Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

A Trip to Town

The spell over Ana had broken, for now at least. He had held her to him for hours that night, letting her cry herself out and eventually fall asleep in his arms. In the morning, she had simply held him close for a long time before she got out of bed. The fire in the bedroom had died down, as had the one in the parlor. The stove at least had coals that he could use to get them started again, and Ana hardly strayed from beside the stove until the parlor had warmed a bit.

When Will came back from the bedroom, he found her with a pan over the stove, cracking eggs into it. She gave him a smile over her shoulder, "I found these in the icebox, I thought you might like something to eat."

"I'd love it." He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Anything else in there?"

"Some milk, and there's a loaf of bread on the counter." She stirred the eggs with a fork, letting them sizzle. "And bacon grease, but there has to be more than this. How else do people live through winter out here?"

Will chuckled, greedily smelling the eggs cooking. "There's probably a cellar, filled with preserves and staples. We can go exploring after breakfast." He smiled as he watched her bolt down her breakfast, taking a candle to light her way upstairs after so she could dress. Will took the moment to grab an oil lamp and do a little exploring of his own. Aside from the parlor, dining area and the kitchen the first floor had a large pantry that was well stocked and a few other rooms, although bare of furniture. He followed Ana upstairs, taking note that aside from their bedroom and the bathroom, the other rooms were bare as well. He set the lamp down on the plain table beside the bed, moving to his own trunk. "I don't think the Browns stayed here very often, there's hardly any furniture."

"We'll have to remedy that." Ana spoke from the bathroom, "At least it has a flush toilet."

"And a water heater over the stove." He chuckled as he drew on his shirt. "I would not want to use melted snow to wash up."

She laughed, coming out in a shirtwaist and a plain skirt. "Neither would I, although you should hear people go on about the benefits of soaking in cold water."

"I'd much rather you be warm." He stepped over, slipping a hand around hers. "Now, come on and let's see what else this place has. Then I want to find that lake." Sure enough there was a hatch in the pantry that led down to the basement, shelves lining the walls and filled with preserved vegetables and tinned meats and milk. With the fresh milk and eggs from the Bishop's farm, it would be more than enough to see them through their time here.

His breath was coming out in puffs of steam though when they got outside, and he was glad for the jackets they had grabbed. "Can you imagine what it's like when it snows here?"

"I think it already has." Ana replied, nodding towards small drifts that had been piled up away from the house. "Although it may be melting." There was a small path leading into the woods, and Rigel loped ahead of them down it. The forest around them was quiet, the only sound being their footsteps and the bubbling of a nearby creek. They shortly came across it, ice along the edges of the moving water. Ana paused, smiling. "Do you think there are any fish?"

Will, already to the small bridge over it, called back. "I would think so, and if not there's bound to be some in the lake."

"Do you think we could go fishing, like in Scotland?" She joined him on the bridge, taking his arm as she tried to negotiate her way through the snow piled on the other end. "Oh, I just don't know how I'll manage in skirts with all this snow."

He chuckled, holding her steady. "I'm sure you'll manage, and I'm quite sure we could spend a day out here fishing." Part of him wanted to make a quip that she could very easily navigate the snow by simply shedding her skirt and petticoat and wandering around in just a chemise, but he held that back. He didn't want to press that, she'd make a move in that direction when she was confident.