Untamed (23 page)

Father van der Velden eyed him thoughtfully. "So your story is that your brother-in-law inadvertently kidnapped a prostitute and a rancher's innocent daughter." He shook his head in amazement. "You do realize, don't you, that we're just barely hanging on to this mission because Sister Ignatius had the good sense to homestead the land in her own name?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then you must also know that the white ranchers in this area would love any excuse to drive us out of here, especially something as morally corrupt as this."

"I'm aware of that."

"See that you don't forget it."

Mulling things over, the priest began walking again, head bent in thought, until they reached the White House. Then he trapped Daniel in his trademark and very persuasive smile.

"May I assume that there will be no further problems with this young woman or her brother?"

Pleased with the way he'd handled everything, Daniel gave a resolute nod. "None whatsoever. You have my word on it."

Inside the White House, Josie struggled to contain her mounting nerves. Although she found the Cheyenne girls charming and very talented as they showed off their sewing and fancy work, her mind was on one thing—the plan. Over and over she questioned whether she was making the right choice. She could go back to Miles City and take her old job, she supposed, but what good would that do? A job as a laundress at a house of ill repute would hardly improve her chances of securing a loan with a banker, especially if she didn't have a buffalo to use as bait. That in turn made her think of Sweetpea and what Long Belly and his tribe might be doing to her at this very moment. It also convinced Josie that she'd made the right decision, crazy and risky as it might seem. She really had no other choice.

"Come on in, Calf Road," said Sister Ignatius, coaxing one of her young students into the room. "Show our visitors what you are making."

The shy young Indian girl finally came into the room, eyes pinned to the thin carpet beneath her feet, and held up a calico dress of faded blue. "I have made this Christmas gift for my mother, Pushed by Everybody, who cannot come to school and be taught by the wihonas."

"By whom?" asked Sister Ignatius.

"By the nuns," she said, a giggle in her voice.

Turning to Caleb and Josie, Sister Ignatius said, "We try to make sure that the children speak only English to us, and as a rule, we speak only Cheyenne to them. We've learned much from each other that way. Have we not, Calf Road?"

With another giggle, the girl nodded, and then dashed out of the room. She almost crashed headlong into Daniel and a very pleasant-faced man dressed in a long black robe—the sort who looked as if he might easily become an ally.

"Father van der Velden," said the nun as she rose from the couch. "Come say hello to our guests, Caleb Baum and his sister, Josie."

Climbing to her feet alongside her brother, Josie exchanged greetings with the clergyman, then chose to remain standing when the priest insisted they return to their seats. Taking what he thought was Josie's cue, and in some ways it was, Caleb remained standing, too, ready to start the journey to Miles City.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate and all," he said. "But we'd better be heading out if we want to cover any ground before nightfall."

Father van der Velden wouldn't hear of it. "Oh, but why not stay the night as you did before, young man? We have plenty of room for the two of you, and besides, your mounts will make much better headway if they start out fresh in the morning."

"Thank you kindly, sir, that's right friendly of you, offering to put me up twice." He glanced at Josie, eyebrows raised expectantly. "I'm sure my sister would appreciate your hospitality, too. Wouldn't you, Josie?"

All eyes went to her, including Daniel's. Avoiding that bright blue pair in particular, she shrugged and boldly set her plan in motion. "I suppose it would be best for the horses if we stayed here tonight—that is, if you have a place for me away from the girls in your care."

The nun and the priest exchanged a puzzled glance. Then Sister Ignatius said, "You're very welcome to stay here with the girls, Miss Baum. It won't be a problem at all."

"Not for me, maybe," she said, hanging her head, "But I don't think you really want someone like me around your innocent young students. You see, I've been... compromised."

Sister Ignatius's hand flew to her mouth, trying no doubt to mute a horrified gasp that escaped anyway.

Father van der Velden sputtered a minute, then turned to Daniel and said, "You assured me there would be no problems."

"I—well, sir, I didn't expect—"

"Was this woman compromised while she was in your home?"

Josie felt rather than saw Daniel's stare, knowing that he was waiting for her to set the priest straight. She did. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, Father. Not only was I kidnapped and taken against my will to Mr. McCord's cabin, he forced me to get undressed and sleep in his bed with him, night after night."

"Daniel?" The priest's neck was mottled with splotches of red and his face was no longer kind or somber. In fact he almost looked capable of murder. "Is this true?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Did you violate this unfortunate woman?"

From the corner of her properly downcast eye, Josie saw Daniel loosen his collar.

"Well," he said, his voice cracking. "That depends on what you mean by violate, I suppose."

Fanning the flames, Josie leaned toward the priest and whispered just loudly enough for all to hear, "He made me remove my clothing—isn't that violation enough, sir?"

Father van der Velden's eyes bulged as he sputtered, "I... ah... Daniel?"

"Well, I suppose I may have done a couple of things I shouldn't have, but she—"

"You're not," said the priest, cutting Daniel off, "going to stand there and tell me that your less-than-honorable behavior was the fault of this virtuous young woman, are you?"

"Well, no, but—"

"I know'd it," shouted Caleb, surprising everyone. "I know'd that no-account bastard had been raping Josie all along, and now I got to kill him."

Catching all but Josie off guard, Caleb lunged at Daniel, and might even have knocked him to the ground if she hadn't stepped between the two, blocking his progress. Hands braced against Caleb's shoulders, Josie flashed a grin meant only for his eyes.

"Have you forgotten where we are, Caleb?" She heaved a dramatic sigh and pointed into the next room, where an elaborately garnished alter dominated the nun's chapel. "This is no place for talk of killing. I'll be all right... eventually."

"But Josie," Caleb objected, "what kind of brother would I be if I just stood here and did nothing to avenge your honor?"

"Never fear," said Father van der Velden. "Our friend Daniel McCord will be making amends for maligning your sister's good name. I'm sure he's already settled on a way to restore her honor, haven't you, son?"

The look Daniel shot Josie just before all eyes turned on him hinted that he'd figured out the exact method of her murder, not of making amends. He did an admirable job of hiding those feelings, however, when he turned to face the others.

"I reckon I do owe Miss Baum and her brother an apology," he said quietly, addressing neither of them directly. "In my own defense I do have to say that I was under the impression that Josie was a woman of easy virtue when Long Belly brought her to me. I treated her accordingly."

"And how did you treat her when you realized she was not such a female?" asked Father van der Velden. "Did you accord her the respect due a proper young lady?"

Daniel muttered something unintelligible under his breath before he said, "Well, I didn't exactly know until—"

"Daniel." The priest's tone brooked no argument. "There isn't but one thing you can do to repair the damage you've done to this woman's good name. I think you should stop wasting our time and get to it."

Inside the deep pockets of her buckskin shirt, Josie crossed her fingers.

After a long, tense moment, Daniel glared at her and said, "How'd you like to come live with me in my fine castle, princess?"

"Daniel,'' chided the priest. "Surely that isn't the best you can do."

Still glowering, he grudgingly admitted, "No, I've got the bark to do this right, if I have to, but for the life of me, I can't understand why any `lady of proper breeding' would even want an offer to tie herself to someone like me."

The priest's smile was sanctimonious, even for a man of the cloth. "Perhaps if for no other reason than the fact that she has the courtesy of a proposal coming?"

Daniel emptied his lungs with a dramatic puff of his cheeks, then stood there hat in hand and said the words Josie had been waiting to hear. "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Miss Baum?"

Drawing his moment of agony out a few minutes, Josie twisted from side to side as if in the throes of indecision. Then she finally closed the jaws of her trap.

"I don't have much choice, since no other man is going to want me after what you've done. Yes, I'll dishonor myself by becoming your wife."

"What?" Daniel nearly strangled on the word. "Was that a yes?"

Josie nodded, unable to look him in the eye.

"But we can't get married—I don't want to get married."

"I'm afraid, Daniel," said the priest, "that it's not your decision to make. Miss Baum has agreed to become your wife, and I will personally see to it that you two are wed posthaste."

"Oh!" Sister lgnatius clapped her hands. "We're going to have a wedding. How wonderful."

"Indeed we are," said Father van der Velden. "How does six o'clock this evening sound to you, Miss Baum?"

Still avoiding Daniel's gaze, Josie ignored what sounded like a low growl coming from his throat and said, "That sounds perfect."

Caleb, who'd been scratching his head since Daniel's first, rather impudent proposal, finally had his say on the matter. "You sure about this, Josie, marrying up with a half-breed and all?"

"He's got a point," said Daniel, all too eager to agree. "Think about the kids. You don't want to be mother to a couple of wild Indians, do you?"

Since Josie had no intention of bedding Daniel in that way, much less bearing his children, she didn't see a problem. "It's already settled. We're going to be married tonight, and that's that."

"At six o'clock, no less," said Sister Ignatius, a sudden ball of nerves. "We have so much to do. First of all, we've got to find you something to wear, child. You can't get married in buckskin trousers."

Josie glanced down at herself, unconcerned about her apparel. She'd worn the trousers and shirt Long Belly had given her as well as the deerskin boots Daniel had made simply because they were so much warmer than her stained yellow dress. She didn't give a damn about what she wore at her wedding, especially since she didn't intend to look on the marriage as anything other than a means to an end.

"This is all I've got, Sister," she explained, hoping that would be the end of it.

"Well, don't you worry. We'll come up with something a little more suitable." Her hands flew to her cheeks, "Oh, and I'd better run get Sister Angela busy in the kitchen. We have a wedding feast to prepare."

"I kin help with that, if you like," offered Caleb.

"Come on, then. Follow me."

As the nun hurried off with Caleb, all gangly legs and teeth, Daniel said to the priest, "If you'll excuse us, Father, I'd like a few minutes alone with my fiancée. I thought we'd go outside for a walk, if that's all right with you."

The last thing Josie wanted was to be alone with Daniel, especially before the wedding. "I really shouldn't leave. The nuns will be needing me for fittings and such."

"Go ahead, my dear," said Father van der Velden. "The sisters will be a while giggling over this unexpected event before they can get down to sorting through their sewing supplies. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

Stuck in a mud pie of her own making, Josie had no choice after that but to allow Daniel to lead her out of the charming house and into the bright sunshine. Once they were alone, it took him until they'd walked all the way down to the banks of the Tongue River before he got to the point. Even then, he stood there a while, kicking at clumps of snow and staring out at the sluggish waters before he finally spoke his mind.

"Why in blue hell did you say yes to my proposal?" He turned to look at her, that blue hell he spoke of gleaming in his eyes. "I've been married once before, and believe me, once was enough. I don't want to get married again, especially to someone as worthless as you."

Josie wasn't exactly looking for romance out of Daniel, but his comments hurt. "I don't know why you're in such an uproar. It seems to me that we're about perfect for each other."

"Perfect? How do you figure that? Half the time we don't even like each other much."

"It's simple. You don't want to get married and neither do I."

Daniel looked at her as if all her brains had leaked out somewhere between the river and the mission. "Then why, if I may ask again, did you say yes?"

She supposed it no longer mattered if he knew her true motives—Father van der Velden was going to make Daniel marry her no matter how many excuses or stories he came up with.

"Because," Josie admitted. "It seemed to be the only way I could keep my claim on Sweetpea and get a start on my cattle ranch at the same time."

Daniel's expression remained the same—agog and perplexed. "Have you gone completely loco? If you marry me, the only thing you'll accomplish is keeping me good and pissed for the rest of my life."

"Not if you look at this wedding as more of a favor than anything."

Daniel took a step away from Josie, and then dramatically looked her up one side and down the other. "You really have gone loco, haven't you?"

"If you'll shut up a minute, I'll explain."

"Please do."

"The first reason for getting married is that I'm not letting that buffalo out of my sight long enough for you and that heathen brother of yours to steal her away from me. That means I have to stay at your place until springtime, which also means that I can't stay there any longer as a single lady."