Conscious of people's attention Connor waited until Sunday when everyone was out and knocked quietly on the door of Ellen's house. He heard footsteps and Carolyn opened the door. She greeted him with a pleased if curious smile and wiped her floury hands on her apron. "Connor, what are you doing here?" He flushed suddenly. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I found a bear den. We don't usually get them out here and I thought you might like to see them. It would be safe." She smiled at that. "When would you like to go?" He looked around the yard. "I thought we could go today." She frowned briefly. "I've just put some bread in the oven. It will be a few minutes before I can leave. If you'd like to come in you can wait." She stepped back and ushered him into the room.
He scanned the room and took a stiff seat on one of the chairs. She returned to the kitchen and washed her hands and hung up the apron. She walked in the living room and eyed his seating choice curiously. "Did you not want to sit on the couch? It's much more comfortable." He shook his head nervously. "Is this okay? I mean my being here with them out." She laughed. "Nobody here will hold it against me, if that's what you mean." He flushed and shifted uncomfortably. "Do you know they think we're…" . She looked at him curiously and realization dawned on her face. "Oh dear. Found out about that did you?" She flushed lightly. "I tried to tell them otherwise, I promise. They will not listen to me." Her face became suddenly serious. "You're not upset are you? I mean you're not offended?" He shook his head. "I'm just not used to people paying attention to my private life before. Are you offended? What about your reputation?" She smiled at him. "See, I am used to this. Back home everyone assumed I was engaged to one of my guardian's business associates. You're a much nicer prospect than he was. You're younger than my father for one. " He looked at her curiously. "Why did people assume he was courting you?" She sighed. "Because he was always at the house for business. Because if my guardian was out he would come by and check on me and or if he couldn't make a social event he would be my escort." She grimaced and shook her head. "Trust me when I say that I think better of my reputation with people thinking I'm involved with you."
They sat in silence for a moment and then she looked at him curiously. "Would you tell me about your mother? She must have been a fascinating woman." He nodded. "She was a great warrior. And wise. She taught me much." "Was she an anglophile?" Connor looked at her curiously. "Was she fond of European things? I mean your name is, well, very British. And your father… well I assume." She flushed lightly but he shook his head. "No, she admired my father as a warrior I think. He was a strong fighter. And she did not give me the name Connor. It was given to me by my guardian." She looked at him curiously. "So what is your name?" "Ratonhnhaké:ton" She twisted the words on her tongue. "Ratinhoke?" "Ratonhnhaké:ton" "Ratonketon?" He laughed. "Connor is fine." She grinned sheepishly. "No. I want to get this." He turned to her. "Ra..tonhn…ha.. ké..ton." She concentrated on the sounds. "Ra..tonhn…ha.. ké..ton?" He nodded. She tried again. "Ratonhnhaké:ton" He smiled. "Very good!" She laughed. "I think though that I will stick with Connor if you don't mind." He shook his head. "I do not mind."
"I'll go ahead and change. Would you like something to drink while you wait? There was actually some tea to be had this week. Smugglers but I'll settle for what I can get." He shook his head and she turned and headed out of the room. She returned shortly in the pants and sat on the couch picking up a newspaper as the smell of bread filled the house. At some sign he missed she rose and pulled the loaves from the over and placed them on the counter to cool. Her voice came from the kitchen. "How long do you expect we'll be gone? Should I leave a note?" He thought briefly before responding. "I suppose you had better. I wouldn't want them to worry."
Shortly thereafter they were heading through the still disserted town. He led her to one of Myriam's hunting blinds and watched as she climbed the ladder slowly. "You're sure this is safe?" She asked nervously. "We'll be fine." He climbed up after her and led the way slowly until they reached a set of branches overlooking a hill. She settled on the branches and pulled out her pad. Shortly a fat black bear shambled out of the cave. Connor began to explain what he knew about bears when she gasped with delight and pointed to the edge of the cave. First one and then a second fluffy cub climbed out and followed their mother. Carolyn was obviously enraptured and began drawing the scene but Connor took a sharp breath. "I did not see them earlier. This is bad. We should go." Carolyn looked up at him. "Surely we're safe up here. They're charming."
"I would not have brought you here if I had known. A mother bear is the most dangerous creature you will ever meet in the woods. We should leave now." She looked up at him, her eyes pleading and the pencil in her hand. "We just got here! Surely we can stay for a few minutes." Eventually he nodded. "Just a few minutes. Work quietly. Do not draw their attention. If you have questions for me you may ask them when we get back." She nodded excitedly and began to sketch the bears eagerly. Eventually she sighed and put the pad away in her bag. Connor reached over and grabbed it from her hands and slung it over his own shoulders. He watched anxiously as she stood up on the branch and headed back to the ladder.
He descended first and scouted the area carefully before waiving her down. She was less than half way to the bottom when he spotted a dark shaping moving through the bushes. "It's the male." Quietly he urged her back up the ladder but to her horror when she reached the top he was not behind her. She turned expecting to see him climbing up behind her but he stayed on the ground, his weapon drawn. The first blow caught him before he was ready and the bear raked his back in a sweeping blow, knocking him to the ground. He repositioned and gripped the blade tighter, tracking the bear's approach. It took a number of blows before the bear stood on its hind legs and he delivered the killing blow. Scanning the area again he motioned her down and no sooner than she reached the bottom then he grabbed her by the hand and began to run through the trees dragging her behind him. She stumbled but did her best to keep up with his long strides.
Finally they reached a clearing near the river and he slowed. Releasing his hand she fell to her knees gasping for air. He stood over her until she caught her breath and helped her to her feet carefully. "Are you ok?" She swallowed and nodded as he led her to a log to sit and catch her breath. Turning she caught sight of his back and froze. "You on the other hand…" she pulled her bag from his shoulder and fished around in it pulling out roll of bandage. Nodding to the log she held up the roll. "Take off your jacket. I can at least clean and bandage it." He scanned the area but did not move to sit. "I'm fine. It's nothing serious." She reached over and ran her hand lightly over his back and held up the blood smeared fingers to him. He set his jaw but her voice was firm and he suspected her tone was something she used quite frequently in the class room.
She met his eyes with a glare. "You will sit down on that log and let me at least stop the bleeding or I will not be taking another step." He sighed and started to ease out of the jacket while she grabbed and handkerchief from the bag and dipped it in the river. He laid the coat beside him on the log while she surveyed his back. Her fingers tugged on the hem of the shirt. "The shirt too." He pulled the shirt off and focused on the trees in front of him until he felt her hands on the bare skin of his back. He took a sharp breath but apparently misunderstood pressing her left palm gently against his shoulder blade while she cleaned the area with the cloth. "I'm sorry. I know it hurts. Try not to think about. Focus on my other hand." Her fingers traced patterns lightly in his skin and he swallowed. Finally she rung out the square and folding it placed it over the worst of the scratches. "Hold out your arms" she told him and began to wrap the bandage about him. She tied them off carefully and then sank to the log next to him.
He reached over and grabbed her hand pulling it before him. "What are you doing?" she asked has he began to study her fingers. "I'm focusing on your hands. They've very smooth. Let me see the other one." She turned and let him take her right hand and examine it for comparison. "You have callus here from writing." He ran a rough finger over of the skin on the side of her pointer finger. "And one here on your thumb as well." She laughed. "That would be from sewing. I never bother with a thimble." Deciding turnabout is fair play she ran her fingers of the thick skin of his palm. "My hands tell the truth of how little work I do. Yours are a different story. These hands speak of knowledge outside a book." She swallowed suddenly and leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't have wanted to stay you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I should have trusted you knew what you were doing. " He shook his head but made no move to remove her. "You cannot say that. The bear would have still been there. I'll be more careful next time."
She shook her head. "No. I cannot do this again." He pulled her back and looked at her. "Of course you can. You're fine. I'm sorry I put you in danger. I'll be more careful." She shook her head. "It's not me I'm worried about Connor. It's you. I can't stand by and watch you get hurt. Some things aren't worth the price." He frowned at the sky. "What if it was something safe? What about the elk? We could watch them from across the river. I want to show them to you." She started to lean back against him but he caught her under the chin and raised her head. "Please say you'll come out again." He lowered his mouth to hers and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her closer as his lips brushed hers tentatively. She caught her breath and met his eyes. "Nothing dangerous. I won't watch you get hurt again." He smiled at her. "Something safe. I promise." He closed the distance between them again his mouth meeting hers hungrily. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders but she leaned into the kiss urging him on. He hands fumbled with the buttons of her jacket and she laughed as he broke the kiss to look down and pull them open. She slipped the jacket off with a sigh feeling his hands hot through the thin material of her shirt. She caught his mouth once more but her focus was on the hands tentatively exploring her back. One hand slid around between them and brushed the bottom of one breast. She grabbed his wrist but instead of moving it away as he expected she pulled it up and pressed it firmly to her chest. She sighed into his mouth as his fingers began to explore the sensitive area.
His other hand was just beginning to slide between them when he suddenly pulled away from her and looked around. "Damn. Someone's coming." He fumbled for her jacket and tried to help her into it. Blushing she did up the buttons and tried to smooth her hair. She was just handing Connor his shirt when Terry and Godfrey appeared at the edge of the clearing. They eyed Connor's bare chest and Carolyn's labored breathing with evident amusement. "So what have you two been up to this morning?" Connor tried not to blush but Carolyn piped up. "Don't go any more that way. We just got jumped by a bear and I'm afraid I'm all out of bandages. Connor took up more than I'm used to with the students." She smiled innocently and helped him into his shirt and jacket. "Perhaps it's time to head back for today." He could only nod to that.