He beamed, his gaze sweeping out in front of the trees before he turned to look back at the house. "Ms. Rohesia, I am about to light your home on fire. There's only one question you should be thinking right now."
"I'll answer it for you. You should be thinking, 'why hasn't he done it yet?'" The man considered it for a moment before turning to look back at the woods with a bright smile. "You see, I know you and your baby don't live here alone, Ms. Rohesia. There's someone else, isn't there? Someone that my employer has taken special interest in."
He tilted his head casually, glancing back out to the woods. "So, I plan on waiting until he returns and then setting the fire. Does that work for you?"
It was quite awhile until Avice would hear the familiar hoofbeats of Mack coming up the stone path. Jack seemed weary, but his face brightened as he approached the house. He slipped off the horse, taking off the saddle as he led him to his stable, murmuring reassuring words in his ear. He tied him up before heading into the house, carrying a linen bag over his shoulder. The man on the porch remained hidden before smiling brightly, waiting for Jack to enter the house before waving at the woods and going in after him.
There was a moment of silence as Jack frowned inside the house, turning around to see the door shutting behind him. He moved forward, knocking on the door. "Avice?" Outside, Aubrey wailed, pulling on her mum's hair as a small light grew inside the house.
The smoke billowed out of the open door, revealing the man silhouetted by the flames as he stepped out. "Ms. Rohesia. So good to see you."
His gaze flickered to Aubrey and he smiled, waving his fingers at her. "What a beautiful baby girl. She looks like you."
The flames grew inside the house and the man glanced back for a moment before looking over at Avice. "May I suggest that we step away for the time being? I would hate for you to get... singed."
