The spell over Ana had broken, for now at least. He had held her to him for hours that night, letting her cry herself out and eventually fall asleep in his arms. In the morning, she had simply held him close for a long time before she got out of bed. The fire in the bedroom had died down, as had the one in the parlor. The stove at least had coals that he could use to get them started again, and Ana hardly strayed from beside the stove until the parlor had warmed a bit.

When Will came back from the bedroom, he found her with a pan over the stove, cracking eggs into it. She gave him a smile over her shoulder, "I found these in the icebox, I thought you might like something to eat."

"I'd love it." He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Anything else in there?"

"Some milk, and there's a loaf of bread on the counter." She stirred the eggs with a fork, letting them sizzle. "And bacon grease, but there has to be more than this. How else do people live through winter out here?"

Will chuckled, greedily smelling the eggs cooking. "There's probably a cellar, filled with preserves and staples. We can go exploring after breakfast." He smiled as he watched her bolt down her breakfast, taking a candle to light her way upstairs after so she could dress. Will took the moment to grab an oil lamp and do a little exploring of his own. Aside from the parlor, dining area and the kitchen the first floor had a large pantry that was well stocked and a few other rooms, although bare of furniture. He followed Ana upstairs, taking note that aside from their bedroom and the bathroom, the other rooms were bare as well. He set the lamp down on the plain table beside the bed, moving to his own trunk. "I don't think the Browns stayed here very often, there's hardly any furniture."

"We'll have to remedy that." Ana spoke from the bathroom, "At least it has a flush toilet."

"And a water heater over the stove." He chuckled as he drew on his shirt. "I would not want to use melted snow to wash up."

She laughed, coming out in a shirtwaist and a plain skirt. "Neither would I, although you should hear people go on about the benefits of soaking in cold water."

"I'd much rather you be warm." He stepped over, slipping a hand around hers. "Now, come on and let's see what else this place has. Then I want to find that lake." Sure enough there was a hatch in the pantry that led down to the basement, shelves lining the walls and filled with preserved vegetables and tinned meats and milk. With the fresh milk and eggs from the Bishop's farm, it would be more than enough to see them through their time here.

His breath was coming out in puffs of steam though when they got outside, and he was glad for the jackets they had grabbed. "Can you imagine what it's like when it snows here?"

"I think it already has." Ana replied, nodding towards small drifts that had been piled up away from the house. "Although it may be melting." There was a small path leading into the woods, and Rigel loped ahead of them down it. The forest around them was quiet, the only sound being their footsteps and the bubbling of a nearby creek. They shortly came across it, ice along the edges of the moving water. Ana paused, smiling. "Do you think there are any fish?"

Will, already to the small bridge over it, called back. "I would think so, and if not there's bound to be some in the lake."

"Do you think we could go fishing, like in Scotland?" She joined him on the bridge, taking his arm as she tried to negotiate her way through the snow piled on the other end. "Oh, I just don't know how I'll manage in skirts with all this snow."

He chuckled, holding her steady. "I'm sure you'll manage, and I'm quite sure we could spend a day out here fishing." Part of him wanted to make a quip that she could very easily navigate the snow by simply shedding her skirt and petticoat and wandering around in just a chemise, but he held that back. He didn't want to press that, she'd make a move in that direction when she was confident.

She snorted, "Maybe Mr. Brown left a pair of snowshoes in the cabin." Will rolled his eyes, and they made their way further into the forest. Rigel stayed close, constantly sniffing and trotting around to examine every rock and tree. Ana watched him, "You don't think there's bears around, do you?"

He held her a little closer, "I think they're all asleep for the winter, but we shouldn't let him wander too much." The path had obviously been put in to guide the wanderer to the lake, small lines of rock lining the side every now and then. It was rather helpful given how vast the property was proving to be, and they must have walked for half an hour before he could see the line of trees stop. "I think it's there."

"I don't see it." Ana squinted out, then back at him.

He clutched her hand a little tighter, "It's frozen." He glanced to Rigel, currently trotting towards the shore and getting close to the edge. "Don't let him go out on it!"

"Rigel!" Ana yelled, bringing the dog loping back to her side. She clutched his collar, looking to Will. "Do you think the ice-"

"I don't know." He couldn't stop staring at the lake, "And I don't want to find out."

"Let's go back." With a whistle to send Rigel panting away, she turned him around and started walking. "We can come see it during the summer." She suddenly seemed to have no problem negotiating the path now. "And we can get a boathouse built like you said, and bring the Lightollers out."

"Lights would like that." Will mumbled, trying to force out the thoughts coursing through his mind. What he would have done if Rigel had fallen through, how he would have been in the water to save him and been so cold and it was really how he should go, like all the others.

"Will." Ana had stopped, standing in front of him and her hands on his shoulders, hesitantly moving to his cheeks. "We won't go back to the lake until it melts. The cabin is warm, and I have no doubt the Bishops will come by."

He put his hands over hers, drawing them down. "Yes."

"Why don't we go through the other rooms and figure out what we want them to be? I think we may need a library here." She squeezed his hands tightly, "With lots of poetry." He could only nod at that, and then he wrapped himself around her. God, why was he thinking of that? She was here and Rigel was well trained, he wouldn't have gone far out over the water. Ana clutched him tighter, "It's done."

"It is." The walk back was slower though, and Ana seemed determined to help. Part of him wanted to laugh about how their places had switched so quickly, but all he really wanted to do was keep ahold of her hand. Which mean that she started dragging him from room to room, talking about a sun room and a library and maybe a still room. He laughed at that, "You're going to take up brewing?"

She shrugged, "You can do other things in them you know. Liz's housekeeper taught us how to make rosewater in her's one time." She pursed her lips, "I wish the garden was in bloom, I'd love to see what is growing."

"I'm sure it's mostly vegetables and herbs." Will paced the room she had selected for the library, noting the clear light from outside. "The Bishops don't strike me as the type to indulge in flowers."

"Well they should." Ana joined him in his pacing, "Do you think we could build a greenhouse out here?"

"I think you could pay someone too." Will chuckled, then gestured to their surroundings. "But I think we should deal with the fact that we have to furnish this place before we begin talking about clearing land for a greenhouse." She rolled her eyes, and he couldn't help but laugh all the harder. "Ana, we don't even have a clock here. We're going to need to go shopping, and soon."

Will managed to find a piece of paper and a pencil in the pantry and was beginning to write down everything they had decided on when there was a knock at the door, and it was opened slightly. "Mr. Murdoch? Mrs. Murdoch?"

"We're in," Will called out, looking up from his list. "Come in."

Sarah, with Ellen in tow, came in carrying a large milk can. "I thought you two might like some fresh milk, and I can take the old to the chickens."

"Thank you, that would be nice." Will stood, coming to take the can from her. He staggered a bit, it was quite heavy. "You must be strong to have managed that all the way here."

She laughed, "It was nothing, now, how have you two found the place?"

"It's nice," Ana smiled, seeing Ellen peep out from behind Sarah's skirts. "If rather bare."

"Nothing a trip to town can't cure," Sarah reached back, gently pushing Ellen out. "You can say hello child, she won't bite."

Ellen, her posture stiff, tottered forward. "Hello, Mrs. Murdoch."

"Hello, Miss Bishop," Ana leaned forward, holding out a hand. "Do you want to come here?"

She was staring at Ana's skirt. "Is that silk?" Will had to hold back a laugh, because Ana had chosen one of her plainer skirts to wear today. It was a dark green with white braid along the hem, and she was wearing a matching jacket. Ana shook her head and Ellen deflated. "Oh."

"I do have some things that are silk." Ana held out her hand again, "They're upstairs, would you like to see them?" The little girl took her hand, her head bobbing up and down so quickly that Will thought she might just nod it off.

Sarah sighed after they went upstairs, "I'm very sorry about her, she thinks your wife is basically a princess and wants to see all the pretty dresses and jewels she brought. I can keep her at home if you like."

"She's fine," He shrugged, "And thinking of her as a princess isn't too far off, I always think of her as an empress."

"You must love her an awful lot." Sarah gave him a smile, "Now, is there anything I can do to help?" By the time Ellen came barreling back downstairs to tell her mother all about the silk shirtwaist she had not only touched but gotten to wear, Will had already arranged for the wagon and buggy to take the back to town tomorrow. Sarah picked her daughter up, bouncing her on her hip. "Did you thank Mrs. Murdoch?"

"Yes!" The little girl practically squealed. "And she said I might even come back and wear more of them!" Sarah let her babble on as she carried her out the door, and Will watched them leave back through the woods. He had moved back to the warmth of the fire when Ana came back down, and he gave her a smile.

"She seemed quite happy." He put an arm around her as she came close.

Ana was quiet for long enough that he was worried. Was she thinking about their future children? He was scrambling for something to say to draw her out of it when she spoke, her voice quiet. "I think I will have Mother send a new silk dress for her for Christmas, and maybe some paste jewels. Do you think she'd like that?"

Will drew her a bit closer, "I think she would love it, and you can send the wire when we go to town tomorrow." Ana glanced at him, an eyebrow raised. "We're going to see what furniture we can get, and maybe some blankets because as it is we can't stray too far from the fire."

I looked around the carpenter's building, having expected something along the lines of a miniature version of the massive showrooms that I had visited in New York. This was much more humble, with only a few pieces on display to show off the carpenter's skill. Will kept pace with me, looking closely at each item. "These are very well made."

"Thank you sir," The carpenter had been following us closely. "I can assure you the same care will be taken with whatever you commission."

"I'm sure you take pride in your work," I remarked, considering a bookshelf. "Is it possible to add some ornamentation to them?"

Will snorted, "We don't need ornamentation, it's not like we're hosting balls out here."

"No, but it should at least be something beyond plain." I rolled my eyes, "Just some detailing along the edges and maybe some carving along the legs?"

The carpenter pursed his lips in thought. "I suppose, it would take us longer to make them, of course."

"And we need them now." Will came over, looking down. "Surely we can forgo the decoration in exchange for the expediency?"

I had just taken a breath to argue against that when the carpenter spoke up again, "Perhaps just some on your order then? And you can take some of these showpieces until I have your order ready?"

"I think that sounds wonderful." I took Will's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Don't you?"

"I suppose." Will squeezed my hand back, "How long will it take?"

"I have some pieces that I can send along in a few days, some that will take longer, but you should have everything by Christmas." The carpenter moved behind a counter, his lips pursed as he did some figures. "Of course, if you wished to pay for expediency I can try to have everything out by a week or two before."

"I will gladly pay for speed." Will stepped up, and they spoke for a few minutes about payments before he offered me his arm and we stepped outside.

I gave his arm a squeeze, "You meant to say you'd gladly have me pay for speed, right?"

"Remember what you told me that one time, about how some things are both of ours now?" Will chuckled, "Besides, I would think you'd be glad to have something besides those dining chairs, I don't know what Mr. Brown was thinking with those. It would be more comfortable to eat on the floor."

I snorted, laughing at the way Will pretended to stretch his back. "They're not that bad."

"No, but they're not that good either." He chuckled, and we slowly made our way down the main street of Putnam. I hadn't been paying close attention when we had arrived, and was surprised by how bustling the town seemed to be. With Mr. Bishop loading the wagon at the carpenter's, we had some time to wander around the various stores. We had managed to purchase some items from the dry goods store when Jacob found us, asking if we could please wait just a little longer while he helped his father get the wagon back to the cabin and unloaded. Will sighed, "I suppose that means we'll be having dinner here."

"Unless you want me to try out one of the recipes in those cookbooks I got, I would think so." I smiled, thinking of the books we had gotten. Will had remarked that our time here would be good for me to continue my education in cooking, along with various other tasks of housewifery. Thank God the bookseller had enough books on the subject to make me feel fairly confident on that front.

Will took my hand, "I am quite sure that you'll improve in no time, but I remember Jacob saying that the inn has a restaurant in it." There was already a fairly good crowd in the place, but we were quickly given a small table to the side of the room. The food was decent, and I practically inhaled a bowl of chicken soup that I had ordered. Will chuckled as he watched me scoop up the last bit of broth, "I assume you enjoyed it?"

"I hadn't realized how hungry I was." I blushed a bit at his comment. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Will pushed the remains of his roast chicken at me. "Here, finish this."

I considered it, "If you're sure."

"I am, eat." He leaned back in his chair, watching as I tore into the remains of the breast. "You probably didn't eat much when you weren't coming out, did you?"

"No," I looked down, reminding myself to eat slowly and politely. "Although I'm quite sure you're the one who sent those cookies up."

"I did."

"Thank you, they were quite good."

"They were, I had a fair few myself." He chuckled, looking over as the inn door opened and a blast of cold air flew in. "Is that Jacob?"

Indeed, it was. Jacob was struggling under a massive vase of flowers, and the innkeeper wound up holding the door as a few men followed him in with even more flower arrangements. They wound up taking up an entire table, and Jacob waved his thanks to the men as they left. He appeared quite proud as the attention of the room was clearly on him, "These were waiting at the station for you ma'am, looks like they came from New York." He considered all of them. "I think we can fit them all in the buggy, so long as you don't mind holding a few of them."

"My God." Will shook his head, "It's a garden."

"This was waiting for you, too." Jacob held out a letter, and I tucked it into a pocket to read later. "I'll work on getting these packed up once I bring the buggy over."

After paying our bill it was a quick trip back through the dark to the cabin. Mr. Bishop, Lyle, had already brought in the furniture with Jacob and it did the place good to have some clutter. Will and Jacob wound up making several trips to bring in all the flowers, and they overflowed the dining table and the low table we had gotten for the parlor. Jacob left us with a remark, "I'll have to tell Mother and Ellen to come over and see them, I doubt they've seen the like."

I had just reached for the letter when Will covered my hand, "I want you to try and decipher all of this before you read that."

"Alright," I considered the flowers. There were so many that it was almost hard to understand, but I focused on breaking them down into individual flowers before finding the meaning. "Azaleas with mint and snowdrop, I'm in need of having my fragile state of mind consoled."

"Damn right you are." Will grumbled, coming forward to gently touch the petals of the flowers.

I brushed my fingers over some leaves, "I am fairly sure this is hellebore, to indicate overcoming a scandal, especially when paired with mistletoe like it is." What scandal that could be, aside from not being pregnant, I wasn't sure. I looked to another arrangement, "Honeysuckle, rue and hyacinth, begging for forgiveness from one the sender has a devoted affection for." I found the last one, "Olive branches for peace and white camellias."

Will raised an eyebrow, "I think I know who these are from." He nodded to my pocket, "Why don't you open the letter?" I did so, reading quickly.

Anastasia,

I am so sorry for what has happened. Mother and Father really thought it was for the best and I hope that our absence wasn't the cause of your current illness. There are so many rumors about what has affected you so, some are convinced that you have tuberculosis. I can't say that I know what you have, but I have prayed every night for your recovery. I hope the flowers help, and I've arranged a package to come after with books and magazines to keep you entertained throughout your recovery. Please write me, please. Mother and Father don't care anymore, and Mrs. Dalian rightly raked them over the coals. Myself and Oscar were included in that, and I feel ashamed that she had to do that. Please, please, please write me.

Elizabeth Vanderbilt

P.S. Check under the vase

I set her letter aside, turning to the vases. Which one did she mean? I ran my hand under each of the vases, eventually finding an envelope had been lightly pasted to one. It took some peeling, and I broke a nail, but I finally had it. I prized it open, my fingers still slightly sticky. Oscar's elegant handwriting spilled across several pages.

Anastasia,

I am in utter misery over what has happened, and I know I do not deserve your forgiveness but I shall never be able to continue living if I do not ask for it. I have been an utterly horrible man, not to mention the worst of friends. I only did this because I thought it would stop those awful rumors, rumors that I hope never reached your ears. While it has been painful for me, I know that it was all the more hurtful for you as well and that made me ache all the more. I am not the only one in this kind of misery, Liz has been quite upset and fractious. She even threw a plate at Mother the other day, when telling her how foolish this was.

I can only hope that the country helps you recover from whatever your ailment is. I wasn't even aware that you were ill, you looked as beautiful as you always do at the Van Allens ball. I was so upset to have not danced with you that night, or to have even greeted you and William. God, William. He will want to kill me, I just know it. Please, don't let him find that claymore again. I should hate to be impaled upon it, though I deserve all that and more.

After that night we had a visit from Mr. Moody, he called at what was a highly inappropriate time but Liz begged Father to allow him in. It was very late, but I think Father felt bad for his order and allowed her an indulgence. After he visited with her, he asked to speak to Father and I privately. I never quite expected Mr. Moody to be capable of dressing me down in such a way, and my father as well. He spoke quite firmly about the friendship our families have had and how we should have offered our support instead of cutting you off. I though Father was going to have him thrown out until he pointed out that he should have known better, and that William and I's friendship was well known.

Anastasia, I'm so sorry. Please, write me back. Tell me what is ailing you and I will have the best doctor from the city send out. Even if the cure is for you to visit a spa in Europe I will gladly pay for it. Just please let me know that you are at least not dying, for all I have been able to think is that you are wasting away and I have wasted any last chance to see you when you were healthy.

Please, I beg for your forgiveness even though I know I do not deserve it.

Your humble and devoted servant lingering in utter misery and wretchedness,
-Oscar Vanderbilt

"Will," I set the letter down on the table, "What rumors?"

I felt him place his hands on my shoulders, his voice gentle. "Someone started a rumor that you and Oscar were having an affair, that's why they weren't speaking to you. Their parents thought it would stop the rumors."

"Oh." I glanced down, worrying my hands around each other. "You know I would never-"

"Of course," He gave my shoulders a squeeze, "I trust you, and I know he's your friend. Some people just don't seem to think that you can just be friends with him though, and seem more than glad to talk about it behind your back."

I stood, coming to stand in his arms. "If you want me to, I can stop seeing him."

"No, you don't need to." He pulled me close, "Like I said, I trust you. But you can't let him off easy you know, this was cruel." Will grinned, leading us over to the settee. "In fact, I think we should spend some time coming up with exactly how he's going to make it up to us."

"Us?"

"Yes, the both of us. He hurt me as well you know, I just about died seeing you as you were." He drew my head down to his shoulder, "Now, exactly what can we do? Lights seemed to think that I should punch him, and I suppose I could allow you the first blow."

I giggled, "Will, you can't just punch him. We need to think of something better."