was time to start running again, before David convinced Jeremiah that
she was no innocent and that no one would ever know if the two of them
used her, too.
She hadn't gone three steps before fingers laced into her hair, dragging
her back. She gasped and sobbed, swinging and flailing out, but she was
so exhausted, and in so much pain, that she knew that no matter what her
will, she could not fight much longer.
'Stop it! Stop it! Come on, Miss. Stuart, calm down, and make the night
easier on all of us! I won't touch you, and he won't touch you, you
understand? Just calm down.' It was Jeremiah who held her. He was as
young as David, she decided. He had lanky blond hair and colorless blue
eyes, but they didn't yet hold that absolute cold, cruel streak that
touched David's.
He almost smiled.
'I'm going to get you something to wear. Then I'm going to tie you up. I
have to. But I'll get you water, too, and something to eat. We're not
going to touch you.'
'Speak for yourself!' David snarled from a few steps away.
'We're not going to touch her?' Jeremiah snapped. 'We're going to turn
her over to the Comancheres, just like we promised yon Heusen.'
Tess didn't know who would win out. Jeremiah kept a firm grip upon her
arm and pulled her along. She saw that there was a third horse on the
trail, and that a number of rolled packs were tied on the animal's back.
Jeremiah kept one hand and one eye on her as he tugged at the bundles to
free them.
When they fell to the ground, he pulled her down with him to dig into
one.
'Here,' he said roughly.
'Take this. And get into it. But if you try anything funny, I'll turn my
back and close my ears and David can do whatever the hell he wants.
Understand?'
She understood. She hadn't the strength to fight them. She needed some
sleep. She needed a little time to think and plan.
She snatched the clothing Jeremiah handed her. Apache, she thought.
There were fine, soft trousers and a traditional blouse of buckskin with
beadwork and tin cone pendants. She slipped into the bushes with the
garments.
'You stay where I can hear you!' Jeremiah called. 'I'm here!' she
replied.
The buckskin garments concealed much more than the tattered remnants of
her clothes had. She couldn't believe she could be grateful to Jeremiah
for anything, but she was glad of the clothing. If--not if, when! --she
found her opportunity to escape, she would be much better able to
weather the elements.
'You still there?' Jeremiah demanded.
Tess tossed her torn undergarments into the bushes and stepped 'out in
the Apache attire.
'She should have had a skirt. No warrior trousers,' David commented.
'She couldn't ride in a skirt,' Jeremiah retorted. Tess stood quietly.
Jeremiah was the one to work on, she thought. He seemed to have a few
