Silken Savage (25 page)

The journey to Fort Lyon was slightly less hurried than their last. It was two weeks before the walls of the fort came into sight. No sooner were they inside, than Jeffrey consulted with General Custer. Not usually part of Custer’s 7th cavalry, Jeffrey asked permission to return immediately to his post in Pueblo, using the excuse of returning Tanya to her parents in time for Christmas, now just four days away. Anxious to be rid of her, Custer readily agreed, and supplied a contingent of soldiers to accompany them, more to save himself the embarrassment of having the women re-captured again than out of any concern for them.

Since her parents had finally given up and gone on to their destination in California, Suellen had no reason to rush to Pueblo. She opted to spend Christmas at the fort and follow later at a more leisurely pace. There was no love lost on either side as the girls parted company.

As soon as supplies could be replenished, they were on their way again. Tanya took perverse delight in wiping the smirk from Custer’s face by departing from him with a secretive smile and a smart salute. She left him with a perplexed frown on his face as he tried to deduce her intentions.

With luck and hard riding Tanya would be spending Christmas this year with her parents. She was starting to feel very apprehensive about it. Part of her anticipated the reunion with joy, and the other part dreaded it. After two and a half years, would they seem like strangers? Had they changed? Tanya had no doubt that she had changed drastically.

How would they react to Hunter and Mark? Tanya knew if they did not accept her sons, she would not want to stay an hour, let alone any length of time until Panther came.

Over the last years, Tanya had often longed to see her parents again. She’d even missed Julie, and all the sisterly fights they’d had. She wondered what they would expect of her. Would they, like Jeffrey, be morbidly curious about her life with the Cheyenne? Would they flood her with their pity and suffocate her with their love and protection? Could they accept her as she was now, or would they expect her to pick up her life where she’d left off, as if she’d never been gone? Would they be embarrassed by her? Above all, could they understand that, though she still loved them, her life was with Panther now; that given the choice, she’d return to him without hesitation?

Tanya pondered these thoughts and more. It had been years since she’d lived in a house, sat at a table or on a chair, ate with a fork, worn cloth dresses. It would seem foreign to her now.

Jeffrey had thrown a fit when he’d seen her eating her food with her fingers. “For God’s sake, Tanya,” he’d complained, “eat with your fork! You act like one of
them,
you dress like them, and you refuse to utter a word not in their stupid language! You’re just being stubborn!”

Melissa, who’d readily reverted to eating with a fork and was looking forward to trading in her deerskin dress for cotton, commented, “Will you stop agitating the poor man, Tanya? He’s developing a nervous twitch that’s starting to drive me insane.”

But Tanya was so firmly entrenched in her Cheyenne ways that she wondered if she could revert once again. Did she even care to try? If she had her way, she would be gone again soon. She much preferred her doeskin clothes now, and she silently vowed never to be laced into a corset again, not on the threat of death! Her moccasins were so comfortable that she cringed at the thought of crimping her feet into hot, tight shoes. Her cropped hair was one thing neither she nor they could do anything about. Melissa had evened it up, and now it curled gently about her head like a soft, tawny cap, barely touching her nape and her ears, feathery wisps framing her face.

While her mouth actually watered for her mother’s cooking, a fork seemed as awkward now as chopsticks. She wondered how it would feel to sit on a chair and sleep on a soft bed instead of the ground. The bed would seemtoo high, she was sure — and empty without Panther next to her in the night.

Her longing for Panther was a physical ache. She longed to hold him, touch him, hear his deep, melodious voice. Her body yearned for his touch, his hard body over hers, his stroking hands arousing her passion, his dark eyes flashing with love and laughter.

Where was he now? How soon could he come for her? How long would it take for him to find her.

Tanya and Melissa had discussed what would happen to Melissa when they reached town. Melissa had never been very enthusiastic about going to California in the first place. Never having met her distant cousin, she was worried about what to expect when she arrived. Now she was doubly doubtful about their reactions to her after having spent the last two and a half years with Indians. Melissa was afraid they would look down upon her as soiled and perhaps treat her as badly as the Cheyenne had. To be a social outcast as well as a poor relation was unthinkable.

Tanya had offered her a home. The two girls had been through thick and thin together and Tanya needed Missy now as much as Melissa needed her. They would weather it out together, come what may. At Melissa’s suggestion that perhaps Tanya’s parents or her aunt and uncle, at whose home they would be staying, would object, Tanya was firm.

“They’ll accept you and like it, or else,” she promised. “I dare any of them to try to turn you out, Melissa. You’ll always have a home with me, wherever I am. That I promise you.”

Midway into their travels, they passed the spot where the wagon train had camped the day the girls had disappeared. Disregarding what the others might think, Tanya stopped her horse in her tracks, then veered Wheat down toward the river. At the exact place where they had bathed, she stopped.

Jeffrey had followed her, telling his men to wait. Melissa, obviously disturbed by bad memories of this place, stayed with the troops.

For long moments, Tanya sat staring into the water, remembering that spring afternoon when her life had changed so drastically. A smile hovered over her lips as she recalled that she had been discussing her upcoming marriage to Jeffrey, when Panther had suddenly swooped down on her and carried her off on his horse. It was almost as if Fate had stepped in to snatch her from Jeffrey’s arms and place her in Panther’s. Thank goodness it had, or she might never have experienced the one true, passionate love of her life.

Hunter shifted position in front of her on the mare, and Tanya smoothed his silky black hair. How precious he was! Tanya pointed to a spot in the river, directing the youngster’s gaze.

“That is the exact spot where I first met your father,” she told him softly. “I was bathing in the river when he rode up out of nowhere, and took me away with him on Shadow’s back. I thought him very strong and proud and handsome, and he has said I reminded him of a golden-eyed cat, like Kit.”

Hunter pointed to his own eyes, so identical to his mother’s. “Yes,” she agreed, smiling, “you have eyes like Kit, too.”

Again she gazed at the river, and a feeling so strong came over her, that she could almost sense Panther’s presence beside her, but looking about, she saw no one but Jeffrey.

With a sad sigh, she murmured to her sons, “We must pray to the spirits to guide your father to us soon.”

Seeing the sadness on her face, and misunderstand- ing it, Jeffrey said softly, “Are the memories painful, Tanya?”

Wordlessly, she nodded, not caring if he misinterpreted. The memories of Panther were indeed painful, but not as Jeffrey thought. They were poignant, piercing her heart with an acute longing for Panther and their life together.

“Try not to think about them just now. Soon you will be home, and the memories will fade. We’ll all help you if you let us.”

Retracing her horse’s steps, she contemplated Jeffrey’s words. He and her family would probably do their best to make her forget, and if Panther could not come right away, she might fall prey to their sympathy and love, and grow used to the comforts of civilization again, if she were not careful. She knew she must guard against that happening. At all costs, she must not give up hope that Panther would find them, and if he took some time in doing so, she must keep his memory alive inside herself. She must help Hunter to remember his father, and tell even little Mark about him, though he could not understand a word. In doing so, she would hold Panther close to her heart and be comforted in his absence.

THEY ARRIVED in Pueblo in the early afternoon of Christmas Day. Jeffrey dismissed his troops, and he and the women made their way directly to the Martin house. Wanting to surprise them, he had not sent word ahead.

The family was just sitting down to their Christmas dinner when the interruption came. The maid who answered the door didn’t know quite what to think of the bedraggled group standing there with Jeffrey, but she invited him in and told him she would get Mr. Martin.

It was then Kit nudged her way through the door. The poor woman’s eyes grew huge in her face, her mouth working desperately, but it was several seconds before any sound came out. When it finally did, her shrill shriek shook the rafters. She fainted dead away just as Tanya’s Uncle George entered the hallway.

George Martin took one incredulous look that encompassed them all. He barely had time to ask “What in the world is going on here?” The words were not out of his mouth before he was joined by Tanya’s father, whose reaction was much the same.

Zeroing in on Jeffrey, Edward Martin asked, “What on God’s green earth is all this about?”

Jeffrey hesitated, then blurted, “Mr. Martin, I’ve brought your daughter home for Christmas.”

By this time, the commotion had attracted the rest of the family. Sarah, Tanya’s mother, was standing just behind her husband when Jeffrey made his blunt announcement. She’d been staring dumbfounded at the cougar until his words brought her head up in surprise. Her gaze switched to the fur-wrapped woman with her hand on the cougar’s head.

A wisp of honey-colored hair peeking out of the hood, and large golden eyes were the only things to distinguish this woman from an Indian squaw. Across her sun-browned forehead was the strap that supported the bundle on her back, and she carried a raven-haired Indian child on her hip. Flanked by the big cat on one side and a smaller blond woman on the other, she stood silently, a remote, restrained figure.

“Oh, my God!” Sarah exclaimed faintly, clutching her husband’s arm as all the color drained from her face.

“Tanya?” Edward still could not quite fathom the fact that this woman was his daughter.

Tanya did not respond, and for several seconds no one said a word.

“Ahem,” Jeffrey cleared his throat. “Do you think we might continue this reunion someplace where the ladies might sit down? Tanya and Melissa have traveled a great distance in a short time so that we might arrive today, and Mrs. Martin looks about to faint.”

Tanya’s Aunt Elizabeth was the first to recover her wits. “Of course, let’s go into the parlor. George, you take their wraps, and I’ll see if I can revive Sally and get us some tea.”

Uncle George eyed Kit warily. “Uh, why don’t I let the lieutenant see to their coats. I’ll stoke up the fireplace in the parlor.” To Jeffrey he said, “Just toss their things across the banister for right now.”

The atmosphere was no less strained in the parlor. Julie, who also had yet to utter a word, sat gawking at Tanya, Kit, and the children in turn.

Tanya stood uncertainly, gazing in awe at her aunt’s lovely furnishings, unsure of whether to sit or stand. She was outwardly calm, but inside she was quivering with fear, uncertainty, and an intense desire to flee.

Treading softly, as if unwilling to shatter their long- held, fragile dream, Sarah patted the cushion next to herself on the divan. “Come, Tanya. Sit down next to me. Let me look at you.”

Tanya crossed the room, and perched uncomfortably on the edge of the cushion. Immediately, she stood again and spoke in Cheyenne to Melissa, who helped her remove the fur-wrapped cradleboard from her back.

Seated once more, she unwrapped the baby, and everyone stared in shock as she lifted the infant from his confining nest.

“Do you want me to take him?” Melissa offered. She spoke in English for the benefit of the others.

Tanya shook her head and smiled slightly for the first time. “No, he needs to eat.”

“What did she say, Melissa?” Sarah questioned. Then, as if she’d just recalled her manners, she said, “Oh! Melissa, I’m sorry. I haven’t said hello to you. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Hello, Mrs. Martin. It’s good to be back,” Melissa reponded.

“Why doesn’t she speak English and what is she doing with that — that animal?” Julie’s curiosity finally loosened her tongue.

“The cougar seems to be her pet, and she hasn’t spoken a word of English since I found her,” Jeffrey answered.

“Oh, dear!” Elizabeth murmured, setting the tea on a small table.

“She’ll speak when she’s ready,” Melissa counseled.

At this point Tanya answered the question that had been uppermost in all their minds. Loosening the drawstring of her tunic, and crooning softly to the baby, she put Mark to her breast. From beneath her lowered lashes, Tanya noted each individual reaction.

Jeffrey, now used to this, merely turned away in disgust.

Sarah’s “Oh, dear Lord!” echoed loudly in the still room. Her hands flew to her breast as if to keep her heart from leaping out. Tears flooded her eyes as she stared at the dark head nestled against her daughter’s breast.

Aunt Elizabeth nearly dropped the teapot, and it rattled precariously on its tray. Her face registered a series of rapidly changing emotions; first shock, then pity, and finally resignation.

Edward also stared, his face first pale, then mottled, and finally beet red. For a moment Tanya feared he was having a heart attack. Finally he burst out, “Damn! Damn it all! Damn those red savages all to hell!” His clenched fist pounded into the other, emphasizing each distinct word.

Tanya’s head jerked up at this, and she clutched Mark to her defensively as Hunter edged even closer to her side.

“Now, Edward, calm down,” George advised, his face solemn and concerned. “It was too much to hope for. She’s been with them for two-and-a-half years.”