Courting Morrow Little: A Novel (43 page)

"I feel I must go. I've felt it for some time now"

Had he? And he hadn't told her? "Something terrible is going
to happen-I can sense it .."

She turned away, thoughts of McKie and Bluecoat soldiers
swirling in her throbbing head-thoughts so dire she felt she
hovered on the brink of some terrible darkness. Yet no matter
how she cried and stormed and questioned, she knew he wasn't
turning back. Every sun-hardened line of his face was so resolute
it seemed he was simply going to Missouri.

Just beyond the cabin's open door, one of Loramie's sons was
readying Red Shirt's horse. She could hear it snort and see the
dust kicked up by its prancing. This was the same black stallion Surrounded had given Pa years before, and the sight only
deepened her grief.

"Morrow, look at me" Gently he turned her around to face
him, taking hold of her shaking shoulders. But his touch, once
treasured, now made her stiffen. Why did he remind her so of
his father, when he hadn't before? Resentment rose up hard and
strong and stung her.

"I need your prayers for the trip ahead of me'

He bent his head till it rested against hers, their warm, salty
tears mingling. She wanted to pull away, yet something inside
her seemed to burst at his tenderness. With a broken cry she
flung her arms around his neck.

His arms tightened about her. "I need to tell you something
else'

She shook her head and placed trembling fingers to his lips.
"No-please-don't say it."

"You need to know that I've made provisions for you, that you won't be alone' He swallowed hard, jaw tightening. "If I don't
come back, Loramie will take care of you ... and our child:"

If you don't come back? But what is life without you?

She started to speak, to say the words, but couldn't. They
stayed buried beneath all the hurt in her heart, tainted with
regret and confusion and grief. Nor could she say the only thing
that really mattered ...

I love you. I will always love you. More than words can say.

He framed her face with his hands, wiping her tears away
as soon as they spilled over. "Morrow ... my heart is on the
ground" The simple Shawnee phrase rent her heart. She simply
bent her head as he whispered, "Remember how much I love
you. Remember love bears all things"

Loramie and Angelique insisted she stay with them and not
return to her cabin. In the confines of her upstairs bedroom,
she lay atop the feather tick, the heat pressing down on her like
a blanket. Her nightgown clung to her skin, accentuating her
swelling middle. Tonight the baby began to kick up a storm
inside her womb, and she swallowed down the fiery bile that
seemed to burn a hole in her. The plaintive call of a dove beyond
the shuttered window, lonesome and low, seemed to echo the
emptiness in her heart.

She tried to think of other things-anything-to keep dark
thoughts at bay, but her mind kept returning to Surrounded.
She wondered how so expert a horseman could have fallen and
died. Most of all, she wondered why he and his warriors had
happened upon the Red River cabin so long ago and wreaked
such destruction. What had been in Pa's heart when he'd heard
Surrounded's confession? How well he'd hidden it from her.

In the following days, Loramie reassured her of Red Shirt's
promise to send word of the goings-on at Fort Pitt, and so they
waited, looking for a cloud of dust that would announce the
promised courier. But as the days lengthened with no word,
Morrow looked with dismay at all they'd readied for Missouri
now gathering dust inside their shadowed cabin. Her thoughts
and feelings were adrift like a leaf in a river's current, restless
and unpredictable, never settling.

Lord, please let no harm come to him. Hasten us to Missouri.
Before its too late.

Slowly Morrow trudged to the creek that lay like a limp blue
ribbon between dusty brown banks. Josee had forgotten her doll
earlier that day, and now at dusk Morrow retraced her steps toward the spot marked by tall reeds and cattails where Josee had
played. Pausing to catch her breath, Morrow watched fireflies
stud the sticky air. What was in the mind and heart of a little halfblood girl, she wondered, to make her miss such a homely doll?
Josee had other dolls, some so fancy they bore porcelain faces
and miniature silk dresses like the ones buried in the wardrobe of
Morrow's old attic room. But the misplaced one was her favorite,
with its beaded doeskin tunic and tiny moccasins.

At last Morrow stumbled upon the lost treasure partially submerged in the creek, its clothing darkened to black, the horsehair
braid unraveled. Sitting down in the grass, she began to plait
the ebony hair. It was peaceful here at the north fork of the
creek, without the myriad arbors and shelters further south,
and peace was what she craved. She hardly noticed the shadow
looming over her.

"Miz Morrow, that you?"

She felt a rush of surprise, then overwhelming joy. She nearly
couldn't speak. "Joe?"

He stood looking down at her, the brim of his beaver felt hat
pulled low against the waning sun. "It's me all right"

She jumped up as fast as her bulk would allow, the doll forgotten, and flung her arms around his dusty, tobacco-scented neck.
He supported her with a wiry arm, his voice almost soft. "I've
been wonderin' where you and Red Shirt went. When I rode
in to trade a few minutes ago, I couldn't believe my eyes seein'
you sittin' here in the grass with a doll. Reminds me of when you were little and your pa would take you out to the fields so
he could work'

The bittersweet memory made her smile despite her tears. "Oh,
Joe, I can't believe it's you. How are Good Robe and Little Eli?"

"Fit as fiddles in that fine cabin of yours. Only thing wrong is
that you and your pa ain't there" Sorrow weighted his tone, but
he cleared his throat and continued on. "But it's about to get a
mite crowded. Come winter we're to have another"

"That's wonderful news. There's nothing like a baby coming"

He eyed her thoughtfully. "Care to tell me what's goin' on
with you?"

For one moment she hesitated. How could she possibly explain all that had happened when she didn't understand it herself? "We've been living at the fort since Christmas. Red Shirt's
scouting for Loramie. We'd hoped-planned-to be on our
way west by now. But Surrounded died suddenly, and Red Shirt
decided to go to Fort Pitt for that important council."

No surprise crossed his face. "Seems safer to head to Missouri territory."

She simply nodded as fear gained a fresh foothold in her
heart.

"How long's he been gone?"

"Six weeks or so"

"He should be back soon, and then you'll be on your way
west"

Was it her imagination, or did he look as doubtful as she
felt? "Have you heard anything about the council at Fort Pitt?
Anything at all?"

"Just hearsay. Supposed to be the most important treatymakin' to date. All the Shawnee septs sent their chiefs and a
good many warriors in case there was any tomfoolery'

"I thought Red Shirt would be back by now."

"It'll likely take a bit longer given that prisoner exchange."

"I keep hoping-praying-he'll be here before the baby
comes."

"He might yet. But all that treaty-makin' takes time, though
I can tell you in a few words what takes up those Fort Pitt commissioners' days:' Leaning over, he spit a stream of tobacco juice
into the tall grass. "Them Bluecoats promise to stay on their
side of the Ohio River and beg the Shawnee to do the same.
Attacks on river travelers are forbidden. The Shawnee promise
to abide by the rules of trade. Then there's the passin' of the
pipe, the long speeches, the translatin, and finally the feastin'
and drunkenness' Seeing her concern, he added, "But you can
bet Red Shirt is a lick too smart for the latter."

"I've always wondered what went on but was afraid to ask"

"Here lately them commissioners have added another thing
or two. They're insistin' the Indians return any captives. And
then there's some nonsense about punishin' any Shawnee or
white man who does violence to the other'

Morrow grew quiet, her eyes angled east. Did he know about
Red Shirt and McKie? Perhaps Pa had even told him of Surrounded's confession ...

He eyed her with a sudden grin. "Now I want to hear about
you-and that baby."

Forcing lightness into her tone, she wrapped her arms about
her burgeoning waist and said, "Look at me-big as a barn. I'm
surprised you recognized me"

"When you due?"

"Another month or more."

"Miz Morrow, you'll never make it"

She pushed the worrisome thought aside, a bit wistful. "Tell
me about Kentucke, Joe. How's Lizzy? And Jemima?"

He scratched his beard. "Jemima married a soldier by the
name of Kincaid a while back. They're still livin' at the fort.
Abe's been put in charge of the militia. He and Lizzy are hopin' to move over to Tate's Creek come fall:' He reached for another
twist of tobacco. "Lizzy asked after you:"

Hearing it, she felt a twist of sentiment. Unlike Jemima, Lizzy
had stayed true till the end. She longed to know more but was
hesitant to ask. Some things, she guessed, were better left unspoken.

With a complaint about his rheumatism, Joe got up slowly
and hobbled to where his horse grazed in deep timothy and
clover. Untying a saddlebag, he retrieved a letter and passed
it to her. One glance at the indigo wax seal assured her it was
from Philadelphia.

"Been carryin' it around for months now, wonderin' if I'd
ever see you again'

She broke the seal and opened the once-crisp foolscap, surprised to find it so short. Just a few telling lines, all of them
heavy with regret and disbelief, dwindling down to a final, stiff
conclusion.

Should you decide to leave the life you have chosen, my door
remains open to you and any mixed-breed children you may
have. Philadelphia boasts a charity school where they might
board and obtain an education to make them fit for civilized
society.

Your loving aunt, Etta

"Thank you, Joe;' she said, wondering if he could see the hurt
she tried to hide. Till now she'd thought Aunt Etta might welcome her if her fears were realized and something went terribly
awry at Fort Pitt. But this letter ...

They sat in silence for a time, the only sound a few distant,
barking dogs and the wind laying the grasses low. A sliver of
moon had risen, reminding them another day was done. For a
moment the evening was silver and tranquil and serene, and
she felt somewhat solaced.

"I believe I'll stay on at Loramie's for a spell, Joe told her with
a wink. "Good Robe will tan my hide if I leave without knowin'
if you've had a boy or girl:"

She squeezed his arm in thanks and said with a tremulous
smile, "I don't think you'll have to wait much longer, Joe'