Chapter 53 Chapter Fifty Three - First Frost and Winter Snow (2/2)

Gloves were few and far between, only Chang Min currently wore a pair, Cole insisted on covering his new found Teacher's long slender fingers with them and Patrick, who'd borrowed Nathan's. The three of them had become indispensable when it came to finishing the long and tall wall wrapping around the three large properties within the base. Fortunately, the sun melted the frost by midday, the air became a little milder and the men no longer needed to warm their numb fingers while working on strengthening the wall. Shaun also came to help, accompanied by the ever hovering Paul, reinforcing the wall with metal from the inside and giving the whole thing an even sturdier foundation.

The wall was completed in good time as well, for following the onset of frost came the first snow. And unexpectedly, the first fall settled to reach the small Lucy's knees; she and Aslan had escaped the mansion to play in the white powder excitedly, only for a worrying Autumn to chase after them with a woollen hat, gloves and thick coat for the child. It was probably no surprise that the little one fell sick the following day, but the fever came and went just as quickly and the girl was back on her feet in no time.

It was clear, however, from the increasingly thick snowfall, that this Winter was going to be a cold one, even the sheep had been given old duvets to lie upon rather than the concrete floor of the cold garage. These were topped with straw and dried grass gathered before the snow began to descend and although the three sheep tended to huddle together during the night, they were showing no ill effects from the bitter weather. At first, Harry, Winston and Paul would clear the snow in the sheep's grazing area, but once this task became futile, they had to compromise, just bringing over fruit and vegetable scraps mixed with left over grain and warmed porridge to fill the animals bellies.

The snow also made the others realise that it was impractical for Nathan and Lucy to remain separated from them, living on their own in the little cottage. Although they only warmed a couple of rooms in the mansion during the day and huddled beneath numerous duvets and blankets at night, the amount of coal and wood being burnt was not small and Nathan was using some to heat his own small home as well. Plus the compacted snow beneath the surface of the glistening white powder had long formed into ice, so now not only was the path from the cottage to the mansion difficult due to the thickness of the wintery blanket, but also treacherous. It was difficult enough struggling to the greenhouse at noon, without other numerous trips to the kitchen to eat, before returning to the cottage to sleep.

Nathan remained stubborn though. ”I do not want to move,” he told Dexter as he ate the delicious baked potato and sweet potato slices with a topping of spicy tinned tuna and red onion. It was very delicious. He ate not in the kitchen with the abundance of noise and banter, but in solitude in the living room before a crackling fire. Or at least that was the case until Dexter and Ren Zexian came to speak with him.

”I know,” Dexter replied, calmly. ”It's noisy with so many people coming and going. I get that. But the snow is too deep for Lucy to cope with and although Aslan happily ferries her back and forth when he can, it would be better for them to move into the mansion.”

”Then they can do that,” Nathan agreed. It hadn't been his choice for Lucy to stay with him, but admittedly, he was used to her constant presence in his life now. He would miss her when she moved out.

”You should also stay here,” Ren Zexian coaxed. ”There are also plants to take care of in the sunrooms as well as the greenhouse, so you would be nearer to them.”

Nathan thought about this for a moment, but as much as he loved his plants, he did not feel it necessary to move in with them. He could still travel here to take care of them everyday as he had been. He really did not like change and saw no reason why he should. Things were well the way they were... weren't they?

A slightly mischievous twinkle lit up Dexter's eyes for a moment and the corners of his lips curled. ”It's a shame,” he drawled, rising from his kneeling position. ”You could have stayed in Ren's room; there's room in there after all.” Ren Zexian glanced upward sharply; what was Dexter attempting to imply? His bed was large, indeed, but it was the only bed in the bedroom he used.

However, how could he protest when those two, azure eyes looked at him so...