Savage Beloved (28 page)

Chills rode Candy’s spine to think about him choosing her. Surely he would want to see if she had been worth all the effort it had taken to abduct her.

“I was foolish to go into the forest alone,” she whispered to her mother, who for the most part sat silently beside her, her face pale, her eyes empty and hopeless. “But I will not give up hope. I must believe that somehow Two Eagles is even now following the tracks which will bring him and his warriors to me.” Candy had told her mother about Two Eagles and the way he had found her after the massacre at Fort Hope.

“Shh,” her mother whispered back to her. “If Albert hears you talking to me, he might stop and give us both a lashing with his whip.”

Candy’s eyes widened. “He does that?” she whispered,
seeing how her mother was cowering against the side of the wagon, so afraid she looked like a tiny woman, not the strong-willed person Candy had always known.

Her mother nodded, confirming that he did use a whip to make his wives obedient to his every whim.

Agnes then turned her eyes away from Candy so that even if Candy did whisper to her, she would not hear.

Agnes already had scars on her back from the day she had told Albert she wouldn’t tolerate his touching her ever again. Furious, he had yanked the whip from the wagon, and as everyone watched, he lashed her, over and over again, until she had crumpled to the ground, begging for mercy.

That night he had asked her forgiveness as he applied ointment to her back where the whip had cut into her flesh. He had told her she would be his favorite woman now and he would give her many things he did not give the others.

She had bravely, brazenly spat in his face.

She could even now feel the sting of his hand as he slapped her and then shoved her to the ground and took her sexually as the other women, even the children, watched.

She had been taught a lesson that evening, one that she would never forget. She gave in to him now every time he ordered her to his bed.

Worse, she was afraid that she was with child. It was terrible to consider, not only because it would be this madman’s child, but because of her age. She knew she was too old to have babies.

In all her life she had only been able to carry one child to full term. The other times she had lost the baby in the early stages of her pregnancy.

She hoped that if she was pregnant now, she would lose this child, too.

Confused as to why her mother was ignoring her, Candy wiped tears from her eyes. She tried to focus on finding a way to escape the lunacy of this man. If she did, she would bring help back for the other women and their children.

She would be so proud if she could find a way to help these people, especially the children. There was much sadness in their eyes, for they knew their future was bleak.

There would be no schooling, no freedom, no love. They were there only to satisfy this madman’s need to have as many children and wives as possible.

With determination tightening her jaw, Candy looked around her, and then up at the angle of the sun in the sky. She was trying to figure out how long she had been traveling since her abduction, and how far she was from Two Eagles’s village. The two wagons were so loaded down with belongings and people, Albert could not travel quickly. Candy knew Two Eagles could catch up to her if only he discovered the wagon tracks.

Candy started when she felt her mother nudging her in the side with an elbow, drawing Candy’s eyes quickly to her.

When her mother nodded to the left, where the trees grew thick along the side of the road, her eyes widened. She caught sight of several wolves racing
by in the shadows of the forest, keeping up with the wagon. Among them was not only White Wolf, but also her beloved Shadow!

They had somehow known that she was in danger and how to find her. They had come to rescue her. But how could they achieve it? Albert would start shooting the wolves as soon as he saw them.

She prayed that they would stay hidden until later when camp was made. After Albert was asleep, it might be possible to escape. Albert had only one woman on his side: Gretchen, who knew how to shoot a firearm as accurately as a man and would not hesitate to kill not only wolves, but any woman who attempted to escape while Albert slept.

But Candy knew that the wolves were stealthy and could move incredibly fast.

She smiled, for she believed she would not be a captive for much longer.

My heart is quivering like a flame,
As morning dew, that in the sunbeam dies,
I am dissolving in these consuming ecstasies.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley

Candy’s heart thumped wildly as she caught a glimpse of Two Eagles riding hidden amid the trees alongside the road.

Then she saw movement behind him and recognized several of Two Eagles’s warriors.

Her pulse raced as she watched White Wolf edging closer to a clearing beside the beaten path of the road.

Then suddenly White Wolf leapt out and onto the seat of the wagon, catching Albert so off guard he didn’t have time to grab his rifle.

In a flash, White Wolf knocked Albert off the seat. The rifle was knocked off as well and landed at Candy’s feet.

She grabbed it and held it on Albert while White Wolf kept his teeth clamped on Albert’s right arm. At the same time Two Eagles and his warriors came out into the open and surrounded the two wagons.

Out of the corner of her eye, Candy saw the woman she detested grabbing for her rifle.

Two Eagles noticed, too, and took aim with his rifle. He shot Gretchen’s firearm out of her hand just as she pointed it at him.

Through all of this, Albert was screaming, begging Two Eagles to call off the wolf.

Two Eagles rode up and patted White Wolf, and the animal released Albert’s arm. He then leapt from the wagon to rejoin his pack.

The moment White Wolf let go, Albert eyed Candy and his rifle. He made a lunge for the firearm, but Two Eagles was faster. He grabbed Albert by the throat.

When Albert tried to wrestle free, his own struggling caused his neck to crack, killing him instantly.

Two Eagles laid the dead man aside. Then he reached down and pulled Candy into his arms.

Sobbing, she twined her arms around his neck and clung to him.

After she had collected herself, and realized that all was well again with her world, she leaned away from Two Eagles. She smiled at her mother, who was still sitting in the wagon, seemingly awestruck by all that had happened.

“Two Eagles, this is my mother, Agnes,” Candy said, gesturing toward her with her free hand. “After she left Fort Hope, she ran into Albert Cohen.
She thought he was a kind man offering her assistance, but soon realized how wrong she was. She became his prisoner.”

Two Eagles eyed Agnes strangely, then asked, “How could you name your child Candy?”

This broke the strain of the moment. Everyone except Gretchen laughed in unison.

Two Eagles carried Candy from the wagon and gently placed her on his steed, then mounted behind her.

He looked at the women and children. “You are now free to go wherever you want to go,” he told them. “You are no longer captives of this white man who lost sight of decency long ago.”

Candy gazed at her mother, then turned her eyes up to Two Eagles. “Can my mother come home with us?” she asked softly.

Agnes stood up and climbed from the wagon.

She came up beside Two Eagles’s horse and took Candy’s hand in her own. “Honey, I’d rather not,” she murmured. “I would rather continue my journey now that Albert isn’t here to stop me. I’m anxious to go where I can perform on the stage again. Dancing is in my blood.”

She laughed softly. “Yes, I know I’m probably too old for anyone to want to see me dance, but I must give it a try,” she said. She would not trouble her daughter with the possibility that she might be pregnant with the madman’s child.

It was not necessary.

She knew almost without a doubt that before long she would lose the child, as she had in the past. Then
she would finally have her life back again, one that she could live on her own terms.

Agnes turned and gazed at the other women and children. “Do you want to go with me to find civilization again, to truly know the meaning of freedom?” she asked, smiling at the women she had grown close to, and then the children she adored.

They all said “yes,” as though in one voice.

Candy slid from the horse and went to her mother. Trying hard to understand a woman who would choose to live far away from her only daughter, she embraced her mother. “Mama, is this what you truly want?” she asked, leaning away from her so that they could gaze into each other’s eyes. “If so, we might never see one another again.”

Agnes looked past Candy and smiled at Two Eagles, then held Candy’s hands. “I think I’m leaving you in good hands,” she said. “And I believe we will see one another again. It’s just that I need something different than you do. Please understand.”

“Mama, I hope you find that something and will be happy,” Candy murmured. “You deserve it. I know how unhappy you were for so long with Father.”

“He only thought of himself, no one else,” Agnes said thickly. “The day I left was the first time in years that I knew freedom.”

“And then it was stifled again by that terrible man,” Candy said, glancing at Albert’s body and shuddering at what his intentions had been for her.

“Yes, that terrible man,” Agnes said, stiffening at the memory of those long nights with him, and especially
those times when he had beaten her almost to death.

Agnes stepped away from Candy and climbed aboard the wagon. She shoved Albert’s body off the seat to the back of the wagon, then covered him with a blanket.

She then took her seat and grabbed the reins as the other women and children took their places in the wagons.

“I’ll hand his body over to the authorities at the next town or fort, whichever we arrive at first,” Agnes said, her back straight, her long, russet-colored hair blowing in the gentle breeze. “I love you, daughter, forever and ever.”

“I love you, too,” Candy said, blinking tears from her eyes.

Two Eagles dismounted and stood at Candy’s side as the wagons rolled away. The people in them had looks of hope and faith now, such as they had not known while Albert Cohen was alive.

Candy’s mother’s wagon didn’t get far before Agnes turned and smiled at her over her shoulder, then said, “I love you . . . Painted Wings.”

Candy was touched deeply by her mother use of her Indian name. She realized now that her mother had truly accepted her daughter’s new life.

Candy nodded as her mother’s eyes turned away from her and Agnes Creighton continued on her journey.

“Painted Wings?” Two Eagles asked, drawing Candy’s eyes to him.

“Yes, I told Mother the beautiful name that you gave me and . . . and . . . she approved,” she said.

Her insides turned warm with love for this wonderful Wichita chief when he embraced and kissed her.

And then he held her away from him and gazed into her eyes. “Are you ready to go
wissgutts
, home?” he asked, searching her eyes.

“Yes, ah, home,” Candy murmured. “For a while I didn’t know if I would ever see it, or you, again.”

She flung herself into his arms. “Thank you for rescuing me,” she whispered, then felt something leaning against her leg.

She turned and gazed down and found Shadow there, gazing up at her. She knew that if wolves could smile, her wolf would be smiling now. She knelt down and embraced her pet. “Thank you, too,” she said.

Shadow leaned against Candy for a moment, then ran off to where White Wolf and the other wolves awaited her arrival.

Tears came to Candy’s eyes when White Wolf and Shadow touched noses, then turned and disappeared with the others in the shadows of the forest.

“I hope we see her again,” Candy said, wiping tears from her eyes.

“With such affection that is between you and the wolf, I can promise you will see Shadow again,” Two Eagles said, taking Candy’s hand and leading her back to the horse. “
Hiyu-wo
, come, my woman. We have things awaiting us.”

“Things?” she said as he lifted her on the horse.

“
Ho
, things,” Two Eagles said, chuckling as he mounted behind her. He held her with his left arm and lifted the reins with his right hand.

Soon they were on their way home, with so many beautiful promises of tomorrow awaiting them.

I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved?

Were we not wean’d till then?
—John Donne

Filled with resentment at the knowledge that everything she had done to get Two Eagles to care for her had been in vain, Hawk Woman sat and glared into the glowing embers of the fire. She was being held prisoner in the same tepee that had been Candy’s jail until . . .

“Until Two Eagles took her into his lodge,” Hawk Woman whispered to herself, her jaw tightening. “That woman has gained everything since her abduction, while I have lost all that was important to me.”

Yes, she had lost her freedom; she didn’t even know what her final fate would be when Two Eagles returned home to deal with her.

Yes, she had lost him, and all hopes of ever having him.

“And all because of that prissy, tiny thing that came into my life at the wrong time,” Hawk Woman said as she continued to talk out loud to herself.

Yes, she had to find a way to get back at Candy once and for all. Somehow she would find a way to make her pay for interfering in her life.

Suddenly a shriek of pain pierced the air outside the tepee. Hawk Woman heard someone cry the name of the warrior who had been assigned to stand guard outside the tepee.

She hurried to the entrance flap and drew it aside just enough to see what was happening.

Her eyes widened when she saw Bold Bear’s wife run to him, tears pouring down her cheeks as she told him that their daughter, Evening Star, had fallen and it looked as though she might have broken an arm.

Hawk Woman’s heart raced and a cunning smile quivered across her lips when she saw Bold Bear leave his post in panic. Obviously, he had forgotten his duty of guarding Hawk Woman the moment he heard about his daughter’s misfortune.