“White Cloud needs this outing today as much as I do,” Marsha said. “The last time I rode her was a day I’d rather not remember.”
“You are having trouble getting that day from your mind,” Swift Horse said, gazing over at the faint scar on her cheek where the fire had burned her, so glad that it was all but gone.
“Yes, but I will get past it,” Marsha said, her voice breaking. She smiled softly over at him. “I am doing much better now.”
“I can see in your eyes and your smile that you are,” Swift Horse said. “Come. I will show you a place that will help lift more of the burden from your heart. When you are there, all bad is erased, and only good is left to marvel at.”
“What I have seen of your land so far is beautiful,” Marsha said, making a sharp turn left, following Swift Horse’s lead.
“Our Creek country is noble and fruitful,” Swift Horse said, looking straight ahead as they rode slowly and carefully through the forest, weaving around this tree and that.
“All Creek belong to a totemic clan. My own people’s clan is the Wind, so named because a great fog had once shrouded this area and my ancestors were the first to emerge into the clear wind. Ours is one of the most powerful clans associated with a natural phenomenon—which is the wind. A clan is the cornerstone of Creek justice.”
“Your sister’s name has a part of your clan’s name in it,” Marsha said, drawing his eyes momentarily to hers once again.
“It was because she was born into a powerful family of chiefs,” Swift Horse said, smiling proudly at Marsha. “She, in truth, is a Creek princess, but because she does not wish to appear to any of our people as more special than they, she does not allow me or anyone to refer to her as princess.”
“I am discovering more and more just how special she is,” Marsha murmured. “Does my brother know her status as princess?”
“I told him, but I also told him never to call her that, for she would be disappointed in me for having told your brother,” Swift Horse said. “But since he is going to be her husband, I feel he should know everything about her. It is best never to have secrets when one becomes husband and wife.”
“Then will she finally tell him herself ?” Marsha asked, her eyes questioning him.
“In her own time, yes, she will tell him,” Swift Horse said, nodding.
Suddenly Marsha was aware of a rushing sound that was unfamiliar to her. She gave Swift Horse a questioning look, which he understood.
“We are almost there,” he said, smiling.
“We are almost where?” she asked, even more aware of the rushing sound, which now sounded like splashing water to her, yet much more deafening than any she had ever heard before.
They rode free of the forest and Marsha saw a place that she would describe as nothing less than a paradise. It was a waterfall, with lovely flowers growing on each side, and a rainbow amidst the splash of the water.
“Come and let us sit and talk,” Swift Horse said, taking her reins. He swung himself from his horse and helped Marsha from her saddle. He tied the reins together on a low tree limb, and they both sat down on a boulder and watched the waterfall rushing downward to where it finally splashed into the river far below.
“I find the falls to be medicinal, sacred waters,” Swift Horse said, his eyes watching the rush of the water downward. “When I am here I feel my own spirit strengthened and I also feel the spirits of my ancestors who have come here before me, to meditate and pray.”
He gazed over at her and took one of her hands in his. “I wanted to share this special place with you,” he said. “Although the wound on your face caused by the fire is all but healed, it is your soul that I feel needs to be comforted. I want to help erase that terrible day from inside your heart and mind, as best it can be erased. I know that your parents’ death will always haunt you. I would like you to find acceptance and peace.”
“I feel so many things while I am sitting here with you,” Marsha murmured. “I do feel peace inside my heart, and I feel as though I might be able to finally accept my parents’ deaths. Yet there is something inside me that will never go away until . . . that . . . man . . .”
He purposely interrupted her, in order to cut short her thoughts on the evil man while they were there together in such a special place. “He, too, will one day be only a bad memory,” he reassured. “It will fade until you will no longer be burdened with the memory of what he did.”
“I shall never forget his face,” Marsha said, visibly shuddering.
“That, too, will fade,” Swift Horse reassured. “And when he is captured and made to pay for the crime, your heart will no longer ache for vengeance. It will finally be achieved.”
She so badly wanted to tell him that until she convinced everyone that the killer was the man whom Swift Horse called his best friend, she would never be able to rest.
“Please tell me more about your people,” she pleaded because she did not want to think of the one-eyed man any more today. This was a special, private time with Swift Horse, the man she now knew that she would adore and love forever.
“Sitting here, where I feel spirits all around us, it will be my pleasure to teach you about my people,” Swift Horse said, slowly looking around him at the autumn leaves, at the flowers, and at the filmy foam of water as it cascaded down from above, to the river below.
“Esaugeta Emissee, the Master of Breath, is a kind spirit who watches over my Creek people,” Swift Horse explained, gazing over at Marsha and seeing her interest by how she leaned forward, listening. “We believe in spirits and magic, and hold the rattlesnake and the wolf in high esteem.”
“Magic?” Marsha said, her eyes widening. “What kind of magic?”
As they sat there so attentive to each other, they were unaware of another presence. One Eye lurked close by behind bushes, watching and plotting. He had to stop this thing between Swift Horse and the white woman soon. He had a plan, but he had to make certain that Swift Horse could never discover that it was his best friend who had killed the woman. One Eye treasured the friendship and loyalty between him and Swift Horse too much to chance losing it.
He crawled away from his hiding place and then ran stealthily beneath the trees until he reached where he had left his steed. He led his horse away on foot, making certain it walked on a thick cushion of leaves so that his presence would not be detected.
Chapter 17
Nymph of the downward smile, and sidelong glance,
In what diviner moments of the day
Art thou most lovely ?
—John Keats
Swift Horse continued to teach Marsha about his people, encouraged by her occasional soft gasps of wonder.
“My people often use charms to bring good fortune and we fear bad omens,” he said, shivering when he thought he heard a movement behind him, then relaxing again. “We tell stories of mythical creatures like the Tie snake. These are ordinary looking snakes that hold great power. They live beneath the surface of creeks and rivers, where they have built whole cities. Occasionally they capture my people and pull them beneath the water, sometimes to drown them, sometimes to welcome them to their underwater dwellings, where the visitor is given special gifts.”
“They actually capture . . .” Marsha gasped, her color paling.
Swift Horse placed a comforting arm around her waist and drew her close to him. “Do not fret over such things,” he reassured. “Although it is said these things are true, in most of my people’s minds and hearts they know that the tales are mythical.”
“Then I don’t have to worry about tie snakes?” Marsha asked, swallowing hard.
“I was wrong to tell you such things,” he said, seeing that he had truly put fear into her heart when what he wanted was to make her forget the other things that were ugly. In a way, it did seem that he had succeeded, at least for the moment.
“Even with fear in your eyes you are beautiful,” he said, his voice drawn. “But you are more beautiful when it is not there
.” He bent low and softly kissed her lips. “Let me kiss the fear away.”
Marsha found it hard to concentrate at all, as he swept her closer to him and kissed her with more intensity, the passion strong between them. Then, breathless from these new feelings that were overwhelming her, Marsha moved her lips from his.
“I feel so many things,” she murmured, gazing into his eyes. “But nothing akin to fear.” She searched his eyes and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. “Swift Horse, how can someone love as quickly as I have fallen in love with you?”
“How can I answer that when I feel the same for you and as quickly?” he said huskily.
“But you are a powerful, noble, and knowledgeable man,” Marsha said softly. “I see you as a man who knows everything.”
“This thing called love is new to me, for as I have told you, I have never loved a woman before,” Swift Horse said, framing her face between his hands and bringing her lips ever so close, yet not close enough to kiss. “But soon I will know everything there is to know about this thing called love, for each moment that I am with you, you teach me more about it.”
“As you are teaching me,” Marsha said, the breath catching in her throat when he brought his lips down onto hers again, then moved them as quickly away.
He could hardly control his heartbeats, nor his passion, and knew that it was time to return her home, or they might be drawn far past just kisses, and he respected her too much to go that way, just yet.
“Your brother will be concerned if we remain gone for much longer,” he said thickly. “I will return you home now. He can see that I am an honorable man in doing so.”
“You are honorable in all that you do, but yes, I believe we should leave, too, for my heart is pounding so hard, if it gets much harder, I will not be able to think, much less ride White Cloud,” Marsha said, seeing the danger in their staying alone like this for much longer. She had strange new feelings within her, chief among them a hunger she had never known before.
“I will take you home to your bread-making,” Swift Horse said, chuckling as he helped her up from the rock.
He could not help himself, though. He needed her in his arms at least one more moment, to sustain him until they were together again.
But this time he did not kiss her. He just gazed adoringly onto her face and into her eyes, which were the color of wild violets in the spring.
“You are more beautiful than any flower, butterfly, or sunset that I have ever known before in my life,” he said huskily. “I shall always love you. Always.”
“As I shall you,” she murmured, then walked hand-in-hand with him to their horses.
When they were riding toward home, there was more peace within Marsha than she had felt since before leaving Kentucky. This man did have a way of righting wrongs within her heart. She knew that she had found the man she was destined to meet and marry.
Marsha caught him watching her as she glanced over at him.
“I do love you,” Swift Horse said.
“I have surely loved you forever, even before I knew you,” Marsha said softly. “I do love you, Swift Horse.”
“The day your parents chose to move to my land, surely I knew it already inside my heart that we would meet and fall in love,” Swift Horse said. “I do remember not so long ago, when the sun was still high and hot during the summer months, and a vision came to me. In it were eyes such as yours, and a smile. That vision was you, my woman. You.”
She was stunned that he had seen this in a vision, long before they knew each other existed. That was proof that it was meant to be—that fate had drawn them together!
Chapter 18
Shadow of annoyance
Never came near thee:
Thou lovest, but ne’er knew love’s sad satiety.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
“Are you all right?” Edward James asked as he slipped a fringed buckskin jacket on. “Sis, you’ve seemed flushed since your ride with Swift Horse. Do you have a fever?”
Marsha placed the last of the dishes in the cupboard, untied her apron and hung it on a peg on the wall, then gave her brother a big, warm hug.
“I’m fine,” she murmured. “It was just the sun. And you know how warm the weather can get during the days of Indian summer. That’s all, big brother. I just got a bit too much sun.”
She pressed her cheek against his chest, but her mind was on another man who had embraced her today—who had kissed her and declared such love for her.
She smiled a secret smile—for, in truth, it was not the sun or the warmth of the day at all that had brought such color to her cheeks.
It was Swift Horse.
For the first time since that terrible day of the ambush she was excited about something and had a renewel of hope that her life could be good and happy again.
“But you enjoyed the outing, didn’t you?” Edward James asked, gently taking her by the shoulders and easing her away from him so that they could look into each other’s eyes—his blue, hers violet, one color for each of their parents.
“You know that I did,” Marsha said, laughing softly when she saw her brother’s expression change from questioning to knowing. She eased from his arms and went to stand before a mirror that was on the wall above the washbasin.
“I had hoped for this day,” Edward James said, reaching and running a hand lovingly through her thick golden tresses. “When I would see that laughter in your eyes again. Tonight I see even more than that. You are in love. The same as I, your heart has been stolen by an Indian.”
She lifted the hem of her skirt with her hands and spun around, giggling.
“My Lord, big brother, I am in love,” she said, now stopping and smiling into his eyes. “I had begun to wonder if I was going to be a spinster, for until now I have never felt anything akin to love for any man. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling, Edward James, to truly be in love?”
Edward James threw his head back in a fit of laughter, for it was good to see his sister this happy, whereas even only a few days ago, he had never thought he would experience seeing her this way again. When she was happy, he was—twofold!
“Yes, it’s a wonderful feeling,” Edward James said, reaching for her hands and taking them in his. “I’m so happy for you.”
“As I am for you,” Marsha murmured. She lowered her eyes for a moment, then looked up at him again. “I’m going to marry Swift Horse, Edward James. He . . . he . . . asked me today.”
Edward James’s eyes widened. “Actually?” he asked.
“Yes, actually,” Marsha said, then led him from the kitchen to the living room. “You’d best grab up those flowers, big brother,” Marsha said, indicating the bouquet on the table. “You have a lovely maiden anxiously awaiting your arrival.”
“Will you be seeing Swift Horse tonight?” Edward James asked, stepping away from her and grabbing the flowers.
“No,” she murmured. “He spent the full day with me, so tonight he plans to meet with some of his warriors in council.”
“Do you know the reason for this council?” Edward James asked, forking an eyebrow. “He never mentioned anything about it to me.”
“It might have to do with our most ardent enemy,” Marsha said, this time somewhat solemnly.
“Who is . . . ?” Edward James said, searching her eyes.
“You know without me having to say it,” Marsha said tightly. “Lord, Edward James. Who is our enemy? The man with the one eye who is none other than One Eye, Swift Horse’s best friend.”
Edward James sighed heavily. “Please forget that notion, sis,” he said tightly. “One Eye is not the man who did that terrible deed to our parents. It is another man with one eye. Please believe this. I know One Eye well. He is a gentle, caring man who lives for peace, not for murdering innocent people.”
“How can I get anyone to believe me?” Marsha suddenly cried, throwing her hands in the air with frustration. She turned to Edward James. “One day you will all see how right I am,” she murm
ured as she stepped up to him. “If I have to go and find him myself, I shall.”
Edward James gave her a woebegone look, sighed, then gazed at the door that led out to the back of the cabin, which was not that far from the dark forest.
He turned and gave Marsha a wavering look. “Sis, double lock that door while I’m gone,” he said. “I’m going out the front way, through the store.”
“And so even you are worried about One Eye, and won’t admit it,” Marsha said, walking him to the door that led into the store. “Or else why are you concerned about locks on the door?”
“There are more evil men out there besides the man with the one eye,” Edward James said glumly. “There is Cowkeeper, or do you forget his interest in you? I imagine he has had a hard time getting you off his mind, and he just might think he does own you and will come for you.”
He gazed at the door, and then Marsha, “Just be sure not to let anyone in unless they identify themselves as someone you know,” he said, opening the door to the store. “I shan’t be long, sis. I don’t want to tire Soft Wind too much. I’m anxious for her to get her strength back so that we can exchange our vows.”
“Me too,” Marsha said, going to him and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. “Tell Soft Wind that I’m thinking about her. I plan to take my crochet work tomorrow and show her how the stitches are done.”
“That’s good, sis,” Edward James said, smiling broadly. He went into the store as Marsha closed the door behind him.
She gazed at the lock on that door, then shrugged and left it undone, for she knew that no one ever entered the store without her brother being there. Sighing, Marsha went and sat down in a rocking chair before a softly burning fire in the fireplace. She lifted the crochet thread and placed it on her lap, then plucked the hook up and began crocheting, which she planned to do until she went to bed.
Her thoughts turned to Swift Horse and just what he might be planning in council. Hopefully it did all have to do with the one-eyed man. She expected him and his warriors to go on a search party for him, and when they discovered that there was only one evil one-eyed man in the area, they would give in and know that it was Swift Horse’s pretend friend, One Eye.
Swift Horse Page 10
