Mother in mourning
Cornelia can’t abandon a newborn baby in the wild...
Lady Cornelia Locke’s journey north to find the man responsible for her son’s death hits a snag this week when she encounters a young girl and newborn baby whose mother has been killed by outlaws.
Knowing the brutish Wild West is no place for children – and being a mother in mourning herself – Cornelia vows to return the children to their wider family, Mennonites, travelling south to claim land once assigned to Native Americans.
But it’s a mission her travelling companion, Eli Whipp, can’t face, having been traumatised by the loss of his family at the hands of invading settlers.
‘The country is built on blood,’ says Chaske Spencer, who plays the Pawnee ex-cavalry scout. ‘Eli’s someone who’s seen war and tragedy. He’s damaged, but he wants to say goodbye to the demons driving him.’
Promise
Before she embarks on her dangerous journey, Eli gives Cornelia a compass so she can find her way back, promising he’ll wait for her. It’s the start of a closeness between the pair.
‘They both come from very sad backgrounds,’ says Chaske. ‘But Cornelia coming into his life is helping Eli bring the walls down and to start healing. They’re developing a relationship of trust, of respect, of love, which I hope the audience will enjoy.’