She took in his answers without showing much of her thoughts on her face. She couldn’t be older than twenty, if that, yet she possessed a maturity, an intelligence, that many people twice her age couldn’t boast. In his experience, that usually either came from being surrounded by wise counsel, or by simply learning wisdom the hard way, living through heartache and challenges.
He brushed the bits of wood from his design as he watched her. In truth, her beauty made studying her a pleasure. But he mostly looked for signs of her thoughts.
At last, she looked ready to speak. “You can give me directions, though?” She seemed to be attempting the shrewd look of someone negotiating, but her innocence—the sweetness cloaking her—belied the impression.
“How about if I take you there myself? My mule, Gulliver, makes a sturdy mount in the snow. That way you won’t have to worry about veering off course.” The trip would put him afew days behind the schedule he’d planned, but there was no way he could send this woman off on foot alone. Especially to the fort. Those rough trappers likely hadn’t seen a white woman in months or years. Some might be decent to her, but others ... He couldn’t tolerate the thought.
But Miss Durand shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. I’d appreciate you pointing me in the right direction and mentioning any landmarks you can remember. But if you’d rather not, I’ll find my way.”
He had to press his mouth shut to hold in what he wanted to say about such nonsense. He knew better than to argue with a woman who looked as stubborn as she did right now.
He held his tongue, worked a few more minutes on his carving, then added more wood to the fire and stretched out to bed down.
Tomorrow would be soon enough for the battle of wills. And knowing this wilderness as he was coming to, there might be a whole new set of challenges when they looked out the cave opening in the light of day.
Three more days until the anniversary of Michelle’s death.
The reminder hit its mark before Damien even opened his eyes for the day. She’d been his first thought upon waking for a long time now, first because of her sickness, and then because the crushing weight of grief made it hard to push aside his blankets each morning.
The clink of metal against stone snapped his eyes open. In an instant, everything came back to him. The cave. Thewoman, who even now was nursing new flame from the coals of their campfire.
He pushed himself upright, swiping a hand down his face. He shouldn’t have slept later than she did, but the darkness of the cave must have tricked his body into thinking night had lasted longer. He cleared the gravel from his throat. “Have you been outside yet?”
She shook her head. “Didn’t see any light from the opening, so I thought I’d get the fire started before I retrieve snow to make water.” Her voice held no remnants of sleep. How long had she been awake?
He blinked to clear the morning fog from his vision, then pushed his blankets aside and reached for the pot. “I’ll get it.”
Surprisingly, she allowed him. Maybe her strong will was softening.
The chill in the air as he started down the long corridor grew colder as the faint glow of morning widened in the opening ahead. When he’d crawled the final distance to stare out at the white world around them, snow blanketed the land as far as he could see, including a layer over the lake. That meant there must be ice crusting the water, though likely not thick enough to hold much weight yet.
At least no more flakes fell from above. The clouds still hung heavy and low enough that they might release another round of snowfall before the day’s end. Would it be safe to start out with Miss Durand?
The cave they were in now would be the best place to wait out another snowfall, but he had a feeling Miss Durand wouldn’t be willing to delay her journey.
He did his best to picture the route in his mind. He could think of no caves between here and there, but he’d only beenthrough that territory once. He’d been part of a larger group, so he’d not paid attention to the landscape like he would when riding alone.
He leaned out the opening and peered up to the top of the cliff. He needed to check on Gulliver this morning, either way. Those hand and footholds would be icy—and cold.
After filling the pot to overflowing, he maneuvered his way back down the passage. One thing he wouldn’t miss about this cave was the crawling and ducking required to traverse the tunnel.
When he reached the cavern, Miss Durand took the pot from him and nestled it by the fire. “It’s not snowing anymore?” She didn’t spare him a glance with the question, and her tone sounded brusque. Had he somehow already vexed her this morning?
“The snow’s stopped for now, though the sky looks like it might start again any time.”
Her brow wrinkled as she put something into the melting snow. “As soon as I get this cooking, I’ll be heading out.”
He eyed her, doing his best to think through what he’d said or done that would make her run off so quickly. It might just be her desire to get on the trail before more snow fell, but her manner gave the distinct impression he’d raised her ire. This was why he’d left Arsenault’s group. He was no good for people anymore, even when he made an effort.
“Can I ... do anything to help you?” Sometimes an offer of assistance had helped when Michelle would get in a bad mood. Though that was rare—she’d had the patience of an angel.
Miss Durand shook her head. Then, after a heartbeat, she seemed to change her mind. “The only thing I need fromyou is a description of the route to Fort Versailles. If you still refuse to give it, I can manage on my own.”
Her words twisted into confusion in his mind. He’d not refused to give her directions; they simply hadn’t finished the conversation the night before. Maybe she’d assumed that meant no.
Sinking down on his bed pallet, he let out a breath. “I didn’t mean to give you the impression I wouldn’t help. I thought we’d talk through the plan this morning. I can give you directions to the fort, although I’ve only been that route once, so I may not remember all the landmarks. I would recognize them as I go, though, even covered in snow. I need to make a trip to the fort for supplies, so we might as well travel together. There’s strength in numbers, especially in this wilderness, and if we’re going to the same place, it only makes sense.” One could always use supplies, so his words were true enough. “Besides, the men at the fort can be a bit ... unruly. I’m not sure it would be safe for a woman alone there.”
Her mouth was still pressed into a thin line, but after a moment, she glanced at him. “I thought you said you were headed west, that you just split off from your group a few days ago.” Definite suspicion in her tone, but there also seemed to be something else. Like teasing?
