Savage Hero (20 page)

He had come away from Chief Brave Wolf's village hating the bastard. The chief seemed to have such an air of superiority about him. It had been hard not to reach over and strangle him even then, but the colonel knew he'd never leave the village alive if he did.

So he had waited for the right opportunity to go after Chief Brave Wolf, who would be the first of those he would kill as he achieved his vengeance for those who had been slain during the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Seeing Mary Beth in the Injun attire had been a reminder of what he had been putting off until he came up with just the right scheme that would finally show the redskins a thing or two about slaughtering white people.

Mary Beth's mind was reeling from all that she heard this man say. She could hear the venomous hate in his voice, the loathing!

What am I to do?
she wondered as she stepped slowly away from the door.

She had been so anxious to leave this place and return to the loving arms of Brave Wolf, yet now she didn't think that was what she should do. She must find a way to stop the colonel and his men from harming Brave Wolf.

“There is only one way,” she whispered as she glared at the closed door.

She smiled wickedly when she recalled the lust
in the colonel's eyes when he looked at her. There was such a hunger there for her, she knew that soon he would have to act on his feelings.

She would use this weakness of the colonel's in order to find out all the plans that were being made against Brave Wolf.

She would play up to the colonel and make him believe that she cared . . . that she even hated Indians because she now blamed all of them for the loss of her son, not only the renegades.

She knew that it would be hard to play such a role when she wanted nothing more than to leave and be with Brave Wolf.

But she would do anything to save him.

She would use the old tricks that women had used for thousands of years when they wanted something from a man.

When she heard the men talking as if they were ready to leave, Mary Beth hurried back to the colonel's office and sat down on a chair beside his desk. As the men filed out and saw her there, she gave them each a soft smile.

“Well, what have we here?” Colonel Downing said as he came and stood over Mary Beth. “Lonely, eh? You are getting tired of being in that cabin all alone?”

“Yes, something like that,” Mary Beth said, rising from the chair. She forced herself to reach a hand out, then twined her fingers through his. “I've been doing a lot of thinking.”

“You have?” Colonel Downing said, raising an
eyebrow when he gazed down at their joined hands.

The fires in his loins flared hotter. It had been way too long since a woman had touched him. It had been way too long since a woman had gone to bed with him.

He smelled the familiar scent of his wife's perfume on the dress and ached even now to hold her. But today there was a new lady in his life, and she was actually flirting with him.

“Yes, I've had a lot of time to think about things,” she murmured, playfully squeezing his hand. “As you know, I'm very upset about my son still being missing.” She forced a frown. “Because of that, I can't help hating Indians.
All
of them, Colonel Downing. Every last one of them. I'd like nothing more than to forget about them and think only of you and what we can have together.”

She smiled at him. “I hope I haven't mistaken your behavior toward me?” she murmured. “You do want to know me better, don't you?”

“Yes, and please, call me William,” he said huskily, his eyes gleaming. “And what you just said? That pleases me a lot, for you see, I am quite smitten with you. I would definitely like to get to know you better.”

His words, his flirting gaze, disgusted Mary Beth, but she continued pretending just the opposite. “Then why aren't you kissing me?” she murmured, everything within her hating the very thought of it.

But she must continue with this farce if she was
to discover the full plot that was being mapped out against Brave Wolf.

“I'm so lonely,” she murmured. “I'm so sad that I may never see my David again. Will you help me? I need someone to console me.”

He whisked his arms around her and brought her hard against him. “Will I ever,” he said huskily, then kissed her as his body gyrated seductively against hers.

Realizing now just how hungry this man was for a woman, Mary Beth felt panic rising within her. What if she had started something that she could not stop? What if he forced himself on her now?

Mary Beth pressed her hands hard against his chest and managed to get him away from her.

“Sir, you are moving much too quickly for me,” she said, knowing that her face was red with a hot blush. “I am a decent woman. I'm sorry that I made you think otherwise.”

“I'm sorry,” he said, coughing nervously into his hand. “I got carried away. It's just that you are so beautiful and you seemed to want what I want.”

“I do, but not all that quickly,” Mary Beth said. She took slow steps away from him. “Please realize that I was only recently widowed. I must show some respect for my late husband, must I not? Please understand that I do not want to rush into anything just yet. But I would so much enjoy your company until I feel it is alright to go farther than a kiss.”

“Then you shall have it,” Colonel Downing said, smiling from ear to ear. He stepped toward her,
took one of her hands, then slightly bowed and gave her a gentlemanly kiss on her hand.

“I so admire you for being the lady that you have just presented yourself to be,” he said.

“You did not think I was too brazen as I flirted with you?” Mary Beth asked, easing her hand from his. “I am not used to such things as this. I . . . I . . . was married to my husband for so long. I never knew any man before him.”

“I shall honor your wishes,” Colonel Downing said. “May I request your presence tonight at my dining table? I am certain you are tired of eating alone in that cabin, am I right?”

“Yes, very,” Mary Beth said, forcing a soft laugh. “And, sir . . . I mean, William, I gladly accept your invitation. I shall wear one of the dresses that you brought me this morning.”

“That would please me so much,” he said, walking her to the door. He grabbed her by one hand and turned her to face him. “Something else. Why not move in to the spare bedroom here at my home? I have worried so much about you being out there all alone. I promise not to force the issue of . . . of . . . going farther with me until you say that you are ready. Then, Mary Beth, might you even consider marrying me? I can give you the world. I have a mansion in Boston. When I retire, I shall take you there. You will never want for a thing.”

Mary Beth was stunned by all that he was offering her.

But although most women would die for such
an opportunity to live the life he described, the thought sickened her.

She could not get this man's words from her mind about how much he hated Indians and how he hoped to kill as many as he could before he died . . . especially Brave Wolf!

“That sounds wonderful,” she said, hating being caught up in more and more lies.

But for Brave Wolf, she would do anything . . . except go to bed with Colonel Downing. She would have to achieve her goal before Colonel Downing—no,
William
—caught on to her plan, for he would surely expect her to share his bed before too long.

“You don't need to return to the cabin,” he said thickly. “Everything you will ever need is right here for you. Let me show you to your room, and then I shall bring my wife's trunk of clothes there for your perusal. You can choose from her dresses and diamonds.”

He glanced down and saw her moccasins peeking out from beneath the hem of the dress. He smiled at her. “Surely you can find at least one pair of my wife's shoes that will fit your lovely feet,” he said. “We just didn't try hard enough the other time. We must get those buckskin things off your feet.”

Mary Beth had to force a smile, while inside she was dying a slow death. She hoped she had not started something she could not stop.

“Come, my sweet,” Colonel Downing said, placing an arm around her waist and leading her down
the corridor. When he opened the door to a bedroom, she gasped at its opulence. She could hardly believe her eyes. If this was a spare room, she was surprised. The smell of the colonel's wife's perfume was much stronger here.

Had the colonel and his wife slept in separate quarters? She gave him a sideways glance. Perhaps this man was not as successful in bed as he would wish to be. If so, he might be even more anxious for a woman than a normal man.

Mary Beth hoped she had not started something she could not control. A man's hungers could go so deep, there might be no stopping him once he had even a tiny taste of a woman's sweetness.

Mary Beth had to make sure he did not get
any
taste of
her
“sweetness.”

She was afraid that her life depended on it!

Give me a kiss,
Add to that kiss a score;
Then to that twenty
Add a hundred more.

—Herrick

A bugle had just blared, sounding officers' call. As the morning sun streamed through the bedroom window, Mary Beth brushed her hair with a gold-plated hairbrush that had belonged to another woman . . . the colonel's wife.

She gazed at her reflection in the mirror that hung above a lovely oak table. Today, even dressed in an expensive silk dress, she felt out of place.

It was apparent that the colonel's wife had been a much different breed of women from Mary Beth. She had been a society woman, whereas Mary Beth
had lived a much simpler life on a farm.

She knew that many women would welcome the chance to enter such a glamorous world. But all Mary Beth wanted was to be with Brave Wolf.

She even looked forward to living in a tepee, keeping it clean and neat for her husband once she became Brave Wolf's wife.

A knock on the door made her flinch, for she knew whom to expect when she opened it.

No doubt the colonel had came to invite her to breakfast in the dining room, for surely he would not ask her to join the soldiers in their dining hall. She knew that he would not want to flaunt her there for all of them to see.

“Mary Beth?” Colonel Downing asked from outside the door. “Are you awake?”

“Yes, I'm awake and dressed,” she said. She sighed, for she dreaded being with him again.

But she had to see her plan through to fruition. Somehow she must find a way to discover his complete plan against the Crow so that she could warn Brave Wolf beforehand.

She placed the brush on the table, then went to the door and opened it.

Colonel Downing was freshly shaved and smelled of aftershave lotion. His uniform was neatly pressed and his hair was combed.

He was not an ugly man. This morning he was smiling with an expression that might catch any woman's fancy, except hers.

Mary Beth just wanted all of this behind her. She knew the danger she was putting herself in each
day she remained at the fort, especially if anyone suspected what she was up to.

“Well, good morning to
you
,” Colonel Downing said, his eyes brightening as he looked admiringly at her. He clasped his hands behind him. “You look quite fetching this morning, my dear. Quite pretty, indeed.”

“Thank you,” Mary Beth said, uncomfortable beneath his close scrutiny, and wanting anything but compliments from him.

“I've made plans this morning that I hope you will agree to,” he said. He took his hands from behind him, now clasping them before him. “Usually I eat with my men, but this morning I am taking breakfast in my private parlor with only a few officers. Will you join us?”

“Sir, I don't think I would feel comfortable with the others,” Mary Beth said, truly concerned about their attitude toward her. “Can you just bring my breakfast to me? I don't mind eating alone, honest, I don't.”

“I must make a point to my men,” he said, suddenly frowning. “I want no more grumbling from them about you being here, when they cannot have their own wives with them at the fort. It's imperative that they understand you are my intended.”

His . . . “intended” . . . ?

That truly rankled Mary Beth, but she had no choice but to play along with him now. She had begun this game. She must finish it.

“And,” he further stated, “these are my choice
men. I want them to be the first to hear about our upcoming nuptials, and also the first to know that you won't be here for long. I plan to send you on to Boston where I will join you later. I have already wired ahead and made arrangements. Even now my mansion is being readied for the new woman of the house.”

Mary Beth's head was spinning with all that he had just said. This man didn't waste any time. He truly thought that she was going to marry him!

Now she felt trapped as never before. Oh, Lord, she was not sure how long she could play this role before he caught on to her.

If he did realize what she was up to, what might he do with her? Would he throw her in the guardhouse, or take her out into the middle of the wilderness and leave her?

Might he even shoot . . . or . . . hang her?

“You are so kind,” she said with difficulty, finding it even harder to pretend to smile shyly. “You have actually sent word to your home that I will arrive as your wife?”

“Most certainly,” he said. He reached a hand out for her. “Now will you please join me this morning? But I must confess something to you before we go. There is yet another purpose for this breakfast meeting.”

“And that is?” she said, reaching out and allowing him to take her hand. She tried not to grimace, for she loathed his touch.

“I don't like wasting time over anything,” he said, walking her down the corridor. “While we are
eating breakfast, and my men are getting used to you being among them as my future bride, we will be discussing our plans to take care of a few Indians in this area. Thus far, I've not gone against any of them Indians unless I was forced to. I have tried to keep peace for those settlers who want to come and live in this lovely land. But after hearing from you about renegades running loose massacring people, I've decided it's time for me to do more to protect whites.”