Caroline’s hands slipped from her hips. Heat from her flushed face burned her cheeks as she tried to remember everything she’d said, and how loud she’d been. “Did you see any Cherokee?” She knew that should be her first concern.
Wolf finished drinking from his cupped hands and stood. “No. But I think we should get moving.” He turned toward Edward, who stood, his hands hanging by his side, his expression closed. “You want to give me a hand with this?”
Together they hefted the canoe over their heads and started down toward the calmer water beneath the falls. By early afternoon, they were back on the river. Edward was asleep, his chore of paddling taken over by Caroline.
“Trouble with little brother?”
Caroline glanced over her shoulder. She lost the rhythm with the paddle, but Wolf simply arched his brows. His hair was loose and whipped about his face, making him look wild, part of the land around them.
“I suppose you and your brother are never annoyed with one another.” As soon as she spoke, Caroline wished the words back. Thoughts of Wolf’s brother only reminded her of Mary. Of the woman’s desire to see her husband again.
“Logan and I never had much good for one another until right before he decided to leave. But I cannot recall us ever yelling at each other.”
“We weren’t yelling.” Perhaps she had raised her voice in explanation but... Caroline slapped her paddle into the water. “What did you hear?”
“Not much.” Wolf guided them around a rock jutting from the middle of the stream. “Just enough to know you—Get down!”
“What? I—” Before she could do more than look around, a powerful arm dragged her from her seat, knocking her to the bottom of the canoe. Caroline was vaguely aware of Ned sputtering a question, then dropping down beside her, landing on her leg. She shifted, trying to see what was going on, and then she heard savage screams that made her blood freeze. Above her, she could feel the unleashed energy as Wolf paddled feverishly, first one side of the canoe, and then the other. The canoe was moving quickly, jerkily through the water, but still the noise didn’t cease. If anything, it seemed to grow closer.
Pushing up, Caroline could see Wolf huddled forward, the muscles in his neck standing out in bold relief as he pulled the canoe through the water. His eyes met hers for an instant, and his expression more than anything else told her how close their pursuers were.
“Let me help.”
“No. I do not want them to see you. After we round the next bend, I will head for shore. As soon as we are close enough, jump out of the canoe... both of you. Hide in the woods.”
“What about you?” Water splashed over the sides, and Caroline swiped at her wet hair.
“I will lead them on down stream for a while. After dark, follow the river to the fort.” His eyes met hers before jerking back to focus on the river. “I will meet you there.”
“No.” Caroline clutched the birch bark sides of the canoe and pushed forward. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”
“Damnit. Caroline, get down.” He leaned to the right, maneuvering the canoe around the spit of pine-covered land that jutted into the winding current. “Do not argue with me. Ned! In about three minutes, when I give the word, I want you to drag your sister out of this boat and into the woods. Do you hear me, boy?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can I count on you to do it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“No, he won’t,” Caroline said at the same time, drowning out her brother’s affirmative response. “I’m not leaving you.” She wouldn’t have, either, if he hadn’t chosen that moment to look at her, his dark eyes passionate.
“Do not make this harder than it is. Please.”
In that same instant, the canoe jolted to a stop, and Caroline lost her hold and fell forward. He grabbed her, his mouth grinding against hers in a quick, hard kiss. When he pulled away, he murmured something in Cherokee, then scooped up the paddle again. “Take her now, Edward.”
It happened so quickly, Caroline couldn’t even remember climbing from the canoe. One moment she was reaching out to Wolf, the next she was pushed down, flattened behind a bramble-covered rock, and he was gone.
“Keep still,” she heard her brother say, but it didn’t stop her from rising enough to see the canoes that followed Wolf down the river. They seemed to have fallen for his deception, for no one even glanced toward the thicket where Caroline and Edward hid. Both of the canoes followed Wolf.
“Where are you going?” Edward’s grip manacled her wrist, and he yanked her back when she tried to rise. “Raff said to stay here till nightfall.”
With a jerk she pulled her arm away. “I’m not sitting here while they catch him. They’re closer than ever thanks to his letting us off.”
“But he said—”
“I don’t care what he said. I’m going after him.” Caroline stood. “You may stay if you wish. I believe you can find the fort from here.” Without waiting for a response, Caroline picked up her skirts and raced down the shoreline. It wasn’t until she heard noise behind her that she realized her brother was following her.
“I’m not going back,” she said without even bothering to stop.
“I’m not asking you to.” With a surge, Edward caught up with his sister. “Just tell me this. What in the devil are we going to do even if we do find him?”
“I don’t know, Neddy.” Caroline wiped hair from her face. “I don’t know.”
Just before nightfall she noticed the smoke filtering above the trees. Without a word, she motioned to Ned, who had stayed up with her despite his earlier reluctance.
“What do you suppose it means?” Edward bent over from the waist, his hands resting on his knees when Caroline stopped to catch her breath.
“I know it isn’t Raff. He’d never give his whereabouts away like that.”
“Then you think it’s the Cherokee?” Edward straightened enough to peer at his sister from under his shelf of nearly white brows.
“We’re going to find out.”
“Lord help us. Caro.” Edward scurried to catch up with her. “What good is it going to do Raff... any of us... for you to go marching into the Cherokee camp? We’ve no weapons.” He threw up his hands in despair. “No nothing.”
“I didn’t say we were going into their camp. But I can’t believe they’d chance having a fire unless they’ve captured Raff. And as for no weapons.” She paused, not exactly sure what to say to that argument. “We’ll think of something,” she finally mumbled as they made their way toward the spot where she saw the smoke.
“This is insane.”
“Shhh.” Caroline glanced over at Edward, finger pressed to her lips, as they hunkered down behind an outcrop of rocks near the Indian camp. They were far enough away to be in the shadows... she hoped. She also hoped the Cherokee wouldn’t be expecting her to come sneaking up on them. She and Edward hadn’t encountered any sentries except the ones she could see guarding their prisoner.
They’d tied Wolf to a birch tree. In the flickering light from the campfire, Caroline could see that they’d stripped the bark from the trunk and splashed the wood with black and red paint. It made an eerie background for their captive. Wolf stood, his hands tied behind the tree, his feet bound. He was naked to the waist, wearing only his loincloth.
“He’s wounded.”
“I know,” Caroline whispered. She noticed that immediately and the pain in his bleeding arm seemed to shoot straight through her.
“So what are we going to do?”
Caroline took a deep breath. “Let me think for a minute.”
“How does it feel now, Wa`ya?” You are alone. Stripped of your protectors, the English dogs. And waiting to die.”
Wolf met Tal-tsuska’s taunting stare, but made no comment. If he was going to die, he would do it with his pride intact.
“Nothing to say for yourself? You, who were always too ready to speak in the council house. So ready to work out a compromise between the two peopl
e who war for your soul.” Tal-tsuska puffed out his chest and strode back and forth in front of Wolf. Despite the cold, he too was garbed only in his loincloth. The same ochre and black they smeared on the sapling were painted in designs of war across his chest and pockmarked face.
“This war will not help the Cherokee,” Wolf finally said. “You may win at first, but in the end, they will destroy us.”
“As you have prophesied... even hoped for all along.” Tal-tsuska stepped closer, thrusting his face near Wolf’s.
“In your heart you know better than that,” Wolf said and returned the angry glare till Tal-tsuska finally looked away.
“I know the English are vermin who come to our shores to destroy us with their greed and diseases.”
“There is no denying there has been greed—”
“And disease! You have only to remember the loss of my wife, my children...” He paused as he pulled a knife from the sheath at his waist. “To look at my face.” He held the blade up threateningly close to Wolf’s cheek, then smiled savagely as he slid the blade along his own thumb. There was no change in his expression as a thin line of crimson appeared.
“Tell me, Wa`ya, where she is.”
“Drowned in the river.” The change of subject had come quickly, but Wolf expected it. He gave the same answer he had from the beginning. Ever since his capture near the head of a second falls, Tal-tsuska badgered him about Caroline’s whereabouts.
Wolf began to realize his cousin’s interest in her was not merely a means to settle an old feud between the two of them. It made Wolf hope with all his heart that she and her brother were well on their way to Fort Prince George. Knowing she was safe would almost make what he was about to endure bearable.
Tal-tsuska’s rough touch snapped Wolf’s attention back to his captor. With eyelids lowered and lips drawn back tightly from his teeth Tal-tsuska smeared the blood from his thumb down the center of Wolf’s chest. “Soon, Wa`ya. Soon your blood will stain this ground.” Then with a flourish, he sank the blade into the soft, sandy soil several feet in front of the tree where Wolf was tied. Firelight flickered off the polished steel and carved bone handle.
“Look at it, Wa`ya. Study it, until you can feel the sting of its bite. Feel your lifeblood leave you as I cut away your white half...” He paused, his stare meeting Wolf’s. “You may pretend you have no fear, but I know better. Too much cowardly English blood runs through your veins.”
With those words Tal-tsuska turned away. He walked to the fire and hunkered down.
“Have you gone insane? Perhaps we should return to England... to Bedlam.”
She wasn’t returning to England, and she most certainly wasn’t going to Bedlam, but Caroline didn’t have time to argue those points with her brother. “’Tis the only way, Ned. We can’t overpower seven warriors. Raff has a chance to, but not if he’s bound.”
“And I’m supposed to race into their camp, grab the knife and slit his knots before several savages slit my throat?”
She knew it sounded foolish, and dangerous, but she could think of nothing else. “I told you,” Caroline said, hoping she was right. “They will pay you no heed for I shall create a diversion.”
“By walking into their midst.” He took a deep breath. “I won’t let you do that, Caro.”
Caroline shifted to peek over the boulder they hid behind. “’Twill work,” she insisted as the plan played itself out in her mind. She was fairly certain the Cherokee didn’t know her brother was involved in any of this.
“Let us pretend I do free him,” her brother whispered. “What is to stop him from taking off into the woods and leaving us at the mercy of those heathens?”
“He won’t.”
He turned to face her. “Are you certain of that?”
Caroline raised her chin. “I am willing to bet my life on it.”
“And mine, too, Caro.”
She knew what she asked of him. Knew how much courage it would take for her brother to do as she bid. He was so young. And she loved him so much. And she was so proud when he sidled closer to her.
“Tell me again what I’m to do.”
Caroline gave him a quick hug. “Now don’t forget after you cut Raff loose and give him the knife, I want you to disappear into the forest. Then for Fort Prince George.”
“I won’t leave you here alone, Caro. What kind of brother do you think I am?”
“A devoted one.” Caroline reached out to touch his smooth cheek. “I haven’t thanked you for coming with me. And what you are going to do now—” She smiled. “’Tis a very brave thing. But I need you to send help. Try to reach the fort as quickly as you can and tell them what happened.”
“And they will send soldiers?”
“Yes.” Caroline hoped he believed her lie so he would leave. But she knew there would be no one sent out from the fort to rescue them. If her plan didn’t work. If Wolf couldn’t defeat the warriors guarding him, they would both die.
What the hell!
Wolf heard the commotion, the excited shrieks and cries, on the other side of the camp. He glanced around to see a glimpse of moon-kissed hair before it was obscured by Tal-tsuska’s raised arm. Yanking on his ties did no good. But as his heart sank, Wolf did it anyway, so savagely his hands grew slippery from his own blood. Why was she here? What had possessed her to just walk into the midst of a Cherokee war party?
You. She did it for you. The nagging truth made him strain all the harder.
Then off to the side, another movement caught his eye as someone darted from the tangle of underbrush. “Edward, for God’s sake help her!”
Sliding to his knees in the dirt, Edward fumbled for the knife. His hands were so sweaty he had to try twice to pull it out of the ground. He didn’t even bother to stand, only crawled into the shadows behind Wolf and started sawing at the leather around his legs.
“Not me.” The hooping and hollering near Caroline grew louder, and Wolf had to yell so Edward could hear him. “Help her.”
“I am,” is all Edward said as he pushed to his feet and sliced through the bloody thongs binding Wolf’s wrists. Then he slapped the knife handle against Wolf’s palm and disappeared into the darkness.
Twenty
He didn’t miss a beat. With a savage roar, Wolf exploded toward the warriors... toward Caroline. His eyes and mind were active during his capture. He knew exactly where every weapon in camp was located and by the time he reached the Indians... by the time they even knew he was loose, he’d scooped up a war club that he used to bash one warrior’s head. The knife pierced the ribs of another as he turned toward the unexpected threat.
“Get out of here?” Wolf screamed as he swung out again with the club. One more Cherokee fell to the ground, his expression still registering shock.
But the element of surprise was gone. Three of the remaining men faced Wolf, their weapons poised. Only Tal-tsuska stood apart, behind them. And he held Caroline.
Without considering the odds, Wolf hurled himself forward. He slashed with both hands, catching one of the men on the temple with the club, slicing the other across the chest. But his attack was not without penalty. Though he dodged and ducked, the third Indian drew blood as he swung his tomahawk. The blow glanced off Wolf’s shoulder, knocking him to his knees.
Dropping his weapons, Wolf lunged for his adversary’s legs, yanking him down with enough force that he hit the packed dirt with a thud.
Caroline fought Tal-tsuska’s attempts to drag her across the campsite, but he hardly seemed to notice. His one arm bound her to his side; and though she strained to see how Wolf fared, she could not. But she feared it mattered naught. With an awful sense of defeat, Caroline watched Tal-tsuska snatch up his rifle.
She wriggled and squirmed, trying her best to keep him off balance... unable to aim his gun.
“Stop it, you foolish woman,” Tal-tsuska hissed when she managed to sink her teeth into his arm.
But she did not stop. Instead Caroline fought with all her st
rength. Fought till he tired of the battle and shoved her to the ground. Pain shot through her, and her eyes closed momentarily as breath escaped her. When they opened, she saw Raff struggling to his knees, his flesh bloodied and she cried for him to watch out.
But it was too late. She pushed up and jerked her head around in time to see Tal-tsuska lift the rifle’s stock to his shoulder.
“No!” She saw Tal-tsuska glance down at her, then away. Gunpowder exploded, filling the air with its acrid scent, filling her heart with despair. She couldn’t take her eyes off Tal-tsuska, who still stood, his head tilted toward the rifle sight. It wasn’t until he crumpled to his knees that she noticed the tomahawk imbedded in his chest. Tal-tsuska fell face down onto the ground, an outstretched hand catching in her skirts.
Caroline hardly had time to absorb what had happened before strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her to her feet. She turned her face into Wolf’s chest, knowing, caring only that he was alive.
Wolf held her, reveling in the feel of her heart beating against his. She wept softly and clutched him and he wanted them to go on like this forever, forgetting the outside world even existed. Except he knew better.
“Caroline.” When she looked up at him, her blue eyes prismed by tears, he gently brushed a tangle of pale hair from her face. “We need to leave this place. Where is your brother?”
“I sent him off to the fort. It seemed the safest at the time, but now... Do you think he’ll be all right?”
Wolf shrugged. “He knows to follow the river. We will probably overtake him soon.”
They quickly gathered what they could use, guns, powder, blankets, and food. By the light of the moon, Wolf led them to the river. One of the two canoes that had pursued him was gone when they reached the shore.
“It looks as if Edward was here. He should be all right.”
“Do you think more Cherokee will follow?” Caroline settled the blankets into the canoe, then reached under her overskirt and untied her petticoat tabs. After tearing the linen into strips she dipped some of the fabric into the frigid water.
My Savage Heart (The MacQuaid Brothers) Page 29
