Tender savage

by Conn, Phoebe

  Erica tried to be kind, telling herself the young man probably had had few opfxjrtunities to talk to young

  women of late. She had had no idea the men of the Third Minnesota Regiment had so recently been prisoners of the Confederacy until he told her so, but that they had returned to their home state only to find a war raging there had naturally inspired them to fight all the harder to prove their worth. From Bill's casual comments about Mark, however. Erica correctly surmised that these men had not fully accepted him as a substitute for the fine group of officers still being held by the South as prisoners of war.

  "Are you hungry, ma'am?" Bill asked politely. "The fish must be done by now."

  Erica glanced over at the good-natured corporal, wondering if his enthusiastic outlook on life ever faltered. His attention was eagerly focused upxjn the fire the men had built to roast their catch, and he looked ravenously hungry even if she still had no appetite. "Please go ahead and get yourself something, but nothing for me. I'm not hungry," she replied listlessly.

  "It'll just take me a minute, ma'am." Bill excused himself and hurried over to the fire to make certain he was not forgotten when the men began dividing up the fish.

  Mark had spent the most miserable afternoon of his life trying to ride without weeping over the sharp pains that encircled his chest. With each step his mount took his torment had grown more acute, until he had had to call a halt to the march a good hour before he had planned to. When he saw Bill taking only one plate, he relieved him of the task of guarding Erica and carried her supper over to her with his own.

  "You'll have to eat something," he directed firmly, "this is the third day we've spent together, and you've eaten so little I'm afraid you'll soon fall ill." He handed her a plate heaped with flaky bits of fish and two of the thick com cakes one of the men had baked over the coals. "At least you know this is fresh, and it's got to taste a lot better than jerky or salt jxwk."

  Erica winced as she glanced up at Mark, for his left eye was swollen shut and the rest of his face was so badly cut and bruised she would not have recognized him had she not known it was he. "How are you going to ride into Camp Release looking like that?" she asked, hoping to divert his attention from the supper she doubted she

  would have the energy to eat.

  "I'll be badly embarrassed, but I'll make it." Mark tried sitting crosslegged, but when that proved too painful he stretched out on his left side. "Forgive me, I think that Indian of yours cracked a couple of my ribs, if he didn't shatter them outright."

  That Mark was in even worse shape than he had at first appeared appalled Erica, but she still thought it was his own fault. "Vif)er is as jealous of you as you seem to be of him. What did you expect him to do when he saw you kissing me, look the other way?"

  Mark attempted a smile, but his expression more closely resembled a grimace. "Frankly, I forgot all about him while we were kissing. That's a mistake I won't make again, ever."

  When Mark split open a corn cake and stuffed pieces of fish inside to make a sandwich, Erica followed his example. She took a couple of bites, but whether it was lack of appetite or her companion's gruesome appearance that made the food so unappealing, she didn't know. She set her plate aside and waited for Mark to finish eating. "If you'd like more, please take mine," she offered generously.

  "That's all you're going to eat?" Mark didn't wait for her reply before he replaced his empty tin plate with her full one. He had to eat slowly, but he was hungry despite the tortures that plagued his body. "What do you think of Corporal Harding? Would you like him to accompany you again tomorrow, or should I choose someone else?"

  Erica didn't have to give that question any thought before she replied, "Hard&ng has tried his best to keep me amused, but I'd much rather have my husbsind's company than anyone else's. Can that be arranged?"

  Since Mark had been hoping she would ask to ride with him again, that answer left him bitterly disappointed. "No, it can't," he refused immediately.

  Knowing full well how little good it would do to argue with him. Erica made no attempt to change Mark's mind. Instead, she scanned the campsite looking for Viper, but when she found him, he was watching her with so threatening a stare that she had to turn away. He was clearly furious again, or still. He had usually been so charming a man that it had never occurred to her that he

  would react with such brutal hostility to the other men she knew. Of course, Mark was not simply another man, he was the man she had promised to marry. Perhaps it was only natural for Vipjer and Mark to despise each other, but being caught in the center of the fierce waves of hatred that flowed between them was horribly unpleasant for her. In her opinion, her behavior was above reproach. Viper had no grounds to be jealous, and Mark no longer had any right to be.

  "J want to go for a walk," she announced suddenly.

  Mark moaned. "Christ almighty. Erica, I can barely move, let alone walk."

  "Fine, then you stay here." Erica rose, and without giving him the chance to accompany her, she started off in the direction they would go the next morning. It was almost dusk, and cool, and after two days of the steady company of a dozen men she wanted only to avoid, she was eager to sp)end some time by herself. Unfortunately, she had not gone far before she heard Q>rporal Harding calling her name. Exasperated, she waited for him to catch up with her.

  "I planned to walk by the water. Corporal, so it's imfxjssible for me to become lost. You needn't come with me."

  Flustered by that greeting, since Mark's orders that he accompany her had been explicit. Bill shrugged his shouloers helplessly. "You shouldn't be out walking by yourself, ma'am. No telling who or what might be lurking around here."

  "I'll take my chances," she responded with a defiant toss of her long curls. She continued her walk then, and when Bill followed at a discreet distance, she simply pretended he wasn't there until she was ready to return to the camp. "I'm going back now," she called as she walked past him, quickening her stride so that he would have to hurry, too. When she arrived back at the camp, nothing had changed. Mark was still lying on his side where she had left him, his scowl every bit as dark. Viper's glance was no less accusing, and Erica felt no more relaxed or refreshed for having gotten some exercise.

  "Is there an extra bedroll for me?" she asked the battered captain.

  "Of course," Mark assured her. "Bring Miss Hanson her bedroll, Corporal."

  "Yes, sir." Bill dashed off to get it, hoping the troublesome blonde was going to sleep so he would have a chance to play cards that night with his friends.

  When Bill returned with the blankets, Mark quickly dismissed him and saw to Erica's needs himself. "I'm sorry I can't offer you something better than this. I hate to have you sleep on the ground."

  "It won't be the first time," Erica confided flippantly.

  Mark knew he had made a serious mistake in the way he had tried to handle their situation, but he'd be damned if he would apologize. He struggled to his feet, and made an effort to help the obviously agitated Erica straighten out her makeshift bed. Not wanting to continue what had become a running verbal battle, he waited until she had fallen asleep before he brought his bedroll over and placed it beside hers. He ached in too many places to get comfortable, but having her close made the few hours he did sleep almost pleasant.

  Even after another day of Corporal Harding's lively company. Erica was filled with dread when they reached Camp Release late the next afternoon. She was sick with a terrible apprehension, which far outweighed mere foreboding, and also dismayed to find the army had no more than tents and wagons at the site. A nearby rise was covered with the tep>ees of the Indian camp, but she doubted she could find the one she had shared with Viper. Knowing even if she had managed such a feat that Flowers of Spring would not be pleased to see her. Erica did not ask Mark if she could stay in the Indian encampment rather than the army's. When he showed her to a tent with two cots, she did not bother to ask who would be occupying the other before she chose one, lay down, and fell soun
d asleep. Mark was feeling so much better, he just laughed at her fatigue, but he was greatly relieved she had not refused to share the tent, as he had been certain she would have had he announced he was its owner.

  It was nearly noon when Erica awakened the next morning. She pushed her tangled hair out of her eyes, but her wide yawn ended abruptly when she saw Mark seated upon the cot opposite hers. He was polishing his boots, so

  at home in the small canvas structure that she realized instantly it must be his. "Why didn't you tell me this was your tent^ You must have knowrn I'd ask to sleep elsewhere."

  The swelling in Mark's face had ^one down sufficiently for his expressions to be recognizable. His smile was taunting as he replied, "Since you didn't mind sharing a farmhouse with an Indian, I saw no reason why you would refuse to share a tent with me."

  "Well, you were dead wrongl" Erica scrambled off the cot, then, feeling dizzy from the meager diet she had consumed on the journey, she had to sit down again. Her blue dress was badly wrinkled and she knew she must look a fright, yet the state of her appearance was a small problem that day. "I want to take a bath and get dressed. Then I want to meet with whoever is in charge of the trials. The sooner I can convince him to let Viper go, the sooner we can leave and continue our lives."

  Mark set aside the rag he had been using to buff the sheen on his boots to a high gloss and pulled them on, taking his time before he replied. "I'll take you over to the tent the women are using for bathing, but I can't promise Coloney Sibley will have the time to see you today. He's in charge of Camp Release, even if he isn't sitting on the commission himself."

  "If he isn't running the commission, then what's the point of wasting my time and his?" Erica argued. "I need to speak with the officer who has the power to let Viper go. Your jealousy kept you from seeing reason, but that man ought to be more objective about my husband."

  "Erica," Mark began with unconcealed impatience, "you can't walk around this camp calling that brave your husband. After what happened with your aunt and uncle, can't you understand that? The captives who have stayed here plan to testify against the Indians who murdered their husbands and children. They will not take kindly to your calling Viper your husband. You had sense enough to keep still at Fort Ridgely, and you'll just have to do the same here."

  "Don't patronize mel" Erica shouted, then, not wanting their argument to be overheard, she lowered her voice to a threatening whisper. "Just what do you suggest I do,

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  simply sit idly by and allow the commission to sentence Viper to death for the crime of being a Sioux? How can you ask such an impossible thing from me? I love the man, and I plan for our marriage to last a lifetime, not just a few short weeks."

  "That might be all the time he has left," Mark pointed out darkly. "Since I know you are not ^oing to keep still, I will ask Sibley to keep what you tell hmi in the strictest of confidence. If he feels Viper is innocent, then he can influence the commission on his behalf."

  "Will he do it?" Erica asked excitedly, eagerly seizing that hope.

  Mark shrugged. "He is a reasonable man, so I know he will listen to you if you can remember your manners and not insult him constantly the way you do me. There's also the matter of evidence, or testimony of witnesses who might have seen Viper during the uprising. Despite your obvious passion for the man, you can't know much about him, or what he was up to prior to the time he kidnapped you."

  "Rescued," Erica corrected sharply. "It was a rescue, not an abduction." Or at least she would swear that was the truth, even though that had not been her opinion at the time. She took care to rise from the cot more slowly as she stood. "Please speak to Sibley about an appointment. Now about that bath?"

  "Of course." Mark carried Erica's clean clothing and provided her with an escort to the bathing tent, then waited outside for her. Now that the upurising was over he had little to do and wanted to leave for Delaware as soon as he could possibly arrange for a transfer back to the Army of the Potomac. He would not leave Minnesota without Erica, however.

  Pacing back and forth with a restless stride, Mairk mentally played out a variety of schemes, hoping to discover a means to convince Erica to be discreet when it came to descrtbing her relationship with Viper. It was not simply the fact that he did not care to be the laughingstock of the entire camp for having a fiancee who preferred to describe herself as an Indian's wife. That so-called marriage was over as far as he was concerned, and he planned to focus his attention squarely upon the future.

  He knew he was right in beheving he could more readily win back Erica's love if he were considerateof her feelings, rather than simply his own. In his view, Vip>er's fate was already sealed, so he had only to bide his time and appear to be a sympathetic friend to Erica while he did it. When she reappeared in her new pink gown, still shaking out her damp curls, he quickly took her hand and led her to a quiet spot where they could discuss her situation again before he sought out Sibley.

  "I've had an idea. I think it is a good one, and all I ask is that you hear me out before you make any decisions," he requested as he gave her fingers an affectionate squeeze.

  Knowing his feelings. Erica was naturally suspicious of i his motives and withdrew her hand from his as she replied. J "I won't promise a thing." I

  Mark chuckled to himself, thinking the willful young woman would never change. "It occurred to me that Sibley might become as upset as your aunt and uncle if you introduce yourself as Viper's wife."

  Instantly on the defensive, Erica held up her hands. "You might as well stop now, Mark. I don't like the sound of this."

  "No, just listen until I finish. Why couldn't you tell just part of the story? Say that you knew Viper before the • uprising, and while you were with him he treated you very well, but like an older brother, or an uncle. Naturally you would not want to see him come to any harm. If you put it that way, it makes your interest in the savage sound more charitable than passionate. It also spares your reputation, and it will actually help Viper, in that it won't make anyone despise the man for seducing a white woman."

  "I was not seduced!" the feisty girl swiftly contradicted, but she had to admit Mark's suggestion had some merit. She could not fault his reasoning, for she knew full well that the fact she had willingly taken an Indian as her husband could be counted upon to provoke the worst of responses in someone prejudiced against the Sioux, as every army officer in the state of Minnesota could be assumed to be. She chewed her lower lip nervously, unable to look at Mark as she replied. "I don't mean to sound conceited, but I'm far too pretty for that tale to be believed. Won't Colonel Sibley take one look at me and know Viper

  and I must have been doing more than carrying on pohte conversations?"

  "We2ir your hair down loose as you have been. Then you will look younger than your seventeen years. The pink gown is a bit too sophisticated for this ploy, but since it is all you have, it will have to do. I think the innocence of your attitude will be what sways him. You are so obviously a lady it will not occur to him that you are stretching the truth well beyond its limit."

  Erica considered his advice thoughtfully, horribly discouraged that the truth seemed to have so little value, but she knew no matter how many people were outraged by her love for Viper, she would love him still. "I'd much rather tell the truth, Mark. I've never been the conniving sort, you know that."

  She looked so pretty and sweet, her damp curls caressing her cheeks as his kisses once had, and for a second or two Mark found it difficult to recall what they were discussing. Then he cleared his throat and continued his argument, "No, you have always been extremely direct for a woman, but in this instance, I am positive discretion will serve you better. Let's find something to eat, then I'll see if Sibley can make time for you this afternoon."

  Obviously reluctant to agree, Erica finally gave in. "Yes, let's get this over with before I lose my nerve."

  "I'll be there to back you up. Don't worry so." Mark's arm encircled her shoulders tenderly as he
helped her to her feet. He then gave her a comforting hug. "You know you can depend on me to help you all I can."

  While she was so preoccupied with worry she was barely listening. Erica thanked him for his kindness. "I would do the same for you, Mark. I want to see you are happy, too."

  Mark's smile grew wide at that remark, for he was confident he could continue to appear to have Erica's best interests at heart when all the while he would be hoping that Viper was one of the first braves to be executed.

  Henry Sibley had a spacious tent set up to serve as his headquarters. He was a congenial individual who was immediately impressed by both Erica's delicate beauty and the resources of inner strength her conversation soon revealed. She had the fine manners of a young woman who had grown up with all the advantages a wealthy home

  could provide, but he soon discovered she had the same tou|^hness of spirit the other female survivors of the uprising seemed to share. He listened to her story with complete and utter fascination, thinking her voice one of the most delightful he had ever heard. What she said, however, made no sense at all, in his view.

  The colonel frowned slightly, then shifted in his chair. "This brave treated you as a sister or daughter, is that what you wish me to believe?"

  "I was very well treated," Erica responded hesitantly, her heart sinking with the realization he susjjected something was amiss. "Viper is a fine man, and I don't want to see him punished when he does not deserve it."