Luncheon at the cottage consisted of a stew with savoury potatoes simmered in a broth of mutton with chunks of meat and carrot delightfully scattered throughout. Delicious bread was fresh from the oven, and Evie's mouth watered as she stomped the mud off her shoes at the door.

  "Mummy I'm Home!" Evie called cheerily, "I've brought Katie!"

  "Well. Get in here and eat! You don't have much time before afternoon lessons!" Her mother called back to her.

  "Come on, lets go." Katie said as she unwound her scarf and hung it by the door.

  "This smells delicious Missus Hale," Katie said as the bread was brought fresh out of the ovens to sit on the sideboard.

  "Hello Missus Hudgins, Is Mister H home yet from the fields? And is Father Home?" Evie said, giving Missus Hudgens a side hug before scrambling to the kitchen table.

  "Your father went out with Mister Hudgens to collect the flock to the barn early this morn. They should be back soon." Missus Hudgins replied in her warm, grandmotherly voice. Evie was surprised to hear that. Mister H usually did all of the work with the sheep since Father had come back from the war poorly and could not be counted on to share in the work. Their two families had shared in the work from time beyond time, and there had never been a time that they both did not live on this farm.

  The Hudgins had only been blessed twice, and both children had died at a young age, long before Father had been born. When his own parents had passed on, they had taken the raising of him, and the farm had carried on through his name. When he passed, the farm would pass to Evie, and the man she would marry would take primary control of the property. But the Hudgins would always be as family to them.

  "How were lessons girls?" Mother asked the girls, sitting down with them to enjoy her meal as well. It was simple farmer's fare, but Mother was an excellent cook, and everything she touched was made delicious simply by being in her presence.

  "Good, but I think you do a much better job here at home," Evie said sweetly, her voice dripping with honey while batting her eyes.

  "Och, Child," Mother laughed, "You'll be the death of me. How do you expect me to get all of this tending to done while also attending to your education?"

  "But Mummy, its just so Booooring," she said exasperatedly.

  "Missus Hale," Katie interjected, "Can Evie be let free from her chores this afternoon? We should like to take a walk by the pond after the afternoons lessons." Katie looked studiously at her bowl, finishing it down with a voracious appetite.

  "Ahh, this wouldn't happen to be about ice-skating around the pond now, would it?" She looked suspiciously at Evie. "You know how your father feels about that with what happened to his own brother."

  "But mother, we'll be careful. We'll check the ice just as we've been taught and we won't go if there's even a hint that it might not be solid. Plus, Johnnie Milford and his friends will be there, so we shan't be alone."

  "Johnnie Milford, is it? Well, in that case, don't let your father see you leave with the skates. They're in the loft of the barn." Mothers' eyes twinkled. She was well aware of her daughter's affection for the boy, even if they only saw him at church on Sundays. If the way she blushed and twirled her hair around her finger was any indication, it was only made sure by the fact she would stare dreamily at his family's pew and pretend to be looking at something else as soon as she was caught.

  As prospects went, Johnnie would be a good one. A solid education and the area's biggest dairy farm, which provided half the area's milk production, would go a long way to securing her a good life. Mothers couldn't start too young when matchmaking, and Evie's mother was no exception, regardless if she was contented to be a farmer's wife or not.

  Luncheon finished up, and the girls rushed out of their house to the barn to obtain the dusty skates. They were ancient and strapped onto the feet by way of strips of leather and cording, but they would do the job. When they got back to school, they milled around the yard, waiting for the doors to open so they might be let back in. Evie's breath caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of Johnnie Milford standing with his friends and laughing.

  "What do I do? Shall I go up and say something?" She breathlessly asked Katie as she pointedly turned her back to him.

  "I think not. He's seen you," Katie said, raising her eyebrows.

  "He's seen me?" Evie asked, voice rising in a near panic.

  "He's seen you! He's coming this way! Pretend not to care!" Katie made a face giggling.

  "Shhh! Stop it! He'll know we're talking about him!" Evie said in a panicked half-whisper, unable to help herself giggling hysterically.

  "Hey," he said, coming up behind them; Evie spun around giggling, skates swinging wildly from their cords over her arm. Katie stepped up and linked arms with her, hair blowing wildly in the cold air, and they looked like a pair up to no good.

  "Hey Yourself, Johnnie Milford," Katie said, an odd sparkle in her eye. "Care for a kiss," She said daringly, "I think Evie here might like to give you one." Evie gasped and yanked her arm from Katie's grasp and turned to her.

  "Katie, how dare you! That is completely unacceptable!" Evie gasped out, face colouring ridiculously, she was sure.

  "Oh, don't be a prude, it's all in good fun." She made a face at Evie, winked at Johnnie and flounced off to talk with the other girls.

  Evie and Johnnie were left awkwardly looking at the ground, unsure of what to say next. Johnnie reached up to the back of his collar and rubbed his neck awkwardly. He flushed a little before stammering, "So we missed you at luncheon today. Mother asked about you…".

  "Oh, your mother did?" She asked sharply, looking in his face for something she wasn't sure would be there. "Is that why you invited me? Because your mother wanted you to?" she sounded almost accusatory. She didn't mean to, but if he was not the one who wanted her to come, then why had she gotten so excited? She felt a sinking feeling in her chest as the back of her neck went cold and her scalp prickled. He hadn't wanted her. He didn't ask for her to come. She felt tears prickle in the corner of her eyes, and she was glad for the bracing cold air keeping them from spilling.

  "Ah, yes," he said quickly, understanding that he was making a grave error at some instinctual level. "I had asked her this morn if I might invite you for luncheon." Her heart soared. He had asked for her! He wanted her to come! The sinking, draining feeling gave way to absolute delight and her face lit.

  "I have permission from Da to accompany you girls... ah, ladies to the pond after lessons." He smiled, "As long as you'll still have me."

  Evie's face lit up into a smile. "Yes, of course. You're welcome to come walk with us."

  "Great! I'll tell Ma that you're well of course, and I'll see if Frank and James want to come as well. I'm sure they'll be happy to come." He said in a rush, face flushed with pleasure.

  The bell rang, and they both looked up towards the chapel. Sister May was standing there, face wrought with disapproval at the fraternization occurring in the yard.

  "We'd better be off then," he said as she started to move to the door. "I'll see you after lessons." She nodded to him, and he skipped off towards the boys lining up to go in. Looking around, she caught Katie's eyes across the yard, an expectant look that said she'd better spill absolutely everything about their conversation or there'd be hell to pay.

  Evie smiled to herself, some things were just so sweet that they'd lose that sweetness in the telling, and she would keep that sweetness to herself, buried in her chest where no one could take it away. That would be just for her to savour. When she caught up to Katie, all she said was that he would come and she would bring his friends as well.