by Val Wood
‘No.’ Again that indomitable expression. ‘Bring necessities only and put them in the pack.’
‘So, no extra stockings, Kitty!’ Georgiana said, as quickly they pushed the bare essentials into the leather pack which he had offered them. ‘And as for gloves! I think this is not going to be the jolliest of expeditions.’
She was trying her best to be cheerful, for Kitty was clearly anxious at the prospect of riding behind Lake.
‘He smells, Miss Gregory! I don’t think he washes all that often,’ she whispered.
‘He probably doesn’t get the opportunity,’ Georgiana murmured. ‘Remember what he does, he’s a trapper and a guide, and he’s probably been wearing those clothes for a long time. Put up with it, there’s a dear.’
As she spoke in such a familiar manner, they glanced at each other. Their roles were changing. Although Kitty was now Georgiana’s companion rather than her maid, the old divisions had to an extent still been there, but as each day passed Georgiana felt more and more responsible for Kitty, and was becoming fond of her. In their new environment they supported and reassured each other.
‘I’m sorry, Kitty,’ she said, seeing the girl’s nervous expression. ‘Would you rather be back home with my aunt?’
‘Oh, no, miss.’ Kitty was quick to deny it. ‘I wouldn’t want to think you were out here on your own. It’s just, well, I’ve never ridden on a horse before. At least, only on coal carrier’s carthorse when I was a bairn.’ She gave a sudden grin. ‘He lifted me up and put me on and gave me a ride. I think I was seven,’ she said wistfully.
‘This will be quite different,’ Georgiana started to say, when Little Bear came in carrying a bundle of clothing which she handed to Georgiana.
‘You wear these?’ she said. ‘We look after your clothes until you return.’
Georgiana held up the garments. There were two divided skirts and smock-like shirts, made from thick bleached cotton.
‘Your clothes not suitable for where you are going. These will be easier for you to ride in.’ Little Bear added softly, ‘You must ride astride like a man.’
‘You are most thoughtful.’ Georgiana had been wondering how she would manage to ride wearing a bustled skirt and without a side saddle, though she had deliberately left several petticoats behind at the Marius. ‘These will be much more comfortable.’
They put them on and smiled at the spectacle of each other. ‘Hardly the height of fashion, Kitty, but Little Bear is right, we will be more at ease especially if it is going to be a long journey.’
‘Four hours,’ Lake announced when they came outside. ‘Maybe five,’ he added, looking at Kitty. ‘We go up into the mountains.’
‘So be it,’ Georgiana said. ‘Where is Henry?’ she asked Dekan, for he had taken the mare away to feed her when they arrived the previous evening.
‘Take Indian horse,’ Dekan said. ‘Henry is no good for that region.’
But Henry came trotting towards them, her reins trailing, having escaped from the corral where she had been left. She whinnied on seeing Georgiana and nuzzled up to her, bumping her with her nose.
‘She wants to come,’ Georgiana said. ‘Wouldn’t she be all right?’
Lake put his head back and opened his mouth in a silent protest, then spluttered. ‘Wants to come! She’s a horse, lady! She don’t have any wants. Only food and water. Those are her wants. We don’t ask for her opinion!’
‘But I told her owner I would look after her,’ Georgiana protested. ‘I’d like to take her.’
Lake shrugged his shoulders and looked at Dekan, who grinned and made a comment, which Georgiana guessed was tantamout to saying that women would have their own way.
‘Take her and another horse.’ Dekan suggested a compromise. ‘Then Henry can carry the packs.’
Lake reluctantly agreed and Henry was fitted with the packs, water bottles and food. Georgiana wondered vaguely about shelter for the night, if they didn’t reach their destination before dark.
Dekan offered her his outstretched hand and she put her foot into it to mount the sleek pony they had given her to ride. She hazarded a guess that it belonged to one of the Indian women, for it was smaller than the horses that the men had been riding.
Kitty stood at the side of Dekan and looked nervously up at Lake sitting astride his mount. He put out his hand, but she hesitated, not knowing what to do. Dekan, in a swift movement, put his hands on her waist and, as if she was no more weight than thistledown, swung her up and placed her behind Lake. He gave her a smile and said softly, ‘Don’t worry. You will be safe.’
They set off, Lake leading, Georgiana following and leading Henry. A group of Indians came to see them off: Horse, who put up his hand in farewell; Dekan’s wife, brothers and their wives and a host of children. Kitty looked back at Georgiana. ‘I’m scared, Miss Gregory,’ she said in a small voice. ‘I don’t know what to hold onto.’
Georgiana held back a gurgle of laughter. ‘His shoulder belt, Kitty,’ she said. ‘The one holding his knife, or else put your arms around his waist!’
They rode along the main track for an hour and passed several waggon trains travelling in both directions, then turned off onto a narrower trail which led to several small settlements with wooden shacks and cabins, and fields laid out for cultivation. Another hour and they were starting to climb. Lake drew on the reins and suggested they get down to stretch their legs, as the next hour would be more difficult.
Georgiana swung off without assistance and secured her mount, then turned to help Kitty down. ‘That wasn’t so bad, was it, Kitty?’ she said, ‘and look at that for a view!’ She heard Lake give a derisory snort, though he said nothing and after dismounting turned away.
Below them the hillside ran down into a wide scrubby plain for as far as they could see. From up here the settlements looked like mere dots on the ground and they were astounded, not only at the distance they had come, but at how vast the landscape was.
‘This can never be filled,’ Georgiana murmured. ‘No matter how many settlers come, and there are thousands already. This country is so huge it can never be fully populated.’
‘Not true.’ Lake’s voice came from behind them. ‘One hundred years ago, the Iroquois hunted in the lake country. Now it is filled with foreigners and the buildings of New York rise high into the sky.’
They turned to look at him as he stood on a rock surveying the landscape. He had taken off his leather coat and hat. He was tall and sinewy and his dark sleek hair caught in the breeze. He looked younger than Georgiana had first considered him to be, and appealing, she considered, in a dark brooding kind of way.
‘You are from that tribe?’ she ventured.
‘My mother!’ he said abruptly. ‘She was from the family of Handsome Lake. My father was a French trapper who took her as his squaw.’ He spat as he mentioned his father. ‘I do not take his name.’ He turned away and, gathering up his coat and putting on his hat, said roughly, ‘We must go.’
This time, Kitty managed to scramble on behind Lake unaided and they moved off along the stony path. They climbed steadily upwards and Georgiana began to wonder how Wilhelm Dreumel had come to be up here.
‘Where are we?’ she called to Lake. ‘What part of the country?’
‘States of New York and Pennsylvania.’ He pointed north. ‘Up there is Cleveland and Lake Erie. Below us is the Ohio river. This is the back country. No man’s land.’
They came down into another valley and the air was hot. The women fanned themselves with their hands and pulled their shawls over their heads. Georgiana asked if they might stop for a drink of water.
‘Half an hour,’ Lake said. ‘Then we stop.’
They resigned themselves and in roughly that time they came to a narrow rushing boulder-strewn stream within a sheltering belt of trees. Stiffly they got down and stretched their aching limbs, then bent to swill their hands and faces and take a drink from the ice-cold water.
‘Lake Erie water,’ Lake comment
ed. ‘Goes down to the Erie Canal.’
‘We travelled on it,’ Georgiana said. ‘And now we are near its source!’
He gave a dry laugh, which for a second lightened his sombre expression. ‘No. We are hundreds of miles from it, but there are many tributaries. This is one of them.’
I cannot comprehend the size of this country, Georgiana reflected. We have been travelling for over three hours and there is still no habitation. But she consoled herself that if Lake was correct they would be at their destination in two more hours.
But darkness began to draw on and when she called to Lake to ask how much longer the journey would take, he turned in his saddle and said, ‘We ride until dark, then in the morning we go on.’
‘Wh— do you mean that we won’t be there before nightfall?’
‘Noon tomorrow,’ he said.
She was aghast, weary and angry. John Charlesworth didn’t tell me of this, she agitated. Why didn’t he? We could have been better prepared. Has he been on this journey himself? Perhaps he thought we would turn back! But then she reasoned that he did say the journey would be hazardous. What was it he said? Riding around a park in England would not equip her for travelling across this country. Well, he was certainly right there!
She was overwhelmed by the immensity of the landscape and although she knew that the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio which lay below them were developed, their towns, cities and industries constantly increasing in size, up here amongst the mountain ranges there was not a single sign of population.
They began to descend the slopes into a forested valley which in the shadowy dusk looked mystically and breathtakingly beautiful. As darkness finally fell and they could no longer see what was beneath the horses’ feet, they came to a halt by a fast-running creek.
‘We rest here,’ Lake said. Kitty slid down from the horse and fell to her knees. He bent to help her up. He gazed at her and nodded. ‘You did well, miss. Tomorrow you feel better.’ He turned to Georgiana and pointed towards the tree line. ‘You sleep in here.’
She narrowed her eyes. It was so black she could hardly see a hand in front of her, but as she stared into the trees she could make out a clearing and the dark shape of a wooden structure. ‘A cabin,’ she breathed. ‘Thank heavens. I thought we’d have to sleep outdoors!’
She and Kitty felt their way to the creek, and cupping their hands in the cool water drank deeply. When she looked up she felt dizzy, for the sky was filled with thousands of stars and the air was as sharp and cold as the water they had drunk.
Lake took two blankets which had been laid over Henry’s back and one of the packs, and handed them to her. ‘Wrap up and keep very still. That way you’ll keep warm.’
‘Thank you.’ She took the blankets from him. ‘What is this place?’
‘Settlers built it. They were going to farm but the land didn’t want them.’
Lake didn’t seem to have any trouble finding his way in the darkness and led the horses to the creek for them to drink. He moved silently and merged into the shadows and as Georgiana and Kitty made their way to the cabin, Georgiana looked back to where he had been and could no longer see him.
‘Where will he sleep, do you think, Miss Gregory?’ Kitty seemed nervous. ‘Will he want to come in here with us?’
‘I shouldn’t think so.’ Georgiana felt her way around the cabin, which was smaller than the waggon hut they had slept in previously. She was searching for a shelf or cupboard, hoping to find a tinderbox and candle as before. She ran her hands along the walls and then gave a soft exclamation as she found a shelf and beneath it an aperture from where came a cold draught.
‘A hearth!’ she said. ‘If we’d arrived in daylight we could have collected wood to light a fire!’
The door was suddenly kicked open, and the dark shape of Lake entered. Kitty drew in her breath, but Georgiana said calmly, ‘Come in, Lake. I’ve found a tinderbox and a candle, so we can have light.’
‘Save it for the next traveller,’ he said abruptly. ‘I’ve brought wood for a fire.’ He knelt down and they could hear him breaking up twigs, then saw the spark from his flint. Within a few minutes, scraps of dried grass had caught fire which carried to the twigs, and the cabin was lit up by firelight and permeated with the scent of pine.
‘Thank you so very much.’ Georgiana suddenly felt emotional. ‘That is so comforting!’
He nodded. ‘I shall be outside. Eat and then sleep. We have an early start at dawn.’
‘Eat? What do we eat?’ Kitty asked, and opened the pack expectantly. Inside was a parcel wrapped in a large leaf and inside that were slices of meat. ‘Antelope!’ she said. ‘Dekan’s wife must have given it to Lake.’
‘Oh, they are so very kind,’ Georgiana murmured, as hungrily they ate. ‘We shall sleep well tonight.’
‘Yes,’ Kitty agreed. ‘Not like when we slept alone in that other cabin. I was very scared.’
There were two bunks raised from the floor and they lay down and wrapped the blankets around them. ‘Lake said we have to keep very still to keep warm.’ Georgiana looked towards the fire. They had put on more wood which Lake had left and it was burning merrily.
‘Miss Gregory!’ Kitty’s voice was sleepy. ‘Why was it so important that we came to see Mr Dreumel?’
Georgiana breathed in deeply. She had almost forgotten the point of her mission. Was it because of her cousin May? Because of Robert Allen being an impostor? Or because Wilhelm Dreumel was being deceived? ‘I think it’s because I’m an interfering busybody, Kitty.’ She received no answer, only the sound of Kitty’s soft breathing.
And has it been worth the effort of travelling on rough tracks in a dilapidated dog cart with a horse that knows its own mind? she thought. And trekking through mountainous country with a half-breed Indian who barely speaks to us, yet makes a fire to keep us warm! She snuggled under her blanket. Yes, she decided. On the whole, I think it has.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Georgiana woke as dawn was beginning to break. A sliver of white light touched her face and she realized that there was a small window in the cabin. She rose and stretched and grimaced at the ache in her back, then looked at Kitty who was still sleeping soundly. Kitty hadn’t made a sound throughout the night, not even when there was a crack of gunshot and Georgiana had sat up and spoken to her. Georgiana had listened for a moment but heard nothing more than the murmur of the wind in the trees. The cabin was in darkness as the fire had gone out, and she lay down and within seconds had fallen asleep again.
The insides of her knees and thighs were red and sore where they had rubbed against the saddle, and she felt very stiff, but she put on her boots, bodice and split skirt and wrapping a shawl around her shoulders opened the door and stepped outside. The air was sharp and cold but smelt clean and fresh, and the eastern sky glinted with the promise of a bright day.
Lake was sitting on a log by the river and as she approached he turned swiftly, putting his hand to his waist, where she saw the glint of a knife.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to startle you.’
He stood up. ‘Don’t ever come up behind a man like that, lady. Not out here. Not without warning.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Again she apologized. ‘It’s so different, you see. From what I’m used to. But I will learn.’
He nodded. ‘You want to eat?’ He had a handful of berries in his hand which he offered to her. His fingers were long and thin and stained with what looked like blood.
She shook her head. ‘No, thank you. We still have some meat left. But I’ll have water.’
She turned to go to the creek and he handed her a water pouch and asked her to fill it for the journey. She did so, then rinsed her face and dried it on her shawl. ‘I heard gunshot last night,’ she said, when she returned.
‘Wolf,’ he said briefly. ‘Must have got wind of us, or the smoke from the fire.’
‘Did you kill it?’ she asked nervously.
‘Yip. It came too close. You
want the skin?’
‘No. Thank you.’ She glanced around for sight of the animal’s body. ‘I wouldn’t know what to do with it.’
Kitty came to the door of the cabin. She was fully dressed and looked very refreshed after her night’s sleep. ‘Good morning,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Are you waiting for me? I’m ready.’
‘Eat first,’ Lake told them. ‘Then we’ll move off. We’ll arrive by midday.’
He went to see to the horses and they saw him running his hands down their legs and examining their feet. He straightened up after looking at the pony which had carried Georgiana. ‘You ride the other horse,’ he called to her. ‘This one has gone lame.’
When they had finished the remains of the meat and packed their few belongings, the packs were fastened to the pony and Georgiana mounted Henry, who whinnied when she saw her and again bumped her with her head.
‘That horse likes you,’ Lake said. ‘You should keep her.’
‘I’ve only hired her,’ she said. ‘I have to take her back.’
He shook his head. ‘Buy her. She needs a woman’s hands.’
‘Perhaps I should,’ she considered. ‘If her owner will sell.’
She felt comfortable on Henry. The Indian pony was swift and Georgiana felt that should she ever need speed he would be the faster. But Henry’s pace was steady and constant as she followed down the forest trail behind Lake and Kitty.
They travelled for an hour through thick forest and Georgiana wondered how Lake knew his way, for there were times when it seemed as if the trail disappeared altogether. They crossed over narow rushing streams and picked their way through dried-up boulder-strewn creeks, ducked beneath overhanging tree branches and skirted rock slides, and just as they were starting to feel chilled because of the dimness and shelter of the pine trees, they began to climb. In a short time they reached a clearing and were able to look down at the landscape below.
‘I can see a settlement!’ Georgiana said. ‘Over there. Below the forest. And a road!’
‘And waggons!’ Kitty exclaimed.
They had been beginning to think that they would never see habitation or population again.