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"You are as hungry for love as Melissa. Would Elliott want to marry you, if he knew you were just as faithless?"
Stunned to be insulted after she had welcomed his affection so joyously, Alanna raised her hand to slap the smirk from his face, but Hunter caught her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. He pulled the hides aside and gave her a gentle shove.
"Now that I have you so eager, sleep with Elliott."
Alanna jerked free. "You despicable bastard," she mouthed silently.
Hunter blew her a kiss. "I love you, too," he answered.
Alanna ripped the hides from his hand to shut him out of the long house, but fearing he might return for more of the delicious affection she couldn't refuse, she spent the night tossing in fitful slumber, tormented by a shameful dream in which she was scorned as a harlot by all of Williamsburg. When in the morning Elliott placed his hand on her shoulder, she sat up so quickly they bumped heads, causing them both to recoil in pain.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," Elliott whispered. "It's early. You needn't get up yet, but Hunter just left, and I'm going to follow him. He took his quiver and bow as well as a musket he had hidden under his bed. Maybe he's only going hunting, but I'm afraid he might plan on staying away for several days, so that he won't have to sign a statement for us. After coming all this way, I'm not leaving here without one."
Alanna swept her hair out of her eyes. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"I awakened just as he was leaving, or I would have."
Alanna reached out to grab his arm. "Wait, I want to go with you."
"There's no need of that. You'll be better off staying here."
"No, I won't. What if Hunter's going home? Do you know where his tribe lives?"
"No, but—"
"You can't ask me to stay here all alone, when you don't know where you're going or when you'll be coming back. If I wouldn't have be
en safe staying at the trading post, then I certainly won't be safe here. Just give me a minute, and I'll come with you."
Initially, Elliott hadn't seen any reason to take Alanna along on what could be an arduous hike through the woods, but now understanding how frightened she was of being left on her own in a strange place, he reluctantly had to relent. "All right, I'll wait for you, but hurry."
Her head aching from lack of sleep and worry, Alanna rose and hurriedly gathered up the clothes she had worn the previous day. Thinking her petticoats would only impede her progress, she didn't bother with them, nor with a corset. Making do with only her chemise and drawers for underwear, she donned the gray gown and was dressed in just a few minutes. She brushed her hair, coiled it atop her head, and covered it with a cap. Once outside, she splashed water from the rain barrel on her face, wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, and was ready to go.
"I'm afraid you're going to ruin your dress."
"I have others. Which way did he go?"
"Luckily the ground's damp, and I found the tracks of his moccasins. Come on, he went this way." Elliott reached out to take Alanna's hand, but the trail soon narrowed, and they had to travel in single file. Fortunately, she had no difficulty keeping up with him. Hunter was traveling northwest on a well-worn path, but after the sun came out and dried the ground, they could no longer be sure he hadn't left it.
It was now too warm for Alanna to need a shawl, and she tied it around her waist when they stopped at a creek to take a drink of cool water. They were walking at such a brisk pace, they had traveled several miles. "If we miss today's barge, when is the next one?" she asked.
"Not until next week." Elliott raised his hand to shade his eyes, as he looked up to judge the position of the sun. "We still have time to make it. If we can find Hunter, that is."
"Why does he have to be so terribly uncooperative?"
Elliott was touched by Alanna's troubled frown. "I used to think I understood him, but now I doubt anyone ever will. Clearly he's running from us, but we can't let him get away with it." Startled by a rustling in the shrubbery bordering the stream, Elliott reached for Alanna's hand and pulled her close.
"What was that?" she asked.
Hoping to identify the source of the noise, Elliott strained to listen, but it didn't come again. "I don't know. Perhaps only a thirsty animal, but we've tarried too long. Let's keep following the trail."
Again Alanna stayed close behind her cousin, but she was haunted by the eerie sensation that they were being watched. Rather than the familiar calling of songbirds and tittering of playful squirrels, the forest now seemed alive with mysterious sounds. A red-tailed hawk soared overhead in narrowing circles. It would not swoop down on her with its wickedly sharp talons, but she felt as vulnerable as the defenseless rabbit that was probably being stalked.
The sound of snapping branches, as though someone were hurrying through a pile of dry twigs, prompted her to grab Elliott's coattail. "Hunter, is that you?" she called out.
"Did you hear something?"
The forest was thick here, with not only dense stands of pine, but also hemlock, spruce, and fragrant cedar. Alanna scanned the fence of trees lining the trail, but saw only the primeval world through which they had passed. "It sounded as though someone were running, but they stopped, when we did."
