The Reluctant Debutante (24 page)

He traveled to Canada to see his grandfather and to ask the wise elder what his most recent dreams meant. His grandfather told him he was not yet done with the woman or her family. So Joseph knew he would see her again, somehow and some way.

His heart had nearly burst from his chest when he first caught sight of her tending to the wounded at the side of the river. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and when she called out to him, “
Gihzadin
,” the Ojibwa word he’d used in the cabin to tell her of his love for her, his heart leaped out of the cage he had put it in. He knew he wanted to spend the remainder of his life with her. Now all he had to do was to convince her family.

But first, he wanted to see his woman again.

He looked up the long staircase as Ginger bounded down them and into his arms. He leaned down and kissed her again, reveling in his right to do so. Then, he broke the kiss and held her out at arm’s length.

“You are truly beautiful, my beloved.”

“No, I’m not. I have no makeup on, my hair is a mess, and my dress is still wet and muddy. All my petticoats are gone.”

Joseph turned her gently to observe one side of her, and then the other. “I must say, I prefer you without the petticoats. I can see your lovely hips now.” To prove his point, he ran one of his large hands over the swell of her hip.

Ginger’s laugh tinkled in the air as she moved closer to him. She wrapped her fingers into his long, dark hair and brought his face down to her level for a long and passionate kiss.

Joseph broke from the kiss long enough to whisper, “When we get back to St. Louis, we will marry.”

Ginger broke out in goose bumps at his proposal, her heart doing flip-flops. “As you wish, Joseph.
Gihzadin
.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again.

The following morning, Ginger, Joseph, and Basil boarded the passenger train with the others for the trip back to St. Louis. Charles Gray lay in one of the hospital cars at the front of the train and George Fitzpatrick decided to ride there as well, to keep him company. The railcars were all linked together for the long journey back to St. Louis. However, seventeen miles east of Hermann the train stopped.

“What is it now?” Basil asked, craning his neck out the window.

“It seems we have stopped at the Boeuf Creek overpass. The creek must be flooded from all the rain,” Joseph said as they exited the train.

Together the three of them, along with Joseph’s brothers, walked to the bridge to take a look. The creek was no longer a gentle little stream of water, but an angry, roiling rush of water slamming into the wooden trestle bridge. Trees floated in the raging swirl, and were stacked up against the bridge pilings, making the bridge unsafe for the long train to pass over.

With the Gasconade tragedy still fresh in their minds, the railroad engineers weren’t taking any chances. They ordered another train to be brought from St. Louis and placed in position on the east side of the bridge over the Boeuf.

The railroad officials went from one car to another with their update. “Okay, folks, it’ll be a while longer before we can get you back to the city. We’re sorry for the delay, but we have decided it’s best to be safe. Sit back and relax. We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can. We expect it’ll take a couple of hours for the train to arrive.”

As Basil again took his seat in the passenger car, he gazed at Ginger and Joseph, who had not left each other since the Gasconade River disaster site. He noticed how gently they touched each other, as if afraid they might be separated again if they didn’t hold onto each other.

Ginger caught his look. “Not this time, Basil. I won’t listen to you, or obey you.”

His gaze flickered from Ginger to Joseph, and he read determination in the tall man’s eyes as well.

“You realize your life with Joseph will not be an easy one, do you not?” Basil reminded his sister.

“I’m well aware, Basil. I may not have grown up on the frontier like Joseph did, but I can tell how hard it is to make a living here. I think I can help the Lafontaines turn a better profit on their ranch. I’ve been reading everything I can find on raising horses since I met Joseph, and I have some ideas about how to get a bigger profit margin per horse than he’s getting now. Plus, I think he can make a lot of money supplying horses to the Cavalry division of the Army. Heaven knows they can use better quality horses than they currently provide their men. I have lots of plans for us.”

Basil grinned as he turned to Joseph. “Maybe you’re the one I should be warning, not her.”

“We will be fine, if we can ever get out of this mess.”

“Basil, does this mean you are finally going to accept the fact that Joseph and I belong together? Without a fight or without banishing him from my sight?”

Basil threw his hands into the air. “Certainly no man wants his sister to pick a hard road for herself. Life and marriage are difficult enough without asking for more hardship. Certain elements of society will ostracize you because you have dared to marry an Indian. Your children will face ridicule and rejection because of their small amount of Indian blood.”

Ginger grew pale, but Basil continued. “I’ve seen it happen, to Joseph, while I’ve been in his company. But, after watching the two of you together, I can see you are truly in love and not just toying with each other’s affections, as I had thought. If anyone can make a go of it when the deck is stacked against them, I’d put my money on you.”

“Do you think Papa will approve?”

“I don’t know. He was never really comfortable with the ruse Mother perpetuated to explain Joseph’s appearance in our midst. I think he breathed a sigh of relief the day Joseph left the Hamptons. But he did say one thing on this trip you might be able to use to help convince him.”

“Really? Whatever did Papa say?”

“He told Charles Gray you needed a strong man to walk beside you through life, partially in order to keep up with you. And there is no one stronger, in my mind, than Joseph.”

Ginger touched Joseph’s face. “He’ll be able to keep up with me.”

Joseph took her hand in his and grazed her knuckles with his mouth while staring deeply into her eyes, tenderly expressing his love for her.

“So if Father gives this union his blessing, so will I,” said Basil.

“He will. I’m sure of it. And thank you, Basil, for finally accepting that Joseph and I belong together.”

Basil sighed and looked out the window at the swirling mess of Boeuf Creek, his thoughts resembling the torrent of water. Ginger was choosing a most difficult path for her life, a choice totally foreign to her. It wasn’t just the public ridicule he feared. It was the hard life of a frontier woman. He’d seen the women in town, worn and defeated by the harsh reality of daily life, and the worry that comes with having too many mouths to feed. Those women’s lives were as rough as their hands.

Ginger’s life had been one of indulgence up to this time. He was certain Joseph would do all he could to care for her every need. However, there was only so much a man could do. Childbirth was a woman’s lot, and Basil had heard of far too many instances of women dying in labor here on the edge of the wilderness.

The hard, unrelenting tasks of daily life and giving birth to children were the two most prevalent reasons for early death among women on the frontier. He hoped Ginger was up to the life she had chosen for herself. Silently, he wished their father could still talk some sense into her.
She’s always valued what Father had to say before. Maybe he can convince her one more time.

Later in the day, the new train arrived from St. Louis. While it was being positioned to take on passengers, Ginger and Basil looked in on Charles Gray and their father in the hospital cars.

George sat next to Charles, whose broken legs were only splinted, because rude bindings were the best that could be done until they returned to St. Louis. They broke off their conversation when the two young people joined them. Ginger caught the moan and the wince of pain crossing Mr. Gray’s face, even though he was fighting to hold them back. She noticed how his ashen face resembled his name.

“What’s happening with the train, Basil? Charles needs to see a competent doctor as soon as possible.”

“The bridge ahead is taking a lot of punishment from the waters below. I think the engineers want to lighten the load as we go across the bridge, so those who can walk across will do so first. The hospital cars will come across afterwards. They’ll push one car over at a time, so as not to put undue strain on the bridge, until all the cars are safely on the other side. Then, we’ll finally all be able to get back to town.”

George smiled. “You know, when this trip began, I thought St. Louis was a rugged border town, with few of the embellishments of New York. Now, I think it’s got so much refined luxury I can’t wait to get back there!”

“Thinking of moving? Soon enough we’ll be there,” Basil replied.

George asked, “Where’s your young man, Ginger?”

“You mean Joseph?”

“No, I was talking about David, the lieutenant. Is Joseph here, too?”

“He came yesterday afternoon, with the St. Louis men. He helped to free Basil and Mr. Gray from the wreckage.”

“And did a damn fine job of it, I must say,” Charles Gray muttered through his clenched teeth. “I watched him leading the men as they discussed the best way to get me out of the car. I’ve never seen a man with such composure and dignity.”

George nodded slightly as he assessed this new situation. “I’ll admit he has strength and dignity. But I had hoped never to see him again.”

“Isn’t this the same man who found Ginger in the woods at the Hamptons and saved her life?” Charles asked. “And who saved Basil from being beaten to death on his first night in St. Louis?”

George, Basil and Ginger nodded.

“So, he’s saved Basil, Ginger, and now me, has he?”

Again, they nodded.

“Well, I can see why you’d want to avoid him, then,” Charles replied with a heavy dose of irony. “Are you worried you might be next?”

George glared at Charles. “Stay out of this, my friend. You don’t know the whole story.” He turned his gaze back to Ginger. “So what’s happened to your young man, David?”

Ginger sighed. “The lieutenant was never my ‘young man,’ Papa. We just had a few minutes of pleasant conversation before the nightmare began. But, to answer your question, he has rejoined his regiment and they’re doing what they can to help everyone get back to St. Louis. We’re all about to walk across the bridge. Then, you’ll come over on the railcar. We’ll see you on the other side, okay?” Ginger smiled at the two gentlemen and kissed her father.

Once outside, Ginger, Basil, Joseph, and his brothers huddled with the rest of the able-bodied passengers as they listened to the railroad officials. “We need the strongest men to stay behind until we get the hospital cars across. We will push them manually over the bridge one at a time. Women and children will cross the bridge first, then the men. Let’s get started.”

Ginger looked at Joseph. “Even though I swore we would never be separated again, it seems we will be one last time. You are needed on this side to help the hospital cars get across. I’ll walk over by myself.”

He smiled at her. “Basil will go across as soon as the women and children are over. My youngest brother, Etienne, will accompany you, though. He is only sixteen, even though he thinks he is a man. I will see to it he takes care of you until I can cross.”

The first group of women and children picked their way slowly across the wooden bridge. Joseph watched with some trepidation as huge tree branches, carried downstream by the raging waters, continued to slam into the structure. Timbers creaked above the sound of the rushing water, and Joseph watched as the bridge swayed slightly.

Soon enough, it was Ginger and Etienne’s turn to cross. Joseph pulled his brother aside for last-minute instructions.

“I want you to take Ginger’s hand and run across the bridge. Get across as fast as you can, but do not leave her side. I think the bridge is about to fall apart.”

Etienne studied the structure, and then said to Joseph, “Perhaps we should not cross it at all? I have no desire to fall into the river.”

“Just get to the other side as fast as you can. It should take no more than a minute to cross if you run.”

He then moved to Ginger’s side, and took her into his arms. As they kissed, he whispered in her ear. “My brother is afraid of heights, so I would appreciate it if you would make a game of this and challenge him to see who can get across the bridge the fastest. It will take his mind off the height.”

Ginger nodded solemnly. “I will make certain he does not know I’m aware of his fear. I’ll be back in your arms soon, my love.”

Etienne took Ginger’s hand. The two brothers nodded to each other before Etienne led Ginger to the edge of the bridge. After a moment’s conversation, they took off, sprinting across the span quickly to the other side. Joseph breathed easier, knowing his beloved and his brother were safe.

Basil crossed soon after Ginger, along with the rest of the passengers. Then, Joseph helped muscle the first hospital car into position on the rails. The front end of the car touched the entrance to the bridge. The railroad engineer was about to give the command to begin pushing when the bridge shuddered mightily as a huge tree slammed into it.

Passengers on both sides of the river gasped and stared in horror as the bridge collapsed in a matter of seconds. The men shoved the hospital car away from the brink, and stood helplessly, watching the timbers from the bridge get swallowed up in the mighty waters below.

Ginger, Etienne, and Basil stared with dismay and shock at the chasm where the bridge they had just crossed mere minutes earlier had been.

“Good God, we nearly had the Gasconade disaster all over again,” Basil declared, shaking his head. “If the hospital train had been a few feet farther out, it would have tumbled into the mess below. And you know the passengers would not have survived a second time.”