The Dandelion Seed by Lena Kennedy

Author:Lena Kennedy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780708836859
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 1997-12-01T08:00:00+00:00

9

The Birth

In the quiet rural surroundings in Essex, the year came in and slowly passed. The winter transgressed into spring and dark nights and cosy fires gave way to longer evenings sitting out in the garden and rising early to plant and sow, in a happy anticipation of a warm summer.

At Annabelle’s house the cows were still brought in at sunrise and the milkmaids sang as they worked. The blackbird repaired his nest and searched for a new mate, his throat bursting with song. And Marcelle, looking up from her chores in the dairy, sang too, in a soft, gentle voice because she felt so happy. Her figure was full and round, and her cheeks glowed with good health. She was nearly nine months pregnant and had never felt so well and content in her life. Whenever the healthy babe kicked and writhed inside her, she smiled and put her hand on the spot on her belly. It was a wonderful feeling: she would never be alone again. In her womb was part of her who would grow and talk and be with her always. It made her feel so exhilarated that in spite of the extra weight of her body she wanted to run, jump, dance and sing.

Old Abe whistled sharply from the doorway to let Marcelle know that breakfast was ready. With loving care he had prepared a bowl of oatmeal for her, topped with the best of the cream. Now he watched her affectionately as she ate. ‘That’s right, love, nothing like a good bowl of oats to settle the tummy,’ he said.

Abe had grown very attached to Marcelle and all winter long they had kept each other company. Abe taught the girl to play crib and shuffle penny, and in the evenings as they were seated by the crackling fire, he would tell her strange stories of the lonely Yorkshire moors that had been his home as a boy. Marcelle also learned the secret of Merlin, the crazy healing man, who lived in the attic, and she had been amazed to learn that Abe was Annabelle’s husband and that old Merlin had once been her lover but had lost his wits while working on experiments years ago. She learned that when witches were no longer burned and more humanitarian forms of punishment were sought, apothecaries, of which Merlin was one, were called upon to experiment with different kinds of torture. And they experimented on human beings themselves. It did not take long for Merlin to be badly affected by the horrendous tortures he was expected to inflict on people all in the name of progress. He went quite mad, running amok and killing several people. He spent some time locked in a cage but then Annabelle and Abe had rescued him and brought him to this house strapped to a board, by then a raving lunatic.

‘Did you not mind Annabelle having a lover?’ Marcelle asked Abe, her soft eyes looking sad and bewildered.

‘Aye, ’tis hard to understand, my dear,’ he replied.

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