The idea seemed completely impossible.  “He and my father didn’t get along.  He was more or less forced to come out here.  I doubt he’d do anything more than he absolutely had to in that regard.  And from what I remember of him, he was the kind to sit and read a book, not the kind to be chasing someone down all over the prairie, not even if it was me.  Or maybe especially not if it was me.”

Chace was silent for a minute and she didn’t like the silence.  She could beat him at cards but she was always ten steps behind when he concentrated on a problem.

“I’m just going to ask this.  I’m not saying it’s what I believe, not at the moment, but I need to know your thoughts on it.  Would your father, having possibly heard about the letter, having possibly got a letter himself, would he be out here on his horse somewhere looking for you?”

Charlotte considered the person who had put this question to her, unsure of how she was ever going to let him go.

“My father has responsibilities.  A lot of people depend on him, not only for guidance but for keeping them safe.  I made this task even harder for him by what I’ve done.  So though I know he cares about me, and would die a thousand deaths if he knew where I was, because he wouldn’t have any way of seeing who you are, I’ll say no to that.  He wouldn’t come looking for me.  He couldn’t.”

“Next question.  Would he send someone else?”

“Now you’re making me afraid.”

“I have to think about these possibilities, but it could be something else entirely, something that has nothing to do with you or me at all.  And the tracks lead out, away from here.  They don’t lead back or go in circles or anything.  They’re just careful, but so far as it is now, it’s someone who passed on by and we’ll take it that way.”

“When will you feel like you’re sure about it?”  Given the situation, her father riding into the clearing out of nowhere was about as disastrous an occurrence as she could imagine.

“I’ll go back out early in the evening.”  He worked on something.  “Now that I’m thinking about it, here are these ducks but I don’t want a fire going, smoke, the smell of anything cooking.”

“We’ll have the ducks for breakfast.”  She would eat grass and dried buffalo, which were about the same thing, if it would keep her father away.

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