Chapter TwentyExchanged glances, some hostile, most curious, greeted Melody as she went down to the stream to clean the clothes Long Elk threw at her as a way of greeting her good morning. She lay under her buffalo skin, watching him as he dressed, the muscles in his torso and thighs rippling. She did not believe a man could look so fine. Such a thought, however, did nothing to dampen down her hatred for him and, throughout the night, she had sat pressed up against the side of the tepee, gripping a knife, daring him to try and move another inch closer. He did not, throwing himself under his own cover instead, grunting his frustration, and soon fell asleep. With his snores echoing around the confines of their canvas home, Melody eventually allowed herself to drift away.
She awoke with a st
