Shadows at Stonewylde (34 page)

Her mother’s reaction as she’d come barging into the wing not long after Leveret and Magpie’s arrival had proved that Maizie loved her as much as ever. Maizie had crushed her in such an embrace, scooping her daughter onto her lap as if she were still a little girl, cradling her tight and planting endless kisses all over her face, interspersed with breathless, sobbing entreaties.

‘How could you do that, Leveret? Don’t you know how precious you are? Don’t you realise how much I love you? What were you thinking? You silly, silly girl! Oh – please Goddess say ‘tis not Death Cap! It can’t be – you’d be suffering by now if ‘twas. Don’t you ever, ever do anything like that again, do you hear me, girl? To think I almost lost you. I might still but – oh, no ‘twill be some other mushroom, I’m sure! Oh, Leveret, how could you so such a thing? You’re my special child, my very special little one, and I nearly lost you!’

On and on it went, rocking her like a baby, washing her with tears. Leveret had cried uncontrollably too, clinging to her mother and basking in the comfort of her soft, warm bosom. The nurse left them to it for a while as she tried to undress Magpie and get him into bed. But he’d screeched in panic and made such a fuss that Hazel and the nurse had given in and concentrated on putting him into bed fully-clothed. Then they’d done the same with Leveret, prising her from her mother’s grasp and giving everyone a warm, soothing drink.

Leveret sighed deeply, feeling safe and warm and so very pleased that the suicide attempt hadn’t worked. She was amazed at how suddenly the prospect of entering the Otherworld had become the worst thing ever, when only yesterday it was what she longed for most. The huge crushing weight of misery that had sapped her will to continue had lifted instantly the moment she realised just how much her mother truly loved her.

Leveret should have been lying on the Snake Stone right now, chilled and sluggish with hypothermia after a night out in the midwinter cold, the poison inside her body attacking her vital organs irrevocably. She may even have been dead by now. One of the reasons she’d chosen Death Cap above other poisons was because she knew there was no antidote. The victims always, without exception, died … except that, like an idiot, she’d used the wrong mushroom.

She remembered Clip’s triumphant entrance into the room not long after Maizie’s hysterical arrival, shouting at the top of his voice that it was
False
Death Cap they’d taken, which was completely harmless. Although she was so relieved now that it hadn’t worked, she felt stupid for making such a mistake. Everyone accepted Old Violet’s identification, although Hazel had been on the phone to Guy’s Hospital to verify the details and possible symptoms. Somebody had been despatched from Stonewylde with the remaining mushroom, instructed to drive through the night to the Toxicology Department for scientific identification. But Leveret knew she hadn’t poisoned herself – she’d have felt it by now. All she felt was hungry, exhausted and very embarrassed at the thought of facing the community. As far as she knew no young Stonewylder had ever tried to take their own life before.

Much later in the day Leveret watched a crow flapping about in the cold, wintry air and eventually landing on a branch outside the window. The crow fixed her with its beady eye and let out an enormous croak. She stared intently at the clumsy, scruffy bird as it struggled to balance. Then it began a song of unholy cacophony making such a noise that the nurse came rushing in and banged on the window to frighten it off. Leveret smiled to herself – Mother Heggy hadn’t left her after all.

She looked across at Magpie, still amazed at his transformation. They’d had to sedate him that morning in order to get him into the bath. He’d been soaked and scrubbed clean, the head lice eradicated, and he now wore a warm Stonewylde nightshirt. His ribs were bandaged and all his injuries dressed. She hardly recognised him – his hair was a lovely shade of rich butterscotch and his eyes glowed turquoise in a clean face. His fingernails had been cut and teeth given a thorough clean and everyone was amazed to find that underneath all the dirt Magpie was really a lovely young man, despite the bruises on his face. He was so very proud of himself, constantly stroking his own skin and hair and beaming at her.

‘You mustn’t send him home,’ Leveret said to Hazel when the doctor visited in the lull between events in the Village.

‘Absolutely not,’ Hazel had agreed. ‘He’s quite badly malnourished and many of the injuries aren’t recent, so he’s clearly been abused for some time. I feel terrible that I hadn’t realised before. I think half the trouble is that it’s Martin’s family who are responsible – nobody likes to interfere.’

Leveret thought grimly of the many blind eyes that had been turned at Magpie’s plight all his life. But today wasn’t the time for blame and recriminations, not when Magpie was at last being given the care and treatment he’d needed all along.

‘We’ll keep him in the hospital wing over Yuletide whilst his ribs heal,’ Hazel continued, ‘and then Yul will have to make arrangements for him to move up to the Hall. Magpie certainly won’t be going back to his mother’s house, I promise. I can’t understand why he hasn’t come to live here already. He’s sixteen, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, but his mother insisted she needed him at home to help with the heavy work because they don’t have a man in the house, and nobody’s ever stood up to those women. They’ve always got away with treating poor Magpie badly and he’s been nothing but a work-horse all his life.’

‘Well it’s going to stop now. I remember Magpie as a little boy, the tests I did trying to find out what was wrong and why he couldn’t speak. I should have pursued it further and kept a closer eye on him but it was always difficult. I can see why now – his mother was clearly covering up the ill-treatment. I do feel bad about it.’

Hazel’s kind brown eyes were downcast.

‘Because he can’t speak, he’s been ignored,’ said Leveret sadly. ‘I’ve tried so many times to tell everyone what’s been going on …’

‘Don’t worry, Leveret,’ said Hazel firmly. ‘From now on I’ll be looking out for Magpie’s welfare.’

Clip too came for a visit, his wispy white hair and twinkling eyes a welcome sight. Leveret had surprised herself by flinging her arms around him and hugging him for a long, fierce moment, much to his delight. Nobody had ever really shown him a great deal of affection.

‘You’re determined to muscle in on my journeying, aren’t you, Leveret?’ he’d said when she released him, slightly embarrassed at her spontaneous burst of emotion. ‘First Samhain and now the Solstice. I’d planned a peaceful couple of days up in my Dolmen away from all the fun, but you’ve plunged me right into the action.’

‘I’ll never forget that you came to rescue me,’ she said. ‘Even though the mushrooms weren’t lethal, the long night in the cold air could’ve killed us, being so hungry and exhausted. And Quarrycleave itself, that feeling there … I’m so pleased you worked out where we were and what I was intending to do.’

‘It was my silver wolf who led me to you. You have to promise me you’ll never do it again, Leveret.’

‘Never! I’ve seen what it did to Mother – I wouldn’t put her through that again no matter how bad I felt.’

‘And you’re feeling better now?’

‘Oh yes! Although nothing’s really changed, I somehow feel that I can deal with it all now. Magpie’s going to be safe now that Hazel’s aware of the problems he had at home, and hopefully Mother won’t always take my brothers’ side. I’ll just have to try and win Rosie over in time.’

‘I’m sure you will,’ Clip smiled, relieved at her change of heart. ‘And I hear you’re going home tomorrow? Maizie’s keen to have you back now?’

Leveret nodded happily.

‘We’re really going to start again. She knows I must gather what I need sometimes, and in return I’ll always tell her what I’m doing rather than sneak off.’

‘That’s good. I don’t expect you wanted to deceive her to begin with, did you?’

‘No, it made me feel very guilty. It’s just I felt this … this compulsion to go ahead. I wanted to start practising magic, you see.’

‘And you still want to be a Wise Woman one day?’

‘I do, definitely, but I’m not making a fuss about it now. There’s ages till I have to leave school and I’m hoping by then Mother will come round to my way of thinking.’

He looked at her carefully, noting how the sparkle had come back into her green eyes. She was an extraordinarily beautiful girl, while being strange and different, and he felt a real affinity with her.

‘I’d like to help you, Leveret, if you’re agreeable. I’m not that wise myself but I have a lot of knowledge. I can guide you when you start journeying and give you books to read to help you on your path. I’ve collected a great deal over the years. It may not be the sort of knowledge Mother Heggy had and you will need herbalist knowledge like hers too, but you live in a different time and you need to know things she didn’t. Would you like me to help?’

‘Oh yes please! I need a guide, a mentor. I’m always groping about in the dark and I never know if I’m on the right track.’

‘Well I’m pleased you were wrong about the mushrooms at least. Someone was looking out for you last night, I’m sure.’

As he left Clip patted her arm affectionately.

‘One more thing, Leveret – don’t mention this to Yul, will you? I’m sure he wouldn’t approve of any guidance I might give you. I don’t think Yul likes me much.’

‘I’d never tell anything to Yul. I don’t like
him
much, to be honest. He’s not the person he used to be.’

The next day Marigold came to visit bringing a great tray of Yuletide treats. She hugged Leveret and gave her a thorough telling off for being so silly, then she went to Magpie’s bed and sat there stroking his hand.

‘This poor boy! You look so different now, Magpie. You’re all clean and scrubbed, aren’t you?’

He beamed at her, pulling her hand onto his head to feel his soft, shiny hair.

‘He’s very proud of himself,’ said Leveret fondly. ‘I think with a bit of encouragement he’ll learn to enjoy baths. Have you heard he’s going to be moved up to the Hall, away from those evil women?’

‘About time too! I always said they was evil, didn’t I? Wicked and cruel, and Goddess knows what they done to him over the years, the poor boy. I always said—’

‘I’m a bit worried about how he’ll cope with boarding here, though. You know how everyone teases him and I want to keep him well away from Jay. Jay’s the one who broke his ribs and beat him up.’

‘Aye – less said about him the better, I’m ashamed to say. But Leveret, I been thinking about this carefully,’ said Marigold slowly, scanning Magpie’s guileless face and still stroking his hand. ‘I’m going to ask Yul if Magpie can come and live with me in my cottage. I’ve an empty room and Cherry can help me look after him. I reckon he needs a bit of mothering, poor mite. What do you think?’

Leveret was practically speechless with joy at this suggestion. Cherry and Marigold, their families long grown up and in their own homes, lived together in one of the small cottages that tucked into the Hall near the large kitchen courtyard. The homes were for people who worked full time in the Hall and it would be an ideal solution for Magpie. The two women would really care for him in the maternal way he needed and she needn’t worry about his welfare any more.

‘And just think,’ said Marigold as she left. ‘Wouldn’t those three hags just hate my having him? Sweet revenge for their taking Jay away from me all them years ago!’

The one visit Leveret was dreading was Yul’s, for she knew how angry he must be with her. She confided in her mother, who promised to keep him away until he’d calmed down. Yul had been stalking around under a black cloud all through the festivities, upsetting people without thinking and generally dampening the spirits of those around him. Even he didn’t know what was the matter with him. Everything he did seemed to go wrong, starting with the first Solstice celebration and going on from there. He couldn’t get the Yule Log to light. He’d dropped the flaming torch during the evening ceremony at the Circle, reminding himself forcefully of the ceremony when Magus had done the same thing all those years ago at the Summer Solstice. The Earth Magic was very weak and he knew there was something wrong but didn’t know how to put it right.

During the Yule party he’d managed to get really drunk again without planning to at all. Swift had come over for a chat, building on the relationship forged between him and the magus on the night of his Rite of Adulthood. Before he’d realised it Yul was knocking back mead by the bottleful, assisted by the sober young man. Luckily there hadn’t been a repeat of the previous fiasco with Sylvie, but only because he’d stayed down in his study and virtually passed out on the sofa. Even then he’d woken at some point in the night and considered going up to their bedroom to make love with her, telling himself that he was her husband and she had no right to be so cold and frigid. Fortunately he fell asleep again before he could do anything about it.

The whole holiday was terrible with Sylvie avoiding him at every opportunity and his own daughters eyeing him warily. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he sensed a certain hostility amongst some of the folk, which he could only put down to the disappointing lack of Earth Magic at the festival. People seemed to avoid him, or at best watched their tongues when he was around. Yul had never felt so cold-shouldered by Stonewylders before, but without anything tangible he wondered if perhaps he was simply being a little paranoid. Whatever the case, it did nothing to improve his bad temper.