Savage Summer (17 page)

When Wolfrunner returned to where he had left Danielle, he found her huddled by a tree, fast asleep. She still clutched the knife in her hand and didn’t even wake as he sat down beside her.

He placed his small bounty of berries and roots in his pouch, thinking the girl needed sleep more than food.

Hearing Danielle’s deep breathing, he turned his face away and closed his eyes. Even though he appeared to be asleep, his ears were attuned to hear any danger that might come. He had been trained since birth to fight and survive in the wilderness. He had little doubt that he could outsmart Scar Face if it weren’t for the girl. He realized that he must not take the trail that Scar Face would expect him to take. He would have to go the long way around, through the grassy prairies. It would take many days longer to reach the village that way, but it would be safer for the girl. He couldn’t allow Scar Face to get his hands on her again.

Opening his eyes, he allowed them to roam over the girl. How could she look so like Sky Dancer and yet be so different. He had always looked on Sky Dancer with awe and reverence. She was a Blackfoot princess, but then so was this girl. Danielle provoked deeper and more disturbing emotions within him. He found himself wanting to reach out and cradle her in his arms so she would feel warm and protected. His body seemed to stir to life and this troubled him more than anything. He frowned, knowing what her reaction would be should he take her in his arms. She would scream and struggle, thinking he was trying to ravish her.

Turning his dark eyes away, he knew he was in danger of losing his heart to this unworthy white girl. The sooner he returned her to Windhawk and Joanna, the sooner he would be rid of her. She was beginning to creep into his mind more and more. There were many Indian maidens for him to choose from. Why had he never wanted one of them? Why should this girl he didn’t even like make his blood run hot?

He wrestled with himself, trying to cleanse his mind of
this girl, but was not successful. Yes, she did make his blood run hot, and he had to admit that he wanted her.

Turning over on his back, he watched the stars twinkle in the ebony sky. Was he not a warrior in command of his own destiny and feelings? He would never allow a woman to enter into his heart unbidden. This girl was unworthy of a Blackfoot warrior.

He watched as a shooting star streaked across the sky, leaving a fiery trail in its wake. He knew he was going to have to be strong and deny his desire for Danielle. Was he not Wolfrunner, one of Windhawk’s most trusted warriors?

His dark eyes moved across the heavens, and he sought inner peace within himself. That peace did not come, not even when the first hint of the morning sun lit the eastern sky.

Morgan had called at the James house on several occasions, but Skyler always refused to see him. He also received a cool reception from Alexandria and that puzzled him. What had he done?

Skyler had come to the agonizing realization that to see Morgan, and talk to him, would only prolong her pain and make forgetting him even more difficult. She rotated between loving and hating him. She couldn’t understand how he could be so small-minded as to hate a whole race of people just because they were different from him.

When she was in the privacy of her room at night, she often cried herself to sleep. She had begun to count the days until it would be time for her to return to her village. Perhaps when she was back home with her family again she would forget all about Morgan Prescott.

Skyler tied the pink bonnet beneath her chin and rushed out the front door to join her Aunt Alexandria, who was already waiting for her in the buggy. They were going to have tea with Mrs. Wendham and her daughter Priscilla. Skyler wished she didn’t have to go. It was very apparent that her aunt was trying to keep her busy so she wouldn’t dwell on her unhappiness.

Her aunt and uncle had said very little to her about the incident in the summerhouse. She knew they were sorry she had been hurt, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it now.

Entering the carriage, she arranged her pink and white gown so it wouldn’t wrinkle. As she gazed out the window, she saw it was an overcast day, and it looked as if it might rain before the day was over.

Since the Wendham’s home adjoined the Prescott estate, it took no time at all to arrive at the neighbor’s front door. As they climbed the stairs to the stone house, Mrs. Wendham and her daughter came out to greet them. Priscilla linked her arm through Skyler’s and led her into the house, declaring her gown was the loveliest creation she had ever seen.

There was polite conversation over tea, and afterward Priscilla took Skyler up to her bedroom. They were seated at the window seat, and Priscilla smiled brightly.

“I have a secret to tell you if you promise you won’t tell another living soul, Skyler.” Priscilla had light brown eyes and red hair. She was so light-complected, she tended to freckle across her nose. Pretty, was the only way Skyler could describe her friend.

“I promise,” Skyler said, puzzled.

“I am madly in love. If my mother ever found out, she would confine me to the house and never let me out again.”

“Why would she do such a thing? Does she not want you to love a man?”

“Of course she does, but only if she thinks the man comes up to scratch. She expects me to marry in my own class.”

“I do not think I understand. What is your class?”

“Skyler, you are such a silly goose sometimes. You know what I mean—a man with the same interests and who comes from the same background as I do.”

“Oh, yes, I see. It is the same with me. My father would never allow me to marry…one who…” Skyler’s voice trailed off. She had been about to say her father would never allow her to marry a warrior who was not from one of the wealthier families. “Who is this man, and where did you meet him?” she asked instead.

“His name is Billy Kirby, and he works at Donaldson’s Printing Shop. He hopes to own the shop one day. I met him in the park one Sunday and we were both drawn to each other immediately. We try to meet in the park every Sunday when I can get away.”

“Priscilla, I do not think it is a good thing to go behind your parents’ backs. Could you not tell them about your feelings for this man?”

“Heaven forbid! They would never understand.”

“Tell me about this Billy. What is he like?”

Priscilla’s eyes took on a dreamy look. “He is very handsome, with blond curly hair and bright blue eyes. I wish you could meet him.” Priscilla giggled. “No, perhaps I don’t want you to meet him. You are much too pretty.”

Skyler ignored the compliment. “I do not have a good feeling about this, Priscilla. It is not right to go against what your father and mother would want for you.”

“If you loved someone and you knew your parents wouldn’t approve, would you just give him up?”

Skyler closed her eyes for a moment. “If someone is wrong for me, even if I loved him, I would turn away from him. The man I marry will have to understand me.”

“You are stronger than me, or else you have never loved someone as I love Billy. His language is coarse and his manners are appalling, but still I love him.”

Skyler thought of Morgan and felt renewed pain in her heart. She loved him so deeply that it hurt to even think
about him, but he was not for her. “To love is to feel pain sometimes. I do not think I want to love.”

“Sometimes you talk in riddles, Skyler, and I don’t understand you. Even though we are the same age, I sometimes feel you are years older than I. There is something very mysterious about you.”

“My mother would say I am too serious about life. I take after my father.”

“It has not escaped my notice that you never really talk about yourself other than in general terms. I like you very much, but I don’t really know that much about you.”

Skyler smiled at her friend. “There is nothing to know. My life has been very dull up until the time I came to Philadelphia.”

“I know a secret that you don’t know,” Priscilla said, clasping her hands together and looking at Skyler smugly. “I know someone who is very intrigued with you.”

“Who?” Skyler couldn’t help but ask.

“None other than Dr. Morgan Prescott himself. I would simply die if he was interested in me. He is so handsome, and when he looks at me with those silver eyes, I could just swoon. All the young ladies in Philadelphia would be ready to scratch your eyes out if they knew how Morgan feels about you.”

“No, you are mistaken,” Skyler said, moving to the vanity table and picking up a china figurine. She didn’t want to hear about Morgan today.

“It’s the truth. I had it straight from his best friend’s mouth. Jeb Taylor told me that Morgan is extremely interested in you. Aren’t you excited?”

Skyler turned the figurine over in her hand and pretended to be examining it to hide her distress. She felt tears gathering behind her eyes and prayed she wouldn’t cry. Crying had always been foreign to her nature, but lately she had succumbed to that weakness a great deal.

“Jeb Taylor is wrong, Priscilla. Mr. Prescott does not care for me—not really,” she managed to say.

Priscilla stood up and studied Skyler’s face. “You are the one who is mistaken. Morgan has never paid marked attention to any young lady, although many have tried to catch his eye. I have seen the way he looks at you, and so has my mother. Mama declares Morgan has lost his heart at last. She says it’s strange that Morgan should care for you, when he never gave a second look at Danielle. The two of you do look a great deal alike, you know.”

“Your mother is wrong.” Skyler wanted to end this conversation before she burst out crying.

“I have heard that Morgan took you to the riverboat party. He would never have done that if he hadn’t been interested in you,” Priscilla insisted.

Skyler knew if she didn’t escape she wouldn’t be able to hold the tears back. “I have a dreadful headache, Priscilla. I believe I will ask my aunt to take me home now.”

Without giving her friend time to answer, she rushed down the stairs. When Skyler announced that she wasn’t feeling well, her aunt immediately took her leave of Mrs. Wendham.

On the ride home, the tears Skyler had been trying to conceal fell down her face. Alexandria held her while she cried, knowing that something must have been said about Morgan. Her heart felt as if it had a weight on it, knowing the pain her niece was going through so needlessly. How well she could remember what it felt like to be young and hopelessly in love. She was reminded of a time when she first knew she loved Tag, and how hopeless she had thought that love had been. Alexandria had no words of comfort to offer Skyler. All she could do was hold her and share her pain. She could see no solution for the problem that faced Skyler and Morgan.

“Cry it out, Skyler. Get it all out of your system, and then perhaps you will feel better,” she said, dabbing at the young girl’s face with a handkerchief. “What in the world happened that brought this all on?”

Skyler bit her trembling lip, trying to gain control of her
emotions. “It was nothing really. Priscilla just said that Morgan was…interested in me. I don’t know why I am acting so foolish.”

Alexandria drew Skyler into her arms, and held her tightly. She knew it was a hopeless situation. Perhaps it would be best if Skyler returned to the Blackfoot village. She hated the thought of Skyler leaving, but she could see no other solution. If Skyler stayed in Philadelphia she was bound to run into Morgan, and that would only keep her wound open.

“There, there, don’t dwell on this,” Alexandria soothed. “Tag and I wanted so for this summer to be a wonderful experience for you. I can’t tell you how I grieve for your heartache.”

Skyler smiled through her tears. “Even with what happened to me with Morgan, I wouldn’t have missed getting to know you and my uncle better. I love you.”

Alexandria felt tears in her own eyes. “We love you too, dear—very much.”

The house was quiet and everyone had gone to bed. Alexandria curled up in Tag’s arms, and he rested his hand on her stomach.

“How was your tea with Mrs. Wendham this afternoon?” he asked, brushing his lips against hers.

“It was a mistake to go, Tag. Priscilla brought up Morgan’s name and Skyler fell to pieces. I barely got her to the buggy before she started crying. It breaks my heart to see her so unhappy. I believe it would be better for her if you would take her back to her home.”

“Damn Morgan for what he said to her. The humorous thing in all this, if there is any humor, is he doesn’t even know what he’s done wrong. I believe he cares deeply for Skyler. It’s all so tragic.”

“I don’t think he will ever be able to bridge the gap between the two of them. Some people are just not meant to fall in love.”

Tag tilted her chin up and looked into the golden eyes that still moved him deeply after all the years they had been married. “We are fortunate, Alex. Do you know I believe you are more beautiful than you were when I fell in love with you. Your beauty seems to deepen as the years go by.”

She looked into his eyes and felt his love for her like a soft blanket of security. “If I am beautiful, it is because I’m carrying your baby.”

He gathered her close to him. “We will think about a solution to Skyler’s problem. I don’t want to take her back just yet. I have loved having her here with us. Let’s just wait a few more days and see what happens.”

Alexandria pulled Tag’s head toward her. “I pray that there is an easy end to all this, Tag. Skyler is lost and confused. I am frightened that Danielle might be feeling lost herself. We may have made a mistake by forcing the two girls to leave all that was dear to them. Perhaps neither of them can function in a world they are not accustomed to.”

Tag rested his lips against her smooth cheek. “Perhaps you are right, but it’s too late to look back. Let’s just take one day at a time and see what happens.”

As Tag’s hand moved over Alexandria’s back, she closed her eyes. Her heart was so filled with fear for the two girls who now walked in worlds they didn’t understand.

Skyler had been unable to sleep so she got out of bed and went for a walk in the garden. The big yellow moon seemed to hang suspended against the ebony sky, while kissing the landscape with its silvery light. She was a child of nature and she felt akin to earth and sky. She drew her strength from the land, but not this land. This land was foreign to her.

Suddenly she wanted to stand on the banks of the Milk River and walk among the Sweet Grass Hills. She wanted to go home and find herself again.

“You look like a moon maiden who was sent to earth to walk among mortal man.” A deep voice spoke up from behind her.

Skyler whirled around to face Morgan. Her heart was racing so fast she could hardly breathe. “What are you doing here?” she asked through stiff lips.

“Damned if I know. I started walking after dinner and ended up here in your aunt’s garden. I suspect my subconscious brought me here. I never dared hope I would see you.”

“I have to go in now,” she said, trying to sidestep him.

Morgan reached out and caught her arm, restraining her. “Why have you been avoiding me? If you would just tell me what I have done to offend you. I have searched my mind, and haven’t come up with the answer. You were all right when I went to Washington. When I came back you had changed. Why?”

“I have not changed, and I…am not avoiding you.”

“Are you not? What would you call it?”

“I simply…don’t like you.”

He pulled her to him so tightly that she was forced to look into his face. The silvery light of the moon seemed to be reflected in his eyes, which sparkled luminously. “What have I done that would turn you against me? Was it wrong to declare my feelings for you?”

“I cannot love you, Morgan. We come from different worlds. You could never fit into mine, and I no longer want to stay in yours.”

He stared down into her eyes, unable to comprehend what she was saying. Refusing to be diverted, he tried another approach. “If you detest me, I could understand why you are withdrawing from me, but I know that isn’t the reason. I know what you were feeling when I kissed you, Skyler. Help me understand what has happened to turn you away from me—help me retain my sanity!”

“I…do not want to talk to you, Morgan. Why can you not just go away?” she said, looking past him, since she couldn’t bear to look into his eyes any longer.

“Look at me!” he said in a commanding voice. “Look me in the eye and tell me that you want me to leave you alone—then I will believe you.”

Skyler met his glance and she saw many emotions in the silvery depths. Pain, uncertainty, hope…love.

“I’m waiting, Skyler. Tell me you don’t love me. Let me hear from your own lips that you despise me.”

She felt her heart skip a beat. Her lips began to tremble from the lie she tried to speak. “I…cannot!” she cried. “I cannot speak it.”