"And you judge me by your white husband? Is that not true…" He smiled into her face. "No Indian maiden kisses like you do. I cannot show my feelings to you all the time because I promised to let you go in the spring if you want. But I do not want you to run away either. You could get hurt or die!"
"I don't understand what you expect from me. I feel I am doing everything wrong. I fear you will make me leave your camp. And I don't know where to go. I have no place to go to." She whirled away from him. "Show me what I'm doing so wrong!"
He caught her and shook his head. "You know very well, how to kiss Hannah, because you kiss with your heart. You do nothing wrong. I walk away because I must."
"If I pleased you, you would not walk away. I know you did not like it. Perhaps I am not being a proper slave to you. I don't know what you want of me."
"You are not my slave, Hannah. You are nebii'o'oo. But," he raked his hand through his hair and turned away. "I too worry about your husband. He is between us, always. Even I know this."
"I do not love Liam." She said solemnly. She came closer now. "You do not know what he has done to me, or you would know this."
"Perhaps, but you respect the fact that he married you. I cannot respect it because I know you did not love him. This marriage stands between us."
"Then why didn't you let me leave?" She cried. "I ran away because I don't understand my own feelings, much less yours. You confuse me. Liam is not between us, only the law is between us."
Suddenly, he turned away again. Then he whirled around at her. "The first time I kissed you, I knew."
"Knew what?" she asked innocently.
But they were interrupted by the chief who came inside now. "We must leave now. The Apache will attack us now. They are starving and need our food, we must go, they will steel everything. Will you go with us?"
"Where will you go?" Lone Wolf was shocked.
"West, farther west."
"Then it is time for us to return home. You have helped us and been good to us. But it is time to go home."
"Then may the Great Spirit lead you." The chief told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
When the chief left Lone Wolf turned back to her. "We will talk of this another time. We must pack up and leave today. I must find Deer Runner and Black Feather."
She nodded. "I'll pack up."
She wanted to believe that Lone Wolf cared for her, but she was sure she overstepped herself. Responding to an Indian's kiss, could that be wrong? She couldn't stop herself. When he kissed her, her body reacted to the kiss? She liked the feel of his lips on hers. She liked that he was tender and gentle with her. She could do no less. He'd been good to her, taken care of her, treated her decently. But she could not mess this up now. He might send her away and then what would she do? She realized she did not want to go away from him now. That scared her, for what if he no longer wanted her here? He had opened something in her heart and she could not plug it up and forget it now.
Why did she respond to his kisses and not Liam's? Perhaps for a married white woman that was wrong. But Lone Wolf was so gentle with her, and his kisses ignited a fire inside her body that she'd never known before. How did one not respond to that? Despite the fact that she had learned and had began to fit into the Indian world, it was still mysterious to her. As Indian reacted differently than white people. At least the white people she knew.
Was she shameful for responding so?
She wished they could have continued their conversation, but there was no time to fret about it now. They had to leave.
She was still his slave and she must remember her place. Perhaps if she could remember that, all would be well again.
It wasn't the time to talk about their problems. She was just as concerned as Lone Wolf about the Apaches. Apache and Comanches were to be feared as they could be ruthless.
What Lone Wolf said came to mind now, Liam was between them. The law itself was between them. For it was the law that forbid her being with another. But she told Lone Wolf she didn't love her husband. Still, she could not marry as it would be against the law.
Gathering their belongings, she packed the horses and when Black Feather returned she helped.
As they headed north once more they came upon a town that was ravaged by the savages, women and children were slain and left in the streets. Buildings were smashed and destroyed. They set fire to the entire town. They saw the destruction. The stench of death was heavy.
"The Apache do not want to give into reservations and live as slaves to the white man." Lone Wolf told them. "I have not seen such a battle. Cochise will fight to the death"
"Cochise, who is he?" Hannah asked.
"The greatest of the Apache chiefs. He will not relent. He will fight."
"When Indians go to war, sometimes they travel far to other tribes to get them to