"Sheep?" Beth repeated. "I didn't see or hear any animals outside."
Henry explained. "We put them in the barn during bad weather. It does no good to the sheep to have soaking wet wool."
Beth nodded, thinking of the cold, waterlogged blanket she had arrived in. Happily, that was off her back now. She could distantly hear the squishing and spurting sounds of Mary wringing it out in a tub.
After sipping some more tea, and not wanting to be a bad houseguest, Beth continued chatting with Henry. She learned that the farm had been running for generations, and that the sheep they raised produced wool of such fine quality that it was bought at a premium by high-end clothing companies.
"Our profits are such that we're able to live off just three quarters of our total output. We donate the other 25% to non-profits who make clothing, blankets and other textiles for charitable causes."
Beth was fascinated, but the trip and the ordeal with the weather had taken their toll. Her head began to droop as she struggled to focus on the conversation.
Henry finally got out of his chair. "Fishsticks, lookit this old coot going on and on. Let me show you to the guest room."
He walked Beth upstairs and soon they were standing in a small room with a queen-size bed. "I hope this will do for the night. The bathroom is two doors down on the left."
"This is perfect," she said with grateful relief. "Thank you so much."
"I will warn you: we get up quite early. If you want breakfast, be downstairs by 6 am sharp." He winked. "Hope you have a pleasant night, miss."
He vanished from the doorway before Beth realized she hadn't properly introduced herself. She sure was out of sorts. But as she stood in the quiet room with nothing but the pitter patter of rain on the roof, she felt like she could finally put away her worries for the night.
She looked around. The room was sparsely decorated. The curtains and bedsheets were all thick flannel with a pink-and-white plaid pattern. It seemed Mary had laid out some night clothes that she guessed would fit her, along with a couple of fluffy towels. Those were piled on a wooden chair at a little table with an old wind-up alarm clock and a cute wood carving of a sheep. A dresser on the other side of the room had some more knick-knacks on top of it, including a cowbell attached to a worn leather collar. The oddest thing was a huge rectangular paddle with hundreds of thin metal tines that hung from a nail in the wall, handle side up.
Beth shivered. The tea's effect was waning and she was starkly aware of the cold hair matted against her neck. Time to do something about that.