Sharon tried without success to squirm out of his hold. But, alas, it was not possible. With a shake of her head, she said, "I'm not certain of this custom or its truth. But, let me remind you of my faith, and yours, too; we are Christian, and you know we have said no wedding vows before God, nor before a man of the cloth. This is required in our faith. Indeed, if you remember, we were planning a trip to Fort Union in order to ask the priest in residence there to marry us."
"Ah," said David. "But, where are you now? At Fort Union? I daresay not. We are here in the realm of the Blackfeet, and all it takes in this part of the country is the act of marriage—and we have shared this, as you know. Now, follow me." At last, David let go of her shoulders, though he kept ahold of her arm, and, turning, he began to walk away, obviously expecting her to obey the order.
But, she didn't submit to him. Nor would she do so ever again.
She jerked her arm away from his grip, and, spinning around, she continued leading the mares in the direction of the procession. Truthfully, having now stated her wishes on the matter, she was surprised when David grabbed her again from behind.
This time, he swung her about so forcefully, she stumbled. As she righted herself, she stared up at David's furious face, its color becoming redder by the minute.
"It's that Injun, isn't it? The one who saved you." The tone of David's voice made it clear his derogatory opinion of Strikes Fast.
In response, Sharon merely slanted David a look, one she hoped was filled with disgust. She was about to turn away from him again when David grabbed her arm and held on to it tightly.
"It is the Injun, isn't it?" It was a statement; it was not a question.
"I am not aware of what you mean by 'it,'" Sharon said simply. "As you know, I was raised by a pastor and his wife, and I know the written law of the Bible, David; a man is allowed to marry one woman and one woman only. You now have a wife, and I am not she. Congratulations, by the way." Sharon tried, unsuccessfully, to shrug off his grip on her arm.
"None of those traditions matter here in the West," said David. "The fact is because we have had relations—"
"Once."
"Once is enough. Did you know that a Blackfoot husband has the authority to disfigure a wife if she is disobedient to him?"
"Oh, please, David, stop this. You know as well as I do that you and I are not married. You are as Christian as I am, and it is the law of our Lord which binds you. Now, please unhand me. I need to join the others."
"No! I will not! You are my second wife, and you are to do as I say!" stated David as he grabbed hold of her other arm.
Sharon didn't respond except to glare her defiance up at him.
"That's better. No more backtalk now." He dropped his hands and looked over his shoulder as if to ensure they were alone. "Now, listen to me. You are going to help me and become my second wife."
"I will not."
He set his lips together and frowned at her before he said, "Don't force me to get physical with you. Now, hear me out. When we leave here, I promise I will leave Pretty Woman, and once I leave her, it will be only you and me. I promise once we get back to St. Louis we'll start our lives together. But, think of the opportunity here. Why shouldn't we have some fun with the natives while we can?"
"Fun? David! How can you speak about your new wife in such a derogatory manner?" She frowned. "And, how can you say these things to me and expect me to believe you? Truly, David, I tell you this: what you are saying is ungodly."
He scoffed. "She's Indian. Do you really believe I would want to take her back with me to St. Louis? Besides, it seems to be a tradition among the trappers that a white man will leave his Indian wife. Even the Indians here expect it."
"David!" Sharon frowned. "Please don't tell me more about this or ignore my urging you to keep your faith. Besides, I don't agree with you, and I won't do what you are asking me to do. And, by the way, sheisyour first wife…a wife, not a possession to be discarded. And, I will not wait for you to leave her, nor will I be a part of it."
Have I ever really known this man?
"Stop it, Sharon! Don’t make me…" His voice faded and his next words were hissed as he said, "I didn't want it to be this way, but if you don't do as I say, you will force my hand."
"I don't care."
"You should. Do not tempt me to tell the others in camp about you. Why, if I were to let it be known about us having lain together… Now, listen up. If you don't act as I tell you to, I might even tell the other men in camp about that Injun you've been keeping company with. What will they think if they learn you have given yourself to himandto me?"
"I have not done this!"
David's smile was not pleasant when he said, "Doesn't matter. They'll believe me, not you. Do you know that if you don't do what I say, I could order you to be defaced for life? The Blackfoot men themselves would inflict this upon you."
"I don't believe you! Go away, David! I won't go with you, and I won't help you! What you are suggesting is a violation of God's laws. I know it, and you know it!" She spun around, picked up the reins of the two mares again and trod a few paces away from him.
"You do realize I will be believed if I say you are married to me. Having relations is all it takes here to prove it, and you can't deny it. Besides, I know you've been alone with that Injun, and, don't I know, that's all it takes with you. The chiefs will call you a loose woman, or worse." He grinned. "How do you think your newfamilywill like you then?"
Sharon shut her eyes and bowed her head. This last remark hurt more than the rest. And, when she said, "I don't care what you do," tears were already gathering in her eyes. The truth was, she did care.
