Authors: Dulcinea Norton-Smith
“
Come on child. Are you a mute?
”
the man asked with a kind smile
“
Answer me
”
“
I lost my shoes when I fell in the river. I had to leave my
dress on the rocks to dry. I
’
m on my way home now
”
I said quickly. I felt myself begin
to panic.
“
I was thinking about what to tell my Mam. She gave me money
to buy bread but I lost that in the river too.
”
I
gasped and looked away quickly. I never lied, not really, and I had no idea why
I had just lied to this man. Lying is bad, I know that. I know that begging is
bad but I beg to feed Nettie and I pray for forgiveness every night. Lying to
save face in front of someone I didn
’
t even know was unforgivable and
pointless, but the lie just slipped out.
“
My name is Roger
”
said the man softly.
“
Let me give you a ride home. You
surely can
’
t walk far without your shoes. What is your name child?
”
“
I
’
m Lizzie
”
The
man nodded and stroked the neck of his horse. It was the most beautiful horse I
had ever seen. Not like the nags that usually came by this way, with mud
encrusted feet and patchy, matted coats. I imagined riding on that horse with
its chestnut hair and bright eyes. The five miles home would seem like no
distance at all on that horse, with the wind whipping my hair from my face and
along my sore feet.
It could never be
though. I just knew that if I got on that horse I would never want to get off.
I
’
d want to ride faster and faster until I left my life and
family so far behind that they would never find me. To have to get off the
horse at home would kill me. I wanted so much to leave behind the
responsibility and misery of home but I could never leave Nettie, my Nettie. I
couldn
’
t say yes anyway. This gent might not know who I was right
now but everyone knew our home, Malkin Tower. As soon as he dropped me off
there he would know that I wasn
’
t Lizzie with a Mam who sent her to buy bread with honest
money but Alizon Device, middle child of that scrounging evil family of
witches, hated and feared by most of Pendle. Even worse than the pain of
walking back home barefoot and frozen, would be the pain it would cause me to
see the fear and disgust in his eyes.
“
I
’
ll be fine Sir
”
I said, thinking for a way to get
out of this corner I had backed myself into.
“
My uncle rides past here every day.
He should be coming past any minute. He
’
ll take me home
”
.
“
If you are sure
”
said Roger after a slight pause.
He
looked at me for a while and I was scared that he had seen through my lies and
was going to ask me more about my Mam or imaginary uncle. His eyes didn
’
t seem to reflect any pity or fear
but shined with curiosity and for a moment I held my breath, half wishing for
pity instead. I tried not to show that my heart was racing.
“
Take this. Perhaps your mother will not be too angry at
having no bread if you at least have the money.
”
He
threw a small drawstring purse to me. It surprised me but I caught it easily.
The purse held at least five coins. More than I
’
d ever earned in a full month of
begging. I stared at him in shock, unable to look away and unsure of what to
say or why he was happy to give a complete stranger so much money. As I stared
he took the decision away from me. He gave me a smile and began to ride away.
He turned as the horse
’
s trot became a gallop, and shouted over his shoulder. For
a moment I could
’
ve sworn he shouted
“
Good bye Alizon and may God be with
you
”
but of course he hadn
’
t. I
’
d told him that my name was Lizzie.
I
clutched the purse tightly and set off home. Five miles still, but miles which
would be more pleasant than usual because of the added weight of the purse. All
I had to figure out now was how to keep my kin from wasting it on ale and herbs.
As
I walked home I kept the purse clutched tightly. It was made of thin, soft
leather which felt buttery in my hand and I could feel each individual coin
through the material. I let the lightness in my heart take over me for a
moment. I could stop going to Beggar
’
s Bend for a few weeks now. I could
explore the hills and dales of Pendle; something I used to love as a child but
which I
’
d scarce had time for in the last few years. The relief
that we wouldn
’
t have to worry about food for a while made me light headed
but soon the nervousness crept in again, like a River Calder eel, slipping and
sliding into my gut to make it leap and flip with nerves. How would I be able
to keep the money secret from Mam and Gran? I wasn
’
t much good at lying but I
’
d have to. I decided I
’
d hide the purse and go out each day
and tell the family I was off to Beggar
’
s Bend.
Again
I was lying but this time for the better. We need food. There was never enough
food. I needed some shoes too. I
’
d been getting them from the girl who
worked at Nutter Farm as a milk hand till now. Whenever she got new ones I
would buy her old ones real cheap. They were a bit scuffed and worn but sturdy
and I love those shoes. They
’
d see me through a year or so each time but my last pair started
to pinch so bad my toes were curling under and I finally had to give up wearing
them. Now I could finally afford to buy another pair.
I
sat down to rest for a moment. My feet were starting to hurt again. Even the
dirt around these parts is so hard it felt little different to walking on
stone. Mostly it doesn
’
t bother me as most of the bottom of my feet has toughened
up but there is still the odd pinch and I have a fair old scar on the bottom of
one foot from a slip in the river on a sharp stone a couple of years back. When
I walk for too long that foot aches something rotten. I was getting close to
the patch of forest near home now. Most of the houses and farms around here are
on the edge of the woods but only a few brave folk and the poachers go in the
forest of Pendle, especially as dusk draws in. It
’
s called a forest but really it is
just small clusters of trees here and there that separate the villages and
towns.
One
day, nigh on three years ago, Mam had sent me out to gather toadstools for
drying. Poisonous these toadstools are and I hate it when I have to gather
them. Need to wash my hands over and over when I get home to stop the juices
making me sick but Mam doesn
’
t care much for me whinging so I go and do it without
arguing. I know better than to argue. I
’
d been looking for a good half hour
when I found myself in a clearing. There were two clearings in this part of the
forest and everyone knew about the first one, the one near to Malkin Tower.
Folk are superstitious around here and people say the clearing is haunted with
evil spirits. The villagers around Pendle avoid it like it
’
ll drain their very soul away. I try
not to go too near either, rumour is there was a murder happened in that
clearing, though I
’
ve never seen or heard anything like a ghost there.
I
never went in that first clearing so I'd skirted the edges of it and walked a
bit farther when I found myself in a new clearing, one I didn
’
t know about and from the look of
things no-one else had been there in a long time. There was a circle of trees
with a space in the middle but the space was clustered with a twisting, spider
’
s web cluster of weeds and brambles.
As soon as I saw it my heart gave an extra flutter and time seemed to stop for
a moment. It was beautiful in its chaos. When I closed my eyes I could see the
beauty the clearing could hold with a bit of time and love. I went back every
day after that to weed and clear all of the fallen twigs and overgrown flowers.
My hands were spotted with blood every day as I carefully pulled up the
blackberry brambles, leaving just a few around the edge of the clearing, but
the blood didn
’
t bother me. It didn
’
t spoil my happiness for a minute. By
the end of the summer I was left with a small garden of my own; a perfect
circle with trees around the border. One of the trees was large and old with a
hole in the trunk large enough for me to crawl into and sit upright. I had to
keep my legs crossed inside but it was quite roomy and the floor was lined with
moss with a rich, green smell tinged by the smell of soil. It was a smell that
makes me feel safe. Not even Gabe knew about it. The clearing was my only safe
place; the only place where I could hide the purse.
Happy
that I
’
d decided where to hide the purse I spent my last few
minutes before standing up enjoying the stream. I dangled my feet in the
shallow, fast flowing water which was icy cold and soothed the parts of my feet
that had been nicked or bruised by the little stones on the road. I tipped the
coins onto the grass to count them. They tumbled out and clinked into a little
shiny pile. Just pocket money for the man but for me it was so much more. Food
and shoes were going to be the first things I bought but I would still have
enough left over for ribbons for Nettie
’
s hair maybe even some cloth for a
dress. My little Nettie is beautiful. She has a round face with rosy cheeks and
blue eyes. She
’
s like an angel is our Nettie. Not as though our Mam or
Gran would ever notice. They don
’
t pay her much mind. She
’
s no good for begging so she
’
s no use to our Gran.I wish I had
half the looks Nettie does. At least when she is older she might be able to get
herself a husband and escape. What hope do I have, all skinny and bony with
pond scum eyes and grey white skin? Not even Gabe would see me as a girl fit to
marry.
When
I got to the clearing I spent some time clearing the weeds and eating some of
the last blackberries of the year that still clung to the brambles, not as
juicy and plump as they had been but still nice and sweet in their shrivelled
up hardness. The slight sour tang to the harder ones made my mouth water and
the over-ripe, jammy smell from the last few plump ones I managed to find
lingered on my hands. I ate until my juice soaked fingers were as shrivelled
and purple as the berries but pleasantly warm from having been in my mouth as I
sucked the last of the taste that had soaked into my skin. When I had eaten my
fill I took one of the five coins out then hid the purse and the other four
coins in the tree trunk and covered it with moss and leaves. It
’
d be safe here. Again my stomach
flipped and my head prickled at the thought of such a big lie but I knew that
if I took the purse home the money would be spent within a day and there would
be no shoes for me, no ribbons for Nettie and probably no food bought either.
There were always more drinks to be bought, more wax, more herbs.
I
set off home with a sigh. As always I made to take a wide berth around the
haunted clearing but I smelt smoke. I looked around the woods to try and figure
out where it was coming from and tried to follow it. Walking to the left or
right made the smell of smoke disappear slightly so I carried on true in my
course and the smell grew stronger until it was strong enough to make my eyes
tingle. Before long I was almost at the haunted clearing and there was no doubt
that the smoke was coming from there. I saw flickers of movement, not unusual
for the forest which teamed with wildlife, but unheard of for this part of the
forest. Not even creatures or bugs went near the clearing. I reached the edge
of the clearing and peered through the last few trees, not wanting to get too
close. In fact I wanted to run but the utter strangeness of seeing something
happening here made me stay and watch.
I
was close enough now to see that the smoke came from a small fire which
crackling and smouldering slowly. I finally saw what the movements were as two
figures came into view. I held my breath, fearing that even one frosty puff of
breath in the cold air would be seen. I stayed hidden behind a tree torn about
what to do. The figures wouldn
’
t be able to see me back here but it still felt unsafe,
dangerous even. Yet I wanted to watch and in the end curiosity got the better
of me. Slowly I leaned out from behind the tree as I held my breath.