Dougal came back for Tala at around Midday and had to go into the church to find her. The Knights of Vell were still in town and she didn't want to risk running into them. She had two of the girls with her, Cindy and Carla, and was trying to reassure them that the coming testing was nothing to be afraid of. Which for them it wasn't. Probably.

     "I saw the notice," he said as he and Tala headed back out into the street. "Figured it'd be something like that."

     "Shame the King can't find something useful for them to do," said Tala as she climbed aboard the buggy.

     "Finding witches is important," Dougal replied as he climbed up to sit beside her. "Can't have witches running around the Kingdom getting up to all kinds of mischief."

     "What kind of mischief did they do?" asked Tala, growing angry. She regretted her words the moment they were out of her mouth, though. She should just parrot the conventional wisdom that all witches were evil and should be put to death. That was the safe way and it was what everyone else did. Even today, there were people old enough to remember the days before King Roderick, when green witches were valued and respected members of the community, but they didn't dare speak out for fear of being accused themselves.

     Dougal began to recite the list of evil deeds that witches were accused of carrying out and Tala nodded her agreement. "Yes, you're right," she said. "It's just hard to believe that they used to do things like that."

     "Yeah," said Dougal sadly. "You don't like to think that people like that exist."

     Tala suddenly felt bold enough to take a chance. "And to think they got away with it for five hundred years before anyone found out. All those centuries of being thanked and revered because people thought they were helping them."

     "They were clever," Dougal replied without taking his eyes from the road ahead. "The Devil Himself helped them deceive people. They used His power to pull the wool over people's eyes."

     "They say there's more plague in the Kingdom than there used to be in the days of the witches," Tala ventured carefully. How far did she dare to go? Not much further, she thought. He would start becoming suspicious. "When the plague swept across the world, it barely touched Meddelvy. The witches said it was spread by rats and that they were keeping them out of people's houses."

     "God kept this country safe from the plague because we were His chosen people," Dougal replied. "He rewarded us for our faith. Now, though, the plague is being sent by the Devil as revenge for us killing all his witches."

     "That does seem the most likely explanation," said Tala drily.

     Dougal just nodded, completely oblivious to the tone of sarcasm that she hadn't been able to keep out of her voice. Now stop, she warned herself, feeling relieved. Baiting him like that was much too dangerous. To avoid notice, you had to hate and fear the witches just as much as everyone else. It wasn't something she'd be proud of, she knew, but it was necessary if she was going to survive.

     They rode the rest of the way in silence, but as they were drawing close to the farm Tala was alarmed to see a wolf standing in the road ahead of them. A wolf she recognised. Limper. What was she doing here?

     <Mother!> the wolf cried gratefully. <I've found you!>

     "A bloody wolf!" said Dougal in alarm. "What's it doing here?"

     He was remembering when he'd almost been eaten by them, Tala knew. Maybe he was imagining that the whole pack had followed him here, still keen to taste his flesh. As if wolves would ever do such a thing. The horse was also skittering in alarm, though. Horses were all great cowards and their response to anything the slightest bit strange or unusual was always to run away from it. Dougal pulled hard on the reins and the horse stopped, but Tala could see its eyes rolling fearfully in their sockets. The poor beast was close to bolting, and only the reassuring presence of its human master was keeping it from doing so.

     <You shouldn't be here,> Tala said to the wolf. <You're outside your territory. The pack that hunts here will think you're invading their land. They'll drive you away. Hurt you.>

     <Had to come,> Limper replied, although it looked around into the shrubbery lining the road as if looking out for enemies. <Had to warn you.>

     <Warn me about what?> asked Tala, although she could guess.

     "It's just standing there, staring at us," said Dougal. "What does it want? I wish I had my crossbow."

     "It'll probably run away in a moment," Tala told him, "It's probably more scared of us than we are of it."

     "I doubt that," Dougal replied. He sounded scared, which relieved Tala somewhat. Another man might have been embarrassed about showing fear in front of a woman but Dougal clearly had more sense than that. That was good. It hopefully meant he wouldn't do something stupid to show her how brave he was.

     <There's another human looking for you,> said the wolf. <Another human who can talk to us. She wants us to tell her where you are. I don't like her. She scares me. She should scare you as well.>

     <She does scare me,> Tala replied. <I know about her. I came here to hide from her.>

     <I won't tell her where you are,> Limper promised her, <but Black Tooth hates you. He'd tell her where you are if he knew. He has friends in other packs. He's asking them if they know where you are.>

     <I don't talk to other wolves,> Tala told her. <Only to members of your pack. Black Tooth can ask as many of then as he wants. None of them know me.>

     <That's good,> Limper replied, and Tala could sense her pleasure at Tala's loyalty. Wolves were smart, more clever than dogs, but she didn't quite have the intellectual capacity to understand that Tala's reluctance to talk to other wolf packs was motivated by fear of discovery rather than loyalty. Tala was careful to keep the thought out of her green voice. She might need Limper's friendship one day.

     <Thank you for the warning,> said Tala. <You should go now before another wolf pack finds you here. Go back to your own territory.>

     <I will,> Limper replied. <Be safe, Mother. May prey always be plentiful.>

     <And you, Limper.>

     With that, the wolf turned and loped away into the trees. "Did you see how it had a slight limp?" said Dougal. "That's definitely one or the ones that attacked me."

     "They didn't attack you," Tala replied. "They don't attack humans. They were just waiting for you to die."

     "That's very reassuring."

     Tala smiled. "Don't worry. I'll protect you if the rest of the pack turns up."

     Dougal grinned with embarrassment. "I feel my masculinity is being called into question."

     "After what happened, it's perfectly natural to suffer some kind of reaction. You were alone with a broken leg and a whole pack of wolves waiting to rip you apart. Don't feel bad about it."

     "You're very understanding, which just makes me feel worse somehow."

     "You'll get over it."

     Dougal gave her a look which made Tala grin wider. Then he slapped the reins to get the horse moving again.

☆☆☆

     Back in the house, the rest of the family took the news of the witch testing with frowns of unhappiness. "Do I have to go?" asked Daisy, looking nervous.

     "I'm afraid so," her mother told her. "And me and your grandmother."

     "Why do you and Gran have to go?" asked Dougal. "You were tested last time."

     "I suppose it's simpler to just get everyone to turn up than to keep records," Sarah replied. "I've never met a man who likes writing things down."

     "What does the test involve?" asked Daisy. "Does it hurt?"

     "No, you just sit there," her mother replied. "If you're not a witch you might not even know it's happening. Last time, I just sat there waiting for it to start and suddenly they told us we could all go home."

     Daisy looked relieved, but Tala again remembered her mother's anguish during the last testing. What could possibly have agitated her that much? What kind of torture could possibly only affect witches? Well, she'd know in less than a week, and then she'd discover whether she was as strong as her mother had been.

     Then Daisy stared into the corner of the room. "Ugh!" she said. "A mouse, right here in the room with us. I can't believe how bold they're getting."

     Tala looked and saw the creature scurrying along the edge of the wainscotting. It was a red mouse, she saw. Larger and bolder than the common house mice she'd had in her cottage. She heard its voice in her head, calm and unworried. <No sign of the monster. Nothing here to be afraid of. The humans can't hurt me. Bite them if they try.> it had reason to be confident, she knew. The creature was almost the size of a rat, with sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They weren't to be taken lightly.

     "Why do we even have a cat?" said Dougal to himself. He went to the door where he shouted the cat's name while Sarah reached for a boom. She chased the mouse with it until it disappeared behind a dressing table.

     "There's probably a hole in the floorboards back there," said Drisco. He pulled the large, heavy piece of furniture aside and there it was. A perfectly round hole in the floor, chewed by the sharp teeth of the mouse. "I'll get that filled in," he said. "Then check the house for any other holes."

     "You won't get them all," said Sarah. "And even if you do, it won't take them long to chew a few more. Houses have mice. It's simply a fact of life."

     "They say that mice were servants of the green witches," said Daisy with a grin. "They did their bidding and spied for them."

     "Well, there are no green witches any more," said Sarah. "That's what the testing's for, to make sure they got them all."

     "Enough talk about witches," said Drisco, bringing over a kettle of boiling water and pouring it into the large, clay teapot. "Pass around the biscuits, Daisy, and let's have a bite to eat before we get back to work. You up for a little fence repairing, Tala?"

     "I don't know anything about repairing fences," Tala replied with an embarrassed smile.

     "You will do before this day is over," Drisco replied. "We'll make a proper handyman out of you. Right, family?"

     "Right," said Dougal happily, reaching out to take a biscuit.

☆☆☆

     Repairing sections of fence that had been blown down by the summer storms was hard work, but with the whole family taking part, laughing and joking as they went, it became a fun activity and when they finally made their way back to the house Tala was smiling and happy despite her aching muscles.

     The evening meal was mutton and dumplings, and then they relaxed in the clean living room for a couple of hours. Dougal and his grandfather played a few games of chess while Drisco went to his workshop to try to repair the broken handle of a shovel. Daisy and her grandmother sewed patches on worn clothing and Tala helped Sarah to pickle onions. They all chatted as they carried out their various activities. The atmosphere was warm and friendly as darkness fell outside and the shadows cast by the smoky oil lamps deepened. Tala had done all these things while living in her cottage, but only now did she come to realise how lonely she had been. If her cottage were somehow magically restored, she knew she wouldn't be able to return to that life, now that she knew what she'd been missing.

     Finally, though, Tala felt fatigue beginning to overcome her and, making her farewells to the family (the rest of the family, she thought with a thrill of delight) she headed off to her bedroom. She'd reached the door before she realised that Dougal had followed her. "Which room do you want to use?" he asked hopefully.

     "My own, for just a little while longer," Tala replied with an embarrassed smile. "I don't want people thinking I'm an easy lass."

     "Nobody outside this house would know what's happening inside it," Dougal assured her. "I'm not the kind of man to brag and tell bawdy tales to all my mates in the ale houses."

     "I know you're not," Tala replied, while thinking that she'd only known him for a handful of days and had no way of knowing what kind of man he was. "As my mother used to say, though, the truth has a way of travelling on the air and reaching the ears of curious people. We'll share a bed soon enough, Dougal. I promise you. But not quite yet."

     "As you wish," Dougal replied, looking visibly disappointed. "You'll have all the time you need. That's my promise to you. But we are courting now, are we not?"

     "We are courting now," Tala agreed.

     "So it wouldn't be at all hasty or inappropriate for me to send you to your bed with a goodnight kiss." He to ok a half step forward and leaned slightly towards her. He stared into her eyes with hope and longing.

      "No," Tala replied, trying to hide her reluctance. She would have been glad to count Dougal as a friend, but anything more seemed strange and unnatural to her. Being isolated in her cottage since puberty meant that she had missed out on all the playful giggling, groping and kissing that young children normally indulged in. The kind of intimate experimentation that led to sexuality coming easily and naturally. So easily and naturally that parental intervention was usually required to prevent any unfortunate consequences from occurring.

     Tala had to marry someone, though, and since that was the case it might as well be someone she was friends with. She leaned towards him, therefore, slowly and hesitantly, and raised her face towards him in open invitation. She had no idea if this was what you were supposed to do in these circumstances. Dougal clearly wanted this, but for all she knew any family member who happened to pass by might be shocked by her flagrant shamelessness.

     She trembled with nervousness, her heart hammering in her chest. Her eyes closed of their own accord and she felt a strange reluctance to open them again. She felt his hands touching her shoulders and her skin tingled in a way that made her heart beat faster. That simple touch was the most thrilling and exciting sensation she'd ever experienced.

     She felt the warmth of his face close to hers and smelled mutton and onions as his breath wafted gently across her cheeks. And then his lips were touching hers, slightly rough where the afternoon winds had dried them. She parted her lips just a little. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to do. He did the same and she tasted a sweetness more wonderful than anything she'd ever thought possible. The pressure of his hands on her shoulders increased and one hand moved to the back of her neck, pulling her face more firmly against his. Her arms fell to her sides and she allowed her body to melt against his.

     And then it was over. His hands fell away and he stepped back from her, his eyes fixing on hers. Tala met his gaze, her body feeling dizzy and shivery. She wanted him to kiss her again. She wanted him to pull her against him, his arms pinning hers to her sides, and crush her to him while his lips clamped hard on hers filling her mouth with more of that wonderful sweetness.

     Instead, he took another step back from her. "See you in the morning," he said, opening the door to his bedroom and standing in the doorway. "Unless you want to..."

     "No," Tala managed to say, also taking a step back. It was hard, though. She wanted to feel his hands on her body again, this time without the fabric of her dress getting in the way. She wanted to feel her skin tingling again. It was too soon, though. If she gave herself to him now, she knew that she would be granting him lifetime access to her body. She would be his any time he wanted, and once she'd given away control over her own body she knew that she might never get it back.

     She had grown accustomed to being a free, independent woman and she knew enough about the world to know how rare that was. It wasn't something she was ready to give up if it could possibly be avoided, and she sensed that she'd have a much better chance if she made Dougal wait. It would make him more ready to see her as an equal, a partner, instead of a possession. Or at least she hoped. Maybe she was fooling herself, but if she never tried then she'd never know.

     "See you in the morning," she said therefore, backing away to the door of her own room.

     "In the morning," Dougal replied. He didn't look disappointed, though. He looked happy. He was clearly very pleased with the progress he'd just made. He grinned at her, therefore, as he backed into his room, and the door closed behind him with a hollow click.

     Tala entered her own room and closed the door behind her, and then she stood with her back to it for a long time as she processed what had just happened. Dougal had clearly given away plenty of kisses in the past. For him it was a small thing, but for her it was the first time and her whole body was still tingling with the memory of it. She thought it would still be tingling for a long time.

     Then she undressed, climbed into her bed and lay awake thinking of him for a long time.