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Chapter 1

Shall I love you like the wind, love,

That is so fierce and strong,

That sweeps all barriers from its path,

And reeks not right or wrong?

—R W RAYMOND

Fort Defiance, Arizona

June 1863

She looked out at the cliffs, painted with red and purplish brown and lued with the positions of the sun, a land of narrow canyons, great reen pinyons and juniper bushes dotted the distant, arid hills

Her straw bonnet shielding her face from the hot rays of the sun, Leonida Branson strolled arm in arm with her fiancé, General Harold Porter, before the many colorful tents that had been erected in the shadows of the high walls of Fort Defiance A band of Navaho had traveled down from the s with the soldiers In exchange they would take knives for shearing their sheep and other manufactured items Especially prized were silver buttons and ornaments to adorn themselves, as well as calico, ribbon and lace for their women

With her delicate white-gloved hand Leonida swept the skirt of her blue silk dress up away from the dusty sand, yet she was scarcely aware of it She was too taken by the beautiful displays of all sorts of jewelry and handwoven woolens ranging fros, and tapestries that lay spread on the ground before the tents, their Navaho owners proudly standing beside them

Leonida smiled at the lovely Navaho wo for one in particular Harold had told Leonida that this young woained her a reputation that reached far and wide

Harold’s left arive to the talented lady, in hopes that she would weave a lovely blanket froifts for Leonida

Leonida glanced over at Harold, who today had abandoned his usual uniform to impress upon her that he was h-buffed black boots, a pair of dark breeches, and a white shirt that was ruffled at the sleeves and throat, with a sparkling diamond stickpin in the folds of his satin ascot

Nearing forty, Harold was handsoolden, and a complexion uneneral His had been a life handed to him on a silver platter, or so it seeant personality bespoke of his having been spoiled as a child

Wanting to find excuses for him because she had pros on having been an only child But she knew that was not a valid excuse for his arrogance She was an only child, and she did not see herself as spoiled She always looked at everyone as her equal, even the poorest people who begged for food on the street corners of San Francisco, where she had lived with her mother after her father left them Leonida even went out of her way to help the needy, by handing out food and clothes to the the for it froave her

This had all come to an instant halt when her mother died and Leonida was forced to live with her father at his military establishments

A wave of sadness descended on her as she was catapulted back in time to another death Her father’s

He had been dead for only four months, and the pain was still sharp His death had seemed to imprison her in a trap froement to Harold

She had agreed to marry him only because her father had wanted it so badly He had seen many possibilities in Harold, both as a military officer and eventually as a civilian Harold had the money to make Leonida comfortable for the rest of her life

Her father had wanted to hter ell cared for when he was no longer around, but Leonida knew that if he could see how Harold’s arrogance, especially toward the Indi