| Before Time ... Page 2 |
| Added to his other duties, Bowman began to work diligently on his cottage. It was fine enough for his needs, but he knew, deep in his being he knew, He would bring her to live with him and it was nae fine enough fer her. Nae that she would ask for much, she was nae a covetous person. It was he that wanted a fineness found in no other cottage. He wanted her ta know how much she was wanted, treasured, and deserving of all he had to give her. |
| Maire began to fret another had caught his attention. It was nae like him to be absent often, it worried her. He missed those idyllic hours with her, but knew he must present her with as close ta perfection as his mortal hands could produce. |
| He began by stripping off the old thatch on the roof. She would have clean, fresh thatch. He laid extra poles, and stretched skins from pole to pole, held by leather lacing. |
| At each point where the tanned skins overlapped, he applied coat upon coat of tree gum from the Maple. It would keep them dry in any storm. Atop the skins, he layered the herbs that would fend off any critter that wanted a domicile. |
| He'd let each layer dry completely, whilst working on new bows and arrows to sell, and yes, yes, he would look to the meadow and the orchards, for it became like a wound to be away from her. |
| He Worked like a man obsessed. When the roof matched his expectations, he worked on the walls. There would be no chilled wind to touch his Maire. |
| All but one was done in a like manner with the roof. The last was different and took longer. It was made of brick and stone. The stones he gathered, the bricks he fashioned with his own hands. He had watched Mason do it. He had it to perfection. Nothing less for HisOwn. |
| The fourth wall was to be a masterpiece of sorts. No other woman in the village would have such a grand wall. It would have a large fireplace with a chimney. The roof, the walls, the chimney would all keep this Lass warm, no matter the clime. He had seen one once before, in a Manor house nearby. He was trading some goods and was let in. He was careful to clean his boots before entering. |
| He was a keen observer, and he stored away his lessons, to be used throughout his life. He would never enter another's house, be it majestic or meager, without first wiping his boots. Many thought him odd in his habits, but all had to admit he was honorable and kind no matter whom he confronted, no matter the reason. |
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| The work was long, arduous, but he wouldnae be deterred from his goal. Each night he would fall into his cot and sleep the sleep of the weary. Times he didnae even wash his body, something that told more than any other act of his exhaustion. |
| Then one day, in the midst of his toil, Bowman went ashen ... he felt as though an arrow had pierced him. He began to tremble on his ladder. The cause wasnae physical, but the wound was just as deep. All of his work, all of this, was to make a home for his chosen one, yet he realized, she hadnae consented. Nae the subject had nae been broached. He realized most of the language between them was unspoken. |
| Music : Child Of Dreamland |