in this particular village, one by the name of Toussaint Charbonneau. He had two young squaws, Otter Woman and Sacagawea.
What is uncommon, Pierre thought, is to find a woman so educated, so obviously refined. Were it not for the buffalo robe and braided hair, Mademoiselle Manette could easily have been conversing in a New Orleans’s ballroom. Pierre suddenly felt the need to exercise his formal manners. “I am Pierre Lafayette,” he said bowing, “at your service.”
Her stoic gaze told him she was hardly impressed. Clearing his throat, he straightened.
“I hoped Captain Lewis might have some sort of medicine,” she said.
The Mandan woman beside her evidently understood “medicine.” She nodded emphatically at the word, and then showed Pierre the sack she was carrying. It was filled with dried corn.
“She is willing to pay,” Mademoiselle Manette said.
While payment in dry goods was always appreciated, Pierre doubted the captain would require all that had been brought. He signaled to the guard on the catwalk above them, then led the women and the boy into the fort. Just as he had predicted, the mademoiselle turned many a soldier’s head. A private on the parade field missed his step for a glance at the guests, and at the forge the blacksmith held his iron suspended above the fire momentarily before returning his attention to his task.
For a moment, the gentleman in Pierre hesitated to leave these women unattended while he sought Captain Lewis, but he told himself that was foolish. The men were disciplined soldiers. A pause, a glance was one thing, but the men would not stray from their duties.
Pierre knocked upon the officers’ quarters.
“Enter,” a voice said.
Stomping the snow from his moccasins, Pierre stepped into the tiny room. The light of a single candle glowed. Captain Lewis was bent over his writing desk, scrawling out reports for his commander, President Thomas Jefferson.
My President, Pierre thought. In Washington. Not that long ago, Pierre had sworn allegiance to the emperor in France, but with Bonaparte’s sale of the Louisiana territory, he had become an American. What a strange new world.
Captain Lewis returned his quill to the inkwell, looked up. “What is it, Mr. Lafayette?” he asked.
“Pardon the disturbance, sir, but there are two women here to see you. They’ve brought a young boy in need of medical treatment.”
As a Virginia gentleman and the son of a devout Christian mother, the captain was never one to turn away a soul in need. He immediately stood. “Show them in.”
Pierre did so at once, introducing Mademoiselle Manette as a translator. Captain Lewis nodded to Spotted Eagle and his mother, then asked Miss Manette, “What exactly ails the boy?”
Pierre spoke for her. “The lady doesn’t understand much English, sir.”
The lady quickly corrected him. “Understand? Oui. Speak? No.”
Captain Lewis suppressed a smile as Pierre tried unsuccessfully to will the color from his face. She’s French for certain, he thought, for she has no trouble speaking her mind.
* * *
Claire resisted the urge to clamp her hand over her mouth as the two men stared at her. The dark-haired Frenchman was embarrassed, the American captain somewhat bemused. Apparently the scent of smoke-saturated wool, the writing desk and small raised bed had made her forget where she was.
She had been born in a room not unlike this one, in a small cabin in Illinois. There her father used to tell her she was passionate to a fault where truth was concerned. But he always said it with a smile, Claire mused, and he said he believed the quality would serve me well.
So far it had not. Such plainspokenness did not sit well in a village where women were treated little better than pack animals. She loved her Mandan family, her mother’s people, her people, but after six months among them, six hard months trying to assimilate into the culture, she still was not fully accepted. She was Mandan, but she was also white, and she had taken up the white man’s religion.
Yet from the looks of the two men before me, I am not quite white enough, she thought. I’m a curious creature, and no doubt they think me gullible and naive.
She wasn’t either of those things, and she wouldn’t be taken advantage of by any white man, be he dressed in decorated uniform or common buckskin. She had learned that lesson the hard way. She was, however, intelligent enough to recognize God’s provision when she saw it. Spotted Eagle was on the verge of becoming very ill. She needed the captain’s help.
Claire quickly explained her presence. The Frenchman was still staring at her, but at least he had the decency to translate her words. Thankfully, the American captain wasted no time. He examined Spotted Eagle personally.
“What have you applied as poultice?” he asked her.
“Comfrey and calendula to ease the pain,” she said. “Also yarrow.”
The American nodded his approval. “The yarrow has kept it from festering, but it has not treated the cause.” He probed the boy’s back more closely. Spotted Eagle winced.
“It will be over soon,” the captain promised him with a smile.
Claire appreciated the man’s attempt to comfort her cousin’s young son. So far, relations between the natives and the white men had been cordial. Captains Lewis and Clark had insisted the government that had sent them wished to promote peace and trade. From what Claire had observed, the trade had been fair. She hoped it would remain that way. The white man’s presence could be an opportunity to reflect the light of God’s love.
Or it could detract from it, she thought, for Claire had met men before who claimed to love God but did not extend the same care to His people.
The Frenchman was still staring.
What are you looking at, sir? she wanted to say, but she already knew the answer.
Feeling more uncomfortable by the moment, Claire returned her gaze to the captain. Her eyes followed his every move. He applied a poultice, then gave Spotted Eagle a pill to swallow. After several repeated sips of water, the very large object finally went down.
“Keep on with the poultices for a few more days,” the captain told Claire.
The doctoring now finished, Little Flower presented her sack of corn to him. Claire was pleasantly surprised that he took only half.
“Please tell her that her payment is more than adequate,” he said.
Claire nodded, then delivered the message in Mandan. Little Flower was most pleased. After reclaiming her sack, she bowed several times to the captain. Then she did the same to the Frenchman beside him. The men bowed formally in return.
Claire curtsied. “Merci,” she said.
Eager to be on her way, she then reached for Spotted Eagle’s hand. The Frenchman opened the door.
A cold blast of wind stung her face. Stepping outside, Claire could feel the eyes of the men around her. One particular soldier grinned. Little Flower returned his look, but Claire,
