"You can't be serious."
"I am."
"I just found out my brother is dead, and you're asking me to marry a woman I've never met?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Samuel Vane believes your family betrayed him."
Caleb's jaw tightened.
"And?"
"If you leave, he will kill you."
Running Wolf pointed toward the woman.
"If you remain, you become part of my family."
Caleb looked at her.
She stood perfectly still.
"What if she doesn't want me?"
The woman spoke for the first time.
Her voice was calm.
"I don't."
Caleb blinked.
Running Wolf smiled.
"Good."
Caleb looked between them.
"You two planned this?"
The woman turned toward him.
"No."
Then she reached for the edge of her veil.
"But perhaps we can make our own choice."
She lifted it slightly.
Caleb saw only one eye.
A pale blue eye.
Then she lowered the veil again.
"Marry me," she said quietly, "and live."
She paused.
"Refuse, and Samuel Vane will find you before sunrise."
Caleb looked at the chief.
Then at the woman.
Finally he sighed.
"All right."
The chief nodded.
"Good."
Caleb looked at the veiled woman.
"But I want one promise."
"What?"
"If I marry you, nobody owns anybody."
She was silent.
Then she said:
"Agreed."
Caleb didn't know it yet.
But before sunrise, he would discover that the woman behind the veil had been waiting years for someone to make that exact promise.
The Woman Nobody Was Allowed to See
Her name was Elena.
Caleb learned that much during the wedding preparations.
Nothing else.
She ate alone.
She worked alone.
And she never removed her veil in front of anyone.
Caleb asked Running Wolf why.
The chief answered:
"Because people fear what they don't understand."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It answers enough."
The wedding took place beneath a huge cottonwood tree.
There was no preacher.
No church.
Only the chief, the elders, and the stars.
Elena wore a white dress.
Her veil was black.
It seemed strange to Caleb.
White for marriage.
Black for mourning.
Perhaps she considered both necessary.
When the ceremony ended, they were led to a small cabin.
Caleb stood near the doorway.
Elena sat beside the fire.
Neither spoke.
Finally Caleb said:
"This is the strangest thing I've ever done."
She laughed softly.
"Then your life has been peaceful."
"No."
He looked at her.
"Not peaceful."
"Why?"
"My wife died."
Elena's posture changed.
"I'm sorry."
"It was years ago."
"That doesn't mean it stops hurting."
Caleb stared at her.
"You understand?"
"More than you think."
He sat across from her.
"Who hurt you?"
She touched the veil.
"People."
"That's vague."
"People are usually the reason."
Caleb smiled.
"You speak like an old woman."
She laughed.
"I'm twenty-eight."
"You're younger than me."
"Much."
"Then stop talking like my grandmother."
She smiled.
It was the first time Caleb heard her laugh.
He liked it.
That surprised him.
He looked toward the veil.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yes."
"Why don't you remove it?"
Silence.
Then she said:
"Because once people see my face, they decide who I am."
Caleb nodded.
"I know the feeling."
She looked at him.
"Do you?"
"I was my father's son before I was Caleb Mercer."
"And now?"
"Now I'm the brother of a dead man."
Elena lowered her head.
"I'm sorry about Daniel."
Caleb stared at her.
"How did you know his name?"
She froze.
Caleb stood.
"Elena."
She didn't answer.
"You knew my brother."
"No."
"You're lying."
She stood.
"I knew of him."
"How?"
"He came here."
Caleb stepped closer.
"What did he say?"
Elena's voice trembled.
"He warned us."
"About Vane?"
"Yes."
"What else?"
She looked toward the window.
"He told us someone in his own camp was working for Vane."