As Ainsley came to stand next to him, Alexander glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He continued cleaning the dish that he was currently working on and as the young woman offered to help, he nodded in agreement. They were standing rather close and he did not mind it at all. For a while there was silence between them as they went about their task. Alexander would wash a dish and then hand it to Ainsley who would then dry. They passed a few minutes in this fashion before the woman next to him broke their silence.
He glanced at her, nodding with a small smile. "Yes. I was often helping my Father and Mother with everything that needed done." It was then that Ainsley inquired as to what it was like growing up on his family's farm. He thought for a short moment before he began speaking once again. "My family has been working that same piece of land for at least a hundred years. You can imagine that my Father would be rather set in the ways of those that came before us. He tended to be rather strict about how everything was done. If you did not do as asked, or under performed you would have to do it again. It did not matter the weather or time of day."
Alexander was well aware that his words would likely sound as if he did not care for living on the farm. However, that was far from the truth. "Do not misunderstand. My brother and I both did not mind the hard work. Nathaniel is actually planning on taking over once my Father decides that he's had enough." He had not spoken yet to Ainsley of his brother though he'd had no reason not to. It just hadn't come up as of yet.
"My family does not grow very much, in truth. Living right at the sea makes it a bit harder to produce certain items. They raise and sell fish. It isn't as profitable as it used to be and they must guard what they do have. However, as long as you hold no fear of the water of the creatures that live there it really isn't that bad."
Another week had passed since Alexander had come to stay with Ainsley and her family. Things had passed as they had the week before, for the most part. However, Alexander had begun helping Ainsley's father about the property with some of the more strenuous work. In all honesty, he'd enjoyed it. He was, however, still keeping a lookout for any sign of the Rothen. He knew that it would only be a short time before they showed up. No doubt those that had been after him had realized that he'd not gone any farther than this area. That would mean that they would double back and begin searches.
That morning, Alexander had gotten up at the usual time and had gotten his reading done before breakfast. He had, however, not joined the family for the morning meal. Instead, he'd opted for spending some in the loft. He had borrowed a book from those that were helping him and was currently reading it. The longer he'd stayed in the one location, the more he worried for his family. All it would take is for the Rothen to get tired of the hunt and just go after them, using them to draw the Priest out.