Shannon Farrington - Frontier Agreement

Forced To Wed

When half–Native American translator Claire Manette joins her mother’s tribe after her father’s death, she’s told she must marry or leave the village. Lewis and Clark expedition member Pierre Lafayette’s offer of a marriage of convenience is enticing. But with her refusal to leave her family behind and his dreams of exploring uncharted territories, it would never work.

Pierre joined the expedition for adventure...and to avoid settling down. So why does he feel compelled to protect a stranger by marrying her? The only thing he’s sure of is that he can’t allow Claire to be forced from the only home she has left. Pierre and Claire are an unlikely match, but amid the wilderness of the West, could his offer of duty become one of love?

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing my book, Frontier Agreement. It was during a family vacation out west several years ago that I first became enamored with the story of Lewis and Clark. Returning home, I devoured the expedition journals and any other material about the explorers that I could locate. Soon my imagination was off and running. In this story, Claire and Pierre are, of course, fictional characters, as are all of her immediate family, but the setting and events in which they find themselves are, to the best of my ability, historically accurate.

Lewis and Clark did spend the winter of 1804–1805 among the Mandan people in present-day North Dakota, and the medical difficulties, misunderstandings of tribal customs, struggle for food and trouble with the Sioux actually happened. Toussaint Charbonneau and Sacagawea did live at the fort for a time and serve as translators. Charbonneau’s disagreement with Captain Lewis, however, actually did not take place until March of 1805. I took the liberty of moving the event forward a few months in order to place Claire at the fort during Christmas.

While working on this project, I kept wondering what it would have been like to have been a part of the expedition. Would I have been able to endure the hardships? Would I have been able to trust God and complete the tasks assigned to me, or would I have given in to fear of the unknown?

I hope Claire and Pierre’s story will inspire you to forge your own frontier.

Blessings,

Shannon Farrington

“Your mother seems to be enjoying herself,” Mr. Lafayette remarked.

Claire watched her for a few seconds. She recognized that smile, that look of fondness on her mother’s face. “She’s telling him about my father.”

“They must have loved each other very much.”

“They did.” She could feel a lump growing in her throat. Would she ever know such a love? Such a partnership?

“My father is not an outdoorsman,” Mr. Lafayette said, “but every Christmas Eve he takes my brothers and me into the woods to collect pine boughs and berries because he knows my mother loves the smell of them.”

Claire returned his gaze. “My father did the same. Our cabin was filled with greenery.”

“Then after reading the account from Scripture, my father would tell us to place our shoes in front of the fire and hurry off to bed—”

“Or Père Noël would not come?”

“Yes.”

She couldn’t help but smile again. “I was always told the same.” She wondered what sort of boy he had been. Was he affectionate and expressive like Spotted Eagle or rough and rambunctious? Somehow she suspected the latter.

“We have lived very different lives,” he then said, “but I think we ourselves are not so different.”

SHANNON FARRINGTON and her husband have been married for over twenty years, have two children, and are active members in their local church and community. When she isn’t researching or writing, you can find Shannon visiting national parks and historical sites or at home herding her small flock of chickens through the backyard. She and her family live in Maryland.

Frontier Agreement

Shannon Farrington

www.millsandboon.co.uk

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:19

In memory of Gandmom McCoy

See you in the morning

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Dear Reader

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Fort Mandan

Upper Louisiana Territory

December 1804

Pierre Lafayette cast an eager eye over the vast horizon and sighed contentedly. The air of the Great Plains was cold but fresh. Here, over a thousand miles from home, he could finally breathe.

When Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark accepted him as an oarsman for their westward expedition, he’d realized that at long last he had finally become his own man. I was hired because of who I am. Not because of who my father is or what he may be able to do for them.

A strong back, sharp eye and steadiness with a musket were highly valuable skills in the wilderness. At home they had been frowned upon.

The expedition, the Corps of Discovery, was to winter here on the Missouri River, just beyond the Mandan and Hidatsa Indian villages, before continuing on further westward in the spring. Fortifications had been erected around their camp for defense, but so far the local people had proved themselves to be friendly and welcoming.

Turning his eyes in the direction of the villages, Pierre noticed a trio of natives approaching—two women and a small boy. He studied them as they drew near. Visitors to the fort were nothing new. In the past six weeks since the expedition’s arrival, they had received many people. Most were tribal leaders, but there had been a few curious women and children as well. Pierre didn’t recall seeing these particular Indians before, however.

They approached him cautiously. One of the squaws bowed. The other curtsied. Both were dressed in buffalo robes and had long, dark braided hair. The one who had curtsied had vibrant green eyes that showed her to be of mixed blood. Although young, she carried herself with the grace and stature of a seasoned chief’s wife.

Pierre thought her pretty, pretty enough to turn many a man’s head, but he gave her beauty no further thought than that. If the pampered, powdered belles and wealth of New Orleans hadn’t held his interest, he could hardly be captivated by a penniless Indian woman.

He drew in a long breath. His father had wanted him to become a polished gentleman of society, to marry, beget children and one day take the helm of the family shipping business. Pierre had refused. It wasn’t out of disrespect for his father or unwillingness to take responsibility. I am no rogue, and I am willing to work as hard as any other man. But his father’s life had stifled him. He’d longed for a wider scope for his ambitions—a chance to see more of the world before he settled down into just a small patch of it.

On this expedition, he had done so, and he had loved it. This adventure meant more to him than anything life back home could offer. New Orleans was a wonderful place full of culture, cuisine and comfort, but for Pierre, the harsh unknown beckoned. The winding Missouri, the distant mountains, the Pacific Ocean—these were the only siren songs he wanted to heed. Even now, they called to him. Pierre could hardly wait for the ice on the river to thaw so they could once again be on their way.