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“Hannah, please don’t bring me any food, or allow anyone else to,” Speckled Fawn said. “My stomach would not tolerate food right now. I shall wait for breakfast, if that is alright with you.”
“But whiskey should not be consumed on an empty stomach,” Hannah protested.
“I know, but still, I just cannot even imagine eating now,” Speckled Fawn said. “I . . . I . . . believe I would vomit the moment the food hit my stomach.”
“I shall leave word that you do not want to dine with us tonight, nor do you want any supper brought to you here,” Hannah said, placing a gentle hand on Speckled Fawn’s face. “But please do be careful how much whiskey you consume on an empty stomach.”
“I shall,” Speckled Fawn promised. “I shall drink just what it takes to help lull me to sleep.”
Hannah quickly hugged Speckled Fawn, then left, closing the door behind her.
“Whew,” Speckled Fawn said, sighing heavily. “This is much harder than I imagined it would be.”
She was not a practiced liar, but those lies were required in order for her to steal the child away.
She said a soft prayer that she would soon be with her husband again, and that Shirleen would be reunited with her daughter.
“I must succeed,” she whispered as she held the flax out before her. “Yes, I must.”
She gazed at the flask, then giggled. “If my dear mother could see me now,” she murmured. “Oh, Mama. You would surely condemn me to hell if you knew what a sinner I can be.”
But she did not really believe she was sinning tonight. She was thinking of anyone but herself!
Chapter Twenty-five
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains.
—Keats
Finally it was dark enough for Speckled Fawn to put her plan in motion. She felt it was safer for her to go to Earl’s cabin after it got dark, hoping she wouldn’t be seen. As she first stepped outside, she surveyed everything around her and saw that most inhabitants of the fort were inside their cabins.
She knew that at least one sentry would be keeping watch at the gate. She was hoping this sentry would fall asleep as the night wore on and she was ready to escape from the fort with Megan.
A lot of things had to fall into place or all would be lost for her. But for now the important thing was to be invited inside Earl’s cabin, for she had the flask of whiskey hidden in her blouse as she stepped up to Earl’s door.
She looked quickly around her. Seeing no one, she knocked.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for the door to open. She knew he was still inside the cabin because she had slipped up to a window and taken a look before coming to the door.
She also knew that Megan was asleep on a small cot against the far wall.
The only other furniture in the cabin were a table and two chairs in the center of the room, as well as two comfortable-looking armchairs before a roaring fire.
She gathered that this was not a cabin used by a family but by a bachelor officer who used it primarily for sleeping. His meals were surely taken at the mess hall in the center of the courtyard.
Finally the door opened. Shirleen found herself looking into cold blue eyes as Earl stared glassily back at her. She saw how bloodshot his eyes were, and he reeked of alcohol. He must have already consumed a good amount of liquor.
She smiled to herself. The fact that he was already half drunk would help advance her plan that much more quickly.
“Why are you here?” Earl asked, his voice slurred. “As far as I can tell, there ain’t nothin’ here that should interest you.”
“Your little girl,” Speckled Fawn said, looking past him at the sleeping child. “I saw you earlier with the child. I . . . I . . . just recently lost my own daughter. Can I come in and see her? I am so lonesome for my baby.”
“I heard about your tragedy,” Earl said slyly, his blue eyes suddenly gleaming. He gestured with a hand. “Come on in. Take a gander at my little girl, if that will make your loss easier for you. But as you can see, my Megan’s asleep. Don’t wake her up.”
