Page 58 of The Last Warrior

He nodded. “So it is. Then perhaps I have much luck this night, for it is not my desire to lose you as my wife.”

She withdrew her hand from his and carefully sat up. “Then this one time tonight is all we are to have?” Her frown deepened. “What was it all about, then, when you told me that if I should change my mind, you would be more than willing? Do you remember saying this to me when we were first married?”

“Hau. It is true. But I have been reminded by my spirit protector of my duty to my people.”

“Your spirit protector?”

“Yes.”

“Your mission…your people…?”

An uneasy silence stretched out between them. She turned her face away from him, and he was at once presented with her beautiful profile. He sighed, and she went on to say, “I do believe this is similar to what happened between myself and William. One night of love, and then… Are you spurning me as well?”

She came up onto her knees, sitting back against her calf muscles. His blanket was around her shoulders and her cloak, upon which she reclined, looked to be as soft as the feathered down of a goose. It was spilled out over the ground around her, making her appear as if she sat in the middle of a cloud. He had never seen anything or anyone more exquisite.

“Spurned?” he asked. “I am uncertain I know this word.”

“It means to slight an…invitation…”

“Slight? I do not understand. Does not slight mean very little of something?”

“Yes, sometimes it does, but not in this case.” She tightened her lips, and her voice took on an edge. “What would you have me do, spell it out for you? I think, Mr. Lion, that you know well what it means. Your English is very good, I must say.”

He frowned. “I try to be very good. But I do not understand. Why are you becoming angry with me over a word?”

“I am not becoming angry with you. I am…all right…I’ll define it for you. Slight…it means to snub, to…rebuff, to insult one.”

“Insult? What have I said that is insulting?”

She sighed. “I no longer wish to have this conversation with you. I think you are right. You should take me back.”

“Take you back? Hiya, no, not like this. If it helps, I should tell you about what happened when I was gone from you tonight. Indeed, what is happening to me now is not because of you. Perhaps I should have made myself plainer from the start. My spirit protector reminded me that I cannot take any woman to my bed, no matter who she is, until my duty to my people is complete.”

Suzette had already come up onto her feet. He followed her up, but she looked anywhere but at him. Instead she was slipping into her clothes as fast as she could. If she had heard his explanation, he would not know it, for all she said was, “Thank you for the walk, Mr. Lion, but I⁠—”

He reached out for her hand, touched her, but she jerked away from him. She stepped back, putting some distance between them.

As though to fill the gap, he said, “I do what I do because I must. I do not slight you, and believe me, if I could make love to you without possible harm coming to my people, I would do so.”

“So now I am the cause of you possibly harming your people?”

“Hiya, no, it is only⁠—”

“You expect me to believe this?”

“About my people?”

“No, your excuses.” She shoved her arms into her dress. “Perhaps the problem is not your people, but rather your will. Maybe gaining what you needed from me has caused you to think you can insult my intelligence with your excuses.”

“Do you think I lie?”

“Yes, I do.”

He drew back, stunned. “Though I realize the white man can have a forked tongue when the occasion suits him, you should know there is no greater insult than to call an Indian a liar. In the minds of my people, there is no dog so low. I will tell you the truth one last time, and I dare you to believe me. I wish very much to have more relations with you...more times like we had tonight. But, for a time, because of my mission to free my people, I must not. Do you understand?”

In response, she sent her chin into the air. “Forgive me, but I still cling to the notion you are lying, and I think you try to play me for a fool. What is it? What is the real reason? Is it despite the laws on the reservations, you already have another wife, as you once told me so long ago? That you dare not tell me about it, for fear of…? Or another girlfriend, perhaps, who will be upset to learn you have had this pleasant interlude with me?”

“If what you say were so, I would tell you about it.”