It didn’t occur to me to correct her. Instead, Caroline Greenwood took my hand and led me up the staircase once again.
As I stepped onto the landing my eyes found Jack immediately. He seemed in a much better mood from when I had left him. He was nodding and talking with his father, though I noticed his eyes were extremely puffy. I made my way towards the men and they ceased talking. Jack stood as I crossed the threshold and put a hand upon the small of my back. My skin tingled at his touch.
‘Um, Ava, I would like you to meet my father … Jack Greenwood Senior. Dad, this is Avalon.’
‘I am very pleased to meet you, Avalon,’ Mr. Greenwood took my hand and kissed it. ‘Junior has been telling me about you.’
‘Junior?’ I repeated.
Jack looked at me with an expression that quite clearly said; never call me Junior.
‘Old habit,’ Mr. Greenwood said with a smile. ‘He liked it when he was a kid.’
‘I am very different now,’ said Jack.
‘That you are,’ Mr. Greenwood nodded. ‘Won’t you both join us for supper? Caroline makes an excellent roast.’
Jack glanced down at me. ‘Oh, I’m not sure,’ he began.
‘Nonsense,’ Mr. Greenwood waved a hand. ‘I want to get to know your lady friend better.’
I looked at Jack with raised eyebrows as Mr. Greenwood turned away to ask his wife to prepare supper.
‘Now then,’ said Mr. Greenwood clapping his hands together. ‘Won’t you come and meet Jamie? He knows all about you of course.’
Jack gulped. ‘I, well … yes, all right.’
‘I’ll … I’ll help with dinner,’ I told Jack.
I watched Jack and his father walk down the hallway while Mr. Greenwood said, ‘you have gotten tall. I’m not sure where you got those genes from I’m afraid.’
As I entered the kitchen I wondered what Mr. Greenwood had said to Jack that had earned his forgiveness so quickly. I hoped that Jack would confide this in me.
Mrs. Greenwood was bustling around the kitchen, preparing supper.
‘Do you need any help?’ I asked as she tried to light a fire in the grate.
‘Oh no dear, it’s fine. You sit yourself down and I’ll fix you something to drink.’
I watched as she struggled to bring the flames to life.
‘Here,’ I said, kneeling beside her.
I rearranged the smouldering embers with my bare hands, causing Mrs. Greenwood to gasp. It took only a moment for me to coax the kindling flames into a roaring fire with little effort.
‘Oh goodness,’ Mrs. Greenwood smiled. ‘That has saved me a lot of time.’
I stood back to admire my handiwork. ‘It’s the only thing I’m good at, really,’ I said.
‘Well I think it’s just wonderful,’ Mrs. Greenwood said. ‘Now, you look absolutely exhausted. Let me fetch you a bath – we have running water you know. I’ll wash your clothes too. I have some clothes you can borrow. I think they will fit, the bust might be a little loose-’
‘Oh … no, please,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry about me.’
‘I insist.’ She bustled away without another word.
While alone, I sniffed my clothes and frowned. I suppose I could do with a thorough wash.
‘I heard Jack say that you are walking to Concord City. That is quite a way!’ I heard Mrs. Greenwood call from the bathroom.
I ventured down the hall, following the sound of her voice.
‘Uh, yes. We are going to … visit my family,’ I lied as I entered the washroom.
Mrs. Greenwood was kneeling over a handsome bathtub with clawed feet. She hadn’t been lying; they really did have running water – something which I had hardly seen. Most villagers had to collect buckets of water from a well.
‘How can you afford running water?’ I said. ‘Even the manor I worked at did not have it and they were fairly rich.’
‘My sister’ Mrs. Greenwood smiled, ‘She is a Water-Mage. We collect rainwater in a tank on the terrace. She comes over every week to purify it. Her husband is quite handy with metal too, so we set up some pipes to run the water straight into the bathroom. In exchange I give her medicines. Of course, the only problem is the water is always cold. I usually heat a few pitchers of water for Jamie when he bathes, so it is warm for him.’
‘That won’t be a problem for me,’ I said.
‘No, of course not. How silly of me.’
Caroline Greenwood left me in the bathroom once the tub was full. I had never had the luxury of a spacious bath before. At home we had a small metal tub in which to bathe, but it was tiny in comparison to this.
Once I was undressed I found an assortment of soaps and other miscellaneous things that foamed when they hit the water. I had a lot of fun filling the bath with different smelling liquids before finally lowering myself into the water. The bath was so large that the water came to my collarbone and my body was completely obscured by bubbles. For the first time in months I felt relaxed. The water was soon steaming and mist filled the bathroom, fogging the mirror.