Robert quickly translated what Rose had said, and they all moved to the warmth of the back of the store, removing their outer clothing along the way. Without her hat, Swims with Otters’s glossy braids, entwined with thin strips of leather, hung to the middle of her back. She brushed a few stray strands from her eyes.
Rose noticed the girl also wore an intricately beaded headband, which complemented her beaded doeskin Indian dress and calf-high deerskin moccasins. “While I prepare the tea,” Rose said, “you men will have to tell me why you were gone so long. And Robert, how you happened to bring along this lovely girl.”
“It’s a pretty sad story,” Bob said, taking a sip of steaming tea as the four settled on grain sacks they’d pulled close to the fire.
Nate peered over the top of his cup and cut his friend a pointed look, a warning not to let the reason for their delayed return slip out. No sense frightening Rose any more than necessary.
Bob reached beside himself and squeezed the Indian maiden’s hand. “You see, Rose, Shining Star’s part of the Miami nation. She lived in a village not far from Mascouten territory, an’ them two tribes’ve been feudin’ back an’ forth for some time. I reckon it got pretty bad, ’cause the Miami women outnumber the men a good four or five to one these days.”
“Mercy.” Rose hugged Jenny close. “How dreadful, all those widows and orphans.” She gazed down at her own little orphan.
Nate chimed in, hoping to ease her mind. “The men take on more wives. That helps some.”
Rose tucked her chin and arched her brows. “Surely you don’t mean plural marriage. That’s a rather pathetic solution to such a problem.”
“Anyway,” Bob said, “Shining Star’s pa was killed in a raid last spring. Then when her brother never came back from huntin’…” He shrugged a shoulder. “What men are left already have more wives an’ daughters than they can hunt for an’ feed. So her mother came to me.”
Looking from him to the Indian lass and back, Rose met Bob’s gaze. “To ask you to marry her daughter.”
He slid an uncertain glance to Nate before responding. “More like she wanted to sell Star to me.” At Rose’s gasp, he rushed on. “You see, if the widow had trade goods, she could bargain with the village hunters for meat now an’ again…to see her an’ her other little ones through the hard winter.”
“So you bought her? You actually bought her?” Rose rolled her eyes and grimaced.
Nate could see this was not going well for his partner. Not well at all.
Bob offered a weak smile. “No, not at first. But her ma kept comin’ back to me with her, pleadin’. An’ I felt so sorry for my shy little girl, I gave in.” He lifted his chin a notch. “But rest assured, Miss Rose, I won’t be beddin’ or weddin’ her till she comes to know the Lord as her Savior.”
Rose arched her brows. “Don’t you mean, if?” she challenged.
Watching her reaction, Nate shifted uncomfortably on his seat. Rose Harwood was one stiff-necked woman, especially when it came to religion. A body would think she was one of them Puritans.
But Bob didn’t seem the least put off by her remarks. “I already thought about that. A lot. I figger if she don’t become a believer, then I’ll look for a suitable husband for her among the other tribes.”
Nate was pretty sure he discerned a hint of triumph in the smile that played across Rose’s lips. “In that case, I shall make room for the girl in the wigwam with Jenny and me.”
Looking from her to Bob, Nate released a tired breath. He couldn’t believe he’d just risked life and limb for such a hardheaded woman. But he had to admit he was as besotted as Bob. No doubt about it.
Chapter 25
As they all continued sipping their tea, Rose rocked back and forth slightly with Jenny Ann asleep in her arms. She studied Swims with Otters, or Shining Star—whatever Robert wanted to call her—then glanced at Robert, seated beside the lass. “I must say your young lady scarcely appears older than my youngest sister.”
He tipped his head. “She was born durin’ the time of fallin’ leaves, fifteen years ago. I know she’s a little thing, but she’s full growed.”
“Fifteen.” Rose shook her head. Papa wouldn’t have considered an offer for any of his daughters until they were at least seventeen years of age. Thoughts of Mariah came to mind. The girl had been too picky for her own good…and then it was too late. And here sat a shy girl who reminded Rose so much of young Lily, already given to a man—sold was closer to the truth. The very concept was appalling.
Remembering the leftover biscuits, she used her free arm to reach behind herself for the covered plate then removed the cloth and offered one to Nate and then the girl.
The lass glanced from the plate to Rose, then to Robert, with questions in her dark eyes. He smiled and nodded, and she took one but held on to it and stared, as if she didn’t know what it was.
Robert also took one, bit into it, and said something to her.
Finally the girl took a small nibble. After a few seconds she took another bite.
“Oui-saw?” Rose asked, using her one and only word of Shawnee.
The bashful smile appeared, and the lass nodded.
“So,” Nate cut in, taking a second biscuit, “seems you been pickin’ up a bit’a Shawnee.”
Rose chuckled. “I’m afraid that’s the extent of it. Mr. Smith taught me the word when he was training me in the business of trading.”
Grinning, Robert gave a nod “That’s what Red Hawk told us. About you in here dickerin’ just like you knowed what you was doin’.”
“I actually do know what I’m doing.” She flashed a wry smile. “Most of the time.”
“Red Hawk said that when the Susquehannocks left, they run off with several horses an’ a bunch of your best furs,” Robert said.
She nodded. “Along with all the cash money, I’m sad to say.”
“Well, no need to fret,” Nate assured her. “Bob an’ me did real good, all considered. An’ with Smith gone, you ain’t bound to him anymore.”
Remembering the trader’s final act of kindness, Rose smiled. “Quite right. In fact, before he died, he signed off on my papers to make everything legal. So I’m hoping to earn enough from the furs and trade goods still left in the trading post to buy my sisters’ papers and free them, as well.” Having divulged that information in a rush, she waited for their reaction.
Nate turned and surveyed the goods stacked against the side wall. “Don’t look like that’ll be a problem. We’ll buy back your sisters, take that baby back to wherever she belongs, an’ still have plenty leftover to have ourselves one fine time in Baltimore. Or mebbe you’d rather go to Philadelphia. Hear tell they got a lot more shops an’ taverns an’ playhouses an’ anything else we fancy.”
A fine time? That was his proposal? To offer her what some bigwig would offer a loose woman? Crushed and not wanting him to see the disappointment on her face, she stood with the sleeping baby and went to stoke the fire.
All those long days and weeks she’d spent longing for Nate Kinyon to return—wasted. So was her deepest hope—that he’d taken steps to strengthen his faith, since he knew how much it meant to her—so that when he asked her to marry him, she could say yes. But the horrid truth was her chances of wedding Nate were no better than Robert Bloom’s were of marrying Star. Probably worse. Shining Star had yet to hear enough about the Lord to accept or reject Him. But Nate…
A plan formed in Rose’s mind, and she swiveled on her heel, hardening herself as she looked at Nate. “I’m sorry, but your plans won’t do. I’m not footloose as you are. I have serious responsibilities. Not only do my sisters need to be bought out of bondage, I need enough money to purchase their passage back to England, where they can be properly looked after by our father.”
Nate reared back. “I thought the whole point in comin’ to America was because your father couldn’t look after you girls.”
She gave a small shrug. “I’m sure he and my brother have managed to
take care of the problem that beset our family by now. In any event, I plan to make money enough for each of my sisters to have a sizable dowry so they’ll be able to make a good match.” She knew she was probably overreaching, but she was too hurt to care.
Standing to his feet, Nate towered over her. “An’ how do you propose to do that? If you don’t mind me askin’.”
Rose wished he weren’t so much taller than she, but she did her best to straighten to her full height as she looked up at those steely hazel eyes of his. She mustered as much force in her voice as possible so he’d hear her determination. “By continuing to run this trading post as I’ve been doing since Mr. Smith passed on. The villagers want me to stay. The store is good business for them as well as for me, with people constantly coming and going. There’s no reason for me not to go on looking after things until I’ve earned sufficient funds. I could not earn a fraction of what I’ll make here anywhere else.”
Still seated with his Indian maiden, Robert gave a light laugh. “Looks like she’s been doin’ fine so far. Course, on the other hand, there’s the problem of restockin’ an’ such. Plus I don’t see them boys out at the Virginia an’ Ohio lettin’ a woman run the place, when it comes right down to it.”
“Well…” That was so true. How would she? An idea slowly surfaced. Rose took a deep breath and averted her gaze from him to Nate. “As it happens, a pair of trappers came through a few days before you arrived, and they told me representatives of the company would be here any day to check on things. And I thought…” She glanced at Robert. Noticing he was talking quietly to the girl, Rose drew a breath and stepped nearer to Nate so she could speak softly. “I thought if you two would stay on till they leave, you could pretend…to be…my husband.” There. She’d said it.
Nate clamped a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer, his mouth agape. “Did you say what I thought you said?”
Rose had no idea how she suffered through Nate’s snickering and teasing. The maddening frontiersman was having a lot of fun at her expense. Granted, it took awhile for him to see the logic behind her scheme, but once she explained her reasoning, he was quick to come around—even if he did have a mischievous gleam in his eye. Surely he did not imagine he could attempt anything untoward during their little deception. In any event, she was more than glad to have her protector back again…along with Robert Bloom, of course.
She got up from her seat on the flour sack. “I’m sure the three of you must be hungry after paddling all day upriver in such cold weather.” She moved toward Nate with an impish smile. “Here, let me have our baby. You need to bring in your pelts before one of the villagers takes a liking to them.”
“You’re right about that.” With no indication that he’d noticed her suggestive statement, Nate rose to his feet and handed Jenny to her. After shrugging into his warm outer garment, he headed out.
Robert also came to his feet, and so did Shining Star. He turned to the lass and spoke quietly in her language first, repeating the words in English. “Stay here.” He gestured toward Rose. “With Miss Rose.” Obviously he was attempting to teach her some basic English, which Rose appreciated.
The Indian girl sank back down onto her seat and looked timidly at Rose. “Wi’ Mi’ Rose.” She checked back at him with a tentative smile.
“Oui-saw. Good girl.” He cupped her cheek in his palm and smiled into her eyes.
Observing the loving expressions passing between them, Rose felt a twinge of envy and, for a brief moment, felt like crying. But she’d been doing quite enough of that of late, she reminded herself, and sloughed off the emotion.
Robert grinned over at her. “I’m sure Star’d be happy to hold the baby while you tend to things.”
“If you’re certain. I could put Jenny in her little pen.”
He shook his head and spoke a few words to the lass, and she got up. As Star approached Rose with her arms outstretched, he threw on his fur robe and started to leave. But reaching the flap, he stopped and turned. “Rose, what you really need is a cradleboard like Indian mothers use. Babies love ’em ’cause they never have to be left with someone else while their mothers work. I’ll see if I can trade some squaw outta one.”
“Thank you,” she said in her most polite tone. Having given Jenny over to the Indian girl, Rose pondered the concept of cradleboards versus a cloth sling. She’d noticed babies strapped to their mothers’ backs and thought the stiff contraptions looked too restrictive. Yet the wee ones all seemed happy, snuggled and warm inside their little cocoons. Perhaps Jenny would feel more secure in one. She glanced at the little one and saw her smiling and toying with one of Shining Star’s braids while the lass sang softly in her ear.
Nate came back in on a blast of winter air, his arms straining with the weight of a large bundle. “Where do you want these?”
Rose quickly dragged a couple of crates away from the side wall. “Put them here. ’Twould be best to keep them separate from the others.”
Dropping them with a thud, Nate bent over and pulled out what appeared in the dim light to be a beaver pelt. “Feel how thick this is, Rose.” He held it out to her.
She smoothed her hand over it. “Oh yes. Very prime. A lovely pelt.”
“Aye. We only traded for the best. That wasn’t the main reason we went tradin’, though. We heard rumors that one of the tribes had a secret silver mine, and we were hopin’ to get our hands on some of that silver we heard about. Enough to satisfy even ol’ Eustice.” Taking the beaver hide, he caressed her cheek with the silky fur. “Almost as soft as your skin.”
Gazing up at him, Rose couldn’t move. There was such passion in his eyes it made her knees feel weak. She couldn’t believe how easily she fell beneath his spell.
Robert strode in just then with his arms filled with furs, and the tension lightened noticeably. Rose moved out of his way. “Put them there with Nate’s.”
He dropped the load onto the first pile. “Did I hear Nate mention the silver?” He stepped nearer to Rose and grimaced as he pulled up a sleeve, displaying a bracelet. “One of the two we managed to get our hands on.”
She gasped. “Then you did find the silver mine.”
Both men laughed, and Robert elaborated. “Mighty strange, the way a story gets started an’ grows into somethin’ a whole lot bigger an’ better with the tellin’.”
Smiling and frowning with confusion at the same time, Rose was all too aware that Nate had yet to take his eyes off her. She hoped her idea of pretending they were husband and wife before the fur-company officials wasn’t giving him any more improper ideas. She found it difficult to focus on his partner’s words.
“Turns out,” Robert continued, “the bracelets came from Spanish Mexico. Been traded here an’ there till they made it up to the Ohio Valley. All that way. Ain’t that somethin’?”
“It truly is,” she responded. Still feeling Nate’s eyes on her, she steeled her emotions and faced him.
A one-sided grin emerged, and he rejoined the conversation. “Aye, and us paddlin’ up one stream after another, like we was Ponce de León, searchin’ for his fountain of youth.”
So that’s why they were gone so long. Rose looked from one grinning face to the other then decided to get their minds back on business. “Since Mr. Smith, may God rest his soul, has passed on, ’tis only right you should have all the profits from your venture. I have the bills of lading from the goods he purchased and the record of the items you took with you, so when the furs are taken to the company, it should be quite easy to figure.”
“That’ll help make up for the trouble we had,” Robert muttered.
“What trouble?” Her heart skipped a beat.
“Nothin’ to speak of,” Nate blurted. He slid a significant glare to his friend.
That really piqued Rose’s curiosity.
Nate’s expression eased to one more innocuous. “Well, now. That’s mighty nice of you, givin’ Bob and me the profit. Speakin’ of ol’ Eustice, did he treat you decent
after we left? I told him I’d—well, let’s just say I told him to be nice to you.”
Another bittersweet memory came to the fore, and Rose smiled. “Thank you. But I must say, once little Jenny Ann came to us, Mr. Smith became a different man. No matter how bad he felt or how his stomach pained him, he loved playing with her. We spent nearly all our time together after she came along—mostly here in the store, with him teaching me the business.” Remembering her treasured book, she pulled the slim volume from her apron pocket and held it to her breast. “This New Testament was his. We read from it quite a lot, particularly toward the end.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Nate’s smug expression vanished.
Robert, however, looked pleased. “You have a copy of the scriptures!” His gaze veered from her to the Indian lass. “That’ll make things easier. I won’t have to rely on just the verses I know when I talk to Star about the Lord.”
Seeing the delight in the man’s demeanor, Rose appreciated the tenderness, the innocence of their new love. She glanced at Nate to gauge his reaction to his friend’s comments. But there was no shared joy in his expression. He looked more like a cornered rat.
It was her turn to give him a smug smile.
Chapter 26
Nate and Bob left Shining Star settled in with Rose and the baby in Rose’s wigwam and headed for the Shawnee council lodge, as Red Hawk had requested earlier. Nate’s insides felt pleasantly sated after enjoying Rose’s delicious cooking. It had been ages since he’d downed such tasty eggs and side pork—especially with the added treat of fluffy biscuits slathered with butter. Eustice certainly knew how to pick a cook! He stifled a grin at the ridiculous notion. Cooking was only one of Rose Harwood’s many fine attributes.
As he and Bob reached the lodge and entered, most of the talking ceased between the villagers assembled in the immense ninety-by-fifty-foot structure. Always amazed by the size and spaciousness of a longhouse, Nate surveyed the toasty interior with interest. A sturdy framework of thick, upright poles, interlaced with a series of thinner poles, was overlaid with sheets of flattened elm bark. Shafts of waning daylight slanted through a number of smoke holes in the roof and cut through the gloomy, smoky interior, glinting off a grisly collection of scalps displayed on poles like trophies. Nate observed that though many sported black Indian hair, several were blond, red, and assorted shades of brown. Even a couple of gray ones. He caught a troubled breath, inhaling a blend of tobacco, wood, earth, and Indian.
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