The heat shimmered over the forge, red embers glowing against the dull crags and valleys of charcoal as yet unconsumed by the fire. Several thick rods of iron protruded from the forge, the ends heated to a deep cherry red ready for the last few blasts from the bellows that would bring them to a glowing white heat.
Over at the anvil, the smith worked at another piece, rhythmically striking the malleable metal with a large hammer, shaping it from anonymous rod to a sinuous, twisting implement, the ancient alchemy of man, fire and imagination.
I leant on the bellows, watching him as I rested for a moment, loving the ripple of muscle in his broad chest as he worked. Fearless of sparks he wore only heavy trousers and a thick leather apron, his chest bare and lightly sheened with sweat in the glow of the fire.
His movements were powerful, yet it was so obvious that he was only using a fraction of the muscle and skill at his command, the hammer blows had an almost languid quality, there was no increase in breath rate, no urgency though each blow fell deftly exactly where he felt it should.
His concentration on the task in hand was absolute, I could almost see the metal taking shape in his mind's eye a moment before the hammer landed, every time exactly where he had envisaged it, his strong hands constantly rearranging the tong held metal to receive the blow.
I loved watching him work, even though I had been here all winter and had helped every day in the forge, I didn't tire of the work. There was a knack to the bellows, a way to lean your whole weight into them which took much of the strain out, and after the first week when I had been so tired after each day's work that I slept like the dead as soon as we had eaten, I quickly hardened to the task and found time to watch and enjoy.
He never said much, though he always spoke kindly and I'd yet to hear him raise his voice to anyone. If a rare customer disagreed with him over a price or the timing of a job, the smith would just stand there with his arms folded across his chest and regard them thoughtfully, and soon enough an agreement was reached.
Now he plunged the iron back into the fire, and needing no cue I turned back to the bellows, using both hands to bear down on the handle, letting my weight carry the heavy beam down, compressing the air and forcing it through the forge. Quickly the metal started to glow again, and I found myself mesmerized as always by the bright glow of the fire.
No matter what the weather, inside the forge it was always warm, and I worked in a short sleeved linen dress and a leather apron. Putting my back into the task I soon felt my body glaze with sweat, making the thin linen cling tightly to my skin. I knew the smith watched me as I worked the bellows, just as I watched him as he shaped the iron, but as he had not made any indication of being interested in more I felt I could not press myself on him, though I confess I lusted after him more and more as the winter passed.
He took the piece from the fire with stout tongs and turned again to shaping the metal. Quickly the final form became clear now, a slim shepherd's crook with a shape designed to slip round the neck of a wayward sheep or lamb and turn them back to the shepherd's bidding. Satisfied at last with his work, the smith plunged the crook into a bucket of water, tempering and cooling the work, raising steam in a hissing cloud.
Recognizing a good time for a break, I walked over to the door of the forge and stood in a shaft of thin sunlight that fell in at the open doorway, breathing the clean air and luxuriating in the feel of fresh air on my sweat dampened skin. After months of cold, damp weather, today it felt as though spring had finally come, and the day was warm even outside the forge.
Stripping off my apron I stretched in the doorframe, feeling my muscles unwind, loving the feel of the breeze that brought scents of grass and may blossom with it. I felt, rather than saw the smith watching me, and I realized that the sunlight must be blazing right through my thin dress showing him every curve of my body. The realization made my nipples tighten abruptly, I could feel them stretching the damp fabric, and knew they must be highly visible to him.