Could the maiden have fallen in love with Edward James? Was her brother in love with her?
“Well, by George, I will not put off asking about her any longer,” Marsha whispered to herself as she again resumed her crocheting.
But the truth be known, she was afraid to hear her brother’s answer.
On those days when she’d heard Soft Wind’s voice, when Edward James came back to the living quarters, she could see a flush to his cheeks and something different about his blue eyes. She shuddered at the thought of his having fallen in love with Soft Wind.
On several occasions, when he had left for a lengthy period of time and without good reason, Marsha had begun to suspect that he was with a woman, but didn’t ask. She was afraid to hear, for she knew of no close-by settlers, and her brother was not gone long enough to have traveled far to meet a lady. That had to mean that he had met someone in this village.
Marsha lay her crochet work aside, for she was aware of the sudden silence in the storeroom. That meant that Soft Wind had left. She hurried from the couch to the window and slowly drew aside the sheer curtain.
She saw a young, petite, beautiful maiden dressed in doeskin, her coal-black hair hanging in a lone braid down her back, walking away from the trading post with her brother Chief Swift Horse. Soft Wind’s smile was so radiant that Marsha was afraid that it meant the maiden did have feelings for her brother.
Suddenly footsteps behind her drew Marsha quickly around. She found her brother there with the same sort of sappy look on his face that came with his having spent time with Soft Wind.
Smiling, he took her hands in his. “Sis, I have something to tell you,” he said, searching her eyes.
Marsha’s insides tightened, she was so afraid that her brother was going to tell her that he was in love with Soft Wind! Then she grew cold inside when he told her news even worse than what she had feared.
“Sis, I’m going to marry Soft Wind,” Edward James said. “I’m going to marry her soon.” His smile faded when Marsha yanked her hands free of his and took a quick step away from him.
“Edward James, how can you?” she gasped out. “How can you forget so easily that it was Indians who killed our parents? Edward, she . . . this pretty maiden Soft Wind . . . is Indian.”
“I understand very well that she is Indian,” Edward James said, taken aback by his sister’s stunned behavior, for he suspected that she had to know about his feelings for Soft Wind for some time.
Marsha had seen him and Soft Wind together many times. They had taken long walks together, and Marsha had even seen them kissing one evening.
“Edward James, you are marrying this woman for all of the wrong reasons,” Marsha blurted out.
“What do you mean?” Edward James said, forking an eyebrow. “What other reason than loving her can there be?”
“I see you doing this as a way to secure protection forever from her chieftain brother,” Marsha said tightly. “Also, wouldn’t her marriage to you work in the behalf of her own people? Wouldn’t it be a way for her to be a source of information and advice for the chief? Wouldn’t she gain access to, and be in control of, the stock of trade goods? Wouldn’t it—”
Edward James grabbed Marsha gently by the shoulders. “Stop it. Where on earth did all of that come from?” he said tightly. “Say nothing more, especially something you might regret later. All that you just said has nothing to do with my reason for marrying Soft Wind, or her marrying me. We are in love. And . . . we don’t want to wait any longer.”
“I just can’t believe it,” Marsha said as she yanked herself free of his grip. “Edward James, I am aghast at what you are planning to do. Let me remind you that men of this woman’s skin color murdered our parents in cold blood,” Marsha said dryly, as the horrors of that day again flashed before her eyes.
“Sis, the murderer’s blood is not of Soft Wind’s blood,” Edward James said thickly. “She is all purity and sweetness. Her brother is a kind and gentle leader of his people, someone I would trust with my own life. You must change your mind about this, for I am marrying the woman and she will be brought into our house.”
That thought sent a cold chill down Marsha’s spine, yet she knew that no matter what she said or did, her brother was going to marry this Indian maiden and she had no choice but to try to accept it.
“Marsha?” Edward James said, stepping closer and placing a gentle hand on her cheek. “Please say that you understand and will try to accept Soft Wind into your life. She will be my wife, Marsha. She will be your sister-in-law.”
Marsha swallowed hard, then flung herself into her brother’s arms. “I’ll try,” she sobbed. “Oh, Lord, big brother, I shall try my hardest to accept her into my life, yet . . . yet . . . it is so hard to forget that day, and that . . . that . . . Indians took so much from us.”
“Renegades, sis,” Edward James said, correcting her. “Renegades who have no heart or soul. Just because they were Indian does not make all Indians bad!”
“I know,” Marsha said, again thinking of the one Indian she could not remove from her mind, ever.
Swift Horse.
She knew that he was nothing like those who came out of the forest with death paint all over their faces. In time, she hoped to get to know Swift Horse better, which would be assured now that his sister was marrying Marsha’s brother. That thought made her realize that perhaps what her brother was doing was not all that bad after all.
“You will be all right with this, won’t you?” Edward James asked, gently holding Marsha away from him, his eyes gazing intensely into hers.
“Yes, I shall be all right,” Marsha murmured, then again hugged him. “I’m sorry I’ve been someone foreign to you since my arrival to Kentucky. I’ll try to be myself again.”
“That will certainly be welcomed,” Edward James said, chuckling. “Yep, that will certainly be welcomed, little sister.”