Frontier Bride. Ana Seymour

days, maybe three.”

      “Let’s get moving then,” she said briskly. “I’ll give Nancy Trask some of my tonic this morning, and tonight I’ll brew her some sassafras tea to make her sleep. We’ll keep her going until you decide on a safe place for us to stop.”

      Ethan gave the round little woman a grateful smile. Then he nodded curtly to Randolph and Hannah and strode briskly away.

      * * *

      Randolph kept his horse in line next to Hannah’s mule all that day, except for a short time around noon when he rode back to inquire as to the condition of Nancy Trask. The pregnant woman had appeared to be embarrassed that an argument had taken place on her account, and before they started out that morning she had assured everyone that she was perfectly fine. And, indeed, whether it was sheer power of will or Eliza’s tonic, her cheeks did have a bit of color for the first time in several days. Hugh Trask had been irritated at all the fuss, apparently feeling that it implied that he couldn’t take care of his own wife. He told Randolph as much when he came to inquire, and said brusquely that he’d thank him and the rest of the party to stay out of their affairs.

      Hannah also found herself regretting the morning’s confrontation, and she wanted to find a moment to talk alone with Captain Reed. She did not intend to apologize exactly. After all, if he had explained to her about the Indians when she had first come to him with the issue, she would have understood and would never have gotten others involved. But she did feel bad that the morning’s incident had not helped the frosty relations between the captain and Randolph. An unspoken rivalry had grown between them even before they had left Philadelphia, and Hannah was still hoping that it had nothing to do with her. Both men were capable and intelligent. Both had congenial personalities and got along well with others. She couldn’t understand why the antagonism had developed.

      The long day passed with Captain Reed pushing the party an extra hour to try to cover as much territory as possible. It wasn’t until they had pitched camp and eaten a cold dinner of salted pork and corn cakes that Hannah finally was able to talk with their guide. He was alone staking down the animals for the night. Randolph was busy in the tent playing with his children before saying good-night. Hannah walked in the darkness over to Ethan.

      He smiled at her as she approached, but his welcome was not as warm as it had been on their previous meetings.

      She did not waste time on preliminaries. “I’m sorry about the problems this morning,” she said. “You should have explained to me about the danger right from the beginning.”