She reached up her hand and lowered his face to meet hers. As they kissed softly, she whispered, “Gizahgin, Joseph.”
Chapter Forty-One
The next day, Ginger and Basil went to the train station to meet Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Eleanor Gray. As Charlotte alighted from the train, she grabbed both of her children in a bear hug and began to wail.
“You have no idea the torment we went through until we got your telegram. I thought for certain my husband and two of my dear children had met the Grim Reaper, in an icy cold, watery grave. And Eleanor was certain Charles was a dead man.”
She pulled a linen handkerchief from her lacy reticule, which hung from her wrist on a drawstring, and began dabbing her eyes.
Ginger grinned at her mother. “Such melodrama, Mother. Although far too many people did lose their lives in an icy, watery grave, and we could easily have been among those less fortunate. Mr. Gray got the worst of it, but he’s mending nicely now. Come, I’ll take you to see Papa and Mr. Gray.” She hugged both Mrs. Gray and her mother.
The two ladies smoothed their modest silk traveling dresses and positioned their bonnets on their curls. Despite the fact they had been traveling for days on the train, they looked like the high society ladies they indeed were in their fashionable dresses of navy and brown. They pulled their matching velvet mantillas around their shoulders to ward off the late November chill and hurried away from the wooden station platform to the luxurious hotel across the street. Basil stayed behind to collect their bags.
Ginger showed Eleanor to her husband’s room. Charles was finally able to reduce the amount of pain medicine he was taking, and he remained lucid for longer amounts of time, so Ginger was almost certain Mrs. Gray would find him awake. Charlotte and Ginger continued on to the next room, and George.
Charlotte again burst into tears when she glimpsed her husband with his arm in a sling. George smiled, wrapped his good arm around her, and then kissed her.
“There, there. It’s all right now. Everything’s all right, now that you’re here.”
“But you must have been in such pain. It hurts me just to look at your arm now. I can’t imagine.”
“Well, thanks to Ginger, I received excellent emergency treatment on site. I was her first patient.”
Charlotte’s head swiveled from George to Ginger. “Whatever are you talking about? Ginger has no medical training.”
“It may have gone unnoticed by you, Mother, in all the flurry of the season, but I met Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell in the spring. Remember, I told you Amelia Bloomer and I got to spend time with her?”
“Elizabeth whom, dear?”
“Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in the United States. I met her when she came to the city last spring. She and her sister plan to set up an infirmary where women can learn medicine, and she tested her theories on a group of us. I never thought I’d be using her techniques quite as much as I did, but it was fortunate I had the training. It certainly came in handy. I’ll have to send her a letter when all the dust from this trip settles.”
“You mean you worked as a nurse at the site of the crash? You bandaged up people? You saw blood?”
Ginger grinned, remembering how her mother always fainted at the sight of blood. “Yes, Mother. I used up all my petticoats and some of my skirt to bandage people’s wounds. There was rather a lot of blood, and muck and cold and rain. It was a truly awful ordeal and something I prefer not to talk about now. For the time being, could we not relive the terrible ride and go to visit the Grays instead?”
The Fitzpatricks trooped over to Charles’s room, because he was still fairly immobile. His eyes were clearer, and the color was returning to his face. Ginger went to him and took his hand.
“Mr. Gray, Mrs. Gray, I’m so sorry I ever got you involved with the railroads,” Ginger apologized. “After all, if I hadn’t pushed you to invest heavily with them, none of us would have been on the train. And I can only imagine what this accident has done to the price of the Pacific Railroad’s stock. Your poor portfolio has probably taken a beating, and it’s all my fault.”
Charles squeezed her hand slightly, and a ghost of a smile flickered across his face. “Whatever are you talking about, my dear? None of this was your fault. We are all alive, which is a good thing. And while it is an event that we and our offspring will always remember, I don’t think anything will dampen the enthusiasm for the railroads for long. They are too vital to the settlement of this grand country. This is the most excitement any of us has ever had. So let us rejoice in our not-so-small accomplishment of getting out of the disaster with our lives, and look forward to returning to New York, where we can tell the tale over and over again at dinner parties.”
George’s eyes danced as he looked at his best friend. “Well said, Charles. We should begin to plan our return to New York soon.”
Ginger kept hold of Mr. Gray’s hand as she turned to face her mother. “I’m afraid the dinner parties in New York will have to be held without my presence. I won’t be returning with you. I’m staying here in St. Louis.”
Ginger registered Charlotte’s sharp intake of breath even from where she was standing. She stared at her mother and their eyes flashed.
“Has Basil relented then and allowed you into the bank? Please, dear, tell me a new position at the bank is the only reason why you’re going to stay here.”
“No, Mother. There’s another, and much more important, reason for me to stay behind.”
“Have you seen that half ... that, uh ... Joseph since you’ve been here?”
“That Joseph, as you call him, saved Basil and Mr. Gray from the wreckage of the railcars. You should be bowing before him in thanks and admiration, instead of speaking his name as if it was manure on your shoes!”
“Perhaps we should discuss this in private, rather than in front of the Grays,” Charlotte said uncomfortably.
“As you wish, Mother.” Ginger turned to Charles and Eleanor Gray. “I hope you have a pleasant evening. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Ginger left the room with a graceful step, her head held high. George and Charlotte hurried after her. In the Fitzpatricks’ room, Ginger looked imploringly at her father, who suddenly seemed very interested in his fingernails. Then she turned to face her mother. Charlotte lowered her eyes and fluffed the ruffles of her dress.
“Of course I’m grateful, Ginger, for what Joseph did to help save Basil and Charles. And for finding you in the woods at the Hamptons last July, for that matter. But, being thankful doesn’t overcome the fact he is totally unsuitable for you. He’s a heathen, you’re a Christian; he’s a rancher, you’re a fashionable socialite, he’s a ...”
“Enough, Mother! I’m well aware of what you think Joseph is and isn’t, and I don’t care! I love him. I will never fit into the social circles of New York, as you are well aware. Lord knows you’ve tried your best to make it happen, but my views of what life should be like for all of us, not just men, are diametrically opposed to society’s notion of what duties a woman should have.” Her eyes flashed at her mother.
“You also know, if it weren’t for Papa’s indulgence, I would never have been allowed to work in the bank, or anywhere outside the home. Working is the only way I’ve been able to tolerate my life these past few years. I am nineteen, and capable of making my own decisions, so this is what I’m going to do. Joseph and I are getting married tomorrow or the next day, at his father’s ranch. I’d like you and Papa to stay for the wedding, but only if you could at least pretend to be happy for me during the celebration.”
Ginger watched as her mother swallowed hard at the announcement. Charlotte glanced at her defiant daughter, and sighed. “I was so afraid something like this would happen if you came on this trip. This is not what I planned for you.”
“My mind is made up, Mother. Can you try to be pleased for me?”
Charlotte brushed the tears from her eyes as she took in Ginger’s raised chin and straight posture. She walked over t
o her and took her daughter’s hand, letting out a deep breath. “I know what the look on your face means, and I know there will be no changing your mind. You have been a willful child since you came out of the womb, so I suppose your desire to marry an Indian should not be so surprising. And your father and I can’t ever seem to say no to you. I must insist, though, that this union be legal in the eyes of the state. You will need to find, at the very least, a justice of the peace, if not a minister from the Church of England. So, if you can meet my small request and you’d like us to stay for the wedding, we’d be delighted. But first things first. Whatever will you wear for a bridal gown?”
Ginger laughed as her tears began to fall, and she hugged her mother. “Thank you, Mother. Wait until you see my gown. Joseph’s mother is letting me use her wedding dress! It’s white deerskin with beautiful beading on the front, and the most glorious long fringe everywhere! And I have a new pair of moccasins Joseph made for me. I have so much to go over with you about the ceremony. Let’s leave Papa to his pipe and go somewhere where we can talk.”
“Oh dear,” Charlotte replied as she was hustled from the room. “My daughter’s wedding dress is made from deerskin instead of taffeta and lace. Can you at least pin a piece of lace on your head, in deference to your own culture?”
“We’ll see, Mother, we’ll see.”
George grinned to himself as he filled his pipe with tobacco. He had seen no need to jump into the conversation at all. Ginger had handled Charlotte with great aplomb. He wondered if Eleanor Gray had been listening to their conversation with a water glass held up to the wall between the two rooms. He grinned again. Convention be hanged. His Ginger was getting married!
Chapter Forty-Two
Basil and Joseph watched the wedding guests assemble in the modest front room of Emile Lafontaine’s ranch house. It was a small gathering made up of Joseph’s parents, three brothers and a sister, Ginger’s father, Eleanor Gray, and a handful of friends and family acquaintances. They were awaiting the arrival of Ginger and her mother so the wedding ceremony could commence.
Joseph wore a new shirt made from a deer hide, which had been carefully cured and felt as silky-smooth as butter against his skin. It was heavily fringed and beaded with bright turquoise and red beads creating a mosaic of a bird in flight. It stretched tautly over Joseph’s wide shoulders and chest, and was extremely festive in appearance. His leggings were buckskin, too, as were his calf-high moccasins. His long, straight black hair was tied in a queue at the nape of his neck. He looked polished and strong.
Basil looked his friend over from head to toe. “Any nerves, Joseph?”
“None.”
“So you are willing to tie yourself down with one woman?”
“When the woman is Ginger, yes, I am.”
“How can you be so positive she is the right woman for you? What about your fine speech a few months back when you said you’d have nothing to do with a woman who wanted to make her own way?”
“We have both been guilty of saying stupid things in the past. As I recall the conversation, we were talking about women who wanted no men in their lives. Ginger cannot be included as one of those women, because she is in full agreement that we belong together.”
Basil smiled. “I guess you’re going to have to build a house now, for the two of you. Will you need a loan from the bank for it?”
“You mean, your bank is again willing to do business with the Lafontaines?”
Basil slapped his old friend on the shoulder. “Hey, the Lafontaines are now family! I’ve missed you, these last months.”
“It was a bad time. I am sorry it took a disaster to bring us back together, but so be it. I am about to marry the only woman I ever could see a future with, so regardless of the circumstances, I am pleased with the outcome.”
“You will take good care of her, won’t you? She may be headstrong, but she is unschooled in the ways of the West.”
Joseph fixed Basil in a hard stare. “You will never need to worry about Ginger. I will protect her with my life, if need be, from any harm, as will my father and brothers. She has charmed them all by now, you know. I think Gaston is considering coming east to New York to look for his bride soon.”
Basil groaned in response. “Just make certain he doesn’t come for next year’s season. Jasmine and Heather are going to be on the loose next spring, trying to find husbands, and I wash my hands of any responsibility for the two of them. If he values his sanity, he won’t come anywhere near New York City.”
At that moment, the door opened and Charlotte entered the room, with a hankie already held to her eyes. She had donned a day dress of light green silk with five wide bands of dark-green ribbon layered in graduated steps around the hem. The top of her dress had the same green ribbon set side by side in vertical bands forming a V, and it accentuated the smallness of her waistline, even after giving birth so many times. The sleeves were narrow, constructed of the finest lace over the green silk and cut to encircle her wrists. She had pinned a heavy emerald brooch at the neckline and completed her ensemble by placing a lace bonnet on her head. Its long emerald-green ribbons dangled on either side of her face. To commemorate the occasion and the joining of the two cultures, she had affixed both flowers and a feather on the top of the bonnet.
She walked up to Joseph and patted his heavily embellished deerskin shirt. “You are being given one of my most precious children today, and all I ask is that you look after her well-being as much as her father and I have during her first nineteen years.”
Joseph took Charlotte’s hand and kissed it. “She will be safe, and treasured, with me.”
Charlotte’s tears came harder. “Actually, I know we are not giving her to you today. Ginger’s heart has been yours since the first night you two danced together, at my suggestion. So I guess I’m responsible for this pairing. Well, me along with your gods who gave you the vision dream those many years ago. It just took me some time to know and accept it.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Joseph’s cheek. “Welcome to our family.”
“Merci, migwetch, and thank you, Mrs. Fitzpatrick. And welcome to mine.”
Charlotte took her seat beside Basil, and continued to cry as Ginger made her appearance in the doorway, holding her father’s good arm. The dress of deerskin fit close to her body, clinging to her supple curves. The bodice with its modest scooped neckline was embellished with beads of every color. Feathers were attached at the sleeves, which stopped at her elbows. The heavy fringe at the bottom of the dress swayed when she walked. Unencumbered by layers of petticoats, her step was lively and her feet, encased in moccasins, made no sound as she entered the hushed room. Adorning her ginger-colored locks was a handkerchief of the finest lace. She kissed her father’s cheek before they began their walk down the short aisle between the chairs.
She gazed at Joseph, who stood at the end of the modest room with his brother Gaston and the justice of the peace. When his eyes locked on hers, it was as if they were the only two people in the room. She tried to slow her pace to keep in time with her father’s step, but she practically ran the last few steps, eliciting chuckles from the gathered audience.
She went through the ceremony as if in a dream. Her only real memory of the short service was Joseph’s hand firmly holding her own as she answered questions from the justice and repeated her vows to Joseph, while Raoul beat a steady rhythm on a ceremonial tribal drum. When asked if she took this man to be her husband, she declared, “Most definitely, I do!” Then, she kissed him exuberantly and opened her eyes to see his inviting chocolate eyes blaze with desire at her touch. She couldn’t wait for their wedding night to begin!
The wedding dinner was an odd mix of traditional Ojibwa and French food, including corn bread and rice, along with a sage-stuffed fried bread, a roasted turkey with an orange-and-maple-syrup glaze, making the skin crispy and savory, glazed beets, and winter squash. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, crepes filled with sweet whipped cream and drizz
led with maple syrup were served. Sparkling wine was poured and glasses were held high, as each father toasted the newlyweds, followed by Basil’s and Gaston’s tributes.
Joseph and Ginger finally exited the house, amid cheers and laughter. Midnight was tied up and waiting at the porch railing. Joseph’s brothers had decked out the horse with colorful ribbons woven into the mane and tail to commemorate the wedding. Joseph untied the horse, picked up his bride, and vaulted onto the horse’s bare back. Then he turned Midnight toward the woods surrounding the ranch house, and rode toward a small hunting cabin his mother had decorated for the wedding night.
• • •
As the horse trotted away from the house, Ginger settled into Joseph’s arms. Her stomach twitched in anticipation of their upcoming evening. She sighed contentedly and burrowed herself against his strong, broad chest as she rode sidesaddle in front of him. She had been to the ranch in the previous days, but only to meet his parents and family, and to see the immediate grounds of the impressive spread. She spent time in the pens where the horses were kept, petting them and anointing each with a name.
She had already met the brothers, who had helped in the rescue. Gaston was quiet, Raoul was brooding. But Etienne, who had raced with her across the bridge shortly before its collapse, had been a constant companion during the past several days. Ginger was the first cultured woman he had met, and he was constantly showing off his strength and power. Joseph’s sister, Elise, was a precious child and everyone’s favorite. Mary Tall Feather was soft-spoken and knowledgeable, and his father was an entertaining man who had many of the same traits as her father. She knew Emile and Mary would become her fast friends.
Ginger and Joseph were headed to a part of the ranch she had not seen before, and her eyes widened as she began to realize the entire scope of the Lafontaine family business. She observed field after field being cultivated with food for the many horses they kept, as well as produce for the large family to consume.
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