Claudia had said she would be returning shortly, and Alexandria knew she was only giving Tag time to regain consciousness before she finished with them.
Alexandria heard Tag groan, and she touched his cheek softly. “Tag, try not to move—you may have been injured.”
“What happened?” he asked, sitting up slowly and staring into the darkness.
“Some men came up behind us, and Claudia had us locked in the ship. Are you all right, Tag?”
“I’m fine,” he said, standing up slowly. “I don’t suppose there is a way out of here.”
“No, the only way out is the way we came in, and I heard some men talking beyond the door. I suppose they are guarding it. It doesn’t seem Claudia is taking any chances that we might escape.
“I was a fool not to anticipate this happening, Alexandria. Windhawk taught me always to cover my back.”
“You shouldn’t have come at all, Tag. Didn’t you know they were only using me to get to you?”
He felt for her hand and pulled her up beside him. “They had something that belonged to me, and I had to get it back,” he said, placing his cheek against hers.
“Me, Tag?”
“What else.”
“I don’t really belong to you, Tag. You were forced to make me your wife.”
He closed his eyes. “Be that as it may, you are my wife until one of us decides differently. Until that day, it is my duty to protect you.”
Alexandria had no time to reply because at that moment the door swung open, and Claudia and Melvin entered.
Tag pushed Alexandria behind him as he watched them advance on him.
“Well, well, it seems you are awake, and we have quite a little party prepared for you, Tag,” Claudia taunted him.
“I never cared much for your little parties, Claudia. They were a bore,” Tag responded sarcastically.
Claudia’s eyes blazed with anger as she stepped in front of Tag and slapped him hard across the face. She expected anything from him but the laughter that issued from his lips.
“Thus speaks the scorned woman,” he said in an amused voice.
“You will pay, Taggart James! No one makes a fool out of me and gets by with it,” she hissed.
“I remember that Joanna always pitied you, Claudia. Myself…I never even liked you. I think you are the one who is paying,” Tag said, knowing just how to bait Claudia. For some reason, Joanna had always been the object of her hatred, and he knew she wouldn’t want to think Joanna pitied her.
A loud cry came from Claudia’s lips. “How dare Joanna pity me! She is nothing—nothing!”
“Not so, Claudia—my sister is everything that you will never be.”
Claudia whirled away and grabbed Melvin’s arm, rambling like a madwoman. “Kill them—kill them both!”
“All in due time,” Melvin said, moving to stand beside Tag. “Before you die, I have drawn up a document I would like you to sign. It merely states that you are leaving all your worldly goods to Claudia with me as the executor.”
Tag smiled coldly. “Now why should I want to sign something like that?”
“Because you’ll have no choice.”
“You are a fool if you think there is anything you can do that will make me sign those papers. I have no fear of you or Claudia.”
“No?” Melvin said, smiling slightly. “Take him men,” Melvin ordered. “Hold him tight and don’t allow him to get away.”
Tag was immediately surrounded on all sides as six men grabbed him and held him fast.
“You will never make me relent, Garner. I would go to my death before I would leave to Claudia what belongs to me and my sister.”
“Take the girl,” Melvin called out, and before Alexandria could move, she was grabbed by two men who held her in a tight grip.
Tag struggled against the men who held him, but he knew it was useless. “If you harm my wife, I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I ever do,” he called out. For the first time he felt fear, not for himself, but for the woman he loved.
“You are in no position to harm anyone, Tag,” Claudia said, grabbing a handful of mink-colored curls and jerking Alexandria’s head backwards. Again her hatred for Joanna seemed to focus on this girl. One of the men who held Alexandria had a knife shoved into his belt, and Claudia grabbed it, holding the blade to Alexandria’s throat.
“Will you sign or shall I slice her throat?”
“No, Tag, don’t do it,” Alexandria cried. “They will kill us anyway! Don’t listen to them!” Alexandria didn’t know from where her courage came. She only knew that if Tag could meet death bravely, then she would draw strength from him and do the same.
Tag strained against the men once more, but with very little effect. He blamed himself, knowing he should have kept a closer watch over Alexandria. He had known what Claudia was capable of doing. Why hadn’t he given Alexandria better protection?
Melvin could see indecision in Tag’s face, and he grabbed the knife from Claudia. “I once watched a man suffer unspeakable agony as his fingers were lobbed off one joint at a time. Do you think Alexandria would scream out for mercy if she were to suffer the same fate, Tag? Why don’t we test her and find out?” Melvin grabbed Alexandria’s hand and raised the knife.
Tag could see the horror in Alexandria’s golden eyes as she looked at him. She was frightened, but no sound issued from her lips. In that moment, he felt pride in the tiny girl who had been called upon to face so many dangers since he had known her. Yes, he was proud of her, but he knew he could never allow Melvin to hurt her if he had the power to prevent it.
“You win. I’ll sign whatever you want,” he said, knowing he faced defeat.
“Now, you’re making sense,” Melvin said, tossing the knife on the floor and walking over to Tag. “Release him men, but keep a gun trained on the girl. If he makes a wrong move, shoot her!”
Claudia held the lantern up so the light fell onto the paper Melvin handed Tag. Tag didn’t bother to read the document as he took the quill and signed his name across the bottom.
At that moment, there came the sound of gunfire from above, and all the men reached for their weapons. In the confusion, Tag leaped forward and grabbed Alexandria, pushing her against the wall and shielding her with his body.
Suddenly, twenty men came swarming through the door, and in no time at all the newcomers had subdued Claudia’s men and held them at gunpoint. Claudia and Melvin were quickly tied up, and as silence fell across the room, a lone figure came through the door.
Alexandria exchanged glances with Tag as she recognized Russell James.
No one spoke as the tall redheaded man gazed across the room to make sure Tag and Alexandria were unharmed, nor was the silence broken as he moved over and picked up the piece of paper from the floor and studied it.
“This isn’t legal,” he said in a humorous voice. “It would never have stood up in court.”
“Who are you?” Claudia asked. “Those men with you work in my shipping yard. Not one of you will retain your position if you don’t help me!” she cried out.
Russell James looked at Claudia, a smile playing on his lips. “You are wrong, Mrs. Landon. These men work for me and have for years.”
He walked over to Tag and Alexandria and smiled at the lovely young girl. “So we meet again, Alexandria. You keep turning up in the strangest places.”
She smiled brightly. “And you keep coming to my rescue.”
Russell James bowed slightly and gave her a roguish grin. “Someone has to keep an eye on you and this young man.” He turned to his son and blue eyes locked with blue eyes. “As I stated before, this paper would never hold up in court.”
Tag smiled, wondering who the hell this man was and who had appointed him his guardian. Whoever he was, Tag was damned glad he had shown up when he did.
“Why do you say that?” Tag asked, a slow grin spreading over his face.
“Because neither the house, nor the shipping yard belongs to you…not yet, an
yway,” Russell James stated.
“I’m not following you, unless you, like Claudia, want what belongs to me and my sister, Joanna.”
“It’s been a long time, Tag, but I had hoped you would know me anyway.”
“I have never seen you before I returned to Philadelphia,” Tag said, looking the man over carefully.
Russell James laughed again. “Will you tell this young pup who I am, Alexandria? You see, Tag, our little girl here had seen me only in a portrait, and yet she still knew who I was right away. Go ahead…I give you leave to tell him, Alexandria.”
Alexandria put her hand on Tag’s shoulder. “Tag…this is Russell James…your father!”
Tag shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the big redheaded man. “What trick do you play? You cannot be my father—my father is dead!”
“No, I’m not dead, Tag, but there were times in the past that I wished I were. I’ll tell you all about that later—right now, we have some business to finish.”
Tag looked down at Alexandria, and she nodded and smiled. He couldn’t understand what was happening, but he felt joy in his heart. He was afraid to believe that this man was really his father, and yet, some vague boyhood memory suddenly sparked to life within Tag. He was older than Tag remembered, but yes, he was his father.
“Father,” he whispered, and the two men embraced. Tag felt a tightening in his throat, and Russell James felt tears wet his cheeks. Alexandria covered her face as tears flowed from her eyes. She was so happy that Tag and his father had at last been reunited.
There was no more time to talk as several uniformed authorities swarmed onto the ship to take the prisoners away. Claudia was led away struggling and screaming, carrying on like the madwoman she was.
Alexandria stepped up on deck, breathing in the fresh, clean morning air, thinking how good it was to be alive. She waited for Tag and his father to join her as she watched Claudia being taken away.
All at once, Claudia broke away from her captor and ran down the deck of the ship. Before anyone could stop her, she quickly climbed up on the railing and jumped overboard.
Alexandria ran to the railing and stared down into the water. She could see the waves rippling against the ship and strained her eyes to find Claudia. Suddenly Claudia surfaced and cried out as she struggled to stay afloat.
“Help me, someone—I can’t swim!” Claudia cried.
Several men dived off the railing of the ship and swam toward the drowning woman, but Alexandria knew they wouldn’t reach her in time. She watched as Claudia was swept away in the current, soon to be lost from sight.
Alexandria shuddered and closed her eyes as she felt Tag come up beside her. She heard him mutter softly.
“It is ended, Morning Song,” he said, not realizing he had spoken aloud. “Your spirit can now be at peace.”
Russell James placed his arm around Alexandria’s shoulder. “Let’s go home, my dear—it’s all over,” he said in a kind voice, hugging her to him.
Alexandria had bathed, eaten a light supper in her room, and had now fallen into an exhausted sleep. The horrible ordeal of the last two days had taken its toll on her, and her sleep was deep.
Tag and his father sat in the study getting reacquainted over glasses of brandy.
“I suppose you will be wanting to move onto the estate tomorrow,” Tag said, still unable to believe his father was actually alive. Now as he gazed at his father’s face it stirred many boyhood memories, and he wondered why he hadn’t recognized him at once. He supposed it was because he had believed him to be dead.
“No, not until the whole house has been completely redecorated and every stick of furniture replaced. I have an aversion to living in that house until it has been restored to its original beauty,” his father told him.
“You’ve been inside then?”
Russell smiled. “Yes, on several occasions, but unknown to the Landons, of course.” He took a sip of his brandy and set the glass down. “You have grown into a fine young man, Tag. Tell me…where is Joanna?”
Tag leaned back, knowing the rest of the night would be spent in recalling the past and telling his father about Joanna and Windhawk and Morning Song—about their life and the Blackfoot Indians.
Russell listened to his son speak, interrupting him every so often to ask a question. It was hard for him to visualize his daughter married to an Indian, but when Tag told him how Windhawk had saved his and Joanna’s life, the objections he felt seemed to diminish. He could hear the love and respect in his son’s voice when he spoke of Windhawk.
Tag told his father of his own marriage to Morning Song and about her tragic death.
After he had finished speaking, both men lapsed into silence for a long time. Finally Russell spoke. “I can hardly imagine being a grandfather. I hope you will understand that I am a bit horrified by the fact that my daughter is married to an Indian and my grandchildren are all half-breeds. I suppose at one time in my life I would have strongly objected, but I have lived a lifetime and have seen many things. Hopefully learned a few things.”
“I think you will like Windhawk, Father. He is like no man I have ever known, whether he be white or Indian.”
“Well, I’m sure as hell going to find out. I have every intention of seeing your sister. I will expect you to take me to her.”
Tag smiled. “I thought you might feel that way.”
“We will leave as soon as I put things in order here. Will we take Alexandria with us?” Russell asked, watching his son’s face closely.
“I…don’t know, Father. She may not want to go.”
“Why don’t you ask her and find out?”
“I think because I’m afraid she will say no.”
“She is quite a lady, this wife of yours. If I were you, I wouldn’t let her slip away.”
Tag looked at the ceiling for a moment and then back to his father. “Tell me, what have you been doing all these years? We thought you were dead,” he said, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
“For the most part, I have sailed the seven seas. I don’t know if you are aware of it, but Howard Landon hired a man to come to Oregon to kill me.”
“Simon suspected as much, but we thought the man had succeeded, and so did Howard Landon—what happened?”
“You may well ask. As it happened, the man did smother a friend of mine to death, thinking it was me. As you will remember, I sent word that you and your sister were to take a ship and come to me in Oregon. When the Althea docked, and you and Joanna weren’t on board, I boarded her, heading back to Philadelphia to find out what had happened to the two of you. There was a fierce storm, which blew us off course in the Atlantic, and the Althea went aground somewhere off the coast of Florida. Many of the passengers and crew were shanghaiied by a Russian merchant ship—and I didn’t get free until a year ago.”
“We Jameses are not known for living simple, quiet lives, are we?” Tag asked, smiling.
Russell picked up his glass and held it out to his son in a salute. “No, but we sure as hell are survivors.”
“Joanna is going to be overjoyed when she learns that you are alive, Father.”
“Do you think there is any chance she will come back to Philadelphia with us?”
“No; she would never leave Windhawk, nor would he allow her to go. She’s happy, and that’s all anyone can ask out of life.”
“I suppose so, son. What about you—will you return to Philadelphia with me?”
“I don’t know. Much of my future plans will depend on Alexandria.”
“I hope you will come back with me, Tag. I always had the dream that you would one day grow up and I could rename the business James and Son.”
Tag was thoughtful for a moment. “I find myself torn, Father. I have lived as an Indian since I was twelve. Mine was a peaceful and rewarding existence. When I returned to Philadelphia, I found an artificial world that I didn’t belong in and didn’t understand.”
“What about Alexandria? Surely
you don’t find her artificial, son?”
Tag gazed deep into his father’s eyes. “No, she is the most real thing that has ever happened to me.”
“You said that you loved Morning Song. Does her ghost stand between you and Alexandria?”
“No. I have loved two unique and wonderful women. Morning Song belongs to the past…without Alexandria, I have no future.”
“She must love you. I feel sure she does.”
“I don’t know. I suppose I’m afraid to ask her for fear of what she may say.”
“You can’t know until you ask.”
“How soon do you think we can leave?” Tag asked, changing the subject again.
Russell James drained his glass and stood up. “We should be ready to leave in about a month.”
“You understand that more than likely we will have to winter with the Blackfoot—since it is almost summer now. Winter comes early to Blackfoot country.”
“Will I be welcome in the Indian village, do you think?”
Tag smiled. “You will be astounded by the welcome you will receive by Windhawk and his Blood Blackfoot. Joanna is very important to the tribe—as her father, I expect you’ll be offered a rousing welcome!”
Chapter Thirty
Alexandria awoke the next morning, feeling stiff and sore all over. She turned toward the window and thought about the events of the previous two days. It was hard to realize that Claudia was dead, and Melvin and her other accomplices were locked away, awaiting justice.
Alexandria had never known anyone who was so evil. Barbara and Rodney were not unlike Claudia in some respects, but although they had schemed and plotted to take Meadowlake away from her, she doubted that they would ever plan to kill anyone.
Spring was over, and so was a chapter of Alexandria’s life. She watched the cool summer breeze stir the curtains at the windows. Tag had helped her overcome all her difficulties, and she could now return to Meadowlake with no fear of her stepmother and Rodney.
It was wonderful that Tag and his father had been reunited. Now perhaps Tag could put the bitterness out of his heart and look forward to a bright future. Alexandria knew she wouldn’t be a part of that future. It was very painful thinking about leaving Tag, but she had decided it was time for her to go home to Meadowlake. It didn’t matter that, according to the law, she was Tag’s wife. As painful as it was to admit, Alexandria knew Tag still had deep feelings for Morning Song. She herself needed some time to be alone at Meadowlake, so she could reflect on her future.
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