| Before Time Page 13 |
| Music : In My Life |
| Bow ' as he now thought of himself, had considered the load in the cart. His decision was to remove all that wouldnae go to rot, and carry the rest back to his cottage, until the weaver cottage was made over. |
He set to the task and was finished fair quickly. Then he made room in the cart and 'padded it with the wool skins so the women would travel in comfort should he hit a rock or rut. |
| When all was finished to his satisfaction, he went back in to clean the remnants of the meal. He was too late, Maire and the mothair had already done so. |
| ' Will ye be needin any special things ? Something ta put in the cart whilst yer away ? ' |
| Maire smiled, shook her head ' no' . The mothair of course couldnae resist speaking ' I need nothing special Bow, and I think Me Maire has everything special she needs ' Maire blushed from the top of her hair to the bottom of her feet and muttered a loong, drawn out ' Mothairrrrrrrrr ' But the look on her face spoke the truth of her mother's words. |
| ' Off we go then ' and he led them to the cart, helped them in. 'Are ye warm enough then ? It was darkening agan. He couldnae believe how fast the hours passed when they were together |
| ' They nodded as one, and he flickied the rains gently. 'Nae a long ride nor much work this time bonny ' |
| ' They arrived before long, Bow escorted them to the door and bade them come in. He heard a soft tinkle of laughter behind him,t'was Maire a giggle at her mothair who was ostentatiously wiping her feet. |
| Bow tried to sound stern, but didnae quite manage it ' Come we tarry ' |
| They walked into the large main room, which was warm. inviting. He heard the mothair take in her breath sharply as she gazed about |
| Bow was slightly alarmed. ' Didnae she like it ? ' He spoke quickly. ' Tis nae near done, if there's something ta be changed, I'll change it. ' |
| Mothair's voice was hardly more than a whisper. ' Tis Suitable and more Bow ' |
| Fionna, Maire's mothair seemed near speechless. She walked about, touching this, caressing that, and softly, almost in prayer, said ' I've always dreamed of a house like this, dreamed, nae hoped or wished... for t'was beyond our reach ' |
| Maire clutched Bow's hand tightly, burried her face in his chest. as he said to Fionna . ' Reach out mothair, reach out ' |
| Fionna, like Maire was nae covetous, she managed to gain her momentum of thought back, and wandered to a corner that seemed to have an abundance of candles about. ' What maight this be Bow ? It looks like a book. ' |
| 'T'is a book Mum. I've one or two. Me one decadance I fear ' |
| 'Fionna turned quickly to look at him. ' Tis nae a decadance Bow, and why does it nae surprize me ye've a book or two ? I've niver met one that could read, tis an honor fer meself ' |
| Bow laughed that laugh they had both come to know. ' I'd nae go so far as ta say I'm a reader Mum, but I work hard on it. I know me letters and the rest will follow. I fear I havenae been studying so much of late. There's a purpose to me plot though ' with this he gave a roguish wink . ' I'm thinkin if I know me letters and Maire and you know yer numbers, as ye must ta weave. we'll be victors in all, yes ? ' |
| Maire held his hand even tighter, she tried to keep her teasing tone, but all her love was in it. ' Ah, that's why ye followed me about Bow. Ye wanted a tutor ' |
| Fionna wandered to another part of the room. feeling strength in her body she had nae felt since her man was lost. She pointed to a rectangular frame near two feet off the floor. T'was made of wood, and covered by some fresh woolen lengths, She could guess of course, but she asked, ' What maight this be Bow ? ' |
| T'is a bed Mum, Ye and Maire will niver sleep with yer backs on the sod again. Ye and Maire may sleep on it, as tis ample, and I will work on yerown bed. If Ye choose ta stay and make Maire happy, we'll put it in a space where ye'll be warm all night, and have privacy when ye tire of us. If ye choose nae ta stay, it will go where you go. |
| The bed, like all he did for this house, was a work of love. And like all else, he wasnae satisfied. He wanted it ' better '.. He'd see an object, be a tool or furniture, examine it closely, make improvements in his head and then reproduce it. So it was with the bed. |