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Chapter Six
Oh, could the Fair, who this does
see,
Be by this great example won.
—Richard Leigh
Many feelings overwhelmed Shoshana as she and Major Klein rode along a river that flowed into a broad, marshy valley. She was having occasional flashes of recognition that made her think she was near the spot where her village had stood, where she had run and played with friends . . . where she helped her mother fill her large jug with water. . . .
“Come autumn, this valley will be full of elk and deer that will have moved down from the higher elevations,” Major Klein said, interrupting Shoshana’s train of thought. “The first time I saw them, I was stunned at how many there were.”
Shoshana looked quickly over at him. “How long have you been stationed at Fort Chance?” she asked, wondering if he had been there long enough to know the places where the Apache villages had once been.
“A year,” Colonel Klein said, smiling over at her.
“A year?” Shoshana said, her heart filling with hope. “Then you surely know much about the land and—”
Major Klein’s smile waned. “No, not much at all,” he said, interrupting her. “My duties until only recently were menial and kept me at the fort.”
“Oh, I see,” Shoshana said, feeling foolish at having thought she would get answers so soon after arriving at her homeland.
“I’ve been in charge of feeding the horses and grooming them,” Major Klein said, fondly patting his horse’s sleek neck. “Yeah, Colonel Hawkins ordered me to care for the horses but very rarely allowed me to enjoy riding them. Today is the first time I’ve been away from the fort on a horse in weeks.”
“So you haven’t had much opportunity to learn anything about the area, or where the Apache villages might have been?” Shoshana asked, surprised that the colonel would have chosen him to see to her safety today.
Suddenly she didn’t feel all that safe.
“No, not much,” Major Klein said tightly. He gazed over at Shoshana. “I have you to thank for my being away from the fort today. If you hadn’t needed an escort, I’d still be in the stalls seeing to the horses.”
“Don’t thank me,” Shoshana said dryly. “I had nothing to do with it. The colonel chose you.”
She wanted to add that she had no idea why he’d been chosen. Surely an older soldier with more knowledge of the land would have been better suited for the job.
If George Whaley knew just how vulnerable she was with this young major at her side, he would most certainly have reason to worry, just as she was now worrying.
She decided she would turn back soon. With someone so unfamiliar with the land, she was afraid of possibly getting lost, or worse yet, riding into the face of danger.
“I can tell that you don’t feel comfortable about my escorting you today,” Major Klein said ruefully. “I’m sorry about disappointing you. Do you want to turn back?”
“Not quite yet,” Shoshana said, nudging her steed with her knees and riding on ahead of the major.
She didn’t want any more small talk with him. She wanted to inhale all of this loveliness without interruption.
This valley was the province of butterflies and lovely dragonflies.
The crystalline body of water was full of caddis flies.
The air was alive with hummingbirds and magpies.
A colony of otters flourished in the river, and she saw badgers, too.
She was only five on that terrible day long ago when her life had changed forever, but things were coming back to her again—her laughter as she ran through the tall grass and flowers where her mother had bent low to pluck a bouquet, Shoshana’s baby brother on her mother’s back in his cradle board . . .
She was remembering a day when she had sat dangling her feet in the river while her mother stopped to nurse Shoshana’s baby brother . . . a brother who had died from an illness unfamiliar to Shoshana only days before the massacre that took her mother from her, as well.
This could be the exact place where she had shared those precious moments with her mother and brother. It did seem so familiar.
