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“Well, welcome. It’s always good to have someone new to talk to.” Mair turned back to her cart and scooped some white cheese out of a pot, scraped it onto a chunk of bread, and handed it to Elwyn. “Now, try this one. This is something new I’ve been experimenting with, a goat cheese. I only have a few goats now, but I may get more if people like the cheese.”
Again, Elwyn had to resist the urge to wolf down the food. She took small bites, savoring each one. “It’s good, but it’s missing something. Have you considered adding herbs to it? I have some fresh chives that would liven it up.” She held up her basket.
Mair picked up a bundle of chives from the basket, sniffed them, and said, “I remember my father used to make an herbed goat cheese. But then Mother Dilys left and we haven’t had a proper herbalist.”
Elwyn glanced around the tiny market and the nearly empty village. “It seems a lot of people left.”
“Rydding isn’t what it once was. Not that it was ever big. I’ll trade you this cheese for these chives. Oh, and you have fresh parsley. That, too.” She took the herbs she wanted from the basket, then handed over a chunk of cheese that Elwyn was sure was worth far beyond the value of the herbs. Her pride wanted her to refuse, but she couldn’t afford to turn away any food.
“Done,” she said, taking the cheese.
“Is that lavender?” Mair asked as she dug further in Elwyn’s basket.
“I’m afraid it’s rather old.”
Mair lifted a bundle and sniffed it. “It still smells good, and my linens need refreshing. I’ll take some of that, too. How about a bit of goat cheese for that?” She took the lavender and turned to her cart, where she scooped some of the soft cheese into a smaller crock. “You can return the crock when you’re done,” she said, handing it to Elwyn. “I’m at the market most days, or you can find me at the dairy by the bridge.” Now Elwyn knew she was being given charity. Kindness, she told herself. It was kindness, and there was no shame in being the recipient of kindness.
“What happened here? It’s a lovely village to be so empty.”
Mair’s friendly, open face closed. “People drifted away. Then there wasn’t enough business for most of the rest, and they drifted away. And so forth.”
Elwyn thanked her and made her way to the miller. It would probably be easier to buy bread, and the aroma coming from the nearby bakery was tempting, but flour would be less expensive, and she was sure the helper could make something of it. She held a bundle of dried mint out to the miller. “This will help keep the mice out of your stock.”
He sniffed the bundle. “I used to get mint from Mother Dilys,” he said.
“Be sure you give her a fair deal,” Mair called out. “We want to keep her here. This village could use an herbalist.”
The miller glanced at Mair before scooping some flour into a cloth bag. He said “I’ll take all the mint you’ve got and trade you for this. And then we’ll make arrangements for a regular delivery. The mice are eating me out of business.”
“Mint’s just starting to come up well, but I still have some dried stock, and I can make sachets for you.”
He gave her a wolfish smile. “I’d be glad to stop by sometime and pick them up.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you around the market,” she said. It didn’t sound as though herbs were what he’d really be hoping to get if he visited.
She was trading more lavender for a cabbage when a voice called out, “You need some eggs.” She turned to see a bundle of shawls with a chicken perched on top sitting on the steps at the foot of the market pillar. After studying the bundle more carefully, she saw that there was a wizened face peering out from under the top shawl. The bundle was an old woman with a chicken on her head, several more scratching the ground beside her, and a basket of eggs in front of her.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any money,” Elwyn said. “Do you need any herbs?”
The woman snorted. “Not likely. But I have more eggs than I can possibly use. The chickens have been busy. Take what you need. There may come a time when I need something from you, and I hope you’ll return the kindness.”
Elwyn wasn’t sure if she was getting herself into a dangerous bargain or was merely being given charity, but eggs would make for a heartier meal than she’d had in a very long time. She knelt and took a few eggs. “Thank you.”
“Mayhap I’ll get a cough and need a tonic. I also collect table scraps to feed the chickens. Mostly, they forage in the woods and come home at night, but I like to give them treats and make bonemeal for them. But you probably use scraps for compost to grow your herbs.”
“I haven’t had any scraps yet,” Elwyn said. “And I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying.”
“If the village brought you here, it’s because you need to be here.”
“It looks like the village could do with some people. It seems to be practically abandoned.”
“Everyone’s still here, except for the ones who left.”
The woman had perhaps spent too much time in the company of her chickens, so Elwyn smiled, thanked her again, and headed home—to the cottage; it was dangerous to think of it as home—with her bounty. At least the people here seemed to appreciate the value of her knowledge. She should be able to survive long enough by trading the existing stock to get her feet back under her before she had to move on.
She deposited her purchases in the kitchen and said, “I’m perfectly capable of cooking for myself, but if you want to make something of this, that would also be lovely. I don’t want to get in your way.” There was work to be done in the garden, but the trip to the market had sapped her meager strength. A couple of good meals and a comfortable night’s sleep hadn’t made up for the months of privation. She should probably rest before trying to do anything else.
She woke from an unintentional nap in the armchair in the sitting room later in the afternoon to find that she’d been covered with a light blanket. A steaming cup of tea and a small cake sat on the table beside her and a warm glow filled her at the simple caring that represented. She could get used to this kind of treatment, which meant she should probably move on before she got too spoiled.
