Carol Singers [Scrooge x Marley]

Stave III - Apples and Pairs

Ebenezer awoke early on Boxing Day. He lay in bed for a moment, tiredness dragging him desperately back into sleep, before remembering what his plans were. He got up, vision a little blurry and hair tousled, and wandered over to the window, pulling open the curtain onto a snowy morning. The sky was clear, and the sunlight shone brightly over the snowy street, where carts had already driven ruts into the snow, and footprints worn down the edges. The breath of the passers by puffed over thick scarves and under woollen hats as they made their way through their mornings with smiles on their faces. Ebenezer rubbed his eyes, and rushed to dress himself and eat a small breakfast. His mind was racing with thoughts of Jacob, and in his anxious stare he checked his hair on three separate occasions before he finally left the house.

He made his way to the square where he had arranged to meet Jacob, smiling at those he passed in the streets on his way. The air was clear, and the cold bit at his face as he walked, but he did not mind much. Such was his excitement that he reached the square a quarter of an hour earlier than they had arranged to meet and so spent those fifteen minutes pacing up and down, each minute feeling like an hour. At last, Jacob arrived, strolling into the square immaculately dressed in a long coat and top hat. His glasses sparkled in the sunlight and he smiled as he approached Ebenezer.

"You seem excited to get started," teased a smiling Jacob. "Although I can't quite see what part of the search for a shop to rent could interest you so much."

The weather was on Ebenezer's side; the brisk wind and his brisker pace had left his face rosy, and he hoped that it hid the blush that was undoubtedly making its way up his face. Keen to move on with the conversation, Ebenezer pulled a couple papers out of his pocket and showed them to Jacob.

"I looked through some newspapers to see if there were any vacancies, so on each sheet I've circled any possible places we could rent,"

"You worked on Christmas Day?!?" Jacob was clearly astonished.

Ebenezer gave a small nod. Jacob had no witty remark to this, and instead just looked closer at the papers in Ebenezer's hands. After a moment, Jacob raised his head again.

"This one here seems to be the closest," he said, pointing to a circled advert on one of the papers.

"Shall we start there, then?" said Ebenezer.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," replied Jacob.

They set off walking at a comfortable pace, faster than most passers-by who weren't in a particular hurry, but far from how Ebenezer had walked over to the square where they met. The sun was rising slowly over the rooftops, and so much of the streets they walked along were in a kind of half-dark, where the light on the roofs reflected into the shadows of the streets enough that one could see clearly, but no direct sunlight reached it. As such, the snow on the ground was frozen in place from the night's frost, and Ebenezer almost slipped a couple times. It wasn't long before they reached the first address listed. The aforementioned was a large grey brick townhouse, on one of the more residential streets not too far from the main shops. Ebenezer looked nervously up at the dark facade, bathed in the early morning shadow, and turned to Jacob.

Before he could say anything, however, Jacob spoke, almost to himself it seemed:

"This seems to be the place."

With this, Jacob walked up the steps to the front door of the house, and knocked. The door was quickly opened by an older looking maid, who greeted them with a:

"How may I help yers?"

Jacob replied. "I am Mr Marley and this is my associate Mr Scrooge. We have come to inquire about the advert for the shop up to rent?"