Tender savage (24 page)

"So what?" Vip)er agreed with an amused chuckle. "You need only please me."

"And do I?" the lively blonde inquired through seductively lowered lashes.

"Very much." He ended their verbal play with a deep kiss, grateful she was so easily distracted. His right hand moved down the buttons on her bodice, swiftly freeing her from the garment so that with but a few brief tugs it fell to the ground. Her lingerie was whisper-soft from ref>eated washings, and he slipped the straps of her camisole off her shoulders. "You would please any man."

"I want only to please you, though," Erica murmured softly as she snuggled against him. He was as handsome as the night. The black of his hair like the ebony sky, the silver gleam in his eyes as bright as the stars. Think only of the joy of tonight, she cautioned herself. Tomorrow will bring cares enough of its own.

Viper combed her thick curls through his fingertips, vowing never to make her wear her glorious golden hair in braids. She was unique, precious, and, dressed in buckskins or fine silks and lace, she would still be his wife. Only through her had he begun to understand the depth of the love his uncle must have felt for his mother. There was no way to replace love so profound as that. When it was lost, it was gCMie forever. He stepped back slightly as he shared the secret he had kept hidden in his heart. "My uncle would never have killed my father. He and I were all that was left of my mother's love, and that would have been as precious to my uncle as she was, I have always thought my father killed the trappers, and then himself. My uncle carried the blame for his murder rather than the shame of his suicide, but there should be no shame when a man chooses to die for love."

That was so bittersweet a legacy that Erica was moved to tears. Unable to speak, she covered her husband's face with kisses. She clung to him, knowing from the sadness of her

father's life how deep a man's love for a woman could be and how eager he could be to join her in death. When Vi{>er pulled her to the ground they made love with a passion bom of remembered sorrow, but that made the ecstasy of their union no less deep, and the peace of their dreams no less sweet.

With her heart in her throat each step of the way. Erica tried to be better company for her husband on the second day of their journey. They left the Cottonwood River when it narrowed to a stream spilling forth from the ground, and turned north once again. When they came to another river, she could barely swallow her fears long enough to speak. "Is that the Yellow Medicine River?" she asked hoarsely.

. "No, it is the Redwood, if we are not lost. The Yellow Medicine still lies ahead." Thinking they would reach it by that afternoon. Viper asked Erica if she would like to stop and rest, but she was too nervous to postpone the arrival at his camp for any reason, let alone fatigue. They crossed the Redwood River, then kept up a steady pace until the Yellow Medicine River came in sight.

"Where will your people be?" Erica turned to look up at her husband, her eyes filled wtih a bright glow of fear rather than curiosity.

"Near the Upper Agency I think. I can leave you here and come back, or you can come with me. You may have your choice."

Erica looked down at the horse's mane, nervously pulling the coarse black strands through her fingers. "I would rather hide on a rise so I can watch you enter the camp. I want your rifle, too."

Viper thought her first request reasonable, even if her second definitely was not. "I will leave you my knife instead. That way I will not have to worry about your shooting me when I return."

"I would never shoot you I" Erica protested, her feelings hurt by his remark.

"Not on purpose, I know." Viper's mind was already made up. She could defend herself, if need be, with a knife, but not injure him by accident with it. As it turned out, their discussion proved to be premature, for Little Crow had moved his camp farther north, to the banks of the Chippewa River, which lay several hours' ride away.

When they found no trace of his family and friends near the Upper Agency, Viper knew they would have to ride on. While he was disgusted by the unexpected delay in returning to his camp, he could readily see in Erica's every glance and gesture that each extra minute only served to heighten her dread.

They camped along the western bank of the Minnesota River late in the afternoon. Viper again caught fish for their supper. He tried to lift Erica s spirits, first with amusing stories and then with passion, but even as the rapture he had always been able to create swept through them, he could still feel the depth of Erica s fear and thoughtfully kept her cradled tenderly in his arms until dawn.

The next morning Erica was so tired she could barely stay awake. On this third day, their journey now seemed endless, and she could easily imagine them spending the rest of their lives roaming the world looking for a home. In midmorning they crossed paths with braves from Red Iron's village, who greeted them in friendly fashion and told Viper where he could find Little Crow. They then had to cross the Minnesota River to the eastern bank, which only made Erica thoroughly wet as well as miserable.

As they neared the confluence of the Chippewa and Minnesota Rivers, they came upon a sentry. Recognizing his good friend Two Elk, Viper called out to him.

Two Elk stared first at Viper, then at the blond woman riding with him. "Where have you been?" he asked curtly, clearly disappointed by the warrior's long abseno^.

Erica was trembling so badly Viper gave her a loving hug before whispering. "He is my friend." He answered Two Elk in his own tongue. "I have been amusing my wife as best I can. She is too shy to ride into camp with me. May I leave her here with you while I go see where we might live?"

Two Elk's mouth dropped open. "A wife? You have taken a wife?" He tried to get a better look at the blonde, but she appeared to be as shy as Viper described her and kept her head down so he could not get a clear view of her face.

"Yes. She is a young woman from New Ulm who had already caught my eye."

"And you caught hers?" Two Elk asked skeptically.

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"Oh, yes." Viper had to laugh at that question, since it described how they had met so well. He slid down off the stallion's back, then pulled Erica down beside him. "This is my good friend, Two Elk. He speaks but a few words of English, but if you wish him a good afternoon he will understand you."

Erica kept a firm hold on Viper's hand with her left hand and gripped the quilt tightly with her right as she forced herself to look up at the brave. Like Viper, he had a quiver of arrows and a bow slung across his back and held a rifle in his hands. He was dressed in buckskin breeches and moccasins and his hair was braided and adorned with feathers. While not nearly so well built nor so handsome a young man as htr husband, his good-natured grin seemed sincere. "Good afternoon," she managed to whisper nervously.

It was the vihMrant blue of Erica's eyes that held Two Elk transfixed. Like the summer sky, they seemed infinite in their beauty, and he envied his friend his choice. "Good afternoon," he finally remembered to respond.

Not about to let anyone stare dumbfounded at his wife, Viper spoke to wake Two Elk from his trance. "Claw of the Badger said the people of New Ulm were allowed to leave in p>eace. Is that true?"

"Yes." The brave forced himself to look at his friend as they continued their conversation in their own language. "They fought bravely, and we had captives enough without them."

"And the army? Have you fought them again?"

Two Elk broke into a wide grin as he illustrated his remarks with expansive gestures. "I was with Little Crow's brother. White Spider, two weeks ago, when Gray Bird, Red Legs, Big Eagle, and Mankato surrounded soldiers camping at Birch Coulee. They fought for two days and killed many men and nearly one hundred horses. They would have slain all the troojjers had more not come from Fort Ridgely with cannon."

"And what were you and White Spider doing while this happened?" Viper asked with a puzzled frown.

"We were on our way to attack Forest City, but as before, there were arguments about what we should do. Walker Among Sacred Stones took braves who wished to raid other towns, but we met again and together fought

soldiers sent to guard the towns along the Big Woods. We did well, too," he claimed modestly. "Forest City now has a stockade. The settlers have built stockades around all their towns, and we could do no more than burn the homes they leh behind."

That was something Viper had not anticipated. "The settlers 2ire not leaving then, as they left New Ulm?"

"No, they mean to stand and fight," Two Elk replied with a shrug, as surprised as Vij^er by the white man's courage.

Erica tugged on Vip>er's hand. "What is he saying?"

"The fighting hasn't stopped," Viper responded, choosing to keep the gist of Two Elk's remarks to himself for the time being. Again addressing his long-time friend, he continued, "May I leave Erica here with you until I have a place to take her? Truly she is frightened of what she might find in our camp, and I want to be certain she is welcomed."

Honored to be asked such a favor. Two Elk quickly agreed. "I will guard her life with my own," he vowed proudly.

"See that you do." Viper then reached out to touch the cougar claw necklace he had fashioned for his wife to wear. She still wore one of his claws, in addition to her own. This time he spoke in English so she would understand. "Erica is very brave. She killed the cougar whose claws she wears herself, so be careful not to insult her." He then handed Erica his knife so she would have the comfort of a weapon while he was gone. After giving her a brief kiss, he pulled himself upon the stallion's back, and with a sly wink, bid her good-bye, "I will be back soon. Use that knife only on white men. Two Elk is too good a warrior to lose."

Embarrassed, as well as exasperated that he would tease her about turning the knife on his friend, Erica was tempted to say she did not see any humor in his advice, but Viper turned the horse away before she could speak and was gone. She could do no more than smile nervously at her companion then. The brave seemed as embarrassed as she, and considering that a good sign, Erica moved out of his way, chose a sunlit spot, and sat down on the quilt to anxiously await her husband's return.

Not wanting to keep his beautiful bride waiting for long, Viper hurriedly entered Little Crow's camp, found his aunt, and in as few words as possible told her of his marriage. She had been a child when her sister was slain, and while also slender and attractive, with luminous brown eyes and glossy black hair, she had never possessed the murdered woman's remarkable beauty and charm. All her life she had suffered from that comparison. Childless herself, she envied the fact that her lovely sister had produced so fine a son, and, as a result, she and Viper had never been close.

She surveyed her handsome nephew with a long, slow glance before offering her opinion. "If you have decided to follow the white man's way, then you should not have brought this woman here."

Out of respect for his aunt. Viper did not shriek obscenities before he replied to that piece of unwanted advice, but he was sorely tempted to do so. "I am the same man I have always been. The color of my wife's skin does not change mine. I wish to fight again with Little Crow. Will you be a friend to Erica and teach her all she must know to be one of us?"

"I do not speak her tongue," his aunt responded, her enthusiasm for the project obviously slight.

"She is a lady with fine manners. I thought you were also." As Viper turned away, his aunt reached out to touch

his arm.

"Bring her to me," she offered after a sigh of reluctance. "I will do what I can to make her welcome."

While that was scarcely the joyous response he had hof>ed the news of his marriage would receive. Viper nodded. "Thank you. Please find her a dress and moccasins. Your size should fit her, too." He left her then to prepare for his return, but he took the time to find several of his friends in order to hear what their version of the news of the uprising would be. In each case, they told the same tale Two Elk had. With astonishing speed, settlers had built stockades to protect their cities. They were not fleeing Minnesota as the Sioux had hoped, but digging in for a long fight. The army could still be surrounded and beaten, but many of the chiefs were tired of fighting and were talking of making a truce.

"On what terms.^" Viper asked with a deeply furrowed brow, for he recalled vividly how the older chiefs had opposed the uprising in the beginning. Given the chance, they would surely end it now.

"Sibley is commanding the volunteer army. He left a message for Little Crow at Birch Coulee. He is willing to talk peace, but only if the captives are freed first," Hunted Stag explained.

"Little Crow did not agree?" Viper knew who Henry Sibley was. A former fur trader, he had been the Territory's first delegate to Congress and then had been elected the first governor when Minnesota became a state in 1858. He was a man who spoke their language and understood their customs. He was no young army officer who, ignorant of Indian ways, would lead his troops right into their traps.

"No, why should he? It is to our advantage to keep them. We can bargain with their lives, or kill them. If we give them back, we have nothing."

While Viper understood the value of having hostages for bargaining purposes, he did not like the mention of their possible deaths. "Killing the captives would prove nothing," he argued.

Hunted Stag shrugged. "There are some, like Wabasha's son-in-law, Rdainyanka, who think they should die. He says the war has gone on too long to end in a truce. He thinks we must fight to the death, and kill all the

whites we can. The prisoners will die with the last of us."

Viper swallowed hard, knowing the uprising had begun for a ridiculous reason, but not wanting so badly to see it end as apparently Rdainyanka did. "I have brought a white woman back with me. She is my wife, and I do not want her frightened by such talk."

Hunted Stag was as starded as Two Elk and his aunt had been by that news, but for an entirely different reason. "Wren would have made you a fine wife," he uttered with a disgusted sneer. "Keep the white woman as your captive until you dre of her. She need not be your wife."