I wasn’t sure I should trust someone who wore a woolen shawl in this heat, but my choices were limited.
She led me to a farm a few miles up the main road.We entered through a rustic gate and approached a small but well-keptcottage.The smell of rosemary and thyme surrounded us, and I spied a pumpkin patch beside the thatch-roofed home.
The woman knocked on the cottage door, and it opened to reveal a man the size of a bear.
‘Evening, Olaf.’
‘Evening, Edda.’
‘How is Esma doing?’Edda asked.
The bear-sized man looked towards the tree in the yard, the only living tree I had seen since leaving the village itself.My arms tightened around Little Worm as I saw the tiny mound of dirt marked by a white wooden marker.
‘Esma is resting.’The shadows under the man’s eyes and the downturn of his lips spoke of exhaustion and grief.
‘This man is looking for milk for his child, and I thought she could help.’
Noticing me for the first time, Olaf looked to where I stood.His gaze rested on Little Worm, who was snuffing and wriggling in her wet linens.
‘Esma is resting,’ Olaf repeated, broadening his stance in the doorway and placing his hands on his hips.
Little Worm cried loudly, and I saw the curtain covering the cottage window twitch.
‘I will feed the babe.’A woman’s voice came from inside the cottage.
Olaf turned his enormous head.‘You don’t have to do this, my love.’
He stepped aside as a woman who only came up to his elbow appeared beside him.
‘I have what the child needs.’The woman with soft brown eyes and a small heart-shaped face surrounded by a cloud of chestnut waves gestured for me to come forward.
‘Move aside, love.’Esma smiled gently at her husband, who was still blocking my entrance.
With a sigh and a warning glance, he stepped back so I could enter the cottage.
I placed Little Worm in Esma’s waiting arms.She looked down at the child with a watery smile, and I couldn’t help but feel a tug of pity for the grieving woman.
‘What pretty grey eyes you have,’ she murmured to Little Worm, who watched Esma with wide eyes.‘I may need your help,’ Esma said to Edda, who had come to stand beside her.
‘There’s a knack to it, but your body will know what to do.’Edda guided her to a pair of rocking chairs set by the cold hearth.
I averted my eyes and looked out at the thriving pumpkin patch as Esma, with the help of Edda, guided Little Worm to her breast.
Esma let out a cry of surprise as Little Worm latched on hungrily.The room was filled with the sound of her hungry gulps.
‘That’s it, you are doing just fine.’Edda patted Esma’s shoulder.
‘Come, Olaf.You must see her pretty eyes,’ Esma called to her husband.
Olaf was hovering between the doorway where I stood and where his wife held a baby to her breast for perhaps the first time.
‘I shall be back to collect her before nightfall,’ I said.
Edda waved me away, and Esma continued to call for Olaf to see the child.
I took one last look at Little Worm and her enchanted audience before slipping quietly out the door.
The pounding in my head would not let me wander too far from Little Worm, so I left my stallion in the abandoned barn we had passed earlier and then doubled back to the cottage.
