Shinorah looked at Lucina with a confused expression on her face, "H-"

"Mum, I'm back," called Adrian as he stepped through the door.

Forgetting her question, Shinorah smiled at Adrian, "Oh Adrian, yer alrigh'. What took ye so long, love?"

"Put th' equipment away so it don' rust on us. We can't afford new equipment 'til next year if we're lucky," said Adrian with a sigh, "Where's Lori? Beth needs milkin'."

"Doin' dishes, Lori!" Shinorah called, "Beth needs milkin'. Ye about done?"

"Not quite, but I'll finish after I take care o' Beth," called Lori from the kitchen as she rinsed off a dish.

"Nah, don' worry. I'll get th' milk. Where's th' pail 'n' pitcher?"

"Pail's with th' stool, th' pitcher's by th' icebox," called Lori.

Grabbing the pitcher, Adrian tipped his hat in greeting to Lucina, "Mornin, Miss Lucina. Sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." Lucina smiled sweetly as she took notice that the farm boy looked very handsome wet. Shaking the thought from her head, Lucina stood and turned to face him. "What should I do?" She asked, feeling extremely out of place while his sister washed the dishes and he went to milk the cow.

Smiling at her, Adrian couldn't help but chuckle at how lost the young woman seemed. However, Lucina would get into the swing of things soon enough and would be a great help to his mother for as long as she stayed, he was sure of it. Opening the door, he motioned towards the barn, "Would ye like t' come help? I could teach ye, if ye liked. I'm afraid ye'll get rather soaked on th' way over. I'll keep ye as dry as I can though, if ye want."

"Alright." Lucina said nervously, afriad of making a fool of herself trying to milk a cow. "I've never milked a cow before." She warned him.

Holding her close as he opened the door, Adrian smiled at her, "Don' worry, I'll help ye." Gently pulling her along, shielding her from the rain as best he could, Adrian ran for the barn across the small yard. Once inside, Adrian took Lucina's hand and led her over to a middle-aged cow in one of the stalls chewing her cud.

Setting the pitcher down, Adrian got the stool and pail out and set them up. Sitting on the stool he motioned for Lucina to come over, ""ere, I'll show ye how it's done, then ye can try."

Smiling at her, he went about explaining where to hold, how hard to pull, and just how to get the milk out, "..'n' tha's it. Ye want t' try 'r d' ye want me t' continue until ye get a bit more comf'table 'round th' animals?"

"Maybe you should keep doing it." Lucina suggested as she watched his hands, wanting to memorize what he was doing before she made a fool of herself. Walking over towards him, Lucina bent down beside the stool to see what exactly he was doing.

"Ye'd best scoot back a bit. Ye don't want th' milk splatterin' ont' yer clothes nor d' ye want Beth t' hit ye." Scooting over a bit so she could back up but still see, Adrian continued to milk Beth, his gaze drifting from the milk before him to Lucina beside him, still trying to figure her out.

Lucina watched him carefully as she moved out of the way just as he'd told her to do. She barely noticed his glances as she assumed that he was simply surprised by her beauty which was beyond what was probably normal for a human. Hiding a small smile from his attention, Lucina continued to watch his hands silently.

After a few moments, Adrian asked softly, deciding to leave her mystery be for the moment and focus on the work at hand. After all, he'd have a whole year to figure her out if she stayed with them. "She's almost out o' milk. Would ye like t' finish 'r would ye rather wait 'til t'morrow?"

"I'll try." Lucina said shyly, curious to try to milk the cow. Taking Adrian's spot on the stool, Lucina placed her hands where Adrian's had been. "Am I doing this right?" She asked shyly as she tried to milk the cow just as Adrian had.

Beth mooed and stomped her hind leg once as Lucina milked her.

"Close, but not quite. You're bein' a wee bit too rough. Loosen yer grip 'n' try it like this," Adrian said with a smile as he placed his hands over hers. "See? Much bet'er," He added as Beth settles down, his hands still holding Lucina's.

Lucina felt a small blush rise to her cheeks though she refused to believe it had anything to do with Adrian's hands holding her's. Deciding to blame it on her embaressment for milking the cow wrong. Lucina bit her lower lip in concentration as she moved her hands as Adrian instructed. "Like this then?" She asked hesitantly.

Removing his hands from her's and watching her movements, Adrian smiled, "Perfect. Keep doing tha' 'til the pail's full, then I'll pour it into th' pitcher. Have ye ever had th' cream from the top o' the milk before?"

"No." Lucina said, crinking her nose in the slightest. "I've only had milk from a pitcher. I never questioned where my food was from." She added softly, fascinated by how the farm worked.

Adrian couldn't help but chuckle, "Honestly, girl, ye sure yer from Ireland? How 'bout this, I'll pour ye a glass o' milk with th' cream so ye can try it when we get back into th' house, alright? I think ye'll like it. But if ye'd rather not try it, that's fine too, up to you o' course."

"Alright." Lucina said uneasily as she finished milking the cow. "Is that good?" She asked, turning to face Adrian.

Talking the pail, Adrian nodded, "Aye, ye did good. While I fill th' pitcher, will ye give th' horses some oats 'n' grain out o' th' cupboard o'er there? Jus' put it in their feedin' troughs on th' doors. 'n' don' worry, they won' bite ye," he added softly as he took the pail to the pitcher and began carefully transferring the contents.

Lucina simply nodded as she stood up and took the horse's food as another crack of lightning lit the barn. Lucina went the first trough and started to shake the contents of the bucket into the trough.

The horses stomped noisily at a long rumble of thunder, causing Lucina to lose her balance as she walked away from the frightened animals. Falling on her butt, Lucina straightened back up quickly as she straightened her dress with her pride bruised.

Hearing the fall, Adrian looked up as saw Lucina brushing off her dress. Setting the pail outside to wash in the rainfall, Adrian put the top on the pitcher and inquired softly, "Are ye alright Miss Lucina?"

"I'm fine." Lucina huffed angrily, upset that the farm boy had seen her fall. Picking up the bucket with what little dignity she had left, Lucina finished feeding the horses before returning to Adrian and handing him the empty pail. "What else?" She asked, her face concealing her humiliation.

Adrian sighed, "Ye don't look too 'appy workin' out 'ere, so I'll finish up. If ye want, ye can take th' milk inside. I'm sure mum'll 'ave sumthin' fer ye t' do 'round the house."

"Alright." Lucina said as she kept her face expressionless. Taking the pitcher, Lucina turned and went back into the house.

"Hello?" Lucina asked the empty kitchen as she set the pitcher of milk on the counter.

Adrian sighed as he watched Lucina leave, his mind still not understanding how that woman worked. Shaking his head, putting it out of his thoughts once more, Adrian went about shoveling the stalls and relaying the beds for the animals.

-

"In here!" Shinorah called from the living room by the fireplace, "Lori 'n' I 're hangin' up laundry. Would ye mind foldin' th' laundry in the basket if yer not busy?"

Lucina made her way to the living room, following the sound of Shinorah's voice, where she saw a piled of laundry in the basket. Lucina bit the inside of her cheek as she sat in a chair beside the basket and picked up a piece of clothing. Having no experience folding, Lucina tried to mirror the clothing that sat in her dresser at home as she'd hate to make a fool of herself in front of Lori.

Noticing Lucina having a bit of trouble, Shinorah asked Lori softly, "Lori, love, can ye go take care o' th' milk 'n' poor Lucina a bit of cream milk fer me?"

Nodding, Lori finished hanging the towel she had in her hands before scooting of to the kitchen to do as she was asked.

Hanging up the last few pieces of laundry, Shinorah went over to Lucina and sat adjacent to her in the chair. "Here, let me help ye," Shinorah said warmly with a smile as she quietly demonstrated how to fold a shirt.