Chapter 42

Evelyn nodded, nevertheless swallowing that smile, but Amelia disregarded it as she approached the woman close to the door. “Can you pass me the bag, Robert ?”

The man lifted the duffel bag up and onto the platform for her without even stretching. Then she and Evelyn went inside.

The residence was bloodless and dark. But Evelyn helped her, hurrying round the room lighting fixtures lanterns and laying a hearth in a satisfied little fire on the corner.

“We can have fires in tree houses?” Amelia asked, concerned. Everything in the house was made of wood—and the trunk of this tree was thicker than the one in Evelyn's home. It made a massive, bark-covered spherical wall in the core of the room. “What if it pops and something catches fire? Won't the tree go up as well?”

“It is very challenging to burn a residing tree down, specifically in winter… with all the snow,” Evelyn said, in a tone that counseled Amelia must already know that.

“Oh… okay. I gu