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“Rydding isn’t cursed at all,” Lucina said. “It is a safe, happy place, where I have found refuge. Though I wouldn’t mind having a few more people to bake for.”
“And more men,” Mair added. She raised her voice and called out, “Do you hear that, village? Bring us men!”
Elwyn thought perhaps she should have been more specific about what sort of men and why they would come.
Chapter 15
The next day, Elwyn approached the market with a mix of dread and hope. She dreaded seeing a peddler Bryn might leave with, but she also hoped one would be there—a trustworthy one with a large wagon and a sturdy horse. She didn’t want Bryn to go, but she couldn’t stay in this limbo, knowing how they felt about each other but unable to act upon it, much longer.
Ever since she’d given him the money and suggested he go he’d been different, quieter and more serious, as though he had a great deal on his mind. She hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings with her suggestion that he leave. He’d seemed to take it well, and he’d been his usual self at the festival. It was only afterward that he’d seemed different. Had learning about her past changed the way he felt about her? He’d assured her that she wasn’t to blame, so she didn’t think that was it.
Perhaps he merely needed to think. Making the journey to discover his past was a big decision, and he’d said he was worried about what he’d learn. His distraction might have nothing to do with her.
When she returned and reported that there hadn’t been a peddler, he merely shrugged and said, “Maybe tomorrow.” He didn’t sound too disappointed, but he headed out to the garden without saying anything else, leaving her wondering what she’d said or done. She started to go after him and tell him he didn’t have to go if he didn’t want to, but she stopped herself. Anything she said would probably only make matters worse.
That evening at dinner, she said, “If a peddler doesn’t come soon, I may have to send you to the nearest town with a decent market to buy more supplies. I’ll soon be down to mint and chamomile teas until I can harvest and dry the summer flowers. We’ve used up almost everything that was already dried. I may have to close the shop if I can’t restock.”
“You really do want to be rid of me, don’t you?” he said with a wry smile that contrasted with his sad eyes.
“I said nothing about seeking out a wizard while you’re away. It’s up to you if you want to track down someone who could get your memories back. I merely need supplies, and I can’t go unless I want to be arrested.”
“No, it’s probably best if you don’t go, at least not until you know if you’re still the kingdom’s most wanted with a bounty on your head.” With a deep sigh, he said, “If a peddler doesn’t come tomorrow, I’ll head out. And I will come back, no matter what, so I can bring you what you need. Make a list for me.” He resumed eating, giving the impression that the discussion was over.
“Your outdoor tables are doing well,” she said. Conversation between them had gone from easy to difficult, and she didn’t understand why, but she kept trying to draw him out. “Though they’re part of the reason I’m running out of tea.”
“People like sitting by water under a tree. They’ll stay all day if you let them. At least, I would.”
“Someone paid with a jug of ale today, and it won’t last long. Shall we sit outside tonight and enjoy it?”
“How much tea did they drink that it was worth a jug of ale?” He almost sounded like his usual self for a moment.
“It was in exchange for a couple of days of sitting here and drinking tea, plus some to take home, and I gave her a preparation for headaches. To be quite honest, I think the sitting by the brook was the best headache cure.”
He stood. “Yes, let’s sit outside this evening.” With a crooked smile, he added, “I could use a bit of that headache cure, myself.”
She jumped out of her seat and moved toward him. “Oh, would you like me to get something for you? Where does it hurt?” Had she missed a head injury, after all?
“I meant the sitting by the brook headache cure. I don’t need anything else. It’s not even a real headache, just a sort of tension, which drinking ale by the brook should cure.”
“If you’re sure, but I could check.”
“No need,” he said, taking a step away from her.
They took a lantern with them and set it nearby, but not on the table, so they sat in near darkness as the sun went down. Elwyn could hear the brook babbling as it flowed over the stones near the bridge. Night birds called out, but other than that, the night was peaceful. “I used to think I liked the bustle of court life, and I thought country life was boring, but I’m enjoying the peace here,” she said.
“You were a country girl?”
“I was the oldest daughter of a minor squire in a backwater county. It was a half-hour walk to the nearest village, which was no larger than this one would be if it were fully occupied. The healer’s cottage was along a shortcut that went through the woods. She didn’t live in the village itself. My mother wanted me to marry above our station so I could help elevate the family, and she preferred that I spend my time in music and dancing lessons and attending balls so I could meet eligible young men. I preferred to wander in the woods, and I often ended up spending my days with Mother Alis, learning about herbs and healing.”
“Ah, I thought I detected a bit of wildness to you beneath all that courtly reserve.”
“I don’t have courtly reserve!”
“Call it serenity, then. Or self-control. But the wildness lurks beneath. You must have been miserable at court, having to watch everything you said and did.”
“I think maybe I was. But mostly I was lonely. I didn’t realize it at the time. I enjoyed the status and the comfort. It seemed like a better life than living in a cottage in the woods and tending to sheep as often as I treated people.”
“How did you come to be a healer? Did you always know what you wanted to do?”
