Feeling nervous and unsettled, Deirdre hurried back up the mountain. Conn had convinced her to at least come with him to escape the area, but she refused to leave the herbarium behind. It was the only thing that her mother had left her and it was precious to her. It also held a lot of information and she hated to let that go to waste. Besides, she had persuaded him to pick her up near the mountain pass so nobody in the village would see her departure.
She had left Conn's house before his wife was up. Deirdre grinned as she recalled Conn's face that morning. He had looked very smug when he told her his missus was still sleeping. No doubt he had buried his cock in her as well. For a moment she dwelled on the feel of his cock last night. Still convinced it had been unwise, she couldn't deny the fact he had fucked her good and thorough.
As she neared the entrance to the cave she felt her stomach tie into a knot.
Would he still be there?
On her way up she had seen nothing of search parties but that did not mean anything. There hadn't been any the previous night either. She was almost inside the entrance tunnel when she heard him. His muttering carried through the tunnel and she darted behind a fold in the rock to the left.
With her back pressed against the cold stone surface she held her breath and prayed he would not come her way. She came close to thanking God when he turned the other way. She could hear his boots scraping along the rocks, his grumbling as he searched for a way down the mountain. After more than a week inside, the sun would probably hinder his eyes a bit so she dared a quick peek.
There was nothing left of the lost and dreaming boy she had left the day before. The set of his shoulders shouted determination and the way he searched for footholds told her he had found a new confidence. She was glad she had been able to avoid him. She had no desire whatsoever to know this newfound purpose; as a matter of fact she was afraid she knew all too well.
After she saw him disappear around an outcrop of rocks, she slipped inside the tunnel and heaved a sigh of relief. She never realized she had been holding her breath. A quick look around showed her nothing special, so she hurriedly stuffed her spare set of clothes in her haversack, together with the herbarium. It took her no more than a few moments to decide she would leave most herbs behind, they would do no more than advertise what she was. She only took the poppy juice and a healing salve. Those could have been bought from anyone.
Deirdre looked one last time at her home for the past ten years, a sad expression on her face. "Goodbye haven, goodbye Johan." She didn't care if it was pathetic to whisper into the empty cavern; she just had to do something to make it an official farewell. Clenching her jaws she turned and left, refusing to cry. The sharp sunlight made her eyes water, that was all.
Not sure how long it had taken her to pack her things, she was very careful in going down to the main road. It would be really witless to stumble into the priest, as he was likely to make his way a lot less rapid. The moment she spotted a dark speck moving on the mountain below her, she froze in her tracks. Mindful of sending stones or gravel tumbling down, she settled herself and watched the tiny dark figure moving towards the small light ribbon of the road.
For a few seconds she feared he would turn towards the village. If he did he would block her access to the fork in the road; the place she and Conn had thought would cause the least amount of questions for her to join his traveling set. A soft sigh of relief escaped her as she saw Rory turn towards the town. Next she frowned as she saw him bending down. It was way too far to see clearly, but he was definitely doing something.
As soon as he disappeared from sight, Deirdre hurried down, for a moment hesitating what to do first. A glance at the sky convinced her it was still early so she had time enough to get to the fork. Once down to the road she looked around, curious to find out what Rory had been doing. She felt like she had been kicked in the stomach when she saw. At the side of the road, marking the place where he had come down from the mountain was a large letter W laid out in stones.
Deeply disturbed Deirdre sat at the side of the road. Waiting for Conn and his party to come up from the branch leading out of the village, she felt exposed, vulnerable. The fact that Rory had marked the route to the cave with a W was spelling it out for her. He would try to find her, no doubt because he wanted to save her, but the result would be the same as if he searched her to sent her to trial. She'd end up on the stake, after ... She shuddered, refused to think further as she wrapped her arms around her.
Conn frowned as he spotted her from afar. The splotch of indigo that was her cloak stood out against the greys and whites of the mountainside. She sat hunched over like she was aching and he felt a stab of worry. He knew she could take care of herself most of the time, but still felt responsible. He shook his head at his own nonsense. Ever since he came to live in this village he had lusted after the healer's daughter. Now that he finally had fucked her, he found her even more attractive.
He glanced aside to his apprentice, but the lad was too busy absorbing all the unfamiliar things nearby. It was his first time on the trail with Conn, his first time away from the village he was born in. At the moment the boy eyed the whole world as if it were a wonder.
"Deirdre, glad you're on time girl. This is Kendrick, my apprentice. Kendrick, this is Deirdre, a cousin of my sister's husband. She'll be traveling with us."
Conn had spun his wife the same tale. His sister had been dead for more than ten years, so there was no risk there. He hardly ever spoke with her husband and it was unlikely his wife would ever meet him. He was sure she would never betray Deirdre on purpose, but she could let something slip. He directed the lad to lead their mule for a while, giving him a chance to follow behind with Deirdre. The sound of the cartwheels would drown out their conversation.
"What happened? You look awful."
Deirdre gave a feeble grin. "The priest. He left as I was coming up. I watched him take the road to Wicklow." She swallowed and rubbed her arms through her cloak as if she was cold. "He...uh, he left a sign. I looked after he left."
Conn frowned but waited for her to continue. He didn't have to wait too long.
"A 'W'. He made a 'W' with stones to mark where he came down from the mountain."
"I hope you destroyed it?" Conn sounded almost savage. "The bloody idiot. Doesn't he know you saved his life?"
Deirdre put her hand on his arm. "Let it go Conn. He knows, but he thinks he's doing me a favor. Saving my soul."
She managed a sickly smile, not really believing that herself. Not when he marked the way to the cavern with the W for witch. She sighed, not sure what had convinced Rory she was a witch after all. Maybe she had been right in her anger. That it was easier to blame her and her 'witchcraft' than admitting he had had a moment of weakness.
Conn cleared his throat. "All right, but did you destroy it? Real good? Just point it out to me, will you? To make sure."
