Sawbones (24 page)

I leaned forward and stage-whispered, “Don't let Lieutenant Colonel Foster hear you. I am the last person he would want to celebrate.”

Harriet smiled and shook her head, though she didn't disagree. “What a lovely dress, Laura. How extraordinary it survived.”

“Oh, it didn't,” I said. “I bought it back from the sutler yesterday.” Edna's, Stephen's, and Harriet's astounded and uncomfortable expressions were worth the warning headshake I received from Ezra. “I am joking, of course. The Indians were less interested in our things than in killing and torturing us. Though, they may have very well looted our possessions more thoroughly if Captain Kindle and his men had not arrived.”

“Here he is to save you again,” Harriet said. Kindle stopped between us with a small smile on his face.

“I didn't know I needed saving.”

“From the Carters,” Harriet said with good nature. “They will talk you into staying on in Jacksboro, I am sure of it. They can be persuasive.”

“I would like to persuade her as well,” Ezra said. “I need a civilian surgeon and Dr. Elliston would require no training, already being familiar with hospital and fort.”

“You may try all you like. I don't believe I will ever be truly safe in this wide-open country.”

“You miss the closeness of the city?” Edna asked.

“No. I miss the trees,” I said, to general laughter.

“What say you, Captain Kindle?” Harriet said.

“I miss trees as well.”

“Come now, be serious.” Harriet laughed. It was the first time I'd heard her laugh and I was surprised by how infectious and musical it was. “Help us convince Dr. Elliston to stay.”

I turned to Kindle and said, “Yes, Captain, persuade me to stay. I daresay you are the only one who can.”

He bowed his head to me and with an amused smile said, “As to her skills as a doctor, I am now and will always be her greatest champion. Regarding her feelings about the area, if she doesn't feel safe on a fort full of soldiers I am not sure there is anything I can do or say to change her mind. Though I would be happy to plant trees if it would help.”

“It would be in vain,” Harriet said. “If the Army did not cut them down for construction, the good businessmen of Jacksboro would.”

“Quite right,” Stephen Carter said.

“I suppose it's settled,” I said. “I do appreciate the effort, Mayor and Mrs. Carter.”

Edna Carter laughed. “We don't give up so easy, do we Stephen?”

“No.”

Thankfully, we were called to table.

Harriet pulled me slightly aside. “It is interesting Dr. Kline knows your professional proclivities so well on such a short acquaintance.”

“I suppose one good doctor knows another.”

She nodded and smiled to someone on the other side of the room before looking back at me. “I have not forgotten your promise.”

“No, I don't imagine you have.”

“Dr. Elliston?” Ezra offered his arm and I took it.

“Excuse me, Harriet.”

I took Ezra's arm and said beneath the low rumble of movement, “Thank you.”

“What was that about?”

“She's suspicious and dislikes me on principle.”

“What makes you think she dislikes you?”

I laughed. “Don't let her compliment about my management skills fool you. She despises me. Why are you encouraging the Carters? You know I cannot stay.”

“They're persistent. But, don't worry. I'll distract them.”

“I thought you were to collect me tonight.”

“So I was, but Kindle insisted. Now I understand why.”

I looked at him sharply. Had my expression on entering the tent betrayed me? “What do you mean?”

“You're the most beautiful woman here. My son was a fool to let you go.”

I blushed. “You're biased.”

“Yes, but it doesn't mean I am lying.”

I looked around. Kindle held out Harriet's chair and took the seat next to her at the head of the table. I sat in the chair Ezra held out for me. “Considering my rivals, the compliment has little weight.”

“Pettishness does not become you, Katie,” he whispered in my ear. “Why do I suspect you haven't told me everything?” He glanced pointedly in Kindle's direction. “We'll talk later.”

I was relieved as well as irritated Harriet had placed me as far from Kindle as possible. My emotions about him fluctuated so wildly, from elation to embarrassment, despair to hope, I could not trust myself to act rationally in his presence for an extended amount of time. The mere fact I could not master my emotions angered me and left me feeling a vulnerability the expanse of nature around me only amplified. While I knew I should, logically, thank Harriet for in essence making this dinner easier for me to enjoy, I was irritated the choice had been taken from me without my consent, that I couldn't prove to myself I possessed the strength of character needed to confront my conflicting feelings for Kindle.

I determined to not betray my crossness by word, look, or action. Indeed, I decided to use my powers of entertainment and attraction, honed in the countless London drawing rooms of my youth, on the two young officers I was sitting between, Beau Kindle and Wallace Strong.

Strong was handsome, gregarious, and shallow and if I had not known the baseness of his character through my association with Ruth, I would have enjoyed conversing with him much more than Beau Kindle. But his easy charm couldn't hide a character that extended to nobility only in whatever way would promote his esteem in the eyes of his equals. His wife, Alice, sat opposite and would glimpse at her husband with an adoring, fearful expression as often as would be considered polite while in conversation with Stephen Carter. Occasionally, Strong would wink at his wife, which caused Alice to blush and lose her train of thought. That they were ill-suited was patently obvious. I had too much experience in the marriage trade to question how the match had come about. No doubt her familial connections had furthered Strong's career and, quite possibly, made him a decent fortune. In return she possessed a handsome, unfaithful husband.

The switch in conversation partners could not come quickly enough. My hope that talking to Kindle's nephew would be like talking to Kindle himself was soon crushed. Beau was a pleasant young man and could talk on a wide range of subjects, but he was impetuous, opinionated, and a trifle thoughtless. In short, he was young, unpolished, and infused with a sense of bravado only found in conjunction with inexperience. He, as well as Strong, looked at the Army in general and the frontier in particular as a great adventure, nay a lark, a place where they could make their names alongside those heroes of the War: Sherman, Grant, Custer, and Sheridan. They could not get on the trail soon enough. They were confident that since now they were in the thick of it, with their energy and fresh ideas, they would make short work of the savages. As fervently as I wished for the Indians to be eradicated and cared little for how the goal was achieved, I doubted Beau Kindle held the secret to solving the Indian problem in his young brain. I determined to steer him to a subject I was more interested in.

“When we first met you mentioned you had not seen your uncle in many years.”

“Eight years, ma'am.”

“You would have been a child. Was he much changed since you last saw him?”

“It would be difficult for him to not,” Beau replied. “Time has told on his countenance. There's sadness about him I don't remember. Visits from Uncle Billy were always anticipated.”

I thought of the man in the hotel lobby, possibly William's brother, and wondered how Beau would react if it were. “Your father was Captain Kindle's older brother?”

“Yes.”

His reluctance to talk of his father was evident. Perhaps, like Kindle, he didn't have fond memories of his father, so I turned the conversation. “Did you always want to be in the Army?”

“Yes, because of Uncle. The captain was my guardian after my mother died. I spent my youth in boarding school in New England. On the captain's recommendation I was accepted to West Point.”

“Your mother died with the captain's wife?”

“Yes, with his wife and child in a carriage accident in sixty-three. Not long after Antietam.”

“His wife and child?” I asked. In our conversations, Kindle had not mentioned a child.

“You didn't know?” Beau asked in some surprise.

I smiled and pushed my misgivings aside. “Most of our conversations during his recuperation were necessarily one-sided. The laudanum,” I explained.

I glanced down the table at our subject and found him staring at us with a questioning gaze. I knew he would not be pleased to be the focus of our conversation. I turned back to Beau and found him giving Alice Strong an encouraging smile. When Alice caught my eye, she blushed, which made her much more attractive, and turned her attention back to Stephen Carter, who was slurping up the last of his oxtail soup.

I asked Beau, “Do you have siblings?”

Beau's face lit into a smile. “Yes, a younger sister. She lives with my late aunt's family in Boston. She's a governess.”

“What does she think of your Army adventure?”

“She would much prefer me to follow my aunt's brother into banking. A safer occupation, she says.”

“As well as dull, I daresay.”

“Precisely what I said.”

“I have known my share of bankers and you don't strike me as the type.”

“What a grand compliment. Thank you.”

Our conversation paused as our empty soup bowls were removed. “My sister is worried I will be killed by the savages,” Beau said, laughing at the absurdity of it. He still possessed the naive belief he would live forever.

“You should not belittle her concerns,” I quietly replied.

Beau was chagrined. “Of course not. I apologize for my thoughtlessness,” he said. “Miss Warren reminded me of my sister.”

“Anna?” I replied.

Beau smiled. “Yes. Did you know her well?”

“I was coming to know her well. She was an intelligent girl.”

“The captain has tried to temper my expectations of finding her, but I will not give up hope.”

“Nor will I,” I said.

The serving soldiers placed our entrée of beefsteak, potatoes, and greens in front of us. The service might have been formal but the food still suffered under the shortcomings of the area. The plainness of the fare was limited to its outward appearance. The steak was perfectly cooked, the potatoes soft and creamy inside their thin, red skins, and the greens were seasoned with bacon and salt, which masked their naturally bitter taste.

After a moment enjoying our meal, Beau continued. “I hear you will be leaving us on the next train to Fort Sill.”

“Yes. Day after tomorrow.”

“We are to accompany the train as far as the Red River before turning west on patrol.”

“We?”

“The Tenth.”

The morsel of potato I was swallowing lodged in my throat. I wondered why Kindle hadn't bothered to tell me of these plans on our drive from town.

“Where will you go from Fort Sill?” Beau asked, oblivious to my discomfort.

“I'm not sure,” I replied. “Colorado, or California.”

“Unless we can persuade her to stay in Jacksboro,” Edna Carter said across the table. “Excuse me for eavesdropping,” she added without the least bit of chagrin.

“What's this?” Lieutenant Colonel Foster said from the end of the table.

“Stephen and I are trying, without much success, to persuade Dr. Elliston to stay in Jacksboro, open a practice.”

I will give Foster credit; he managed to hide his appalled expression quickly, but not fast enough for the existence of it to amuse me. I smiled at Edna Carter. “You may convince me yet.”

“I thought you were set on Colorado?” Harriet said.

I turned to her. “Yes, the mountains do appeal to me. Though, Jacksboro has its own appeal.” I let my eyes flicker to Kindle before settling back on Harriet and noticed, with great amusement, her irritation, thus confirming what I long suspected; her animosity toward me was fueled, in part, by her affection for Kindle.

“Indeed, it does,” Stephen Carter said. “With the increased number of soldiers here, as well as the presence of Colonel Mackenzie, Fort Richardson will be an important part of the war on the Indians.”

“I wouldn't rely on Richardson for your town's success,” Strong said. “We'll make short work of the Indians.” Beau raised his glass and interjected a “Hear, hear,” then continued. “Once we have them on the reservation, the Army will need fewer forts on the frontier.”

“If it comes to pass, Richardson has an excellent chance of being one that survives. The hospital alone would be argument enough to keep this fort over, say, Fort Griffin. Don't you agree, Dr. Kline?” Stephen Carter said.

“It would stand to reason.”

“On the cattle drive north, I received quite a Texas history lesson from the head cowboy, Amos Pike,” I said. “We passed more than a few Army posts abandoned as the line of settlement moved west. Doesn't it stand to reason this fate may well befall not only Richardson but Griffin and all forts along the line, as well?”

“We're putting the cart before the horse,” Edna said. “First, the Army has to beat the redskins. The treaty was supposed to be the end of the attacks, but they're worse than ever.”

“What treaty?” I asked.

“The Medicine Lodge Treaty,” Kindle replied. “Signed in sixty-seven.”

“The Indians are violating it,” Foster said. “Going off the reservation to hunt buffalo and raid white settlements.”

“Are we sure it's only Indians raiding?” Edna said.

“Don't tell me you believe those stories of that Black fellow,” Foster said.

“The stories are becoming harder and harder to disbelieve,” Stephen said.