Chapter Thirty-One

Lamorna straightened up from where she’d been tidying the vegetable patch in the garden. She looked up at the sky; even though the sun was shining, still there were dark clouds billowing in the distance. Her gaze lowered and she gasped.

In the distance, by the forest, stood a white wolf, staring at Lamorna. She glanced about her, but she was alone. The wolf continued to stare at her. As she wondered if it was the same wolf from before, Lamorna knew what she had to do.

Moving slowly, as if in a dream, Lamorna made her way to the boundary hedge but had to take her eyes off the wolf to find a suitable place to squeeze through. As she got closer, the wolf turned and trotted into the forest before stopping and looking back at her. “Do you want me to follow?”

The wolf took a few more steps and waited. Glancing back towards the village, Lamorna followed. The wolf led her into the forest, deeper than she’d been, but she was not afraid. Relishing the coolness, the smell of moist earth, the sounds of unseen birds and animals, Lamorna reached out to brush her fingers against leaves and bushes.

Not paying attention to what was underfoot, she tripped but caught herself before she fell. With a startled cry, she backed away. A body was lying by her feet.

The wolf had stopped and was sitting a little distance away, regarding Lamorna almost expectantly.

Lamorna looked at the wolf and back at the body before turning to the wolf again. “Is this why you brought me here?”

Biting her lip, she slowly knelt and gingerly hauled the body over, grunting as she did so. With a cry of shock, she fell back. It was Daroth. Laying a shaky hand on his chest, she exhaled sharply. He was alive. Reaching over, she shook him. “Daroth. Daroth, wake up.” But he remained still. “I have to get him home.”

She tried to pull him but after dragging him a few yards, realised she could not pull him all the way back to the village. She needed help. “Please watch over him, Mistress Wolf.”

Lamorna retraced her steps. Or so she thought. Realising that it hadn’t taken this long for the wolf to lead her to Daroth, she wondered if she was lost. Then she heard voices calling her name. Running in that direction, she saw that she was close to the forest edge.

“Here. I’m here.” She ran out to find Sewell, Wystan, Amleth and a few other men.

“Lamorna.” Sewell pulled her into his embrace.  “Eva couldn’t find you; we were worried.”

“I’m all right. But I need help. Daroth, he’s in the forest.” She tried to describe where he was, but she did not mention the wolf.

“We’ll find him,” said Sewell. “You go home to Eva. She’s beside herself with worry.”

It seemed an age before Sewell finally came to tell her that they’d found Daroth, and that he was now at Sewell’s home where the women were tending him; he said nothing of a wolf.

Lamorna then told him how the wolf had led her to Daroth.

Sewell smiled. “I wonder if the White Lady had something to do with this.”

*                      *                      *                      *

The sun had barely risen when Lamorna knocked softly on Sewell’s door. He ushered her in and they stood by the bed where Daroth lay sleeping. Sewell told her that Daroth had woken briefly a few times during the night but had not spoken.

He lay so motionless, his chest barely moving that Lamorna was tempted to shake him, to make sure he was still alive. His black hair lay in greasy clumps against the pillow, framing his bloodless face; the dark circles around his eyes only served to enhance his ashen hue. The skin by his left eye was a sickening yellow-brown, and a purplish bruise nestled against the right side of his mouth, like a berry stain. Her fingers hovered over the livid cut on his cheek. Resting his hand on her shoulder, Sewell assured her Daroth would recover.

Lamorna went about her chores for the rest of the morning but found it hard to concentrate even though Sewell had promised he would send for her when Daroth was awake. It was mid-afternoon before Sewell came; Daroth was asking for her.

About to enter Sewell’s home, Lamorna paused at the door, her hands clutching the frame, her legs refusing to carry her over the threshold. Only when Sewell assured her he’d stay close could she bring herself to move.

She perched on the edge of the chair by the bed, hoping neither Daroth nor Sewell would hear her pounding heart. It took a few moments before she could trust herself to speak. “Are you feeling better?”

Propped up against the bed-head, his smile was more of a grimace. It seemed as if he were struggling to keep his eyes open. “I am better, thank you.” His voice was raspy, hoarse, missing the richness of before. “I have had something to eat, something hot, what bliss. Everyone is being so kind. They do not know me yet there is so much kindness.”

Lamorna nodded. “They are very good people.”

He regarded her silently for a few moments. “I am so happy, so relieved to see that you are safe and your brother also.”

She looked down at her hands, clasped tightly on her lap. “I am so sorry, Daroth.” Her lower lip trembled. “Please forgive me for denying you, not helping you.” Her breath catching in her throat, she hid her face in her hands.

He struggled to sit forward. “Lamorna, no, do not weep. You mustn’t blame yourself. I made my choice, no one forced me to. My one regret is that I failed to reach Dorcas before she alerted the soldiers.”

Sniffing, Lamorna wiped her face on her apron. “Mother Genna, is she safe?”

Sitting back, he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. The soldiers took her; I don’t know her fate.”

Even as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, Sewell put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t borrow blame, my girl. The women who helped you on your journey, they did so because they wanted to. They know the dangers of living the life they have chosen. If you do not believe me then ask Danica when she comes.” He moved to sit at the foot of the bed as Lamorna continued to wipe her tears away. “Now, young Daroth, if you feel strong enough, I am curious to hear how you were captured, and how you escaped that brute, Liddon.”

Daroth spoke first of the mystery surrounding the fate of the soldiers Liddon had sent after Lamorna when she’d fled Genna’s; how he’d defied his father to try and stop Liddon and his men; of his capture and his failed attempts to escape; and arriving at this village where Lamorna was. Two nights after that, Liddon and his men had camped in a clearing.

“The night was dark, the only light we had was from the torches and the fire. Then wolves began to howl. One moment it was still then a wind came up. The torches went out.”

Lamorna glanced at Sewell who raised his brows slightly.

“I could barely see but I heard...” He shuddered. “Snarling, growling creatures were all around us. Then the most awful cry; it chilled the blood. The horses managed to break free. They ran, disappeared into the night.”

“What was the cry?” asked Sewell.

Daroth frowned. “I think it was, I’m not sure...”

“Might it have been an owl?” said Lamorna.

He nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes, of course, it must have been. Though at the time it sounded so unholy. There was so much confusion, I managed to get away. But my hands were still bound. Something pushed me away from the soldiers, towards the forest. Kept pushing me on even though I kept tripping, falling. If I’d had my wits about me I suppose I’d have stopped to see what was pushing me, but, at the time, my only thought was to get away.”

He started to cough, and Sewell brought him water to drink. They waited patiently until he was ready to continue.

“I fell unconscious. When I woke, it was daytime, quiet. My hands were unbound. Not far from me was a wolf.”

Lamorna’s eyes widened.

“A-a white wolf. It was watching me, sitting and watching me. I was so afraid.” He ducked his head. “I thought it was going to eat me.”

Lamorna giggled; Daroth’s cheeks reddened. She quickly smothered it as Sewell frowned at her.

“The wolf got up, walked then stopped and looked at me. It did that a few times until I got up and followed it. I made no attempt to make sense of any of it. I felt so weak. We came to a river, I drank. The wolf continued on its way, I did not know where it was taking me. I followed until I fell and knew no more. When I awoke, I was here, in your home, Master Sewell.”

Sewell got to his feet. “Escaping with your life, you are a very lucky young man.”

“You were treated very badly.” Lamorna realised that Daroth had said very little of his time as Liddon’s captive. “So many cuts...” She bit her lip to try and ward off more tears.

Daroth shook his head. “It doesn’t matter; none of that matters. You are safe and that is all that matters.”

Sewell nodded. “We will leave you to rest. Come, Lamorna.”

Getting to her feet, it seemed as if she would say something; instead she smiled and turned to leave.

“Lamorna.”

She turned back to him.

“I have yet to tell you how grieved I am at the loss of your mother. She was a... she always had a kind word for me.”

Lamorna struggled to swallow past the lump in her throat. She opened her mouth to thank him, to tell him that Reena had always spoken fondly of him, of his kind manners and good heart. Instead, blinking back tears, all she could do was nod.