He mishears the silence, at first, and waits for the boy to continue. To point him in a direction.

"I thought you'd have a suggestion," he admits at last, a wry cast to his mouth. He turns back to the neglected fire, prodding at it and then rising to move a log.

"C'mere," William says, gentle as a laugh. He beckons the boy over--no reason to stand around in the cold. "You came from the village, is that right?"