Lady Flora's Rescue by Lynn Shurr

Author:Lynn Shurr [Shurr, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Eighteenth century, romantic saga, English lord, Indian captives, Ohio Territory, Shawnee Indians
Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
Published: 2023-03-01T07:00:00+00:00

Twenty-two

He stepped from behind a tree and into Flora’s path as she lugged water in a kettle from the spring. She very nearly spilled her burden.

“I swear, Pearce Longleigh, if I had upset this cauldron I would make you go back and refill it.” She set down the water and put her hands on hips barely noticeable under the baggy, buckskin dress.

“Shawnee men do not haul water.” He said that, deadly serious.

“As I’ve noticed. They do very little else but smoke, drink, gamble, and lay about with their friends.”

“Yes, we are the same as the gentlemen of England, but we also hunt and fish.”

“As do the gentry.”

“They do not feed a village. All game goes into their own larders. I’ve brought in six deer and an elk. now that I have won my rifle back from Yellow Tail. Tomorrow, I plan to stalk a group of woods bison.”

“How jolly for you! Tomorrow I plan to be in the cornfield again getting more blisters.”

He took her hand and turned it palm up. “Calluses will form soon, and you will no longer hurt.”

“Calluses.” Her lips quivered. Her eyes filled. “It’s not bad enough that I flake from sunburn and stink from lack of bathing and have no comb for my hair, but now I must have calluses, too. I am no longer attractive to you, and that is why you have not purchased me yet.”

“Look at me, Flora, my Little Yellow Flower. I have not won you yet because Snakeroot is greedy. Every hide I bring in is added to a bundle to meet her demands. Doe Eyes works tirelessly with her female relatives preparing them. The calluses on their hands are the signs of a good, hard-working wife.”

He tipped her face upward with one broad finger and might have kissed her if she hadn’t spat out at him. “Who is this Doe Eyes? Some brown beauty who would make the perfect Indian wife?”

“No, she is my adoptive mother, my aunt.”

“I thought her name was Peace Woman.”

“No, that is her position within the tribe. She pleads for the women and children when the men want to go to war. She saves worthy captives.”

“How very good of her! But she cannot free me from Snakeroot.”

“I’ve never known you to be so unreasonable, Flora. We are doing our best. Meanwhile, do you have enough to eat, a comfortable place to sleep?”

Flora’s head drooped. “I am never denied food from the pot and sleep as comfortably as Snakeroot and Rattler.”

“Has Rattler made advances toward you?” His voice went deeper.

“Not really, he watches me when at home, but like most of you Shawnee men, he is often outside. Still, at night, even in the dark, I can feel his eyes upon me.”

“He might try to persuade you into his blankets with promises of better treatment and the possibility of becoming his wife.”

“As if I am likely to succumb to that lure!”

“Good, that’s my girl. Has Snakeroot stopped beating you?”

“I’ll receive some clouts on the back for being late with this water.

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