"Have I told you that we—my fiancé and I—were speaking of marrying one another while we are here in the West? At least we have discussed the possibility of saying our vows to each other here and later sanctifying our marriage before a man of the cloth. Would it not be exciting? To marry and spend our honeymoon in the wilds of Indian Country?"
"I can't think of any better place. I am so very happy for you both. I only hope my fate might be as pleasing as yours. But…"
Sharon paused. "How long has it been since you have seenhim?"
Amelia didn't even pretend to misunderstand, especially because Sharon was her best friend and so knew about Gray Falcon. "It has been five years. And, a very long five years it has been for me."
Another long pause followed. At last, Sharon said, "How did you ever come to fall in love with him? I have seen the Indians on this ship, and, though some of them are quite handsome, I would never wish to be in the company of any one of them. I am afraid if I ever were to fall in love with one of them, I would still be ever watchful."
"Wait until you see him. Then you will know how I came to find myself in love with him. But, it is not as though he and I are destined to marry, I fear. This trip is as much to determine if my love for him is strong enough to withstand the differences between us. After all, the life of an Indian wife is not one of leisure. And, then there are his ideas about us to consider, for he thinks of me as a girl—and probably a maddening, little girl—instead of a woman. We were friends once, and he helped me through a very hard time in my life. But, as he has told me on numerous occasions, he does not think of me in any kind of romantic way. Indeed, he has stressed he wishes to be on no more than a friendly acquaintance with me."
"But, he hasn't seen you in five years. Perhaps once he witnesses the beautiful woman you have become, he will change his mind and fall madly in love with you."
Amelia glanced at her friend, and, by seemingly mutual consent, they both broke out with giggles.
Straightening away from the railing, Amelia said, "I have other reasons for returning here, but I cannot speak of them. Indeed, I am not certain it would be good if he fell in love with me. Perhaps his indifference toward me is good in many ways."
"Why?"
"I am sorry. I cannot say more about it. It isn't because I wouldn't wish to tell you, if I could. But, I fear it is a family matter."
"Oh," murmured Sharon, who looked suddenly sad. But, after a moment, she appeared to recover and said, "I am sorry to bring up a subject which I can see is one of displeasure. Excuse me."
Amelia smiled. "It is nothing. Indeed, he will probably send me home packing. He has always claimed he is no more than a friend; also—and this is true—he never showed any interest in me outside of being an acquaintance, and this he has not been reluctant to tell me."
"Imagine…being friends with an Indian warrior," said Sharon. "I think I would be forever worried."
"Oh, I don't think you would be. The Indians are like us in many ways, except their culture is different, and they look at life in an uncommon way. But, Gray Falcon came into my life when I had no one to turn to, and, although he was, at first, hesitant to help me, he eventually did. And, now we are tied…somehow. Plus, there are times when I think the bond between us goes beyond a simple feeling of friendship—at least for me it does. I fear I love him very much." She frowned and paused for a moment, and, as she did so, images from the past few weeks sprang up in her mind, haunting her. At length, however, she continued, "Yet, if I cannot cure myself of this desire to have Gray Falcon permanently in my life, I will forever have failed my mother and father, and, so you see, I must try to put him out of my life. And, if I might ever do it, I will then be obliged to return to St. Louis where my fate, I fear, is to marry someone besides Gray Falcon. My mother hopes I will settle down in St. Louis."
"You? Settle down?"
Amelia grinned. "It is possible."
"Perhaps, if there is a man back home whom you like. Is there one?"
Amelia bit her lip. She didn't wish to lie to Sharon, and so she skirted the question, saying instead, "Personally, I don't wish to be with anyone else but Gray Falcon. However, I also cannot picture myself slaving over the tanning of skins and throwing away my beautiful dresses." She sighed before adding, "I admit my mother may have a point. Still, would I give it all up if he truly loved me? Oh, how I wish I could, but…"
Again Sharon lapsed into silence. It was some moments before she continued, saying, "Perhaps she is right, as you say. But, maybe your mother is not considering how stubborn you are in all things concerning Gray Falcon."
The two women stared at one another for several moments before they both fell into another outburst of giggles.
"Oh my, have I told you how happy I am you are here with me?" asked Amelia. "You didn't have to accompany me on this trip. It is such an adventure, and when we were journeying upriver, there were times I wasn't certain we could make the entire trip. But, here you are, and I am so pleased you are with me."
"It is a pleasure for me to be here, too. I admit my fiancé influenced me, also, for his excitement at coming into this country in order to preserve the image of the land and its inhabitants is extreme. I believe he has read Mr. Catlin's book on the Indians and the West, and to hear him speak, one would think there is nothing more exciting than tramping through the wilderness. I believe he is hoping to follow in Mr. Catlin's footsteps and paint many of the Indians' portraits."
"I have seen some of his work, and he is a very talented man. I will have to remember to thank him for influencing you. By the way, where is your fiancé? Since he does, indeed, earn his living as a painter, I had thought he would be here with us on the deck with brush and canvas."
"David is resting," Sharon explained. "I'm afraid he has not taken well to the rocking of this ship and is quite sick because of it."
"I am sorry to hear it."
"Yes, well, once we arrive at Fort McKenzie, I believe he will enjoy setting his feet on solid ground once again. At any rate, I hope he will find his 'sea legs' soon. Funny, he wasn't affected by the ship's movement when we first started our journey. But now…"
"Oh, look!" cried Amelia. "Ahead of us, do you see those white cliffs? Have you ever seen anything so picturesque? There they are, rising up from the water and sitting on top of rocks and soil as though they are castles brought here from England. And, look how beautiful the blue of the sky is behind them. They almost look like a painting. Oh, how I wish your fiancé were here to forever enshrine the beauty we see before us."
At that moment, Captain Cummings suddenly appeared at the far corner of the deck, and it was obvious he was pacing toward them. Soon he stood beside them and greeted them cordially, saying, "Good morning, ladies."
"Good morning, Captain." Amelia and Sharon returned his greeting almost in unison.
