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And then that peak of bliss was reached.
Afterward, they clung to one another, Elizabeth still straddling him, their cheeks pressed together.
“You still say good-bye to Strong Heart?” he asked throatily, as he placed a finger to her chin and directed her eyes up to his. “I have not persuaded you to return with me?”
“Your ways of persuasion are unique,” Elizabeth said, laughing softly. “But, darling, I still must stay and talk to my father. Please tell me that you understand.”
“Ah-hah, I understand,” Strong Heart said, tracing a finger down one of her cheeks. “And in your absence I will do what I must, to make things right for my people. As soon as I return to my village, I will get many braves together and leave to search for the culprits responsible for the raid. And this must be done soon, for the autumn salmon run must be prepared for. Without the salmon, the lives of the Suquamish are not as easy. Ah-hah, and when it comes time to participate in the harvest of the salmon, it will be done with you at my side as my wife.”
Elizabeth sighed and hugged him. “It sounds so magical. I so want it to be that way.”
“And why should it not?” Strong Heart challenged, again holding her away from him so that their eyes could meet.
“Strong Heart, I’m not able to forget the threat that lies over your head, should you be suspected of having set Four Winds free,” Elizabeth said, her voice trembling. “That, alone, clouds my hopes for the future, Strong Heart. What if the sheriff discovers that I am home, and questions me? Will he be able to tell that I am lying when I tell him nothing about you? I have never been skilled at lying.” She cast her sight downward. “Never before have I had cause to lie.”
He placed a finger to her chin and brought her eyes to his again. “Knowing me brings too much pain in your life,” he said sadly. “I am sorry for that.”
“Never be sorry for this that you and I have found together,” Elizabeth said, then kissed him softly and sweetly.
She drew away from him. “I must go now. The sooner I get on with this thing that I must do, the sooner we will be together again.”
“That is so,” Strong Heart said, nodding. He pulled her dress down, then lifted her over onto her horse. “Go. I shall watch until you are safely at the house. Then I shall search awhile longer for my grandfather. But only for a short while. My people await my return. I must not worry them needlessly.”
Tears misted Elizabeth’s eyes as she gave Strong Heart a lingering look, realizing how slim the chances were that they might be together again. Danger seemed to be lurking everywhere, not only for her, but also for the man that she loved. He could fall victim to evil white men and Indian renegades. She wondered if Four Winds was a man who could be trusted
. What if he was a renegade, guilty of all sorts of horrendous crimes? Would he go as far as committing a crime against his own people? Against his friend?
Shaking these thoughts from her mind, afraid that if she thought much more about it, she might return with Strong Heart after all, and her father would forever worry about her. That was not fair of her, she decided firmly.
“I shall see you soon,” Elizabeth said, tears rushing from her eyes. “Please ride with care, darling.”
“Kla-how-ya, goodbye, my la-daila,” Strong Heart said, placing a fist over his heart. “My tum-tum, heart, already misses you.”
Elizabeth brushed the tears from her cheeks, gave Strong Heart a feeble smile, then wheeled her horse around. Without looking back, she urged her steed into a hard gallop away from him.
When she rode through the open gate, she continued until she reached the stables behind the house. Dismounting, she led her horse inside the stables, and then jumped with alarm when Everett stepped from the darkness into the dim light of a lantern that hung just inside the door.
“You frightened me,” Elizabeth said, placing a hand to her throat.
Everett took the lantern from its nail on the wall and held it above him, walking slowly toward Elizabeth. “You frightened me,” he said, his dark eyes wide. “You’re the last person I expected to see. Your father is leadin’ a posse even now, searchin’ for you.”
“Father is-is a part of a posse?” Elizabeth said, paling and looking past Everett, to the darkness outside. Her thoughts went to Strong Heart, now fearing more than ever for him. If a posse was out there somewhere searching for her, Strong Heart might come right into the midst of them!
Then she willed her heart to stop its racing, reminding herself that no one in the posse knew of Strong Heart’s role in Four Winds’s escape, or her abduction. Strong Heart would be just an innocent traveler on his way home.
No, she tried to convince herself—she had nothing to fear. Strong Heart would be all right. He would be all right.
Then she noticed Everett staring at her attire. He shifted his eyes slowly to the Indian saddle on the horse. Her heart plummeted to her feet, knowing those things were enough to reveal to anyone that she had been among Indians. And that might be fatal.
Trying not to show her uneasiness, Elizabeth went to the saddle and removed it from the horse. Boldly, she turned and handed it to Everett. “I want you to hide this for me,” she said crisply. “And, Everett, if you value your position with my father, you will never tell anyone about the saddle. Do you understand?”
Everett gulped hard as he sat the lantern aside and took the saddle. “Yes’m,” he said, nodding his head. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”
She slowly ran her hand down the buckskin dress. “And don’t you breathe a word, either, about this dress that I’m wearing. It is nobody’s affair but my own. Do I make myself clear, Everett?”
“Yes’m,” he said, again nodding. “I won’t say a word. Not to no one.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, exhaling a long breath and relaxing her shoulders. “I truly thank you.”
