Drisco's farm was located at the end of Pennywhistle lane, a narrow track that Tala had never been down before even though she'd like to explore the countryside in her younger days. It had a proper house, two storeys tall, with lattice windows and ivy crawling up the walls. The roof was thatched, which gave Tala a moment of anxiety as she remembered how her own cottage had burned down, but most houses were thatched in these parts and house fires were rare. Rare enough that Tala's misfortune would be talked about for months to come.

     Nobody noticed that Drisco had come back with a passenger at first and the farmer was able to unhitch the horse, take him into the stable and fill a nosebag with oats that he hung around its head. Tala sensed the horse's relief at being able to rest and eat, and she also heard the whispered conversations of myriads of mice as they rustled around in the hay and the long grass outside. <Strange human,> one of them said. <Smells strange.>

     <Don't let it see you,> another mouse advised. <It might send the monster.>

     The monster would be the farm cat, Tala guessed. All farms had a cat, to catch the mice who would otherwise help themselves to a good part of the farm's crop. Tala had never liked cats. They were selfish, mercenary creatures that cared for nothing but themselves. Some people thought that cats were capable of love and affection but Tala knew better. They didn't sit on a person's lap because they liked them. They sat on their lap because they were warm and comfortable. They'd be just as happy sitting on that person's decomposing corpse. In fact, they'd probably prefer that because they could have a quick snack without having to move from the spot.

     She had to restrain herself from greeting the mice and kept silent as Drisco finished seeing to the horse and closed the stable behind him. "Can I help you carry those?" she asked as the farmer picked up the bundle of blankets from the back of the cart.

     "I'm only thirty six," the farmer said with a smile. "I'm not an invalid yet. You can get the door for me."

     Tala nodded and went ahead, the gravel path crunching under her feet. The door was already open, though, with a dumpy looking woman standing in the doorway, staring at her curiously. "Sarah, this is Tala," Drisco called from behind her. "The young lady Dougal's set his cap on."

     Sarah smiled brightly. "So you're Tala," she said, holding out her hand. "I feel I've known you all my life, so much does Douggy talk about you."

     "We've met twice," Tala replied, taking her hand. It was as rough as sandpaper. "He can't know much about me."

     "He talks to the people in town about you," the farmer's wife replied. "I doubt there's anything you've ever done that Douggy doesn't know by now."

     "That's very..." began Tala, but she couldn't think of a good word to end the sentence with.

     Drisco laughed. "Tala will be staying with us for a while, if that's okay by you," he said to Sarah. "Her house burned down and she has nowhere else to stay."

     "Oh you poor thing! Are you alright?"

     "Fine," Tala replied. "I was lucky."

     Sarah beamed with relief and delight. "Of course you can stay," she said. "We've got a spare room you can use. Dougal's out in the fields with the other two. He'll be delighted to see you."

     Tala was sure he would be. "I don't want to impose," she said, because that was what you said in situations like this.

     "Nonsense, nonsense," said Sarah, standing aside and ushering her in through the door. "We'd be glad to have you. Another pair of hands is always welcome on a farm."

     A pair of hands that didn't need to be paid, Tala thought, knowing she was being uncharitable. They could just as easily want to charge her room and board.

     The inside of the house smelled of potatoes, which shouldn't have been surprising. It was a slightly acid smell that she knew she'd soon stop noticing. The floor was bare wooden floorboards without a single rug in sight, which told Tala that the family was always walking through with muddy boots. The floor had to be something that could be scrubbed down with rough brushes at regular intervals, and yet she still saw muddy stains in the corners and up against the walls. There was probably no point in being too fastidious when the family would be coming in at the end of a rainy day covered head to foot in mud.

     The furniture was similarly practical. Bare wooden chairs that the family could collapse into to ease their aching backs without worrying about getting muddy stains on delicate fabrics. Sarah led Tala through into another room, though, that was different. This one was carpeted and had fine, padded furniture. There was an elderly couple relaxing in two of the chairs who leaned forward with interest as their guest entered.

     "Mum, Pops, this is Tala," said Sarah, gesturing her forward. "Tala, this is Drisco's mother and father. Edward and Tilly."

     "Charmed," said Edward, holding out a thin, knuckly hand. It was cold when Tala shook it. "Look at those hips, Tilly," he said approvingly. "She's a born baby making machine."

     "Pops!" cried Sarah in horror. "She's barely in through the door!" She turned to Tala. "I'm so sorry. What you must think of us..."

     "No, I like forthright talking," said Tala, though. "No beating around the bush. That way, everyone knows where they stand. You want me and Dougal to get together. Well, that might happen, but who knows what we'll think when we find out more about each other. He might be horrified by me."

     "Or you by him," said Tilly with a smile. "Which seems more likely to me. That boy has some dreadful habits. I think you'll get on, though. First impressions are important, and if what I heard is true you both got good first impressions of the other."

     "Aye," agreed Edward with a lewd smile. "She'll be opening her legs in no time..."

     "Edward Tanner! Shame on you!" cried Sarah, though. "You want to drive this sweet, innocent girl away with your rough talk?"

     "You're right," said Edward, looking ashamed. "Forgive me, lass. I forget myself sometimes. I'm just happy that Douggy found found himself a good girl. Now me and Tilly only have two grandchildren to get sorted out. God alone knows finding a man willing to put up with Daisy won't be easy."

     "She's still only thirteen," said Tilly, though. "We've got a year or two before we need to worry about that. Maybe she'll settle down and learn some civilised manners. Having a schoolteacher in the family might help there. The example of someone refined and educated might do her the world of good."

     "We can only hope," said Sarah. She turned to Tala again. "This is the best living room," she said. "No-one comes in here, or goes upstairs, in their work clothes. There's a washroom through there." She indicated a door on the other side of the room. "You get to it from outside using the door by the old oak tree. After you've been out in the fields, you go in there, strip off, wash and get into your indoor clothes. Then you can come in here."

     "I understand," said Tala, nodding.

     There was a fire crackling away to itself in a grate between the two chairs the elderly couple were sitting in, and sitting on the carpet in front of it was a stripy black and brown cat. Tala thought it was asleep, but then it rolled lazily onto its back, its legs in the air, and looked at her through one slitted eye. <Maybe she'll tickle my tummy,> Tala heard it think. <I like having my tummy tickled.>

     Tala ignored it. She would try her very best to pretend it didn't exist. If she did nothing to encourage it the creature would have no reason to pay her any attention. Pops reached down to scratch its tummy instead and the cat purred contentedly. <Good human,> Tala heard the cat think. <You know your purpose in this house. The new one will have to learn.>

     "So, sit down and tell us about yourself," said Pops, indicating another chair close beside his own. "Bring that over here where we can both see you."

     Tala picked it up and carried it to a position in front of the fire between the two grandparents. "There's not much to tell," she said as she sat in it. "I lived alone with my mother until a couple of years ago when she died of the fever. I've been living alone in the cottage ever since. I'd pretty much resigned myself to living there all my life."

     "You must have been so lonely," said Tilly sympathetically.

     "I was used to it. It was the only life I knew. I was happy. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Having to arrange my life around the activities of other people is going to take some getting used to." She raised a hand to forestall them as they began to speak. "No, don't misunderstand me. Just while coming here with your son, just while talking to him, I discovered that I like being with other people. You're right. I was lonely, but I didn't realise just how lonely until I wasn't any more."

     She was rather disturbed to discover how easily the lie came to her. She hadn't been lonely. Not at all. How could she have been lonely when she'd had all her animal friends to talk to? Hundreds of them of a dozen different species. If anything, her loneliness was just beginning, now that she would only be able to talk to humans. Not only that, but she would be able to hear the animals chatting to each other and not be able to join in. She would be shut out of several communities that had given her friendship and companionship ever since her witch powers had first begun manifesting themselves. She would feel like an outcast. It would be the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she had no choice if she wasn't going to bring disaster not only on herself but on her new adopted family.

     Drisco sat down in another of the room's chairs while Sarah went into the kitchen to make them all cups of tea. While she was gone the other three fired questions at Tala which she had to think about before answering in case her answer gave away her secret. It made the conversation an ordeal for her, and she worried that her hosts might sense her discomfort and wonder about the reason for it.

     After a few minutes Sarah returned with cups and cakes on a tray and, as she passed then around, she asked the same questions the other three had, making Tala struggle to remember the answers she'd given the first time. They gave no sign of being suspicious, though, and Tala allowed herself to relax. The tea was hot, the cake was sweet and tasty and Tala was hungry. She couldn't help but wolf it down, but that only made Sarah laugh as she went back to the kitchen for another. "Moving to a new home works up an appetite," she said, and Tala nodded her agreement.

     Finally, though, the tea was drunk and the cakes were eaten and Sarah gathered up the cups and plates to take through to the kitchen. "Dris, why don't you show her the rest of the house?' She said as she edged sideways through the door. "Show her where she'll be spending the night."

     "Our leader has spoken," said Drisco, smiling as he rose to his feet. Tala also rose to stand beside him. "The first thing you need to know about living here is who gives the orders." He hooked a thump towards the door his wife had just disappeared through while his parents both laughed in agreement.

     Drisco led her through the door into the washroom which contained the stairs up to the first floor. At the top, a corridor led past several doors and the farmer led her to the one at the end. "Here we are," he said, opening it and gesturing for her to enter. "And that one next to it is Dougal's. Which one you use is entirely up to the two of you."

     "I don't think we should hurry things," said Tala, though, feeling apprehensive at the pressure that was being put on her. Why were they in such a hurry to slide her under their son? Dougal was a fine, handsome lad, of course. He probably had half a dozen young ladies chasing after him. Was the family in a hurry to get him safely married before he became embroiled in a scandal?

     The room was sparsely furnished with only a bed, a chair and a chest of drawers, on top of which an oil lamp was sitting. Tala stared nervously at it, wondering whether she would ever be able to bring herself to light it. "I'd like to thank you again for your kindness in taking me in," she said, looking up at the man, over a head taller than her. "I don't know what I'd have done otherwise."

     "You can thank us by being happy here," Drisco replied happily. "This room is your place. No-one else will ever come in here unless you invite them. Come here any time you like and stay as long as you like. If you want to help in the running of the farm, someone will be with you for the first few days until you're familiar enough with the work and the equipment to be able to sort yourself out. I think you probably will because the days will drag otherwise. Spend time out in the fields, though, and it'll be dinner time before you know it."

     "I absolutely will want to help with the farm," said Tala firmly. "I want to pull my weight. I'm not going to be a freeloader, living off your hospitality."

     "I knew from the first moment I saw you that you'd say that," Drisco replied fondly. "I just know you'll like it here." He moved back towards the door. "You can come back here whenever you like," he said, "but unless I miss my guess you'll be wanting to spend the rest of the day with the others. Getting to know each other."

     "You guess correctly," Tala replied. She looked around the room again, then joined Drisco outside in the corridor.

     "The kids will be back soon for lunch. You can get to know then as well as we eat. And then, in the afternoon, I'll show you the farm. We have about twenty acres. Mostly potato and cabbage, but we have pigs and sheep as well. You won't need to worry about them, though. Managing animals is man's work."

     "And I'm very happy to leave it to the men," said Tala truthfully.

     Drisco laughed and led the way back to the stairs.