Savage Summer Page 3

  “Tell me again how you and my Uncle Tag were rescued by my father,” Sky Dancer urged.

  Joanna got a far away look in her eyes as if she were remembering. She knew Sky Dancer had heard the story many times before, but she never seemed to tire of hearing it. “As you know, Sky Dancer, your Uncle Tag and I were traveling on a wagon train which was heading for Oregon country. Our mother had died and we were on our way to join our father.” Joanna paused and smiled at her daughter. “The first time I saw your father, the wagon train was camped beside the Platt River in what is known to you as Sioux country. He and many of his warriors were meeting at the trading post to hold games and contests with the Piegan Blackfoot.”

  “The chief of the Piegan saw you and wanted to take you away, didn’t he?” Sky Dancer asked eagerly.

  “Yes. He raided the train and killed almost everyone. He left me for dead, but took Tag as his prisoner. Later, your father heard about the raid and found me among the wreckage of our wagon. I was injured, so he nursed me back to health and took me to his village.”

  “At that time you thought he was responsible for the raid and you thought my uncle was dead.”

  Joanna smiled as her daughter helped her tell the story she’d heard many times. “Yes, that’s true. Tag was only twelve years old at that time and he suffered greatly at the hands of the Piegan chief, Running Elk. Later, your father discovered that Tag was alive and rescued him from Running Elk.”

  “Father said he loved you from the first moment he saw you. He told me he knew you would one day be his wife.”

  Joanna laughed. “Oh, yes, your father can be very persuasive when he wants something.”

  “You married my father and later, when Uncle Tag was older, he married my father’s sister, Morning Song.”

  “This is true. Tag and Morning Song had been married less than two years when she was killed by two white men. Before she died, Morning Song gave birth to Danielle.”

  “My uncle was enraged and went to Philadelphia to find the ones who were responsible for Morning Song’s death,” Sky Dancer supplied. “He avenged her death. That’s when he met and married Aunt Alexandria.”

  “That’s right. He decided to stay in Philadelphia, but not before he came back to the Blackfoot village for his daughter. That’s why Danielle was raised as a white girl. Can’t you see how important it is that you spend time with your Uncle Tag and Aunt Alexandria? It is also important that Danielle come to know her mother’s people.”

  “Why did Danielle have to be raised as white, my mother?”

  Joanna took a deep breath, knowing that would be a hard question to answer. Sky Dancer had never before faced prejudice. It would be hard for her to understand how the white race scorned its red brothers. “There are many things I have taught you about the white world, Sky Dancer. I have neglected to tell you that the white man does not love the Indian. That is why you will change your name while you are in Philadelphia. While you are staying with your Uncle Tag, you will go by the name of Skyler Dancing—you must not forget.”

  “Yes, I will remember.” Sky Dancer wrinkled her brow in thoughtfulness. “My grandmother says that the world is large enough for all men to live in peace. Is this not true of the white man?”

  “Sun Woman dreams of a world where the white man and the Indian will walk in harmony. But that is not the way it is, and probably never will be, Sky Dancer. The white man despises and distrusts anyone who is different from himself. That’s one of the reasons that you must not mention that you are half Indian while you are in Philadelphia.”

  Sky Dancer stood up and gazed down at her mother. “I will not like denying who I am. I have no shame in me for the Blackfoot blood that flows through my body. I will not like to live with a people who want me to hang my head in shame.”

  Joanna saw the defiance in her daughter’s blue eyes and felt pride in her. Standing up, she took Sky Dancer’s hand in hers. “I would never want you to be ashamed of who you are. Always remember that you are an Indian princess. You are the daughter of Windhawk, a brave and noble chief. There may be times when you will feel hurt. At those times feel pride in who you are, and know that you are very special to the Blackfoot tribe. Also remember that your Uncle Tag and Aunt Alexandria love you. They will be there for you should you need them.”

  Sky Dancer couldn’t understand why her mother was sending her away if she thought she might be hurt. She only knew that it was important to her mother that she go to Philadelphia. For some reason, her father had agreed.

  “I will be glad when the time has passed and I can return to you and my father. I will go to this place and I will remember all the things you have taught me about the white man. I will do my best not to shame you or my father.”

  Joanna hugged Sky Dancer tightly to her. “I could never be ashamed of you. You are the kind of daughter every mother wishes for.” The most difficult thing she would ever have to do in her life would be to let her daughter go, but deep inside she knew she was doing it for Sky Dancer’s own good.

  A shadow fell across Joanna’s face and she looked up to see Windhawk watching her closely. He knew what she was feeling and gave her an encouraging smile. Taking his daughter’s hand, he pulled her into his arms. “The time has come for you to leave, Sky Dancer. Your horse has already been saddled and is waiting for you.”

  Sky Dancer looked up at her father. His dark hair held no trace of gray, and his face was handsome enough to make any maiden’s heart beat faster. He was the leader of the fierce Blackfoot warriors, and yet she knew him as a kind and gentle father.

  “Can you not come into St. Louis with us, Father?” she asked hopefully. There was always the chance that her father might change his mind and take her back home, she thought.

  He enfolded her in his arms and laid his face against her dark head. “No, I will stay here and wait for your mother to return.” His dark eyes became soft as they drifted across Sky Dancer’s face. “The sun will not shine so brightly until you return, my daughter. When you leave, you will take with you that part of my heart that belongs to you.”

  Sky Dancer could feel tears building up behind her eyes and she prayed she would not cry in front of her father. “I will be home soon, my father,” she said, turning away quickly and rushing toward the waiting horses.

  Windhawk watched his daughter, feeling an ache of loss at their parting. Sky Dancer was his only daughter and it tore at his heart to think of her going so far from home. He turned to Joanna and saw the tears sparkling in her eyes, and knew that she was feeling much the same as he.

  “I did not know it would hurt so much to let her go, my husband. I wonder if it wouldn’t be better if I were to go to Philadelphia with her?”

  Windhawk’s eyes caressed the face he loved so well. “It is difficult to let Sky Dancer leave—it would be impossible to allow you to leave.”

  Joanna looked into the dark eyes of her husband. “I will return soon, Windhawk.”

  “You could always change your mind and bring Sky Dancer back with you, Joanna. You know there is the possibility that our daughter will want to stay in the white world.”

  “We both know that is a possiblity. We will deal with that, when and if it occurs.”

  Windhawk touched Joanna’s face softly. “Hurry back to me, my love. I will be waiting for you,” he told her, lowering his dark head and kissing her deeply.

  As Sky Dancer and Joanna rode away from the camp, Farley was with them. Sky Dancer couldn’t help turning back to look at her father. Windhawk raised his hand to her and then disappeared into the tipi. Sky Dancer had the urge to dismount and run to him so he could hold her in his comforting arms. She nudged her horse forward, knowing she must not weaken. It would be a strange world she was going to, but she would put on a brave front for her mother’s sake.

  Chapter Two

  Danielle James sat on the edge of the stiff horsehair settee looking about the hotel room with a distasteful frown on her face. The rug on the floor was torn
in several places and frayed about the edges. The loosely woven curtains at the window fluttered in the afternoon breeze and the open window had allowed several pesky flies to enter the room and they buzzed about her face. What was she doing in this hovel? she asked herself for at least the tenth time. St. Louis had a long way to go before it would ever come up to Philadelphia’s standards, if it ever would. The town itself was no more than a few makeshift buildings and a street that was as smelly and muddy as a pigsty.

  Moving across the room, Danielle stood at the window to stare down on the street below. Had it been only last summer that her father had taken her on a holiday to France? Why had he insisted that she spend this summer with her mother’s people, the Blackfoot Indians? Indians were savages, weren’t they? Her friends would be horrified if they ever learned she was half Indian. The fact that her mother had been an Indian was the closest-guarded secret in Philadelphia. Her father and stepmother had taken pains to hide that fact from their friends and neighbors, knowing they would never have accepted her as a half-breed. She only wished they had hidden the knowledge from her as well.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the shame she felt because of the Indian blood that flowed through her veins. She felt humiliated and degraded every time she thought about that part of her that was Indian.

  Danielle could vaguely remember the one other time she had traveled to St. Louis to meet her Aunt Joanna and Uncle Windhawk. They had gone to a place in the woods where many tipis had been set up. Danielle could recall being terrified by the Indian warriors and even the man who was her uncle. Every time her father would mention taking her to visit the Blackfoot village, Danielle would cry and carry on so much that he had relented. This time, however, her tears and pleading had fallen on deaf ears. Her father, who was usually so indulgent with her, stubbornly insisted that she was going to spend the summer in the Blackfoot village. It had something to do with a promise he had made long ago to her Indian grandmother, Sun Woman.

  The door opened and Danielle turned to watch her mother enter the room. Danielle had never thought of Alexandria as her stepmother. Since her own mother had died the day of her birth, Alexandria was the only mother she had ever known. She loved Alexandria with all her heart and wished that she was indeed her real mother.

  “It’s hot here in St. Louis. I want to go home,” Danielle exclaimed as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead with a lawn handkerchief.

  “Yes, it’s much warmer here than it is in Philadelphia, Danielle, but you will find the weather much milder when you reach the Blackfoot village.”

  When Danielle hurried across the room, the wide bell hoop beneath her gown caused her skirt to sway gracefully. She threw herself into Alexandria’s arms as tears spilled down her face.

  “It’s not too late for you to make Father change his mind. I beg you, Mother, help me!”

  Alexandria took Danielle’s handkerchief and dried the girl’s tears. She loved Tag’s daughter as if she were her very own, but she knew Tag had long ago made this decision and no one would be able to change his mind.

  “Danielle, I cannot help you in this. You would make things much easier on yourself and your father if you would accept this as an adventure. Think of the fun you will have learning about the Blackfoot people. I know your Aunt Joanna and Uncle Windhawk are looking forward to you spending the summer with them. Think of the joy you will bring to your grandmother. I understand she has been ill.”

  “I don’t want to go! I don’t like my grandmother; she is nothing more than a…savage!”

  Danielle hadn’t heard her father enter the room, and when he spun her around to face him, she saw the anger etched on his face, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Don’t you ever, ever let me hear you speak of your grandmother in that way again, young lady. Sun Woman is a wonderful woman, and you could learn many things from her, not the least of which is not to be so selfish.”

  “But, Papa, she is an Indian,” Danielle cried. “How can you care so little about me that you would abandon me to people that I don’t even know?”

  “You know your grandmother very well. At least you have heard us speak of her. You must remember the times she came to Meadowlake Farm to visit you. The last time she came you treated her so badly she was deeply hurt. She knew you were ashamed of her. You hurt one of the finest women I have ever known, and you had better not allow such a thing to happen again. Do I make myself clear?”

  Danielle lowered her head, no longer able to meet her father’s eyes. How well she remembered the visit her grandmother had paid to Meadowlake Farm. Danielle had been six years old at the time. Sun Woman had tried to tell her about her mother, but she had cut her off, refusing to listen. The final blow had fallen, however, when her grandmother had reminded her father of a promise he had made to her when Danielle had been but a baby. Evidently he had promised the woman that Danielle would one day spend time with the Blackfoot people. The time she had always dreaded had arrived, and it seemed that she was to be exchanged for her cousin Sky Dancer.

  “I’m sorry, Papa, but I am so unhappy about this arrangement. Please take me back home with you.”

  She saw the muscles tighten in her father’s jaw and knew he would never relent. In the past she had often managed to get her way with tears, but that was not to be the case this time. Danielle felt as if he was throwing her to the wolves. “You don’t love me or you wouldn’t cast me aside,” she insisted, trying one last time to reach his heart.

  “You are wrong, Danielle. It’s because I love you that I am doing this. I know in the past that Alexandria and I have spoiled you too much. Perhaps spending time with your mother’s people will open your eyes in many ways. At least I hope it will.”

  Danielle realized that no amount of pleading on her part would change her father’s mind. Turning away, she crossed the room and threw herself down on the bed. If she were going to have to go to the Blackfoot village, then she was determined to make everyone else as miserable as she felt. She would show them all that they couldn’t treat her this way. She would make them all pay!

  Sky Dancer stepped out of the scented bath and dried herself with the thick towel. She looked at the gown her mother had laid out on the bed for her to wear. How could anyone feel comfortable with so many undergarments, she wondered, picking up the wire hoop with its stiff webbing and bindings. She shook her head, studying it curiously. She had seen many pictures of ladies garbed in their finery, but she had never had the desire to wear the ridiculous clothing herself. Running her hand down the creamy white petticoat, Sky Dancer thought she had never felt anything so soft. Her mother had told her that her Uncle Tag would be bringing her new clothing from Philadelphia and she would be abandoning her buckskin gowns for the duration of her visit.

  Joanna entered the room through the connecting doors and smiled at her daughter. Sky Dancer could only stare in awe at her mother, who was wearing a pale green gown that seemed to shimmer when she walked. “Mother, you are so beautiful. I wish Father could see you now.”

  Joanna laughed. “Your father is a very determined man. He would prefer to see us both wearing buckskin, I’m afraid. We haven’t much time—my brother will be waiting for us to join him shortly. Let me help you dress.”

  Sky Dancer followed her mother’s direction and stepped into the pantaloons. She drew in her breath as her mother laced the stiff corset about her waist and cinched it in tightly. When Joanna lifted the gown over her head, Sky Dancer was sure she would neither be able to move nor breathe. Before Sky Dancer could complain about her discomfort, her mother turned her around and fastened the gown up the back.

  Joanna stood back and admired her daughter, thinking how lovely she looked. Giving Sky Dancer an encouraging smile, she led her over to a mirror so she could see her reflection. “This is the way I always wanted to see you dressed, Sky Dancer. You are breathtaking.”

  The young girl stared in disbelief at the image which was projected in the aged and cracked mirror.
The gown was white muslin, with tiny puffed sleeves. The waistline was pointed in the front and back. The skirt was embroidered with tiny flowers, white on white. As Sky Dancer’s eyes traveled up to her own face, she stared in wonder at the image that was reflected in the mirror. Her skin was not white, but a soft ivory color. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle with youth and good health. Black hair draped over one shoulder and fell to her waist. Could that stranger in the mirror be her? Suddenly Sky Dancer felt fear of the unknown life that awaited her just beyond the bedroom door. Sky Dancer sought her mother’s eyes, and could tell by the expression on her face that Joanna knew what she was thinking and feeling.

  Joanna pulled Sky Dancer’s hair back to the nape of her neck and tied a white ribbon about it. “You are so beautiful, my daughter,” she whispered through trembling lips.

  “Is that really me?”

  “Indeed it is,” her mother said with pride. “I know you are feeling a bit frightened at the moment, but that will pass. Come, let us go to your Uncle Tag’s suite, he will be wondering what’s keeping us.”

  Taggart James crossed the room and opened the door. His eyes softened when they rested on his sister’s lovely face. Taking her hand, he pulled Joanna into his arms. There had always been a special bond between the brother and sister which time and distance had not weakened.

  Joanna lifted her face and smiled into her brother’s blue eyes. “You have hardly changed at all since last I saw you,” she said, kissing his cheek and hugging him tightly.

  “No woman in the world can rival your beauty,” he said with a humorous light in his eyes.

  Alexandria stepped forward and took Joanna’s hand. She had realized a long time ago that Tag and his sister shared a special kind of love. She had never been jealous of their love, but at times perhaps she was a bit envious. As the two sisters-in-law embraced, Sky Dancer stood nervously in the hallway. For many months she had been dreading this meeting. She knew her Uncle Tag very well since he visited the Blackfoot almost every summer, but she was unsure about how to greet her Aunt Alexandria and her cousin Danielle.