Brave Beginnings (27 page)

Amata glanced over her shoulder and shrugged.
“I don’t know. He’s never said anything about her.”

Onawa nodded, deciding it was best not to ask
if he’d ever said anything about her in case he’d never mentioned
her either or, worse, said he settled for the upcoming marriage
because he had no other choice. Her father had given him an
additional gift to accept her instead of Woape, and she’d like to
think he would have accepted without the gift but would never
know.

A greeting caught Onawa’s attention as Amata
put the lid back onto the basket. She moved the animal hide aside
that served as a door and spied Ukiah, Amata and Citlali’s brother
who was the same age as she was. She strained to hear what he was
telling a couple of the women.

She thought she heard Citlali’s name, but she
couldn’t make out what he was saying so she left the room and
inched toward the group.

“But why would Chogan do that?” one of his
cousins asked.

Ukiah chuckled. “I don’t know, but does
Chogan need a reason to shove him? Citlali annoys everyone.”

“That’s not true,” his aunt replied.

“Of course, it’s true.”

His aunt shushed him and glanced at Onawa. As
if on cue, the group turned in her direction, and Onawa’s face grew
warm. She offered a tentative smile.

“Onawa came over to give Amata a necklace,”
his aunt told him. “Then she stayed for awhile.”

“Yes,” Onawa replied. “But I need to go back
before Woape comes looking for me.”

His mother came over to her and took her
hand. With a light squeeze, she said, “We are glad you’ll live here
when you marry.”

Unsure of what to say since she wanted to ask
what happened between Chogan and Citlali but knew no one would tell
her, she settled for another uneasy smile. She retrieved her robe
and quickly put it on, feeling as if they were watching her to
determine how much of the conversation she overheard. Without a
glance back, she hurried toward the entrance of the lodge.

On her way out, she almost ran into Citlali.
She cleared her throat. If her face had been warm before, it was
unbearably hot now. “I’m sorry.”

“You have no need to apologize,” Citlali
said.

She dared to look at him, something she
couldn’t often manage thanks to the wild fluttering in the pit of
her stomach. “I wasn’t watching where I was going, and…” And what?
She had no idea what to add, so she let the sentence trail off into
an awkward silence.

“You don’t have to explain,” he replied in a
tone that was mildly pleasant. “Everything is fine.”

Her mind raced through a million topics, but
nothing seemed appropriate so she remained quiet. She took a deep
breath and gave up. “I need to return to my lodge.”

As she took a step away from him, he called
out, “Onawa?”

Startled, she paused and turned to face him.
“Yes?”

He waited, as if trying to determine what to
say. Finally, he said, “It is good to see you.”

She tried to thank him but the words wouldn’t
come.

With a nod, he sauntered into his lodge.

Her heart beat resumed and she was able to
move. Smiling, she spun around and hurried back to her lodge, more
excited than she could ever remember being before in her entire
life. Maybe, just maybe, a part of him wanted to be with her.

~~********~~

Millicent sat in her bedroom, twirling the
brush in her hand as she waited for her mother to tell her she
could come downstairs. She could make out the voices of her father
and Conrad, but since they were downstairs in the parlor and her
mother shut her bedroom door, she couldn’t make out what they were
saying. She suspected Conrad was asking her father’s permission to
propose to her. She didn’t see any reason why her father would say
no, but she still couldn’t concentrate on anything except the
twirling of her brush.

The knock on her door startled her. Bolting
to her feet, she squeaked out, “Come in.” She cleared her throat
and set the brush down on her dresser.

Her mother opened the door with an excited
expression on her face.

“Is it a proposal? Did Father say yes?”
Millicent asked, clasping her hands together.

“I think so. Your father refused to tell me
anything, but he’s got that mischievous spark in his eye.” She
waved her forward. “Now, come along. Conrad wishes to speak to you.
You don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Oh, right!” She hurried to the door and
paused to hug her mother. “Do I look appropriate?”

Her mother laughed and placed her hands on
her cheeks. “You look lovely.” She gave her a kiss and said, “Let
me know everything that happens?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

She let go of her and smiled.

Millicent went down the steps, forcing
herself not to run. She might be eager to find out what happened,
but she didn’t have to let Conrad know that. She paused at the
bottom step to get a moment to settle her nerves before she
continued on to the parlor where her father and Conrad appeared to
be having a good conversation.

Her father glanced her way, and he and Conrad
stood from their chairs. “Oh good, Milly,” her father greeted.
“Conrad wishes to discuss some important things with you. I will
leave you two alone.”

She smiled at her father as he walked past
her and left the parlor. Turning back to Conrad, she took a deep
breath.

“Millicent, will you please sit?” He motioned
to the sofa.

Nodding, she did so and smoothed out her
skirt while he settled next to her.

“When I asked your father if I could call on
you, I told him what my job is.”

“Right. You’re a detective,” she said.

“Yes. But I don’t live here. My home is back
in Fargo. I am staying with my brother.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize this.”

“I came here about two months before I met
your father because I’ve been hired by a man to investigate a
possible homicide. Now, I can’t go into the details, but I want you
to understand that I will have to return to Fargo when I’m done
with this assignment. I’ve been keeping the situation quiet. I
can’t afford to alert the suspect. But I will be returning to Fargo
this weekend to let the person who hired me know what I’ve learned
so far.”

“Oh?” She tried to think of something to add
but her mind was blank.

Conrad reached for her hand. “I want you to
know I don’t usually stay away from Fargo this long, and I don’t
usually take cases outside of Fargo. So you don’t need to think
that I’ll be off and running around to leave you at home for long
periods of time.”

She nodded in expectation. The turn of the
conversation made her stomach toss and turn, and had she not been
sitting, she might have fainted.

“Now, I work long hours at times. My schedule
is erratic because it depends on whatever case I am working on at
the time. I work when I get hired, so I’m not always home on
holidays or weekends. I wanted you to know the nature of my
profession before I asked you to marry me. I have your father’s
permission. All that’s missing is yours.” He got on one knee before
her and squeezed her hand. “Millicent, will you do me the honor of
being my wife?”

Forcing back the urge to do something as
unladylike as shriek and jump up and down, she squeezed his hand in
return and widely smiled. “Yes! I’d be most delighted.”

“Wonderful!” He stood and she stood with him.
“I will notify my parents, and they’ll come out to meet you. Then
we can discuss plans for the wedding. I want to put my current case
to rest before we marry. The man who hired me went through a
terrible ordeal. He’s well off financially, but the tragedy’s taken
its toll. I hope to resolve the matter before summer.”

“Oh, alright.” She had no real knowledge of
what being a detective entailed, and for once, she wished she’d
taken more of an interest in the Sherlock Holmes books her father
adored. “Um…then you think the killer is here? In Bismarck?”

“Yes. The only thing missing is the body of
the victim. My job is to keep tabs on the suspect while my partner
is searching for the body back in Fargo. Of course, the body might
be in Moorhead or even further out. You see, without proof, there’s
nothing to resolve the case.”

“It sounds dreadful.”

“I often have a feeling the truth of the
matter is so close I can’t find it.” He laughed. “It’s a
contradiction, I suppose, but my instincts tend to be accurate. I
made the mistake of not following them on my first case.” His mood
grew somber for a moment. “I’ve learned a lot, and one of the
lessons was to never underestimate a desperate man. Things beneath
the surface have a way of emerging in the most unpleasant way.”
Smiling again, he continued, “I don’t want tonight to be about the
case. I asked to marry you, and you said yes. This is a good
night.”

“Yes, yes it is,” she replied, not quite as
enthusiastic as before but still glowing from his proposal. She
realized he was still holding her hands. Sensing he’d seen some
distasteful things in the past, she kissed him on the cheek. “There
are some beautiful experiences life offers. We will enjoy
those.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Shall we tell your
parents the good news?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Letting go of his hands, she called out to
them and clasped her hands together. She glanced at him and let out
a soft chuckle. “It really is good news, isn’t it?”

“The best,” he softly answered.

Her mother came into the parlor first,
followed by her father who had a knowing grin on his face.

“Mother, Father,” Millicent began, “Conrad
asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

Her mother hugged her and her father shook
Conrad’s hand as they congratulated the couple. “Well, this is
cause for a celebration.” Her mother turned to her father. “We
should bring out that bottle of wine we’ve been saving for special
occasions.”

“That’s a good idea,” her father said.

Her mother ran to get the bottle and glasses
while her father led them to the dining room for supper.

***

Julia studied the coyote fur and contemplated
how she wanted to decorate it. She sat beside Chogan’s grandmother
who offered to help her, and since the other women in the lodge
were tending to the meat further from the fire, she was glad
someone was able to show her what to do.

His grandmother put her hands close to the
fire and rubbed them together.

Julia slid her hand over the soft fur. The
Mandans didn’t waste anything from an animal, and they were
surprisingly good at preserving the beauty of the animal’s coat. It
would make a lovely shawl. With a glance at his grandmother, she
thought of the right Mandan words to speak. “Um…fur…good.” She
winced. She really shouldn’t have been so hard on Chogan when he
was learning to better speak her language that summer they searched
for her brother. Learning Mandan wasn’t easy.

His grandmother chuckled. “I speak some
English. I learn from Chogan.”

“Oh, good.” Julia laughed and then cleared
her throat, wondering if the comment came out right. “What I mean
is that I’m not as good at learning another language as Chogan
is.”

“We need white man’s words. Our ways…they
merge.”

Realizing his grandmother had lowered her
voice significantly, she leaned forward and softly asked, “Do the
others know you speak English?”

“Some not understand. It be secret?”

She nodded and smiled. “Yes.”

“My people become less and less. We cannot
fight it.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat as it
dawned on her that this way of life was slowly being eroded.
Scanning the lodge, she took in the peaceful existence here. Just
as she shared these calming moments with her aunt, she was now
sharing them with her in-laws. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Chogan
said this way of life will not go on. It didn’t occur to me what
that meant until…” Shrugging, she continued, “Until now.”

His grandmother brushed a stray strand of
hair from Julia’s face and smiled. “Do not be sorry.” She took
Julia’s hand in hers and squeezed it. “His first wife…she nice. But
she not make him happy. I like you. You make him happy. Before he
left tribe, I tell him to seek love. He be sad too long. Now he
happy.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“You want beads or paints?” She motioned to
the basket and bowls spread out around them.

“To be honest, I don’t know what to put on
it.” Julia’s gaze fell to the fur as she turned it over and
inspected the smooth surface.

“We put things important to us. Make it have
meaning to you.”

“Hmm…” That sounded easy enough. She bit her
lower lip. “Chogan has diamonds on his robe. I’ll do one to
represent him.”

She winked. “Now you think like Mandan.”

“So that is what you do? You have pictures
that represent people on your clothes?”

“People, moments, things.”

She considered his grandmother’s words and
thought a bow and arrow might be nice. Every time she’d look at it,
she’d remember the times Chogan had spent teaching her how to hunt
for rabbits. Grinning at the memory, she decided she’d paint a bow
and arrow on it. Maybe she would even add the necklace Woape had
given her. The possibilities were endless. Feeling inspired, she
began decorating it.

***

Inside the lodge, it was easy to forget the
blowing wind and the heavy snowfall. Julia snuggled up to Chogan
under the furs of their bed. She had to admit that the Mandans’
idea for bedding was a wonderful one. She ran her bare foot along
the furs and smiled at the soft texture.

“You look nice in my bed,” Chogan
whispered.

Opening her eyes, she softly replied, “I
didn’t know you were awake.”