Savage Conquest (28 page)

Their thirsty lips joined, and his strong arms
banded her so tightly she skipped several breaths; yet
she clung to him fiercely. It was crazyl He hadn't
meant to kiss her, even to touch her. It was as if he had a power over his emotions or actions. He felt he
would die of hunger if he didn't feast on her lips. But
the more sweetness he devoured from her lips, the
more ravenous his starving body became, until it
begged to feed upon.hers. His weakness and her
power stunned him, for such feelings should not
exist. Yet, she shared this fire which burned within
him.

When Lucas returned to where he had left
Miranda, he called her name in concern. Miranda
never heard him; she feverishly kissed the warrior
before her, mindless of all else. But the warrior's
senses were keen, and he heard the summons. He
knew the man would come looking for her. For a
wild moment, he was tempted to slay the man and to
capture the girl who inspired such passion within
him. But the time was wrong; he had something vital
to do for his people.

He ceased his intoxicating assault upon her lips
and emotions. "Miranda ya." He informed her that
she must leave his side, nodding toward the direction
from which Lucas was calling her. He cupped her
face between his hands and seemed to memorize it.
Such uncommon indecision filled him. Surely it was
wrong to desire an enemy so much.

Assuming Blazing Star couldn't speak or understand English, she responded to Lucas, "Just a
moment, Luke, I needed privacy."

If she had known he caught each word, she would
have flushed a bright scarlet. "Will I see you again?" she asked eagerly. Unfortunately, she asked in
English, not Sioux.

"Miranda wilhanmna wincinyanna," he stated
huskily. "Ya."

Before she could question his order to leave or why
he was calling her a "dream girl," he kissed her
urgently and clamped his hand over her mouth
afterward, fearing her words might influence him.

When Lucas's voice called out loudly to her, the
warrior turned her body toward it. Determined he
wouldn't get away without giving his name this
time, she whirled to ask it in Sioux. He was gonel
Just before shouting in Sioux for him to return, she
mastered the impulse. How could she explain
sneaking off with a warrior, a stranger, a dreaded and
feared Sioux? How could she excuse her wanton
behavior, even understand it herself? Most whites
despised Indians; the passengers would hold her in
contempt for her actions. What a tangled web! Who
was he? To which Sioux tribe did he belong? She
knew there were seven tribes with many bands.
Would they meet again? she mused dreamily.

She called out to Lucas, saying she was coming to
join him. She wondered about the warrior's appearance here. Was he following her? Or was it
merely coincidence? Was he watching her this very
moment? There was only one way to find out for
sure. She would leave something behind for him and
see if he had it the next time they met, if they ever did.
She stuffed the beaded wristlet in her pocket, then
removed the lacy scarf at her throat. She pressed it to her lips, then draped it over a bush before leaving.

Three days later, the Martha Lane made a two-day
stop at Yankton, near Fort Randall. Little did Lucas
and Miranda suspect what peril was in store for
them, just as Amanda and Reis little suspected what
evil was confronting them in Alexandria ...

After his much-awaited return to Alexandria, Reis
spent all day Sunday with his wife. They talked,
planned, joked, and made love. Later in the day,
Amanda watched in disbelief as her dark, handsome
husband transformed himself into a blond sailor in
grimy clothes. Checking his new image in the
mirror, he smiled and complimented himself on his
crafty disguise.

"Now, if old Weber or his scum see me, they'll
never guess who lurks beneath this golden hair and
these dirty clothes," he remarked between chuckles.
"All I have to do is sneak in both warehouses this
week, make some notes for Grant, then close this
case."

To conceal her apprehension, she asked, "What's
Grant like?"

As if exposing a national secret, he whispered
softly, "He likes to dress in old, baggy clothes-he would love this outfit., He smokes big black cigars
that stink up a whole house. Af ter you leave him, you
smell awful for days. But he sure knows how to win a
fight. If he hadn't captured Richmond, the war
might have gone on and on."

"Do you like working for him more than you did
for Lincoln?"

"Both are good men, love, but Lincoln was special.
It was a dark day in our history when he was slain. He
could have done so much for both sides. Did you
know Lincoln offered your Lee the head of the Union
Army, but he refused it? If not for Lee, the war
wouldn't have lasted two years. A shame all good
men can't be on the same side-war wouldn't have a
chance of getting started. But one always leads to
another, it seems."

"What do you mean, Reis?" Mandy asked.

As he put away his supplies, he talked with ease
and intelligence. "The last one we fought started
with the one in '12. The New England area got real
nervous when we made the Louisiana Purchase; they
threatened to secede and rejoin the British Empire.
The President was smart; he prevented trouble with
those New Intercourse Laws. You know what the
Northern concession did? Riled up the Southern
shipping interests. Lord, you just can't please
everybody at once. The South was really suffering
from lack of trade; they took heavy losses in cotton
and tobacco markets. It was the Southern states that
voted to go to war with the British Crown. The
Northerners voted not to protect their ships and supplies. From then on, every little cut festered into
one big sore until the wound burst open and spilled
its vile contents. It's tragically ironic: the North
threatens to secede to get her way, then goes to war
when the South carries out her same threat."

The topic was depressing and Amanda changed it
with a question. "How did you get in last night? You
said Weber has guards out front and back."

"I sneaked into your neighbor's garden, climbed a
tree near the wall, and flipped over. Considering the
height of the wall around your yard, no one could see
me. Whoever built this house certainly loved privacy."

"Now that you've accomplished the easy part, how
do you plan to get out? I don't have a tree near the
wall. Of course, you could remain prisoner here with
me," she hinted, smiling provocatively as she eased
up on tiptoe to kiss him.

That night, Amanda snuggled into her husband's
arms and inquired, "Reis, where will we live when
this is all over? What will we do about Morning Star
and Lawrence Shipping?"

"I think it should be a mutual decision, love, that
we make after my tour of duty is finished. Until
October first I am still under orders from President
Grant. Our next decision will be whether or not you
go on my next assignment with me or remain here
until it's done."

Amanda sat up in bed and stared at him. "There is no decision; I'm going with you, husband dear. Even
if you do look like a stranger," she teased him about
his blond hair. "I'm glad it's dark, or I would have
trouble making love to the man in my bed."

Reis chuckled as he propped himself up on two
pillows. "I should tell you, love; I have no idea where
or what my final assignment will be. When I get the
news, you might change your mind."

"No," she vowed confidently. "You go; I go. You
could get lonesome and forget you have a wife."

"Only if I lost my memory," he retorted playfully.
"I'm glad Randy and Luke got away safely. And I
know I shouldn't say this, but I'm glad your
housekeeper won't be around for the next week or
It
so.

"Does that mean I shall enjoy my wily husband's
company every night?" she asked seductively, twirling her tongue on his chest.

"Every one possible. I'm suspicious about Reed's
accident and those new guards outside. Weber's
plotting something. There's no way I'll leave you
alone at night unless I can't avoid it."

"You worry about me too much, Reis. I'm fine
now that you're home. Besides, I know how to shoot
and fight. I'm not as good as Randy, but I can defend
myself," she declared proudly.

For a while they spoke of Miranda and Lucas.
When she fretted over the safety of her sister and
cousin, Reis reminded her of the letter of protection
they were carrying from President Grant, one he had
personally acquired and given to Lucas. Then Reis told her to go to sleep, that he would be stealing out
before dawn. He added he would be late tomorrow
night, if he came at all. He was planning to check out
her warehouse, then Weber's the next night. She
teased him about his recent vow to stay with her at
night. He laughed and tickled her until she was
squirming and breathless. He became serious when
he warned her not to speak to him or show any
recognition if they met on the street during the day.
He took her office keys so he would be able to study
any new and false information which Weber might
be putting into her books.

Amanda tensed in fear when he told her he would
also be analyzing the books of Daniel McVane and
the ones in Weber's private office. He even hinted at
breaking into Weber's home to see if there were any
records of importance there.

"I'll be careful, love," he tried to calm her. "The
sooner I solve this case, the sooner you can be Mrs.
Reis Harrison in public," he tempted beguilingly,
then pressed her to her back as he began a leisurely
and stirring bout of passion.

Monday night was one of the longest nights for
Amanda, for Reis never came home. She dozed little
and paced until she was exhausted, but still she
couldn't sleep. Tuesday passed as sluggishly as the
day and night before, and her tension increased. By
two in the morning, Amanda was beside herself with
anxiety. Not only had Reis been gone since dawn on
Monday, but Weber had not appeared as he had
warned.

She wondered if the two absences were connected.
After witnessing such evil in Weber Richardson, she
feared for her husband's life. She could not tell Reis,
but she was now willing to lose everything and leave
with him this very night! She knew how deeply he
despised Weber for his cruelties during the war. She
refused to press him about those times because of the
unusual coldness which froze his expression and
the fires of revenge which burned in his eyes. Perhaps
she feared that powerful hatred in him as much as
she feared for him.

Shortly after noon on Wednesday, Weber paid her
a call. She was dozing when he dropped by and it
took a while for his knocking to arouse her from her
heavy slumber on the sofa. She felt groggy and
wanted to ignore the persistent summons, knowing
it could not be her husband and finding any
company undesirable at the moment.

The caller pounded loudly on the door. Weber
called out, "Open this door, Mandy, or I'll break it
down!"

When she unlocked the door, he shoved it open,
almost snagging her toes beneath it. "What took so
long?" he demanded angrily.

Amanda rubbed her sleepy eyes and moistened her
dry lips. She fluffed her tousled hair and straightened
her rumpled clothes. Then she looked at him and
snapped, "I was asleep. I'm exhausted. I haven't been
sleeping well with Randy and Mrs. Reed gone. Don't
start on me, Weber! I'm not in the mood for a
scolding." She sighed wearily then rubbed her eyes once more. "What do you want?"

"I was called away on an emergency. I just
returned. When you didn't answer the door, I was
worried. I thought you'd taken ill again, perhaps
passed out," he declared petulantly when she didn't
appear glad to see him.

"I surely am glad you didn't break down my front
door. I could have been out visiting for the day," she
informed him sassily, knowing how he knew she was
home. "If you don't mind, Web, could we visit
another day? I'm truly fainting from fatigue. I've
gone for days without sleep or rest; the moment I
finally slipped off, you came barging in, screaming
at me. Was the emergency with my firm or yours?"
she inquired, failing to offer him entrance.

"I was checking out a lead to Randy," he
announced casually.

"What!" she blurted out in fear which passed for
disbelief.

"I thought we could settle our problems quicker if
I located your sister and brought her home. One of
my hired men thought he recognized her on the street
and followed her home. When I got there, it wasn't
Randy. We searched all over. I'm sorry, Mandy, but
we couldn't find her. Would you like me to hire a
detective?" he inquired.

"No!" she yelled at him then explained heatedly,
"I don't want my sister hunted down like some
animal. Randy will come home when she's ready. If
not, we'll both have to accept her decision, for
whatever reason."