Timecachers (50 page)

“I can ride. I just need to go to Jimmy.”

A sound from the next room caused Rebecca to gasp, her eyes growing wide with fear as she drew the blanket around her tightly and tried to coil into a defensive position.

“It’s okay,” said Adam calmingly. “It is just Captain Martin. He is the one who got me out of the fort and came with me to bring you to Jimmy.”

Martin stepped into the room, momentarily losing his staunch military expression when he saw Rebecca.

“Damn their souls,” he said. “Did they…?”

Rebecca averted her eyes and did not speak.

Adam answered for her. “I don’t know the extent of the abuse, but she certainly has been molested. She thinks her hip may have been broken during the struggle. She is in a lot of pain on her left side. I never should have left her behind.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Martin snapped. “Had you attempted to take them on unarmed, you would be lying where Jeb is now, and we would not be here to prevent further atrocities.” He turned his attention to Rebecca. “Ma’am, if you will permit me, I must examine your hip to determine if you can be moved.”

Rebecca hesitated, not sure that she could tolerate anyone touching her. She longed for the river, to swim in its cold, clear water until it washed away the disgust clinging to her, but her longing to be reunited with Jimmy was greater. She would endure whatever it would take to reach him. She nodded her reluctant permission.

He kept the blanket in place, but when he placed his hand on her hip she recoiled, from both pain and the foul memory his touch invoked. Rebecca clenched her teeth and endured the examination. She was grateful that he was swift, gentle, and considerate.

“I do not believe it is broken,” he said after a cursory inspection. “The hip appears to be dislocated, and quite possibly some ligaments have been torn. I am sure it is very painful. It will be even more painful for her to travel. However, we may be able to pull the bone back into place and give her some relief. I am afraid that it is going to hurt very much for a few moments, but at least riding will be more bearable. I will have to pull…”

“I am familiar with the procedure,” Rebecca said. “Just get it over with so I can go to my husband.”

Captain Martin had encountered victims of sexual attacks in the past, and he was not surprised by her curt reply. It was better for her to express her anger than repress it. Her physical injuries would heal long before the psychological ones did. It also did not help that he represented the people who were forcing her from her home.

He instructed Adam to stand behind the bed and showed him how to hold her while he repositioned the ball and socket of her hip. “You will have to hold tightly, Adam. It takes quite a bit of force to pop the joint back into position. Are you ready, Mrs. Deerinwater?”

She took a deep breath and nodded.

Captain Martin placed one hand on her ankle and the other behind her knee, checked that Adam had a firm grip, and pulled. Rebecca pressed her lips so tightly together they turned white, but she did not cry out. With great relief, she felt the hip joint pop back into place and Captain Martin gradually released the pressure on her leg. She was even more relieved to have their hands off of her.

“That should help to relieve some of your discomfort,” Captain Martin said. “Take a few moments to—compose yourself, and then we will go to the fort. We can use the wagon so you will not have to travel on horseback. I will go and prepare our mounts; come as soon as you are ready.” He grabbed a few blankets and then turned and left the room.

“I’m so sorry this happened, Rebecca,” Adam began. “I should have…”

“Adam,” Rebecca interrupted, “you should have done exactly as you did. You have nothing to be sorry for. Captain Martin was right. The best you could do was to allow yourself to be taken to the fort and come back with help, just as you did, and I thank you for that. But now I need to get to Jimmy.”

“Yes, of course. We’ll go as soon as you are ready.” Adam knew he would never be free of the guilt he felt for not being able to prevent the attack, but her words gave him some reassurance that he had done the right thing.

He helped her to a sitting position, and brought her a pitcher of water and some clothing from the armoire. He told her to let him know when she was ready and he would help her to the horses, and then left the room.

Agonizing as it was, Rebecca washed and dressed quickly. The pain prevented her from putting any weight on her leg, so she would need Adam’s help to walk. When she finished she called him back into the room.

Adam sensed her unease at his touch and did his best to give her only enough support to walk without holding on any more than necessary, though he kept himself ready to catch her if she stumbled. They slowly made their way through the door.

Captain Martin stood holding the horses. Rebecca gasped when she saw Jeb’s body and he said, “I apologize, ma’am. I should have used one of the blankets to cover him.”

“I would rather you did not soil my blankets with that filth. Where are the other two?”

“I sent them ahead to the fort. I did that before I knew what they had done to you. They may not show up, fearing punishment when I report what has happened here. Even if they do, I’m afraid I cannot promise you they will suffer the appropriate consequences. They may only face charges of insubordination and dereliction of duty.”

“You mean it doesn’t matter what they did to me because I am just an Indian.”

“Mrs. Deerinwater, if it were up to me…,” he nodded toward Jeb’s body, letting his earlier actions speak for him. “I will strongly recommend a severe punishment for their offenses, but I know, as do you, that it is not likely. It would be dishonest for me to lead you to believe otherwise.”

Rebecca thought to herself that it was much easier to tell others they should expect unfair treatment than it was to suffer it yourself. At least he was being honest. He had dealt with Jeb, and she gave him credit for that.

Captain Martin had placed a nest of blankets in the wagon, tethered Adam’s horse to the rear, and then they gently helped Rebecca aboard. He briefly instructed Adam how to drive the wagon. “We will go slowly, and I will ride alongside you,” he assured them.

Martin led them at a slow but steady pace—doing his best to avoid any jostling that might cause Rebecca more anxiety than he thought she could handle. Rebecca rode soundlessly in the wagon behind Adam. All she had to do was hang on, but Martin knew riding in a bouncing wagon in her condition must be agonizing. He rode next to Adam, glancing often at her, checking for any indication that she could not tolerate further travel. Her face was a mask of pain, but she did not cry out or ask to slow the pace.

At last they reached the ferry and the river was mercifully calm. Rebecca remained in the wagon as it would be more painful for her to get in and out than just to endure the jolts and bounces of the ferry crossing. She brightened markedly once they landed and the stalwart walls of the fort on the hill above New Echota came into view.

They rode directly to the fort’s stables where they helped Rebecca from the wagon and handed off the horses to the stablemen. They each took an arm as they helped her walk to the stockade. The ride had sapped her strength, obliging her to tolerate the discomfort of their touch. She blocked out everything else and fixated on finding Jimmy.

Once inside the gates of the stockade, they immediately encountered Benjamin. His look of relief turned to alarm, then ill-concealed anger when he saw Rebecca’s condition. He said nothing, asked no questions, but took the captain’s place at her side.

“Jimmy,” Rebecca said to him. She could not find the energy to say more.

“He is over here, waiting for you, Rebecca,” he said, walking her toward the area where he had left the others.

“I must report to the colonel,” said Captain Martin. “I will find you later, Adam.” He turned and departed without another word.

They found Jimmy where Benjamin had left him, sitting, back against the wall with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes as they approached, momentarily looking at Rebecca as if he wasn’t sure if she were really there or part of his dream. Realizing he was truly awake, he jumped to his feet and ran to her, circling her in his arms and taking her from Adam and Benjamin. They stood locked in a silent embrace, neither one having the strength to stand on their own. Together they looked as if nothing could tear them apart. Adam watched in awe, marveling at the power of their love for each other, and hoping it would be powerful enough to heal them both.

He felt Benjamin tug at his arm, leading him aside. “For the moment, they only need each other,” Benjamin said. “We should find Catherine and Alice to let them know you have returned with Rebecca. Catherine can attend to her later.”

Neither Jimmy nor Rebecca noticed them leaving, oblivious to everything except each other. For the moment, even the pain of their injuries could not penetrate the fortress of love surrounding them, insulating them from all intrusions, shielding them like a suit of armor. They whispered to each other in the voices that lovers use, using words that bypassed the ear and traveled straight to the heart.

Gradually the relentless tugging of reality, like a child clamoring for the attention of his parents, pulled them from their reverie. Jimmy was aware that Rebecca had been abused; her bruised face made that obvious, though he did not know the extent of her maltreatment. He gently eased his embrace as they both sunk to the ground, keeping her cradled in his arms. Jimmy would not ask her about her ordeal. He held her firmly, caressing her head, knowing she would eventually reveal to him the horrible details. They kept no secrets from each other, and he silently prayed he could endure the horrors she would tell him.

Rebecca was less patient. She questioned him thoroughly about his injuries, and would not speak of herself before he repeatedly assured her that he was recovering well and would be fine now that he was with her again. She suddenly became silent, and Jimmy knew she would begin telling him things he dreaded to hear. He steeled himself, resolving to listen to her without interruption, wanting to give her the loving response she needed. He did not want his anger at the attackers to deprive her of that. Very soon after she began to speak he knew he was not prepared to keep his resolution.

She apologized to him. Tearfully, she told him how sorry she was that she had not been able to fight off her attackers. She tried, even managed to injure one of them, but inevitably succumbed to their attack. She hoped he could forgive her for not fighting harder.

It was too much for Jimmy to bear. His own eyes flooded with tears as he hushed her, shaking his head and placing his fingers on her trembling lips. He could barely speak, but managed to choke out enough words to tell her she had nothing to be sorry for, that he could never put any blame on her for the heinous torment she had suffered.

“But you must let me finish,” she whispered, her head nestled against his chest.

Jimmy remained silent, watching their tears mingle as they fell down his body. He felt her hand on his chin, gently guiding his head to look into her eyes. Her fingers brushed the purple-black bruise circling her neck. He saw the rope burn and assumed it was one more outrage she had suffered during her struggle.

“This is what I am most sorry for,” she continued. “When I believed they would return to attack me again, I lost all hope. I believed I could not go through more, and I tried to use the rope they tied me with to end my suffering—by taking my life. It was not until I began to tighten the rope around my neck that I realized I could not go through with it. Not because I was afraid to die. I longed for that. It was because of you and our unborn child. I realized I had no right to take his life or to take him from you, to leave you alone, deprived of both your wife and child. I am so ashamed of attempting such a selfish and cowardly thing.”

Jimmy vehemently shook his head and forced himself to speak. “You must not feel any shame for anything that you did or anything that was inflicted upon you. Who could not have felt as you did. What matters most is that now we are together again. Had you not returned, I do not know if I would have wanted to go on…”

“Jimmy, no! Do not say such things!” she said horrified. Her tears began again.

Jimmy immediately regretted his words. He struggled to find a way to express himself without causing her more anguish.

“What I mean to say is that I am the one who must live with shame. Not because of what they did to you,” he added quickly. “I should have found a way to protect you, instead of letting myself be so easily incapacitated, leaving you to be tortured by those animals.”

“That is just not so, Jimmy. Do you think it would have been better for me if they had killed you? I will return your own words to you—what matters most is that we are together again. Adam also expressed unfounded feelings of guilt…”

“Adam!” Jimmy interrupted. “I was foolish to trust him! He should have never let them keep you behind. Just another white who only cares for himself!”

“You are wrong, husband,” she admonished. “Think before you speak. He was as powerless to stop them as we were. What would you have had him do differently? Would I be here now if not for him? He is not beholden to us, yet he risked his own safety to ride back with the captain to confront my attackers. And play a part in the killing of their ringleader.”

“That should have been my prerogative. But, yes,” he agreed, “they acted honorably, and I am grateful for their efforts to rescue you. I still do not think I can completely trust a white man again.”