Fortune's Bride (Heiress, Book Four) Page 35

  Esmeralda had jumped to her feet a moment after Robert. She, too, had ignored the rustling in the brush, not because she knew anything about the area but because she was facing the horses and could see they were undisturbed. She had passed through parts of India where large predators roamed, but always the uneasiness of the horses had warned her father and the rest of their party of the presence of dangerous beasts. She had jumped up because of Robert’s movement, and her eyes were on him, but an instant later the violent crashing in the brush caused her to whirl around.

  Disbelief and terror froze Esmeralda into absolute stillness. A huge, shaggy form had burst into the open and was advancing on her with the speed of a runaway horse. She wanted to scream, but her mouth would not open and her throat was sealed shut. Even her breathing seemed suspended. And then the sight of the animal was shut out by Robert’s blue shoulder as he swept her behind him. If anything, that was more terrifying. To be left alone facing the monster after Robert had been struck down was worse than being struck down first herself. Esmeralda fought for breath and took a faltering step sideways, seeing for the first time that Robert had his pistol trained on the animal. Relief brought air rushing into her lungs, but fear made her hold her breath again when he did not press the trigger.

  “Shoot!” Esmeralda whispered, terrified anew by the idea that Robert, too, was frozen with fear. “Shoot!”

  Robert did not even hiss for silence, so fixed was his concentration. His first sight of their attacker had filled him with a despair almost equal to Esmeralda’s terror. A bull, he had been sure, would have been startled away by the sound of the pistol. They were aggressive animals, but not, after all, carnivores. And if the sound of the gun had not diverted the bull, Robert had intended to try to hit it on the broad head between the horns. Even if the pistol ball did not kill the beast—which was possible, for they were thickheaded animals and Robert did not intend to wait until the animal was very close—the blow in the face would surely stop or turn it. Then he would have time to finish the job or just let it go.

  But it was no bull that was careening across the open ground toward him. It was a bear!

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Robert’s disbelief was almost equal to his horror. There should be no bears in this area. This was not a wilderness. It was many miles to the real mountains of the Sierra de Peña da Francia. Despair choked him. There was little chance that the sound of a pistol would frighten off a monster that charged with such determination. He had no choice but to try to kill the beast. But a pistol ball that struck anywhere except in the brain would be about as much deterrent as a rap with a lady’s fan, and the narrow head of a bear, obscured by the heavy fur, was a much more difficult target than the broad head of a bull. Worse yet, the lolloping gait of a bear made its head bob irregularly.

  Robert realized that he would have to fire at nearly point-blank range. He reached behind him to push Esmeralda away, but she had already moved aside and he dared not take his eyes from the bear. He prayed she was running—until he heard her whisper. He nearly did fire at that moment, but just as his finger tensed, the bear slowed and rose abruptly on its hind legs. Robert uttered a strangled oath. To shoot into the body was nearly useless, but if the animal was about to launch itself at them—

  Robert’s thought was abruptly shattered as Esmeralda shrieked, “No, don’t! It’s dancing, Robert. It’s dancing.”

  For one long moment he stood with his arm extended and then allowed it to drop. Merry was right. The beast was dancing. Paws lifted and bent, the bear turned slowly in place, making little shuffling steps. As it came around, Robert could see the ring through its nose, and, as it lifted its head and uttered snuffling whines, he noticed that it also wore a broad collar. Obviously the animal was tame, but where was its keeper?

  The same thought was in Esmeralda’s mind, and she tore her eyes from the slowly gyrating animal to scan the woods. But there was no sound or movement other than—Esmeralda gasped—than the terrified whinnying of the horses and the drumbeat of their hooves. “The horses—” she began, and then gasped again as the bear dropped to all fours and began to approach.

  “Back away slowly,” Robert said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the lunch it wants. Just don’t startle it.”

  As he spoke, he reached out with his left hand and grasped Esmeralda by the wrist. His touch reduced her anxiety enough so that she was able to suppress her urge to run. It was all very well to know a bear was supposed to be tame, but without its keeper she was frightened by its approach. However, it did not rush them, but shambled forward slowly, snuffling and whining. Strangely, when it came to the blanket, it hesitated and looked up at them.

  “Yes,” Robert said, “eat.”

  Although it was improbable that the animal should understand commands in English, it must have sensed assent or approval in Robert’s voice. It snapped up the half loaf of bread that had been left. As this disappeared, Robert increased the pace at which he and Esmeralda were moving away.

  “Turn around,” he said to her. “Look for the horses.”

  “I see them,” she whispered a moment later. “Thank God horses are so stupid. They’ve only run into the trees instead of dashing off down the road. The brush must have caught them. They’re still moving, but slowly.”

  “Go after them,” Robert ordered. “Go as fast as you can without running. If the bear moves, I’ll tell you what to do.”

  He released her wrist, and Esmeralda had to bite back a whimper of protest. She would be moving farther from the bear, but that was small comfort. Actually she felt safer where she was with Robert touching her, but her panic was over, and her mind was in control. Obviously it was necessary to catch the horses, and that was less dangerous than facing the bear. Besides, Robert had a pistol.

  By the time Esmeralda had caught her skittish mare, however, Robert had determined that the bear offered little threat. Once shock and fear no longer exaggerated what he saw, he realized that the “huge” animal was not huge at all. As bears go, it was rather small. There was further evidence that the bear had been raised by men. When the bread was gone, it ate whatever was left on the plates and then began to sniff the picnic basket, but although it pawed it experimentally and even turned it over, it made no attempt to tear the basket open. Finally it lifted its head, looked at Robert, and whined, almost like a dog.

  With a shock, he realized that the poor creature had no claws. He had also noticed that if one discounted the thick fur, the bear was unnaturally thin. It occurred to Robert that without claws it could not dig for the roots and grubs that made up a good part of the diet of bears in the wild, nor could it catch fish. And then, when he did not respond to its whining and open the basket, the animal rose to its hind legs and began, pathetically, to dance again. Robert could not resist the appeal. He moved forward, eyeing the beast warily, but it only snuffled and shuffled about with more energy, as if realizing a reward was coming.

  Having hurriedly dumped the contents of the picnic basket, Robert withdrew, chiding himself for taking such a chance. Nonetheless, now he felt no uneasiness at turning his head to see how Esmeralda was making out with the horses. To his relief, he saw that she already had Boa Viagem’s reins in hand, but Hermes was proving more difficult to catch. The horse knew her, of course, but in his nervous state he was not prepared to allow anyone to approach too close. Moreover, Esmeralda was hindered by needing to hold Boa Viagem and pull her through the brush each time she moved toward Hermes.

  Robert glanced back at the bear and saw it happily engaged in devouring every edible item. He moved slowly away, glancing back now and again, but his movement did not seem to arouse any interest. About halfway across the field, after a last glance, he uncocked his pistol, put it into his pocket, and called softly to Esmeralda that he would catch Hermes himself. However, no sooner were the words out of his mouth than Esmeralda uttered a cry of consternation as Boa Viagem almost tore loose from her grip and Hermes tried to bolt again.

 
; Turning swiftly, Robert saw the bear hurrying after him. He growled an oath, but his irritation was mixed with amusement, and he did not reach for his gun. Half a chicken dangled from the animal’s mouth, and without stopping, it was trying, by tossing its head and snapping, to get hold of the portion that was slipping away. The chicken dropped. The bear hesitated and whined anxiously and then, when it saw Robert standing still, began to root around in the tall grass for the tidbit it had dropped.

  Boa Viagem had almost stopped struggling, and Hermes, whose dangling reins had tangled in some bushes, was snorting nervously but not fighting the restraint. Robert realized that although the size and movements of the bear were alarming the horses, they were not as terrified as he expected. He also noticed that the bear paid no attention whatsoever to Hermes and Boa Viagem. Plainly it was accustomed to horses, which would be a natural result of being part of a traveling circus.

  For the next few minutes they all remained in position as if they were images in a tableau, the only movement being that of the bear’s jaws as it demolished the remains of the chicken. Then Esmeralda asked softly, her voice trembling a little, “Why does it follow you?”

  “Because, like a damned fool, I fed it,” Robert replied. “Don’t be frightened of it, Merry. The poor thing hasn’t any claws.”

  “But what are we to do?” The fear was gone from her voice, but anxiety remained.

  Before Robert could decide on an answer, the bear began to advance again. It was impossible for Robert to retreat because that would take the animal closer to Merry and the horses. He started to reach for his pistol, but the movement was slow and uncertain. And there was no threat in the casual, shambling advance. Plainly the bear expected to be welcome. Robert could not shoot it.

  Behind him, he heard Esmeralda gasp. And then the bear was upon him, gently nudging him with its nose, pushing its head under Robert’s half-raised hand. Instinctively Robert scratched behind the furry ear. The bear snuffled softly with pleasure, its eyes closing.

  “Oh my goodness,” Esmeralda exclaimed, laughing shakily, “I don’t think you should do that. You’ll have a friend for life.”

  “I know, damn it,” Robert said, “but it’s a nice creature. Look, I’ll try to lead it back to the food. See if you can find somewhere to secure Boa Viagem and grab Hermes before he breaks loose.”

  “Robert—” Esmeralda began, but he had already grasped the bear’s collar and started off.

  The beast grunted but followed him docilely, even quickening its pace when it saw they were approaching the blanket, which was still strewn with food. Robert stood beside the animal while it ate, sufficiently relaxed now to pick up the basket to remove an item or two that had stuck when he had hastily shaken out the contents previously and to replace in it the glasses, silver, and china they had been using. Significantly, the bear did not growl as Robert took items almost from under its nose, and even moved aside a trifle when he reached for a bottle that had rolled nearly to its feet.

  “I have Hermes,” Esmeralda called.

  “Have a good time, old boy,” Robert said, patting the animal’s shoulders.

  He experienced a twinge of guilt when he felt the way the bones protruded under the pelt. The bear had clearly almost been starved. It seemed cruel to leave it. Robert suppressed that thought. An army officer simply could not travel around with a dancing bear.

  However, Robert soon discovered that it was not a matter about which he was to have much choice. Although the bear allowed him to get about twenty or thirty feet away, if he moved off farther it snatched up what it could and followed. Twice Robert brought it back to the food and even ordered it to stay. Each time it went where he led it without protest, nonetheless, it would not let him get too far away. At last Robert decided it must have been trained, possibly by the tug of a long rope attached to its sensitive nose, to stay within a certain distance of its keeper.

  Knowing that did not solve the immediate problem. Esmeralda needed Robert’s assistance to mount, nor was she strong enough to hold both horses as they struggled to bolt while he lifted her to the saddle with the bear on his heels. Unfortunately, the brush and saplings available offered no place secure enough to tie either horse, and the branches of the trees that were strong enough were too high for Esmeralda to reach. At last Robert told Esmeralda to take the horses back into the woods, secure them as well as she could where they could not see the bear, and bring him one of the ropes that had been used to fasten the baggage to the saddles.

  By then Esmeralda, too, was convinced the bear was completely harmless. She had been laughing at Robert’s struggles to convince it that he was not its master, and she came right up to the animal. Not a scrap of food remained on the blanket, so the bear looked at her with hopeful interest, snuffled, and nuzzled her. She patted its head.

  “I am very sorry,” she said to it, “but I have nothing more to feed you, silly bear. Are you lost, poor thing?” And then, to Robert, “What are you going to do with the rope?”

  “Tie the bear to a sapling by the ring in its nose,” he replied. “It won’t pull loose. The nose is very tender.”

  “Oh, no!” Esmeralda cried. “It will starve. Robert, don’t.”

  He shook his head and smiled. “I won’t leave it tied, Merry. I’d shoot it before I’d do that. Once you are mounted, I’ll come back and untie it.”

  “But that won’t work,” she objected. “I don’t think I would be able to hold Hermes for you, and you won’t be able to mount if Bear follows you. Robert, the horses don’t seem very frightened. I think I could have got Boa Viagem quiet if I hadn’t been so frightened myself. I’m not frightened now. Could I bring her out of the wood and see if we cannot accustom her to Bear?”

  “I see you’ve named the beast,” Robert said, smiling.

  Esmeralda was idly scratching the head still lifted toward her, and the bear was swaying slightly, its eyes half shut. Nothing could be more evident than the fact that the animal had not only been hungry but also very lonely. Whoever had owned it, Robert thought, must have treated it well. It seemed to be as much a pet as a performing animal.

  Then he frowned thoughtfully. “You may have a better answer than mine, Merry. Although the horses were wary, they weren’t really terrified. But if you aren’t afraid to stay with—” he grinned briefly at the use of the name, “Bear, I think I had better deal with the horses. The only trouble is that it might take so long to get Hermes and Boa calmed down that we would be caught by the dark. Over this ridge, the road should run into a valley, but I’m not sure. I wouldn’t care to climb another mountain at night, nor would I like to go back down the way we came up.”

  “No!” Esmeralda agreed with emphasis. “Well, the sooner started, the sooner we can judge how long it will take. I’m not afraid to stay with Bear, but I’m not sure it will stay with me. Go ahead and get Boa. She seemed to be the least affected.”

  Bear seemed content to remain with Esmeralda, who continued to scratch its ears and murmur soothingly. The animal clearly was not particular and would grant the favor of its company to anyone who would pet it. And, surprisingly, when Robert led the mare forward she did no more than jib a little. Very soon she seemed as willing to ignore Bear as it was willing to ignore her.

  Finally Robert put Esmeralda in the saddle and was even able to fasten the empty picnic basket into position. When Robert brought the horse forward and Esmeralda stopped petting Bear, the creature moved aside to one of the boulders against which they had rested while they were eating and began to rub its back and sides against the stone. Robert watched it as he went to fetch Hermes, but this time the bear did not follow him. Although this made Robert’s task easier since he could mount his horse at a distance and thereby control it more easily, he was oddly disappointed.

  “I guess it realizes we have no more food,” Esmeralda said, directing Boa Viagem toward Robert, who was now mounted and coming out of the wood.

  He thought she sounded disappointed, too, but he m
ade no comment on that, merely asking whether she wished to go down the track ahead of or behind him. She said behind, and Robert turned Hermes into the path, suppressing an urge to call out to the bear. Nor did he permit himself to look back to see if Esmeralda was following. Naturally she would be following, that would only be an excuse.

  Although somewhat less steep than the upward route, the descending track was equally bad and full of sharp bends. Robert kept Hermes to a slow walk, and half the time he would not have known that Esmeralda was behind him if it had not been for the sound of Boa Viagem’s hooves. He was not sorry the road was so narrow. Although he had missed any chance to woo Esmeralda as he had intended, he was not now, for some reason, in the mood for it and was glad of the excuse not to ride side by side. He thought sourly that the day had not even provided any useful military information. The path they were on could only be used by infantry and even then only in the direst of need.

  However, they came at last to a flat area, and Robert forced his lips into a smile and turned to urge Esmeralda to come alongside. Instead he stared and then began to laugh most heartily. About thirty feet behind, down the last turn of the road, as if it had always patiently followed riders, came Bear.

  “Merry, look!” Robert said.

  “I know it’s there,” she replied.

  “Why the devil didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “Because I thought you might not want it along,” she said, somewhat guiltily.

  Robert burst out laughing again. “I don’t—I mean, I shouldn’t.”