CHAPTER ONE
The Season When the Grass Becomes Green
St. Louis, Missouri
March 1840
As nineteen-year-old Amelia McIntosh scanned the contents of her trunk, she rejoiced. After an entire year of planning this trip, the day had finally arrived: she was returning to the Northwest Indian Country. Only her sister and her mother knew of her intentions, and they had sworn their allegiance to her, promising to not tell her father about what she had arranged until it was too late.
She smiled as she reached out a hand to trail her fingers over her several pairs of slippers and silk stockings; so pretty, so delicate. These lay at the bottom of her trunk. Picking up two muslin chemises, she placed these on top of the slippers and stockings. Then, reaching out to gather together an assortment of corsets and stays, as well as petticoats and garter belts, she gently folded these on top of the rest. Even a few pairs of trousers followed; these would be useful for wearing under her skirts whenever she felt inclined to take a stroll over the prairie.
On top of these, she laid out her many beautiful dresses, neatly folded. There was one in green velvet, another in blue silk as well as a pink dress made of satinet. But, her favorite was the dress of yellow silk. It was beautifully low-cut, emphasizing a tiny "V"-shaped waistline. And, it showed off her figure to perfection.Thiswas the dress she would wear to seehimagain.
Looking up, she glanced out her bedroom window, beholding the neighbors' several cows grazing in the field that adjoined her parents' property. In the distance, she could clearly see corn and wheat fields stretching on and on into the distance, seemingly without end.
She sighed. Nothing ever happened here. At least nothing that helped to cure her of the longing to be out West, where every sunset was a work of God's beauty and where the weather could change in a second. Indian Country… Gray Falcon was there. She wanted to be there with him.
Silently she said, "I am coming back to the Northwest to see you—as well as my sister and her husband, of course." She didn't say the words aloud. Indeed, she spoke to Gray Falcon with her mind alone, not expecting him to answer, since he only sometimes "spoke" back to her.
"I know," answered Gray Falcon.
His response surprised her, given that she had not anticipated a reply. For five years they had communicated with one another in this way—mind to mind. And, the distance between them hadn't mattered. The only drawback was that he rarely originated their little talks. And, not always did he even answer her, although whenever he didn’t, he assured her afterward he had "heard" her well enough.
She sighed and said in the mind talk, "I am now grown up and ready to meet you again."
"I know. I am glad you reached out to me, for I have been wishing to speak to you."
"You could always begin the conversation yourself, instead of waiting for me to contact you."
She almost heard him grin. "I should not encourage you. You are already too forward for a girl. My message to you is this: you must not travel alone."
"I am not. My best friend and her fiancé are accompanying me."
"Does your father know you are traveling into my country?"
"No."
"And your mother?"
"She is not here. But, if she were, she would not try to stop me. Indeed, it is she who suggested I travel to see you…and to visit with my sister, also."
"Why would she recommend this to you?"
"Because I have had several proposals of marriage, but have turned them all away. My mother is a little upset with me." Deliberately, she refused to think of the real reason her mother and father were "a little" upset with her. It would serve no purpose to tell him, and it might even hinder her if Gray Falcon knew the rest of the truth behind this trip.
"Several proposals? Of marriage?"
"As I mentioned, I am now grown up."
"Why have you turned them down?"
"Because I do not love those men. Don't play innocent with me, Gray Falcon. You know I love only you. I have done so since the first time I ever saw you, and you know it. I have not changed. But, my mother thinks I should renew our friendship, for she believes only in this way might I change my mind about your culture and about you." There, that was all she would communicate on the matter. Again, she kept the other motive for returning to Northwest carefully hidden within her thoughts. Besides, she had always known she would return there to see him. She was not lying to him about this, nor that she loved him and would always love him.
"Renew our friendship? Surely she is not seeking for us to come to know each other in a physical way, is she?"
"Don't be silly. Of course she is not. She hopes that I will come to see your world as primitive, and, realizing it is so, will give up my wish to marry you. The truth is, she seeks to bring peace between me and my father, which will happen only if I give up my dreams of spending the rest of my life with you. She tells me she doubts her plans for me will fail, for she believes either I shall soon tire of you, or you of me."
He didn't answer. At last, however, he said in the thought speech, "Why do you tell me this?"
