Wind Rider (21 page)

“It’s about...” He turned his gaze in
Hannah’s direction, stared intently at her
for a few moments, and then returned it to
Red Cloud. “It’s about a white captive in your
village. A woman.”

Red Cloud pretended ignorance. “There are
no white captives in the village at this time.”

Hannah watched the man with growing dis
may. When he singled her out in the crowd
she flushed and looked away. But he wasn’t
the only one staring at her now. People clustered nearby in small bands turned to
stare at her. She wanted to turn and run
but couldn’t make her legs move. She was
certain she had never seen the man before. Tall and slim, with brown hair, he appeared to be in his mid-thirties. Suddenly she heard the Indian word for soldier and knew he had
come from the fort. But why? And what did he
want from her?

Rather than openly calling Red Cloud a
liar, Gilmore swiveled his head in Hannah’s
direction. Then he pointed to her, so that there was no mistaking about whom he was speaking. “What about her? Is she not a white
woman?”

Red Cloud frowned. “That is Little Spar
row. She belongs to Wind Rider, a Cheyenne warrior.”

“Is she his captive?”

“She is his woman/’

Gilmore frowned, aware of what that meant. “May I speak with her?”

Red Cloud considered the request for a
moment before giving his answer. “You have
my permission, but it will do you little good.
She cannot leave the village without Wind Rid
er’s permission. And he is not here.”

“Releasing the woman would impress the army and improve relations between our two
nations,” Gilmore pointed out. “It might even
bring more favorable terms in a new peace
treaty.” Gilmore knew he was speaking out of
turn and had no right to make promises, but
he felt justified. He had gotten this far; leaving
without the woman would be admitting defeat.
After the defeat of the South he had vowed
never to be a loser again.

“It is not my decision.” Gilmore was not
fooled by the chief’s words. Red Cloud’s people
would obey him instantly. “Perhaps she does
not wish to leave. She seems quite happy with
Wind Rider.”

“Go talk to the woman,” Trader urged, “while
I speak with the chief. I know him. If I can
convince him that it will help his cause with
the commission, he will agree. Go.”

Gilmore nodded and lifted himself to his feet.
He turned to peruse the crowd, saw Hannah
lingering at the edge of the circle, and strode in her direction. The crowd parted to let him pass. Hannah saw him coming and turned to flee.

“Miss McLin, please don’t run away! I mean you no harm.

Hannah paused. “Who are you?”

“I’m Lieutenant Trent Gilmore. I’m here to
help you.”

“How?”

Gilmore gave her a perplexed frown. Was she dense? “By taking you away from here.”

Hannah glared at him. “So you can return me to Mr. Harley? No, thank you. I’d rather
stay here.”

Gilmore blanched. “What have they done to
you? Surely you don’t mean it.”

“Oh, but I do, Lieutenant. Did Red Cloud not
tell you I’m married to a Cheyenne warrior?”

“He told me you were the woman of a
Cheyenne warrior, but I’m sure it’s against
your will. Red Cloud said nothing about
a marriage. Besides, a heathen marriage,
if there was one, isn’t legal; you know
that.”

Hannah gnawed on her bottom lip. “How did
you know about me?”

“The trader notified the fort after he saw you
in Red Cloud’s camp. He saw a flyer describing
a runaway indentured servant and recognized you from the description. There’s a reward for
your return.”

“Is that what this is about; the reward?” Her
voice held a note of contempt.

“I volunteered to accompany Mr. Wilton
because I couldn’t bear the thought of a
white woman being held captive by Indians.” He didn’t mention the recognition and promo
tion it might bring him. “I’ll do everything in
my power to convince Red Cloud to send you
back to your own kind.”

Hannah gave an unladylike snort. “If by my
own kind you mean Mr. Harley, I prefer to
remain with Wind Rider. I want nothing to do with people like him.”

A jolt of pity shot through Gilmore. Evidently, Harley had mistreated her; otherwise
she wouldn’t feel as she did. But what kind
of life did she have with the Indians? Did she
feel some misplaced loyalty toward the Indian
who used her as his whore? Gilmore thought it unlikely that she’d survive an armed confronta
tion between whites and Indians, which would
surely take place, and decided he’d be doing her
a favor by rescuing her. Not to mention how it
would help his career.

“You don’t mean that, Miss McLin. If it will
make you feel any better, I’ll personally speak
with your master when he comes for you and
impress upon him the rules governing treatment of indentured servants. I’m sure he will see the light and treat you as you should be treated.”

Hannah’s face clouded. She couldn’t count
the times she had begged Wind Rider to release
her, but now she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving, of existing without him. Holding back the tears, she clapped her hand to her mouth
and fled.

Gilmore had no idea what he had said to
cause Miss McLin such distress. He knew she had been a captive for several weeks and realized her spirit had probably been broken by her captor. Surely she didn’t care for the Indian,
did she? The thought was so disgusting, he pushed it from his mind. She was frightened,
he told himself, and helpless. She was also
beautiful; he had noticed that immediately. She was desperately in need of a protector,
and he silently vowed to fight for her release
from captivity and to gain her trust. Her beauty
was too vibrant to waste on an Indian. He had
other plans for her. When Hannah disappeared into her tepee he turned to rejoin Red Cloud
and Trader.

“I’ve just about got Red Cloud convinced,”
Trader whispered when Gilmore dropped
down beside him. What he failed to mention
was the promise of another delivery of guns
and whiskey if Red Cloud turned the girl over
to the lieutenant.

“What did Little Sparrow say?” Red Cloud asked curiously. He gave little thought to Wind
Rider’s feelings, for he knew the warrior had a
second wife to ease his sorrow should he decide
to send the white woman back to her people.

“She is confused,” Gilmore said carefully.
“But I’m certain she will offer no resis
tance. It can’t be easy for her living here in
captivity.”

Red Cloud merely grunted. After a thought
ful pause he said, “Are you certain that releasing the white woman will please the commis
sion and gain concessions?”

Gilmore replied as truthfully as he knew
how. “The commission will be grateful for
the release of Miss McLin. As you know, one
of the conditions for peace is the release of
all white captives. Your gesture will impress
the commission, make it anxious to seek a
peaceful resolution to the problems facing our
nations.”

“They will make changes in the terms of the peace treaty?”

Gilmore lowered his eyes. “I cannot promise. But if it were up to me, I would make the terms
more favorable to your people. I shall recom
mend it, in fact. That is all I can promise.”

“I will consider it and give you my answer
tomorrow. Tonight you will be my guests. My
wives will prepare a feast in your honor.”

Hannah refused to leave the tepee or
join the festivities taking place in the cen
ter of the village. Woman-Who-Waddles told
her that Red Cloud was considering wheth
er to send her back to her people, and
Hannah tried not to think about it. If
she left the village now, she would nev
er see Wind Rider again, never experience
the magic of his loving, never hear the
deep rumble of his voice. God, she couldn’t
bear it.

*
     
*
     
*

Lt. Gilmore had eaten his fill of Indian fare,
finding it unusual but tasty. But he was dis
appointed by Miss McLin’s absence. Had she
been forbidden to attend? he wondered curi
ously. When Red Cloud rose, signaling the end
of the festivities, Gilmore waited until the chief
walked away before making his own departure.
He had spread his bedroll nearby in the woods,
and now he slowly made his way to his bed.
Trader had stayed behind to negotiate with
one of the women who was known to sell her
favors, but Gilmore wanted nothing to do with
Indian women and left to seek his rest.

“Lieutenant! I wish to speak with you.”

Gilmore swung around and saw a woman standing behind him. It was dark, so he
couldn’t make out her features. He hoped she
wasn’t going to offer herself to him.

“What do you want?”

“I am Spotted Doe.” The woman advanced
until Gilmore could see her face. She was a
dark-eyed beauty with a voluptuous body, and
he was almost tempted to accept her offer
should she make one. She didn’t.

“I am glad you have come for Little Sparrow.
She is not happy here.”

“How do you know? Why should you
care?”

“I am Wind Rider’s woman.”

Gilmore stared at her, perplexed. “I thought
Miss McLin was Wind Rider’s woman.” Spot
ted Doe smiled slyly.
 
Obviously, he wasn’t
acquainted with the Sioux custom of taking
more than one wife.

“Little Sparrow is Wind Rider’s captive. Do
you understand? She is his whore. I am his
wife.’

“But Red Cloud said ...”

“Red Cloud does not want you to know the
truth. Wind Rider is a cruel man. Little Spar
row fears him. You must be forceful if you wish
to take Little Sparrow with you.”

Gilmore’s eye’s narrowed. “Why should you
care?”

“I have come to know Little Sparrow
very well, and she has expressed her desire
many times to return to her own kind,”
she lied. “Wind Rider beats her, and I
am not without feeling for her plight. You
must take her and leave before Wind Rider
returns.”

“I promise I will do my best,” Gilmore
said through compressed lips. The thought
of leaving the helpless young woman in
the clutches of a cruel savage like Wind
Rider, whoever he might be, was repre
hensible.

Suppressing a smile, Spotted Doe nodded and melted into the darkness. But her words
left Gilmore more confused than ever. When he
had spoken earlier to Miss McLin she had said
nothing about being abused by Wind Rider. In
fact, she was quite adamant about remaining.
Obviously, she was too frightened to speak the truth.

*
     
*
     
*

Hannah awoke the next morning in a state of
great agitation. She prayed Lt. Gilmore would fail in his efforts to convince Red Cloud to return her to Mr. Harley. She felt certain that
if Wind Rider was here he wouldn’t allow her
to be sent away, but to Red Cloud she was
just a useful bargaining tool in his negotiations with the commission. She went to the
river to bathe, and when she returned Coyote was waiting for her.

“Red Cloud wishes to speak with you,”
Hannah stared at him, waiting for him to
say something heartening. He knew what she wanted but couldn’t comply. Instead, he said,
“There is nothing I can do if Red Cloud decides
you are to leave with the blue coat. If Wind
Rider was here it would be different.”

“I know.”

Woman-Who-Waddles came out of the tepee,
interpreted the look on Hannah’s face, and pat
ted her shoulder consolingly. Hannah squeezed
the old woman’s hand and hurried after Coy
ote. They found Red Cloud sitting in front of
his lodge. Trader and Lt. Gilmore were already
there.