angrily. "Consider the offer retracted. I must have been too long in the sun to ever have thought I wanted you," he told her bitterly. "Get some sleep; you will need all of your strength tomorrow.''
"You still insist on taking me with you?"
"Yes, I insist," he said, lying down and turning his back to her.
"Can I have my knife back?"
"Why, so you can stab me in the back while I sleep?"
"No, it was Salador's knife. I want to keep it."
Kane turned over to face her and watched as she sank down on the grass and buried her head in her hands, appearing very young and vulnerable.
Suddenly Kane felt protective toward her. He remembered how young she was, and all that she had been through that day. Perhaps he had been a bit hasty in offering to make her his mistress so soon after she had lost the old Indian she seemed to care so much about. Maybe if he had waited until some future time she would have been more receptive to his offer.
"Was the Indian—Salador—a relative of yours, Miss Deveraux?" he asked, hoping to bridge the gap he felt yawning between them.
Maleaha raised her head and looked at him, dumbfounded at how quickly he could switch from adoring lover to polite stranger. She would show him that she had also forgotten what had transpired between them, for the moment. Later she would have her revenge.
"No. Salador and Lamas were sent by my grandfather, who was chief of the Jojobas, to look after my mother when she married my father and moved to Deveraux Ranch. After my mother's death they both stayed on to look after me."
"You loved that old Indian, did you not?"
"Yes, the one thing that stands out most in my mind about Salador happened when I was five years old. My grandfather had given me a new horse, not a pony but a pinto mare. I couldn't wait to ride her, so I pestered Salador until he took me out to the barn where we kept her. Salador lifted me into the saddle, and before I was seated properly, I was thrown to the ground." A long pause followed, as if she were remembering.
"What happened then?" He asked.
"I…1 began to cry, and I told Salador I would never ride that horse again. He knelt down beside me, so he would be the same height as me, and wiped the dirt and tears from my face. I expected sympathy from him, but instead he frowned at me. 'Humans are different from animals,' he said. 'Man was put on earth to be the master over all the animal kingdom, yet today you have shamed me. You let the horse be the master of you.' I remember feeling very ashamed at the time. 'What shall I do, Salador?' I asked. He stood up, gathered up the reins and handed them to me. 'You must be the master of this animal,' he told me. I somehow managed to climb astride that horse without his help, and to my surprise and relief, I rode her. Since that day no horse has thrown me, though a few have tried."
"I think he was a little harsh with you. After all, you were a little girl," Kane said, thinking how differently he had been brought up. There had been no one to guide him; he had been forced to find his own way.
"Perhaps, but it was a lesson I never forgot."
Kane looked at the star-studded night through the top of the tall pine trees and felt a loneliness that he could not define. He knew that tomorrow he would be back at the fort and would probably never see the Indian girl again. Somehow that thought bothered him more than a little. Closing his eyes, he thought he would apologize to her tomorrow. Perhaps he had been too harsh with her tonight. She was little more than a child, and maybe she had never had any man offer to make her his mistress before. Maybe she did not want anything permanent, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. His last thoughts were troubled. Why would an Indian girl refuse the offer of a house of her own and all the beautiful gowns she could want?
Maleaha lay down and rested her head against her arms. Her heart felt battered and bruised. She would never see Salador again, and she had loved him so
"You still insist on taking me with you?"
"Yes, I insist," he said, lying down and turning his back to her.
"Can I have my knife back?"
"Why, so you can stab me in the back while I sleep?"
"No, it was Salador's knife. I want to keep it."
Kane turned over to face her and watched as she sank down on the grass and buried her head in her hands, appearing very young and vulnerable.
Suddenly Kane felt protective toward her. He remembered how young she was, and all that she had been through that day. Perhaps he had been a bit hasty in offering to make her his mistress so soon after she had lost the old Indian she seemed to care so much about. Maybe if he had waited until some future time she would have been more receptive to his offer.
"Was the Indian—Salador—a relative of yours, Miss Deveraux?" he asked, hoping to bridge the gap he felt yawning between them.
Maleaha raised her head and looked at him, dumbfounded at how quickly he could switch from adoring lover to polite stranger. She would show him that she had also forgotten what had transpired between them, for the moment. Later she would have her revenge.
"No. Salador and Lamas were sent by my grandfather, who was chief of the Jojobas, to look after my mother when she married my father and moved to Deveraux Ranch. After my mother's death they both stayed on to look after me."
"You loved that old Indian, did you not?"
"Yes, the one thing that stands out most in my mind about Salador happened when I was five years old. My grandfather had given me a new horse, not a pony but a pinto mare. I couldn't wait to ride her, so I pestered Salador until he took me out to the barn where we kept her. Salador lifted me into the saddle, and before I was seated properly, I was thrown to the ground." A long pause followed, as if she were remembering.
"What happened then?" He asked.
"I…1 began to cry, and I told Salador I would never ride that horse again. He knelt down beside me, so he would be the same height as me, and wiped the dirt and tears from my face. I expected sympathy from him, but instead he frowned at me. 'Humans are different from animals,' he said. 'Man was put on earth to be the master over all the animal kingdom, yet today you have shamed me. You let the horse be the master of you.' I remember feeling very ashamed at the time. 'What shall I do, Salador?' I asked. He stood up, gathered up the reins and handed them to me. 'You must be the master of this animal,' he told me. I somehow managed to climb astride that horse without his help, and to my surprise and relief, I rode her. Since that day no horse has thrown me, though a few have tried."
"I think he was a little harsh with you. After all, you were a little girl," Kane said, thinking how differently he had been brought up. There had been no one to guide him; he had been forced to find his own way.
"Perhaps, but it was a lesson I never forgot."
Kane looked at the star-studded night through the top of the tall pine trees and felt a loneliness that he could not define. He knew that tomorrow he would be back at the fort and would probably never see the Indian girl again. Somehow that thought bothered him more than a little. Closing his eyes, he thought he would apologize to her tomorrow. Perhaps he had been too harsh with her tonight. She was little more than a child, and maybe she had never had any man offer to make her his mistress before. Maybe she did not want anything permanent, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. His last thoughts were troubled. Why would an Indian girl refuse the offer of a house of her own and all the beautiful gowns she could want?
Maleaha lay down and rested her head against her arms. Her heart felt battered and bruised. She would never see Salador again, and she had loved him so
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