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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.”
He ushered her to the door of the parlor, then stopped. “My dear, I’m going to make those savages pay for what they did to you and your son,” he said thickly. “I’m sorry for how you’ve been treated.”
She wanted to speak up and defend Brave Wolf, to say that he was anything but an evil Indian. He was everything good, and had even worked to keep peace with whites.
But she had to keep quiet, at least for now. She had to be able to sit among the men and hear, firsthand, just what their plans were.
“My dear, I know that you said Chief Brave Wolf rescued you from renegades and escorted you safely here, but he is no less a savage than any other redskin, and he must be dealt with and made to know who’s the boss in these parts,” Colonel Downing said. “He will be the first to know our wrath.”
Shaken to the core by this man’s hatred for all Indians, and especially Brave Wolf, Mary Beth fought hard to show no emotion.
“I understand,” she murmured. “And, yes, Brave Wolf did assist me, but I do not know of any atrocities he is guilty of against whites. He may have pretended to be peaceful only to please me. You see, I believe he was infatuated with me. Had I not insisted on being brought to this fort, I imagine he would have tried to get me to marry him.”
She absolutely hated playing this game, but she had to find a way to make the colonel open up to her.
“Why, the thought!” Colonel Downing gasped, shuddering. “It sickens me! Well, I’m here to see that he never gets such a ludicrous idea again.”
She forced another smile, then went into the parlor, where several soldiers were waiting, already enjoying sweet breads and coffee.
She felt uneasy when they all turned and stared at her. She saw in them the same resentment the soldiers had shown when she first arrived in Indian attire. The beautiful dress she wore seemed to make no difference in their thinking about her.
She smiled a silent thank you to the colonel as he escorted her to a chair, then as she sat, sat down beside her.
She waited stiffly, trying to ignore the continued glares. For the moment, everything in the room was quiet. Mary Beth could hardly even hear anyone breathing.
