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“Hiram is no longer a threat to any of us,” Lavinia said, her voice a little weak. She was finding each step harder to take, and she realized just how tired walking was making her.
“What do you mean, Mama?” Dorey asked.
“I’ll explain later,” Lavinia said, gasping in alarm when her knees began buckling.
She was so glad when Wolf Dancer realized what was happening and reached out for her. He took her quickly up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way; everyone else followed quietly behind them.
When Wolf Dancer reached the door of his house, he turned to Joshua. “Go inside with the children, and we will eat and talk as Lavinia rests,” he suggested. He looked at Dorey. “This will be your home as well as your mother’s for as long as you wish to stay here in my village.”
Dorey was stunned to see that her mother had deep feelings for the Indian chief, perhaps even deeper than Dorey had first thought. Their attraction was evident in the way her mother looked into the chief’s eyes and the way he held her so tenderly. Dorey realized that while she’d been away from her mother, lost and afraid, Lavinia had grown close to this man who had saved her from the horrible snakebite.
It made Dorey feel warm inside to see her mother so happy with this man. Dorey could hardly wait for Hiram to know that Lavinia had a new protector, so he could forget about ever having her himself!
Suddenly all that had been wrong in their lives since her father’s death was righted. Knowing that her mother had never truly loved her husband in a passionate way, Dorey could accept the idea that her mother had fallen in love so quickly after his death.
“We be glad to come and sit for a while inside your home,” Joshua said, speaking for himself and Twila.
“And I thank you for being so kind to me and my mother,” Dorey blurted out.
Lavinia clung to Wolf Dancer’s neck, feeling a contentment that had long been foreign to her. She was especially happy that he welcomed her daughter with open arms, because if all went well, she never wanted to return to the world she had left behind.
She was in love for the first time in her life. She felt its sweetness all through her body.
“Let us go inside now,” Wolf Dancer said. He opened the front door and stepped aside to allow the others to enter first.
And then he went inside, where his morning fire was burning in the firepit of the large, central room. The home consisted of several rooms, including one on the second floor far to the left side, away from where the smoke spiraled up to the smoke hole above.
As everyone stood aside and slowly admired the many comforts of his home, Wolf Dancer carried Lavinia to his bed of pelts near the firepit. He had never felt comfortable sleeping away from his central fire and the front door. He didn’t like the idea that someone could come in during the night and he would not be the wiser if he were sleeping far away from the door.
And soon he hoped to share this bed and room with Lavinia as his wife!
For now, it was enough that she was there withhim, away from that madman Hiram Price. He was glad that her daughter had been found, too, safe and happy to be reunited with her mother.
He saw nothing standing in the way of his hopes. He would not have to work hard to get Lavinia’s daughter’s acceptance, for he could see that she wanted only her mother’s happiness.
After getting Lavinia comfortable on his bed, Wolf Dancer went back to where the others still stood. They seemed to be awaiting his permission to sit on the mats, filled with the down of cattails, that were positioned around the fire.
“Sit,” Wolf Dancer said, gesturing toward the mats. “Be comfortable. And, Joshua, know that you and your daughter are welcome here anytime you wish to visit Lavinia.”
He turned and smiled at Dorey. “Your mother will want you here with her,” he said softly. He reached a hand out for here. “Come and sit beside her. She has worried so much about you.”
“Thank you,” Dorey said, smiling as she went over and settled down on a pelt beside her mother, while Joshua and Twila made themselves comfortable beside the fire.
“Mama, I was so worried about leaving you alone with…with…Uncle Hiram,” Dorey said, swallowing hard.
“You never have to worry about Hiram again,” Lavinia said, taking one of Dorey’s hands. “I’ve made a decision, Dorey. I don’t ever want to return to that plantation, or that house where I never felt much happiness.”
“Where will we go, Mama?” Dorey asked, her eyes wide.
“For now, we’ll just leave it at that…that we aren’t going back there. We will work things out later,” Lavinia murmured. “For now I feel at peace here with Wolf Dancer and his people. Until I am stronger, we will stay here and know that we have nothing to fear.”
“What if Uncle Hiram hunts for us and finds us here?” Dorey asked, searching her mother’s eyes. “You know he’ll be so angry—”
“Let him be angry,” Lavinia said. She brought Dorey’s hand to her lips and gently kissed its palm. “Just be happy that we have found each other and that we are all alright.”
“But you, Mama,” Dorey said, her eyes filling with tears. “You could have died.”
“Yes, but I didn’t,” Lavinia said, gazing over at Wolf Dancer as he came and knelt beside Dorey, a cup in his hand.
