When Lucan returned to the house the boiler in the back yard was bubbling furiously and was filled with suds and clothes. He looked at it as he put his hand on the rail of the steps, thought twice, grabbed his axe, and then dragged some of the wood away from the flames to slow down the fire and hopefully get the water to a simmer.

As he mounted the first step, he copped a face full of dust. Lucan gaffed and coughed.

Meggy grinned with the broom in her hands. "Sorry, dinnae see you there."

He wiped his face and pulled a small twig from his tongue. "Just got here."

"Have you men never swept the place before?" Meg handed him a wet cloth.

"Once or twice." He smirked, shrugged and wiped his face.

She put her hand on her hip. "I can tell, and you better bang the bottom of ya boots before you come in."

Lucan did as he was told and couldn't help but smile. The table was covered in flour. A ball of pastry was sitting amongst it. More pastry lined a pie tin and there was a pot bubbling away on the stove, the smell made his mouth water. Bread dough was rising in the loaf tins.

"You've been busy." He lifted the lid of the pot. "Smells good."

"Thought I'd better show you I can do more than beans." Meggy grinned. "I used the meat that was in the safe. I hope I did right."

He nodded, looked at her approvingly and shrugged. "I'm sure Thaiter won't care. Anything will suit him as long as he or I didn't cook it."

"Dinnae talk too soon because you mayn't like what I've made," she chuckled, "I'll make tea, the waters hot."

Lucan sat down and watched as she bustled around the kitchen. A warm feeling of satisfaction ran through him. This was going to work. He felt the pressure of being a single father lifting from his shoulders. Lucan hadn't felt like this even when he thought he'd marry Lillian. If anything, the burden had felt heavier. He watched Meggy as she stirred the pot, her backside shaking just a little. A different glow of warmth ignited.

She placed a mug in front of him and sat herself. "I'll bake the morrow so you'll have something to go with it."

"Thaiter and the bairns will love that." He looked at the loaf tins. "There is a bakery here. Thaiter and I usually just buy the bread."

Meggy grinned. Her eyes sparkled with humour. "That'll be because you cannae make bread. I'll keep it in mind when I've nae time."

Laughing, Lucan nodded, his eyes met hers. The warmth he'd felt a moment ago flared in his senses.

Meggy took a deep breath and said, "So when are you expecting to be wed?"

Lucan frowned.

Meggy felt the question had angered him so she added, "I'm just askin' because I need ta know how much time I have to get meself sorted."

"It's not been decided. It'll be a while." He didn't want to tell her of his plans to finish it with Lillian, not yet anyway.

"Will she be coming to live here with you?"

"Like I said, Meg, it ain't been sorted." Lillian. Everything to do with Lillian was an intrusion to him. Lucan felt the comforting warmth he had experienced cool.

Meggy sensed his irritation, she was asking because she was trying to make plans. If things didn't go well for her and she didn't meet someone, she wondered if Thaiter might like her to stay on to clean and cook for him.

"I think you got that boiler too hot," Lucan said. "I took away some of the fuel." He lifted his cup and took a sip.

"Oh no!" Meggy stood up suddenly. "It's boiling? I must have put too much wood under it. I better get the clothes out." She was about to rush outside but he grabbed hold of her forearm, his fingers pressed lightly against her skin.

"Finish ya tea.  Gum burns hotter than hell, and you'll have to wait a bit until it cools. Then I'll give you a hand to rinse and wring it out."

Meggy felt an invisible string tug at her to obey. She sat and brushed a strand of loose hair away from her face before asking, "Where's the bairn?"

"He stayed with Missus Scott. Margaret has a lad the same age. She'd like to meet you so maybe later we'll take a walk. What do you think?"

"You told her about me?" Meg raised her eyebrows and looked at him curiously.

He nodded. "Said you were Kat's sister. Same as we talked about."

Meggy took a sip of her tea and smiled. "And what about your fiancé? Did you tell her the same?"

"Haven't told her anything yet."

Once again Meggy picked up a harsher tone in his voice. She noticed the change in his eye colour and realised the lighter blue they were the more irritated he was. She wondered why he didn't want to talk to her about his fiancé. She supposed she had put him in an awkward position but it was he who had made the suggestion of her coming to Irvinebank with him. Meggy didn't want to be the source of his irritation so said, "I have tae get those clothes on the line or they'll never dry the day." She stood up and headed outside.

Lucan followed and helped her scoop the boiling clothes from the tub with the paddle. She threw them into some fresh water and rinsed them. He helped her wring them out by holding onto a corner, twisting one way while she the other. The line was full by the time they were finished. Meggy went back inside. She put the loaves in the oven, and then scooped the meat from the pot and put it into the pie shell, then she tipped the pastry from the bowl to work on it.

As Lucan filled the wash tub with the warm water from the kettle to wash the dirty dishes he said, "I'm starting at the Vulcan tomorrow night."

"What's the Vulcan?" she asked as she kneaded the dough.

"One of the tin mines. They say it'll be the biggest in the area eventually. I'm on the late shift, ten til' six."

"Have you always worked there?"

He turned to face her, leaned on the bench, crossed his ankles and folded his arms over his chest. Lucan watched as she rolled out the pastry and put a top on the pie. "No. I've been workin' as a stoker down at the battery. Keeping the fires going on the stampers. There's more money to be made down the pit."

"So, you'll be underground?" She looked up at him, her mouth open in surprise.

"Aye."

She smiled as he used the Scottish term.

"It's what I always did back in Scotland. It's too bloody hot here to be stoking a fire all day and there's the sun to contend with so goin' under and on the late shift will suit me." He paused. "It's not so deep. Not been sunk much more than two hundred feet yet."

"That sounds a lot to me."

"Some of the mines go down more than a thousand feet."

Meggy wondered why men never seemed to be afraid of such things. There was no way she would ever want to be in a place as dark and confined as the underground must be. She lifted her head to study his face and sucked in a breath at how good-looking he was. "Are ye not afraid?"

He cocked his head to one side and frowned. "There are some things that make you afraid. Like never seeing your family or the sun again but mostly ya don't think about it. You do it for your family." He paused in thought. "And it draws ya back because of the men you work with."

Meggy didn't understand. She studied his well-formed lips, and then focused on his eyes. Shaking her head she said, "I dinnae understand how a bunch of men can draw you to a place that's so dark."

Shifting a little under her gaze, Lucan said, "It's because you know the dangers. Know they face them too and that they do it for the same reasons. There's strength in that and it moves you forward." Lucan felt lost in the depth of her stare. He had never spoken to anyone before about such things. Not even Kat, but he felt a strong need to explain his reasons to her.

Feeling defeated, Meggy looked away. If he were her man, she would beg him not to go underground but he wasn't, so she turned and put the pie in the safe, and then wiped down the table to remove the flour. She swept the floor again, and once she was finished, she washed her hands.

Lucan watched her work and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What you laughing at?" she said. "Have I got flour on my face?" Meggy wanted her mood to lift and the sound of his laughter did this.

He shook his head. "Why do woman know how ta do all this stuff and make it look easy while men find it the hardest thing in the world."

"It's the same reason we don't go under the ground." She grinned and swiped soap bubbles from her hands across his cheek. "Because you men have no brains in ya heads."

Lucan grabbed her forearm and laughed. He forced her soapy hand towards her face and smeared it over her nose and mouth. Meggy moved her head from side to side, struggled feebly to try and get her hand out of his grasp. "Lucan ya behaving like a child," she gasped and giggled.

He pulled her towards him as she tried to rub the soap from her other hand in his face. Lucan spun her around so she couldn't reach him and wrapped her in his arms, pinning her against him. "I'm bein' the child, am I? You started it."

She threw her head back against his shoulder and laughed. Meggy loved the feel of his arms about her.

Lucan felt her breasts push against his forearms as she struggled. He immediately felt a change in his body so let her go. He took a breath of air, pushed away from the bench and headed for the door. "I have to chop some wood."

Knowing what had happened, Meggy thought she shouldn't tease him anymore. He knew what she was and she knew he had a fiancé that didn't give him release. Meggy didn't want him to think she'd give in to him in that way. Playing and teasing was a silly thing to do and would surely put them both in a bad situation. She vowed not to do it again even though she had enjoyed it.

Meggy is very industrious isn't she?  

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