"Don’t touch me! I do not want to be touched by an Indian!” the older woman stated loudly, holding up her shaking hands as if to ward Suzannah off.
London, 1908 - At the engagement announcement dinner, after the elegant dinner dishes were cleared, Edward's mother made an observation about her son's fiance.
“Miss Hardin, your skin is so dark and I noticed that neither of your parents has dark skin.” Adelaide was visibly shaken and Everett’s back became straighter as he sat up, waiting to hear how their daughter would manage such a rude observation.
Suzannah turned to look at the older, staid woman full in the face and she smiled. “That is because I am half Choctaw. I am a squaw,” she answered, smiling, as the woman gasped. Her betrothed's father made the ‘tut’ noise again, no doubt worried about how his wife would take this news. When Suzannah looked over at him, his mouth was making an ‘O’ shape, and he was mopping his brow with his dinner napkin.
“My mother was a Choctaw woman and married my father, Everett, who was born in Scotland. My mother's name was Issoba Ohoyo which means horse-woman. My name is Suzannah Iskitini Hushi Hardin which means Little Bird and I, too, am a woman of the horse.
“After my mother died, Adelaide became my mother and I love her very much.” Adelaide grasped her daughter’s hand across the table. At this point, Edward's mother, Edna was fanning herself as she appeared to have the vapors.
“Are you well, madam?” Suzannah asked. “Shall I put some cool water on a cloth to help revive you?” Suzannah looked around for a clean dinner napkin and stood.
Edna Loch recoiled in horror and sat back hard in her chair, raising her hands in front of her face. “No! Don’t touch me. I do not want to be touched by an Indian!” she stated loudly, holding up her shaking hands as if to ward Suzannah off.
The young woman became frozen in place, blinking in astonishment. People at tables around them stopped eating and looked at what was happening. Edward looked around and noticed, as well.
“Mother! What did I tell you about embarrassing me?” Edward seethed, and Suzannah looked at him as if she didn’t know who he was. His words had stung her more than his mother’s.
“Embarrassing you, Edward?” Suzannah gasped, trying to come to grips with what was happening all around her. “She has embarrassed herself and your whole family,” Suzannah said calmly, and with all certainty.
The next morning, Edward implored her to stay, to marry him but it was too little, too late and his heart truly was not in it. She removed the emerald ring he had given her, handed it back to him and stood.
“I’m going home to Texas. Please give your family my regrets for not saying goodbye. I apologize that your name has been besmirched by a broken engagement, and I share the blame with you. The scales have fallen from my eyes at this late hour and I do so wish it could have happened before our engagement.”
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