You keep me warm

Prompt 5 – "I might just kiss you."

Prompt 26 – "You keep me warm"

Ross Poldark had just returned from the mine. It was winter and the mine had flooded again...

It was happening far too often these days but with little money to spare, there was nothing that could be done. Ross wouldn't let any of the workers down into the parts that were flooded. It wasn't that he was afraid of them drowning; they could all swim well enough. It was the cold of the water that he wouldn't let them suffer. They were all struggling enough now that it was winter, most of them not being able to afford to heat their own houses.

Not that he was going to follow his own rules; it wasn't something he was known for when it came to the welfare of others. He would fight against the idea of anyone doing something that would put themselves in danger but he would not take heed of his arguments and shy away from danger when there was work to be done for the good of others. After many years of marriage, Demelza had mellowed him but in this, she could not dissuade him.  He insisted on going down into the water and working until he could no longer stand the cold. He argued that he had a warm home to go to and as it was his mine it was his risk to take. He didn't mind being responsible for his health but hated the idea of being responsible for the potential sickness of one of his workers. He couldn't afford to let the mining in the lower levels stop. That's where the most profit was being made and although he was living comfortably enough he knew the more effort he put into mining the more the mine would profit so there would be more money coming in for the miners that worked there.

He pushed open the door and Demelza greeted him. As she threw her arms around him she felt the dampness of his clothes. She wished that he wouldn't take such risks but as she had already told him, she realised it was part of him and deep down she knew that it was one of the many reasons she had fallen in love with him. "Ross you must be freezing." He nodded and pulled her closer as she tried to move away from him. "I was going to put some more wood on the fire." She said as she looked up into his eyes. "Don't worry about it my love" he replied while gently resting his chin on top of her head. "You keep me warm"

Later that evening Ross had changed out of his damp clothes and was lying in bed with his arms around Demelza. He was feeling much warmer now. "Ross?"

"Mmmm?"

"What are you going to do about the mine flooding?" Ross met her eyes as a cheeky grin spread across his face. "I might just kiss you" this comment was met with laughter. "That won't solve everything Ross." Ross kissed her and as he slowly pulled away he held eye contact with her and spoke in a whisper "No, maybe it doesn't solve everything but it does make everything seem slightly better and much more bearable. It reminds me that I've got you on my side, and that means a lot to me" She traced his scar with her finger and kissed him again.

"Seriously though Ross, what are you going to do?" She studied his face as he looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I don't know my love. I could run the pumping gear but the shaft would only flood again and I don't think I'd be able to run the pumping gear enough times to last us through the winter. The real enemy at the moment is the weather and that's not something I can fight. It almost seems like the only option to deal with the flood it to wait for summer and to hope that a new season will look on us more favourably."

"Can you not focus on mining a new route?"

"We could but I doubt it would be as profitable."

They fell silent again as they both contemplated the situation. After a while, Demelza spoke "Ross, you can't put too much pressure on yourself. It's not your fault the mine has flooded. Almost all the mines in their area have flooded and out all of them yours in the only one still making a profit. True it's not much, but it is something and that's thanks to your hard work." Ross smiled at her. She always managed to say the right thing to reassure him. It was something that only she could do. He pulled her close to him. "What would I do without you?"