Beloved Enemy

Tom Brent, scout for Houston's Texas Army, was captured when he blundered into enemy Mexican sentries. English-speaking Capitan Juan Ortega questioned Tom, then chivalrously provided him with dinner. The next Morning, the Mexican officer helped Tom to escape rather than obey an order for a summary execution. In Ortega's eyes, his action was treason, but the alternative was moral murder-- a very painful dilemma to the pious and scrupulous young man.After the battle of San Jacinto, in which the Mexican Army was annihilated, Tom found Ortega, wounded and helpless, on the battlefield and repaid the Mexican officer's chivalry by bringing him to safety and dressing his wounds.When Tom returned to his farm near Bennettville, he decided to check on Ortega at the prisoner of war camp. To his horror, Tom found the Mexican officer beaten and otherwise brutalized by the guards; even the camp commander begged Tom to take the Captain away on parole to save his life.When Tom arrived home with Captain Ortega, Tom's extended family treated the young Mexican more as a family member than a prisoner or even a farm hand. Attracted to the newcomer, Tom's younger sister Marcy Are her feeling reciprocated, or is the Captain merely courteous.As Capitan Ortega helped in the rebuilding of the town of Bennettville, his good humor and congeniality won him friends among the townspeople. Less and less, was he "Capitan" and more and more "Juan".One of Ortega's new friend was the Methodist circuit rider, Will Evans. In their conversations, Juan revealed a high intellect, education, and profound religious conflicts, for example, between the obviously loving Brents and the teaching of his church that Protestants are heretics and, therefor, damned.One person in Bennettville did not like Juan-- Buster McLeod, the town bully, who considered Marcy "his" girl. At a barn dance celebrating the rebuilding of Bennettville, Buster goaded Juan into a fist fight by insulting Marcy. The fight was inconclusive because Tom and his father prevented Buster and his two cronies from ganging up on Juan.A series of robberies and murders in the region inspired the Brents to teach Juan to use the long rifle of the frontier. With mixed feelings-- he had had enough of bloodshed!-- he agreed and learned. When Tom was laid up with a snakebite, Juan took over Tom's share of the farm work and hunting and, thus, became even more of a part of the Brents and Bennettville.While the Brent men were away, Buster and his pals-- the robbers and murderers-- attempted to rob the Brents and take Marcy by force, but Juan defended the Brent homestead. He killed two of the attackers before he was knocked down dazed. Marcy killed the third, but taking human life rendered her emotionally prostrate.Only Juan could comfort her, because only he understood, and they went off into the woods to talk alone. Ironically, she recovered from her own horror in learning that Juan shared it as she listened to his description of the hell of the Alamo. They fell asleep in each others arms, but, the next morning, Marcy's mother was scandalized at the breach of social convention. She decided it was time for Marcy to marry and promised the neighboring widower Marcy would become his wife and a mother to his two children. Marcy exploded in rage at such a promise being made without her consent.Word arrived in Bennettville that Texas and Mexico had negotiated a treaty, and Juan was free to leave. He was too attracted to Marcy to stay, and there was nowhere for him to go. How can he resolve the dilemma presented by his love for the Brents and his mysterious and painful past.