"I'm really all right," she says. "They're good people, why wouldn't I be? I'm a little homesick, but that's something that can't be helped."

She couldn't imagine trying to find herself a place with enough roots to live comfortably while they tried to find a way back. If it weren't for Gabriel, she wouldn't even have had that glimmer of possibility. "The women find it wonderful to have an example to encourage their daughters to actually learn to keep house, and a few of the young warriors have made comments that if I weren't yours, they might consider me. They're sweet, but I'm not interested."