The drop in temperature hit him as soon as he stepped outside. Snow had settled deeply throughout the village. The outer defences had provided some protection but with their dark, bark-constructed walls, the three longhouses nestling inside the log palisade looked like burnt loaves topped with white icing.

He wasn’t the only one up and about. Several hunched figures were picking their way to or from the latrine pits. Heads down, tucked into their blankets and furs, no one appeared to notice that he was not one of their own, or if they did, they had more pressing matters on their mind. He wondered if there would be any familiar faces among them.

“Damned tea,” Lawrence said from behind, cutting into his thoughts. “Goes right through you. Where’s a fellow go when he needs to piss?”

Hawkwood turned. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m getting there,” Lawrence said, his breath fogging. “I saw you get up. Thought it best to follow. Didn’t want to go blundering about with my breeches unbuttoned.”

“This way,” Hawkwood told him.

Business over, they re-emerged into the open and fastened their coats. It was a relief to be breathing clean air after the heavy smell of the longhouse and the latrine. Hawkwood was in no rush to go back inside.

“I was told the Iroquois lived in log cabins like the whites,” Lawrence said, looking around him. “Not like this.”

Following Lawrence’s gaze, Hawkwood saw how the village must look to an outsider.

“Most do, probably, but traditional Iroquois houses were always built like this. It made it easier to abandon them when the tribe moved.”

“Moved?”

“Every twenty or thirty years, when the land stopped producing crops, the tribe would gather up their belongings and look for a new spot where the soil was fertile and the hunting good. Then they’d start all over again with what tools and materials were to hand. The forest would grow back over the old village and in time you’d never know they’d been there.”

“Carrying their homes on their backs.”

“Something like that.”

“Does this mean Tewanias and his people don’t expect to be here for long?”

It was a good question.

“I think they know they can’t hide for ever. Progress will come, whether they like it or not and they’ll have to make a decision. Stay or leave.”

“If they leave, where will they go?”

“Canada. There won’t be any other option.”

“And if the Americans are victorious?” Lawrence said. “What happens if they take Canada?”

“It’s up to us to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Despite the assurance he’d given to Tewanias, Hawkwood wondered whether that might be easier said than done.

“You’re worried for them, aren’t you?” Lawrence regarded him closely.