Brave Beginnings (33 page)

Erin pulled out of Julia’s arms and wiped the
tears that Julia had cried. “I’ll be out there to visit in July
when Woape’s due to give birth. We’ll see each other in two months.
Hopefully, the house will sell soon, so when it’s your turn to have
a baby, I’ll be living there.”

“I hope so! Tell everyone how great this
house is.”

Chogan chuckled. “Julia, she’s doing her best
to sell it. When the time is right, it’ll happen.”

Julia sighed. “I know,” she told Chogan.

“And two months isn’t that far,” her aunt
added. “Oh! I made you and Chogan a quilt. It’s upstairs.”

“I’ll go with you.” Julia glanced at Chogan.
“We’ll be right back.”

“As long as we’re not late for the train, I
don’t care how long you take,” he called out, amused by the way the
two ran up the stairs as if they were children about to find a
secret treasure.

He opened the door and stepped onto the
porch. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, he smelled the
flowers blooming on the bushes around the house. He sat on one of
the chairs and relaxed. It had been a pleasant visit, especially
since he didn’t need to venture into the heart of town and risk
running into Ernest.

He scanned the street, noting that several
people were out to enjoy their walk in the pleasant weather. One
person who was across the street caught his attention. Conrad
happened to be in a deep conversation with a man who looked similar
to him, though perhaps a little older.

Conrad happened to look in Chogan’s
direction, so Chogan lifted his hand and gave a slight wave to
acknowledge him. Conrad nodded, said something to his companion,
and crossed the street.

Surprised, Chogan made his way to the porch
steps. “Did you forget something when you were here the other
night?”

Conrad stopped at the foot of the steps and
shook his head. “No. I take it you’re leaving today?”

“Yes. Julia and Erin are saying
good-bye.”

“Ahh… And judging by the fact that you’re
waiting, they are taking their time as women are prone to do.”

Chogan smiled at the man’s joke. “Yes. Erin
forgot to give Julia a quilt.”

“They certainly have a special bond, don’t
they?” Before Chogan could respond, Conrad continued, “Ernest never
hurt Julia, did he?”

Chogan’s spine stiffened at the serious tone
in the man’s voice. “No.” He waited for a moment and then realized
something. “You asked a lot of questions about Ernest when you were
here for supper. Why?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to say,
but I advise you to keep Julia out of Bismarck. From what she said,
I suspect she might be in danger. Millicent said Ernest made life
impossible for you while you were living here.” He nodded toward
the house. “I take it that Ernest was trying to get rid of you?
Perhaps hoping to separate you from Julia?”

“It doesn’t matter what he wanted. I’m a
grown man. It takes more than idle gossip to rattle me.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute. What I’m
saying is he hoped to chase you out of here, which means he hasn’t
given up on having Julia for himself.”

The direction of the conversation was making
Chogan uneasy, especially in light of the nightmare he’d had where
Ernest shot him. “You think Ernest is dangerous?”

“I don’t think it. I know it.” Conrad tipped
his hat back. “I’m having a rough time proving it though.”

“Did Ernest commit a crime?” Chogan asked,
his heart beat picking up. He knew Ernest was a shady character,
but it never occurred to him that Ernest broke the white man’s
law.

“Yes, but I can’t say any more than that. The
situation is far too delicate, and I have to watch everything I do
and say. Do you understand?”

Chogan met the man’s gaze and swallowed the
lump in his throat. It wasn’t often he felt fear, but the thought
that Ernest was capable of harming Julia was enough to turn his
blood cold.
If he goes near her, I’ll…
No. He wouldn’t allow
it. Ernest would never get near her again. “You’ll notify me when
you take care of the situation?”

Conrad nodded. “I’ll send a messenger to your
tribe with the news.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, he said, “I’ll
heed your warning.”

He tipped his hat. “Have a safe trip
home.”

“Thank you.”

Chogan watched as Conrad jogged across the
street to his companion. The two men headed down the street, off to
do whatever they needed to, and Chogan had to wonder just what
Ernest did that aroused such a serious discussion.

Julia’s laughter drifted down the stairs and
out the open door, dragging Chogan’s attention off of Conrad who
walked down another street with his companion. Chogan turned around
and saw Julia holding Erin’s neatly folded quilt close to her chest
as she gave her aunt another hug. He fought the urge to pick her up
and carry her to the train station right then and there.

“I can’t wait to see you again,” Julia told
her aunt.

Chogan hurried to the doorway and picked up
their carpet bag. “Yes, it will be nice to see you,” he said,
trying not to let his impatience slip into his voice.

Erin looked at him and asked, “Would you mind
if I gave you a hug?”

Surprised but pleased, he agreed and leaned
forward to hug her.

“Thank you for making her happy,” Erin
whispered in his ear.

“You did a pretty good job of that for the
past couple of days,” he softly replied.

Chuckling, she patted his back before she
pulled away from him. “Have a safe trip back,” she told them.

“We will, I’m sure,” Julia replied, still
seeming reluctant to leave.

Chogan took her by the arm and gently led her
down the porch steps. He tried not to rush down the stone pathway
that led to the sidewalk, but it was hard with Conrad’s warning
fresh in his mind.

“Chogan? Are we late?” Julia asked.

Instead of answering her question, he glanced
at her as they turned onto the sidewalk. “Did Ernest ever hurt you
when he courted you?”

Her eyes grew wide. “Why did you ask
that?”

“I’m just wondering.”

“No. He was a gentleman the entire time,” she
said.

“But you weren’t sure about him?”

They reached the corner where they needed to
cross the street, so he stopped, wishing the buggy would hurry up
and pass by already. He studied the people around them and was
relieved when he didn’t see Ernest.

Julia shrugged. “I can’t explain it. There
seemed to be something not quite right about him. Why? What is this
about?”

The buggy passed, so he led her across the
street. “Just wondering.”

“That’s an odd thing to wonder. I mean, he
wasn’t even the topic of conversation this morning. Not that I care
to think about him, especially after what he did to you while we
lived here.”

Her concern for him struck him as misplaced
in light of what Conrad told him, but he hesitated to say anything
about his conversation with Conrad. He was taking her back home,
far away from Bismarck and from Ernest. She would be safe there,
and her aunt would come out to see them so there’d be no more trips
to Bismarck. Then Conrad would arrest Ernest, put him in jail, and
Ernest would be removed from society.

They finished the walk to the train station,
and he finally relaxed enough to slow his steps. Good. They would
be out of here soon enough.

“I hope my brother is waiting for us in
Mandan,” Julia said. “I hate it when he’s late and I have to wonder
if he forgot to show up.”

Chogan took out their train tickets. “If he’s
late, I’ll talk to him.”

She looked up at him and grinned. “Make sure
you do that thing where you stand up straight and glare at him. You
know, with that fire of annoyance burning in your eyes.”

He laughed. “I don’t have fire of annoyance
in my eyes.”

“To him you do. Just promise me you’ll let me
watch as he squirms.”

“Julia, you have a mean streak in you.”

“Me? You’re the one who wants to talk to
him.”

“Only if he’s late,” he said. “I don’t think
he will be.”

“Oh?” she asked, looking intrigued by his
statement.

“No. I think he knows you’ll send me to talk
to him if he makes you wait.”

“You know you scare him.”

The train pulled into the station and he
turned to her. “Yes. I noticed that when he dropped the wood he was
carrying when I talked to him. It was fun.”

“Hmm… And you say I have a mean streak?”

Chogan shrugged. “If he would just learn to
hold a bow and arrow properly…” With a sigh, he continued, “He asks
for it.”

She laughed. “Why, Chogan, you are positively
evil.”

“We should not enjoy your brother’s
discomfort,” he admonished, realizing it was as much for himself as
it was for her.

“Maybe not.”

They glanced at each other and chuckled.
Feeling better now that the passengers were coming off the train,
Chogan led her to the line of people ready to get on. Good. In a
matter of minutes, they would be on the train and heading back
home. He was never so glad to be getting out of Bismarck. Slipping
his arm around her waist, he gave her a quick squeeze before the
conductor called out for them to get on the train.

~~********~~

A week later, Julia dug another hole into the
soil and dropped a seed into the ground. She smoothed the dirt over
it and sat back so she could wipe the sweat off her forehead with
her sleeve. She glanced at Chogan’s female relatives who also
tended to the planting and considered they might be smart to wear
deerskin dresses that reached just below their knees. Julia could
roll her sleeves up, but her long skirt was the item of clothing
that made her work more difficult.

She bit her lower lip and tried to decide if
she dared to wear so little clothing. Sure, no one in the tribe
thought anything of it. In the winter, the women wore leggings to
cover themselves up, but with the warmer weather, they had removed
those and Julia felt like the only modestly dressed person in the
area.

Even the men thought nothing of wearing a
shirt that was more like a vest…if they even wore a shirt at all.
And the breechcloths barely covered the rest of them. She much
preferred the cold weather which made everyone cover themselves up.
She should have remembered they dressed this way in the summer when
she came here the first time. And what was worse was that her
brother dressed just like them. She shivered. If she didn’t see her
brother wearing so little clothing ever again, it would be too
soon.

She returned to her work, reminding herself
that she wasn’t in Bismarck. She was in the tribe, and what was
shocking to her was perfectly natural to them. They went about
their business as if nothing was wrong because, to them, it wasn’t
wrong. She had to get used to it. In time, she was sure she would
adjust and think nothing of it as well.

Aunt Erin is in for a real shock when she
gets here, Julia thought as she leaned forward and dug another hole
into her section of the garden.

She put the seed into the ground and glanced
up in time to see Sarita walking by. She frowned, wondering why
Sarita should be on this side of the tribe when her lodge wasn’t
close by. Sarita headed in her direction, so she stopped what she
was doing.

Sarita knelt by her. Startled, Julia scanned
the area, realizing the others were too far to hear them. She
considered walking away but then decided that would send the wrong
message to Sarita who had spent almost all of her waking hours
watching her.

“Why don’t you leave me alone?” Julia snapped
shoving the dirt on top of the newly planted seed.

“Chogan is mine. The chief promised him to
me!” she hissed, taking the spade out of Julia’s hand.

“Well, he married me instead!” Julia hissed
back and grabbed the spade. “Go away. You’re not part of this lodge
or even this clan.”

Sarita wrapped her hand tightly around
Julia’s wrist, forcing Julia to drop the spade. Julia shoved Sarita
away from her, and Sarita fell back and landed in the dirt. Pinning
her to the ground before Sarita could get away, Julia reached out
and took the spade back.

Just as Julia lifted her hand so that Sarita
couldn’t get the spade again, Sarita let out an ear piercing
scream. “She’s hurting me!” she yelled in Mandan.

Stunned, Julia stilled and didn’t realize
until it was too late how bad things looked. She glanced over her
shoulder and saw the shock on the other women’s faces. Returning
her attention to a whimpering Sarita who was covering her face,
Julia grunted with disgust and backed away from her, doing her best
to smooth her skirt. Two of Chogan’s aunts and his mother came over
to them in time for Sarita to lower her hands.

After a moment’s disbelief at the scratch
marks on Sarita’s face, Julia gritted her teeth. “I don’t believe
this!” Julia stood up and clenched the spade in her hand. Choosing
words she knew in Mandan, she told Chogan’s relatives, “She lies!
She wants me to leave. She wants Chogan.”

Sarita wiped her tears and sniffed. “You
attacked me. They all saw it. Didn’t you?” she asked, turning her
gaze to the other women.

“That is how it looked,” Chogan’s mother
slowly replied, looking from Sarita to Julia and back again.

“Oh, she lies!” Julia screamed. “I plant.
She...” She struggled for the right word. “She bother me. She says
Chogan her husband.”

Julia paused when she realized that didn’t
come out quite right, but even as she struggled for the right
words, Sarita stood up and began speaking so fast that Julia could
hardly keep up with her.

Finally, once Sarita stopped, Chogan’s aunt
turned to Julia. “Go on to the lodge. We will talk later.”

Face flushed, Julia grunted but obeyed. Her
skirt nearly made her lose her balance as it wrapped around her
legs, but she managed to walk without embarrassing herself. That
was all she needed. Sarita would love nothing more than to see her
fall flat on her face. It took all of Julia’s willpower to avoid
looking back as the women talked to Sarita in what Julia worried
were sympathetic tones.