Shaman of Stonewylde (67 page)

Afterwards at the festive breakfast in the Great Barn, Yul had announced, to deafeningly enthusiastic cheers, both his return to the community and Sylvie’s advanced pregnancy. It had felt more like a feast than a breakfast as the folk tucked into their crossed buns and hard-boiled eggs, and toasted the radiant couple with milk. Everyone was excited about the new baby and if there were any rumblings about this child being their third, these were quickly squashed by Sylvie’s spontaneous announcement: couples were once again free to have larger families if they so wished. This brought even more thunderous applause, as the restriction had been unpopular in a community where children were seen as a celebration of life itself.

It was so noisy and boisterous in the Village that Leveret and Magpie had decided to spend the rest of the day at Hare Stone, and bring Hare for a special outing on her anniversary. Now she loped around nearby, cropping the turf, whilst Shadow bounded all over the hill in delight. He knew better than to disturb the other hares further down but enjoyed the freedom of the field and woodland below. Leveret savoured the sensation of heat on her eyelids, and her mind roamed as freely as Shadow roamed the hillside. Thinking of the happiness amongst the folk at the sunrise ceremony, she realised that Clip’s sacrifice was beginning to bear fruit. Knowing that Sylvie and Yul had become reunited was the best news ever, and he’d have been so pleased about it.

She was delighted when, a little later in the lull after lunch, Yul and his family came slowly up the hill to join them. Rufus
was
there too, and Leveret thought back to that time in the Dining Hall when the shy boy – her half-brother, though they hadn’t yet known it – had diffidently asked her to put in a good word for him with Yul. That made Leveret smile, as Rufus and Yul were now very close. It seemed that the shadows really had been banished, with Yul and Sylvie back together, the baby due soon, and everyone apparently happy. With Martin and Jay now in the Otherworld and Swift, Rowan and Faun gone to the Outside World, Gefrin a much kinder young man and Sweyn skulking around keeping his head down, Stonewylde was a different place. The only sadness was that Clip wasn’t there to be part of it. Leveret felt his absence as strongly as the loss of her eyesight.

They all sat together on the short grass watching the girls run around on the hill, playing with Shadow. It was idyllic, an especially beautiful and warm Equinox. Sylvie sat propped against the great stone, her straw hat shielding her face, relieved that she could now relax and reveal her secret to the world after concealing it for so long. Yul stuck as close as possible, his eyes blazing love, his hand never far from hers. Neither could believe how elated and yet grounded they felt, like two halves of a puzzle that that been wrenched apart but were now slotted back together, as they should be. The air around them almost crackled with the force-field of their attraction.

After a while, they heard frantic barking further down the slope and Rufus and Magpie went off to investigate. The pair of them got on well, united in their desire to care for Leveret. Rufus accepted Magpie’s strangeness and silence as entirely normal, and never found the one-way conversation awkward. Magpie, using sign language when necessary, was equally at ease with the younger boy and treated him as a friend.

Before long, Rufus came running back up the hill alone. Magpie and the children were nowhere in sight.

‘I don’t know what it is,’ he panted, ‘but Shadow’s found something strange down there amongst the boulders.’

‘What do you mean, strange?’ asked Sylvie, jerking upright. ‘Are the girls there? Is it safe?’

‘Magpie’s with them, don’t worry,’ said Rufus, his freckles disappearing into his hot, flushed skin. ‘It’s a kind of gap, like an entrance. Yul, do come and see what you think.’

A little reluctantly, Yul followed him downhill to the outcrop of rocks.

‘Just you and me now, Leveret,’ said Sylvie serenely. ‘Isn’t it lovely today, all of us together like this?’

‘It’s a dream come true,’ agreed Leveret. ‘I’m so happy you’re reunited. I never understood it when I was younger, and to be honest I was horribly jealous, but you really are two halves of the same whole, aren’t you?’

‘Yes we are, and now it’s hard to imagine why we stayed apart for so long. It all seems such an over-reaction. Not just the Rainbow incident, but before that, when I first moved down to the Village – a year ago today. I really can’t see now why I wanted to get away from Yul. I can’t imagine not wanting to be near him.’

‘There was other stuff going on then,’ said Leveret. ‘Dark forces at work, and you and Yul were victims of that. But those shadows are banished now and the bright sunshine is blessing us all. Yul was obviously delighted to hear about the baby?’

‘Oh yes,’ sighed Sylvie, thinking of how he couldn’t keep his hands off the bump. He’d tried to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, placing his head on Sylvie’s belly. He’d felt the movement as the baby twisted about, and had whispered a welcome to the son he’d never thought to have. ‘And he loves the name Ioho! The little fellow’s really squirming and kicking today – he didn’t like me struggling up the hill. I don’t suppose I’ll be coming up here again much until he’s born. There’s only the Growing Moon in April and then it’s Beltane. The Hare Moon’s not till the middle of May this year and I’m sure he’ll arrive before that. And Leveret, I’d really like you to be with me when it’s my time – please?’

Leveret smiled at this, reaching out and groping for Sylvie, who quickly clasped her hand.

‘If I can, I will. I’d love to help bring him into the world. I need to learn about delivering babies. Not being able to see means I’ll never make a midwife alone, but I can certainly assist.’

‘We’ll have to time it just right then,’ said Sylvie. ‘I hope Yul’s around and not out on the other side of Stonewylde when I go into labour. I’d like you both there when Hazel delivers the baby, and Maizie’s keen to lend a hand if she can. She’s so glad about Yul and me, and now the secret’s out in the open she’s told me she wants to make Ioho all sorts of new things. I’ve told her I’m happy to use baby clothes from the Village Store but somehow this little boy is extra special to her. And as for the girls . . .’

Leveret laughed.

‘I bet they were excited to hear they’d soon be having a little brother.’

‘Oh yes! Yul and I told them this morning, straight after the sunrise ceremony, before we told the folk at breakfast. We thought they should know first. They were beside themselves with excitement. This baby is going to be so loved.’

‘He’ll have all the love in the world,’ said Leveret. ‘And it sounds like they’re coming back now.’

They all trooped up the steep slope and flung themselves down onto the grass. Shadow went straight to Leveret and flopped at her feet, giving her leg a quick lick. Hare was now lying in the shadow cast by the monolith and opened a bleary eye at their arrival.

‘So, what was it?’ asked Sylvie, feeling very drowsy in the heat. She was pleased to see her girls still wore their straw hats, and passed them a drink. ‘I hope you two were sensible?’

‘Of course, Mummy,’ said Bluebell, snuggling happily against Sylvie and putting a hand on her mother’s belly, which had become family property now that Ioho’s existence was known. ‘We had Magpie to look after us and he’d always make sure we were alright.’

‘I think it may be the entrance to a chamber of some sort,’ said Yul, settling on Sylvie’s other side. ‘There’s a cleft between two
of
the boulders which was all stuffed up with earth and grass, but Shadow’s been digging at it and actually, the gap’s quite big.’

‘Really? A chamber? Like a cave or something?’ Leveret was fascinated.

‘I’m not sure. We’d have to come back with tools and a torch,’ said Yul. ‘It looks natural, but it could perhaps be a chambered tomb.’

‘But we mustn’t go in there!’ said Celandine, coaxing Hare onto her lap and stroking her gently. ‘It’s right where we found those adder skins, Auntie Leveret – remember? And you said there could be a nest?’

‘A hibernaculum – yes, I remember the adder skins stuck on the thistles! A chambered tomb would be the perfect dry place to hibernate for winter.’

‘If there is something ancient hidden down there inside the hill, it would explain why this stone is up here above, marking it. I’ve often wondered about that,’ said Sylvie. ‘So when you say a chambered tomb—’

‘They’re quite common,’ said Yul. ‘Rufus and I read about them recently, didn’t we, Rufus? Nobody’s sure if they were for burials or rituals, or maybe both. Often they’re a natural cave in a hill that’s been extended deeper, with stones placed around the entrance.’

‘We shouldn’t disturb it though,’ said Rufus, ‘if it really is a hollow hill.’

‘A hollow hill?’ said Bluebell in wonder. ‘That sounds magic!’

‘It is magic – I’ve read all about them. Some people call them faerie hills,’ said Rufus, and Bluebell squeaked with joy.

‘Do actual faeries live inside them? Oh Uncle Rufus, that is
so
wonderful! I’ve always had funny feelings about Hare Stone – remember, Mummy? I can write my next story about a hollow hill!’

‘What about your hare story, darling?’ asked Sylvie. ‘I thought you were still writing that?’

‘No . . . I finished it at last. It was too sad and I had to make
it
end . . . but now I’m happy again and I can start a whole new book!’

‘You’re such a clever girl, Blue,’ said Yul proudly. ‘Can I read your hare book now it’s finished?’

‘Of course, Father,’ said Bluebell, climbing over Sylvie’s legs to fling her arms around him and kiss his cheek. ‘It’s been waiting for you to come home to us and now you have! I missed you so much. Apart from baby Ioho, you coming back is the best, best thing in the whole world!’

Yul grinned as if he’d burst, but as they packed up their things a little later to go back down to the Village, he watched Celandine practising some elegant, long-legged leaps around the stone and felt a stab of sadness too. He’d lived apart from his daughters for a year now and had missed so much. As he helped Sylvie to her feet, steadying her as she swayed and planting a kiss on her slightly sun-burnt nose, Yul vowed that he’d never again be apart from any of them.

After the moongazing up here last night with Sylvie, he’d reluctantly returned to Mother Heggy’s cottage to sleep fitfully, one last time, on the cramped settle. But tonight he was moving in with them all, back to his old cottage in the Village. It wasn’t ideal, although Maizie seemed to think so, but he didn’t care – if that’s where they wanted to be, he’d fit in with their wishes. Maybe he was always born to be a Villager and should never have lived up in the grand Hall at all. He smiled to himself as he took Sylvie’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm ready for the walk home; he was so looking forward to sleeping in the same bed as her, feeling her next to him all night long, waking up to her beautiful smile in the morning.

They walked back down the hill, Bluebell still very excited that it might be hollow and perhaps home to the little folk. As they reached the boulders, Sylvie remembered that time when she’d heard Magus’ voice right here and had been so terrified. But Magus was gone for good, and she stopped to look into the dark space between two rocks. It was no more than a cleft and impossible to see how far back it went. She shivered suddenly –
there
was something rather eerie about the black void leading into the hillside.

‘Girls, you must never play around this area here,’ she said. ‘Because—’

‘Never ever touch an adder!’ chanted Bluebell. ‘We know, Mummy!’

‘I think it’s disgusting!’ said Celandine with a shudder, keeping well back. ‘If there is a cave in there and it’s full of tangled up snakes . . . ugh! I’ll have nightmares tonight I’m sure.’

Leveret could of course see nothing and gingerly reached out to examine the entrance. She snatched back her hand quickly; she’d known this place before, and started to see the strangest vision . . . but today was bright and happy and she didn’t want to spoil it with darkness. Magpie held on to Shadow, not letting him near the boulders at all, in case there were adders still hibernating inside. Then he clasped Leveret’s hand and at once she couldn’t help but see the dark cleft between the rocks, the enticing entrance to the Otherworld. And she knew then exactly what was inside the Hollow Hill and why the stone marked it above, on the summit.

It rained heavily for almost the whole of April, but everyone was delighted after the previous year’s drought. The waiting earth gulped the water, parched and desperate, and the weather was mild. All month long the life-giving water poured from the skies, soft and warm, nurturing the land and causing the duck-pond on the Village Green to flood. It truly was the growing month, with the moisture and warmth encouraging every living thing to come out early. Yul resumed his father’s April task and used the month to take stock. Stonewylde was transforming into a new place, a place of pilgrimage for the sick, but it also remained a self-sufficient, organic farming community. Yul realised that this was where he was most needed and he threw himself whole-heartedly into managing the estate. After his exiled months of physical idleness he felt the effects of the saddle as he travelled all over Stonewylde. True to his word,
he
took Rufus along whenever possible and taught him to ride.

Work progressed inside the Hall overseen by Christopher, who was careful to allocate his deceased clients’ funds wisely. He appointed Harold as project-manager which was just what the young man needed after his shame over
Stonewylde.com
. Harold was very good at this and all went smoothly. Martin would’ve been difficult and obstructive, hating the progress and changes; without his sour and negative presence, Harold found new self-confidence and proved himself adept at managing the day-to-day aspects of the enormous project. Cherry moaned in perpetual horror about the mess caused by the renovations, but Christopher did his best to charm her into acceptance by seeking her opinion on many issues. Marigold reluctantly agreed to a complete refurbishment for her ancient kitchens, on the understanding that gadgets were not required when there were so many pairs of hands available. Christopher had much to learn about the Stonewylde way and was forced on many occasions to modify his ideas, which he always did with good grace.