Harrison left the wigwam without speaking to either woman.
Chapter Five
Leah spent the rest of the morning with Starlight, speaking woman to woman, something Leah was unused to. They talked of children, of crops, of old memories. Though forty years, a pagan religion, and a vastly dissimilar culture separated them, they found they liked each other. Starlight was all Leah had missed in a grandmother as a child, in a mother growing up. The Shawnee chief had a way of making Leah laugh, not just at the world, but at herself. In many ways she reminded Leah of Harrison, the Harrison she had fallen in love with at sixteen years old.
When Starlight questioned Leah about her son, the old woman spoke as if she, too, cared deeply for the boy. She asked about the color of his hair, his favorite horse, his manners. At one point, when tears left Leah unable to speak, Starlight drew her into her frail arms and hugged her tightly. "Surely, he is alive," she whispered in Leah's ear. "Or you would know as only a mother can know."
And then Leah couldn't help but smile. "That's what I told Harrison. That's what I told Harrison's father when I said I had to come here." She squeezed Starlight's thin, wrinkled hands. "You understand why I have to go, don't you?"
"This old woman understands," was her answer.
Inevitably, midmorning the conversation turned to Harrison. Leah sat brushing out the tangles in her hair with a precious tortoise shell comb of Starlight's. The old woman sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning back against her sleeping platform and smoking a clay pipe.
"There is much bad feeling between you and my son of my daughter," Starlight said, watching Leah for her reaction.
Leah didn't make eye contact. She continued to pull the comb through her waist-length red hair. "I don't know what to say. What to tell you."
"I must ask this question. Tell the truth. Did you love my grandson once a long time ago?"
Leah pulled her fingers nimbly through her hair, braiding it down her back. Her gaze met Starlight's. "Yes," she murmured. "I loved him with all my heart."
Starlight nodded. "Tell this nosy old woman, then, what happened to that love?"
Leah shrugged. "Replaced by anger, bitterness, years apart I would think. It was a child's love with no place in the real world."
"You are angry with my Harrison?"
She nodded. "Yes. Very angry."
"But it was you who betrayed him. He says you betrayed his love for you."
Leah rose up on her knees. She had never discussed this with anyone in her life, but suddenly she felt compelled to tell someone, anyone. "I didn't betray him. I just got scared. I was going to meet him, but then I changed my mind. I thought maybe we could talk to my father first. It wasn't that I didn't want to marry him, it was that I wanted no breach between him and my father. I wanted our marriage to start out on solid ground. I don't know what made me think my father would listen to us. Wishful, youthful thinking I suppose."
Starlight nodded. "I understand why you did not meet him. I understand what it is to love a man that is not accepted by your family. My daughter loved the white man DeNay. It caused her nothing but heartbreak until the day she died and her soul rose into the heavens." Starlight exhaled, the tobacco smoke curling above her head. "You were but a child and it is excusable for a child to be afraid. But tell this old woman why you sent your father to the meeting place."
Leah frowned. She stopped braiding her hair. "Why did I send my father? I don't understand. I sent no one. I didn't go to the meeting place, but I told one of my older sisters about what I was considering doing—running away and marrying Harrison. My sister must have told my father. He hit me and locked me in my chamber for days. I never heard from Harrison again. When I went to his father he said he was gone. He broke his heart too, Starlight."
Leah bit down on her lower lip. "He didn't love me enough to understand my fear." She shook her head, now speaking as much to herself as to the old gray-haired woman. "He never came back. Not even when my father forced me to marry Beale." The pain of her memories wrenched at her heart. She looked up at Starlight. "Why didn't he come back for me? Why did he let Edmund marry me? He knew how much I hated Edmund!" She made a fist. "He should have loved me enough to have saved me from my father and Edmund!"
Starlight drew the pipe from between her teeth and pointed at her with the stem. "I think you and my grandson have much to speak about."
Leah shook her head. "No. We have nothing to speak about. It's too late."
Starlight touched one index finger to the other. "I hear two sides of the same story. If you talk, perhaps some of the pain of the heart can be soothed. Yours and my grandson's."
Pushing her heavy braid off her shoulder, Leah dropped her hands into her lap. "What is the sense in it now?" She looked up. "I'm now married to another. I have a plantation to run and a son to raise. It was all childish innocence. It would never have worked anyway."
"Both you and my grandson have need of healing. This old woman thinks it is wise you came. Together you will find your son and heal the wounds of the past and right half truths."
Leah was confused, and tired, and afraid for her son. What did Starlight mean when she spoke of Leah sending her father? What did she mean they had to right half truths? What kind of lies had Harrison told his grandmother?
But it was just too much to think about now. What mattered was William. Leah had to concentrate on William's rescue. "I didn't come here to make any peace with Harrison. I came because I knew he could help me find my son. I'll pay him. It's merely a business transaction."
"So you and my Harrison can say." Starlight chuckled. "Funny how the stars of our fates are cast in the sky, isn't it?"
Leah didn't know what Starlight was talking about and didn't want to know. She had enjoyed her morning with the old woman, but suddenly she felt hedged in. What she needed was some fresh air and to get away from this talk of Harrison. She'd laid her past to rest a long time ago. There was no need to dig up old bones.
Leah rose, gathering the wooden breakfast bowls. "I'll wash these for you. How do I do it?"
"The stream." Starlight pointed. "Through the camp. You'll hear the running water."
Leah put her cloak around her shoulders. At the door, she turned back. "Thank you."
The old woman was concentrating on blowing smoke rings. "You thank me for what?"
Leah looked away, feeling foolish. Then she looked back at Starlight. It was funny, but nothing seemed strange to Leah here in the Shawnee camp, not the cozy wigwams, not the language, not even the difference in customs. She could almost understand how Harrison could be content here. "Just thank you," Leah repeated.
Once outside in the bright winter sunshine, Leah turned and got her bearings and then started through the village toward the stream to the west of the camp. Other villagers were out and about, but no one tried to stop her. No one even spoke to her or acknowledged her presence. She was obviously not welcome here.
Leah knew she'd made a mistake in barging in on the council meeting. She should have observed the Shawnee rules, as Taa had explained them. But she'd been so anxious to speak with Harrison and so exhausted from her journey that she hadn't been thinking clearly.
Reaching the last wigwam, Leah stopped and listened. Sure enough, she could hear the gentle motion of running water somewhere through the trees. She slipped though a hedgerow of low lying evergreens and started down a path that she suspected led to the stream, the cooking and eating bowls cradled in her arms.
The midday sun was high and bright in the sky, casting a warm glow on her face. Leaves fluttered through the air on the autumn breeze.
Halfway down the path Leah stopped in mid-stride. Something had made her suddenly uncomfortable. She glanced over her shoulder. She saw nothing but the grove of fledgling oaks she had just passed through. To her left and to her right she saw nothing but swaying branches and greenbriar thickets. A sparrow flew overhead, a piece of hair or twine caught in its beak.
Leah had not gone another
ten feet when she stopped again. She pushed her hood off her head. The light breeze brushed against her bangs. Someone was following her . . .
She stood frozen for a moment, wishing desperately that she'd brought her pistol with her, but it was still in her pack in Harrison's wigwam.
So what did she do now? Did she fling the bowls and run for the village? She stared into the thick forest that surrounded her, watching for any sign of movement. She could still see nothing but the tangle of dead underbrush and the trees that stretched on forever. She could hear nothing but the rustle of branches. She knew someone was there, but she couldn't see him. It was just a feeling, a strange, foreboding feeling.
Leah took another step forward and then she saw him. An Indian brave sat on a tree branch directly above her head, his legs dangling down. He could have reached down and plucked her hood off her head himself. She could have caught him by his moccasin and yanked him out of the tree.
She lifted her gaze upward. "Are you following me?"
"No." The brave smiled a smile that was just a little overdone. He was quite handsome with his suntanned red skin, a long jaw line, and even white teeth. His hair was the same color as Harrison's, but the front of his head was shorn short. A tangle of feathers and shells tied back the remainder of his hair in a long tail down his back. He was indeed a good-looking man, but so good-looking he was almost pretty . . . like Edmund was pretty. "Should I be—following you I mean?" The brave's English was good.
Leah walked beneath the branch, headed toward the river. She'd learned a long time ago that often a man could be gotten rid of simply by ignoring him.
She heard him jump down to the ground and follow her. "My name is Kolheek." In two long strides he caught up with her. "And yours?"
She didn't look at him. She was immediately suspicious of him. "Leah, Leah Beale."
"And you have business with my friend Harrison, Leah-Beale?"
"Perhaps."
"Word in the village is that you have a missing child and you want the half-breed Harrison to find him."
Leah stopped and looked directly into his face. Obviously there was animosity between Harrison and this Kolheek. She could tell by the tone of his voice. "So what is your concern in the matter?"
"No concern." He tapped his quilled vest. "I'd simply like to offer my help."
His words tapped her attention. She pretended not to be too interested. Of course Harrison would help her find William. But what if by chance he wouldn't? "Oh. And what do you know of saving children?"
"More than the half-breed. I have been up in Iroquois country. Mountains that reach into the heavens." He curled his upper lip menacingly. "And I hate the thieving bastards of the Seven Nations. I could bring you home your son, Leah-Beale."
She was beginning to get suspicious. "And what would you want in payment?"
He reached out to touch her cheek with the back of his hand. She stiffened.
He smiled, showing those even white teeth. "It would depend what you offered."
Leah stared at him. She didn't like the way he looked at her. Even though he hadn't touched her, she could almost feel his hands on her flesh. He made her skin crawl. "I think not," she said turning away sharply.
He grabbed her by the wrist.
"Let go of me," Leah flared. "Else—"
"Else what, English equewa? You are in my village, among my people."
"But she is my guest. "
Startled, Leah looked up to see Harrison strutting toward them, his face a mask of anger. Kolheek immediately loosened his grip on Leah and took several steps back. "Just gaming with her, brother." He gave a little laugh.
"Do not brother me!" Harrison grabbed Leah's arm and jerked her. "I thought I told you to return to my wigwam when my grandmother finished with you. Go nowhere else, speak to no one else, I believe were my words!"
Leah yanked her arm from his grip and knelt to pick Starlight's bowls up out of the leaves. "I am not your captive, Harrison! I was on my way to the stream to wash your grandmother's bowls!"
Harrison glowered at Kolheek. "Leave her alone, Kolheek. This man warns you."
Kolheek crossed his arms over his chest, taking a comfortable stance. "I was just talking with her. She and I were discussing the possibility of a business agreement, were we not, Leah-Beale?"
Harrison looked to Leah. "What is he talking about? You have no business with him!"
"I've offered to find her son for her. We were just discussing payment, weren't we?" Kolheek smiled at Leah.
Her bowls gathered up, she walked away from both men. Her hands were shaking. She could see the stream now.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harrison walk up to Kolheek and tap him on the chest as he went by. "You leave her be, or you die, Kolheek. It is so simple that even you should understand my words. No?"
Kolheek laughed uneasily as Harrison walked by him. "Just gaming with her, I tell you brother. Meant no harm. We'll speak on the matter later, Leah-Beale," he called after her.
His eerie laughter still echoed in the treetops as Leah reached the stream and knelt to wash the bowls. Thank God Harrison had come. If he hadn't, Leah wasn't certain she could have gotten away. The incident was a startling reminder of just why she needed Harrison. It would be the only way she could travel safely without fear of the likes of Kolheek.
Harrison came up behind her. "He could have raped you right there on the path, Leah. What the hell were you thinking of?"
"I told you. I just wanted to wash your grandmother's bowls for her. Starlight didn't seem to think it was dangerous for me to come here." She thrust one bowl into the stream, thankful for the sharp, cold, water.
"Yes. Well, my grandmother may not know what Kolheek is capable of, but I do. He will do anything to hurt me."
She looked over her shoulder. "And would it?" When he refused to meet her gaze, she turned back to the wooden bowls. "Why does he hate you, this Kolheek?"
Harrison squatted beside her. He picked up a short stick and began to bore a hole in a lump of green moss. "We were once good friends, he and I. When I first came to the village, he taught me much."
"Then?"
He dug deeper with the stick. "There was a woman. She . . . she was interested in marriage."
"To you?" Leah asked softly.
He nodded. "I was not in love with her, but Kolheek was. He asked her to marry him after I refused her offer."
Leah turned so that she faced Harrison. She was almost his height and could have seen directly into his black eyes if only he'd looked up. "She wouldn't marry Kolheek."
He shook his head. "She called him second best to me. She said she didn't want second best."
Leah could tell this story was hard for him to tell. He had honestly cared for this brave a long time ago. "What happened to the woman?"
"She left our village to go to another. She said it hurt her too much to be near me, knowing I would never return her love. She and her escort were murdered on the trail." He tossed the stick into the stream, and stood. He put his hand out to Leah and she touched his fingertips with her own. Slowly she rose. The rhythmic pounding of drums coming from the village began to reverberate through the woods.
"You'll take me won't you, Harrison?" she whispered. "You'll help me find my son . . . "
"Why?"
This was it. Leah knew it was her last chance. "Because you once loved me."
He pulled back his hand and leaned to pick up the wooden bowls stacked at their feet. "My grandmother has called the council early. I must go. I will return you to my wigwam and then I must join my people."
She followed him. "Harrison, time is running out. I'm afraid for my son's life."
"Go to my wigwam. Wait for me there."
She hurried down the path, her strides matching his. "And after the council meeting?"
He shrugged. "After the council meeting I will sit at my home fire and smoke my pipe."
Leah smiled, knowing when to keep quiet.
Harri
son was going to help her. She just knew it . . .
Chapter Six
Leah stood outside Harrison's wigwam, watching the sun set in a ball of fire in the western sky. The ominous pounding of the hollow Shawnee drums continued. Almost every adult in the village had filed into the ceremonial longhouse. They had been in there for hours now.
Leah had wanted to ask Harrison what was going on, but she held her tongue. He had taken her to his wigwam and bid her remain there until he returned. At this point she hadn't wanted to do anything to jeopardize her chances at convincing him to help her find William, so she had. done as he said without questioning him further.
Chilled by the night air, she retreated back into the wigwam. The scent of Harrison was strong inside the small house. Everything reminded her of him and the love they had once shared.
She stood just inside the doorway, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. This was going to be more difficult than she had thought—being so near to Harrison. She'd underestimated the strength of the bonds of their past. One touch of his hand and so many vivid memories come tumbling back. In many ways it seemed as if the time she had spent with him was a million years ago, and yet when she had felt his hand in hers it seemed as if only moments had passed since they'd last lain in the summer grass and made love in the hot afternoon sun.
Just an old woman musing over her past, Leah thought wryly. Those days of being young, attractive, and desirable had been fleeting. They weren't real. Reality was the hard labor at Tanner's Gift, reality was a cruel husband with a mistress, reality was a missing child.
Leah reached out to touch a fur lined cloak that hung on a peg on the wall. She missed William so much that it hurt. But somehow being here with Harrison eased the ache.
She sighed. It was obvious Harrison hated her for backing out on their plans to elope. After all these years he'd not found it in his heart to forgive her. She had toyed with thought of trying to explain herself to him, to try and make him understand how afraid she had been that day. But she knew he wouldn't listen. She knew he wouldn't understand. He'd not been brought up to fear his father; he'd not been brought up a female, thinking she must obey every whim of every male.
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