Gray Hawk's Lady: Blackfoot Warriors, Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

the man—
    No. She could not let this happen. There was something evil about this, about the duke…
    Certainly, the man was her father’s most vocal rival, jealously seeking to acquire the same sort of fame that her father enjoyed—a fame her father rightly deserved, a fame the Duke of Starksboro did not.
    It would be different, she admitted, if the duke would take the pains to explore the world, as she and her father did, before commenting upon it. But he did nothing of the sort, seeking instead, time and again, to buy his way into prominence…literally.
    And now the duke was trying to do the same thing to her father.
    She shivered.
    She had to do something about this.
    She couldn’t ask her father for help anymore—he was part of the problem. And Mr. Toddman? Out of the question.
    She puzzled over it. What they needed was a Blackfoot Indian. One mere Blackfoot Indian.
    What they really needed, what she really needed, was to ask someone she trusted to go into Blackfoot country, to go there and make notes on the habits and customs of the people, then to come back.
    But who?
    They had already tried to hire men to do it. For ten long months, she and her father had been trying to do this.
    Certainly they had found people to hire. But those men had disappeared, along with the money paid to them, never to be heard from again.
    Besides, she had several times talked with the trappers and traders in this area. Most could barely even speak proper English. What made her think such men could write it?
    Perhaps if she appealed to Mr. Catlin himself?
    She groaned. George Catlin had his own people supporting him—and one of those people had gone to a rival publishing house with news of Mr. Catlin’s project.
    Kind though she knew Mr. Catlin to be, she doubted he would be willing to give her father the necessary information to finish his book. Although—
    An idea took hold within her. Her head came up, and suddenly she swung her weight up onto her feet.
    She began to pace back and forth, over and over, finally padding over toward her window.
    She touched the cold pane of the window there as she stared unseeingly out into the garden, whitewashed now with snow. Her moist breath, shown at first as a fog on the glass, began to crystallize even as she watched it, and suddenly an idea materialized before her. All at once, she knew what she had to do.
    It was a whim, a flimsy, stupid idea, most likely impossible…and yet this might be her only chance. Their only chance.
    She would go.
    That a steamship was traveling there soon made it all the more imperative that she leave. It was almost as though she were destined to go there.
    True, she might be a novice at survival along the frontier, and certainly she held a healthy respect for her own life, but what sort of life would it be if she and her father failed at this project?
    She would rather die than return to England defeated, there to lose reputation and, worse, to have to cater to the Duke of Starksboro.
    She shuddered. Yes, she knew what she had to do.
    Turning, she stepped toward her door to ring for their servant, Robert.
    Robert would help her. Of this she was confident. In fact, she was counting on it.

Chapter One
    Fort Union
    Northwest Territory
    Mid-June 1832
    Fort Union lay on a high bank, nestled between the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. To the east, across one river, rose hills and mountains, while a forest of cottonwood trees lined the river’s eastern shore, and the sandy banks glowed golden under the sun.
    On the western side, the fort stood proud, surrounded by a beautiful, open plain, stretching northward for some distance. Encircling the fort were tepees, some of them white, some yellow and brown, all painted in multicolors of reds, blues and yellows. They looked grand, these primitive dwellings, lying in a field of green grasses that was itself surrounded by hills, valleys and dales. Off in the distance, to the north and east, ran a deep ravine, appearing to drop