Alice now found that she had two urges she had to fight off each day. The first was the ever present yearning to catch a glimpse of Uncas throughout the day. The second, was completely new to her: the unfamiliar desire to cradle her slowly growing belly. She had caught herself doing it twice already, and was relieved that nobody noticed, but now she realized that she did it without even thinking about it, and she would have to be mindful of this.
Uncas had made a unilateral decision that they would no longer retreat to their nest in the woods, as it was getting too cold, and he did not want the two most important people in his life being put at risk. Their times stolen together would be more rare, now, although they would search for opportunity with each passing moment. Alice did not appreciate his stubbornness on this matter.
The cabin was coming together nicely. The fences, coops and barn were complete, Alice had cleared the remains of most of the old cabin almost completely on her own, the new cabin had a floor (thanks to Uncas's now relieved frustration), and all of the walls were up. The men had observed the cabin's original foundation made for a wide structure, likely two large rooms originally as opposed to one. Uncas had convinced Nathaniel to make a single main room in the center with a small room on either side to allow for beds. This would afford the privacy Nathaniel and Cora required as newlyweds, but also provide Alice with a small space of her own.
Uncas also insisted weeks prior on cutting a small space out of the exterior wall of what would be Alice's room, to construct a hearth for warmth at night. He did not care to explain himself to his father or brother. He was pretty sure they knew how he felt about her, anyway. It did not compare nearly in size to the hearth they would use for cooking in the main room, so he did not see this as an issue. Nathaniel looked on in frustration when Uncas began this task, knowing he would now have to do the same for his room with Cora. They needed to finish the chimneys before temperatures became too cold, as the clay that lined them needed to dry, not freeze. Windows, doors and the roof would then follow.
The day after Alice and Uncas realized they were soon to be parents, she decided she would make him all of his favorite foods, or at least the ones she had discovered thus far. This was partly why cooking gave her such joy; it allowed her to nourish her lover's body and she loved to watch him relish the meals she prepared so lovingly for him. Eating, she thought, was a sort of sensual experience, and Uncas savored his meals in a way that rather aroused her longing for him.
They would put down the boards for the roof today, and Uncas told Alice she would be able to use the hearth inside for cooking from then on. There was also chinking and daubing between the logs of the exterior walls, and Alice had initiated this task on her own as soon as the walls were up after reading more on colonial architecture, directing Cora for additional help. Uncas praised her lovingly when he saw her beginning to fill the crevices with all manner of material as chink, and gave her tips on how to perfect her technique. He prepared the clay mixture they had procured for daubing, and she adeptly took to this as well.
However, this task she only took on when she was not preparing meals, washing dishes and laundry, pickling and potting, and drying hides. She had her strengths and the men had theirs. She did not complain, but rather relished a life that was not rife with perpetual inconsequence, as her former life had been. She enjoyed being of use and having a routine, and she enjoyed her growing role on the frontier. Most of all, she enjoyed a proximity to Uncas that would never have been possible had she been forced to cross to the other side of the sea. She turned out to be a natural at cooking. Her many years following the cook, and then several more spent hiding in a cabinet and spying from a knot in the wood when the new french chef evicted her from the kitchen, proved very useful. She had learned to prepare many traditional dishes from the cook, then observed as the new chef trained the cook as his assistant to prepare an array of special sauces, as well as exotic dishes from spain, Italy, India and the Caribbean.
As the men completed their morning chores caring for the animals, Uncas brought Alice a pale of fresh milk. She would use this for cooking and baking today, then after the evening's milking she would use the cream for butter and the milk for a batch of clabber.
She had completed breakfast by now, and was pleased to see Uncas's eye's light up at the sight of ham, the egg pie he enjoyed so much at the fort, toasted bread with blackberry jam, hoe cakes with butter and honey, stewed cinnamon apples, and cheese. She also poured him a generous mug full of the fresh milk he had just brought her. Cora placed the dishes on the roughly made table Uncas had fashioned one restless night so they could stop eating on the ground. Alice admired his skill and how adept he was with his hands. 'Very adept with his hands,' she had thought to herself longingly at the time. They all sat on benches on either side of the table. Uncas recognized all of his favorite breakfast foods and stared lovingly over the table at Alice. She stole a moment of eye contact with him. It would have to be enough for now.
Not enough. She could not help herself. She watched as he lifted what he referred to as egg pie to his mouth, took a bite and a look of gratification spread over his face. It was a familiar look. She loved this look.
"Alice, you're going to turn me fat," said Uncas as they all partook.
"I've seen no such change in you," she said as his words pulled her out of her stuporous stare. "No doubt your exertions warrant your appetite."
Uncas was reminded of the additional exertions no one else knew of. He liked to think he performed satisfactorily for her, as he knew he worked hard to try.
"So," said Nathaniel, "What is the occasion for such an elaborate meal?"
Alice struggled to find a credible answer.
"Uncas says the roof will be complete today, and then we will be able to cook on the hearth inside."
"Yes," agreed Nathaniel, "The hearth should be ready by then."
"And what then?" asked Cora.
"Then the doors and windows. If you and Alice can help us with the chinking and daubing, the cabin should be done in a couple more days," Nathaniel replied with satisfaction.
Uncas listened to his brother with envy, and a feeling of resentment crept over him. His brother would soon move into a cabin with his wife, taking the woman he loved and his child with. Alice and their child would soon be stolen from him, no longer to sleep on the other side of the wigwam from where he slept.
He saw no other option yet. He considered the worst possible scenarios if they were to tell their family the truth. Cora could coerce Nathaniel to turn Uncas out and force Alice to give the baby up to an Indian family in a nearby village. They could keep her from seeing him for the remainder of her pregnancy. At the very least, they would twist the best thing in his life into something bad, and he could not bare the thought. They would listen to the couple's happy news and respond by saying it was too dangerous, Alice was putting Uncas's life at risk, and he was forcing her to sacrifice too much. He would not let them do that.
After the morning meal, Alice and Cora poured heated well water into a wash bucket and cleaned and dried the dishes, while the men went about finishing the cabin. Alice hated it when Uncas walked across the unfinished roof so recklessly, walking casually across a narrow beam as if it were a sprawling path.
"Uncas, would you toss me that hammer?" Nathaniel asked as Uncas mindlessly nailed down boards.
Uncas grabbed the nearby hammer and launched it in Nathaniel's general direction. Nathaniel managed to catch it just before it gored him in the side of the face. He looked at Uncas skeptically. Had he said something to anger him? Uncas continued to pound away at nail after nail, stone faced and silent. Nathaniel shook the incident off as an accident and got down to work, but he could not stop thinking about how nearly he came to being impaled by the sharp end of his hammer. Uncas was never that careless. He tried to speak with Uncas several times throughout the day, but only got one word responses that effectively ended the conversation before it began.
Alice was becoming more efficient with every day that passed. Today, she made sure to set out used corn cobs to dry, so they could eventually be used for chinking. She washed laundry, wrung it, and hung it out to dry. She prepared pickled eggs for the root cellar, something she had found Uncas loved to snack on throughout the day. She found that he typically ate all day long, and so she was learning to accommodate this tendency. 'How does he not gain an ounce of fat?' she thought.
In time, the afternoon meal she had planned was ready to be feasted on, and the hardworking, famished men were called to a table covered with a pot of chicken soup, mashed potatoes with puddles of melted butter, oatmeal molasses bread, and fruit and cheese. Uncas was beginning to see a pattern, as Alice had again prepared all of his favorite foods. The soup was different from her usual chicken soup, with the addition of corn and bacon, and he decided it was his new favorite. Her mashed potatoes never disappointed, nor did her molasses bread. And he could never deny himself the indulgence of cheese and fresh fruit. He was silent, though, throughout the meal, never once saying anything to Nathaniel. He would not even look at him. Nathaniel was certain now of a new tension between them, but he could not come to a reason.
Uncas forecasted rain before dark, so once the boards were down and the shingles hand-split, the men were intent on getting the shingles down by evening. Chingachgook, Nathaniel, and Uncas set a feverish pace to prevent the inside of the cabin from becoming saturated with rainwater. Just as the first drops began to fall, Uncas nailed down the last shingle.
'He certainly has earned his supper,' Alice thought as he climbed down effortlessly from the roof.
His arms ached and his hands were blistered. Nathaniel saw this and tossed a small container of balm to Uncas after seeing to his own blisters.
"No, thanks," Uncas said indifferently as he tossed the offering back. Nathaniel continued to rub the balm into his own hands, as he silently watched Uncas and tried to discern the origin of this new coldness.
The men carried the table and benches inside so they could settle under real cover for once. Alice and Cora moved the cook and bakeware to the new hearth, where they would prepare their meals from now on. It would have taken a single man months to make this much progress on the cabin, but with the cooperation of three it was coming together quickly. Uncas started the fire that would burn continuously in the hearth, and let the heat within begin to build.
Alice set out the remainder of her soup and mashed potatoes, complemented by the molasses bread, and an addition of peach tart with freshly whipped and sweetened cream. They indulged in the new ability to enjoy their dinner while rain poured overhead.
As night fell, and a great deal of rain with it, the group remained in the cabin for some time before retiring to the wigwam to sleep. Alice showed Cora (again) how to use some of last week's clabber as a starter for a new batch. The men blocked the window and door openings with hides and whatever else they could find to prevent water from getting in. They sat back and evaluated their work. It would make a fine home once finished.
"Pretty soon, it will just need furniture," said Uncas in a tone that was noticeably downcast. "We can spend the winter making that."
"Yes," agreed Nathaniel. "A cabinet for cooking and baking equipment, a pair of wardrobes and beds..."
"Oh, you won't need to make beds," Alice interrupted.
"What do you mean?" asked Cora.
"When I was on the ship, before I jumped, I posted a note to the Butler and bid him send us some of our things when the ship returned back to the Americas. In fact, the ship should have left port a couple of days ago. It should be on its way back to us now. I would expect it back in two months."
Cora looked at Alice in surprise.
"You are having our beds sent to us?"
"They'll be so much nicer than the beds supported by rope like the ones at the fort. Posts with curtains, platforms with feather mattresses, fluffy pillows with silk sheets."
"Alice," Cora stated in shock, "What else did you send for?"
"The ship I was on was scheduled to be docked for a week in England before departing to return here, which would give ample time for Bennett to receive the letter and comply with my request. He was to instruct the footmen and maids to pack for shipment our two beds, including linen, pillows and feather mattresses, two specific sets of china, silver and crystal glasses, some tools from the kitchen, our complete wardrobes and personal possessions from our rooms, as well as father's keepsakes of mother. Of course, I also requested an array of books from the library."
"Alice whatever do you mean by all of this?" Cora asked again for further explanation. "You know I have said you are not staying past Spring. You will just have to send most of these things back. You will return to England, even if I have to hire someone to escort you."
"I am not debating this any longer, Cora. You can kick me out of the cabin if you wish, send me out into the world to make my own way, but I am staying in America."
Alice stood up and walked out, not giving Cora a chance to argue. She walked through the pouring rain to the wigwam, and laying down under the cover of furs, she closed her eyes and cradled her belly contentedly.