Despite Uncas's condition, Alice had often found herself thinking about making love with him again. There were times when she thought she would go mad with desire for him, such as when she uncovered him and bathed him, and she had to scold herself for having such thoughts when he was still so badly hurt. It had been two weeks since they had last joined their bodies, and Alice found that the passage of time only made the wanting worse. So did the sensual massage she had given him last night. It did not escape her notice that as she massaged his thighs, his body responded in such a way that the fur covering him slightly rose in the center. If she could have crawled on top of him then she would have. It was only in the days that she cared for him since his injuries, that she had seen what he looked like when he was in the "soft" state he had mentioned after the first time they made love. She understood, now, what it meant to go from one state to the other. She thought about the way they had made love under the waterfall, and wondered if his heart had strengthened enough for him to do it this way. This time, she would do all the work, as he was the injured one. She could not ask Konwakeri if this was safe for him. But, maybe, she could tentatively bring it up to him. He must know better than anyone what he felt well enough to do. Or, maybe she could massage him again today as she had last night, and see if his body responded as before. Did the rise beneath the fur mean he wanted her as well?

When Alice went to Uncas late in the morning to help him bathe, she found another girl with him, already running a wet rag down the length of his torso. Alice did not appreciate how the girl looked at Uncas.

"Uncas?" she asked in confusion.

"Alice," he replied hollowly. "This is Skawennati. She is going to take over my care with Konwakeri, so you do not have to put yourself out any longer."

"Uncas, it does not put me out..." she replied with pain in her voice. How could he think that?

"Now you will have more time to read those books of yours."

She turned and left before he could see her shed a tear, then ran as fast as she could into the woods. She sobbed uncontrollably. Why would he let another woman care for him in this intimate way? Why did he suddenly reject her attention?

She went to him every morning for three days, and every time he would not allow her in. She watched for several days as Skawennati came and went, clearly performing most of the care for him that Alice had, though he was getting stronger and more capable of simple tasks such as feeding himself. Alice was careful not to let her sister see that this bothered her. She still had hope that Uncas would let her back in his life, and she still intended to stay in the Americas. With time on her hands, she began to learn from an elder woman how to weave a rug. It kept her busy and distracted her from her agony.

When Uncas slept, Alice still loved him in his dreams. Every night he would say her name in his sleep. On the first night, he demanded that she remove her clothes. On the second night, he told her intensely that he wanted to make love to her. Skawennati, did not like hearing these things, but she told herself that she was the one he had chosen to spend the days and nights with now. On the third night, Uncas groaned, said Alice's name, and then reached down to begin to stroke himself. Skawennati did not know if she should wake him from this particular dream. He awoke on his own, quite suddenly, and then looked down in embarrassment to realize what he was doing to himself in front of his caregiver. She looked away as he brought his hand back up to his side. When she looked back, she could tell Uncas was in a state that suggested he needed a physical release. This, she thought, she could help him with. He would speak Alice's name no more after she had pleasured him herself.

Skawennati tugged at Uncas's fur to reveal his nude body, and he thought she must intend to tend to his wounds. Instead, she climbed on top of him, straddling his midsection. Uncas looked up at her beautiful face in shock, and saw the wanting in her eyes. She began to lower her body onto his. He grabbed her waist with both hands and stopped her. He guided her body off of him and rested her at his side. He looked at her with no judgment and clearly did not want to hurt her with this rejection, but he knew he had to make it clear to her. "There is only one woman I want to be with. I am sorry."

Alice was already asleep for the night, and did not see as Skawennati left Uncas alone, never to return to care for him.

On the fourth day of her rejection, she saw Nathaniel and Chingachgook emerge from the longhouse, each supporting Uncas on one side. It was the first time she had seen his face in days and her heart leapt at the stunning vision before her. Nathaniel handed two crutches he had fashioned from branches to Uncas, and Uncas began to ambulate on his own, slowly and with evident weakness. He still had a long way to go before he was recovered. Uncas was shirtless and Alice could see he had lost a lot of weight. His back, chest, and abdomen were not as thick with muscle as they once had been. His bandages were removed. It seemed as though his wounds had closed by now, and he had managed to avoid fever throughout his healing. She was relieved to see his progress. The three soon went back inside, as this small endeavor took much energy for him.

Now that Cora and Nathaniel were married, they kept a bed together, Alice slept in a longhouse with Konwakeri, and Chingachgook spent the night's by Uncas's side. Alice felt alone, empty, and abandoned by all who cared for her. One evening before bed, Cora came to her to talk.

"Alice, we spoke before of you returning to England."

"Yes," Alice confirmed with hope that Cora now realized it unnecessary.

"I want to let you know that Nathaniel and I booked your passage when we were at the settlement for our marriage. You will sale next month and be home before winter.

"That is not my home anymore. Can you not return the ticket? I will soon be of age, and then I will come back here, anyway."

"You will not be of age until you are 21. That is several years. I will not keep you in this unsafe place for so long."

"You cannot force me to go. How could I be away from you, my only sister, for so long?"

"Nathaniel will carry you onto the ship if he has to."

"I will jump."

"Don't speak such foolishness."

Alice stopped arguing, as she did not want Cora to suspect that her determination to stay might still be due to a fixation on Uncas.

"Very well, then, I shall sail to England," Alice said with no intention of actually doing so. She still had time to devise a way to stay.

Cora kissed her on the cheek and bid her goodnight.

Uncas made great strides in his recovery over the next few weeks, at first gaining endurance by walking around the village on his crutches. He would occasionally see Alice, but always turned away from her immediately. He could not let her see how her very presence affected him. He still wanted so badly to hold her, and over time, his libido had returned with a vengeance. It had been some time since they had been together, and he craved her body day and night.

Once Konwakeri said it was safe for his wounds to be submerged, he began to take swims in the lake, so he could rebuild muscle and stamina without putting weight on his broken leg. Alice always watched from afar. The first time he went to the lake, she stared as he stripped everything off but his breechcloth, and then slowly lowered himself into the water. Despite his weakened state, he glided through the water gracefully, his arms smoothly reaching out in front of him to propel himself through the glassy surface. At first he could only travel short distances before turning back, but he never gave up. He would always rest a bit and then go out again, further and further each time. There was always a small audience of girls, cheering him on, flirting with him and bringing him drinks during breaks. He seemed to enjoy the attention and even encouraged it with his own flirtatious glances. Alice would sometimes get close enough to overhear, and he certainly was flirting back. How could he be so cruel and indifferent to her?

After two weeks of twice daily dips in the lake, he could swim across the lake and back twice without stopping. Alice realized that his physique had developed quite rapidly into the one she remembered once being enveloped in. He had also begun to bear weight on his leg, despite Konwakeri's warnings to wait a little longer. He knew Nathaniel and Cora intended to leave soon, and since his father and he intended to travel and winter with them, he needed to be ready. He did not look forward to seeing Alice off to England, as catching glimpses of her were still the brightest part of his days, but trying to get over her had been a torturous exercise in futility and he knew the only way to get over her was to be away from her. He wished it had been as easy for him as it was for her.

Atumn was soon to arrive and it was time to leave. Uncas was well enough to travel, and Nathaniel had officially purchased the land on which they would settle. Cora had composed a list of all that they would need to set up a home, but when Alice looked at it, she found it woefully lacking. Alice new she had a lot to learn if she wanted to learn to live on the frontier, but she felt she was better prepared than her older sister. She wondered how Cora new so little about cooking over a hearth. Had she never been interested to learn how the plants and animals on their land came to be served on her plate? She set about composing her own list in the new journal Cora had bought her while at the settlement to marry.

To Cora's entry of a cooking pot for the hearth, Alice added a crane to hang pots on over the fire, 3 iron pots of different sizes, a baking pot, 2 frying pans of different sizes with legs to prop them up high, a spit, 2 griddles, a skimmer, a ladle, several stirring spoons and spatulas, a shovel and poker for the coals, and the list went on.

To her entry of needle and thread, Alice added several yards of various types of fabric to make linens, clothes, and table cloths, along with scissors, buttons, and pins. With wishful thinking, she thought she may as well add feather pillows and mattresses to the list.

To Cora's entry of soap and lavender oil, Alice added a bathing tub with great hope.

Before they left, Konwakeri presented Alice, who had become dear to her, a woven work of art, mainly white but bordered in golden yellow and embellished with more yellow throughout that looked like rays of sunlight.

"Konwakeri, it's beautiful! Alice said as she wrapped it around her shoulders.

"That's not a shawl," Konwakeri said. "It's a blanket for the baby."

Alice looked at her questioningly, and Konwakeri returned her a knowing look.

"It happened the night of the new moon," she said with a smug smile on her face.