They petted and sighed. Merry smiled over their show of affection. She glanced up and saw Sunflower, her husband's younger sister. Her good friend was openly weeping.
Thunder suddenly broke the silence. The ground trembled from the pounding of horses being ridden back down into the valley. The warriors had obviously been informed of Merry's return. Black Wolf, Merry's husband, would be leading them.
The flap of the chief's tipi opened just as the braves dismounted. Merry watched her father. Gray Eagle stood at the entrance and stared at her a long while. His leathered face showed his stunned reaction, but his eyes, so warm and kind, soon misted with emotion.
Everyone turned to watch their leader now. They waited for him to give the signal. It was Gray Eagle's duty to be the first to welcome Merry and her son back into his family.
Gray Eagle turned just as Merry's husband walked over to stand by his side. Merry immediately lowered her head in submission. Her hands started trembling, and she thought her heart was pounding loud enough to wake Christina. Merry knew her control would vanish if she looked at her husband now. She would certainly start to cry. That wouldn't be dignified, of course, for such a show of emotion would shame her proud husband.
It wouldn't be honorable either. Merry loved Black Wolf, but the circumstances had drastically changed since she'd last seen him. Her husband would have to make an important decision before he welcomed her back into his arms.
The chief suddenly raised his hands to the Great Spirit above. His palms faced the sun.
The signal was given. A resounding cheer echoed throughout the valley. Chaos erupted as Merry's son was embraced first by his grandfather and then by his father.
Christina stirred in Merry's arms. Though the buffalo skin concealed the baby, there were several startled gasps when the movement was noticed by some of the women.
Black Wolf held his son, but his gaze was directed at his wife. Merry dared a timid look up at him, caught his pleased smile, and tried to smile back.
Gray Eagle nodded several times, showing her his joy and his approval, then slowly made his way over to her side.
The holy man stood outside the purifying tipi, watching the reunion . He understood now why he hadn't seen Merry's face or White Eagle's in his vision. The rest of the dream's meaning continued to elude him. "I am a patient man," he whispered to the spirits. "I will accept one gift at a time."
While the shaman watched, a path was made for the chief. The braves ignored Merry and gathered around Black Wolf and his son. The women swelled forward again, for they wished to hear what their leader would say to his daughter.
Some of the more enthusiastic braves began to shriek with joy. The shrill noise jarred Christina awake.
The baby had little liking for her dark confinement. She pushed the buffalo hide away from her face just as Gray Eagle reached Merry's side.
Merry couldn't decide who looked more surprised. Christina seemed to be quite fascinated by the huge man watching her so intently. She was a bit uncertain, too, for she put her thumb back into her mouth and scooted up against her mother's chest.
Gray Eagle didn't even try to mask his astonishment. He stared at the child a long moment, then turned to look up at his daughter. "There is much for you to tell us, daughter," he announced.
Merry smiled. "There is much I would explain, Father."
Christina caught her mother's smile. She immediately pulled her thumb out of her mouth and looked around her with curiosity. When she found her brother in the crowd of strangers, she reached out with both hands for him. "Eagle," she shouted.
Gray Eagle took a step back, then turned to look at his grandson.
Christina fully expected her brother to come and fetch her. When he didn't immediately obey her order, she tried to squirm out of her mother's lap. "My Eagle, Mama," she bellowed.
Merry ignored her daughter now. She stared at her husband. Black Wolf's expression was hard, impassive. He stood with his legs braced apart and his arms folded across his chest. She knew he'd heard Christina call her mama. The baby spoke the Siouan language as well as any Dakota child and had shouted her claim loud enough for the entire village to hear.
Sunflower rushed over to help her friend dismount. Merry handed Christina to her, thought to caution her friend to keep a firm hold, but it was already too late. Christina easily slipped to the ground, landing on her padded backside. Before Sunflower or Merry could reach for her, the little one grabbed hold of Gray Eagle's legs, pulled herself up, and ran to her brother. The baby's laughter trailed behind her.
No one quite knew what to make of the beautiful white-skinned baby. A few older squaws reached out to touch Christina's golden curls, for their curiosity was too great to contain. The little girl allowed their pawing. She stood beside her brother, barely reaching his knees, mimicking his stance, and clung to his hand.
While Christina didn't mind being touched, she made it quite clear she didn't want anyone near her brother. When the chief tried to embrace his grandson again, Christina tried to push his hands away. "My Eagle," she shouted up at him.
Merry was horrified by her daughter's behavior. She grabbed Christina, managed a weak smile for her father, then whispered to her son, "Go with your father." Merry's husband had abruptly turned and disappeared inside Gray Eagle's tipi.
The moment she was separated from her brother, Christina started crying. Merry lifted the baby into her arms and tried without success to soothe her. Christina hid her face in the crook of her mother's neck and wailed her distress.
Merry's friends surrounded her. No one dared ask about the child until a full accounting had been given to her husband and her chief, but they smiled at the baby and patted her soft skin. Some even crooned the sleeping chant to the little one.
The shaman caught Merry's attention then. She immediately hurried over to stand in front of the holy man, then affected a rather awkward bow.
"Welcome home, my child," the holy man said in greeting.
Merry could barely hear the old man over the screams of her daughter. "I have missed you, Wakan," she said. Christina's wails became ear-piercing, and Merry gently shook her. "Hush, baby," she said. She turned back to the shaman and said, "My daughter roars like a lioness. Perhaps, in time, she will learn…"
The incredulous look on the shaman's face stopped Merry's explanation. "You are ill, Wakan?" she asked, worry sounding in her voice.
The holy man shook his head. Merry noticed that his hands trembled when he reached out to touch Christina. "Her hair is the color of white lightning," he whispered.
Christina suddenly turned to stare at the shaman. She soon forgot her distress and actually smiled at the strange-looking man whose ceremonial feathers seemed to grow out of the top of his head.
Merry heard the shaman gasp. He did seem ill to her. "My new daughter is known by the name Christina, holy one," she said. "If we are allowed to stay, she will need a Dakota name, and your blessing, too."
"She is the lioness," the shaman announced. His face broke into a wide smile. "She will stay, Merry. Do not worry about your child. The buffalo will protect her. The spirits will counsel your father, and your husband as well. Be patient, child. Be patient."
Merry wished she could question the shaman further, but his order to wait couldn't be ignored. His reaction to Christina puzzled her. She wasn't given more time to worry about it, however, for Sunflower took hold of her hand and pulled her toward her home.
"You look exhausted, Merry, and must certainly be hungry. Come into my tipi and we will share our midday meal together."
Merry nodded. She followed her friend across the clearing. Once they were settled on the soft blankets inside Sunflower's home, Merry fed her daughter and then let her explore the tipi.
"I've been away such a long time," Merry whispered. "Yet when I returned, my husband didn't come to me."
"Black Wolf still loves you," Sunflower answered. "My brother has mourned you, Merry."
When Merry didn't comment, Sunflower continued, "It is as though you have returned to us from the dead. After the attack, when no one could find you or White Eagle, some believed you'd been swept away by the river. Black Wolf wouldn't believe that. No, he led the attack against the outcasts, thinking he would find you in their summer village. When he returned without you, he was filled with grief. Now you've come home to us, Merry, yet you bring another man's child with you."
Sunflower turned to look at Christina. "You know how much your husband hates the white man, Merry. I think that is the reason he didn't come to your side. Why have you taken this baby for your own? What happened to her mother?"
"Her mother is dead," Merry answered. "It's a long story, my friend, and you know I must first explain to my husband and my father. I will tell you this much," she added in a firm voice. "If the tribe decides against accepting Christina, then I must leave. She is now my daughter."
"But she has white skin," Sunflower protested, clearly appalled by Merry's fierce announcement.
"I've noticed the color of her skin," Merry answered with a smile.
Sunflower saw the humor in her friend's comment and laughed. The sound was immediately imitated by Christina. "She's such a beautiful child," Sunflower remarked.
"She'll have a pure heart, like her mother," Merry said.