The following week I find myself in town yet again, but this time it is not to help anyone with a nervous animal. It is time, once again, for another uncomfortable tea with Lady Corwin. I do not look forward to the visit and not just because I loathe the activity. I dread it because I spit in the face of her son and I worry that I will have to abide his company while in her household.
John escorts me to Lady Corwin's home with obvious reservations and when the butler closes the door on his face I feel a deep anxiety blooming in my chest. My father has not demanded that I offer apology for the 'rudeness I imparted on the good ladies son', I believe were his words, and for this I am grateful because I would have disobeyed him. I have no intention of apologizing to William, or his mother, for my reaction to being manhandled.
I am led once again to the rolling grounds behind the house and find that, once again, I will be graced with the company of Eugenie and her mother. I see their lips moving as I approach and manage to make out the words 'Imagine? With a savage no less' before they cover their mouths and laugh. Lady Corwin comes forward to take my hands and greets me genially enough.
"Oh my child, your father wrote me about your harrowing experience at the dance." her lips say as she looks stricken for me. She has wasted no time getting to the point it seems.
"Well, you simply must forgive William for his indiscretion;" she continues as she takes my arm and leads me to the table "he can act brazenly when he's got the drink on him. Boys will be boys after all."
It is a good thing I cannot speak, because if I could, I would have told her exactly what I thought of her 'brazen son's indiscretion.' Instead I am forced to mold my face into a sweet smile as the butler pulls out my chair and I lower myself into it. Lady Corwin begins to distribute the tea, still rambling about how misunderstood her son is in town.
"And after all, dear," her lips continue as she pours tea into my cup, "you must own your part in it as well."
I look at her, shocked at her ignorant words. Yes, I spit in her son's face for manhandling me and I do not regret doing so. I would do it again if the situation called for it. She takes my shocked expression for confusion and leans in conspiratorially.
"You danced with a savage after all? Really, dear, what were you thinking?" I imagine she is whispering this to me even though I plainly see Eugenie and her mother smile snidely behind their hands.
That is what this is really about? They are scandalized not that her son was inappropriate with me, not that he backhanded me like a common whore, and not even that I spit in his arrogant face for it. No, they are scandalized that I danced with Uncas. I am livid as I lift my tea to my mouth, its a wonder that my hands don't tremble with barely contained rage. I manage a tight smile as I lay the cup back on the saucer.
"Your pig of a son can rot in hell," I sign, still smiling sweetly. "And so can the rest of you"
They do not understand what I have said; Lady Corwin takes it as confirmation on my part that I am agreeing with her. She reaches over and pats my knee comfortingly.
"There now, let that be the end of it. Cake?" her lips say with a smile as she holds out the tray.
I finish the tea and hope that they all choke on the blasted cake. I decide in that moment that it is the last time they will see me. I will not return to this house again. They have insulted me in every possible way and I will not subject myself to it again. An hour later the wretched tea is finished and I all but fly for the front door to escape. I am just about to open it when a hand grasps my wrists firmly and tugs me roughly backwards.
If I had a voice I would have screamed loud enough to bring the house down but all I managed was a small hiss of air that I doubt anyone hears. My back thumps against a wall and I find myself in a shuttered sitting room with a male figure pressing up against me. He presses a hand against my throat and leans in to stare into my face intently.
It is William, Lady Corwin's son, who stares back at me. I can see the pale blonde hair peeking out from the ridiculous powdered wig he has plastered on his head. His limpid blue eyes smile evilly down into mine as he twists a lock of my hair that has fallen out of my bun with one finger.
"Well hello there, horse girl," his lips say to me "did you enjoy your tea with my mother?"
I struggle and try to push him back but he forces me back against the wall and presses his hand more firmly into my windpipe, cutting off my air.
"None of that." his lips continue, grinning. "You and I need to have a conversation, or rather, I need to talk and you need to….well, as you can't hear, I suppose you will have to watch my lips move and decipher the meaning in your own way."
He leans in close and I glare at him in the low light, his fingers tighten minutely against my throat and I can feel his breath on my face.
"Here's how this is going to go, deaf girl," his lips hiss at me, I know this because his spittle flies across my cheeks and I snarl at him like a dog. "You're going to offer apology for embarrassing me at the dance."
He presses up against me and I try not to vomit at the feeling of his sex pressing against my leg. I can feel him even through my layers of skirts and I wrinkle my nose in distaste. I see him laugh at my revulsion.
"Since you can't speak, you'll have to make it up to me some other way." He leans in close and runs his cheek along mine, nuzzling me like a cat. The hand that was twirling my hair is running down the boning at the front of my dress, heading for my lower regions.
"Once we're done here, you'll know never to treat me like that again." his lips threaten.
I bring up my hands and sign angrily:
"I'll never treat you any other way."
He doesn't know what I have signed and grins at me before diving in to kiss me harshly. He doesn't expect what happens next. I catch his lower lip between my teeth and bite down with as much force as I can muster. I taste his blood in my mouth as he roughly yanks his head away from me. I waste no time, I dive out of the sitting room and haul open the door to run out into the street. John is not here yet and I do not wait around to look for him, I run blindly down the dirt road.
I sense that William is chasing me, even though I can't hear him. I have tears running down my face and his blood on my chin and now I feel fear instead of anger. I skid into the market place and dart into the crowd where he cannot easily get to me. My hair has fallen out of the bun Alexandra had so painstakingly wrapped it in and hangs loosely around my shoulders, I have lost my cap somewhere back in the road. I whirl to see that William has been forced to stop in his pursuit of me because there are too many people for him to be able to catch me easily.
He has a hand pressed against his lip as we stare at each other through the crowd. He has lost his wig and his long blonde hair hangs limply around his face. His eyes are dark and deadly as he points one finger at me as if to say 'This isn't over'. I turn on my heel and run.
I run until my chest hurts and my legs ache from exertion, catching myself on a fence post. I still have tears falling off my cheeks and onto the warm wood of the post under my hands. My god, what would have happened if I hadn't escaped him? Would he really have tried to take me right there in his mother's sitting room?
I let out a sob and sink to the ground, trembling. I bury my face in my knees and weep, relieved that I got away from him but not knowing what that this will mean for my future here. After the dance, they had all been concerned about my staying. There had been talk of sending me home. Well, I think I have just made the situation ten times worse.
The feeling of hands on my arms send me into a panic, I struggle to get away, hitting blindly with my fists. I think that it is him, that he has followed me and intends to finish what he started at his mother's. I try to flee until warm hands grasp my face and make me look up. I find myself staring into dark eyes, not pale ones. The hair falling around the face is onyx and shiny, not pale blonde. It is Uncas that stares back at me, not William.
I still as I look at him as his face shifts from stricken to angry as he takes note of the blood on my lower lip and chin. His fingers reach out to touch my lip and I see his mouth say "Is this blood, what happened?"
"Not mine." I numbly sign. "Not mine."
I feel shock setting in and a tremble begins in my limbs. I blearily take in the image of scantily clad Native men behind him and down the road, they are peeking around the fence at us and some of them hold what looks like lacrosse racquets.
"What happened, Rabbit?" he signs at me, trying to focus me so I don't fall any further into shock than I already am. "Whose blood is this?"
"William." I spell the name with my hands. Thankfully I have already taught him most of the sign alphabet so he figures out what I am spelling before I am even done.
"Why is his blood on your chin?" he speaks and signs this.
"Bit him." I sign back and then I laugh because the situation suddenly seems very funny to me. Uncas blinks at me as I laugh and then just as suddenly as I begin to laugh, I begin to cry. He doesn't ask me anything else; instead he gathers me into his arms and carries me over to where the Natives with the racquets are watching. I have a brief moment to take in Nathanial and Chingachgook hurrying over. Soon enough, I also see Jack approaching. I only wonder vaguely, in the part of my mind that is still rational, what they are all doing here.
Uncas carries me over to a tree and sets me down. His father hands him a canteen. Nathanial brings over a colorful blanket which Uncas wraps around me. It is summer and quite hot, yet I feel chilled as though I were naked in the middle of winter. Uncas pushes the canteen against my lips and wraps my hands around it, trying to persuade me to drink. I do so numbly, trying to get control off my quacking nerves.
The men have a conversation that I don't try to follow. Uncas speak to them briefly, probably telling them what little I told him and then Nathanial and Jack hurry away. Once they are gone, Uncas turns my face to his and his eyes are raw with concern.
"What did he do, Rabbit?" his lips ask me.
I swallow and I try to get control of myself. I am tired now; the adrenaline and fear that had coursed through my system are fading away and leaving behind a deep weariness. I look into his face and slowly bring my hands up out of the blanket.
"He forced a kiss on me," I sign quickly "he would have done more but I bit him and ran. I think I have just made the situation worse, Fox." I see his face tighten and his hands come up to grasp my face again.
"You did nothing wrong." his lips tell me, I know he is speaking firmly from the set of his jaw. "Don't let anyone tell you that this is your fault."
The tears come again but this time they are tired one. He brushes them away with his thumbs. We are being watched by the other native men and I wonder how this must appear to them. Uncas runs from the game because some white girl his having a panic attack in the road and then two of their others players take off for no reason. I suddenly feel very insecure with all their eyes on me and pull back away from Uncas' hands. I lean my head back against the tree and close my eyes.
I must have fallen asleep because the next sensation I am aware of are arms lifting me from the ground. I open my eyes to find that Uncas has once again picked me up and is carrying me toward John Cameron's wagon. So that is where Jack and Nathanial went when they fled so quickly. I lay a hand on Uncas chest and he stops walking to look down at me.
"I can walk, Fox." I sign. "You needn't carry me."
He sets me back on my feet gently and I am happy to say that my legs don't wobble. He leads me to the carriage and he and Jack help me up into the back. After their fight over me at the homestead the week before I did not expect to see them united like this. Their faces are set and angry and as one they turn to look at Nathanial who nods. I do not have time to ask what this means before John snaps the horse's reins and we are off.
I am not permitted back in town after Alexandra learns of the incident with William, and I find that I am at peace with that. I had already decided that I would not attend anymore teas with his mother so it was a moot issue anyway. The downside is that I have to turn down many a request for help with difficult animals from people in the surrounding countryside. I was finally finding my niche when William went and ruined it all. Now I was back at square one; learning to run a household.
I never was told what happened after John and I left Albany that day, what the look that passed between the three men meant. Uncas came to see me daily and said nothing when I asked. Neither too, would Jack, when he came nightly for dinner. All they would say to me is 'Don't worry about it'
This answer frustrates me because I worried they have done something horrible in my defense. I do not want to be responsible for either of them being hurt or jailed. All I know is that the two men who are apparent rivals for my attention now seem united in some way and, as relieving as that fact should be it concerns me.
I think Uncas sees my boredom and agitation at being stuck at the homestead for so long. I have shared with him my frustration at my 'blooming career' as an animal handler having died as quickly as it has begun. I think it was this frustration that gave him an idea.
One morning, before breakfast, I notice him coming out of the woods as I emerge from the henhouse with a basket. I smile and wave as he walks up to me. He grins and takes the basket from my arm as he takes my hand and leads me back toward the cabin.
"Give these to Alexandra and get your hat." He signs to me as he pushes open the door. Alexandra looks up in surprise as we walk in; it is not common for him to arrive this early.
"Why?" I sign back as he hands Alexandra the basket.
"Because today I am taking you to the Lenape summer camp," he signs back to me "they have some new horses that they could use your help with."
