Dying Fall, A (7 page)

‘Kate’s asleep,’ says Cathbad, looking over his shoulder.

‘Good,’ says Ruth. Kate had been grizzling quietly for about half an hour. They made an early start but traffic has been bad. It’s now midday and they are only just past Doncaster.

‘I’ll take over driving when we stop for lunch,’ says Cathbad.

Ruth says nothing. She is not sure that she trusts Kate’s life—or her own—to Cathbad’s driving.

She is not sure, even now, why she decided to embark on this long and potentially tedious journey. Partly it was Phil’s breezily dismissive attitude to the Ribchester bones. And she still remembers his crack about ‘original research’. If Dan really had made a momentous discovery, then she could be the one to bring it to light, thus fulfilling her debt to her friend and making her reputation in the process. Phil’s comment had underlined the feeling that her career is going nowhere; she has published nothing in the last few years, not even an article or a review. She really needs something big, and if Dan had found the grave of King Arthur, that could be the biggest archaeological find of the decade.

There is, of course, the mysterious person who wants to stop her coming to Pendle. Ruth had thought hard about the fact that she could be placing herself, and, more importantly, Kate, in danger. But, deep down, she can’t imagine that Dan really was murdered because of his discovery. Things like that just don’t happen to archaeologists. Besides, she’ll never let Kate near the university. Cathbad has said that he’ll look after her while Ruth does her investigations. He can take her to the beach, for rides on donkeys and carousels. It’ll all be perfectly safe.

When they stop at the Welcome Break in Preston, Kate is awake and in tearing spirits. She eats most of a McDonald’s Happy Meal and wants endless goes on a Thomas the Tank Engine ride. Cathbad and Ruth watch her, listening to the maddeningly repetitive theme tune and drinking giant frothy cups of coffee. Ruth looks at her watch. She has told Clayton Henry’s colleague, a woman called Andrea Vickers, that they will be at the cottage some time after three. Even with Cathbad’s eccentric driving, they will be at Lytham before two. What can they do while they wait?

Unsurprisingly, Cathbad has an idea. ‘Why don’t we pop in to see Pendragon? It’s not far from here, just along the A59.’

Ruth quite likes the idea. She could do with some fresh air and doesn’t feel like turning up on Andrea Vickers’ doorstep on the dot of three. If she’s anything like Ruth, she’ll still be changing the sheets.

‘Can we ring him first?’ she asks. ‘I don’t want to turn up out of the blue.’

‘He doesn’t have a phone.’

Of course he doesn’t.

As they turn off the A59 the world changes. They pass through a stunningly pretty village with a stream running down the middle. The pub is called The Swan With Two Necks. Ruth, looking round, sees a goat standing in the middle of the road—there’s not a single other living soul to be seen. The road snakes slowly upwards, past crumbling dry-stone walls and the occasional ruined farm building. In the distance is a vast hill, its summit wreathed in cloud. It’s a curious shape, like a long flat table. Ruth thinks of the Stone Table in the Narnia books. As far as she remembers, something very nasty happened on that table.

‘Is that Pendle Hill?’ she asks.

‘Yes,’ says Cathbad. ‘There are lots of legends about it. George Fox had a vision of God’s love on top of Pendle Hill. That’s where Quakerism started.’

Ruth quite likes Quakers—compared to other religions anyway—but the high bare hill doesn’t suggest divine love to her. Quite the opposite. It’s a sinister, lowering presence, black against the sky. The clouds leave shadows on the grass and in the distance Ruth sees a gleam of dark water. The foreground, too, is full of white cloudlike shapes.

‘Sheep!’ shouts Kate. ‘Sheep! Sheep!’

‘Yes, sheep,’ says Ruth. ‘And nothing else. Why’s it called a forest? There aren’t many trees here.’

‘I’m not sure,’ says Cathbad, shifting down through the gears. Ruth’s aged Renault is finding the gradient a challenge. ‘I think in ancient times a forest just meant a place where the king used to hunt.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ says Ruth, ‘but it’s a bit spooky.’

‘There’s old magic here,’ says Cathbad. ‘Have you heard of the Pendle Witches?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘They were a group of women at the beginning of the seventeenth century. There were lots of rumours about them—that they had familiars, that they made clay images and cursed people, made animals die and killed people’s children. Anyway, they were accused of witchcraft and ten of them were executed. They all lived around here, in the hills and in the forest. Pendragon actually lives in a cottage that was owned by one of the witches.’

Ruth can see why this would appeal to a druid but she doesn’t think that the subject matter is very suitable for Kate. Still, with any luck she won’t have understood. Ruth looks round at her daughter, who is humming quietly to herself.

‘OK, Kate?’

‘Sheep,’ says Kate.

There are more and more sheep in their way and Cathbad is constantly stopping to let them pass. The sheep don’t hurry either, gazing at them balefully out of their onyx eyes and meandering slowly in front of the car, woolly nether-regions matted with mud (or worse).

‘Dirty sheeps,’ says Kate.

‘Sheep,’ corrects Ruth.

‘But why?’ says Cathbad maddeningly. ‘Why isn’t it sheeps? I’m going to say sheeps from now on.’

The road has narrowed considerably, and although they are still climbing they’re now surrounded by high grass banks. For Ruth it’s the worst of both worlds: she feels claustrophobic and agoraphobic at the same time. She wonders why she, who loves the lonely marshes, should feel so threatened by these lowering hills. Perhaps it’s the absence of the sea. When you’ve got used to being able to see as far as you can, it feels strange to be hemmed in on all sides by grassland and trees—and wall-eyed sheep.

They stop at a crossroads while Cathbad consults the map. Ruth reads the place names out loud: ‘Fence, Stump Hall Road, Crow Trees Brow. Weird names.’

‘The magistrate who tried the Pendle Witches came from Fence,’ says Cathbad. ‘It must have been quite an important place once. I think it’s this way.’

He takes the smallest and least prepossessing of the roads. The car crawls between dark hedgerows. The rain, which has been threatening all day, begins to fall. Kate starts to cry.

‘Look, Kate,’ says Ruth desperately. ‘Sheeps!’

But there are suddenly no sheep. When they turn the corner they are in the cleft of a sharply sloping valley and there are no animals of any kind to be seen.

‘Look,’ says Cathbad, pointing.

Halfway up the hill is a small, white house. A flickering light shows in one of the windows.

‘Dame Alice’s Cottage,’ he says.

‘What?’ says Ruth.

‘Dame Alice’s Cottage. That’s what Pendragon’s house is called. Dame Alice must have been one of the witches.’

It isn’t the cosiest house name that Ruth had ever heard, but right now she’d do anything to get out of the car, give Kate a cuddle, go to the loo and have a cup of tea. She looks up at the isolated little cottage.

‘Does the road go that far?’ she says.

‘We can park by the gate. We’ll have to walk across the field.’

Ruth lifts Kate out of her car seat and, as she is still inclined to be whiny, carries her across the uneven grass. The rain is heavier now and Ruth hasn’t unpacked her cagoule. Cathbad strides beside them, looking around with every appearance of pleasure.

‘Wonderful place. Wonderful energies.’

As far as Ruth is concerned, it can keep its energies to itself. She’ll never be horrible about Norfolk again.

‘Cheer up, Kate,’ she says. ‘We’re going to see a nice man and have a cup of tea.’

‘Stop!’ shouts a voice. ‘Or I’ll shoot.’

Ruth looks up and sees a white-bearded figure brandishing a rifle. As they stop and stare at him, a pit-bull terrier runs towards them, barking hysterically.

The dog makes straight for them, teeth bared. Ruth presses Kate against her shoulder and tries to think of everything she’s ever heard about pit bulls. They go for the throat, when they bite you they never let you go, if you run they chase you . . . She turns, shielding Kate with her body, trying not to think about that woman in France who had her face bitten off. Then she is aware that Cathbad is lying on the grass next to her. Oh God, the devil dog is savaging Cathbad. What should she do? She can’t put Kate down and, anyway, how can she fight off a trained killer, maddened by the smell of blood? Then she realises that Cathbad is, in fact, embracing the devil dog, pulling its ears, even kissing it between its wide-apart eyes.

‘Hello, Thing. How are you, boy? There’s a good dog.’

‘Dog,’ comes Kate’s muffled voice.

‘Yes,’ says Ruth, ‘dog.’

The man with the gun is now running towards them though he has, mercifully, lowered his weapon.

‘Cathbad? Is that you?’

Cathbad gets to his feet. ‘Call this a welcome, Pendragon, you miserable sod.’

Pendragon puts the gun on the grass and, with almost a sob, rushes forward to embrace Cathbad. The two men stand, entwined, as the dog frolics around them. Cathbad is tall but Pendragon is even taller, a huge Father Christmas of a man, dressed in a dirty army pullover and jeans. His beard reaches to his waist and snow-white hair cascades down his back. The dog is also white, with a pinkish snout and merry, dark eyes. He comes over now to investigate Ruth.

‘Want dog,’ says Kate, but Ruth doesn’t put her down. She still can’t forget stories about these dogs savaging children and, besides, there is a lethal weapon a few feet away.

Pendragon finally releases Cathbad and wipes his eyes on his jumper.

‘Pen,’ says Cathbad, ‘I’d like you to meet some friends of mine, Ruth and Kate.’

To Ruth’s surprise, she too gets a hug, Pendragon wrapping his arms with ease around both her and Kate. He smells of wood smoke.

‘Welcome,’ he says. ‘Welcome to my hearth.’

Cathbad makes an odd little bow in return. ‘What’s with the firearms?’ he asks.

Pendragon strides over to the gun and picks it up. ‘Airgun,’ he says, ‘not loaded.’

‘Natives not friendly then?’

‘It’s a long story,’ says Pendragon. ‘Come inside. I’ll make some herbal tea.’

The cottage is low-ceilinged with bumpy, plaster walls. Pendragon has to stoop to cross the threshold, which makes him look like an adult in a child’s playhouse. The door opens onto the main room, which smells of herbs and smoke. There is a huge fireplace with little iron seats on either side, a wooden settle and what Ruth instantly recognises as a version of Cathbad’s wizard’s chair. When she makes her urgent trip to the loo, she notices shells hanging from the roof like one of Cathbad’s dream-catchers. Druid interior decorating.

When she returns, Kate is playing happily with a pile of little wooden dolls. As Ruth enters the room, she hears Cathbad saying, ‘. . . not my child, not biologically anyhow.’ Clearly druids are not immune to nosiness. The white dog is sitting next to Kate, tail wagging noisily on the wooden floor. Pendragon sees Ruth’s glance.

‘Bull terriers are actually very good with children,’ he says. ‘They used to be known as nanny dogs.’

That’s not what the headlines say, thinks Ruth, but the dog does seem amiable enough. He had a jolly, piratical look with a black patch over one eye. She pats him and he leans against her, panting.

Pendragon makes herbal tea that tastes of wood shavings. He also offers home-made bread and butter. Despite having eaten a burger for lunch, Ruth tucks in. She thinks she could get to like it in Dame Alice’s Cottage. It’s certainly very cosy in the main room with the oil lamps lit and the rain outside. The fire is smouldering gently and the dog is now sleeping in front of it, paws twitching.

‘What’s his name?’ asks Ruth, indicating the dog. She heard Cathbad refer to it as Thing, which is typical. It’s rare for Cathbad to call any creature by their given name. He usually refers to Kate as Hecate and has been known to call Ruth ‘Ruthie’, an appellation which only Erik was allowed to use.

But Pendragon’s answer surprises her. ‘He’s called Thing,’ he says with a grin. ‘Shall I tell you why?’

Cathbad smiles as if he knows the answer and Pendragon assumes his storyteller’s pose, leaning back in the wizard’s chair, eyes half shut.

‘Four hundred years ago,’ he says, ‘this house was owned by a wise woman. Her name was Alice Barley, Dame Alice. She was the person you went to if you needed a spell to make your sick child well or to help your wife conceive. She was full of ancient wisdom and lore. For many years she helped the people in these hills.’ He looks at the three faces turned towards him, even Kate is listening intently. ‘But as time went on, people turned against her. There was some dispute about land. One family in particular had a grudge against Alice. They went to the magistrate and claimed that Alice had put a spell on their child, who subsequently died. They said that Alice boasted that she had a familiar—a Thing—who did her bidding. They said that Alice did not take Communion at the church; she saved the holy bread for her Thing. It was said that the Thing could take the form of a dog or a human man. It was said that Alice lay with the Thing and that she suckled it—its teeth, it was claimed, had left a mark on her belly. The Devil’s mark. Alice was accused of witchcraft. She refused to defend herself, saying only that the Great Mother would protect her. Those words probably signed her death warrant. She was hanged the next day.’

There is a silence. The dog—Thing—moans in his sleep.

‘So you called your dog after Dame Alice’s familiar?’ says Ruth.

‘Yes.’ Pendragon leans over to pat the animal’s head. ‘He’s my familiar, my companion.’

‘Do you see Dame Alice?’ asks Cathbad in a matter-of-fact voice, just as if he’s asking if he sees the postman.

‘No,’ says Pendragon, rather regretfully. ‘I don’t see her but I feel her presence. Sometimes I leave gifts for her—hops, apples, corn dollies. The offerings are always gone in the morning. Sometimes I smell her herbal infusions. Once, when I was troubled with headaches, I went and lay in what had been her herb garden. I slept the night there, and when I woke the headache had gone, never to return.’