"I mean, because we would not be married, there would be no obligations of you as a wife for her husband…no physical activity between us. There would only be the work. You can quickly discover, then, if you like it, or if not, perhaps you might like to make arrangements to return back to the white man's village as soon as you can."
"Oh. Would you expect me to also live in your lodge?"
"Saa, no.It would not be right to do so, for we would not be married. Only married men and women live together. You would live here, next to your sister."
"Oh, I see. And yet, I would do all the work of a wife? And, for you?"
"Áa." The expression on his face was so blank, she had no way to read his thoughts.
"Without being your wife?"
"Áa."
"And, you wish me to do this work and decide the matter quickly and then leave with all possible speed?"
"Áa."
"You are not fooling me. I know what you are doing."
He didn't say a word. He didn't even look at her.
"You are hoping I will find the work unpleasant and so difficult that I will leave here in a matter of a few weeks. This is true, isn't it?"
He glanced at her as though shocked and placed a hand over his breast as though to exclaim, "I?"
"Yes, you. Do you hate me so much?"
"I do not hate you. I am fond of you. We are friends."
"But, in all this time, have you not ever felt a connection…like love…for me? You know how I feel about you, but you have never told me anything about your affections toward me, if you even have any. Is this why you are hastening me to leave?"
He didn't answer her question for a long, overdrawn moment. At length, he said, "You ask me what I cannot tell you."
"Why not? I thought—when we used to talk mind to mind—that you actually cared for me."
"Of course I care for you. We have long been allies."
"It's my father and his threats to you, isn't it? This is why you wish me to leave here with all possible speed."
"Saa."
"Then, it's my mother who encouraged me to come here and put my infatuation with you to rest."
"Saa,it is not." He quickly shook his head.
"Then, it's me, isn't it? You are constantly lecturing me on my bad behavior. Is it because of this that you dislike me so much you wish me to leave with all due haste?"
"I do not dislike you."
She sighed. He wasn't going to enlighten her one way or the other. Gazing at him with a critical eye, she said, "I feel like I'm trying to milk a she-wolf."
He smiled.
"You can be very dangerous, Mr. Falcon, and also very exasperating."
"I do not know this word."
"It means that your answers are tending to make me annoyed."
