“A day perhaps. We might have to sleep under the sky. I suppose it would be no shock to you with all you have been up to,” the officer said.
Her teeth gritted. She reminded herself that he was an officer of the law. And she was surrounded by his men. As much as she would love to give him a good tongue lashing, he certainly wasn’t worth it.
Evening descended upon them, bringing with it the cold. The other men shivered around her, but her shawl protected her. She was tired. She was drained physically and mentally.
“We are close,” the man behind her said.
She lifted her eyes and saw the houses in the distance spread apart from each other. The wind had picked up, foretelling that a storm was near.
The town was developing with many of the houses still under construction. Tents were spread around to house people until the constructions were complete. The sound of hammering filled the evening as the men continued to work. She could feel eyes on them as they made their way through the town. They stopped in front of a storied building. In front of it were the flags of the confederate.
“You will see the chief constable first,” the officer said. He helped her off the horse as the other men tied their horses. He went into the building leaving her alone.
She was supposed to feel relief right? That she was among her people. But all she felt was an emptiness.
“Jezebel!” Samuel spat.
She had hoped he would continue to keep away from her.
“You are a vulture. You laid with those dirty creatures. How many of them did you spread your legs for?” he sneered as he gripped her arm.
The old her would have winced as she tried to set herself free. She lifted her knee, hitting him in the groin.
“Ahhhh!” Samuel groaned as he quickly let go of her, his hands on his groin. “You witch!” he lunged at her and she was prepared to knock him out when the officer returned, standing in the middle. “The constable wants to see you,” he said to Hannah, throwing a warning look at Samuel.
At the front was a small office with a woman clacking away on a typewriter. She stared at Hannah with interest. Hannah pegged her for the town's gossip, she knew many of her kind already.
Constable Elliot was a tall man, hovering above her. But he was not as tall as Bear Claw. Neither was he as good looking. The constable was an older man, in his fifties, dressed in his uniform. He came around the table and took her in his arms gently.
“Ms. Thornton, I am delighted that you have returned to us,” he said. “We feared that you were dead. But we received Intel that you were with the Apache clan.”
Intel? She was curious about that. “Thank you for having your men look for me,” Hannah said. She wished they had come sooner. In the first week she had arrived. Not now when things had changed and she had been happy.
He led her to a chair and reached for a decanter which he poured into a glass. He offered her but she shook her head.
“My officer here tells me there was a little drama when they tried to take you,” the constable said.
Of course. She remained quiet.
“I want you to be sincere, if you were hurt, coerced, I assure you that they will pay,” he said with a steeliness that transformed his face.
“I was not hurt,” Hannah said. Why did they choose to believe that the Indians were monsters who would hurt her? It was a silly notion they had. However the people were calm and didn’t attack until provoked.
“You had willful affairs with him?” He did not sound so shocked at least.
“I did.”
Both men stared at her like they would an alien. She wondered if they regretted coming to look for her.
“Is that all? I am tired. And I would like to see my family,” Hannah said, covering a yawn.
“We will continue our conversation when you are well rested. Welcome home once again Ms. Thornton,” the constable said.
The officer followed her out. The woman at the front looked at them curiously.
“Where's my mother?” Hannah asked. She was scared that her mother was dead. Every question she had asked about her family had been left unanswered.
“We will go to them,” the officer said.
