Chapter 16 #3
“Yes, sir.” Reaching down beside her chair, Marietta took one of the parfleche bags which she carried, and pulling it up, extracted from it the LaPrenier and Acme Post’s journal.
Opening it to the last entry, she handed it to Laidlaw.
“This was Mr. LaPrenier’s last words. As you can see, I believe this beast killed him. ”
Several minutes passed as Laidlaw examined the book. “So it would seem…so it would seem. But come, lass.” Laidlaw gazed up at Marietta. “This be something for the likes of me to handle, not a young woman.”
Marietta smiled. “Yes, sir. However, I still seek the man. After all, it is my family heirloom that is in his possession, I believe, and I would have it back.”
Laidlaw nodded. “I hear ye, lass. I hear ye. But how did ye lose such a fine possession?”
“I…” Marietta thought fast, “…had it in my possession at one of the Indian villages. I went to sleep with it within my grasp, but when I awoke, it was gone. Others say this man was seen leaving, and in his possession was my brooch.”
Laidlaw nodded. “Fair enough. But, lass, I think now I’ll be needin’ to know how ye came to be in such bad company that ye be sleeping in Indian villages.”
“Bad company?”
“Aye, lass. How is it ye came to be travelin’ with the Indian and his squaw?”
His squaw? Oh, yes, Laidlaw was referring to Yellow Swan, of course.
But Laidlaw was continuing, “…and what have these two to do with yer adventure?”
Marietta cleared her throat. “As I mentioned earlier, they found me when I was separated from my mistress.”
“And what have these two to do with your brooch?”
Marietta swallowed. “Why nothing, sir. They merely escorted me here.”
“Nothing, ye say? And yet I know that an Injun never does anything ’lessen there’s somethin’ in it for himself. What is it ye’ve offered that young fellow? And don’t tell me nothing, for I know them well.”
Marietta gulped, at a loss for words. Had she been found out in her lie so soon? “I don’t know what to tell you, sir. I have not much to offer him.”
“Then the Injun wouldna have followed ye here. Come now, lass.”
She sighed dramatically. “Very well,” she said, as though resigned, “you have found me out. And I suppose I must tell you the truth. In return for his escort to St. Louis, I have promised him my favor, sir, though I do not intend to keep that promise.”
Laidlaw paused, then laughed heartily. “Ah, lass, ye are a smart one. Now that I understand. And think nothin’ of it. Ye did what ye had to do. We all must lie sometime.”
Yes, we must, thought Marietta, who was keeping her gaze carefully trained on the floor.
“Now,” said Laidlaw, “let us talk about more pleasant matters.”
Marietta smiled faintly.
“While ye are at Fort Pierre,” continued Laidlaw, “I insist ye stay here in this house. It will give ye more comfort. I’ll send for—”
“But about this man whom I seek, sir?” Marietta interrupted. “Have you knowledge of this man, the beast?”
“The truth is, lass, I do. But I dunna want ye worryin’ about him. I will send out one of my own men to find him and bring him in. Will that set your mind at ease, now?”
“It most certainly would, sir.”
“That’s fine then, lass. That’s fine. Now, I will have one of my Indian maids make up a room for you.”
“Thank you very much, sir. That is kind of you.”
Laidlaw bunched up his own linen napkin and threw it on his plate. “Now, if ye will excuse me, lass, I have work to do.”
“Yes, Mr. Laidlaw. But I have one more question, sir.”
“Aye? And what be that?”
“It concerns the Indian, sir. I am thankful you are giving myself and my maid lodging. But what about Mr. Coyote? Though he be troublesome, and though I have confessed my duplicity in his regard, the man has, on several occasions, saved my life. Have you nowhere to house him?”
Laidlaw frowned and raised an eyebrow, giving her a considering look. “I dare say the Indian can take care of himself, lass. He can stay with the other Indians gathered round the fort.”
“But that’s where you are wrong, sir,” said Marietta. “He cannot remain with those people.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“He cannot be sent to those Indians, sir. I realize he looks Lakota, but he is, in reality, an Assiniboine Indian, and as you know, those tribes are at war.”
Laidlaw raised both eyebrows. “Lass, is there more to the story than ye be tellin’ me?”
Marietta glanced down at the floor. “I owe him my life. Therefore, I would be much beholden if you could arrange quarters for him, here within the fort. It is the least I can do for him because it might save his life.”
Laidlaw frowned at her. “Ye seem a right too concerned about this man. Are ye tellin’ me the truth?”
Marietta felt the blood rush to her face. “The truth?”
“Ye dunna intend to keep your promise to that Indian, do ye, lass?”
“No, sir, I don’t, but…” she hesitated, “…when someone does a person a favor, it is customary to return it. He may be Indian, but I owe him much. Perhaps not what I have promised, as you say. But much.”
Laidlaw nodded. “It is a fine quality ye possess, lass, to worry about another. Dunna fret. It will be done. I will give him quarter.”
And Marietta, catching the bourgeois’s glance, smiled.