by Sadie Conall
When the Wolf Breathes
Copyright © 2017 Sadie Conall
This book is a work of fiction except for the obvious historical facts. All other names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission from the author.
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This book is dedicated to
Mona (Noni)
Books by Sadie Conall
The five books in the series of Madeleine:
When the Wolf Loves
When the Wolf Hunts (previously published as When the Wolf Bites: Part I)
When the Wolf Bites (previously published as When the Wolf Bites: Part II)
When the Wolf Dreams
When the Wolf Breathes
Contents
List of Characters
Omaha territory: March 1805
in the wild: March 1805
Winnebago territory: March 1805
in the wild: April 1805
Teton Sioux territory: April 1805
in the wild: April 1805
Arikara and Mandan territory: April 1805
Mandan territory: May 1805
Sans Arc territory: May 1805
in the wild: May 1805
Hŭŋkpapĥa territory: May 1805
in the wild: May 1805
Sans Arc territory: May 1805
Lakota territory: June 1805
in the wild: August 1805
Snake River Plain: October 1805
in the wild: April 1806
Authors Note
List of Characters
Benedict family
Rhayader Montague Benedict II (Ryder): 8th Earl Benedict, 8th Viscount Millbryne; 34-year-old son of Torrance Benedict and Wazhingka (both deceased); husband of Madeleine; father of Harris (Harry); cousin to Rupert and Felix Petherington and Jarryth Benedict; known by the Ugákhpa as Mi'wasa and known by the Shoshone and Bannock as Bia-wihi and Bitehwai-dainah
Madeleine Benedict: French aristocrat, 28-year-old daughter of Laurent and Claudette Bourbon-Conté (both deceased); wife of Ryder; mother of Harry; ex-partner of Ese-ggwe’na’a; friend to Paddake’e; known by the Bannock as Esa-mogo'ne’ and known by the Shoshone as Bia’isa-bihyi
Ugákhpa family
Allard Lemoine: 62-year-old French Canadian fur trapper; cousin to Hubert (deceased) and Sébastien Lemoine; father of Didier-Édouard, Armand-Baptiste (French Canadian) and Chahn-yah’-hoo (Sioux); second cousin to Te’tukhe, Wesa'shangke and Wakanta (Ugákhpa) and Aishi-waahni’ and Ainqa-izhape’ (Comanche)
Te’tukhe: 32-year-old Ugákhpa halfblood, son of Hubert Lemoine and Wazhingka (both deceased); full brother to Wesa'shangke; half-brother to Ryder and Wakanta; first cousin to Aishi-waahni’ and Ainqa-izhape’, Didier-Édouard, Armand-Baptiste and Chahn-yah’-hoo
Comanche family
Sébastien Lemoine: 63-year-old French Canadian fur trapper; younger brother of Hubert (deceased); father to Aishi-waahni’ and Ainqa-izhape’; uncle to Te’tukhe, Wesa'shangke, Wakanta; first cousin to Allard Lemoine
Aishi-waahni’: 30-year-old Comanche half-blood; full brother to Ainqa-izhape’; cousin to Te’tukhe, Wesa'shangke and Wakanta and second cousin to Allard Lemoine
Bannock family
Ese-ggwe’na’a: 43-year-old Bannock Chief; partner to Paddake’e; father to Huu’aidi (deceased), Atsa-Wannge’e and Deinde'-paggwe; ex-partner of Madeleine; friend of Ryder
Paddake’e: 39-year-old Bannock woman; partner to Ese-ggwe’na’a; mother to Huu’aidi (deceased), Atsa-Wannge’e and Deinde'-paggwe; friend to Madeleine and Ryder; sister to Dabaiqo’soo (deceased), aunt to Poongatse; great-aunt to Qwidawo'yo
Deinde'-paggwe: 16-year-old daughter of Ese-ggwe’na’a and Paddake’e; sister to Huu’aidi (deceased) and Atsa-wannge’e; mother of Kimana, first cousin to Poongatse; friend of Madeleine, childhood friend of Wannge’e and Saca-tzah-we-yaa
Translation of tribal dialects
ainqa-haih - red crow (Bannock)
aishi-waahni’ - silver fox (Shoshone)
atsa-wannge’e - red fox (Bannock)
baagwana – wild peppermint (Bannock)
bannaite’ – Bannock people, language (Bannock)
bia’isa-bihyi - wolf heart (Shoshone)
bia-wihi - big knife (Shoshone)
bitehwai-dainah - white man limping (Shoshone)
chahn-yah’-hoo – cottonwood tree (Lakota Sioux)
deaipede’tuine – baby boy (Shoshone)
deide’dee-daga’ - little friend (Shoshone)
deinde’-paggwe - little fish (Shoshone)
deide’wesa – little bear (Bannock)
esa – wolf (Shoshone)
esa-mogo'ne - wolf woman (Bannock)
ese-ggwe’na’a - grey eagle (Shoshone)
gi’zica – brown squirrel (Mandan)
hanyewi’winyan – moon woman (Sioux)
hŭŋkpapĥa – Hunkpapa people, language (Sioux)
huu’aidi - hunting bow (Bannock)
Itázipčho – Sans Arc people (Lakota Sioux)
kokon - old snake (Shoshone)
kimana – butterfly (Bannock)
kwipuntsi - little scorpion (Shoshone)
lakĥóta – Hunkpapa dialect (Lakota Sioux)
loĉhín’míla – hungry knife (Mandan Sioux)
mogo'ne’ – woman (Bannock)
mukua’hainji - friend of the spirit world or spirit guide (Bannock)
núnpa’sunka’ – two dogs (Lakota Sioux)
nu’p’minaki – two suns (Sioux)
paddake’e - raccoon (Shoshone)
poongatse - little mouse (Bannock)
saca-tzah-we-yaa - boat launcher (Shoshone)
sa’zuzeca – red snake (Mandan Sioux)
sunka’winyan – dog woman (Mandan Sioux)
tahkawiitik – rising sun (Skiri Pawnee)
Tsêhéstáno - Cheyenne nation (Cheyenne)
te’tukhe - yellow buffalo (Ugákhpa)
wakanta – man of thunder (Wazhazhe)
wannge’e – fox (Bannock)
wazhingka - little bird (Ugákhpa)
wesa-shangke - snake dog (Ugákhpa)
zintkala - brown bird (Sioux)
Omaha territory: March 1805
One
They rode in silence across the high flat ridge of rock, some eighty feet or more above vast prairie lands which swept away to the east and south. To the west and north lay rolling hills covered in dense woods which stretched to the horizon and beyond. Yet as the seven riders crossed that high ridge on that damp, cold spring afternoon, those distant woods looked nothing more than a haze of blue and green, the colours of spring lost to them from this distance as hickory, oaks, elms, maples and beech trees took bud.
Madeleine moved slightly in her saddle to relieve the constant irritating ache in her lower back, even as she looked out across that wild landscape below them. It seemed they were alone in the world, for even from this height she could see no other living creature, certainly not within those distant woods nor within those endless prairie lands below them.
Although she knew full well they weren’t alon
e. For although they were well east of Pawnee lands and coming to the northern borders of Ponca territory, ahead of them lay country held by the northern Sioux, home to the Oglala, the Santee, the Yankton, the Yanktonai, the Brulé, the Sans Arc, the Blackfeet and the Hŭŋkpapĥa. Away to their left lay Cheyenne lands. To their right was Arikara country and north lay territory held by the Mandan and Hidatsa.
They had been travelling for a month, taking advantage of the early spring weather to break camp in late February, leaving the Omaha people to begin their long journey north. Although they had rarely travelled alone. Omaha scouts had insisted on accompanying them north as far as Ponca country. When they turned back to their own lands, less than a week later the small group had come across a band of Ponca hunters.
Ponca territory lay north of Omaha country and east of Pawnee territory. They were affiliated to the Dhegiha Sioux, sharing linguistic and familial ties with the Wazhazhe, Ugákhpa, Kanza and Omaha people. For almost two weeks the fifteen hunters had travelled with them, generously sharing their hunt and showing them the quickest route north into Winnebago country before leaving them to return to their own village.
Madeleine shivered in the cool spring day, although not from the cold. It was fear, for although they would still be in Ponca lands when they reached the end of this ridge, ahead lay northern Sioux country. It had been the Ponca hunters who had advised them to cross this ridge, cutting out more than two weeks of their journey by using this shortcut above the prairies. Although Madeleine wished this whole journey were done. She also wished Deinde'-paggwe and her daughter were with them.
She moved again, feeling that now familiar ache in her lower back as Te’tukhe called out to Ryder. He rode on point, a packhorse behind him, the turban that he wore, decorated with a wide leather belt with a massive silver buckle on the front of it, jammed down over his head to protect him from the wind. Wannge’e had sewn a couple of raven feathers to the back of the hat and as Te’tukhe turned to talk to Ryder the feathers waved wildly in the cool breeze.
Ryder followed behind his brother with another packhorse and a travois. Behind Ryder came Madeleine, a packhorse behind her. Following her and Harry, rode Poongatse and Wannge’e. Behind them rode Aishi-waahni’, a packhorse behind him and bringing up the rear rode Wesa'shangke, pulling another packhorse and travois.
Madeleine turned away as Te’tukhe looked beyond her to Wannge’e. She didn’t need to see the look of desire which passed between him and the girl for she was unwilling to intrude or pass judgment on their affair, despite having her own thoughts on the matter, aware as everyone else of the seventeen-year age gap between them. She knew Te’tukhe was a well-travelled hardened man, used to living alone in the wild, caring only for himself and taking what he wanted. And it was clear to everyone except Harry, that what he wanted was Wannge’e. And the girl had offered him no resistance.
But Madeleine knew from her own feelings with Ryder that nothing could stop this, for desire such as this was a powerful, all-consuming thing which would find its own way, by either burning itself out or becoming something stable and long-lasting. Madeleine hoped it was the latter, because she couldn’t bear to see Wannge’e suffer the heartache which seemed inevitable.
She closed her eyes, the exhaustion and nagging ache in her lower back creeping over her like a foul thing. And the weight of Harry as he lay slumped deep in sleep against her warmth, his small body wrapped in a woollen blanket against the cool winds that rose from the prairie far below, did nothing to alleviate her fatigue. She wished again that they could take a break. But she would not ask. She would not be the one to stop them. For she wanted to reach the shelter of those distant trees as much as any of them and get off this ridge before Harry woke and demanded to get down, to take a drink and fill his belly and stretch his small legs.
Wesa'shangke suddenly called out to Te’tukhe, urging his older brother to pick up the pace. But Te’tukhe ignored him for unlike his younger more affable brother, one thing Te’tukhe was not was reckless and he would keep the horses at a walk, mindful of the five packhorses and two travois trailing behind them, loaded down with all their belongings. Madeleine and the men were happy to let Te’tukhe lead, for he knew this country well, better than any of them in fact, for he had spent the past two years trapping furs up this way in the company of Allard Lemoine and his three sons.
Although like his brother, Te’tukhe also wished they could pick up the pace for the days were passing them by, causing concern for all of them, even though they had been pushing themselves hard since leaving the Omaha, chancing late snowfalls and bad weather to get north as quickly as possible. For they only had seven months now to reach the Snake River Plain before winter set in and they had yet to reach the Mandan and Hŭŋkpapĥa.
Madeleine once again felt Harry stir against her and had a moment of regret that he must soon part from her to go north to the Hŭŋkpapĥa. But there was no other choice. Hopefully their parting would be less than two months. And she felt confident leaving the child in the care of Wesa'shangke and Aishi-waahni’. And Poongatse and Wannge’e would also go with him and he was familiar with the two Bannock girls, indeed, the child still slept with Poongatse every night.
Te’tukhe called out to Aishi-waahni’, the two men speaking in the dialect of the northern Sioux. It was a language Madeleine wasn’t familiar with, nor was Ryder, Harry and the Bannock girls but Te’tukhe had insisted they learn it because it was spoken by the Hŭŋkpapĥa and Mandan. But even after almost two months, their skills in holding a conversation were still poor.
The Ugákhpa brothers and Aishi-waahni’ had also begun to teach them the Plains sign talk. Most Plains nations used this language including Ryder’s own tribe, the Ugákhpa, but he had long ago forgotten this skill.
Madeleine glanced back at the forest ahead of them. Perhaps another two hours she thought, looking at the dull grey sky and thick grey clouds which loomed on the horizon. They promised rain, although she hoped it would hold off until dusk, at least until they raised one of the tepees and got a fire going. She shivered again as another blast of cold wind whipped around them, snapping over the side of the ridge, rising from that prairie far below.
*
It was Harry who forced them to call a halt not even an hour later when he began to stir. Madeleine reached out to settle him as his little body moved against her own and then a snort from one of the horses startled him and he opened his eyes and glanced around sleepily, before focusing on his father riding ahead of him.
“Where are we Papa?” he asked, calling out to Ryder in English, his voice muffled within the blanket Madeleine had wrapped around him to keep him warm. “Can we stop soon?”
Ryder turned around to look at the child even as Te’tukhe pointed to a group of trees a quarter of a mile ahead of them.
“We can stop there and let him run about,” he said.
Madeleine nodded in gratitude, thinking of the chokeberry cakes Poongatse had made last night. They were Harry’s favourite and they would fill his belly before they made camp later in the afternoon. They also had plenty of smoked meat from the two deer the men had killed less than a week ago. They had been running out of supplies when they came across the large herd of deer. After the kill, they had raised the two teepees within a large clearing and stayed there for three days to smoke the meat. And all of them, even Harry, took their share in butchering the animals, keeping as much as they could of the bones and sinew as well as the hide.
Madeleine felt her belly rumble with the thought of food, for they hadn’t eaten since early that morning. She thought on the fresh bread she had made at breakfast that morning and wondered if she had enough to share around, for the men would also be hungry. As Harry began to chat away, his voice still soft with sleep, Madeleine allowed her thoughts to drift to Deinde'-paggwe.
Two months, that was all. Until she was reunited with a girl she had known from a babe. When she first made her plans to go to the Mandan to trade for Deinde'-paggw
e’s freedom almost a year ago, she had thought to ride into the Mandan village alone. But so much had changed since then. Not only had she been reunited with Ryder, but she had a small army riding alongside her. Yet still, there were several nagging doubts deep within her plans. What if Deinde'-paggwe were not with the Mandan? What if she didn’t want to leave them? Madeleine didn’t dare think on it. Not after all this planning, not after bringing these men all this way north. But she couldn’t not go to the Mandan, for had Harry been taken slave to an enemy, she would expect anyone who knew him to find a way to seek his freedom. By whatever means they had, she would expect nothing less than that.
*
The men hobbled the horses under a thick stand of cedar and hickory while Poongatse and Wannge’e unwrapped buckskin hides containing strips of cold meat. Madeleine unwrapped another buckskin hide which held large flat pieces of piñon nut bread along with the chokeberry cakes. She held her waterskin as Harry drunk his fill, then handed him a cake. The child sat down contentedly beside her, although she knew he wouldn’t settle for long. But at least here among the trees, he could run and stretch his legs and there was some shelter from the wind.
Ryder leaned against the trunk of a hickory, eating a piece of smoked venison, discreetly watching his son and wife. The chokeberry cake in the little boy’s hand took almost all the child’s attention and Harry was oblivious as Madeleine bent down to kiss him. When she turned to glance up at the grey skies above them, dull with cloud and the promise of rain later, Ryder watched as she closed her eyes, lifting her head as though smelling the moisture in the air, as any animal would do.
It would be cold tonight. Which meant they had no choice but raise one of the teepees and get Harry and all their belongings under cover before the rain came. Ryder could feel the temperature drop even now. But as he continued to watch Madeleine, as she turned to glance out over the prairie below, he thought her so beautiful in that moment he felt a longing that was almost painful. And as if she were aware of his gaze Madeleine turned to him, holding him within the heat of her gold brown eyes and she felt that rare moment when it felt like just the two of them existed in the world. And again, she felt the loss of his child.