She had courageously told him she loved him, and his heart had rejoiced. But, then she'd gone on to say she wasn't certain her love for him was the kind of affection a woman would hold toward her husband. Yet, only a few moments ago, she had confessed she was falling in love with him, although she didn't know he'd been able to understand her.
And, she had returned his kiss...and had done so with passion. Could this mean she might favor him as a husband?
Perhaps. But, it didn't matter. He was still who he was, which included all his responsibilities to his tribe. Plus, he must free her somehow—without cheating—from her misguided opinion that, because she owed him so greatly, she would marry him whether she wanted to or not.
Her viewpoint about this was one he didn't understand. To him, to all honorable men, it was a duty to assist any woman in trouble. Still, would he have put his life in danger to find her and keep her safe if he hadn't already felt affection for her? Probably. But, the truth was hewasfascinated with her and the idea of getting to know her better had been, and still was, irresistible. Plus, he cared about what happened to her...and perhaps this is what had motivated him.
Did she care for him in return? Apparently so, but not necessarily as a man who could be her husband.
And he? Of course he loved her. He'd told her the truth when he'd said he had loved her from almost the first moment he'd seen her. But, the love of a man when sincerely felt should not intrude upon her plan for her life. Thus, he had not stepped into her life until he'd had to.
Did this mean he would take her for his wife if she desired it? He would, since he had asked her the question and was honor-bound to take her if she wished it. Plus, he desired her. However, a union between them might possibly become known to his people as the shortest marriage in living memory, for he did not fool himself that she would like or fit into his life, nor he into hers.
Gazing at her over the coals of the fire, he felt like a starving man as he looked upon her beauty. Yet, if not for the storm and her man's inattention to her, he would have already left Fort Union, never to see her again. Though he was here with her now, he had not forgotten his only purpose in traveling to this trading post, and this was to search for and find his beloved brother.
His brother, Chief Chases-the-enemy, had led the thirty-man Blackfoot party to Fort Union, but had not returned home with them. He had disappeared, and even sending scouts out to find him had not produced a single track to be followed. Nor had the reason for his disappearance been known...until now.
Even knowing what he did, Eagle Heart still had no clue as to what was wrong. He felt his brother was still alive, for their mind-to-mind communication continued, but it was now irregular. This meant something was wrong. But, what?
Was it the Crow girl he had stolen? Had her family caught up with him? Had they captured him or wounded him?
Whatever had happened to him, he was deeply missed by many people in his tribe as well as his family, which included a child and a sweet, devoted wife. How would she take the truth of her husband's stealing a young Crow woman and disappearing with her?
Maybe he, Eagle Heart, might never tell her.
As Eagle Heart scooted toward his own sleeping robes—which were set across the fire from Steals-my-breath—he was careful to make as little noise as possible, thus allowingIkamo'si-niistówa-siitámssinto rest.
But, it was not to be. He saw that soon she turned onto her back and stretched, opening her eyes. She looked at him from across the fire, smiled at him, and, in reaction, his heart flipped-flopped within his chest.
He waited a moment before speaking, afraid his hands and fingers might shake as he spoke in the gesture language.
After a moment, she asked, "How are our ponies?"
"They do well," he answered, using sign. "But come, it is dark outside now, and you might be hungry. Would you like to eat a supper with me before we again wage this war calledCos-soó?"
She laughed a little, and, as joy filled his heart, he thought there was not a more beautiful sound in all the world than her soft giggles.
"Do you need me to help you to sit up?" he asked in sign, speaking Blackfeet, also.
"Saa." She said the Blackfoot word aloud, causing him to smile. She switched to sign and continued, "I would like to try to sit up on my own. I might need your help, but I'd like to try to do it myself, first."
He nodded and watched as she struggled to do the task while clutching the robe around her at the same time.
"Should I look the other way?" he asked.
"Áa."Again she spoke the Blackfoot word. Then in sign, "I fear this blanket will fall from me, and then I will be mortified that you shall see me unclothed."
He nodded once more and turned his entire body around to give her privacy. However, he couldn't resist saying, even though he spoke in Blackfeet, "I have already seen you unclothed, and I was greatly taken by your beauty."
"What?" she asked. "What was it you said?"
"Nothing...is...it," he answered in English.
"You have learned those English words?"
"Yes," he spoke again in English.
"You are acquiring more of my language than I am of yours. I will have to take more notice of your words."
