“Anymore given to female hysterics, Juliet and your character and motivation will be readdressed. You are dismissed.”
Teeth grinding, Juliet stalked to the door. “I am not one of your soldiers.”
* * *
Juliet drew a breath, fought to think of a way out of this madness. She caught up with Mary, and with a knowing nod of the head, approached Edmund who stood in the center of the parade grounds watching drills. He blinked in surprise when both women flanked him, took arm in arm and steered through the inner yards. Beneath the shadow of the scaffolds, Juliet’s stomach clenched, the macabre vision of Joshua swinging from the gallows appearing before her eyes.
Her heart hammering in her throat, Juliet peered up to her cousin, a half-formed plan spinning in her mind. “If you don’t come with me now, you will be filled with regret. You must meet Two Eagles.”
“I know what you are up to, Juliet, and I’m not going to interfere with my father’s orders. Besides, you are talking of an untamed wild Indian. Why should I care?”
“Edmund, you must listen to me. I believe Two Eagles is your brother.”
That stopped him. “Impossible. How could I be related to a savage? The idea is beneath me to even consider. Why are you saying such a thing?”
She placed shaky palms on the sides of his face. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background. People learn to hate. Ignorance and narrow-mindedness are the handmaidens of intolerance. You must rise above the scorn and use your power to stop this atrocity.”
Edmund, as tall as Two Eagles, stared down at her. “Just this one indulgence, Juliet, and then you must promise me to distance yourself from the frontiersman and the savage. There is talk—”
She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the stone house prison. Black clouds sprawled across the sky, billowing in from the north. The brassy glare drained color from the buildings, the walls and trees, tinting everything bronze in the faltering light.
Guards stood in front of the heavy oak door. Her chin held high, she postured with the haughtiness of the highborn, expecting to kindle a sense of inferiority in the sentries. “Edmund is the colonel’s son and is on business here for his father. Let us pass.”
The guards immediately stepped aside.
Edmund hissed, “If my father hears of this—”
“Worry later.”
Keys jangling, the door swept wide, her eyes adjusted to the darkened interior of a small building cordoned off into two parts that included a barred cell. Juliet lifted her nose, the cell smelled of male sweat equaling the stench of ten privies. Joshua and Two Eagles rose from the filthy straw-strewn floor, dust motes floated through the air. Her throat closed up and her heart wrenched at the sight of Joshua weighed down with heavy chains and squinting at her though swollen eyelids.
With all the ferocity of a summer squall, Joshua rasped, “Juliet, you should not have come here.”
She reached for Joshua’s hand, warm and comforting and alive, heard Mary’s gasp when she noticed Two Eagles’ condition. He had been beaten as bad as Joshua. Edmund moved beside Mary. Juliet darted glances between the two men. Who was stunned more…Two Eagles or Edmund?
“Look and see the similarities,” Juliet said, deeply moved by what was taking place. “Tell me it isn’t so.”
Edmund’s mouth hung open, apparently dumbstruck by the physical likeness. He raised his hand, held it suspended. “My whole life, I’ve felt as if something was missing in me. I felt a void…yet I knew there was something else. But I had no idea what. It was like a sixth sense that felt a part of me was missing.”
Two Eagles pushed his hand through the bars, clasped Edmund’s. “I had dreams—of someone like me. Now I know it was you.”
Edmund shook his head. “My dreams…you were there. I couldn’t touch you and I thought it was just my wishful thinking for someone to fill the void. But those dreams helped me through the difficult times—”
“I suffered your pain,” said Two Eagles. “You are home now. You can meet our mother.”
“My mother? She is an Indian?” Edmund slowly released a deep breath.
Juliet’s mouth went dry as ashes. Would his prejudice hold against his natural mother?
“Edmund,” she spoke sharply, “you have been taught to hate. If you can learn to hate, you can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
“I know our mother will love you,” said Two Eagles.
“Love me?” Edmund’s voice choked.
Two Eagles gripped his hand tighter. “Like me, she has always somehow known you were alive even though she was told otherwise. She has always loved you.”
Edmund set his jaw, his gaze wandering over Two Eagles’ face, a face identical to his own. Finally, he said, his voice soft, “I feel you are my brother, Two Eagles. The connection is impossible to explain. I will do everything in my power to get you out of here. I don’t know how, yet, but I will succeed.” He eyes lit. Oh yes. I must meet my mother. Ineedto meet her.” He turned. “Juliet, come with me.” Edmund whipped open the door.
