“Wolf!” I cried. “I need to explain!”
“No explanation is necessary. My eyes do not lie. Now that you have your family back, I will return to my people!”
“No! I screamed. Don’t leave me, Wolf! Not again!”
Only my cries seemed to fall on deaf ears as Wolf turned his horse and started galloping away. Jamie, Beth, and Nellie looked confused.
“You have done it again,” Jamie accused, only he was speaking in the Lenape language as though he no longer could speak English. “You spoil everything by making Wolf angry. Because you left, I lost him as a friend when he went after you. Now you show you do not care about him. You didn’t care about him when you were at the village and you don’t care about him now!”
“He treated me terribly when I became his slave,” I responded in the same Indian language. “You are too young to understand. But I do love Wolf. I have always loved Wolf!”
“Then why did you turn to another man?” Jamie questioned, staring daggers at Martin and then back at me.
I turned and looked at Martin, through narrowed eyes.
“You did this,” I said with a growl. “I trusted you as a friend and you caused Wolf to turn away from me!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I pulled Jamie down from his pony, and in spite of my condition, managed to get on its back, my skirts were pulled up, flowing over my legs and the back of the pony. I kicked the pony into a gallop in a mad dash to catch up with Wolf. I could not let him ride out of my life. He needed to know the child I carried was his child, not Martin’s. I had remained faithful to him. It was Wolf who caused the misunderstanding by not explaining why he was leaving and assuming that Martin spoke the truth. I am sure Martin hoped that once Wolf was out of my life I would turn to him, and maybe eventually, I would have. Only now I needed to convince Wolf of my love for him if he would only be reasonable enough to listen.
Wolf rode a larger horse and it was difficult for me to catch up to him.
“Wolf!” I continued to cry, hoping he would hear me and slow his pace.
Unexpectedly, the pony stumbled. I tried to pull his head up to keep him from falling to no avail. I could feel myself slipping from his back. My main thought was the baby, I turned so I would land on my back instead of my stomach. Even then, it knocked the breath out of me, although I had landed in soft autumn leaves, that had gathered on the trail. I lay stunned, trying to catch my breath. The pony had Jumped up and continued on its trek to catch up with Wolf. Without a rider it gained more speed as it dashed up the trail, leaving me in a pile of leaves, tears streaking my face.
I buried my face in the leaves, heaving out tears of desperation. I would never see Wolf again and it was all my own fault. He would never know I carried his second child. Martin would expect me to turn to him, only now, I vowed never to go to Martin after what he had done. Wolf was right. He had wanted me from the beginning. Even the fact that I had given birth to Wolf’s child and was about to have another, did not discourage his obsession of wanting me. He had used subtle ways to try and draw me to him while assuring Wolf that being an Indian meant he was not worthy of me. Once again my future looked hopeless!
I lay shivering in the leaves, wondering if Martin and Rachel had left for the church and what was going to happen to Jamie and his sisters now that they arrived at a very inopportune moment? What would happen if they showed up at the church, dressed in their Indian garb with only beads covering Ruth and Nellie’s breasts? However, I didn’t care any longer. I just wanted to die, except for the fact that little Ben needed a mother.
I felt something touch my shoulder, and then the hand was pulling me over to face him. Wolf hovered over me, his face blurred by my tears.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
I could see that both ponies were standing obediently at a distance. Jamie’s pony must have caught up to him and caused him to return.
“Wolf, please don’t leave me!” I begged, clinging to his neck for fear once he discovered I wasn’t hurt he would spring to his horse and ride away again. “I am carrying your child, not Martin’s! I have remained loyal to you!”
“Then why did I find you kissing him?” Wolf demanded.
“He had just informed me he had gotten me a horse to replace the one the soldiers took when you raided my home. I attempted to kiss his cheek in thanks, only he took advantage of it, and captured me in his arms, forcing the kiss upon me. I love you, Wolf! I have always loved you! I hated you for leaving, making me believe you were not going to return, but I still couldn’t stop loving you!”
“You carry my child?” Wolf exclaimed as though the words had suddenly sunk in.
“I did not know until after you left that I was expecting. I worried that you would never learn you were having a second child.”
Wolf clutched me to him and his hand went to my stomach.
“Are you sure the baby has not been harmed by your fall?”
“I did not land on my stomach, and the soft leaves broke my fall,” I informed him. “I hope it has not harmed the baby.”
Wolf lifted me in his arms, carrying me to Jamie’s pony.
“Where you intending to go when I arrived?” he wanted to know. “I assume the woman in the buggy is Martin’s cousin who was coming to visit.”
“Rachel is getting married to Jamie’s cousin. We were on the way to the church to attend the wedding when you showed up.”
“Forgive me for doubting you, Candice,” he begged. “When I saw you in Martin’s arms I went crazy with jealousy! I could not bear to live without you. You are the only woman I can love!”
Wolf’s mouth closed down on mine, kissing me desperately, before placing me up on the pony.
“Maybe we can get back before they all leave,” I suggested. “Only I don’t know what is going to happen if they show up at the church with Jamie, Beth, and Nellie dressed like Indians?”
“It was difficult to get any of them to come with me. They all wanted to remain with the people who adopted them. I hope they do not become frightened and run away.”
Wolf swung up on his horse and I followed him as we hastened back to our homestead. When we arrived, I saw that Martin had taken his horse off of the buggy, and had saddled it. He was just swinging upon its back when he saw us approaching.
“Thank God you are all right,” he breathed. “I was just about to chase after the two of you and apologize for my actions!”
“For heaven’s sake,” Rachel called from the porch where she stood looking bewildered. “I am going to miss my own wedding and Calvin will be beside himself thinking I have jilted him!”
She did not seem very concerned with my dilemma. However, she had been looking forward to this day and I was spoiling her wedding day.
“Martin, hitch the horse up again and take Rachel in. I will clean Jamie and his sisters up and find them something a little more fitting to wear to a wedding. We will meet you at the church,” I instructed.
“When you get there, ask the man doing the ceremony if he can marry another couple while he is about it,” Wolf surprised me by saying. “It is time I make this woman my true wife before anything else happens!”
Martin laughed, glancing at me and then at Wolf.
“She was totally loyal to you Wolf. I was wrong about what I told you. Nothing I could do could shake your memory from Candice’s mind while you were away. I took advantage of her by kissing her like that. My kiss had not been returned by her. I will talk to the minister. He has been insisting that Candice get properly married to you in a church. I am sure he can take time to perform a marriage for you as well and will be happy to have a new member of his congregation to teach the gospel to.”
I took Ben from Rachel’s arms and she gave me a relieved look before climbing back up in the buggy. Wolf and I went inside the house. I handed Ben to Wolf who was overjoyed to see his son again. Then I took the girls upstairs and found them some dresses I had grown out of for them to wear. I went to the attic and f
ound some of Ben’s old clothes he had grown out of and had been stored there, for Jamie to wear.
“You are forgetting about me,” Wolf stated when the children were dressed in proper clothes. “I too need something to wear to our wedding.”
“I thought you wanted to wear your Indian clothes,” I said, admiring his muscular body above his breech-cloth.
“I do not want to shock the wedding guests,” he smiled slyly. “Besides, I wish to please my new bride. I am sure something belonging to your brother will fit me.”
“Wolf,” I whispered as I threw my arms around his neck. “You alone is all I need to please me!”
“We will be late if you don’t hurry,” he smiled, pulling my arms free, and then leaning in to give me a hasty kiss.
I returned to the attic and rummaged through the clothes Rachel and I had packed in the trunk, finding Wolf something suitable to wear. When he was dressed I admired him, but realized that I liked him better, dressed in his own clothes where I could admire his rippling muscles.
Wolf hooked his horse up to our buggy. The children climbed up in the back, acting shy and uncomfortable in their new clothes, as though they had forgotten what it was like to wear more than a breech-cloth to cover their nudity. I held Ben in my lap and Wolf placed his arm around my shoulder as we drove into town. There was an audible gasp when we came through the church doors, as all heads turned to stare at us. I took the children to where the Handfords were seated, quickly introduced them and handing Ben to Calvin’s father to hold. Then Martin ushered us up to the front of the church to stand beside Rachel and Calvin who, along with the minister, was waiting patiently for us to arrive.
Rachel gave me a look of relief and shook her head, then smiled. She mouthed the words “at last”, then turned her attention to the minister, who seemed a little flustered himself. However, he gained his composure, and continued on with the ceremony, asking Calvin first if he would take Rachel to be his wife, and then asking Wolf the same question. Next, he asked Rachel and then me if we would take Wolf and Calvin to be our husbands. At last, the ceremony was finished, and the four of us were walking out of the church as the congregation cheered, throwing flower petals over our heads as we went to our separate buggies.
As we headed to the Hanford home, the rest of the guest followed us. Their cook had done a marvelous job cooking food to serve the guests and baking the cake. Jamie, Beth, and Nellie seemed shy but they did enjoy the food, which was quite different than they had been used to eating at the Lenape village. I never heard them speak an English word, but I was sure that eventually, they would remember their own language.
Wolf hovered over me as though he was afraid to let me out of his sight. I was truly his wife now, I thought as my heart fluttered and I took in my breath. Finally, I could trust that he would never leave me. When I told him about Rachel and Calvin wanting to remain at our homestead, he seemed pleased to have the extra help. Finally, there was hope for my future. Wolf and I would start our own traditions, in a mix of Lenape customs combined with English customs. I could raise my children without the fear of some Indian tribe coming to put an end to our lives or take us captive. I could put the past behind me and look toward the future, hopefully raising many future children together with Wolf.
My thoughts went back to the very first time Wolf had touched me, and how the wonder of it all had spread over me, wanting more of Wolf’s touch. He had somehow caused me to love him when I hadn’t even realized it. Now I did realize it. I was happy to be Wolf’s wife and would remain his wife until the day I died.
THE END
Across The River Page 19
