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"He has much work, but tomorrow he will probably help you find the right land to put your home on and help you design it. It must be grand for you are the son of the chief." She said, "I am very happy you are home. Will you stay this time?"
"Stay? I have a wife now, I must provide for her, but we will live here, quietly." Chase said thinking of his bride and trying to keep his body from thinking.
"And do you think she is beautiful, my son?"
"Very beautiful, mother."
"Oh…I am happy for you, soon I will have grandchildren to spoil and play with…" she laughed.
Chase made a mock frown and then smiled, his own thoughts going to the woman he could not see for three whole days….
Chapter Twenty-Five
As his mother said, his father helped him pick the land to build his new home on. There was a stream not far that ran into the tributary of the river only a short walk away. His father made many suggestions on how to cultivate the land and blessed it for his son.
"We are proud she is here with us, my son, we welcome her with open arms. I only hope she can help heal the sick as Burning Tree says. If we do not heal it soon, it might wipe us out."
Chase nodded. "She will help, father, I know her spirit and she would not let innocent children die…"
"That is good, my son," his father smiled with approval.
But his father was a man of few words, and the words he spoke were wise ones. Chase felt honored that he came to help him and that he blessed his new home and family.
Together they silently worked most of the day building the wigwam, making it special in every way for her. Chase did his best to block out all the thoughts of the night they would spend together but every time he closed his eyes, he saw her and she teased him. Was it magic? Or his own dreams?
The first day there was no glimpse of her at all. He had not seen her and he missed her, especially as the night fell and he had no one in his arms to share it. But he knew he had to be patient. Soon it would all come together and be good.
***
Katherine was introduced to so many people the next day. She couldn't remember all their names. But some of the young girls were her age and she wished she could just take the day off and get to know them. But the sickness was spreading fast and Burning Tree told her there was little time to prepare for this and have the wedding. So he tutored her in the magic ways after the evening of purification. He went through each ritual, performed the dance of the Spirits, and taught her of the Indian ways. She learned quickly.
He taught her about the Dream Catcher and all the magic that he knew. It was a lot to soak in, but somehow Katherine began to understand. He taught her about the herbs and the medicines used for centuries by his people.
Katherine pleased him with her growing knowledge. He taught her of the sweat lodge, and meditation, and the religion of the people. She listened intently.
And then on the second day he brought a sick child into the wigwam and put the child before her. The little boy was raging with fever. At first Katherine felt the old panic welling inside her. Just the word fever could drive her insane but Burning Tree took her hands and prayed and they danced and they used every magic trick. Then Katherine began to notice that he breathed much better when the air was damp, so she closed the wigwam tight and boiled water in the center of it and created a steaming room for the child. At first the child coughed and sputtered a lot, and it seemed not to work at all. But before nightfall the child broke into a sweat and the fever began to break.
Burning Tree nodded his approval and smiled.
Her medicine worked and everyone in camp knew about her success. So more and more were brought to her to cure.
Katherine sat inside with them, breathed the same air as them, and didn't get sick, and broke their fevers.
She mixed a few herbs with the steam and made it more pleasant inside. There was one girl who was pregnant and expecting soon, and her fever was bad. Katherine held her hand through the night till the fever broke. Roused from sleep, the entire camp celebrated.
Chase smiled to himself when he heard the news.
Katherine missed him. She was alone with a people she barely knew and was confused by their quick acceptance of her. Most of them spoke some English and that pleased her. For she knew very few words in Shawnee.
When White Feather, Chase's mother came to see her, she felt shy at first.
"I am so happy for you and my son…," she said, as she hugged her.
"Is he happy?" Katherine asked.
His mother laughed. "No man is happy when the woman he loves is kept from him for three whole days. He's miserable. But he is making your home, and it is beautiful and you will love it. It sits beside a stream and there is much that grows on the land. Chase has all kinds of plans for you."
Katherine felt her own excitement building. But she'd have felt
