Mister Thatcher

He stood with his back against the wall, allowing the shadow of the house to hide him from the moonlight. Straight ahead, he made out the pale golden tresses of a young woman walking down the lane towards the very house he was leaning on. Beside her walked a figure that was all too recognizably male. He calculated the distance between the young man and woman, deeming it slightly too close for strangers, acquaintances, business partners, or even friends. He frowned. The young man stopped at the stone ledge that wrapped around the property, but the woman continued forward.

Ellany returned down the stairs to the kitchen after helping Muirenn up to her room. As the day came to an end, Miss Charlotte had taken up one of the guard's shirts to mend. She squinted down at the small tear and let the firelight guide her needle. When Ellany sat down opposite Miss Charlotte, the elder woman glanced up from her sewing.