Breakfast was a treat of the food I had mostly missed last night. Like any other culture the Pawnee had created a gourmet’s delight from locally harvested plants, animals and fruit. I somehow had missed out on the macaroni salad and the molded jello; I knew it had to have been there, it was a Potluck after all. Good food and hot coffee was a nice start to the day. I gimped outside of the lodge to sit in the sun and enjoy a morning cigarette, rest was the plan. I smoked my cigarette and dozed in the warmth of the sun.

I started to put together my plan to get on the road again and I now had new companions to factor into my plans. I had hoped to hire a couple of good farm hands but what had happened instead was far outside of my plans. I needed to see Pete and find out what actually happened last night. My head hurt just trying to think about it.

I thought about Fort Atkinson, it wasn’t far from my childhood home. I knew from the field trips we had taken there as youth that it was a major garrison for a while and I could expect to find up to three thousand people there. I hoped to be able to hire a boat for the return trip down river, I could sell my horses or pick them up from Pete later. I also thought it was time to go inside again, I didn’t want to slow my healing as I’d like to be on the road again in two days’ time.

Getting fully upright was still a bit of a challenge, too much on that bad side at the wrong moment and I would be on the ground in a heap. So as Brin watched with curiosity I started to leverage my way up so I could hobble inside. Banshee grabbed me as I started to over balance, saving me from a spill; I hadn’t even seen her come out but her timing was immaculate.

She held me up and slowly said, “You come inside please”, she completely butchered the words but she was learning English.

“Good”, I replied, “Yes, I come inside.”

With that she balanced me as I made my way back to bed. Once I settled in she knelt before me and said, “English OK make wife now?” with a hopeful smile. “Sleep now”, I said and closed my eyes.

I really was trying to avoid the wife thing and my social stumbling about hadn’t helped my situation at all. My fear was that the women of this era were far too accustomed to mistreatment as the norm and standard of affection. Losing control myself for a couple of hours didn’t make me any more comfortable with the situation.

If someone likes to be spanked I’m all fine with that, but I wasn’t hot on the idea of that being part of my daily life. Stripping Mary of her garments of degradation I still thought had been a good idea and now she was sitting nearby quietly singing a happy song while she made a sling for my arm from that ruined dress. I wanted to avoid sex with these ladies and that might be a chore, Banshee seemed determined to identify herself by me and that just wasn’t healthy at all.

I need to get back home and what I needed more than anything else was one of the long slow horseback rides I took with Michelle just to be able to talk openly to somebody. So much had happened and happened so very quickly since I left to come up here, while our romance might not be flaming hot Michelle was still the best friend I’d had in a very long time. Hell I even missed Matilda.

Sleep came, blessed sleep.

**** ****

The nap helped and dinner helped even more, I needed to put those self-centered musings behind me and focus on all of the new responsibilities that had landed on my plate. I needed to get to the fort and then get on home before anything else happened.

Mary had just brought me my coffee when the next anything else happened. Pete had arrived and he had a guest in tow, a guest that I recognized. It was the tall girl.

The very tall girl.

Pete cheerfully announced that my new wife was here.

Fuck me running.

Pete grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward to face me, she squeaked loudly. She had her head downcast and was slouching hard. The girl looked to be all of fifteen if she was a day and while young girls are cute they are definitely not my thing. I was too gimpy to run away even if that would have helped.

Her name was “something that the Pawnee Nation will send me eventually”, hell I couldn’t pronounce that without significant practice. I’d just call her ‘Mouse’ since she squeaked like one. “Pete”, I said, “she’s just a child.” She gave another small squeak when she saw the look on my face and she visibly shrank further into herself. Now I was starting to feel guilty, her parents had beamed the night before and here I was being impolite.

Pete argued back, “ She is wife age, Chief try to marry her for many winters. She is almost too old.”

Hell Mouse shrank to the point she seemed to shrivel, I needed to do something fast but my brain just wouldn’t respond.

Surprisingly Mouse saved me, “I am ten and eight winters, not a child!”

Well fuck, that’s good and bad for me. She wasn’t done yet, “I bring my bride gifts, come I show”.

“Wait!”, I said. Hell I was still stuck on the floor. “Pete, explain”.

“Her father very power full. Very rich. You make good trade he is good friend.” Pete filled in.

OK so she was rich and I just got a hold of the dowry, this should be interesting. And Mouse spoke pretty damn good English, she seemed to have some pride as well; what other wonders would this day bring?

Well with a little help from Mary I was on my feet and wearing my new full arm sling. Out the door we all went and into lottery land. Mouse had a string of five ponies three with travois on them, Mouse proudly pointed out the teepee on the first sled and the pile of furs on the second. The third was a big pack which she dug into and produced two heavy bags from.

Gold flakes and rough nuggets.

“Mein Gott!”, I exclaimed. It was just a phrase I’d picked up during my business travels.

“Ja”, Mouse replied, “ist sehr gut Ja?”

Holy fuck, she spoke German, that explained a lot.