perfectly clear, Princess.” He stepped closer, and gave her a hard stare. “Traveling through the wilderness isn’t some Sunday ride in the park. I don’t think you realize what you’d be getting yourself into, and I have no intention of playing nursemaid to a rich little white girl who can’t pull her own weight.”
Her sudden scornful laughter startled him. A woman maneuvered past them, pulling a screaming little boy behind her. Sophie kept laughing.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else and finish this discussion,” Joseph suggested, and grabbed hold of her arm again. She pulled back, and her facial muscles hardened. Her brown eyes held no hint of warmth, and she glared at him with an intensity that could almost be defined as hatred. For a fleeting second, he caught a glimpse of the woman she might have been had she grown up in an Indian village or a remote cabin in the wilderness. Had he drawn the wrong conclusion about her after all? There was nothing frilly or soft about her at the moment. Before him stood a woman who, with the right teaching, could stand up to anything, and Joseph’s pulse quickened.
“Mr. Walker,” she said slowly, her tone low. “A couple of hours ago I was referred to as a squaw. Now you’re calling me a white girl. All my life I’ve struggled to fit in with Boston’s elite, not because of my upbringing or poor social manners, but because of the color of my skin. The only reason I have been tolerated is because of my father’s wealth. Perhaps it’s time I stopped denying my tainted bloodlines, and learned where I came from.” She stood her ground and glared at him, her hands on her hips.
The impact of her words hit harder than a punch to his gut. Joseph clenched his jaw and cursed under his breath.
“That bast . . . Preston called you a squaw?” He forced the question from his mouth.
Sophie blinked back fresh tears. Her words had been spoken in cold anger, but she couldn’t hide the hurt she obviously tried to suppress. Joseph’s hands itched to wrap around Andrew Preston’s neck.
She inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve already asked James to send someone with a message to Andrew that I no longer wish to marry him. I would like the opportunity to meet my grandfather.”
Joseph’s pulse rang in his ears at her words that she called off her engagement. Not that it mattered to him, but she was better off without that bastard. He should be glad she’d changed her mind and was willing to go with him and meet Two Bears. It’s what he came to Boston for, after all. At least he wouldn’t have to explain to the old chief why he returned without his granddaughter. With any luck, he could teach her a few of the Bannock customs and language over the next few weeks so she’d be a bit more presentable.
The thought of bringing her into the wilderness gave him a decidedly uneasy feeling. For weeks, he would be saddled with a woman who didn’t know a life outside of a Boston tea parlor, but hadn’t he just seen a side of her that he didn’t believe existed several hours ago? That she came to seek him out showed a certain spunk and determination which only fueled the irrational attraction he felt for her. Joseph cursed silently. The journey home with her in tow might just be the most difficult thing he’d ever face.
Chapter Six
Sophia slipped into her morning gown, her fingers working the many buttons up the front, then tied the satin rope-like sash around her waist. She massaged at her sore scalp. The many pins that held up her hair the previous day had probably left several bruises in her skin. No matter that she wore her hair up every single day in the latest styles, her scalp would never be accustomed to it. Her dark locks tumbled down her back. Exhaling a slow breath of air, she took a seat in front of her vanity mirror and studied her own features.
She’d always hated her dark complexion and her midnight black hair. All of her so-called friends were
Yolanda Olson
Debbie Macomber
Georges Simenon
Raymond L. Weil
Marilyn Campbell
Janwillem van de Wetering
Stuart Evers
Emma Nichols
Barry Hutchison
Mary Hunt