The Lodge

Kara shivered in the biting billow of wind. A few strands of brown hair slid from the bun on her head, whipping over her eyes, obscuring her vision. She pulled a pale, thin hand from her woolen mitten only long enough to tuck the strands behind her ear before she squinted out into the snow-covered field. Her father droned on about the trade with a man dressed in a heavy deer-skin coat. Kara’s ears were numb, and she could only hear the rushing of the wind.

She looked to the lonely resort, brightly lit, though the green tiled roof was covered in snow. A fireplace was visible through the great window in the front. The roaring fire looked so inviting but Kara knew better than to ask if she might sit by it. The rest of the world was a hazy white that blended from the sky to the ground. The more she observed her surroundings, the more the oak lodge stood out and the more she longed to lay by the hearth within. Even in her stockings, heavy woolen dress, new boots and coat, she was still shivering. Her fingers felt like ice within the blue knitted mittens.

“Ready to head in, Kara?” Her father asked, turning to stare down at her, removing the silver wiry spectacles from his face and placing them in his pocket. His nose was red at the tip and she could tell he would have a nasty cold later if he didn’t get warm soon.

“We’re going inside this time?” The surprise in her voice must have shown because he let out a huffed laugh as he shoved his hands deeper into his gray coat. He sniffled once.

“Yes, dear. After all, I sealed the deal with Sir Portman. We’re going to have a drink to celebrate.” He smiled at Sir Portman, the smile no more than the slight upturn of his thin chapped lips. Neither man’s smile met their eyes. Kara looked at the ground.

“Respectfully, Father, you’re not supposed to—”

He cut her off with a scowl. “Come along, dear.” The tone seemed colder than the air itself, so she didn’t argue as they trudged up the partially cleared pathway to the resort. The snow began to fall faster and she had to nearly jog to keep up with her father and his associate’s long strides.

Sir Portman was a tall man just shy of burly. He had quite broad shoulders that seemed to stretch the material in his deerskin coat. He wore an expensive looking white cap and a matching scarf tucked into the coat. He kept up a conversation with Kara’s father that the wind and whirling flakes dispersed before she could catch a word. The icy gusts seemed not to bother him as it did her and her father. Sir Portman looked to be enjoying the snowy weather. He seemed comfortable, even, as he waved his large hands around, gesturing broadly in the direction of the lodge, speaking all the while to her father.

The two-minute walk seemed like twenty as they finally reached the green front door decorated with strands of holly. The boughs and branches matched the dark color of the door, the sprawling porch and the trimmings around the windows. It was cheery.

Sir Portman pushed open the door. She felt the wave of heat hit her before she stepped foot inside. Kara closed her eyes for a half second as the heat began to tingle the tips of her ears. The door shut with a solid thump behind her.

The size of the lodge’s great room nearly knocked her off her feet. The ceilings must have been nearly twenty-five feet tall, the sides of the structure meeting at the top to form a sort of triangle. Long heavy beams stretched across the ceiling, concealing the cedar planks in their shadows. About ten feet up the wall on the opposite side of the room there was a loft that looked more like a hallway with one side made of polished oak railing and the other side consisting of a few doors. The left end of the hall continued into darkness. Kara wondered how far it went.

Everything was covered in holly boughs and bright red berries.

Kara turned her head to the left where two women in white aprons and simple gray muslin dresses were drawing the drapes, so the cold didn’t seep through the stunning and enormous window panes. The stone fireplace stood next to it. A tremendous fire was burning within, beckoning Kara.

She hastened to unlace her snow-covered boots. The snow had started to soak them, and she wondered if her socks were sopping just like her boots. She could barely feel her toes. As she tugged off the boots one of the maids, a plump older woman with her hair neatly tucked into a gray streaked brown bun, came over and gathered the boots into her hands.

“Your coat, miss?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, looking towards Kara.

Kara was confused for a second before she realized the woman wanted her coat. The cold must have made her tired. She shrugged it off her shoulders easily and draped it across her arms. “Thank you, miss…?”

Sir Portman chuckled as the women walked off curtly without giving her name. “They’re the hired staff. Not supposed to interact like that. Relationships with my guests can inhibit their duties.” He smiled at Kara, his teeth perfectly straight and impossibly white. He shook his head and explained further at seeing her furrowed brow “Don’t worry, It’s in their contract when they come to work. They accepted it and chose to work.”

Kara’s father shot her a disapproving look and she couldn’t help but shy away from the steel in his gaze. She pursed her lips to the side, banishing the thought as she found herself free to sit by the fire.

There was a plush sofa and two loveseats by the fire as well as a dark bearskin rug on the polished wooden floors. The stone wall forming the chimney around the fire pit was outfitted with a few deer heads as well as several plaques with other animals immortalized on them. Bookshelves with heavy tomes sat on either side of the large fireplace, making the room seem cozy. Almost like a home.

“You must be Kara.”

She whirled in the direction of the voice.