LeClerc 01 - Autumn Ecstasy (18 page)

Darkness was descending when Bear reached the cabin. He had managed to return each evening before dark, but he knew that soon he would have to stay out overnight. His trap lines stretched for miles, and it was impossible for him to work the farthest traps and still return at night. He worried about leaving Linsey alone in the cabin and thought about taking her with him; but he knew she would slow him down considerably, and he wasn’t sure how her tender heart would react to the animals caught in his traps.

Linsey put the gown down when she heard noises outside the cabin. She picked up the knife she had been using and held it defensively in front of her. When Bear’s familiar voice demanded that she let him in, she dropped the knife and ran to open the door. Wanting her to have a feeling of security while he was away, Bear had made a heavy wood bar that could be dropped across the door, making it impossible for someone to open it from the outside.

Bear entered the cabin, looking as big as a mountain and comfortingly familiar. Linsey did not like to admit even to herself that she waited eagerly for his return each evening. After several days of being left by herself, she had become accustomed to being alone, but as darkness descended, she was relieved by his return. The cabin was warm and cozy while he was in it but very lonely when he was gone.

Another thought worried Bear as he took off his coat and hung it on the hook beside the door. He liked coming home to her. Her smile always welcomed him, and the smells of something cooking awaited his arrival.

Evidence of her presence was everywhere. Her sewing lay on the table; her coat hung from a hook beside his. The shelf he had put up for her was slowly filling with her possessions.

He looked forward to coming home … to her. He liked it … he was afraid he was beginning to like it too much. He wanted to ask her to stay. To make a home with him in the wilderness. To be his wife, his friend, the mother of his children.

Spring would come, and he would take her back to the city. Bear closed his eyes at the knowledge of the loneliness waiting for him once she was gone. He had known such loneliness before when Snow had died, and vowed never again to depend on someone else. Somehow, without his consent or knowledge, Linsey had wedged herself into his life. And the suffering would not wait for spring.

“Are you hungry? What did you get today? Look at the baby’s dress; I’m almost finished with it. Can we — “

“Slow down, little one,” Bear said with a grin. “You begin to sound like Chattering Squirrel.”

Linsey blushed lightly, but grinned back at him. After a day by herself, she could barely wait for him to get inside the cabin before she started talking.

“To answer your first question, yes, I am starving.” He walked to the fire and bent, breathing deeply. The aroma of the thick rich stew filled his nostrils. “Now that you can make stew perfectly, I think it is time I taught you how to make something else.”

“Better not chance it. At least my stew is edible!”

Bear chuckled. “I’ll check everything you put in — just to make sure you don’t add the wrong herb.”

Linsey shivered at the thought of how close she had come to poisoning him. “Stick to the stew,” she advised.

Linsey cleared her sewing from the table and dished up their dinner while Bear washed from the pot of water she kept warm by the fire. They talked quietly while they ate, Bear telling of his day, she of hers.

During the evening, Bear worked on his furs. The new ones had to be cleaned of any lingering flesh before they were placed on stretchers. Linsey sat near him, finishing the baby gown.

“It’s almost done,” she said, holding up the gown for his inspection. “Do you think you could come home a little early tomorrow so that I can take it to Morning Moon?”

“Why do you not go yourself? The trail is clearly marked; you can’t get lost.” It was a test. Had she come to accept the Indians as friends, or did she still think of them as enemies?

“By myself?” Linsey stared at the gown as she felt a flicker of fear run through her. She wanted to lean against Bear, beg him to take her. They had gone twice to the village since their first visit, and each time she had been warmly welcomed. Could she go by herself, without the security of Bear?

“I guess I could,” she stammered.

“Nothing will happen to you,
mon ange,”
Bear said quietly. “You know the people now. They will welcome you.” He felt an almost overpowering urge to enfold her in his arms and chase away her fear. Clutching his knife tightly, he remained where he was. He wanted to hold her close to him. Much too often during the day, he found himself thinking of holding her, loving her through the long night. If he ever made her his, nothing on earth could force him to take her back in the spring. And staying had to be her decision.

Linsey ran her hand lightly over the velvet-soft gown and raised shadowed emerald eyes to him. “I’ll think about it,” she whispered. “It isn’t easy to change your thoughts about a group of people, and I’ve been terrified by Indians for so long.”

A muscle jumped in Bear’s jaw as he fought the urge to go to her. Trying to appear casual he nodded and returned to the fur in front of him. “I’ll try to get home earlier tomorrow.” He scraped on the hide for several minutes. “There are signs of another storm brewing. So I had planned not to work too far away.” He raised his head and grinned at her. “I don’t want to take the chance of catching another cold.”

Linsey carried the wrapped package by the thong that tied it closed. Wearing her own dress and cape, she carefully watched the trail in front of her so that she didn’t accidentally venture off and get lost. Since the night before, when Bear suggested she make the short trip alone, she had struggled to find the courage to go. The last thing she wanted to do was lose her way and wander alone into the vast wilderness.

Most of the snow from the blizzard had melted, leaving only small patches of white under trees where the sun did not reach. The last of the leaves had fallen, and skeletal branches stretched toward the sky as if searching for warmth. A light breeze rustled through the leaves and tugged at Linsey’s knotted hair, its cool caress a needless reminder of cold winter winds.

The path between Bear’s cabin and the Indian village had been used for years and could not have been clearer had it been a cobbled Philadelphia road.

Linsey tried to keep her mind clear of thought as she followed the path. If she tried hard enough, she could pretend she was taking the shortcut through the woods that separated her Philadelphia home from that of her nearest neighbors. It was a path she had taken hundreds of times to visit with childhood friends.

“Ee kwdi wah!”

The silence was shattered by the harsh guttural words of the ugliest Indian Linsey had ever seen. His dirty, matted hair hung around narrow shoulders, and even from the distance still separating them, her nose easily detected his stench. His eyes narrowed appraisingly, and his evil smile showed missing teeth.

Linsey hugged the package to her breasts as he slowly approached her. Her first instinct was to turn and run, but she fought it, her chin raised proudly. She kept her eyes on him and tried to prevent herself from gagging when he stopped directly in front of her.

“I am the woman of Bear.” Her voice was strong and clear, showing no sign of the quiver lurking in her throat.

“Bear! Pfftt!” He spit in the dirt at her feet, showing all too clearly that he recognized the name and exactly what he thought.

He said unintelligible Shawnee words as he reached for her hair. His smile returned at her scream of pain as he wrapped his fingers hurtfully in the silken strands. His free hand pulled open the cape and tore at the neckline of her dress, grabbing harshly at the soft mounds he uncovered.

Linsey screamed again, twisting and turning, but his hold on her hair tightened, easily keeping her in place. When he plucked at a distended nipple, she kicked, her hard leather shoe catching him on the shin and making him grunt at the pain. He pulled back his hand from her breasts and hit her face with his closed fist.

Linsey reeled, nearly unconscious, but his hold on her hair prevented her from falling. He began pushing her down the trail, kicking at her when she stumbled, holding her up by the hair on her head.

The Indian village was a welcome sight to her blurred and swollen eyes. As he led her stumbling and tripping to the center of the village, word spread, and the villagers appeared at their doors. Linsey saw several people who knew her as Bear’s woman, but no one interfered with their progress. When they approached the house she recognized, Linsey screamed one word.

“Wolf!”

What seemed an eternity to her was actually only seconds as she waited for the door to open. Wolf stepped out and directly into their path, arms folded across his bare chest, feet spread in a wide stance.

The exchange that followed was in Shawnee, but Linsey had no trouble understanding the argument. The ugly Indian holding her refused to relinquish his prize. The hand in her hair tightened, and he raised a tomahawk in his other hand. Wolf grabbed the weapon, throwing it into a tree several feet away. Finally, the Indian released her, pushing her violently into Wolf’s arms. He swaggered away, talking and laughing loudly to a few of his friends who had gathered around.

Wolf helped Linsey into his house, where she fell into Morning Moon’s comforting embrace. Large crystalline tears ran silently down her cheeks as she fought to control her sobs.

After a quiet exchange between Wolf and his wife, he left the house. Chattering Squirrel toddled to Linsey on chubby legs, his dark eyes wide with concern. He patted her legs through her thick dress and cape, mumbling baby words of comfort. Spring Flower sat silently by the fire, her black eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Morning Moon led Linsey to a sleeping shelf and removed her cape. When she saw the torn and tattered dress, she offered one of her own. Linsey refused, pulling the ripped bodice up to her chin and holding it in place. It was then that she realized she still clutched tightly to the package.

“I was bringing this to you,” she whispered through her sobs. She held it out to Morning Moon, her hand trembling from reaction. “Who was he? Why did he attack me?”

Morning Moon took the package and set it to the side until later. “He is called Small Dog.” Using one of the precious steel needles Bear had given her and a fine strand of sinew, she worked quickly to repair Linsey’s dress. “He is not liked in the village. He beats his wife and children without cause, and he enjoys torturing his slaves and prisoners.” Her movements were sure as she sewed the dress together, careful to keep the needle away from Linsey’s skin.

Linsey shivered. “He seemed to understand that I belong to Bear, and yet he didn’t appear to care.”

“He knew,” Morning Moon replied. “Small Dog has no honor or respect. He claims you as his, refusing to accept Bear’s claim. He argued with Wolf, but there is little he can do against the son of the chief. For now you are safe, and soon Wolf will return with Bear.” Linsey wrapped her arms around her shaking body and was grateful when Morning Moon draped a fur over her. In the center of the room, Morning Moon poured some warm water into a cup. She added several crushed leaves and stirred gently. Returning to Linsey, she handed her the cup, insisting that Linsey drink.

“It will help warm you,” Morning Moon said, gently. The liquid was slightly bitter, but not unpleasant. Linsey drank slowly, feeling the warmth flow through her body. “Wolf went to find Bear?”

Morning Moon nodded. “Small Dog has challenged Bear to a fight. The winner will claim you.”

“A fight?”

“Do you fear for yourself or for Bear?”

Linsey blinked, startled by the question. Her thoughts had all been centered on Bear. “He’s been hurt so badly in the past. I don’t think I could live knowing he was hurt again because of me.”

Morning Moon’s smile was gentle. “He is a fierce warrior, Lin Zee. There are few men who could stand against him in battle. Small Dog has lost the fight before it is begun.”

She saw that the cup was empty and took it from Linsey’s hands. She placed it on a shelf and reached for the package. “May I open this now?”

At Linsey’s nod, Morning Moon knelt on the floor by her feet and carefully untied the package. She was so quiet that Linsey was afraid she did not like the gown. Beginning to feel uneasy, she searched for something to say to break the silence, when Morning Moon raised her head.

“It’s for your new baby,” Linsey offered inanely. Morning Moon examined the gown carefully. She saw that some of the stitches were uneven and the edges slightly ragged, evidence of a person working with unfamiliar tools. But her eyes were glued to the embroidering. She realized it was worked with Linsey’s hair; the colors were as vibrant on the soft hide as they were on Linsey’s head.

“Red is our sacred color,” she said softly. “It protects our warriors in battle, honors both our living and dead.” She lightly traced the design with a finger. “You have brought my child great honor by presenting him a gift of yourself. As he grows I will rework the gown so that it becomes a shirt. It will grow with him, and he will always carry your protection.”

She carefully folded the gown and held it close to her slightly protruding stomach. “I thank you, Lin Zee. It is a gift to be treasured by my son’s sons.”