The sickening churning in his stomach disappeared almost immediately; it was replaced by a pleasant amusement. Standing across the stream was his new neighbor. At that moment, their gazes met, and she said not a word—nor would she, of course.
She instead turned to the large hand cart situated along the trail behind her and began to unlimber things.
"Hello," he said. There would be no reply, but it never hurt to be polite. "What brings you this way?"
So thorough was Alec's surprise at seeing the young woman that he nearly forgot about the goat over his shoulder. He laid the thing down and moved to the water's edge. His companion by that time had pulled down a large bundle from her cart and was wading into the steady current of the stream.
At first, he wasn't certain what to do, whether he should warn her or try and help her. But it didn't seem she needed the least bit of assistance. She soon was half wading and half swimming across the artery, her burden held well above her head to keep it dry.
There were no formalities when she emerged from the stream. She didn't look at him, smile, or greet him in any way. Rather, she brushed right past him and headed up the rise to where his cottage was located.
What could Alec do but follow? He grabbed up the goat and headed after her.
What she did next was no less perplexing. Once she reached the cottage, she deposited her bundle and began to look around. This search did not take the form of a few discreet peeks; no, she inspected his home thoroughly. There was nothing hostile in her demeanor. It was nothing like that. If anything, her face had a calm and pleasant aspect.
Once she finished her inspection, she headed back down the rise to the stream and soon was in the water. Before Alec could say a single thing, she had begun to ferry over items from her large and comically overburdened handcart.
In less than an hour, she had the entire contents of the cart on the near side of the stream and had begun to transport the items up to his cottage, where she deposited them in neat piles wherever there was a free space.
She resisted all of Alec's attempts to help with the same diligence she used to ignore his attempts to explain what she thought she was doing.
It became very clear what she was doing. She was moving into his home. The very idea of what she was doing left him excited and deflated in equal measures. He did not want a roommate of any kind, period.
But the woman was so mild and amiable. And there was something about the way her wet garments clung to her body that left Alec blushing.
"Good Lord," he said several times. "Good Lord."
Is this what defeat felt like?
Short of grabbing the young woman and throttling her, there was nothing to be done. There was absolutely no way to communicate with her.
And did he really want here gone? Oy.
Once she had everything thoroughly stowed in his home, she went about cleaning, sorting, and pulling things out. It was still a few hours to dark, the time when Alec was accustomed to beginning his meals, but his new roommate busied herself with preparing their evening repast. And it was, of course, very good, made up mostly of ingredients that Alec already had on hand. He'd never been able to make fish and vegetables taste so good.
It was splendid, and he expressed his gratitude in the only way he knew how. His spoken words did not exactly fall on deaf ears. As they sometimes did, his words elicited a look of amusement on the young woman's face.
Alec was grateful for the meal. What he was not so grateful for was the fact his new guest seemed perfectly intent on usurping his bed once dinner was finished.
Again, what could he do? There was no reasoning with someone who neither understood your words nor had words of their own. And it was the proper thing for the host to do.
So, he pulled out a few reed mats that he'd been stitching together to make a couch and put together an impromptu bed near the fireplace.
Should he be more wary with this young woman? That thought intruded on him the very moment he began to close his eyes. True, he'd slept one night at her abode, and she hadn't cut his throat then. Well, one needed sometimes merely to trust. His guest was already fast asleep, so Alec checked the doors a second time and soon was fast asleep himself.
***
He ordinarily was an early riser. There was little to do after dark to keep himself amused, so he usually was abed and dead to the world not long after sunset.
He was up, as was his usual, just a few minutes before sunrise only to realize that his bed was empty and that his new guest/roommate was nowhere to be seen. A quick look around found absolutely nothing. There was no sign of her.
So, Alec went on with his day. What else was there for him to do? He did find himself stopping from time to time just to have a look around, wondering if she may simply have wandered off in the early morning and got lost.
But how silly was that? His friend struck him as the kind who had never been lost in her life.
When evening came, and there still was no sign of her, he went down to the stream to have a look around. It was only then that it dawned on him that his companion's hand cart was missing.
Had she merely gotten up early that morning to run home to fetch another load of her belongings? It seemed the most reasonable explanation, and for a moment the idea lightened Alec's heart. He even had a foolish thought, speculating on why she didn't seek his help. The answer to that was anyone's guess.
For the moment, he was in a position to do whatever he wanted. (Who knew how long that would last?) That situation left him to think. If his new companion—for she appeared to be a companion whether he liked it or not—was dead set on bringing her entire household across the stream, then they would need more room. His single cottage, which was more than ample for just him alone, was already becoming crowded with his various projects even before a new person arrived.
No, if there were to be two of them, they needed more room. He fetched the axe, the saw, and a few weapons and headed back to the spot he'd found in the woods that had the best and most easily accessible timbers.
He spent the next two days felling timbers, cutting them in place, and hauling the boards he produced back home. It was hard and backbreaking work, but his body took it with ease, and each morning he was up and ready for new work.
In the middle of the afternoon of the third day, he was greeted with the sight of his new roommate walking up the rise from the river, again sopping wet from the crossing, hauling a large panier over her shoulder.
She was back and moving more of her gear into the cottage without a single word. Indeed, she scarcely regarded him at all until it was time to eat. She again cooked up something delicious, and they had what passed for a conversation: namely, her smiling and occasionally laughing at the silly sounds that came out of his mouth.
Throughout, she was entirely indifferent to his assistance. It wasn't that she was exactly hostile, but there was something in her face and her posture when he moved to help that told him to back off. And he did.
He'd thought much about her safety in recent days. Not that he was any sort of knight in shining armor. But it seemed that they were to be companions now, and isn't that what companions did? Looked after one another?
He resolved that, whether she wished his help or not, he was at least going to travel along with her the next time she departed. Perhaps that gesture would convince her that he expected to participate as an equal in their new union.
That night he slept again on the couch—he had prepared a more than adequate sitting area near the fire—fully intending to rise the next morning and attend her on the trail.
The next morning, Alec awoke again to find his bed empty and the handcart already gone. For several minutes, he contemplated grabbing his gear and following after her, but then he paused. How odd would that be?
No. The next time she departed, if indeed there was a next time, he would find some way to communicate his intention to share the journey with her, if not the work. Until then, he redoubled his efforts in gathering the material necessary to build a proper storage shed.
Several days later, the process repeated itself. His companion arrived, moved her stuff in, cooked dinner, laughed at him, and stole his bed. The next day, he was up well before dawn and waiting for her at her cart on the far side of the stream when she arrived.
When he began to follow her on her return east along the road, she stopped, picked up a rock, and threw it at him. It was the first sign of hostility he'd seen from her, but even then, her face showed not a hint of malice when she did it. She simply was laying down the law.
Very well. He backed off. It dawned on him that every good roommate he'd ever had in his life was a good roommate for one reason: everyone respected everyone's boundaries.
Well, here was a boundary. Alec decided to respect it. So, he crossed back over the stream, hefted his tools, and went back to work.