The James family owned a big shipping firm and her uncle was often away tending to business, so Skyler and Alexandria spent a lot of time together. Skyler was growing close to her lovely aunt and she could see how Danielle would love her as a mother. Many times Skyler would be overcome with homesickness, but she tried to hide it from her aunt and uncle.
It was early afternoon. The house seemed unbearably hot, so Alexandria had suggested that she and Skyler spend the afternoon in the summerhouse.
The summerhouse was one of Skyler’s favorite places. It had been built in a circle with a dome-shaped roof, the top half of the walls open but for the white trellises that supported many climbing rose bushes. Inside, cushioned seats were built around the lower wall. In the middle was a lounge, with a table and chairs.
A cool breeze was blowing and the birds were singing sweetly in the nearby trees. Skyler and her aunt were sewing baby clothes and enjoying a quiet kind of companionship.
“You do lovely work, dear,” Alexandria said, examining the embroidery on the blanket her young niece was stitching.
“My grandmother taught me to sew, but usually I use colored beads instead of silk threads. See, I have made the pattern of the blue wildflowers that grow on the Sweet Grass Hills near my village.”
Alexandria smiled brightly. “My dear, it is simply lovely. I shall always treasure this blanket because you made it for me.”
Standing up Skyler poured a glass of lemonade and handed it to her aunt. “I am going to miss you and Uncle Tag when I return home, Aunt Alexandria. I didn’t expect to enjoy myself this summer, but I have had wonderful times with you and my uncle.”
Alexandria raised her glass and took a sip of the cool liquid. “I don’t want to think about your leaving. I have grown so accustomed to having you here. I am just sorry that I am not in a condition to show you a better time.” Her aunt’s face lit up as she gazed up the walkway. “I do believe that is Morgan Prescott coming to call. He is such a nice young man and I always enjoy his company.”
Skyler nervously ran her hand across the chair she was sitting in. She had thought often of Colonel Prescott; in fact she had looked for him at all the functions she had been invited to, but he hadn’t attended any of them.
For some strange reason her heart began to beat faster as he approached. The brass buttons on his blue uniform shone brightly as the sunlight hit them. He carried himself straight and tall. His knee-length boots made a crunching sound as they struck the pebble walkway, while his spurs made a slight jingling sound.
Skyler seemed to notice everything about him. She wondered why he had been on her mind so much lately. She had met many handsome young gentlemen since she had arrived in Philadelphia. Why did Morgan Prescott stand out so vividly in her mind?
Morgan slowly climbed the steps of the summerhouse. His eyes were dancing merrily as they rested on Skyler. She gave him what she hoped was an indifferent glance, hoping he wouldn’t guess that her heart was thundering against the wall of her breasts.
“Morgan, what a delightful surprise,” Alexandria exclaimed, happily extending her hand to him.
“It is always a pleasure to see you, Alex. My mother sends her greetings, and says to tell you she will be calling on you the moment she returns from Paris.”
“How is your mother and your sisters?”
“Mother is well, and Margo is enjoying her season in Paris. As for myself, I am looking forward to your barbecue at the end of summer.” His eyes traveled to Skyler. “Are you also looking forward to the barbecue, Miss Dancing?”
“I do not know, since I have never been to a barbecue, sir.”
He eased himself down on a cushioned seat that ran the length of the wall of the summerhouse. “How can that be? Everyone has been to a barbecue. It is a custom we have adopted from our southern neighbors.”
Alexandria laid her sewing aside and picked up the pitcher of lemonade and poured a glass for Morgan. “Everything in Philadelphia is new to Skyler, Morgan. It has been a real delight showing her around.”
“Have you ever been on a boat ride down the Delaware River, Miss Dancing?”
Glancing up, she shook her head. “No, I have not, but my uncle has promised to take me one day. I think it will be a very delightful and new experience.”
He took the glass of lemonade Alexandria handed him, and thanked her with the nod of his head. “You must come from a very strange place indeed if you have never been on a river ride or attended a barbecue. As it happens, I have come here today with the express purpose of asking you to attend a riverboat party some friends of mine are giving tonight. Will you accept my invitation? I realize it’s kind of short notice.” His silver eyes twinkled and he gave her a devastating half smile.
Skyler pricked her finger with the needle and laid the sewing aside, raising the injured member to her lips. “No. My aunt needs me to stay with her.” She had never known a man like Morgan Prescott. He was polished and sophisticated with a glib tongue. The fact that he was handsome added to the overall picture she had drawn of him in her mind.
Alexandria smiled at her young niece. “Nonsense. You will certainly not stay home on my account.” She turned her eyes on Morgan, realizing for the first time his interest in Skyler. “My niece will be only too happy to go with you tonight. What time will you pick her up?”
“Around five?”
Skyler opened her mouth to protest, but the look in her aunt’s eyes stopped her. Feeling trapped into a situation she could do nothing about, she clamped her mouth together tightly.
“I wonder if the two of you would excuse me?” Alexandria said, gathering up her sewing and standing up. “I want to talk to the cook about dinner tonight.”
Skyler came to her feet. She was shocked that her aunt would leave her alone with a man. In the Blackfoot village such a thing was never done. “I will go with you.” She wasn’t at all pleased that she would be going on a riverboat ride with Morgan Prescott. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone in his company now.
“No, dear,” Alexandria told her firmly. “You stay and entertain our guest. “I think I’ll just lay down a bit before dinner.”
Morgan’s eyebrows came together in a frown. He could tell that Miss Dancing didn’t want to be alone with him. Then he remembered their first meeting and smiled. He couldn’t really blame her. It was highly unconventional for a man to kiss a young lady on their first meeting. After the ball he had found himself unable to put her out of his mind. There was something so refreshing and totally different about her.
“Have a good rest, Alex,” he said, raising his glass to her.
“Thank you for stopping by, Morgan. We never get to see enough of you anymore.”
He chuckled. “We will have to correct that situation. Now that the war is ended, I’ll be home for a while.”
Skyler reached for her glass of lemonade and took a sip. She was trapped into entertaining Colonel Prescott, and she was nervously hoping she wouldn’t make any mistakes he would pick up on. She knew she wasn’t as polished as the women he was accustomed to. She must carefully guard her true identity from this man. She could only imagine what his reaction would be if he found out she was a half-breed.
Morgan watched Alexandria make her way up the path to the house. When she was out of sight, he turned his silver eyes on Skyler. She had again picked up her sewing and seemed bent on ignoring him. Standing up, he moved to a chair next to her.
“The real reason I came this afternoon was to apologize for the other night. In my defense I can only plead ignorance to your identity. Now that I look at you I can see there are many differences between you and Danielle. Your eyes are a deeper blue, almost violet in color. Your features are softer and you don’t seem to smile very much. Danielle is a little imp, always playing tricks on people; whereas you are much too serious about life.”
She raised her head and met his dancing silver eyes. “I tried to tell you who I was, but you wouldn’t listen to me. I am not inclined to
forgive you for your ungentlemanly conduct.”
His lips curled into a smile. “I am almost positive that you had never been kissed by a man before. I can see where my actions might have come as a shock to you.”
“I do not understand many things about your land, Colonel Prescott, but I am told that in your countrymen do not usually force their unwanted attentions on young ladies.”
His eyes narrowed in confusion. “What do you mean when you say my land? Are you not from the United States?”
Skyler realized her mistake. “I…no, I am not.”
“But surely you are not from the South?”
“South of what?” she asked.
He laughed softly. “I was thinking about south of the Mason-Dixon line, but I can see you are not. Where do you come from?”
Skyler could feel him drawing her deeper and deeper into a web. He was confusing her. “If you were from my land, you would never have dared touch me. Men have died for far less than what you did.”
“What kind of bloodthirsty society do you come from? This is the nineteenth century.”
Suddenly Skyler knew she must put an end to the converstaion. Morgan Prescott was becoming entirely too inquisitive and familiar. Standing up, she brushed past him. “You must leave now. I really need to be with my aunt,” she said without looking at him.
“No, I won’t leave until you tell me what you are talking about. Where is this land that you come from? I thought I knew everything about your family. I have known Tag and Alexandria for many years. I knew Tag had a sister, but he rarely talked about her. I gathered she lived in Europe somewhere.”
Turning around slowly she faced him. “I come from a place far away from here. There is an invisible line between our lands that should never be crossed by the people of the United States; even so, my father says your people will one day cross that line.”
He leaned against the railing and folded his arms across his chest. “Now I know you are from the South. You must put the thoughts of war behind you. One day the wounds of war will heal and we will be reunited in spirit once more.”
Skyler gazed across the garden. She watched a brightly colored bluebird take flight and suddenly wished she could be free. It was becoming a heavy burden to try and hide who she was. She was proud of her Indian heritage. To be ashamed of it would be to deny her own father. Suddenly she was weary of all the pretending.
“Your country has not yet fought against my land. If you ever do, you will find my father is far more powerful than you can imagine.”
“You speak as if your father were a king or something,” Morgan said with amusement. “One would think he is an absolute ruler.”
“No, he does not rule absolute, but his word is law. He has a wise council that advises him sometimes.”
Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “I can hardly credit what you are saying. You have had me in a spin ever since I met you.” He looked at her as if he doubted the truth of what she was telling him. “Should I address you as ‘your majesty’?” he asked, tongue in cheek—almost mockingly.
His manner had suddenly turned arrogant. Skyler had never had her word doubted by anyone. She was barely able to curb her anger. She wanted nothing more than to put this man in his place, so she forgot to be cautious.
“I am a princess in my land, but my uncle and my parents think it should be kept a secret while I am in your country. If you were in my land you would not be allowed to approach me, let alone take rash liberties.” Fearing she had said too much, Skyler lowered her lashes. “Now I have said too much. No one was supposed to know about my identity—it was to be a closely guarded secret.”
The arrogant look left Morgan’s face, and he released a long breath. Now he knew what was different about her. Yes, she did carry herself like royalty. There was a certain aura about her that other women didn’t have.
“If this is your secret, it is safe with me, Miss Dancing. I will not press farther. I can only tender my apologies once more.”
Before Skyler knew what was happening he reached out and took her hand, raising it to his lips. She felt a shiver race down her spine and jerked her hand free.
Deep laughter filled the air as Morgan bowed slightly. “Until tonight, Miss Dancing,” he said, turning away and walking out of the summerhouse.
Skyler placed her hands to her flaming cheeks. Had she said too much to Colonel Prescott? Would her uncle be displeased with her? She didn’t want to go with that man tonight, but she didn’t seem to have a choice. Her aunt and uncle didn’t seem to understand how difficult it was to try to hide who she really was. Surely they couldn’t know what a burden they had placed on her small shoulders.
As Skyler came in from the garden she found her uncle was waiting for her in the sitting room. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before putting her sewing away in a basket.
“Your aunt tells me that you are going with Morgan tonight. He is a fine young man. I had always hoped he and Danielle would become closer, but that wasn’t meant to be. She was never his type.”
Skyler looked deeply into her uncle’s eyes. “I am not his kind either, Uncle. I wish I didn’t have to attend the party this evening.”
Tag studied her face carefully. “Do this for me, Skyler. I want you to have all the fun you can before you leave us. Your mother wants this for you also. You need not be afraid, Morgan is a gentleman and he will take care of you.”
“He is far too curious about me. He asks too many questions.”
Tag laughed humorously. “What young man wouldn’t be curious about a young lady as lovely as you. That is the most natural thing in the world.”
“You do not understand. Just a few moments ago, he had me admitting I was a princess. Surely there can be harm in that.”
Tag pulled her into his arms. “I see no harm done, my dear; after all, you are a princess.”
“You are not angry with me for telling Colonel Prescott?”
“Of course not, but I would caution you about saying too much. Just go out and enjoy yourself tonight. You are far too serious about life—be young and carefree.”
“I know nothing about Morgan Prescott, Uncle Tag. He is a stranger to me.”
“I can tell you he’s a fine man. His father died when he was young, but Morgan took on a man’s responsibilities. He’s also a very fine doctor. I understand he is very sought after by the ladies, but you will be safe with him. If I didn’t believe this, I wouldn’t allow you to go with him. Just have fun tonight.”
Skyler sighed deeply and pushed a tumbled curl out of her face. She felt her heart sink. How could she have fun when she was with Colonel Prescott? He had a disturbing way of reaching inside her and stirring up emotions and feelings she wasn’t even aware of. Her heart told her this man could be dangerous to her peace of mind.
Chapter Eleven
Danielle felt someone grasp her shoulders and roughly shake her awake. She was tired, so she pushed the hand away, wanting to sleep just a while longer. Whoever it was became more insistent and jerked her forward, demanding that she awaken. Her eyes slowly opened and she was back in her nightmare world. She’d hoped it had been a bad dream—that she hadn’t really been abducted by the hideous, scar-faced Indian, but this was stark reality.
Fear seemed to cover her like a blanket of needles, prickling her skin, cutting off her breathing. She gulped in a breath of air, trying desperately to hide her fear.
The Indian untied the rawhide ropes about her wrists, and dragged her to her feet. Danielle avoided looking at his hideous face, because she knew there would be hatred burning in those dark eyes.
Jerking her head up, the man tied the rawhide rope about her neck. Leading her forward as if she were an animal, he yanked her down to a sitting position. Danielle made a frightened muffled sound as the Indian knelt down beside her. He held out his hand to her, and she saw he was offering her food, if one could call a few kernels of corn, food. As hungry as she was, she wasn’t about to eat from this savage’s hand like
some animal. Shaking her head no, she clamped her mouth together tightly. Her eyes burned defiantly, as if challenging him to force his corn past her lips.
This seemed to anger the Indian, and he grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head up. Forcing her mouth open, he crammed the corn inside.
Danielle coughed and sputtered as the dry kernels stuck in her throat. Spitting out the corn, she felt her anger reach its zenith. For the moment, anger overruled her good judgment. Turning her head away she spat the corn out upon the ground, and then cast the man an angry glance.
“I will not eat from your hand,” she cried. “You are nothing but a dirty Indian!”
His dark eyes narrowed to slits. Danielle watched helplessly as he raised his hand. The blow he delivered caught her across the temple, and thousands of stars exploded inside her head. Then she was in a world of swirling darkness. She felt herself slipping into a state of unconsciousness.
As the two Indians rode away from their night camp, Scar Face carried the unconscious Danielle in front of him. She was unaware that the two men again took pains to cover their tracks, nor did she know of the fear that beat in each of their hearts. They looked over their shoulders many times, and backtracked often, fearing the legendary chief of the Bloods would overtake them. Both knew if Windhawk were to find them they would die a slow and agonizing death.
Windhawk stood motionless as his eyes surveyed the deep valley below. How was it possible for one to disappear without leaving a trace? His warriors were good trackers, and yet they hadn’t even found a blade of grass crushed or a stone out of place. Whoever had taken his niece knew what they were doing. They must have planned it well in advance.
He turned his eyes homeward, realizing he would have to return to the village to inform Joanna that he had found no sign of Danielle. His heart was heavy, knowing he would also have to send someone to Philadelphia to inform Tag that his daughter was missing, perhaps dead.
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