thirty-one

Zoe shifted on her bedroll, unable to sleep, her body aching from so many hours on the horse. Even with the pine boughs the men had cut and laid out several inches deep, the earth was damp and cold. She hadn’t been warm since she’d started the journey hours ago.

Dexter had pushed them onward relentlessly, even after darkness had fallen and they’d had only their lanterns to guide them. Finally, they’d reached a low area along the bank of the Fraser River, a place where other travelers were making camp, apparently one of the few level areas in the canyon that allowed for stopping.

Abe had been right about the trail. It was muddy, slick, and narrow. In some places the road wound on cliffs so high above the river that the drop would have been deadly. When she’d asked if anyone had ever fallen, the men had laughed and proceeded to tell her one horror story after another about miners and mules plummeting to their deaths on the rocks below. She’d clung more tightly to Dexter after that, praying she’d make it to Williamsville alive and resolving never to question Abe’s judgment again.

She snuggled Violet closer, giving the babe every bit of body heat she could. Though the temperatures had dropped as they’d reached the higher elevation, the campfire blazed, putting out a measure of warmth. Two of Dexter’s friends sat close to it, feeding it fuel they’d cut from the endless supply of pine all around.

Dexter and two others were stretched out on bedrolls near Zoe. From the minute they’d lain down, their instant snoring told her just how accustomed they were to sleeping out in the wilderness. Neither the cold, nor the blackness of the night, nor the strange animal noises bothered any of them.

Even though Zoe had closed her eyes and attempted to sleep, each eerie howl, croak, and hoot had made her shiver. Dexter had warned her of the wolves and coyotes that were especially hungry after the long winter. He’d likely done it to scare her from trying to escape.

But he needn’t have worried. She had no plans to leave, wild animals or not. While she considered herself a fairly brave and determined woman, she wasn’t stupid enough to navigate the trail in the dark by herself. It was hard enough by daylight and would be deadly at night.

Besides, how could she travel in ankle-deep mud while weighted down with Violet and make any progress? Dexter would catch up to her and then carry through on his threat to harm Abe.

And there was no telling what he’d do to her. While he’d been considerate of her needs thus far, she was only a pawn in a bigger game he was playing with Zeke, and when he no longer needed her, he wouldn’t think twice about disposing of her.

She shuddered. Aye, the best course of action for now was to cooperate. Then once she got to Williamsville, she’d write to Abe and tell him where she was.

A vision of Lizzy’s face sifted through Zoe’s mind. What if Lizzy arrived during her absence? What if the young gentlewoman made a claim on Abe before Zoe could tell him how she really felt?

With fresh worry pounding through her body, Zoe decided to give up on sleep altogether. She opened her eyes, rolled to her back, and peered up at the sky. Only a few wispy clouds blocked the view of the thousands upon thousands of stars. She breathed in deeply, taking in the aroma of pine mingled with the thick smoke of the damp burning wood.

The canyon was beautiful, even if it was ruggedly dangerous. Maybe the grandeur of the place was worth treasuring even more because of the danger involved in getting there.

Wasn’t that a reflection of life? Beautiful things usually coexisted with pain and danger. The two walked hand in hand on the same path, and the contrast only made the beauty and joy all the greater.

She’d thought she needed to cut herself off from loving and investing in relationships because of the pain of loss. But whenever she considered her friendship with Jane and all the wonderful times they’d had together, she couldn’t imagine giving that up just so she didn’t have to feel the sorrow of losing her friend. She would have missed out on so much joy.

Wasn’t that the way it was with Abe too? She didn’t know how long she’d have him. There weren’t any guarantees. But she didn’t want to hold herself back from loving him and miss out on the joy and beauty because she was too focused on the dangers.

As she took in the stars, she remembered the sky the way it had been on the night they’d watched the northern lights, the easy way they could talk, the pleasure she had in his company, the way his smile made her insides tumble. She wanted more times like that for as long as God would give them to her.

She sighed her regret at reacting so rashly earlier and running away, and her eyelids drooped in weariness.

A hand covered Zoe’s mouth and startled her awake. For an instant, Zoe fought to understand where she was and what was happening.

At the sight of the starry sky overhead, everything came rushing back. Dexter had forced her to leave Yale with him. After riding up into the mountains, they’d camped for the night. And now someone was taking advantage of her, the lone woman in the group.

As her attacker pulled her off her bedroll, she thrashed wildly and attempted to break free. She couldn’t see her captor, but he was exceptionally strong and pinned her hands behind her back with his free hand.

She tried to make a noise, to scream, even to grunt. But the hand over her mouth and nose stifled the sound. A glance in the direction of the fire told her the two who’d been feeding the flames wouldn’t be of much help in protecting her anyway. Though sitting, they’d rested their heads and closed their eyes, shirking their duties.

Whoever was assaulting her had apparently been watching for this opportunity when no one was awake to defend her—maybe one of the fellas from a nearby camp. He crept with such stealth that no one would be able to hear him above the rushing of the river nearby. He half carried, half dragged her toward the forested area behind them.

Her mind screamed at her to figure out a way to free herself or alert Dexter of her danger before she was out of sight and out of range for anyone to rescue her.

She kicked and twisted and even tried to bite the hand that was across her mouth. But the hold was too immovable and strong. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of another intruder slinking close-by, but only the outline.

Did more than one man intend to assault her?

As the darkness of the forest closed in around her and branches scraped her, she expected that any moment he’d drop her to the ground. She tensed in readiness, determined to hit, claw, and kick, even if she was outnumbered.

The blackness of the wild thick pines and night combined so that she couldn’t see anything, not even the sky. Her captor moved with surprising swiftness and agility. And he hardly made a sound. She couldn’t hear the other person either. But the frightened cry of a babe came from not far away.

Violet? Had the men taken Violet too?

Anger and fear erupted inside Zoe. How dare they harm an innocent babe? Zoe flailed again and managed to wrench one of her arms free. She pounded it against her captor, desperate to free herself and rescue Violet.

The man grabbed her hand again and this time picked her up into his arms so that he was no longer dragging her. She bucked against him and wrestled to free herself, suddenly sensing that this wasn’t a man from another camp.

The leather clothing was strange and his movements too certain to belong to a miner. As he stepped into a thinning area of forest, the canopy of branches overhead opened enough for her to see his bronzed face. His dark hair was smoothed back into braids, and his expression was fierce.

“No more fight,” he said in broken English. “Must be quiet.”

But Zoe had already stopped fighting, too frightened to do anything but stare. During the voyage from England to the colonies, the women had liked to tell one another stories. Some of their favorites had been about natives kidnapping English colonists and forcing them to become their slaves. Many of the abducted were never seen again, but a few were later recovered hardly recognizable, as they’d become part of the tribe with whom they’d lived for so many years.

As the native carried her deeper into the forest, Zoe closed her eyes to block out what was happening. She’d thought being kidnapped by Dexter Dawson was bad enough. But this was worse. Much worse.