A Journey of the Heart Collection (14 page)

By the time Amelia and Jacob opened their bedroom door, Sarah had already gone through her trunk and decided on a dress. It was a deep-green poplin trimmed with black velvet and edged with lace. A sleeveless jacket of black corded silk went over the dress and cinched over her tiny waist. Her father had bought it for her from an elegant shop in Indianapolis just six months before he died. An intricate design of velvet ribbon adorned the skirt and sleeves. Sarah had always loved the dress.

“Good morning,” she called to Amelia and Jacob. She tested the curling tongs on the kitchen stove with a wet finger. It sizzled. Good. Almost hot enough.

“You're up early.” Amelia yawned. “What's the occasion?”

“Have you forgotten we have a date for lunch?”

Amelia eyed her uncertainly. “You seem almost pleased. I thought you were dreading it.” She put a skillet on the stove and turned to mix up a batch of biscuits.

“Don't bother with breakfast for me,” Jacob interrupted. “I'm running late. I'll grab something at officers' mess.” He kissed Amelia and grabbed his coat off the hook by the stove.

“Be careful,” Amelia called before turning her attention back to Sarah.

“I was really hating the thought of having to be nice to Jessica, but then I decided it would just be a challenge. There must be some good in her or Rand wouldn't care about her.”

Amelia smiled. “I wish you luck finding it. I haven't seen it yet.”

“My, that doesn't sound like you. I've never known you to have a bad word to say about anyone but Ben. You're always telling me to have more patience with people.”

Amelia's cheeks flooded with pink. “I know I shouldn't feel that way, but she makes me uneasy just as Ben did.”

“Well, she's not married to Rand yet. Papa told me to fight for him.” She swallowed at the thought of her father. “Could you help me with my hair? I want to look my best.”

Amelia nodded and the girls spent the next hour
curling Sarah's glistening red-gold locks. They pulled her heavy hair back from her face and let the back cascade down in tight curls. After pulling a few curls forward by her ears, Sarah was finally satisfied.

Amelia looked pretty and demure in a deep blue silk dress with a lace collar and lace around the sleeves. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose knot at the nape of her neck with a few loose curls escaping at the sides.

Sarah threw her best cloak of brown wool with bands of velvet fringe over her shoulder, tied on her green silk bonnet, and walked toward the door with Amelia in tow. Knowing she looked her best helped calm her agitation.

But when Mrs. DuBois opened the door and Sarah saw Jessica standing behind her, she felt dowdy and plain. Jessica wore a lilac-colored silk dress with an intricate pattern in the skirt. Rows of lace ruffles cascaded over the skirt and sleeves, and her lovely white shoulders were bare. Her hair was braided and looped in an intricate way Sarah had never seen. The style accentuated Jessica's high cheekbones and big blue eyes.

But Mrs. DuBois was easy to like in spite of her daughter. “Come in, come in, my dears.” She fluttered
her plump hands as she drew them inside the warm hallway. “We've been so looking forward to this, haven't we, Jessica dear?”

“I certainly have.”

Sarah thought she detected the hint of a sneer in Jessica's smooth voice. Sarah squared her shoulders as she handed her cloak and bonnet to Mrs. DuBois.

Jessica led the way into their cheerily decorated quarters. Since Major DuBois was a senior officer, he received more deluxe accommodations than a lowly lieutenant. The parlor was large with a soft flowered carpet on the wood floor. Dainty tables and a horsehair sofa and three chairs furnished the room. Garden pictures and gold sconces adorned two walls while the fireplace dominated the third. Sarah could see the dining room through the arched doorway. A fine walnut table and chairs on another beautiful carpet occupied the center of the room. A young, attractive black woman hovered near the table.

“Rose, please pour our guests some tea,” Mrs. DuBois called. “Sit down, ladies, please. I've been so looking forward to getting to know one another a little better.”

Sarah sat on the sofa, expecting Amelia to sit next to her, but Jessica quickly settled there. With a glance
at Sarah, Amelia sat on one of the chairs while Mrs. DuBois took possession of another one.

“What do you think of Fort Laramie so far? Are you ready to return to Indiana?” Mrs. DuBois asked.

“It's much more primitive than I expected,” Sarah admitted. “And so cold. It seems very isolated.”

“It's really very jolly in the summer. More ladies are here, and we have dances and parties almost every night. Wait until then before you decide to leave us.”

“They'll be gone by then, Mother. Won't you?” Jessica addressed her last remark to Sarah.

Sarah forced herself to smile. “Who really knows with the army? We're hoping to stay near Rand as long as we can.” She heard Jessica's sharp intake of breath.

“Excuse me for a moment, ladies,” Mrs. DuBois said, seemingly unaware of the awkward pause. “I just want to peek in to see how our lunch is coming.” She scurried away and disappeared behind the door on the far side of the dining room.

As soon as her mother was gone, Jessica glared at Sarah. “Just what did you mean by that remark? I've already warned you not to meddle. Nothing is going to stop this wedding. You try and I promise you, you'll be very, very sorry.”

“I didn't mean anything other than we all love Rand and want to be with him as long as we can. He was gone three years and only home a few days before coming out here.” Sarah looked into Jessica's eyes. “I won't lie to you and tell you I don't still love him. But I want him to be happy, and if that means marriage to you, I'll try to accept that.”

Jessica's face whitened as her mother came back into the room. The look she cast at Sarah was full of venom, and Sarah could see the effort it took for her to control herself in her mother's presence.

The next hour was spent in light conversation over a delicious tea of dainty chicken salad sandwiches, tiny cakes, and cookies. The entire time Jessica's anger seethed just under her smooth surface.

“Do come again,” Mrs. DuBois urged as she handed them their cloaks and bonnets. “I so enjoyed your company.”

After promising they would come again, Amelia and Sarah made their escape. Amelia let out a sigh as soon as the door closed and they stepped down onto the path back home. “You've made a real enemy, Sarah. Jessica seems capable of anything.”

Sarah sighed. “I meant to try to be on friendly
terms with her. I really want Rand to be happy.” Tears sparkled on her lashes. “Watching him marry Jessica will be the hardest thing I've ever done, though.”

They reached their door and Joel came tearing out.

Sarah caught him as he tried to rush past them. “Whoa. What's going on?” Before Joel could answer, Rand strolled out behind him.

“We're going ice fishing,” Rand said. “With your permission, of course. I was going to ask before I took him, but I wasn't sure where you were, and he assured me you wouldn't mind.”

“No, of course I don't mind. And we were at the DuBois's for tea,” she added as he turned to go.

He stopped and gave her a quick look. “I see,” was all he said. He cleared his throat. “Well, we'll be going now. He'll be back in time for supper.”

“Have fun.” Her heart ached as she watched him match his stride to Joel's shorter one. Her brother looked up at him adoringly as they walked away. Would things ever be right? Was it even possible to untangle this mess? She sighed and followed Amelia into the house.

Rand rapped at Colonel Maynadier's door.

“Enter.”

He stepped inside the room, taking in the piles of papers scattered over the old wooden desk before saluting smartly. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Ah yes, Lieutenant Campbell.” The colonel looked up from his scrutiny of the document in front of him. He was a tall, spare man somewhere in his forties with blond, thinning hair and pale eyebrows. But there was nothing nondescript about his eyes. They were gray and eagle sharp. The soldiers under his command knew those eyes missed nothing that concerned the well-being of Fort Laramie. Rand sometimes thought the colonel could see inside his soul with those eyes. “Camp rumor has it that a certain Lieutenant Jacob Campbell is your brother and that he arrived a few days ago with a wife and her companion. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. I have a proposition for you. Big Ribs and some of the other chiefs have asked for their children to be instructed in the basics of a white education. Learning English, a little reading and writing. I would like to request that Miss—” He peered at the paper in front of him. “That Miss Montgomery take over the
task while she is here. Lieutenant Liddle informs me that she is a most gifted, intelligent young woman and not likely to be frightened by the Indian children.”

Rand swallowed his dismay. “I'll ask her, sir.” The last thing he wanted was to get Sarah even more entangled in life at Fort Laramie.

He kept his face impassive as the colonel outlined his plan for the school. He'd had a hard time keeping his emotions under control the last few evenings as the five of them had curled up on the floor beside the fireplace and played checkers after he and Joel had returned from their fishing expedition. She laughed and teased like the Sarah he'd loved so long and so well. The last few evenings had been pure torture. How long must he endure her presence? He'd decided to turn his life in a new direction, and he would stick with it.

“One other thing,” Colonel Maynadier said as Rand saluted and turned to go. “There's a new authorized fur trader to the Sioux downriver. Please check in on him this afternoon and see that he understands the rules governing Indian trade.”

“Yes, sir.” Another fur trader was the least of his worries, he fumed as he strode across the snow-covered
parade ground. They were all alike anyway. All set on feathering their own nests at the expense of the Indians. They forced the Indians to pay for their own annuities with furs and made exorbitant profits when they sold the furs back east.

Sarah opened the door at his knock. Amelia was dressing in the bedroom and Jacob had already left for his duties.

Sarah's eyes darkened when he repeated the colonel's request. “When does he want me to start?”

“Right away. You're to use the chapel for now, and next spring the colonel plans to build a small schoolhouse. You'll have to improvise, though. There are no schoolbooks here and probably won't be for months.” He stared at her downcast gaze. “You don't want to do it?”

She looked up then. “I'd like to help out, but I've never taught before. Teaching children who don't even know English very well sounds very difficult.”

“Some of the teenagers will speak pretty well, and they'll help you with the younger ones.”

She didn't look convinced. “I can try if you want me to.”

“Can I go too?” Joel asked.

Sarah's brows winged up. “You actually
want
to learn something?”

Joel looked down at the floor. “There aren't any other boys to play with. I thought maybe I could teach some of them how to play baseball.”

Sarah's face softened and she nodded. “We need to get on with your studies too.” She turned back to Rand. “Could you find me some slate? Or some paper to lay across boards?”

“There's plenty of slate in the cliffs across the river. I'll fetch some this afternoon. I have to go that direction anyway to check on a new fur trader.”

Was that tenderness in his face? It was probably just wishful thinking.

SIX

T
he sun shone coldly on the glistening snow as Rand threaded his way through the massive snowdrifts along the rocky trail that led downriver to the trader's establishment. He was cold through and through by the time he reached the group of small buildings bustling with activity. The pure snow had been tramped to a muddy quagmire by the horses tied to posts along the front of the buildings. They stood with their heads down and their backsides to the cutting gale.