Into the Wilderness (25 page)

"Stay
down!" He scanned the trees warily, struggling all the while to keep her
next to him.

"But
somebody
shot
at you," she said
finally, when she realized that he would not let her go.

"Ain't
the first time," he said grimly. "Probably not the last, either.
Although I will admit it was a bit close for comfort."

There
was an awkward pause, and then Nathaniel smiled. "By God, Elizabeth, what
did you mean to do? Grab him by the ear and drag him back to the judge?"

Elizabeth
looked surprised. "I don't know what I was thinking," she said.
"I didn't think anybody would shoot at me, I suppose."

"Well,
you may be right about that," Nathaniel said dryly. "Whoever it was
is long gone, at any rate." And he stood and pulled Elizabeth to her feet,
brushing snow and debris from her overcoat. She reached up and touched his
cheek again.

"Who
would do such a thing? We have to find out."

"Elizabeth!"
Nathaniel's hands rose to clench her shoulders. "Don't tell anybody about
this. Not anybody."

Elizabeth
blinked up at him.

"I
ain't hurt," Nathaniel said, more gently. "And it's not time to bring
things to a head yet."

She
began to tremble then, and he slid an arm around her while he watched the
riverbank over her head.

"It's
all right," he said. "Everything is all right. They're long gone.
Nothing more to fear."

Elizabeth
was thankful for Nathaniel's solid presence and his calm: it was comforting to
have his arms around her. Right at this moment, more frightened than she cared
to admit to herself, Elizabeth found Nathaniel's gentle murmurings, the light
touch of his hands on her hair, and his utter competence more seductive than
any embrace could have been. She let herself relax against him, and soon
stopped trembling.

Nathaniel
pulled away a little, observing Elizabeth closely. He smoothed a hand over her
hair one last time and managed a grim smile.

"There's
blood on your cheek," he said, rubbing the spot softly with his thumb, his
fingers threading into the hair above her ear. Then Nathaniel dipped his head
and brushed her mouth with his lips.

"I
promised not to do that," he said. "But maybe you'll make allowances,
under the circumstances."

Elizabeth's
face lost its stunned look, and she stepped away looking as if she had just
woken up.

They
walked away from the schoolhouse in silence. Glancing back, Elizabeth saw the
outline of the foundation in the little clearing, the curve of the stream as it
disappeared into Half Moon Lake. A beautiful spot, but she wondered if she
could ever approach it again without thinking of what had almost happened
today.

Nathaniel
was walking along beside her silently, his attention shifting from side to
side, his rifle cradled easily in his hands. For a few minutes they didn't talk
at all.

"This
must be about Hidden Wolf," Elizabeth said slowly.

Nathaniel
shrugged. "Likely as not," he said. "But men have been known to
take out after each other on account of a woman on occasion."

As
shaken as she was, Elizabeth had to laugh out loud. "You don't think this
was about me, do you? That seems very unlikely indeed." The idea that men
could want her enough to shoot at each other was strange and upsetting, and she
got no satisfaction from it at all. She was afraid to look at Nathaniel, afraid
to see what might be on his face.

"I'll
tell you what I think," Nathaniel said in a low voice. "I think that
Richard Todd wants Hidden Wolf, and the quickest way to it is through
you."

Then
he stopped, and glancing around, Nathaniel took Elizabeth by the arm and pulled
her into the deep blue shadows of a stand of pine.

Elizabeth
looked up and found Nathaniel's face just inches from her own, so that she
started and dropped her gaze.

"Now,"
Nathaniel continued. "We need Hidden Wolf. There's no denying that.
Otherwise we'll have to move on up into the wilderness where folks will let us
be."

"So
you are in the same position as Richard is," Elizabeth said numbly.

Nathaniel's
hands tightened on her upper arms until she gave in and looked up, and then he
held on to her gaze and refused to let her look away. "Listen, now.
Richard wants the mountain and he'll take you to get it."

Elizabeth
tried to drop her head but he put a finger under her chin to lift it and looked
her directly in the eye.

"I
want you," he said.

A
warm rush of breath left Elizabeth. She could smell him, the oil on his skin.
Leather and sweat and blood.

"I
wake up wanting you and go to sleep wanting you," Nathaniel murmured,
pulling her shoulders up to him so that her head fell back and the arch of her
neck rose to meet him. "Elizabeth. I want you as much as I want to
breathe, but I need the mountain."

"Then
the end result is the same."

"No."
His eyes moved over her. "But the lack of you won't kill me outright. If
you decide you won't have me. That's in your hands. But without Hidden Wolf we
can't survive."

Elizabeth
inhaled, and her voice sounded very small and strange to her own ears.

"And
my father won't sell it to you. How much did Chingachgook offer him?"

"One
dollar seventy—five cents an acre.

Elizabeth's
head snapped up and her mouth fell open in a little circlet of surprise.
"That's almost two thousand dollars. Where in heaven's name how—" She
thought of the turkey shoot, and the fact that there hadn't been an extra
shilling between Nathaniel and Hawkeye.

"It's
none of my business," she said finally. Nathaniel inclined his head.
"I can't tell you about that right now."

"But
I can't believe my father would turn down such an offer!"

"Well,
he did," Nathaniel said. "When Richard Todd offered him two dollars.
You have to think, Elizabeth, that out near the big lakes, land is going for
forty cents the acre."

Her
head was down while she thought. "There's something else at stake
here," she said. "If the prices are so high."

"You
could say that," Nathaniel agreed.

She
looked up, very businesslike. "You need another two hundred dollars,
then." Elizabeth pulled away a little. "I could give you that much,
or loan it to you if you prefer."

Nathaniel
shook his head. "I don't think there's much use. Todd will just up his
offer."

"How
does Richard have so much cash at his disposal?" Elizabeth asked. "I
don't understand."

"Well,"
Nathaniel said grimly. "It don't hurt to have a bachelor uncle who owns
half of Albany leave you everything when he dies. And Todd is a clever man with
a dollar."

The
questions racing through Elizabeth's mind would not stand still long enough for
her to give them voice.

"Something
must be done to stop Richard," she said softly, mostly to herself.

The
graze on Nathaniel's cheek had stopped bleeding, but a bruise was rising.
Elizabeth registered the intensity of his level gaze, the slow flutter of his
eyelids, the sheen of sweat on his brow, and it occurred to her that to have
him so very close was to put aside all ability to reason clearly.

"Perhaps—"
she began. "Perhaps there's some
other
way," she said. "If you give me a little time to think about
it."

She
turned away and started up the path again, and this time Nathaniel followed.

* * *

Just
before the woods opened up to the Southerns' homestead, Nathaniel caught
Elizabeth's hand to make her stop.

"Can
you get on by yourself now?" he asked. "I don't want to be
seen."

Without
warning, a wave of homesickness for England washed over Elizabeth. It had never
occurred to her that she would so soon yearn for the overprotective attentions
of her aunt, who would not let her walk two miles to the village by herself if
the weather was wet. She didn't want Nathaniel to leave her.

"I'll
be fine," she said, but heard her voice shaking.

Nathaniel
glanced around them and then touched her face.

"You're
a brave one," he said. "My mother would have liked you, English or
not."

"I'm
all bluff." Elizabeth said, managing a sour grin. "Haven't you seen
through me yet?"

"Oh,
I see more than you think. I saw you run off after that shooter, didn't
I?" But Nathaniel dropped his hand from her face. "Did Many-Doves
tell you I'm going with the women to the Midwinter Ceremony?"

"She
said you'd be gone a week."

"You
think you might miss me a little?"

Elizabeth
squinted up at him. He had undergone one of his transformations: now all trace
of his fury and cautiousness were gone. It was an amazing talent he possessed,
and she wondered if it could be learned.

"I
don't see much of you as it is," she said, trying to match his tone.
Elizabeth bit her lip, knowing how familiar this sounded, and what it gave
away.

Nathaniel
glanced around them again, and swung his rifle to its accustomed place across
his back. "So maybe you will miss me a little."

"No,"
said Elizabeth. "I won't miss you at all, because I won't be here. Julian
wants to go to Johnstown for a few days."

Nathaniel
looked down at her in surprise. "Where did he come up with that idea? Did
somebody tell him about Midwinter afternoons at Trees—Standing—in—Water?"

It
was Elizabeth's turn to look puzzled. "There's games played after the
morning ceremonies," Nathaniel explained. "Some pretty serious wagering
goes on, even the whites come to watch."

"But
where is—Trees—Standing—in—Water?"

"The
whites call it Barktown. Just about ten miles short of Johnstown, after you
leave the Sacandaga. On the Big Vly."

"And
there are games. I see," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "Well, I wasn't
sure about going along with Julian, but now I fear that I must.
Nathaniel," she said, "you'll watch out for yourself?"

"I
have no intention of getting myself killed, if that's what you mean."
Nathaniel shifted his weight suddenly and stepped away.

"Moses
Southern is coming this way," he said under his breath. "Don't be
startled, now."

Elizabeth
fixed her face in a friendly but neutral smile and turned as Moses approached.
He had a fishing net draped over his shoulder, and he kept on walking, barely
nodding to the two of them in response to Elizabeth's greeting.

"Got
better things to do than stand and gab in the snow," he mumbled.

"So
do we all." Nathaniel nodded. "I best be getting on home." Then,
when Moses was well past, he lowered his head toward Elizabeth and whispered.
"Remember, nothing about what happened at the schoolhouse."

"Will
I see you in Johnstown?" she asked, trying not to let her voice creak with
the effort it took to ask this question.

"I
hope so," Nathaniel said. "But that would be up to you.

"What
good luck!" Katherine called out suddenly over her breakfast, waving the
newspaper in Elizabeth's direction.

At
the start of the third full day in Katherine's company, Elizabeth's patience
with the younger woman's sudden shifts of mood was wearing fragile, but now she
put down her teacup and tried to look intrigued.

"What's
that, then?"

From
across the table, their hostess caught Elizabeth's eye and smiled kindly.

"You'll
have to come visit with Kitty more often," Mrs. Bennett said. "She
brings such enthusiasm with her, and you are the heart of serenity. You
complement each other well. Don't you think so, Mr. Bennett?"

Caught
unawares, Mr. Bennett looked up from his own newspaper with puzzled expression.
"Of course," he said. "I couldn't agree more."

Katherine
jumped up from her place to put her arms around Mrs. Bennett. "What a dear
friend you are," she said. "I would be here with you always if I
could."

Elizabeth
smiled her thanks for her portion of the compliment, but she made no promises
about further visits. The Bennetts were kind people, hospitable and generous
with the considerable comforts of their home, but Elizabeth was wishing herself
back in Paradise. They had spent a full day in Johnstown and, in Elizabeth's
opinion, exhausted its charms.

But
as much as she would like to be away home, Elizabeth was not looking forward
especially to the journey, as it would require another full day alone with
Katherine. The trip to Johnstown had been difficult: it took some time for
Katherine to come to accept the idea that Elizabeth had asked someone else—and
an Indian woman no less—to assist at her school, and she had been distant and
indignant for most of the journey, turning around constantly to see if Julian,
who followed on horseback, was within hailing distance. Elizabeth knew that
they were once again on friendly speaking terms not because Katherine had come
to some understanding or appreciation of Elizabeth's motives, but simply
because she was so very pleased to be in town that she could not stay in a
temper. She didn't even seem to mind Julian's absence, although he had spent
not a half hour with them since they had arrived.