The wagon clambered on with Uncas and Alice in the back, and Alice's sobs slowly began to subside. Uncas felt worse for her than he did for himself, as he knew she had great difficulty in watching others suffer; even him, apparently. He had seen that she always had to look away when someone was being hurt. His pride was wounded more than the flesh on his back, as he had not wanted Alice to witness him receiving punishment for failing his family. He feared she would see him as less of a man. He felt bad that she was so upset she could not even bring herself to join them for lunch, so at the completion of the meal he gathered up what was left of the buttered bread, cheese, and apples, and wrapped them into a meal as she had once done for him. He nudged her knee now, to get her attention, and when she looked up he held it out to her. She looked at it hesitantly, then reached out to take it.

"Thank you." she said with reddened eyes.

She did not eat yet, but stared at his back with great concern.

"If you let your shirt dry, you will bleed again when you try to take it off."

She pulled out a piece of linen from her trunk and wetted it with the water from her brand new leather flask.

"Lift your shirt up," she quietly commanded.

He did as he was told, lifting the back of his shirt up to above his shoulders. She tried not to cry when she saw he was covered in large welts, and there were many shreds in his skin. She could smell the metallic tang of his blood.

"All the way off," she ordered through tears.

He brought his blood-soaked shirt over his head and laid it in his lap. She gathered his long black hair and placed it gently over one shoulder. He hung his head down as she began to carefully drip water down his back. She did not want to press directly on his wounds. The droplets felt cool on his skin, which felt as though it was on fire. The water collected fresh blood and turned pink as it travelled down his toned torso, and she softly collected these droplets with a dry cloth at his lower back. Chingachgook watched out of the corner of his eye, still not sure how he was the only one who could see that Alice still loved his son.

That night, as the others settled in, Uncas collapsed and fell asleep immediately. Alice walked through the woods gathering the herbs she had learned to make poultices with from Konwakeri. Among them were Yarrow, Hummingbird Blossom, and Devil's Claw. She no longer needed a book to identify them. She bundled and prepared them by the light of the fire, and while Uncas slept already with his bare back open to the air, she applied them to his wounds. The others slept while Chingachgook looked on in concern.

As the days went on, Alice and Uncas began to forge the beginnings of a new relationship; a platonic one. They were polite to one another, out of necessity, as they knew they would have to learn to work together in their new life on the farm. Neither knew how difficult it was for the other not to express their love plainly. Neither recognized when the other took a precarious step over the line of friendship in order to sate an urge for closeness. Uncas truly believed that the care Alice provided to him for his wounds every morning and night was care she would give to anyone. Alice knew otherwise and also knew that she took it as an opportunity to drink in the sight of his coppery skin and run her hands up and down his body.

They were soon nearing their land, but they would make a stop first.

It was early evening when they arrived, but Jack was still out tending to his animals.

"You made it!" Jack shouted when he saw them.

He had been expecting them, as Nathaniel had sent him a letter from Albany when they travelled South, once he had heard that Jack made it through safely to his cabin after leaving the fort. Jack ran to them in excitement and greeted the men as if family.

"I couldn't believe when I heard you survived the ambush! We all thought there had been no survivors!"

"Well," said Nathaniel. "One of us almost didn't make it."

Jack looked at Uncas and put his arm around him in a brotherly hug.

"Uncas. I heard how badly you were wounded. I'm so glad to see you looking well." he said with genuine care.

"Thanks. It's good to see you, too."

Jack took a step back and eyed the group.

"There are five of you. There are supposed to be four."

"Miss Munro decided not to go back to England after all," said Uncas.

"She decided that long before we knew," said Nathaniel. "I had no idea when I wrote to you that we would just be traveling a week south to New York to take the scenic route. Alice, allow me to introduce to you our good friend Jack Winthrop."

"Very nice to meet you, Alice. What do you mean by the scenic route, Nathaniel?" Jack asked with a twinkle of suspicion in his eye.

"We'll tell you over dinner."

It had been many days since Alice's fateful plunge into the harbor. Cora's Anger had subsided. Nathaniel had never really been angry. Chingachgook was still concerned about Uncas. Uncas had gone through a series of emotions, from shock that Alice had almost drowned, to anger that she had been so wreckless with her own life, to relief that she was still here with him. Alice was simply determined to prove her value on the frontier.

As they sat around the dinner table, which included Jack's widowed sister and her four children, they all laughed as Nathaniel regaled everyone of his and Uncas's panicked run down the pier. At least they all could joke about it now.

"What made you decide to jump, Miss Munro? Why not return to England?" asked Jack.

"Well, I knew I had to at least get on the boat, or Nathaniel would carry me on over his shoulder, according to Cora. So my only option was to board willingly and then jump once the boat was too far out to return. And I could never return to England. I've never felt more free as I do here in America."

She looked down at her lap and stated "And no one in America has ever tried to force me to marry a wealthy man of distinction, who looks like a mole rat and is about as interesting as a sloth."

"Alice," Cora warned.

Jack let out a quiet laugh in spite of himself.

"Mr. Winthrop," Alice asked shyly, "you said the land we will be on used to have a homestead. Could it be that it has a root cellar?"

"Forgive my forthrightness Ms. Munro, but it is my understanding that you grew up as British upper class. How is it that you know of root cellars, when you probably spent your days receiving lessons in drawing and piano?"

"Oh, Alice was a most unconventional child," Cora inserted. "I've never known anyone as curious as her, always wanting to know how everything works. She used to follow the servants around to come to a better understanding of what they did for us. I always tried to explain that the servants were meant to be unseen, but-"

"I never understood how you could pretend not to see another person," said Alice with a humble smile.

"Servant," Cora corrected her.

Nathaniel seemed embarrassed that his wife still seemed to not have shed her ideas of the British class system.

Uncas looked at Alice with quiet admiration. She did not belong with those people. She had never belonged with them.

Jack looked at Alice with obvious interest and she uncomfortably avoided his eye contact. Uncas could not help but notice how Jack looked at her, but as much as it bothered him, he knew he could say nothing.

"Last I passed through," answered Jack, " I noticed a root cellar with entrance still intact, and the ground above did not sink. I believe it was well built."

Alice smiled in relief and enthusiasm.

"We have so much we will be able to store in it straight away, and we will have one less task to endeavor in before preparing for winter."

It occurred to Jack that he could not tell if Uncas still looked at her as he had the night at the fort. Perhaps he was over her. He was intrigued by Alice and found her exceedingly beautiful, but he would never pursue a woman if his good friend had feelings for her. They had grown up on the frontier together, and loyalty was a hard thing to come by. He would have to speak with Uncas sometime in the future if he wished to come to an understanding with this beguiling young woman.

"So," said Jack to Nathaniel, "You say you would like to purchase some of my surplus of chickens."

"Yes, we'd like to see what is available."

"We need some for cooking and some for laying," Alice interjected. "Do you have any breeds that will continue to lay through the winter?"

Again, surprised at Alice's knowledge of farms and farm animals, he held his arm out to her. "Allow me to show you," he said with more interest in Alice than the chickens.

She bashfully took his arm as they all walked outside.

Uncas walked behind, unable to hide his disdain in what he perceived as a flirtation.

For the next hour Jack took them on a tour of his many coops, a major part of his livelihood. Well, he took Alice on a tour and the rest trailed behind. He showed her his chickens for eating, his layers, and those that were good for both. Alice was as inquisitive as ever and asked about the qualities of each breed. Jack was more than happy to answer her questions, and the two picked out a number of good chickens that would serve well as winter layers, as well as a number that would be ready for eating in the weeks to come. Uncas rolled his eyes on more than one occasion, and was not happy by the end of the hour.

"You seem to be in a rather "fowl" mood, brother," Nathaniel said to Uncas.

"Very funny."

"If you continue to "brood" like this, Jack may stick you in one of his coops."

Uncas glared at him.

"Try not to make it so obvious," Nathaniel reminded him.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Sure, you don't."

Nathaniel paid Jack a fair sum for the chickens, as well as some feed, and refused the friendly discount Jack offered. He was a single man trying to support five others. Nathaniel hoped this transaction would be more helpful to Jack than it was to themselves. There was no room in the wagon for passengers once the chickens and feed were loaded, so Uncas and Alice walked the remaining two hours to their land.

On arriving to their new homestead they went right to sleep, although Alice tended to Uncas's wounds again while he slept. The next day was warm, despite the sky being covered with fluffy, white clouds. Alice immediately set about finding the root cellar. She approached the men, who had begun to construct a wigwam, cutting down saplings for the frame.

"Where did Jack say the root cellar was?"

"On the North side of the property," Uncas replied casually.

"Right," said Alice, as she began walking South.

"Alice, I said North," Uncas reminded her when he saw her walking in the opposite direction.

"Of course," said Alice, as she made a quick guess, turned, and began to walk West.

"Alice?"

She stopped and looked at Uncas, clearly confused and disoriented.

"North is that way."

"Yes. Thank you," she said in embarrassment, and she began to walk in the direction he had pointed out.

As she walked away, Uncas laughed out loud and shook his head.

"No sense of direction." he said with a smile on his face.

His father and brother shared in his laughter.

In short time, she found a downward slope leading to a door that opened up to an ample uderground space with two rooms. This would be the cold room where they could keep food late through the fall and even winter for some things. There were shelves all the way around. It was cool and dark, despite the warm day. It needed cleaning, but she was well prepared for that. She had brought with her a broom and wet rags. She wiped the built up dust and dirt from the shelves with Cora's help, and then swept the entire floor clean. She set about carrying fruits and vegetables to the back room for storage. Bushels of white potatoes and sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onion, garlic, shallots, cabbages and apples. Many types of squash. Sugar pumpkins. Dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Oats, cornmeal and flour. Plenty of vinegar, sugar, salt and lard for preserving. She would soon pickle eggs and vegetables, as well as pot meat in lard, and keep those in the front room. She also planned to ferment apples for homemade vinegar.

Uncas gazed back frequently as Alice performed her own work without guidance. He realized she was a hard worker, and seemed to be holding up better than her older sister, who followed behind and acted on her instructions. His heart swelled with pride to see the woman he loved thriving on the frontier. Despite having no sense of direction.

Alice was less transparent. She knew if she were to be caught staring at Uncas throughout the day, her sister would harbor suspicions which would no doubt lead to another ticket to England come Spring. She kept her head down and went about her work diligently. She fought every urge to steel a glimpse of the man she loved, and there were many such urges. Instead, she resorted to recalling past encounters with him. She thought about the first time they met, and how his brown eyes took her breath away. She thought about their night at the burial ground, when she had first realized she was attracted to him. She thought about their night together at the fort-

"Alice."

Alice was ripped from her daze and she realized she had stopped what she was doing and was leaning against a wall in the root cellar. Her cheeks had become warm.

"Alice, are you okay?" asked Cora.

"Yes, Cora. I was just resting."