Brave Beginnings (42 page)

He got out of the buggy and touched Chogan’s
forehead and sighed. The fever was still potent, but it didn’t seem
worse so that was good. Chogan still needed much rest, and the time
in the buggy allowed him some rest but not enough.

Citlali nudged Chogan in the arm. When Chogan
stirred, he reached for his arm and draped it over his shoulders.
“Come. We will spend the night here.”

Chogan leaned on Citlali, his weight making
Citlali stumble. “Julia. We need to find her.”

“We will, but we need to rest. The horse
needs to rest.”

“The trail?”

“She’s leaving clues. She was here last
night.” He braced for more of Chogan’s weight as Chogan stepped out
of the buggy and lumbered forward. “We’ll find her. It’s just a
matter of time, but we’ll get there sooner if you rest.”

Chogan exhaled in frustration but didn’t
argue when Citlali led him to the cot. He settled onto the cot and
closed his eyes.

Citlali straightened and went to put the
horse in the barn for the night. As soon as he entered the small
structure, he recoiled at the stench in the place. He found the dry
vomit and blood on the floor with a piece of a woman’s dress that
had been ripped.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he
remained still, unwilling to let his mind go in the direction his
imagination wanted it to. It was terrible enough to see the
evidence of the abuse without dwelling on it. He hurried out of the
barn and took the horse to a nearby tree and secured the reins so
the horse wouldn’t run off.

Leaning on the tree, he took a deep breath
and rubbed his eyes. If Chogan knew, he’d lose it. He’d push
himself to find her, and in the process, he’d probably die. Citlali
ignored the memory of the stench in the barn and headed back to the
shack. It was best not to tell Chogan. Chogan wouldn’t do Julia any
good if he died. After everything Ernest was doing to her, she’d
need Chogan.

Citlali glanced at the hole in the wall of
the shack and then noticed something etched into the wood a good
distance from the window. Curious, he walked up to it and tried to
recall where he’d seen the word before. It was in the white man’s
language. Though he could speak it well enough, he could only
recognize a few words if he saw them.

The marking was made recently, so it had to
be another message from Julia. He traced the first letter and
thought over the words Gary had showed him while they were in
Bismarck. His gaze traveled down the rest of the word. It was a
town in North Dakota. He ran through all the towns he knew, and in
a matter of seconds, he knew which town it was.

Jamestown. Ernest was taking her to
Jamestown. He glanced up at the evening sky and spotted the
constellation that would tell him where he was in location to
Bismarck. If they could get to Bismarck and go to Jamestown by
train, it would cut their time traveling, and the last thing Chogan
needed was to go across the state in a buggy.

Tomorrow they would head south to Bismarck.
Decision made, Citlali returned to the buggy to grab fresh bandages
and herbs to mix into Chogan’s drink to aid in his healing.

~~********~~

Julia became aware of the hard ground as soon
as she woke two mornings later. Wincing, she rolled onto her back.
The blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon, and for a moment, she
imagined Chogan had his arms around her.

He was still alive. She could feel it. She
kept her eyes closed, though the sun was rising and Ernest moved
about, packing the things he’d set up the night before. Forcing the
bile down, she readied herself for another long and grueling day in
the buggy, thinking if she could just make it to Jamestown without
arousing Ernest’s suspicions, she might succeed in getting away.
What she needed was a plan. For the moment, all she could do was
play along and do whatever he asked.

A flutter in her womb caused her heart to
leap with excitement. She hadn’t felt the baby before, and her
first instinct was to run and tell Chogan their baby moved. She
opened her eyes and sat up, immediately wishing she hadn’t. Now
Ernest knew she was awake.

“Good morning, Julia,” Ernest called out
cheerfully from where he sat at the small campfire.

She smiled and forced her reply. “Good
morning, Ernest.”

“Five more days and we’ll get to Jamestown.
Then we can eat a good meal and sleep on a decent bed. We’ll enjoy
a better life in Canada. You just wait. You’ll have a big house and
clothes that are finer than anything you’ve ever worn. You won’t be
forced to live in a dirt house with a group of savages.”

No. I’d get to live in a gilded cage with
a monster.
She bit her tongue on the reply and stood,
stretching the kinks in her body. The continual ramblings he did
about how much of a better life he could give her was too much for
her to take at times. Reminding herself that Jamestown was only
five days away, she collected her bearings and rolled up the
blanket and bedroll before she went to relieve her bladder behind a
bush. She’d rather die than have Ernest see her without her clothes
on.

When she returned to the camp and put her
bedroll and blanket into the buggy, Ernest handed her a tin cup
with coffee in it. “Breakfast is waiting.”

“Thank you,” she said, hoping the slight
trembling in her voice went unnoticed. She hated it whenever he was
near her. It took all of her willpower to stay still. Sensing he
wanted her to say something else, she added, “The coffee smells
great.”

“You’re lovely, Julia. I always thought that,
you know.”

Unable to maintain any more eye contact, she
turned her attention back to the coffee. It was going to be a long
five days. She closed her eyes for a moment, praying to God that
Chogan would get to Jamestown in time.

He put his hand on her back. “You needn’t
worry, Julia. I won’t hold your insubordination against you. We’ll
start with a new slate.” Then he turned back to the campfire.

She shuddered, wishing she could wipe the
memory of his touch from her mind. She lifted the cup to her lips
and gulped the bitter coffee. She had to eat and drink for her
child’s sake. Another day of going through the motions and
pretending that she wanted to be with Ernest loomed before her. She
could do this. And in five days, she’d get to Jamestown and figure
out a way to escape.

***

The next day, Chogan and Citlali rode into
Bismarck. Chogan’s fever finally left, but he was still weak. He
hated feeling helpless. Citlali had to do practically everything,
and even as he was glad Citlali stayed with him to find Julia,
Chogan wanted to hop a horse and get to Bismarck faster. Too many
possibilities of what Ernest was doing to Julia haunted him. Had it
not been for his sore shoulder and chest, he would be in Jamestown
already. But Citlali was right. He had to take it easy.

While Citlali drove the buggy through
Bismarck, Chogan’s gaze fell upon Erin’s house. “We’ll need money
for the train. Do you have any?”

Citlali pulled back the reins and frowned.
“No. I thought we might barter something.”

“What? We have nothing that the white people
want.”

“The horse or buggy?”

“No. We need this for the tribe. Julia’s aunt
lives in that house.” He pointed to it. “She will buy our tickets.”
Erin would be horrified to learn her niece was with Ernest, but he
also knew she would do anything she could to get Julia back, safe
and sound.

Citlali nodded and pulled the buggy up to her
house.

Chogan got ready to get out, but Citlali
stopped him. “You will get out when we get to the train station.
Not before.”

Chogan sighed. “I never did like you. You’re
too bossy for your own good.” Then he smiled to show he was
joking.

As usual, Citlali’s expression didn’t change,
though his voice had a friendly tone in it. “You will have to deal
with it.”

“Of course,” Chogan replied with a chuckle.
He winced and pressed his hand to his chest.

Citlali got out of the buggy and strode up
the steps, as determined to do this as he was to do anything else
he set his mind to. Chogan caught sight of several wary looks from
people who looked from him to Citlali and hurried down the street,
but Citlali kept his focus straight ahead. Chogan didn’t miss being
in Bismarck with the judgmental stares and whispers.

Chogan sat back and watched as Citlali
knocked on the front door. Erin opened it, and Citlali spoke to
her. Her hand went up to her mouth and when he finished, she gave a
quick nod and left the doorway to get something from her house.
When she came back out a couple minutes later, she had her purse,
hat and a carpet bag. Chogan didn’t expect her to come with them,
but he understood why she would. Julia was more than her niece; she
was like her own child, and no mother would let her child suffer if
she could step in to stop it.

Erin ran up to the buggy and hugged him. “Oh
Chogan. You must be scared.”

He returned her hug. “We have to get her
before Ernest takes her out of Jamestown.”

“Yes. I just can’t believe that boy. Why, I
knew him since he was a child.” She shook her head and took hold of
his hands. “No one knows where he went after he stole that money,
and I never imagined Julia was in trouble or I would have gone to
the tribe.”

Citlali who’d remained quiet stepped forward.
“We need a place for the horse and buggy.”

“Oh yes.” Erin nodded. “I’ll take you to my
brother’s. He has a stable. We must hurry though. The train will
leave in a half hour. You came at the right time.”

Chogan gingerly got out of the buggy.

“What are you doing?” Citlali demanded.

“I can walk to the station from here. You two
take the buggy to that house. I’ll meet you at the train.”

“Alright,” Citlali replied. “Take your
time.”

“I will.” He straightened his back. It felt
good to get out of the buggy after days of sitting in it.

He bent to retrieve the bag Citlali brought,
but Citlali stopped him. “You will carry nothing.”

Chogan nodded, once again surprised by
Citlali. Who knew Citlali had a heart under his neutral exterior?
“Alright, Citlali.” Looking at Erin, he said, “We’ll get
Julia.”

“I sure do hope so,” she replied, tears
brimming her eyes. “They think Ernest killed his first wife. I read
about it in the paper.”

Chogan gritted his teeth. If Ernest hurt
Julia in any way, he’d pay for it. He headed for the train and
tried not to think of all the things Ernest might be doing to
Julia. She was no cowering woman. She’d stand up to him, and that
worried Chogan. But she was smart. She’d figure a way to bide her
time until Chogan got there. After all, she left the strands of
petticoats and wrote Jamestown on the side of the shack because she
was outfoxing Ernest. If she could keep that up, she would very
well survive.
I’m coming, Julia. Nothing will keep us apart.
He wouldn’t be able to rest until Julia was in his arms again.

***

As Ernest and Julia arrived in Jamestown, he
leaned toward her and whispered, “Don’t let people see your face.
We don’t want to attract undue attention.”

Julia obediently pulled the scarf up to her
nose and lowered the bonnet. The effect was nearly suffocating in
the hot weather. Ernest had her change into her clean clothes that
morning, saying he didn’t want to be seen with a woman in soiled
rags, and she went along with his wishes, hoping once they got to
Jamestown, she’d never have to do anything else he wanted ever
again. While she changed, he had put on a blond wig and beard to
hide his identity as much as possible. As much as she hated to
admit it, he did a good job of looking like someone else. One would
have to give him a careful look to recognize him.

Now as she glanced at the people loitering
about on the main street, she wondered if any might help her
escape. Surely, there must be some place she might go, somewhere
she might hide until Chogan found her.

Ernest pulled the buggy in front of a hotel.
“We’ll stay here tonight.” He brought his hand to the small of her
back, and she stayed still, resisting the urge to recoil from him.
“Don’t say anything when we get in there, hmmm? No need to arouse
suspicions.”

All she could manage was a nod. He parked the
buggy and got out. She lifted the scarf long enough to inhale the
fresh air before she set it back in place. He went over to her
side, so she gritted her teeth and accepted his hand. Her body was
still sore from his harsh treatment of her in the barn and then
from sleeping on the ground at night, but she bit back the pain and
followed him into the hotel. When he motioned for her to stay in
the shadows, she did and waited. Her pulse pounded with nervous
energy as she peered out the window and took note of the businesses
lining the main street. Surely, there must be a place to hide in
one of those buildings.

“May I help you, sir?” a man called out.

She looked at Ernest who smiled at the
innkeeper.

“My wife and I would like a room for the
night,” Ernest said.

The man glanced her way. If he thought her
apparel was odd, he didn’t give any indication of it. Instead, he
turned the ledger around and handed Ernest a pen. “Sign your name
here, and I’ll get your key.”

She held her breath. Key? As in one room? She
placed a hand over her stomach and fought the bile that rose up in
her throat. There was no way she could handle Ernest touching her
the way husbands touched their wives—the way Chogan had touched
her. The tiny flutter in her womb reminded her that as long as she
was with child, she was safe in that regard. Absentmindedly, she
rubbed her abdomen where the small mound gave physical evidence of
her condition, but no one could tell when she wore her clothes.