Aurelian had a point about all farms being similar. Lucinda knew that his farm wouldn't be grand. It was a farm, not a ranch, after all. But his farm was a farm, not a homestead. A homestead was only the beginning of a farm, and Francis had left her all alone on a homestead.

"Of course you miss her," Lucinda said sympathetically. "She's your daughter." Not that she knew what it felt like to have a daughter, or a child past infancy. But she knew how easy it was to get attached to children, even those that weren't her own.

Aurelian luckily had a solution to her problem, and a quick one at that. It almost made her wonder if he'd been thinking about asking her this for a while. "Well, you make it sound so easy. So...yes," she said with a smile.

Then, remembering that she was technically at work, she grabbed Aurelian's empty pie plate and headed back for the kitchen, beckoning to him. "Don't feel like you have to rush off. But don't forget Wyatt's pie when you do leave."

"Of course you miss her," Lucinda said sympathetically. "She's your daughter."

Aurelian nodded then smiled, "I'm not so sure my father would have said that about me. Not all parents and offspring are close."

The woman brought up a few other possible stumblings blocks to his invitation but the man deftly had an answer for them. Finally she agreed.

"Well, you make it sound so easy. So...yes," she said with a smile.

"Good! So then, now that we have that straightened out what day would you be available to come?Oh and you don't have to give me an answer right off. I do not want to rush you," he added.

Now that the awkwardness of the invitation and transportation issues were taken care of, Lucinda began to be excited about the prospect of riding in a wagon with Aurelian, looking at a farm with Aurelian, and...well, spending time with Aurelian.

She put Aurelian's dish by the sink and turned to cut another slice to send home with Wyatt. As she did, she thought aloud. "Well...what about next Tuesday? I'm sure that if we talk with Clara she can make arrangements for the diner or send some food for us if she can't be there to cook for us. And I should talk with her anyway since I'm working for her."

She smiled and risked a glance upwards at the ceiling before looking sideways at Aurelian. "I don't think I should disturb her right now, however. I'll talk with her and tell you what she said on Sunday. How does that sound?"

Tags: Wayfarer