She felt the awkward silence.
The lieutenant cleared his throat. “How are you?”
She paused a moment, fishing for the English words. “All right now. Last night, I was not sure what was happening. Thank you for rescuing me.”
He seemed to sigh in relief. “That’s all right. I lived with the Comanche myself for ten years and was adopted into the tribe. I know what you’ve been through.”
She winced, remembering Spider’s brutality. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“That’s right.” He nodded. “You’ve got to look forward, not behind you, now that you’re back among your own people again.”
She smelled coffee coming from Doc’s quarters and heard him bustling around, banging pans. “What—what will happen to me now?”
He walked over and looked down at her with understanding and pity in those green eyes. “I reckon the major has already sent out messengers tryin’ to locate your husband. Until he comes for you, I reckon you can just stay at the fort.”
She turned away so he couldn’t see her face. “I don’t think my husband will want me back, since, well, you know.”
He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “He’ll want you back.” His voice was soft and compassionate, a Texas drawl. “No matter what happened to you, it wasn’t your fault and he’ll understand that.”
“You don’t know Luther.” She turned around and looked up at him. She was tall, but she had to look up into his rugged, tanned face. If only she’d met a man like this one when she was desperate and running away from home.
“Then he’s a fool—a damned fool.” His face flushed and he stepped away from her. “Maybe you’ll think different when you see him. That is, if they find him. A lot of things may have happened in four years. He may have left Texas or even be dead.”
“So then what will happen to me?” She looked at him.
“I don’t know. You’re free now. You can do whatever you want.”
“But if he does come for me ...” She couldn’t keep the tension out of her voice, remembering her husband’s cruelty and his vain attempts to break her spirit.
“If you don’t want to go with him, you won’t have to. I’ll see to that.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t intend to be here if Luther showed up. She’d be gone by then, back to the Comanche camp. Being Spider’s woman was no worse than being Luther’s. Anyway, she had no choice; she had to return to the camp. “I trust your word.”
He flushed and looked awkward, a Texas man not used to dealing with women. “Let’s see if Doc has that coffee ready, and maybe later, Olivia can find you some shoes.”
“Olivia?” She couldn’t remember who that was.
“You know, the real pretty dark-haired girl who helped you last night and gave you a dress.”
“Oh, yes, her.” Hannah remembered the short-tempered girl who had tried to duck her head under water. From the lieutenant’s tone, he thought Olivia was wonderful. Of course the petite girl was beautiful and Hannah wasn’t. Men set a lot of store by beauty.
Doc came into the room just then carrying a metal coffeepot and three cups. “Here we go. You two sit down and I’ll get the food.”
“Can I help?” Hannah asked. She liked Doc.
“No, thanks. I can manage, young lady. You just sit down.”
Dutifully Hannah sat down at the table while the officer picked up the big pot and poured the steaming brew.
She took deep breaths of the bracing scent. “We didn’t get much coffee in the camp.”
“I know.” He pushed the sugar bowl toward her. “Or sugar either.”
Sugar. White sugar. She grabbed a spoon and heaped it into her cup, stirred and stirred. She picked up the cup and sipped it, closed her eyes, and smiled. “It’s the little things you really miss.”
When she opened her eyes, the officer was sipping his coffee and staring at her with compassion. “Mrs. Brownley, you’ll finally get past all this and it will be just a painful memory that will gradually fade.”
“Call me Hannah, please,” she whispered. “I don’t like being called Mrs. Brownley.”
“All right. And I am Colton Prescott. Most folks call me Colt.”
“It fits you,” she thought aloud. “Anyway, I’m much obliged that you risked your life for me.”
He blushed. “It’s my job, ma’am. Most women would have been cryin’ their eyes out, but not you.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t cried in many years, not since ... I found it does no good.” She didn’t want to think about Luther’s beatings and the loss of her little son. Life with Spider had been a nightmare of constant rape. Spider’s other wife, jealous of Hannah, never missed a chance to mistreat her or pile work on her. Yet Hannah had to get back to the Comanche camp.
Doc came in just then with a big platter of biscuits and gravy, bacon and jam, put the platter on the table. “Here you go. Even got some sand plum jam as a special treat.”
Lieutenant Prescott grinned. “Been a coon’s age since I’ve seen sand plum jam. You want some, Mrs... . Hannah?”
She swallowed hard. She had been picking sand plums the day she was carried off by the Comanche while her cowardly husband dropped the rifle and ran over old women and small children, saving his own cowardly hide. “I—I don’t think so, thank you.”
“But why?” Doc began, looking puzzled. The lieutenant seemed to see the look on her face because he shook his head at Doc.
She looked down at her plate and began to eat. “It’s good. I haven’t had a biscuit in a long time.”
Doc grinned. “You just enjoy those, ma’am.”
“I want to work,” she said to him. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Dag nab it, you’re not a burden,” Doc answered. “You’re providing a little company for an old geezer who’s mighty tired of looking at scruffy soldier boys all day.”
“Then maybe I can help around the infirmary,” she suggested.
“Now that would be good,” Doc said.
They finished eating in silence, and then the front door opened and the beautiful Olivia, in a fine blue dress, entered. “So how is our patient today?”
Both men scrambled to their feet. Hannah kept her head down while Doc said, “She seems to be fine this morning. Would you like some coffee, Miss Murphy?”
“Not if I have to drink it out of a tin cup,” Olivia laughed. “Honestly, Doc, I need to bring you some of my china.”
“Aw, the soldiers would just break it,” Doc said.
“Do sit down.” Olivia waved the men back to their chairs. Now she looked directly at Hannah. She smiled, but her eyes were not smiling. “I do hope you are enjoying my dress.”
“Yes, thank you very much. It was kind of you,” Hannah said, stroking the faded blue fabric.
The lieutenant looked at the pretty Olivia with adoration is his eyes. “Sit down, Miss Olivia.” He jumped up and hurried to get her a chair.
The major’s daughter took it like a princess sitting down on a regal throne. She smiled back at the officer, but to Hannah, the smile looked fake.
No one else seemed to notice. Instead, the lieutenant leaned toward her and said, “Miss Olivia, our rescued lady is still barefooted, except for worn-out moccasins. Maybe you have some extra shoes?”
“Of course. We don’t want her barefooted when her husband comes for her. He will be coming, won’t he?” It was almost a challenge.
Doc nodded. “I understand your father is sending out riders trying to find him.”
“Good.” Olivia purred and then she fastened all her attention on the officer. “Colton, are we still going horseback riding this afternoon?”
And now it dawned on Hannah. The lovely Olivia saw Hannah as a rival for the men’s attention.
The lieutenant smiled at Olivia, evidently charmed by her beauty. “Of course, unless the major has duties for me to take care of.”
“Oh, I think he’ll give everyone on the patrol a day off. He�
��s so pleased with the raid. I tell you what, I’ll go get Mrs. Brownley a pair of shoes and then I’ll pack a picnic for this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” Hannah said dutifully. She was beginning to dislike the major’s beautiful daughter.
However, the lieutenant smiled at Olivia as if she were the only girl in the world. “That sounds wonderful, but we can’t get too far from the fort.”
“Goodness gracious, I’m not afraid when I have a big, strong man like you protecting me.” Olivia stood up suddenly and both men knocked their chairs over standing up.
Such was the power of great beauty, Hannah thought.
Olivia gave both men a dazzling smile, turned in a swirl of blue skirts and petticoats, and went out the door.
The lieutenant looked after her with a sigh. “Isn’t she the sweetest thing and the most beautiful girl in all Texas?”
Not plain like me, Hannah thought, but she didn’t say anything except, “You seem to be quite taken with her, Lieutenant Prescott.”
“From the first time I met her.” He smiled. “She’s so pretty, she takes my breath away. Reckon I’d better be seein’ to my men.” He stood up. “Thanks for the breakfast, Doc, and I’m glad you’re fine this mornin’, Miss Hannah.”
He turned and went out the door.
Doc said, “Did I detect some tension between you and the major’s daughter?”
“Not at all.” Doc was too quick-witted, she thought, and noticed too much. “I am properly grateful for the clothes.”
“I notice the dress she brought you was very faded, almost ragged,” Doc said, “and she owns so many beautiful gowns.”
Hannah didn’t say anything. Doc could be a good friend, but she didn’t intend to be here past tonight. When it turned dark, Hannah intended to steal a horse and escape the fort.
She got up and began to clear the table. “I’ll wash up, Doc. I imagine you’ll have patients coming in this morning.”
“Oh yeah. Malingerers claiming bellyaches or something so they won’t have to clean stables or sweep the parade grounds.”
“You don’t seem like regular army,” Hannah said.
“Does it show?” Doc paused, looking thoughtful. “I was a very successful doctor in Connecticut and then my wife died.” He gazed out the window as if remembering. “Then all I thought of was our only child, but Mark was killed in the Mexican War. For a while, I did nothing but drink.”
“And then?” Hannah asked softly.
Doc shrugged. “Soldiers needed doctors, and because of Mark, I enlisted. It gave me a new reason to live.”
She paused. “A son gives anyone a reason to live.”
Just then Olivia popped back in the door, carrying a pair of shoes. “Here, Mrs. Brownley. I was planning on giving these to my maid, but you need my charity so much more.”
“Thank you. You are so kind.” Hannah forced a smile as she took the shoes. They looked worn-out.
Olivia nodded and smiled. “You poor thing, I’m just doing my Christian duty.” And she turned with a whirl of expensive lace petticoats and went out the door.
Hannah sat down on a chair and tried on the old shoes. Olivia might be a petite beauty, but she had big feet. The shoes were way too big for Hannah. “Doc, have you got some rolls of bandage?”
“Sure.” He walked to a cabinet and took out some, handed them to her.
She took off the shoes and stuffed the toes so the shoes would fit her, then put them back on. “Thanks, Doc. Now I’ll clean up the dishes and you can get to work yourself.”
He paused and grinned at her. “You know, Hannah, I really like you. You’re genuine and honest, rare things in a woman. Too bad some younger men are blinded by window dressing.”
“You mean Lieutenant Prescott?”
He winked. “You understand perfectly.”
She began to clean the table, feeling guilty because she was fooling this nice old man. He’d be shocked and disappointed when he woke up in the morning and she was gone.
Olivia walked into to her father’s office. “Hello, Daddy.”
“My darling.” He stood up and kissed her forehead. “What can I do for you today? I hope you’re not going to complain about how dull this post is again.”
She sniffed the whiskey scent and frowned. “So early?”
“You sound just like your mother,” he snapped, reaching for his pipe.
It didn’t do any good to lecture Daddy about his drinking, although she thought it was getting worse. She sat down in a chair. “I’ve been over to see our poor girl rescued from the Indians and take her some shoes.”
“That’s my good girl.” He beamed at his only child. “You’re the sweetest, most thoughtful girl ever.”
She smiled her most winsome smile. “I was only doing what any other kind, civilized woman would do. You have sent for her husband, haven’t you? I’m sure she’s really eager to get off this post and back to her family.”
“Of course. I’ve sent telegraphs all over Texas, and if he’s alive and still in the state, we’ll find him.” He poured himself a drink.
“Oh, Daddy, must you? You drink too much.”
“I do not. This is my first little toddy of the morning.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Now, have you been counting like your mother used to?” He sounded defensive and angry.
She decided to drop the subject. The tension between her parents had grown worse over the years, which was why they kept so many miles between them. “Wasn’t that an exciting raid? The men are saying Lieutenant Prescott was so heroic. They think he deserves a promotion.”
The major chuckled and reached for his pipe. “I’m way ahead of you, Olivia. I’m going to give him a battlefield promotion, making him a first lieutenant. He’s waited a long time.”
“And then he’s bound to become a captain, isn’t he?”
“Eventually. You kind of like that Texan, don’t you?” The major paused in filling his pipe.
“Oh, Daddy, he’s so tall and handsome. I just almost swoon every time I see him.”
“Now, Olivia, you should remember, he’s not like the boys you’re used to.”
“I know. All those in Philadelphia were just boys. Colton is a man.”
“You call him Colton?”
She felt herself blush. “Oh, Daddy, you may as well know, I’ve set my cap for him. I know he’s a little rough around the edges, just like you were when you met Mother, but he can be tamed.”
The major lit his pipe and frowned. “You don’t want to make the same mistake your mother did.”
“Goodness gracious, you don’t seem so Irish as Mother says.”
“She certainly didn’t want to live on some dusty army post. It hasn’t been much of a marriage, Olivia.”
“Oh, but this is going to be different.” Olivia leaned toward him with an eager smile. “I’ll turn Colton into a gentleman, correct his grammar and his manners.”
“Like your mother tried to do to me?” The major snorted. “You need to accept a man for what he is, my dear, not try to turn him into a silk purse from a sow’s ear.”
Olivia didn’t want to hear that; she was already making plans. “Then we’ll move back to Philadelphia and Mother can give him a job in her family’s company.”
“Colt Prescott doesn’t strike me as the type to sit in an office back East.” The major puffed his pipe.
“Well, if he insists on staying in the army, you and Mama can use your influence to get him promoted. I think ‘Colonel’ would be nice. We could be posted to Washington, D.C., where there’s lots of social life and fancy balls.”
The major smoked and shook his head. “His enlistment is up in June, Olivia, and I guess he’ll stay in the army, but he’s not the kind of man who can be led around by the nose by a woman. He’s a Texan and they have a tendency to be stubborn and independent.”
“Oh, just watch me!” Olivia said smugly. “Lieutenant Prescott is mad for me. He’ll do anything I want him
to do, like a trained lapdog.”
“By Saint Mary’s blood, I think you underestimate the Texan.” The major leaned back in his chair and smoked his pipe.
“Daddy, don’t sound so—so Irish.” She frowned.
“In the first place, you don’t know how Texans feel about the Lone Star State. They say they’ve got the Texas red dirt flowing in their veins and they won’t leave her.”
“I think he likes me better than he likes Texas,” Olivia said.
“My suggestion for you is Captain Van Smyth. He’s got the same kind of background you have, educated and cultured, and I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
“Howard?” She made a dismissing motion. “He’s amusing, but so prissy and civilized. Why, have you noticed that pitiful little mustache and the extra padding in the shoulders of that tailored uniform? Colton certainly doesn’t need any padding.”
“I’m sure he’s all man,” the major agreed.
“I’ve decided I want him, Daddy, so don’t be surprised if we’re engaged in a few weeks and planning the biggest wedding Philadelphia ever saw.”
“Well, I wouldn’t object to the lieutenant as a son-in-law. He’s a man’s man. But I don’t think you can bring him to heel like some placid dog.”
Olivia stood up. “Just watch me. Oh, Daddy, is it all right if Lieutenant Prescott takes me riding and on a picnic this afternoon?”
“Of course. If it were any other man, I’d say no, fearing for your safety, but the lieutenant is not only an honorable man, he can deal with any emergency from Indians to rattlesnakes. Have a good time.”
“We will.” She leaned over and kissed her father’s gray head. “You’re such an old dear.”
“And you wrap me around your finger just like you do every other man. You’re so pretty, no one can refuse you.”
She winked at him. “I know.” And then she walked to the door, turned. “Oh, don’t forget there’s a dance tonight for the officers.”
“How could I? And of course, you’ll be the belle of the ball.”
“I intend to, and you stop drinking so much.” She closed the door behind her, feeling cocky and special as she went to her quarters, thinking about what gown she would wear to the dance.
Colt Page 5
