The Sun and Moon and Stars

Chapter VII

Frances looked up from the bed she was making and saw that Winnie stood in the doorway. The girl had her arms folded behind her back and she was chewing on her lip furiously. 

Frances flattened Julian's newly cleaned sheets and straightened up. "Winnie, is anything the matter?"

Winnie shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing around her face like springs. She offered no explanation for her appearance.

"Are you hungry?"

Again Winnie shook her head. "No." 

Frances sighed. She had work to do. There was no time to stand around playing games. She turned back to the bed and pulled the sheet tightly over the mattress. She hoped her apparent disinterest would encourage Winnie.

For a moment, it was so silent that Frances thought Winnie had left. But then the mattress creaked and Winnie sat there, right in the middle of the bed. "I have something to ask you," she said, crossing her legs and folding her hands onto her lap.

Frances took a seat on the corner of the bed and looked into Winnie's eyes. The little girl's face was relaxed and serious. There was no chance that her face would break into a smile as it often did. Frances bit her lip. "Yes?"

Winnie took a deep breath and leaned forward. "Ansi," she said, "would you like to come on an adventure. With Jem and me?"

Frances drew back, laughter on the tip of her tongue. She bit it back. Winnie's eyes were wide and her lips were pressed tightly in solemn anxiety. Winnie was as serious as Helena was when speaking of her past and as intense as Julian was when speaking of his family. Frances couldn't laugh at that.

"Ansi?" Winnie's voice was soft and curious. As if poking a cow and waiting for a reaction.

Frances opened her mouth to refuse but caught herself before the words came out. Why would she refuse? Rebecca and Helena were both fast asleep and Julian was hidden away in his shop. The house was silent and no one would miss her presence. For a moment, her mind drifted to the basket of laundry waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase and the porch that needed to be swept. But Frances couldn't bring herself to say no to the large brown eyes.

She leaned forward and smiled. "An adventure, you say? I've never been on one before."

Winnie smiled apprehensively and whispered. "I won't tell anyone."

Frances chuckled and Winnie slid her soft fingers into her hand. Without a single glance at the unmade bed, they left the room and headed for the kitchen. Just as they were about to cross the threshold onto the porch Winnie stopped. She looked up at Frances with worried eyes. "You really haven't gone on an adventure before, have you?"

Frances dipped her head. "What do you mean?"

Winnie shook her head and pursed her lips. Her eyes looked Frances up and down. "You can't go adventuring like that," she said. 

Frances looked down at her dress. Soft cotton with alternating light and dark blue stripes. It was well worn and there were a few traces of dirt that had been impossible to scrub out the last time Frances had washed it. "What's wrong with this dress?" she asked.

Winnie rolled her eyes as if talking to a young child and shook her head rebukingly. "Your dress is fine. It's everything else."

Frances raised her brows and had to bite back a smile. It wasn't every day that a grown woman was forced to learn something from a child.

Winnie sighed. "Your hair? Your shoes?"

Frances's hand instinctively went to her head. "My hair is tied. I have shoes on."