Although having his hands tied was not comfortable, Ronan was relieved to be lying flat after so many hours of riding. He looked at Elise lying in the robe near him. She also looked relieved and exhausted. At least they would have a short break from the constant strain of sitting upright on the horses’ backs. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
***
The days and nights of riding and sleeping seemed to blur together. Ronan tried to keep track of time and to encourage Elise. He knew she was afraid. He could see it in her eyes. It was clear that if the Indians had wanted to kill them, they would have already done so. They were being fed and cared for, and even though they weren’t given a lot of freedom regarding movement, Ronan was certain they’d been taken for a reason. Ronan knew a little about the stars, and every night, he kept an eye out, tracking their movement. They were heading northeast. He felt frustrated knowing that they were backtracking and losing all the progress they had originally made.
Ronan looked up to see that the Indians were stopping. They were slowing down beside another stream to let the horses have a drink of water. Ronan nearly sighed with relief when he and Elise were also let down from the mounts so that they could stretch their legs.
Ronan was tired of the strenuous riding and could tell that it was hard for Elise. She didn’t say much, even though she would occasionally look over at him and give a small smile.
Ronan crossed over to her, risking a conversation. Every time he spoke with Elise, the Indian chief broke off their conversation.
“How many days have we been traveling?” Elise asked.
“I think around three. I’m not sure. I can’t imagine it will be much longer. Wherever they are taking us, we will be there soon.”
Elise nodded, but she didn’t look very hopeful.
“I am so tired of riding like this. The horses don’t even have saddles.”
Ronan wished he could comfort her in some other way, but his hands were still tied behind his back. His wrists were getting more and more damaged from the constant restraints. “I know. Don’t worry; we will figure out what to do soon.”
Ronan looked up to find the chief watching them, his glare hard as stone.
“Stay strong, Elise,” Ronan whispered before turning back and walking to where he had been before.
He certainly hoped they would arrive at their destination soon; otherwise, he wasn’t sure how much longer he or Elise would be able to take it.
***
Ronan peered through the thick woods. The Indians had finally slowed their pace and seemed to be more attentive, searching around them and speaking in low sounds to one another. Ronan had a feeling they were getting close to wherever their destination was.
He wasn’t sure how to feel about arriving. Either their destination could bring answers or more dangers. He could see his fears reflected in Elise’s eyes. He knew that she was thinking the same as him.
Her exhaustion was showing. She had dark circles under her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped, and pain twisted her face when they put the ropes back on her wrists.
Ronan knew from his own experience with his binds that she was struggling with being tied up and riding for so long. The Indians did not seem to be affected by their journeys through the night. They were sitting as rigid as ever with faces of stone that showed no emotion. The older one who seemed to be in charge and was constantly telling them to stop talking motioned to the others, and they broke through a wall of thicker trees.
On the other side was a clearing of sorts. It was filled with teepees and campfires. There weren’t nearly as many as Ronan had expected there to be. In fact, if he had to guess, it was a smaller tribe, maybe twenty or thirty people. He wondered what they wanted with him and Elise.
There weren’t very many women and children. It seemed that most of the people in the tribe were men.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as Elise and Ronan rode through with their captors. Ronan met their gazes, taking in every detail about the camp that he could.
He needed every bit of information that he could use later to their advantage if they got a chance to escape.
They arrived at a large teepee toward the end of the camp. The man in charge motioned to the others to stop. The Indians stopped the horses and then came around and pulled him and Elise down. The Indian who had pulled Elise down from her horse took a step back, and Elise fell to the ground. It was clear that her legs were weak from the long ride.
Ronan jumped toward her, intent on helping, but the Indian watching him shoved him back while the Indian nearest Elise roughly pulled her to her feet and grunted something at her.
The two of them were led into the teepee. Ronan was very uninterested in his surroundings now and focused on the man in charge. Was this the chief? Did he have a say in what happened to him and Elise when they did whatever the Indians wanted? He also seemed to be the only Indian who could speak the English language at all. He wondered if stop talking was the extent of his English.
Both he and Elise were untied, and to Ronan’s surprise, they were free, just standing there in the teepee. He watched as Elise rubbed her wrists, looking chagrined at the fact that she had come to this point.
“You help us, we let you go. There is boy in village. He sick with fever. Medicine man, he not come for another moon.” The older Indian pointed up as if signaling to where the moon would be outside at night.
“I can try, but I can’t guarantee that he will be all right. I am not a doctor,” Elise spoke up. Her voice was steady, and she sounded sure of herself.
It surprised Ronan to hear her so in control of the situation. He’d expected her to be more frightened.
“You heal boy; you go free.” The chief rose his hand, and two Indians quickly grabbed his arms. Ronan did not bother to fight back. Even if he did manage to overpower the two, there were more than a dozen outside this tent that would stop him in no time.
“Where are you taking him?” Elise sounded slightly panicked this time.
“If you want friend safe, you heal boy.” The older Indian smiled as if it were a brilliant plan. “We know white woman heal. White people know healing.”
Elise shook her head. “You can’t take him. We need to stay together.”
“Don’t worry, Elise. I’ll find you. Just do what you can. Do what they say,” Ronan called to Elise as they dragged him out of the longhouse. He hated leaving her alone as much as she hated to see him go. He didn’t want to leave her unprotected and to deal with the Indians alone. But he was in no position to fight back or protest.
He let the two Indians lead him away without a fight. He knew that him fighting could reflect badly on Elise, and he wanted to do nothing else that would put her in danger. Besides, if he was cooperative, they might not treat him as harshly as they might if he gave them trouble.
They dragged him through the trail of the tiny village to a smaller teepee that wasn’t too far from the first. They led him inside and then sat him down by one of the posts in the center. They tied his wrists behind him to the post and tied his feet together to a stake in the floor. It looked like this teepee had been used for a captive before.
One of them gave him a sneer as the two left. Ronan tested the ropes. They were so secure he was surprised he could feel his hands at all. There were very few chances of him cutting through the ropes to escape. Even if he could cut through the ropes, finding Elise and the two of them getting out before they were stopped by the many Indian warriors was more than unlikely. The best choice of action right now was to wait and see if Elise could do what they wanted.
He wasn’t sure how ill this boy was who needed help. He wished that the Indians had simply asked for their help. Knowing Elise, she probably would have agreed. She seemed good-hearted and kind, so much like her father.
He remembered so many times when Mr. Herrin had helped others, even when it was dangerous or inconvenient for him. He himself was proof enough of that. It seemed that Elise had taken aft
er her father in more ways than just her looks.
To Ronan’s surprise, one of the young Indians came back shortly after with some sort of corn porridge and some water. He set it down in front of Ronan and untied his hands, keeping a short distance away as he watched Ronan eat.
Ronan glanced toward the Indian every few minutes, wary of his intentions. He didn’t want to disturb anything that was going on. Even though the food looked like something terrible he would never eat at first, he actually was grateful for it after he tasted it. He was starving and would have probably eaten anything at that point.
When he was finished with both the food and the water, the pain in his stomach had at least subsided.
He let the Indian tie him back up and then watched him retreat. Ronan wondered if Elise had eaten anything. He wondered if she was somewhere safe or if she had already seen the boy who needed help.
Once he had calmed himself down and managed to assess the area, he let himself think about their options. The chief, or at least the man acting like a chief, had said they would be free to go if Elise healed the boy. If she managed to do that, it would be a risky move to trust the Indians.
In most cases, Indians were honorable; they honored their word and their deals. But then again, there were many stories of betrayal and deceit. They couldn’t just sit back and wait for the Indians to liberate them. For now, he would cooperate and gain their trust. He would show that he trusted them and their word.
But if they went back on any part of it, or it started to seem as if they wouldn’t honor it, he wanted to have a second plan. A plan of escape that could get them out of the Indian camp safely and quickly.
After a while, Ronan leaned his head back against the beam he was tied to. He let his eyes close, and his body relax. He wasn’t exactly in the most comfortable position, but he could make it work to rest. He was exhausted. He had been up a good portion of the night they had spent with the wagon train, and he hadn’t rested well any of the time while the Indians had brought them to their village.
He didn’t like letting his guard down and sleeping, but even he couldn’t go forever without resting. He knew that he needed to be strong, and he needed his mental strength. His brain was becoming fuzzy, and he wasn’t able to focus on the details that he needed to. He slowly let the darkness carry him away to sleep, hoping that there would be some news or development that would make this day a bit better when he awoke.
Chapter 17
Elise pushed her empty plate and cup back, looking up at the man in charge warily. She didn’t trust these Indians. She hadn’t wanted to eat their food, but she was certain that if she didn’t, her stomach would start to turn on itself and devour her.
The food wasn’t the worst she had ever tasted, especially considering how badly she cooked, but it wasn’t the best either. It stilled her hunger, and that was the important thing.
“Where is the boy?” Elise asked when she was done. She stood and waited for them to take her to this boy that was ill. If she was going to assess the situation and find out if she could do anything about it, she needed to do it now.
They led her out of the teepee and down in between the other teepees to the outskirts of the village. The women and children in the village stopped to watch her pass with what seemed like amazement and curiosity.
One girl, in particular, caught Elise’s eye. She was young, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had ducked behind a teepee, peeping out around the corner, watching Elise pass with large curious brown eyes.
Elise offered the girl a smile, and while she didn’t turn away or run away like all the other children seemed to be doing, she also didn’t return the smile.
Elise kept following the Indian in front of her. She kept her eyes open, scanning the area, looking for any sign of Ronan. She wanted to be near him, but apparently, she was supposed to do this alone.
The Indian stopped at a small teepee under a tree. As soon as Elise stepped inside, she felt the heat rushing at her. It was warm in the teepee, too warm for someone with a fever. The boy was lying nearby on a bed of buffalo skins. He was covered well. His brow was hot to the touch and slightly damp with sweat.
“He’s too hot,” Elise spoke to the women, but none of them seemed to know what she was saying. To her relief, the older Indian who spoke some English stepped inside the teepee behind her.
“You help him?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It is too hot in here. We need to cool it down.”
The older Indian nodded. He turned to the women and said a few words in their language. To Elise’s surprise, they rushed around, doing whatever it was that he had asked of them.
“I also need some cool water,” Elise said. She didn’t like the fact that the women didn’t understand her, but she didn’t see as she had much choice but to speak with the older Indian so he could translate.
The Indian in charge quickly translated her words. Before she knew it, she was provided with everything she needed. She did her best to brush off the feeling of nervousness when all the Indian women stared over her shoulder. She could tell by some of their judgmental looks and occasional shaking of their heads that they didn’t really approve of what she was doing.
But making this boy better right now would be the only thing that could get her and Ronan out of this predicament. Maybe Ronan would think of a way for them to escape, but just in case he couldn’t, she needed to do her best to get the Indians to let them go on peaceable terms.
The boy was still hot, but Elise gradually lowered his temperature by stripping his coverings one by one until he was lying on the makeshift bed in his simple tunic. She wasn’t sure what the clothing was made from, but it was beautifully made. For the first time, she wondered who this boy was to be so important. Maybe he was from an important family within the tribe.
When she had gotten his coverings off, she dipped a cloth in cool water and laid it against his forehead. She showed one of the younger Indian women how to change the cloth when it got warm.
When she was done, she stepped out of the teepee. She was surprised that the women let her. The older Indian was waiting for her.
“Good. Boy get better now?”
“I don’t know. He is still feverish. I am not a doctor. Fever can take some time to go away. Do your people know how to cure simple things?” Elise had always been under the impression that Indians were skilled with medicine.
“Yes. We cure many things. But heat or fever as you say, it is difficult.” The older man’s brows furrowed, and for the first time, Elise saw him for what he was. He was just an older man who was tired and worried about the boy in the teepee. He wasn’t her enemy or a terrible person. He was trying to save someone he cared about. He wasn’t going about it the right way, but everyone made mistakes.
Elise offered a shaky smile. “We will see how he improves tonight. Can I see Ronan, my friend?” Elise wasn’t sure how much the man understood or didn’t understand, but he nodded, motioning to a teepee.
“He sleeps.”
Elise followed him. At first, she wondered if he was really taking her to Ronan. She felt relief wash over her when she stepped into the teepee and saw Ronan there in the middle, tied to one of the supporting beams to the building.
To her joy, the Indian did not follow her in. Elise rushed across the space between her and Ronan and knelt in front of him. He appeared to have been sleeping, but as soon as Elise approached, he lifted his head, and a smile curled his lips.
“Elise, thank goodness you are all right. I dozed off.”
“I see that. How are you? Did they treat you all right? I was so worried.” Elise realized at that moment just how worried she had been. Her hands still felt shaky, and her head was practically spinning.
A Long Way to Love: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 12
