now all the men would want a chance at her. Jim’s groin tightened when he thought of April. He’d been within seconds of taking her when his brother had interrupted everything. He still had plans for her tonight. “Haven’t learned anything yet, sir.”

  Captain Big Horse laughed. “Maybe she’s just what everyone says she is: a whore who was trying to get to Fort Gibson. Our money ought to be as good as the Yankees’.” He rubbed his hands together and grinned.

  The fact that the arrogant captain was picturing making love to her rankled Jim, and he frowned at the other man. “I’m not sure that’s all she is, sir.”

  The general leaned back in his camp chair and sighed, then picked up a pen. “If she’s just a whore, we ought to turn her loose. A woman in camp will cause a lot of trouble among the men.”

  He realized then that he didn’t want to let her go. Maybe once he’d had his fill of her, he wouldn’t care. “Begging your pardon, sir, I feel she might have vital information she was trying to take to Fort Gibson. If I keep her a few days, maybe I can get her to lower her guard and tell me something.”

  The senior officer didn’t look convinced. “You realize, Lieutenant, that it’s a lot more likely she’s just a common whore than a spy?”

  Common? Kawoni would never be common. She was too special, too beautiful.

  Jim said, “If I could hold her captive awhile and gain her trust, maybe she’d tell me what she knows, if anything.”

  “Are you saying make her fall in love with you so you could betray her?” the general asked.

  “All’s fair in love and war.” Jim smiled.

  “I’d be willing to volunteer for that duty,” the captain said.

  Jim gritted his teeth, imagining her in the other man’s arms, then remembered that the other was a captain and his superior officer.

  For a long moment the general said nothing. “I don’t need the extra trouble this girl is causing me, especially if she’s just a common whore.”

  The captain shook his head. “Doesn’t seem very common to me, sir, but then, of course, I haven’t tried her out.” He favored Jim with a curious stare.

  Jim almost rushed in to save her reputation but then realized that if she wasn’t a whore, she was certainly a spy and could be shot.

  “I say we ought to let the officers enjoy her and then get rid of her,” Captain Big Horse said.

  Jim gritted his teeth to hold back his anger at the thought of her being passed around the officers’ tents. “Captain, I’d think better of that remark if I were you.”

  Before the other could answer, the old man threw down his pen. “Enough. See what I mean? She’s already causing trouble between my officers, and I don’t need that. I’m wishing you had never captured her.”

  “Give me a chance, sir,” Captain Big Horse said. “If she knows anything, I’ll find it out if I have to—”

  “Enough, Captain.” The old man held up his hand for silence. “Somehow, the Yankees seem to know all our maneuvers, and I’m desperate enough to try anything to solve this leak. Give it a shot, Lieutenant Eagle. Do whatever it takes to find out what she knows . . . if anything. You’re both dismissed.”

  Jim saluted, turned smartly on his heel, and started to leave the tent, followed by the captain.

  “Oh, Lieutenant, one more thing,” Big Horse said.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “If she is a spy, you know what you’ll have to do. We can’t have her carrying information about our troops back to the enemy.”

  Jim glared at him. “With all due respect, sir, I don’t think I could kill a woman.”

  The other glared at him. “Remember, a lot of Confederate lives might be at stake if that pretty little tart manages to carry information back to the Union.”

  “I reckon you’re right, sir.” Jim nodded.

  “Good.” The other smiled without mirth. “Then we understand each other, don’t we?”

  Jim didn’t answer. He saluted and strode away, his mind in turmoil. What in the hell had he gotten himself into? He had no idea if the sultry beauty was truly a whore or a spy; he’d only been intent on keeping her to satisfy the hunger she’d built in him. He didn’t want to think any further ahead than tonight.

  General Stand Watie stared after the two young officers long after they had left his tent. There had been bad blood between the two for a long time, and now it was obvious they both lusted after the girl, which only added to the general’s problems. He didn’t need disharmony in the ranks over a woman when the Confederates were having such bad luck.

  He stood up and paced his tent, deep in thought. Things hadn’t been going well for his troops for weeks. They always seemed to be riding into ambushes or being outflanked at every turn. It was almost as if there were a spy in the Confederate camp. Stand Watie shook his head. It was unthinkable that one of his own men might be a traitor.

  Then he remembered that only four years ago, as his troops chased the Union Creek tribe that was fleeing toward Kansas, a whole regiment of the traditional Keetoowa Cherokee troops had deserted and gone over to the other side. In fact, one of them had been Jim Eagle’s own brother. The general paused and rolled an unwelcome idea over in his mind, then shook his head. No, he’d stake his life that Jim Eagle was as loyal as he was brave. On the other hand . . .

  He shook his head to clear it. He was old and tired and didn’t know what to believe anymore. Besides, half his soldiers had relatives who were members of the so-called pin Indians, who were now fighting for the Union.

  Well, there were many others in the camp coming and going all the time: troops, traders, scouts, and even an occasional camp follower. It wouldn’t be that difficult to sneak out and meet with a Yankee informant.

  Stand Watie paced some more. The capture of that Yankee boat had been the only good luck his men had had in weeks. Maybe the Cherokee Mounted Rifles were just unlucky, or maybe they were being betrayed. Could this mysterious girl shed some light on this? If there was a spy in his ranks, General Stand Watie vowed silently that he would personally pick the firing squad.

  Chapter 18

  Jim Eagle strode through the darkness toward his te
nt, his mind on the beauty that awaited him there. Yes, he’d try to get information out of her, but that wasn’t the main thing on his mind. He longed to finish what had begun hours ago. He wondered where Tommy was. His younger brother had seemed too interested in the girl, and she was smart enough to try to take advantage of him.

  He detoured and checked Tommy’s tent. With a growing uneasiness, he realized Tommy’s blankets hadn’t been slept in. The girl. Would Tommy try to . . . ? Well, she was beautiful. Jim hastened his step as he went to his own camp.

  “Tommy, are you here?”

  No answer.

  “Tommy?”

  The girl was gone, and he found Tommy just pulling himself into a sitting position and groaning.

  “Tommy”—he knelt—“what in the hell happened?”

  Tommy put his hand to his head. “She—she was afraid of you, begged me to free her—”

  “And when you weren’t looking, she hit you in the head and escaped,” Jim guessed.

  “Uh, yes, that’s right.”

  Jim Eagle began to curse. “She’s smarter than I thought. Why would she be in such a rush to get away?”

  Tommy grinned sheepishly. “She said she feared what she thought you might do to her—”

  “The little bitch will be twice as afraid when I catch up with her. Are you all right?”

  His brother nodded.

  Jim swore and stood up, looking around. “How long’s she been gone?”

  Tommy’s youthful face furrowed in thought. “It must have been just after dark.”

  “That means she got a big head start. I’ve got to find her before word gets out I’ve lost the prisoner.”

  Tommy looked down, shamefaced. “I’m sorry, Jim, I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”

  “That’s okay, little brother.” He patted Tommy’s shoulder. “She could make a man forget his duty, forget everything but her.”

  Tommy stared up at him. “I never saw you act this way about a woman before.”

  Jim realized it, too, and it angered him. “There’s just some women that affect men that way, and she’s taken advantage of it. There’s no telling where she’s headed.”