No Other Man (35 page)

But from up ahead, Crazy Horse called back softly. Sloan had
been right; Crazy Horse and the others ahead had not come upon a party of their
enemies. They had happened on the family of elks they had followed.

Hawk drew an arrow from the quiver at his back for his bow.
He glanced at Sloan, who likewise had taken along his bow and arrows for the
hunt.

With somewhat sheepish shrugs, they kneed their horses as
they had done as boys.

They let out loud, whooping cries and raced after their prey
like the wind.

The hunt was on.

Twenty

Deer Woman arrived at Skylar's tipi moments after the inen
had ridden off to hunt. She tapped on the layer of skins just as politely as a
neighbor in town might knock at the front door. She brought a large quantity of
buffalo meat, all manner of berries, and sweet corn, which she had probably
acquired from a trader. Little Rabbit, who accompanied her, carried water and
a heavy kettle for cooking. Skylar thanked them both. When it appeared that
Deer Woman meant to do all the work for her, Skylar shook her head, encouraging
the woman and the girl to sit. Even though she was aware that neither of them
understood her, she chattered away, keeping her voice friendly and light.
"I've never minded cooking, but of course I've been rather lucky in that respect.
We weren't incredibly wealthy but we always had help. Servants, not slaves. We
were never uctually Southern, even though some of my relatives live in Virginia
and fought for the Confederacy. Maryland, where we lived, was a true border
state, neighbor spying on neighbor. And worse. But that was a long time ago
now. My sister and I always loved to play in the kitchen. Not too long ago, our
mother took ill. We loved her very much, so we'd do anything to help her—and
looking after her probably kept our minds off him. But I think he's paid by now
for what he did to us. God, I'm not even sure if he's alive or dead, No, he has
to be alive; that's why it's so important to get Sabrina here quickly. Away
from him. It's all happening now, so I am in Hawk's debt, you see. And I'm also
feeling just a little bit foolish for having attacked Hawk when I really had no
reason to. It's a strange bargain that he and I made."

Deer Woman looked at Little Rabbit. Little
Rabbit looked back at Deer Woman. It was obvious they were slightly afraid that
their beloved Thunder Hawk had taken on not just a white woman but a crazy one.

But Skylar kept busy as she talked. The women had also
brought loose tea and coffee in their bags, and she made tea for them, lacing
it with sugar cubes she had brought from Mayfair. Deer Woman appeared very
skeptical when Skylar tried to get her to drink but Little Rabbit was adventurous
and inquisitive. She tasted the tea and then smiled, encouraging Deer Woman to
do the same. Skylar was happy to see her Sioux friends enjoying the new treat
of sugary tea.

The three of them wound up giggling and laughing. Soon, other
women in the band began to arrive. Skylar kept making more tea. Eventually,
Earth Woman arrived. Skylar knew that she stiffened when the woman smilingly
joined them. She tried not to get upset because Earth Woman seemed very happy
to join the gathering. She had brought Skylar a second dress, one in a darker
shade of doeskin, with exquisite quillwork. Skylar knew that she had to accept
the garment, but she was learning Sioux ways as well. She kept talking, even
though the women couldn't understand her, and she gave away every piece of
clothing she had brought with her. The women giggled and laughed over her
pantalettes, enjoyed her corsets, adored her hosiery. It was a strange party,
and all the while that it took place, she worked on the dinner she would serve
when the men returned. And despite her determination to work alone, she had
help. Crazy Horse's people were a hunting band; she understood that much. They
were not like the agency Indians who had become farmers. But even when they
were at odds with the government, it seemed, they had ways to trade. The list
of ingredients for her stew had grown. In addition to the salt and pepper she
had taken from her own saddlebags, and the buffalo meat, corn, berries, and
potatoes Deer Woman had brought, she also had onions, which some of the other
women had given her. By the time the women began to leave, returning to their
tipis to make sure that they had food for their own returning warriors, the
stew bubbling in her cauldron was giving off a mouthwatering aroma.

Earth Woman hovered behind, not leaving with the others.
When they were alone and Skylar turned to look at her, the beautiful Indian
woman smiled. ' 'I made you mad this morning, no?"

The woman spoke English. Skylar wondered with a sinking
sensation of dismay just what she had said throughout the afternoon. She tried
to assure herself that anything she might not want repeated had been said
before Earth Woman had arrived.

"You didn't make me mad," Skylar said now,
carefully choosing her words. "I was—upset. Because—"

"Because you thought your husband kept a Sioux
woman." She tossed her hair back. "Upset, mad. My English is only so
good. They are one and the same. I am not Sioux, I am Cheyenne. I was very
young, with my first husband, when my band was massacred along Sand Creek. I
was not much older, with my second husband traveling with Black Kettle who also
survived Sand Creek, when the Son-of-the-Morning-Star, Long Knife,
Custer,
came and murdered all the women and
children along the Washita. Neither my husband nor Black Kettle survived that
time. My third husband was crippled in a battle with the Crow. He was taken
prisoner by the Americans, and I learned my English at Fort Abraham Lincoln
while he fought to live. But he, too, died. Now I am here, living with Crazy
Horse. My husband's brothers hunt for me. The Sioux are a strict people,
virtuous. But I am a Human Being who has suffered greatly, and I have earned
the respect of the people here who know that I was good and loyal to a dying
man. I will not take another husband; I am afraid that the spirits have put
something in me that might make any such brave man die. Cougar-in-the-Night
desires no wife, so we are friends. Your husband is my friend as well."

Friend, Skylar thought. Did the woman sleep with all her
friends? Jealousy stabbed her, but she realized that she liked and admired
Earth Woman just as it seemed the Sioux of Crazy Horse's camp and their
Cheyenne allies did. Earth Woman was a female living in a male-dominated
society who had created her own place within it. She was definitely a renegade
in her way, not at all ashamed of her own sensuality in a place where chastity
was as important among the women as ferocity in battle was among the men.

"Good friends?" she heard herself croak out.

Earth Woman smiled. Her ink-dark lashes swept her beautiful
cheeks. "I am not young. Many years ago, when Sea-of-Stars had died and I
was lonely and broken as well, we were very good friends. That was long ago.
Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad. I was—hurt. I was even—afraid."

Earth Woman smiled. She came toward Skylar and hugged her.
"The Sioux do not show much emotion. But you are white, and I am Cheyenne.
You are welcome here. And do not be afraid of me. Your husband has no desire
for me. He very much desires you. You must see that."

"Does he?"

Earth Woman rolled her eyes.

"Most Human Beings are not so blind!" she said, laughing,
and departed quickly. Even then, there was a natural sway to her hips as she
left the tipi.

Skylar hoped that her husband desired her. Because if he
didn't, Earth Woman was definitely worthy competition.

They came back with several elks. Sloan had
taken down two and Hawk had slain the same. Neither of them needed the food, so
their kills were delivered to the poor of the tribe: two windows with children
who had no brothers or brothers-in-law left to help them, and two very old
warriors with very old wives. Hawk had just finished with the courteous
routine of giving his kill away when he saw that Crazy Horse had gone to his
tipi.

"Oh, hell!" he swore softly in English.

Sloan, at his side, spun around.

"Finish here, will you?" Hawk asked quickly. He
turned with a last smile for the old woman who was going on and on thanking
him, and raced for his own tipi.

He jerked up the flap, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the
firelight within.

Crazy Horse was seated, awaiting him.

To Hawk's amazement, his pipe and tobacco awaited him in the
center of the tipi, laid out so that he could share a smoke with his guests.
The aroma drifting throughout the habitat was delicious. Skylar was standing
near the rear of the tipi, as far back as she could manage without bending. She
met his eyes as he entered. There wasn't anything particularly humble in her
gaze.

In fact, she looked rather amused.

But she lifted her hand, indicating where he should rightfully
take his place as host. He narrowed his eyes at her, in warning, hoping that
she had no tricks up her sleeve.

Soon after he entered, Sloan arrived, then Willow, Ice Raven,
and Blade. Crazy Horse's friend He Dog arrived as well, and the tipi was quite
full.

They smoked and they drank brandy that Hawk had brought from
Mayfair. Skylar served them the liquor, and she served them stew in wooden
bowls. She never looked ilirectly at any of the men—except at Hawk once.

And still there was that glint of amusement in her eyes,
which made him a bit uneasy, but...

She was beautiful, graceful, so very quick to serve—and most
mercifully, silent.
She
couldn't have been
more charming and subdued.

Which was why he was so startled when her
revenge befell him.

He noted that He Dog was behaving strangely at first, gulping
down brandy as if it were water. Crazy Horse, who had appeared to savor
Skylar's stew, was suddenly doing the same. Skylar was quick to serve more and
more brandy, but it never seemed enough. His guests stopped eating and kept
drinking.

Hawk took a bite from his own stew bowl. Skylar really was an
excellent cook, the stew was very good, but...

Hot. Burning. There was enough pepper in it to season half
the buffalo kill in the West.

Crazy Horse was wheezing. He Dog was coughing. Even Sloan was
choking. Hawk grabbed his own brandy—guzzling it. He set his stew bowl down
and rose, staring at Skylar.

She stared back blankly. With complete innocence. He excused
himself to his company striding toward the back of the tipi where she was
standing. His mouth, his throat, his eyes, nose, and body all still seemed to
be burning from the pepper. None of his guests said a word, of course. Crazy
Horse was being courteous, assuming Hawk's wife could do no better.

"Lady Douglas," Hawk said, keeping his voice low so
that he could not be heard by those among his company who understood English.
He opened his mouth to continue. He was afraid to talk, afraid to move, so
furious that he was afraid he would hurt her. He reached to the ground, picking
up a large skin gourd and shoving it into her hands.

"Water!" he ground out.

Her brows shot up. "What is the matter with you? I've
done everything—"

"In the world to humiliate me. Get water, now!"

Her lips pursed, her eyes burned silver. She started to shove
the gourd back. "Get your own damned water—" she began.

But never finished. He caught her wrist, twisting it around
with such speed and determination that he had forcefully pressed her before him
and was on his way out of the tipi with her. He excused himself to his guests,
explaining that his wife wasn't as familiar with the use of her Mayfair
seasonings in different surroundings as she was at her customary home.

"This time, Lord-Wretched-Manhandling-Douglas, I have
had it!" she cried out, still propelled forward as they left the tipi. She
cried out, swearing at him, as his rush toward the river caused him to press
harder upon her arm. "I spent the entire day trying to entertain squaws
who spoke no English, I welcomed one of your ex-mistresses into the tipi—since
it seems you and Sloan apparently never minded sharing before. I worked the
entire day and now—"

"You worked the entire day!" he exploded, shoving
her forward and free from his grasp. "You
plotted
the entire day, is what you did!"

They'd come to the same alcove in the trees by the river
where Sloan had been with Earth Woman that day. Night had brought a definite
chill to the air and Skylar was shivering. "Plotted! I beat the meat,
seasoned it—"

"Enough to kill a herd of buffalo!"

"I did not!" she snapped back indignantly.

"You almost ended the entire Sioux problem all by yourself,
choking to death half the leaders of the resistance!"

"I did not!" she repeated, appalled, her
indignation growing, along with her tremors.

"I hope you're freezing," he told her,
"because I'd like to shake you until every bone in your body rattles, slap
your perfect little derriere. String you up—"

"Me!" she shrieked, suddenly approaching him.
"You ungrateful, swaggering egotist! How dare you!"

She came before him. Directly before him. She suddenly
slammed both fists against his naked chest with a power that hurt.

"You get your own damned water and kiss your own damned
butt! I've had it!"

She slammed her fists against him again and turned im- periously
on her heels to walk off. Incredulous, he watched her for a moment. Then it
seemed that his fury ignited, sending him tearing after her, not knowing what
he was doing, but damned determined she wasn't going to just walk away. He
caught her by the hair. She shrieked. He grabbed hold of her shoulders,
spinning her around. He was down upon a knee, not really intending to drag her
over it, but she tripped and fell there and was shrieking like a wild cat
before he made a conscious move. "Don't you dare, don't you dare—"
she cried.