“Settle?” What did he mean by that?
“The bairn. Ye will need to find a home for her.”
Eleanor was done with this conversation. There was nothing left to discuss. She had no intention of marrying Chait, nor to give Miriam away. But if she told him, he would only grow angry again and do something she would regret for the rest of her life. She needed time—but how much time would she need? And what, exactly, was she waiting for? Word from Arran? Directions for her to follow?
“I will let ye go now,” Chait said with a slight bow. “But I will speak to the priest on our behalf and ask that he stay for anotherday or two. In that time, I fully expect you to be rid of the bairn.” He looked at her expectantly.
What could she do? If she disagreed with him, he’d ruin her.
She did the only thing she could. She nodded, slightly, and then left. She walked quickly, and then began to run. Tears threatened to fall. Where was Arran? Would she ever see him again? How would she protect herself from Chait? She could not tell Mr. Barlas what he’d said—the man was Chait’s friend. He would never believe Eleanor over Chait. All the men she had known and trusted in the settlement were either gone or dead. Arran, James, Governor Semple, William, and Angus. The others she only knew by name.
“Lord,” her heart cried. “Please deliver me.” It was all she could pray. All her battered heart could whisper.
So many of her prayers had been unanswered this past year, she could hardly find the faith to believe this one might be heard.
Chapter Twenty-One
September 16, 1816
Arran opened his eyes. Nothing had awoken him but the stirrings of his own heart. Stars sparkled overhead, while the silhouette of tall pine trees pointed to the heavens. The fire had long been extinguished, but smoke still spiraled up into the early morning hours.
It was too early to wake the others, but Arran could not force himself to return to sleep. They were just a day’s journey away from Jack River House and the last thing he wanted was to waste his time sleeping. The sooner they woke and left camp, the sooner they could reach the settlers.
“I hear you,” James said quietly beside Arran. He was wrapped up in a Hudson’s Bay Company blanket, his head toward the campfire. All eighteen men slept this way, like spokes of a wagon wheel. “You canna sleep?”
Arran turned onto his back and stared up at the stars. “Nay.”
“You’ve only been sleeping three or four hours a night. You canna keep on this way. You’ll get sick and then what good will you be to Eleanor?”
Eleanor. Arran placed his hand over his heart as he closed his eyes. Warmth filled his chest and his stomach turned with nerves born of eagerness. Would he be by her side at this time tomorrow? He had no way of knowing if she was even still alive—though his heart told him she was. He could almost feel her in his arms, even now. Dreams of their wedding and life together had kept him going these many months since they were forced to part. For four years, he’d longed for her. Could it be that he only had to wait one more day?
“I canna sleep.” Energy coursed through Arran’s arms and legs. “I have a mind to go the rest of the way on my own. I wouldna have to wait—”
“’Tis safer to be in the company of others. There’s still a mark on your head. If you fell into the wrong hand—”
“I dinna care about anyone’s hands but Eleanor’s.” He lifted himself onto his side and looked at James. “I’ll take the lightest canoe.”
“And paddle all that way on your own?”
“I have the energy of five men coursing through me today.”
James sighed and sat up. “You ken ‘tis only three in the morning?”
Arran also sat and shrugged. “I dinna care.”
With another sigh, James began to roll up his mat.
“What are you doing?” Arran asked.
“I’m not letting you go by yourself, that’s for sure. And I ken you well enough. You’ve made up your mind to go. If I go back to sleep, I’ll wake up in a few hours and find you’ve gone.”
Arran smiled. His friend did know him well.
“So, let’s be off.” James secured the bed mat in a roll and fastened it to his knapsack with the leather straps on the bottom.
“And what of the others?”
“Most of them are surprised you dinna leave on your own already. When they wake up, they’ll realize what happened.”
