We, The Revenants

16. A Pleasant Surprise?

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.