One thing about when things is going good is you get all the more eager for them, so even a little delay might not have meant much to you afore starts to feel like all the winds of a winter storm come atween you and where you're aimin' for to be. The days just drag on, even if they might be sunny and pleasant, and they have been, other'n a bit of rain -- even a bit of rain's pleasant though as long as there's not too much of it and it ain't too cold. But all you do with them is count when the next one will be, the one you can be with her.
Was only a few days ago I were worried as she might not be eager for to see me. I'd got up right early, way afore dawn, so's I could spend some time with Kestrel rummaging in the Chetwood's edge to gather the prettiest of the autumn leaves. Hoped to get some flowers; there's blue aster and purple loosestrife blooming this time of year. But it were too dark to see 'em, and I couldn't linger until sun-up, as I had to be at work. So I just took as many leaves as I could carry back and figured to sort out the pretty ones later, when I had a moment free durin' my work. Wanted for to make a wreath, but with no flowers and not much time, I ended up makin' somethin' more like a bouquet, only from leaves, not flowers, tied with a bit of twine. Once I were done with work, I caught a few fish and went to her house and then fretted a while afore I felt sure enough to knock on her door. Not sure if'n she'd even want to see me.
It were all on account how the night afore, she'd been so merry, so happy to see me and talk about things like goin' to festivals and dancin' together, and it made my heart so light to see her smile and twirl, and then things went all awry, I still don't proper know how. Seems the night afore that, I'd seen Mister Gregwald at the Pony and we were talkin' on all manner of things, including luck, and when I told him that Lumina and I were courtin', he were all manner of congratulatory, and I made a comment, just jokin' about, about how maybe I had more luck than him. Which I do wonder about, on account how we're both from such faraway places and yet we met here in Bree, and that's either luck, or fate, which is much the same thing, ain't it? So while me and her were talkin' about festivals and suchlike, Gregwald come over and said hello, and seemed to me we were just bein' friendly and merry, but somethin' he said -- at least it weren't somethin' I said! -- put her off, made her right cross. Somethin' about the luck of it, how maybe he might been the lucky one. It didn't seem to me like he'd meant anythin' by it but it did to her, and as she's wiser than me by a lot, more'n like she's right. (I hope all this ain't part of why Mister Gregwald up and quit his work and went off to the Lone-lands a couple days later. I hope as he does well out there, though how can anyone do well in the Forsaken Inn? And it might have been nice to have a friend like him, but maybe that were never meant to be.)
So I showed up with the bouquet and an offer to cook dinner for her hopin' for her to cheer her up, after she'd stormed off and didn't want me to walk her home, or so I thought. Now, I'm used to bein' baffled by things, but this were more'n most, because I reckoned to walk in on more of the same storm, only she were perfect calm, like nothin' never happened. Happy to see me, and for me to make her supper (though of course my simple cookin' can't compare to her skill!), and insistin' as she were never upset at me, and that she had wanted for me to walk her home, and I were wrong to think as she hadn't. And after a right pleasant evenin' together, we made plans to see one 'nother back at my house the next day. Plans that were so happy-makin' I ain't hardly been able to think of nothin' else since.
Which is what brings me to all this fever of anticipification since, every day since then, there been somethin' as has made it impossible for to see her. Master Rosewood tell me first thing the next morning as we got a lot of extra work ahead for a few days on account of the Harvestmath festival comin' up in a couple weeks. As a sort of gift to the townfolk, his contribution to the festival, he keeps extra horses ready for to ride up to the Festival Grounds, which he lets folk use free of coin during the festival. Folk are appreciative but don't think much about what it takes us; every one them horses got to be not just fed and cared for and stabled, they also got to be trained so's they can take anyone, even folk what don't know much how to ride, straight up to the grounds and back. Which means I been guidin' horses and ponies on that route day and night for a few days, on top all the extra work of keepin' so many horses. Workin' well after sundown and then stumblin' up to the rooms at Windview I stay at, and fall straight asleep, bone tired. And then when I finally got a day when I can finish my work early 'nough to go to my house in Hookworth, I find a note from Lumina tellin' me as somethin' come up for her and she's to be busy a few days too!
My thinkin' is still full of her and of what it'll be like when I see her next, and it keeps me merry as I work, but if the waitin' goes on too much more, I'm like to get cranky. But I'm sure that'll all be wiped clean when I see her at last!
