"You have chosen a thing I cannot bet with, for I have promised to marry him, and I can't break my promise. And, he is no coward; he didn't really desert me. He had to leave me to get help to bring me home."
"Yet, he did not gather together this help you speak of. Or if he did, he and those men are lost. We are here. He is not."
"Please," she signed, "do not speak of him in an ill manner. Besides, how do we know he isn't out there right this minute, trying to find me? And, then there is my father. I know he will not rest until I am found."
"And yet," he signed, "I say again, they are not here. However, if you wish it, I shall speak no more bad words about this man you have said you will marry. But, I have a question about him and about you."
"Yes?" she signed.
He paused for a long moment before he signed, "In my society a woman and a man who are not married are not permitted to touch each other, and rarely are they allowed to speak to each other without supervision. Yet, I once saw you permit this man to touch you and even to hug you. You have also gone out riding alone with him. In my society, this kind of conduct would look very bad against you. Not against him, but against you. I tell you true that I have seen a man do this to a woman, and it is he who brings shame to her. Because of him, she will have a difficult task to marry a good man.
"You are a good woman, and I do not understand this. Tell me, are you secretly married to him?"
She didn't answer his question. Instead, she asked, signing, "If this is what is thought about a man and a woman merely touching and speaking to each other, is it your intention, then, to bring shame to me because we are talking to one another and by chance have had to touch each other? Further, do you believe I am shameful because I have permitted you to hug me and to speak to me?"
"I do not intend to bring shame to you," he answered, signing his reply. "I tell you true, I do not think this about you. Further, it is not my plan to take from you what is yours. Again, I have given you my promise, and I do not break my promises once given. However, I see what I have asked has created worry for you. It is not my wish to cause you more concern. Instead, I would like to make peace with you about this, and I wish now to withdraw the question. From this point and into the future, you do not need to answer me about whether or not you are secretly married to him."
"And yet, I will answer your question," she responded in sign. "In my society, it is thought to be a good idea for a man and a woman to get to know each other before they become married. This is all. Thus, we who are preparing to marry are permitted to talk, to touch and even to kiss. We are also permitted to be alone with each other. There is no shame in it."
"When you say 'get to know each other,' do you mean the physical act that causes a man and a woman to become married?"
"No." She signed the word, then looked away from him. Oddly, she was not embarrassed by his question. The real problem was that she was finding the conversation more stimulating than it should be.
She bit her lip. It wasn't wrong of him to ask these questions. The difficulty was her reaction tohim.
But, he was continuing and signed, "So, if I insist that if I win, and the stakes are that you are not to marry this man, it will not bring harm to you?"
"No, it won't. My father might be upset with me if I were to break off my engagement. But, it will not harm my reputation. However, I find that I have a question for you. You say that, if you win, I must not marry Thomas. How will this benefit you, the winner?"
"I cannot explain. All I can tell you is this has value to me."
"Why?" she asked.
He shrugged. Again, he became silent. At length, however, he signed, "There are some matters a man does not speak of to a woman who is not his own."
"'His own?' What do you mean by this? Are you referring to a wife?"
He nodded."Áa," he said aloud, then signed, "We, you and I, are not married. I may not speak to you of this which you ask me."
"I understand, I think," she said, using gestures. "Does ‘áa’mean ‘yes’?"
"It does," he signed.
"Huh." She uttered the word aloud and sat for a few moments, actually considering betting with him. If she won, her debt to him would be forgiven and forgotten. If she lost...was she willing to call off her engagement? Most likely Eagle Heart would be the kind of man who would ensure she kept her end of the bargain.
Interrupting her thoughts, he signed, "A good wager must be about a thing the person who is betting is unwilling to gift to another."
"By telling me this, are you really saying you would like me to be indebted to you?"
He laughed, and she was at once fascinated by how this man looked when humor shone within his dark eyes. She mentioned this, signing, "You appear much like a young boy when you laugh."
"Do not be fooled," he signed in return. "It has been a long time since I set aside a boy's dreams and his ways. I am a man full grown with manly likes, desires and duties."
"Is this a warning?"
Again, he grinned at her. "It is. It is, indeed, a warning."
"Good," she signed. "I will play the game with you, but without having any stakes or betting. Teach me the game so I may play it well. Only then will I decide if we should bet or not. But, I think not. Somehow I think you will win it all. But, as you say, we are here with little to do but play games and tell stories in the evening. What are the rules for this game?"
