She nodded as she considered it. “It looks perfect. I’ll remove the stitches for you.”
She opened her bag and rummaged around until she produced a bottle of her family’s special cleaning tonic. Andrew’s nervous energy left him unable to remain silent.
“Say, that stuff is rather remarkable. I wonder if you might sell me several bottles. We often have wounds onboard, and I believe it would be a good thing to keep in stock.”
“I can do that,” Miss Kenner replied, returning to the bag for something else. She finally brought out a pair of tweezers and scissors, as well as a small piece of cloth. “There, now we can proceed. Do you have a clean towel?”
“Ah ... yes.” He reached into the cupboard behind him. “It’s not very large.”
“That’s all right. I just need it so I can clean up.” She spread the towel over the counter, then carefully poured a little of the fluid over her scissors and tweezers. She finished by doing the same with her hands. When she seemed satisfied, she looked up and smiled. “I’m ready if you are.”
He nodded and watched as her delicate fingers made easy work of removing the sutures. He couldn’t help but wonder at this stranger. Why wasn’t she married with a family of her own?
“What does your beau think of you working as a physician and helping strange men?” he asked.
Miss Kenner laughed, something Andrew hadn’t anticipated. “You don’t seem all that strange to me,” she replied.
He smiled. “I meant that in the sense of us being strangers.”
“But we’re not. You’re the captain of theMorning Star, and I’m the woman who nearly painlessly stitched your arm.”
“Painless? You thought that was painless?”
She laughed again. “See there? I’m learning more about you by the minute. And to reciprocate, I am not married.”
“Might I ask why not? I mean, you’re still in your youth and not hard on the eyes.”
“I’m thirty. Quite the spinster, I’ll have you know.” She cleaned her instruments again, then put them back in her bag. Her intense blue eyes seemed to flash with amusement as she met his gaze.
“Yes, I can see that.” He smiled. She did have the most remarkable way of putting him at ease.
Just then the door opened. “Sorry. I didn’t see you had a visitor.”
“That’s all right.” Andrew motioned the old Indian man into the room. “Come and formally meet the woman who stitched me up. Miss Kenner, this is Benjamin Littlefoot, but most folks call him Ben. He’s from the Nez Perce tribe.”
“Ben.” She nodded and extended her hand. “I’m pleased to meet you.” To both men’s surprise, she spoke in Nez Perce.
The old man’s face lit up, and he replied in kind. “You speak my tongue. How can this be?”
“I can speak numerous dialects. I learned as a girl. My uncle Alex has a dear friend who is Nez Perce, and when he visited, I’d ask him to give me lessons.”
“I’m very glad to meet you,” Ben replied, still smiling. “I seldom hear my tongue spoken anymore, and never so beautifully.”
Andrew couldn’t help but pipe up at this. “I speak to you allthe time.” He saw the surprise on Faith’s face. “I, too, speak several languages, including French, Spanish, and Chinook Wawa, or Jargon, if you’d rather.” The latter was the trade language among the Indian nations.
Miss Kenner nodded. “That’s marvelous. I speak those as well. We three can tell many secrets, in multiple languages.”
Andrew frowned but raised a hand to scratch his beard and hide his reaction. Hopefully Miss Kenner hadn’t noticed. Secrets were always dangerous to tell, and he knew far too many to be comfortable with such an idea.
“It is best to guard the secrets,” the old man said, sounding a bit sad. “There is much trouble in this land.” He slipped from the wheelhouse without another word.
“He’s right, of course,” Miss Kenner agreed.
“He usually is.”
Miss Kenner seemed deep in thought. “The newspaper this morning referenced the trouble with the Utes and Shoshone last year while expanding on the current problems with Victorio and his Apaches in the Southwest. But while Victorio is a fierce leader, he is mainly trying to keep his people from being forced onto the reservation, where they will have to live with their enemies. No one wants to live with their enemies.”
“The same could be said for the whites with the Indians.”
