Savage Desire (Savage Lagonda 1)

by Constance O'Banyon

  "I wonder what your father would say if he knew you spent so much time with the prince," Tanka had said spitefully.

  "What do you mean, Tanka?"

  "Nothing, but it would not surprise me if when we return your mother will find that you are no longer a maiden."

  Sasha, who had a loving nature, was not prone to losing her temper. But Tanka's accusations had cast a shadow on the prince, who had never been anything but respectful to her.

  "You are a hateful and bitter woman," Sasha had yelled at her. "You only wish the prince would look at you as he once did."

  Tanka had only smiled. "He will return to me in time." They had both said angry words that ended with Tanka's striking Sasha across the face.

  Sasha remembered the look of horror on Tanka's face when she realized what she had done. It was forbidden to strike one of the royal blood. Tanka had immediately begged her forgiveness and begged her not to tell the prince. Sasha, being kindhearted, had agreed. She did not like to see anyone punished, not even the hateful Tanka.

  "It was no more than a small misunderstanding, my prince," Sasha said, forgetting to speak English.

  Anias and Tajarez exchanged glances. "You will say no more, Sasha?"

  “No, my prince.”

  He smiled at her. "Would that others were as generous in their accusations of you."

  Sasha's eyes widened. "Tanka has accused me of some fault?"

  "It is of no matter, little Sasha. I have ears everywhere. I know more of what happened than you can guess."

  "Are you angry with me, my prince?"

  "No, little one. I am proud of your loyalty and your sense of what is fair. You will no longer share quarters with Tanka, but will have a tent to yourself until we find Mara. You are sure you do not want to lodge a complaint?"

  "I am sure, my prince."

  "Go then, little Sasha. But in the future keep away from Tanka."

  Tajarez watched as Sasha left the tent. "She is a remarkable girl, Anias. You should be very proud of her."

  "As you say, Tajarez, she is remarkable. I did not understand much of what was said. I take it she did not tell you that Tanka struck her?"

  "No, we have only Maga's account of what happened. She did not condemn Tanka to me."

  "Tanka can be very dangerous, Tajarez. She is ambitious and cunning. Keep an eye on her."

  Tajarez smiled. "I will do that, never fear."

  Anias knew that Tajarez and Tanka had lain together. He also knew that anyone would have served Tajarez as well. It was not love he sought from Tanka, merely an outlet.

  "Why do we camp in these woods, Tajarez?" he asked, turning the conversation.

  "The fort where I left Mara is a short way from here. I cannot just ride into the fort and ask where to find her, but I have a plan that I hope will work."

  Tajarez had been watching the fort for six days, waiting to find one of the white men alone. He was becoming very impatient; feeling he was wasting valuable time. He resisted the temptation to storm the stockade and demand that they tell him where he could locate Mara. The day passed and it began to look like another wasted day. He watched as the sun dropped behind the mountains and darkness covered the land. He listened to the lonesome sound the wind made blowing through the tall trees.

  Then his keen hearing picked up a new sound— hoofbeats. He could tell this time there was only one rider. He signaled for his warriors to take their positions behind the trees. At last his chance had come. As the rider drew near, Tajarez leaped in front of his horse and grabbed the animal by the reins, pulling him to a stop.

  The rider was startled for a moment, but quickly recovered. Shouldering his musket, he aimed it at Tajarez's heart.

  "Out of my way, Indian, or I will blow a hole clean through you," he threatened.

  "I wish to talk with you," Tajarez said, looking at the man unafraid.

  "I know how treacherous you red devils are. It has been my policy where you are concerned to shoot first and ask questions later." He cocked the hammer of his gun.

  "White man, look about you before you release that trigger, for once you have fired that gun you are a dead man."

  The man hesitated. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and soon found himself surrounded by more than a dozen Indians.

  Tajarez noticed how the man's hand shook.

  "If I go, I take you with me, Indian," the man said in an unsteady voice.

  "I intend you no harm, white man. I want only information, which I am willing to pay for.'"

  "You have animal pelts?" the man asked, still suspicious.

  "I have better. I have gold."

  The man threw back his head and laughed. “Do you take me for a fool. What would an Indian be doing with gold?”

  Tajarez, becoming impatient, grabbed the man by the shirt front and pulled him from his horse, causing the musket to fall to the ground. Holding the man in the air, he glared into his face. "You will remain silent. I will do the talking."

  The white man was too petrified with fright to do anything but listen. This was no ordinary Indian, at least not like the usual ragtag lot that sometimes came to the fort looking for a free handout.

  Setting the man on his feet, Tajarez pulled a leather bag from his belt and emptied the contents in his hand. He watched as the white man's eyes widened and a look of greed covered his face.

  "What do you want to know?"

  Tajarez smiled. "I wish to know where I can find Mara Golden."

  "The young girl that came to the fort last spring, who was captured by Indians?" the man asked.

  Tajarez drew in his breath and let it out slowly. "Yes, that is the one. Where is she?"

  "Why would you think I would tell you? Mayhaps you are from the Indian tribe what kidnapped her."

  "I am not. If you want the gold you must tell me where I can find her."

  The man eyed the gold in Tajarez's hand. Greed was written all over his face. There was more gold than he would earn in a lifetime. He licked his lips and looked at Tajarez. "What you want her for?"

  "What I want with her is not your concern. It is enough for you to know that she will come to no harm from me."

  The man considered for a moment. There was a fortune the Indian offered him, and he did say he would not harm the girl.

  Tajarez watched as the man wrestled with his conscience. He knew the man's greed would finally win.

  "I don't rightly know where the girl lives. I wasn't here last spring when she was here. Heard stories, though. Some say she was a real beauty."

  "You can find out where she lives?"

  "Can I hold the gold in my hand?"

  Tajarez handed the man the gold. His eyes met Anias's.

  Although Anias could not understand the English that was being spoken, both he and Tajarez knew the man would tell him what he wanted to know.

  "I can find out easy enough where the girl is. Can I take the gold with me?"

  "Do you think me a fool, white man? You will have the gold when you bring me the information I seek."

  Tajarez removed a second leather pouch from his belt and emptied the contents in his hand, showing the man it also contained gold. "Bring me the information I seek. Draw a map I can follow. Also, bring me the white man's clothes that would befit a gentleman. I will need everything, including boots. Look at my size so you will remember. I do not care how you acquire the garments, but if they fit me, and if I am pleased with them, I will add this second pouch of gold as well."

  That was the man's undoing. The sight of so much gold had him willing to commit murder if need be.

  "I will get you all you need. Where will I find you?"

  "Just return here when you have all that I have asked of you. I will find you."

  Tajarez took the gold away from the man, picked him up as if he weighed nothing, and plopped him into his saddle. Another Indian handed the man his musket. The man's mind was filled with dreams of all he would buy with the gold.

  "Don't forget, I will b
e back," he called over his shoulder as he rode off toward the fort. He already knew where he would get the clothes the Indian had asked for. There was a young lieutenant at the fort who was a proper gentleman and had many fine garments, and as luck would have it, he was an exceedingly tall man.

  Tajarez felt joy in his heart. By this time tomorrow he would know where to locate Mara.

  All night Tajarez waited in the woods on the chance that the man might return.

  Anias watched his cousin with a frown on his face. "Suppose the man plays you false, Tajarez?"

  "He will not. He will not rest Until the gold is in his possession, and he can tell no one we are here, for fear of having to share the gold. I could not have chosen better had I handpicked the man myself."

  Tajarez leaned against a tree. "Look at me, Anias. I am like a young boy with his first love. I find my impatience to see her very hard to control. If I had wings I could fly to my love."

  "You love this maiden much then?"

  Tajarez looked toward the heavens. "Wait until you see her. You will love her yourself." Then he looked at his cousin and smiled. "No, perhaps you should not love her, for if you did I would become very angry with you. She belongs to me."

  "Tell me again what she looks like."

  "How can one describe the beauty of a sunset, or the rainbow that reaches across the heavens after a rain, or Mara? To look upon her is almost painful, so great is her beauty. Her eyes are green like the leaves on the trees. Her golden hair curls about her beautiful face. Her voice is like music, and her skin is soft to the touch. I cannot imagine anyone being unmoved by her beauty."

  Anias's eyes flamed. Already he desired the woman that his cousin loved. His mind had conjured up a picture of her, and jealousy burned in his heart.

  "I must see this maiden who has won the heart of my cousin. Who knows, she may prefer me to you."

  "Make your joke, Anias. But if it were so, I would have to kill you."

  Anias knew there was a real threat in Tajarez's words, although they were spoken in jest. "Suppose she will not return to the Seven Cities with you? A year is a long time. Perhaps she loves another, or she might even be wed by now."

  "I cannot tell you how I would react if she would not come with me, and if she is wed, she will very soon become a widow."

  "She is white. Does this not matter to you?"

  "If she were other than what she is, she would not be Mara."

  The sun was beginning to rise. It painted the eastern sky with a rainbow of color. Both men became silent, for they heard the sound of a lone rider coming down the trail.

  The white man halted his horse not twenty paces from where they were hidden.

  Tajarez and Anias waited to make sure the man had not been followed. After they were satisfied he was alone, Tajarez stepped from behind a tree so quietly that the man was startled by his sudden appearance.

  "You have what I need?" Tajarez asked. His voice did not show the excitement he felt.

  "Yeah, I know where you can find the girl, and I have brought you clothes, and grand they are. What you want them for?"

  "That is not your concern. Where is Mara Golden?"

  The man was studying Tajarez closely. He had not been able to see him clearly the night before. "Lord have mercy, I ain't never seen an Indian that looks like you. Big son-of-a-gun, ain't you? And got gold on your arm there. Where in the hell did you come from?"

  Tajarez's eyes narrowed. "Where can I find Mara Golden?"

  The man smiled nervously as the dark eyes burned into him. "She lives outside a town called St. Louis. It will be easy enough for you to find her with this here map I drew."

  "Tell me what the map says."

  "You follow the river you will find about six miles from here." He pointed, indicating the direction. "Follow it in the direction of the rising sun. It will eventually empty into a large river called the Mississippi."

  "How will I know this river?"

  "Can't miss it. You will know it when you see it."

  "After I come to the Mississippi, then what?"

  "Follow the current. It will eventually take you to St. Louis."

  'Then what?"

  "I can't give you the exact location. It is a very grand house that sits on a hill overlooking the river."

  "Can you tell me anything else?"

  "I talked to the young lieutenant who escorted her home. He said when she got home she found out her Ma and Pa were both dead. Said she cried and carried on something awful!"

  Oh, no, my beloved, Tajarez cried silently, remembering Mara speaking of her mother and father with love. He felt pain in his heart for what she had suffered.

  "I figgered out who you are," the white man said. "You are the one who rescued her and left her at the fort."

  "You have done well," Tajarez said, not bothering to confirm or deny who he was.

  "You speak 'bout as good English as I do."

  "White man," Tajarez said coldly. "I speak English better than you."

  "Can I have the gold now?" the man asked.

  Tajarez grabbed him by the shirt front and held him in a grip of iron. "If you have played me false, I will return and kill you. There is nowhere you can hide where you will be safe. This I swear."

  "I have told you the straight of it, I swear I have," the man said in a voice that quivered with fear.

  "You are not much of a man, but it is no more than I expected from your race. You told me where to find Mara, not knowing if I would harm her or not. Go from my sight, and take the gold. May it bring you everything you deserve."

  The man rode off, thinking he was lucky to have gotten away alive.

  Tajarez turned to Anias. "Come. We go to find my love."

  Tajarez did not see his cousin's eyes narrow, nor was he aware of the malice directed at him from the man he loved as a brother.

  CHARBONNEAU INFORMED ME THAT HE SAW AN INDIAN ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE RIVER, AT THE TIME I WAS ABSENT IN THE WOODS. I SAW A SMOKE IN THE SAME DIRECTION WITH THAT WHICH I HAD SEEN ON THE 7th... IT APPEARED TO BE IN THE MOUNTAINS.

  —William Clark

  6

  Mara sat in her mother's garden. A warm breeze stirred the air, carrying with it the fragrance of roses.

  A year had passed since her return home, and it was spring once more. The lonesome sound of a dove cooing in a nearby tree drifted on the wind, but Mara did not hear it, nor did she notice the flowers that were in full bloom and peppered the garden with a rainbow of color.

  It had been a long year, full of heartache and grief for her. Her mind reached back to last spring. She remembered the amazement of the soldiers at the fort when she had shown up at the gates, alone and unharmed.

  Colonel Meyers, a portly gentleman of indeterminate age, who had been in charge of the garrison, had received word of her capture by the two Indians, and had sent out a patrol to search for her. He had listened kindly when she told him of the daring rescue by Tajarez, and he had been surprised when she described Tajarez to him. It was apparent from the colonel's reaction that he did not fully believe her story until she showed him the golden armband and the mink robe.

  The colonel was as mystified by Tajarez as she had been. He assured her he knew all the Indian tribes that populated the United States and its territories, and Tajarez could belong to none of them.

  The soldiers at the garrison had treated her kindly and had escorted her safely home.

  When Mara arrived home it was not to the happy reunion she had envisioned. The house was shrouded with mourning. Her father had drowned while he was searching for her. The boat he was traveling in had capsized, and his body had not been discovered until the next day. George and her two brothers had brought him home for burial.

  When Mara's mother had been told of her husband's death, she had collapsed. The strain of losing her husband and daughter had been too much for her. Tess told Mara that her mother had just given up, and she and Mara's father were both buried on the hillside overlooking the Missi
ssippi river.

  Mara's brothers had not been home when she returned. Tess told her they refused to give up searching for her. George had been sent out to locate them and let them know Mara was safe.

  There had been no one to comfort her in her grief but the ever faithful Tess. Mara had shut herself in her room and refused to see the many friends and neighbors who came by to offer their condolences. Mara was carrying a huge burden of guilt. She blamed herself for the death of her mother and father. If she had not gone into the woods that day, they would still be alive.

  Her grandparents had come from Philadelphia to take her home with them, but she refused to come out of her room, and they had returned home feeling defeated. Tess had begun to fear for Mara's sanity, and was relieved when her brothers finally returned home.

  When David and Jeffery entered Mara's bedroom, she had not responded to them, but had cried all the harder. The family physician had been summoned and his report had not been good. He told her brothers that if Mara did not pull herself out of her depression she would waste away to a hopeless invalid.

  Mara thought often of Tajarez. She could not seem to forget him. When she was not grieving over her mother and father, she was heartbroken at Tajarez's rejection of her. Her love for him ran deep, and she felt lost and alone without him.

  Mara knew she would never have come to terms with her grief if it had not been for her brother Jeffery. She remembered the day he had come charging into her room like an avenging angel. He had thrown the covers off her bed and grabbed her by the shoulders, lifting her out of the bed. Propelling her across the room, he had forced her to look into the mirror that hung over her vanity.

  "Who is that stranger I see, Mara? She has stolen my sister from me. Is it not bad enough that I have lost my father and mother? Must I lose my sister as well?" he had said angrily.