Page 54 of The Lady of Red River Valley (Ladies of the Wilderness #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

A cold, pelting rain pummeled Arran and the hundred and fifty men at his command.

Lord Selkirk had sent half his army to the shores of the Red River and they had met the colonists where the river emptied into Lake Winnipeg.

For two days, they had planned their attack, familiarizing the de Meuron soldiers with the fort’s dimensions, and then took three days to travel up the river to the colony.

“Dinna fash,” Arran said to Eleanor as he stood in front of her, the rain dripping from the brim of his hat.

He could hardly make out the form of her face in the inky darkness as she held Miriam in her arms. “Wait in the tent I’ve set up for you.

It will take us an hour or so to reach the fort, and less time to take it back from the Nor’westers. ”

A flash of lightning filled the sky, followed close by a clap of thunder.

“And what if—” Eleanor paused and dropped her gaze from his face.

“I will return to you, like before.” He pressed a kiss against her wet forehead.

It had been three weeks since Arran had returned to the colonists.

Three weeks since he’d taken Eleanor as his bride.

It had been the most glorious three weeks of his life, though he knew what they must face at Fort Douglas.

Leaving her with the other women and children, even under the protection of a dozen soldiers, was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

“Pray, leannan .” He used the Gaelic word for sweetheart, which he’d come to call Eleanor since their wedding night. “We will be smart, but we canna let our enemies win.”

“I will pray. Ceaselessly.” She pressed her warm lips to his. “May God go with you.”

He made sure she, Miriam, Nicolette, and Isla were safe in their tent before he left them to return to the canoes.

Captain D’Orsonnens was present, though he looked to Arran for leadership.

Lord Selkirk was still on his way from Fort William, having been detained.

He had sent the de Meurons ahead, knowing Arran had been anticipating them.

He had retained his six guards, supplied by the Canadian government, and twenty other soldiers.

The rest were now approaching Fort Douglas with Arran.

The rain filled their canoes as they continued their course.

Lightning sliced across the sky and thunder reverberated in Arran’s chest. The storm did not pass quickly, as in the summer months, but lingered, dumping a vast amount of water on the land.

It rushed over the banks of the river and ran into the water with great, destructive rivulets cutting into the soil.

The river had already begun to rise and it took several strong men to paddle against the current.

Arran recalled another such night, when it was just him against the Kaministiquia River, on his way to warn Lord Selkirk.

Then, he had been alone, but tonight, he was surrounded by dozens and dozens of trained soldiers, all of them loyal to Lord Selkirk and to Assiniboia. This would be their new home.

The men had crafted ladders in the two days they had made their plans at the mouth of the Red River. Those ladders were in the canoes even now, waiting to scale the fort walls.

No one spoke as the storm blew and the men paddled.

James was in Arran’s canoe, while Archie and the other prisoners from Fort William were in their own canoes.

Every able-bodied man had come, including the voyageurs employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company who would inhabit the fort once it was back in their control.

These men worked directly for James and were following his lead, even as James followed Arran.

It felt like it took all night to finally arrive at the base of Fort Douglas. Even in the dark, Arran knew it well. It had been his home for four years. Without a word, the men pulled their canoes onto the shores, removing the ladders.

Arran, James, and Captain D’Orsonnens led the way up the banks of the river. The pitch-black night was perfect for their mission, though the mud made it difficult for them to traverse the riverbanks.

The soldiers had specific instructions and did not need anyone to tell them what to do. All at once, they surrounded the massive fort and put their ladders against the stockade walls. The walls were not terribly high, but they’d be impossible to climb without the aid of the ladders.

When all were in place, the men scaled the ladders, one after the other, and jumped into the stockade.

Arran, James, and D’Orsonnens waited near the riverside gate for one of the soldiers to open it and let them in.

Already, there were half a dozen Nor’westers in custody by the time Arran entered Fort Douglas again.

Lights burned from the governor’s house, which was where Arran led James and D’Orsonnens now.

He held a musket to his shoulder and wiped the rain from his eyes.

With over a dozen soldiers now at his back, Arran pushed open the governor’s door and entered the common room.

Archibald McLeod sat close to the fireplace, a book in hand, while Chait Fraser and another man played a game of chess. A fourth man sat sewing a patch onto a pair of pants.

“What’s the meaning of this?” McLeod rose to his feet, the book falling to the floor. His eyes were wide as he took in Arran and the de Meuron soldiers behind him.

“MacLean,” Chait said.

“We’re here to recover Fort Douglas and send you vermin to York Factory for trial.” Arran nodded at several soldiers, who took the men into custody. “You’ll be removed from here and placed in the main hall for the night. In the morning, you’ll be transported under the guard of a dozen soldiers.”

“You canna do this!” McLeod stared, his mouth open. “This is our fort now.”

“Nay.” Arran shook his head. “This has been, and will forever remain, Lord Selkirk’s colony.”

A soldier grasped McLeod by the arm.

“Wait,” McLeod said. “Allow me to get my things.”

“Nay,” Arran said again. “We will bring them to you.” He motioned for the soldiers to remove McLeod and his men from the governor’s house.

Chait came to a stop in front of Arran, his face in a scowl. “Ye dinna deserve Lady Eleanor.”

“Aye.” Arran nodded. “But she deserves someone better than you.”

Chait didn’t respond as he was pushed out of the governor’s house by D’Orsonnens.

In less than ten minutes, the fort was under Arran’s control once again. It almost seemed too easy after all the trouble they’d endured.

“How does it feel?” James asked once they were alone in the governor’s house.

Arran stood in the room where he’d spent several hours with Eleanor, West, and Semple.

He could almost see Miriam pulling herself up to the table, her little legs bobbing with uncertainty.

He would love to bring Eleanor and Miriam back here, though it would never be the same without West and Semple.

“Good,” Arran said. “Good, but different.”

“Aye. Nothing stays the same.” James put his hand on the back of a chair. “If it hadna been for Selkirk’s army, we wouldna had the power to regain control of the post. I’ll forever be in his debt.”

Arran nodded. If the soldiers hadn’t come, he, James, Archie, Pritchard, Heden, and Burke might be in Montreal, facing the gallows.

“Thank God we need not face the battles of life alone,” James mused. “I’m grateful He places us in communities. There is strength in numbers, is there not?”

“Aye.” Just like in his marriage to Eleanor. Having her as his wife had made him feel stronger and braver. “All these years, I’d thought if Eleanor had been with me, I would have been a weaker man. But the opposite is true.”

“She’s a strong woman.” James nodded. “She’s held her own, even during the darkest days of Assiniboia.”

“My greatest fear was that Assiniboia would destroy her. But it hasn’t.”

“Nay.” James smiled. “I think ‘tis made her stronger.”

“And she’s done it with such grace and elegance.”

“Mayhap God made her for this life.” James smiled. “All this time, you thought to protect her from the colony, when the truth was, the colony needs her. She might very well be the key needed to solidify this colony and make it flourish and grow.”

Could it be true? She had brought so much joy and life to everyone she’d met.

In the darkest days of winter, and while exiled at Jack River House, she’d been light and laughter to the lives of those suffering.

She’d taught school, organized entertainments, and mourned with those who mourned.

Countless people had told him of her love and devotion to them since his return to the colony.

She had given them hope to continue, even when there had been talk of leaving Jack River House.

Optimism sparked in Arran’s heart again. He had no desire to leave Assiniboia. It was his home and his labor of love. Could he and Eleanor make a life here now that they had the added protection of the de Meuron soldiers? Would she want to, after all that had happened?

“Come,” James said. “Let’s return and bring the settlers up to the fort. Your family is in need of a warm house again.”

“In a moment.” Arran lifted the book off the floor that McLeod had dropped earlier. It was far too familiar.

“Eleanor’s journal?” James asked.

“Aye.” Anger slithered through Arran’s chest, knowing that McLeod had read Eleanor’s personal words.

It was her heart on the page, he was certain, though he himself had never read what she’d written.

He set the book on the shelf near the fireplace.

“I will see that it’s restored to its rightful owner before the night is through. ”

They left the governor’s house and returned to their canoes. About thirty men were charged with bringing the colonists back to the fort.

Arran could not wait for Eleanor and Miriam to come home.