Comanche passion, p.36
Comanche Passion, page 36
“Red Hawk knew.”
“He did? Why didn’t he tell me? Or you tell me?”
“You were so concerned with Red Hawk and, at first, Thomas and I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“I can understand that,” Savannah said dryly. “Oh, Adela, I made such a mistake. I would go with him now without thinking about it.”
“Even with the danger and the hardships?”
“Yes. If he can live with those things, then I can, too. This life is empty. I didn’t realize how empty.”
“Perhaps Thomas can find him for you.”
Savannah shook her head. “I don’t think so, and I don’t want him to put himself at risk to try.”
“He won’t do that. But he can ask questions.”
Savannah touched her stomach. “How I wish that I carried his baby. Then I would have part of him to claim as mine.”
“Savannah, you can’t wish that! It would bring ruin on you and the baby.”
Savannah smiled at Adela. “Enough about my problems. Let’s talk about your plans with Thomas.”
“You have to help me plan my wedding. It should be very simple. I’m sorry if all this hurts you.”
“Nonsense! It never hurts me, Adela, for you to be happy. Let’s plan this simple, small wedding.”
September passed. Adela was married on the first Saturday morning in October. She looked radiant, and Savannah momentarily was whisked out of her heartache, happy to see her sister so overjoyed.
Thomas had discarded his cane and exercised his hand daily to get back full use of it. He was busy practicing medicine and had opened his own small office in a front room of the new house where he and Adela would live.
Their simple wedding had grown until most of Mason crowded into the Ravenwood house. Savannah wore her deep blue silk dress and Adela wore a pale blue taffeta. Thomas looked more handsome than ever, and they were so in love it hurt to look at either of them. Happy for Adela and Thomas, yet hurting badly, Savannah stood beside her sister and listened to her take her vows. Thomas kissed her and they were husband and wife.
After the ceremony, a party was held at the house. Later, Thomas and Adela left for a brief trip to Austin. Each day, Savannah thought more earnestly about moving to San Antonio. Adela no longer needed her and she thought she could find a degree of happiness in the city, where she would be far busier than in Mason. She was tutoring children, thinking about what she could do when she moved. She still missed Red Hawk more than ever.
By the end of October, she moved into her new small house in San Antonio. While it was in a different section of town from Red Hawk’s, it suited Savannah just fine.
Adela and Thomas and Lucinda Lou helped her move. As she stood in her new living room, she turned to find Adela studying her. “Savannah, I worry about you here. You’re so thin, too thin. You won’t know as many people—”
“I’ll be all right, Adela, and I promise to come see you often. And you and Thomas can come see me often.”
Thomas came into the house. He had been talking to a neighbor, and his expression was grim.
“What’s wrong?” Adela asked at once, stepping to his side.
He took her hand and looked down at her. “I just learned Atlanta fell to Sherman. This damned war—” He broke off. “Sorry, ladies. Savannah, I’ll bring your trunk inside. Where do you want it?”
“If you’ll place it in my bedroom,” she said, leading the way.
Spending two days with her, they helped her arrange furniture and get settled. Matilda and Wesley now worked for Thomas and Adela, but they had come along and helped with the move.
Finally Savannah was alone. She had brought the mahogany furniture from her father’s house, the four-poster bed she had had as a girl.
The house was silent, yet she knew she would become accustomed to it. Tears started and she longed for Red Hawk. She was resigned that she would never stop loving him, and she wondered if anything would bring him back to San Antonio.
One Saturday on a warm mid-November day, she encountered Casper Ashman on Commerce Street. While traffic and people moved around them, he tipped his hat and his brows arched. “So you didn’t go with him and marry him after all.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Very wise choice. Are you living in his house?”
“No, I have my own house and I tutor children.”
Ashman’s gaze swept boldly over her, taking in her blue cotton dress and bonnet. “You live alone, Savannah?”
His question chilled her. “Yes, except for servants. My brother-in-law and sister visit on weekends.”
“I see,” Ashman said without interest. “If I had just known a day earlier Quentin was a wanted man, I would have Matthew now.”
“You turned Red Hawk in to the sheriff?”
“Yes. And someday they’ll catch him and hang him and Matthew will be mine again.”
“I don’t think they’ll ever catch him. He’s back with his people.”
“Savages. But they’ll be eliminated when this war ends. Nice to see you, Savannah. Perhaps I’ll call sometime soon.”
“You can leave your card with the butler,” she said, wondering if she would have a problem with Casper Ashman. She dismissed the meeting, certain he would never get Matthew in his clutches again.
When she reached home, she unlocked the door and carried her packages inside. As she returned to close the front door, she saw Thomas ride into the yard. Dressed in his black suit, he was on horseback, so Adela wasn’t with him. His horse was lathered and Savannah knew instantly that something was wrong.
Her first thought was Adela, and Savannah ran outside to meet him as he dismounted.
“Thomas, what is it? What’s happened?”
He motioned toward the house. “Shall we go inside, Savannah?”
She turned icy, terrified of what news he had brought. One look at his expression and she knew it was terrible. He came into the front hall and closed the door, leaning against it. “I came right away. And I’ll go from here to Fort Worth.”
“Fort Worth?” She couldn’t follow what he was telling her. Fort Worth had nothing to do with Adela.
“Is Adela all right?”
“Adela is fine. It’s Red Hawk. The army captured him. He’s been arrested and is to be tried in Fort Worth on the murder charges.”
Chapter Twenty-four
“How? When did this happen?” Savannah cried.
“I don’t know the details. We just heard that he was caught by the army. A patrol attacked a group of Indians, and he was with them. He was caught because he stayed behind to fight while others escaped. He’ll be tried in a civilian court.”
“When?” she asked, terrified he had already been tried and sentenced. She couldn’t breathe and the room spun while she waited for Thomas to answer.
“The trial is scheduled in two weeks. They’ve contacted Adela to be a witness. I’m sure they’ll contact you within a day or two, but I wanted you to know as soon as possible. I’ll go right now to Fort Worth—”
Relief poured over her and all her anxiety changed to joy. She would see him. She knew now where to find him. “I’m going with you.”
“You can’t do that!” Thomas looked stunned. “You can’t travel with me.”
“You can bring Adela if you want to make things look right, but I’m going. Don’t leave without me. I’ll pack,” she said, racing to the bedroom, leaving him sputtering. He followed her and stood in the doorway, looking awkward while she flew around the room, flinging clothes on her bed.
“Savannah, stop and think. You’re reacting with your heart and not your head. You can’t travel across country, and it would wear poor Adela to pieces. She wasn’t meant to travel like I’ll have to. Neither are you.”
“Of course she can travel like that,” Savannah said, impatiently rummaging through a drawer, “and so can I. We did it with him.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Red Hawk took me all across Louisiana with him and then Adela and I traveled across country on horseback with him to get from Nacogdoches to San Antonio.”
She realized there was silence and glanced at Thomas to see him staring at her round-eyed. “I’m sorry if I shocked you, but Adela did nothing that wasn’t circumspect and she’s really stronger than you think. Now I’m going to Fort Worth, with or without you and Adela.”
“Ahh, Savannah, I should have known what you’d do,” he said, sounding resigned. “Slow down. You don’t have to pack in the next five minutes. Let me have a glass of water and something to eat.”
I’m sorry, Thomas,” she said, at once contrite. “Help yourself in the kitchen—” She realized that he probably was helpless in a kitchen. With his family of females, she was certain someone had waited on him all his life. She hurried past him. “Come here and I’ll fix you a supper. I’ll pack while you eat.”
Looking amused, he trailed after her. To her surprise, he was more help than she’d expected. In a short time, she was back in her room, her heart pounding with eagerness because she would see Red Hawk.
She could burst with joy, trying to think about what she would want with her. She went to her chiffonnier and looked in the back of a top drawer, withdrawing the extra pistol that her father had always kept locked in his desk drawer. It was a Colt, and she had boxes of ammunition. She knew Adela had never given it a thought, and Savannah had quietly packed it with her things when she had moved to San Antonio. She placed it in the bottom of her bag. Then she studied her room and began to pack what she wanted to keep, feeling that she would never return to this house.
She changed to the blue poplin and looked around the room, finally closing a bag and going to find Thomas.
He was stretched on the davenport asleep and she sat down, knowing he probably needed to rest, wondering if he had ridden straight through without stopping, yet certain he wouldn’t push his horse that hard.
She thought about what she should do before she left, and went outside to feed and water Thomas’s horse. Then she went next door to tell Maribelle Thompkins, her neighbor, that she was leaving town. She left word with Maribelle to tell her students that she was gone. She returned home and closed up the house and went to get something to eat so she wouldn’t have to eat again soon. She brewed a pot of coffee because she suspected when Thomas awakened, he would need it.
When she finished eating, she packed bundles of food they could easily carry, knowing they would ride first to Mason and then on to Fort Worth, so she would only need something for them to eat between here and Mason. She looked at the knives in the drawer and took one to place in the bottom of her packed bag.
Next she went outside and saddled her horse, all the while humming a tune. She would see Red Hawk! The thought of the trial was a cloud, but she intended to tell the truth about Horace Platt. That would eliminate one charge instantly. He had to be set free. Now that she had found him again, the thought of losing him once more was impossible. She couldn’t bear to consider the possibility that that might happen.
She returned to the house and looked at Thomas, who was still sprawled asleep. She wanted to wake him and go, but she knew he needed his rest, so she continued closing the house and then sat down to wait.
To her relief, he woke in another hour. He sat up and rubbed his forehead and glanced across the room at her.
“Savannah, sorry. I was exhausted. I’ve switched horses and ridden straight here from Mason.”
“And we should return the same way so we can get on to Fort Worth.”
He shook his head. “I should have known you would want to tear right up there to see him.”
“Yes, I do.”
“We’ll be in time for the trial, but you mustn’t get your hopes too high. He’s in a bad situation.”
“I intend to tell the truth about Mr. Platt.”
Thomas frowned. “Frankly, I doubt if anyone will believe you.”
“They have to. Adela will tell them.”
“Adela is your sister. If they don’t believe you, they won’t believe her, but they will believe that neighbor who rushed in and saw Quentin standing with a pistol in his hand.”
“They have to believe me because it’s the truth.”
Shrugging, Thomas stood. “I want to take time for coffee.”
“I’ve already brewed a pot because I thought you’d like some before starting out again.”
He smiled. “Good. Let’s go get my coffee so we can get you to Fort Worth.”
They closed up her house and rode to Fredericksburg. The entire time, Savannah was barely aware of her surroundings. Excitement and eagerness to get to Fort Worth hummed in her.
As they rode along the main street, Thomas turned to her. “We can get rooms at the hotel—”
“Can we keep riding? I can keep up.”
“It might be dangerous at night.”
“I’ll take the chance.”
He rubbed his forehead and finally nodded. “Very well. We’ll keep going. I had my rest. When you want to stop, tell me.”
She nodded, thankful they would continue traveling. “I’ll sleep when we get to your house, just as you did today at mine.”
It was afternoon the next day when they reached the small frame house he shared with Adela.
Savannah dismounted with aching muscles. Adela rushed outside to hug her and in minutes Savannah was in bed in their guest room while Adela sat on the side of the bed.
“Savannah, I knew you would want to go see Red Hawk. After Thomas left, I thought about it and guessed you would return with him.”
“Will you come with us?”
“Of course. I’m already packed and ready to go.”
“Adela. I’ve found him.”
Adela’s blue eyes were clouded with worry. “Thomas said you shouldn’t get your hopes too high. Two murder charges is bad, and his being an Indian won’t help his case.”
Anger flashed in Savannah, and she knotted her fingers in the coverlet. “He’ll get off, Adela. He has to go free.”
“Thomas will do anything he can.”
Nothing could diminish Savannah’s joy that she had found Red Hawk. In minutes she was asleep.
The following morning they left for Fort Worth.
The trip seemed interminable to Savannah, and she knew she was pushing Thomas and Adela, who would have taken more time had she not been with them. Four days later they rode into Fort Worth, a town of saloons and hastily constructed buildings. Savannah barely saw any of it. Her excitement was at fever pitch, and it was all she could do to politely ride to a hotel with Adela and Thomas instead of tearing down the street to the jail.
She changed to her dimity dress and bonnet. On the trip, she had spent spare moments sewing pockets into her petticoats. In them, she placed the knife and the Colt and ammunition, knowing that Thomas would never aid her, nor would he approve of her slipping weapons to Red Hawk.
She paced the room impatiently until Thomas appeared to escort her to the jail. He looked solemn. “Savannah, when I was at the livery stable, they were talking about a hanging. I hope I haven’t brought you here to have your heart broken worse than ever.”
“They can’t hang him without a trial,” she snapped, yet she chilled with fear because she knew too well that they could hang him without waiting for a trial. “I shall help him escape.”
“Savannah, you can’t!” Thomas’s face clouded. “I won’t let you do that and I won’t be involved in it, nor will I let Adela become involved in it. I’ll tie you in this room before I’ll let that happen.”
She saw the steel beneath all Thomas’s gentleness and she realized that he meant every word. She rubbed her upper arms. “Of course. You’re right, Thomas, but I won’t survive if they hang him.”
Thomas crossed the room to place his hands on her shoulders. “Yes, you will survive, Savannah. You are a survivor. I won’t let you break the law to help him, but I’ll help any other way I can. If you’re ready, I’ll accompany you to the jail.”
She nodded and picked up her reticule. “If only Papa were still alive—”
“Savannah, if your Papa were still alive, he wouldn’t let you near that jail,” Thomas replied harshly.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said, remembering how her father hated Indians. “Let’s go.”
Thomas took her arm and they left the hotel. As they approached the low, flat building that housed the jail and the sheriff’s office, she saw a barred window overlooking the street. The interior was in shadows. She wondered whether Red Hawk was looking out and could see her. She tingled with anticipation, her pulse racing.
She barely heard anything said to the young blond deputy, who stood and took down a ring of keys. They followed him into another room, past one empty cell to another cell.
Red Hawk stood waiting. He was far darker skinned than when she had told him farewell. His shaggy hair was longer. He wore buckskins and moccasins, and a headband was tied around his head. His eyes lit up as his gaze swept over her. It took all her control to keep from crying out with joy and running to throw herself against the bars.
Red Hawk stared at her, wondering if she were real or his imagination. There was Thomas, looking solemn beside her. Were they married now? It hurt to think about their union, which he knew was absurd. He had left her so she could marry Thomas, and that’s no doubt what she had done.
His gaze swept over her while his pulse raced. She wore a dress sprigged with green leaves and a matching bonnet with green silk ribbons that brought out the green of her eyes. He caught a sweet rose scent from where he stood. He wanted to rip the bars right out of the walls and take her into his arms. She’s married. Her husband is there beside her.
He clenched his fists to keep from reaching through the bars for her. How beautiful she looked! Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were rosy. She looked like she hadn’t a care in the world. His gaze raked over her again. She was too thin and he wondered how her life had been.
He didn’t want her in Fort Worth because he didn’t expect a good outcome for his trial. He had known if he were caught, it would go harshly for him. The first chance, he would tell Thomas to get her out of town when the trial started—if a trial started. He had seen the small angry mob that gathered outside the jail at night. He didn’t want Savannah to become the object of any of that hatred, yet another swift glance at her and he knew she would never become the object of hatred of any male.
