Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Lovers' Quarrel

After breakfast, Teressa took her bitter-tasting medicine, grimacing as it went down. She quickly drank a cup of water to chase the taste away and then began to dress for her day of work at the pub. Wrapping her old, warm shawl around her shoulders, she glanced out the window and saw a scene that made her pause.

Outside, Tristan, her future son-in-law—was scolding Isabel, who was struggling to carry a heavy bucket of water from the nearby well.

"Isabel, what on earth are you doing? You shouldn't be carrying that!" Tristan exclaimed, his hands on his hips, looking every bit the concerned fiancé.

"Well, someone has to fetch the water, and you were busy chopping wood," Isabel shot back, her face flushed from both exertion and the argument.

"I could have fetched it after I finished! You need to take it easy," Tristan insisted, reaching out to take the bucket from her.

Isabel pulled it away, determined. "I'm perfectly capable of carrying a bucket of water, Trist