These people might feel sorry for him, Auguste thought, and resent what Raoul was doing. But he"d get no help from any of the men who were standing around behind him. Raoul and his men were armed and determined, and the rest of the people here were not ready to give up their lives to help a half-breed.
But Auguste had taken advantage of Raoul"s distraction with Cooper and Bennett to cut the distance between himself and his uncle in half. If he could get close enough to Raoul he might have a chance to get at him with his knife. He"d worn the deerhorn-handled knife today only because his father had given it to him.
As he hesitated, he heard footsteps in the gra.s.s and turned to see his grandfather walking toward Raoul with slow but firm steps, thumping his walking stick on the ground.
"No, Grandpapa!" Auguste called out to him.
"This is my son, I very much regret to say," said Elysee. "And I must administer correction."
Auguste started to follow Elysee, but Raoul dropped his hand warningly to his pistol.
"Don"t come any closer, half-breed."
"I was with Pierre when he wrote his final will," said Elysee. "And I have a copy of it. I know his mind was sound. He gave the whole estate--except for the fur company, which we have always agreed would be yours--to Auguste."
"You gave the fur company to me when you divided the estate between me and Pierre years ago," Raoul said. "So my own good brother left me nothing. Thirty thousand acres of the best land in western Illinois go to a mongrel Indian, and you say his mind was sound? The more fool you."
"You are un bete!" Elysee shouted. "You are proof that there is no just G.o.d. If there were He would have taken you and let Pierre live."
"Monsieur de Marion!" the priest cried. "Think what you are saying. On this day of all days."
Raoul said, "I"ve always known that you loved Pierre and not me, Papa."
"You make it impossible to love you!" Elysee answered. "Now listen to me. Victoire is my home. I built this place. Those I love are buried here. I command you, leave at once. Get off this land."
Raoul, a head taller than the old man, took a step toward his father.
"If you wanted it to be yours, you shouldn"t have given it to Pierre.
You have nothing now, you old fool."
Elysee swung the stick at Raoul"s head. The thump resounded over the field, and Raoul staggered back, his broad-brimmed hat falling to the ground.
Raoul bared his teeth, drew back his fist and smashed it into his father"s face. The blow knocked Elysee hard against one of the upright logs of the gateway. He cried out and fell heavily to the ground. He lay moaning and jerking his head from side to side in agony. The priest rushed to him, dropping to his knees.
With a scream Nicole threw herself down beside her father.
A red curtain swept over Auguste"s eyes, blinding him momentarily. When he could see again he saw only the face of one man, Raoul, looking down at Elysee with triumph and contempt.
Knife in hand, Auguste threw himself at Raoul.
Raoul"s pistol was out. His dark eyes gleamed with triumph as he pointed the muzzle at Auguste"s chest.
_He was hoping I would attack him_, Auguste realized, knowing he would never reach Raoul before the pistol went off.
A sudden movement to his side caught his eye. In a glance he saw Eli Greenglove swinging a rifle b.u.t.t at his head.
10
Dispossessed
Auguste woke.
He was in a room he had never seen before. A plain black cross hung high on one white plaster wall. He lay on a bed with a straw-filled mattress, on top of the quilt. He wasn"t wearing his coat. Or his pale eyes"
boots.
Pain throbbed in his head, and with each pulse his vision momentarily blurred.
He rolled his pounding head on the pillow and saw Nancy Hale sitting beside him. Her long blond braids glistened in the pale light that came through the oiled paper window.
The way she was looking down at him startled him. The blue of her eyes burned like the blue center of a flame. Her lips seemed fuller and redder than he"d ever seen them, and they were slightly parted. This was the way she had been looking at him while he lay unconscious, he realized, and he had seen it only because he had awakened suddenly and taken her by surprise.
"What happened?" he asked.
"That man of your uncle"s, Eli Greenglove, hit you with his rifle. Your uncle said he"d kill you next time he sees you awake. So we took you out here to my father"s parsonage."
"How long have I been asleep?" he said.
"A long time. Hours. I"m awfully glad to see you wake up, Auguste. I didn"t know if you ever would. Greenglove hit you hard enough to kill you."
He remembered Elysee lying on the ground, writhing. Rage boiled up inside him again as he thought of Raoul striking Grandpapa down.
"How is my grandfather?" He tried to sit up, and the room started to rock and pitch. The pain pounded on his head like a spiked war club.
Nancy put a hand on his shoulder, and he lay back against the pillow. He shut his eyes momentarily to get his equilibrium back.
"We don"t know--he may have broken his hip. But try not to worry, Auguste. Nicole and Frank took him back to their house."
That searing gaze of a moment ago was gone, but there was still a warm light in her eyes.
He heard a footstep on the other side of the bed. He turned, bringing back the ache in his head full force, to see the tall figure of Reverend Philip Hale standing in the doorway of the small room. Hale, dressed in a black clawhammer coat and black trousers with a white silk stock wrapped around his throat, stood with his arms folded, gazing at Auguste with pursed lips and a deep crease between his bushy eyebrows.
"You can thank the Lord"s mercy you"re not hurt worse, young man. I suppose you"ll want to be on your way soon."
"Father!" Nancy exclaimed. "He just came awake. He might have a fractured skull."
"I think I"m all right," Auguste said. He tried to sit up again. He managed it, but he felt suddenly dizzy and sick to his stomach. He put his hand over his mouth. Nancy picked up a china chamber pot from the bedside and held it for him, but after a moment the spasm of nausea pa.s.sed and, gingerly, he shook his head at her. His first afternoon at Victoire, when he had thrown up his dinner before everyone in the great hall, flickered through his memory.
He looked up and saw Hale staring at him with even deeper distaste.
Clear enough that the reverend didn"t like to see Nancy"s care for him.
_Grandpapa"s hurt, and I"m the only one around here with medical training._
Auguste lifted his head again, determined to get up in spite of the pain. "I must go to my grandfather. He may die if he isn"t cared for properly."
A spear of horror shot through him. His medicine bundle, containing his precious stones and the bear"s claw, was still at the chateau. All his spiritual power was collected in that bag. Whatever the risk, he must go back and get it. And he wanted the bag of surgical instruments he"d brought back from New York.
"I"ll be out of here as soon as I can stand, sir," he said. "I have much to do."