Page 56 of The Spirit of the Wolf
“Hmm…” It was the only sound she could make.
“Did you say something?”
She rolled her eyes but then realized he might not be able to see it.
“Know that we are in enemy territory,” he cautioned as he stepped toward her. “War parties generally have a scout who accompanies them, and these men cross the prairie at night also, so do not think you are free to scream. If I remove this gag, you must promise me you will not screech or yell. Do you promise?”
She nodded.
Carefully, he untied the gag, and it seemed to Marietta as though he took pains to avoid touching her.
At last the gag was gone, and he squatted before her. “Shall I feed you, or can I trust you to your word that if I untie your hands, you will not attempt to leave?”
“I will not attempt to leave.” She said it resentfully, hatefully, but she said it nonetheless.
He nodded and carefully untied her hands and her feet. He offered her the pemmican and the water, and she accepted them both greedily.
As she ate, he sat back across from her to watch.
After a while, her thirst and hunger satiated, she spoke. “I will repay you for this indignity.”
He inclined his head but didn’t speak.
“I notice we are traveling south and west.”
“That is a good observation, and it is so, we travel south and west. The forest I seek is in Paha Sapa, the Black Hills. They are a little west of where we are now.”
“I do not know of them. But tell me, where is the trading post in relation to where we are?”
“It is almost due south. We do not travel so much out of our way.”
“Oh.” She looked elsewhere, anywhere but at him.
“Are you finished?”
“I—”
“Then we will continue.”
“Don’t throw me over the horse,” she commanded. “It is uncomfortable.”
“Then you must promise me you will not try to jump down from the animal and squirm about. Do you promise?”
She set her lips together, and he shook his head.
“You make this difficult for me.”
“This is your problem.”
He grinned at her slightly. “So it is. But it is also yours. Still, there is another position which might be more comfortable for you, my wife.”
“Don’t call me your wife.”
He frowned. “Do you want others to think bad of you?”
“I don’t care what others think of me…here. Besides, I have no acquaintances in this land—except for you, of course.”
“And it does not bother you what I think?”
