A little whimper escaped Marigold. "I'd have liked you anyway, Todd. Even if they hadn't…"
Todd stepped in front of her. Tears glistened on her eyelashes. "Tell me what went on in the woods the other night."
"You said you knew." She turned her back on him, her shoulders trembling.
"Marigold," he said as calmly as he could, "what do they have planned for us?"
No answer.
"Is Professor Cardell involved?"
With a muffled sob, she ran away, but she didn't run towards the cliff as he expected; she ran towards the water. When she reached the tide line she didn't stop but hiked up her dress and splashed on.
He watched, confused for a few moments. "Marigold," he shouted. "What're you doing?" She didn't pause or look around but kept going, the water up to her waist now. The first hint of fear brushed through him.
Normally, he kept his hunter's senses closed when he was with Marigold, otherwise he felt light-headed and a little out of control. Now he let himself reach out and his radar picked up the animal reek of fear. His mind rebelled at the thought she was frightened of him. There had to be another reason.
Water lapped at her chest now, but she made no effort to swim. She was still wading, the bigger waves hitting her in the face. With a snap of understanding, he launched into a run. She wasn't going to stop. He sprinted to the water's edge, toed off his shoes, and yanked his t-shirt over his head. He ran into the water and, when he had enough depth, dived into the surf, gasping at the shock of cold water against his face. Finding his rhythm, he cut through the waves with easy strokes, the action as familiar to him as walking.
He raised his head once to check her position, catching up to her within a few seconds. Her hair floated behind her like golden seaweed as he pulled her onto her back and kicked for the shore.
Marigold lay so still in his grip he feared she was unconscious. But when they reached the shallows and Todd scrambled to his feet, lifting her in his arms, she stared up at him. He carried her to the sand, then let her legs down, supporting her while she found her feet.
"What was that about?" He gasped, breathless from fear rather than exertion.
Eyes wide, she swayed slightly. He grasped her upper arms to hold her steady. They were so thin the tips of his fingers met his thumb. He shook her gently to get a reaction. "Marigold?"
"Don't tell them."
"That you nearly drowned yourself?"
"That you don't want me."
Todd's mind skimmed over everything they'd talked about, but he didn't remember saying that.
He stared at her with her dress clinging to her skinny body and her hair sticking to her face. She was tall. He was five ten and they were virtually face-to-face. He'd never kissed a girl, because he'd never met a girl he wanted to kiss. In his imagination, he'd pictured himself bending his head down for his first kiss like men did in films, but Marigold's mouth was level with his.
He pressed his lips against hers. Cold and salty, the kiss still sent fire streaking through his veins.
As he stepped back, she grinned and placed her palm on his chest over his heart. Her sadness evaporated as though it had never existed. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red and whipped his head around. Standing on top of the cliff in front of the coast guard's lookout, Ruby Turpin stood watching them.
Chapter Sixteen
Todd collected his shirt and trainers from the beach, took Marigold's hand, and led her in among the boulders at the base of the cliff so they were hidden from her mother.
"This is freaking mental, Marigold. Tell me why they want us to get together."
She moved closer to him, rested her head on his shoulder, but didn't answer. Her wet hair and dress clung to his skin. In the shade of the cliff, he shivered.
"Marigold!" He stepped back and gripped her shoulders to make her look at him. "Tell me what you did in the woods the other night."
"You said you knew."
"I was lying." He glanced over his shoulder, half expecting Ruby Turpin to come after them. He wasn't sure if Marigold's mother would be angry with him over the kiss. Although the way the adults were pushing them together, she would probably be pleased about it. He and Marigold were pawns in a plan that Grandpa and Ruby knew about, a plan that had something to do with their worship of the Wild Lord. Judging from Marigold's reaction to Professor Cardell's name, he must be involved as well. He might even be the ringleader.
Todd suddenly had an idea. "Did they try to set you up with Andrew before I came along? Did it all go wrong?"
That got a response from Marigold. She shook her head vigorously, pulling a face. "No way. I wouldn't have anything to do with him. You know what he was like." She looked down and fiddled with the limp ribbon on her dress. "Anyway, you're the one they're interested in, not me."
"Me? I've only just arrived in the village. How can this be about me?"
"Ask your grandpa. I don't know everything."
"Tell me what you do know."
"They want you to stay in the village. They think if you like me, you'll want to stay."
Todd shook his head, totally baffled.
So Marigold was bait?
"What can they possibly want from me? This is crazy."
Marigold shrugged.
"Who's in on this, Mari? Is Professor Cardell the one calling the shots?"
She squirmed and turned away.
"Marigold!" Todd caught her arm, pulling her back. "Tell me."
"Professor Cardell's one of the worshipers. He tells us what to do sometimes, but he isn't an official leader or anything."
"Did one of them kill Andrew?"
Glancing up, she met his gaze. "Mrs. Bishop is one of the faithful. None of them would have killed her son."
The faithful? Oh, man
. Todd squeezed his eyes shut for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. "Is Kelvin one of the faithful?"
"No."
"He might have killed Andrew, then."
With a shrug Marigold said, "Don't you think Mrs. Bishop would know if he had?"
Todd released a breath. It occurred to him that he didn't care anymore if Kelvin was involved or not. Maybe Andrew had just fallen off the cliff in the dark.
"Did any of the faithful kill the Cochrans?"
Marigold bit her lip and her gaze lost focus. "Truth is, I'm not sure. They were so angry about the threat to Lords Wood that it's possible."
Is Grandpa a murderer?
Although the old man wasn't a blood relative, Todd still had feelings for him. He couldn't bring himself to ask Marigold if she thought he'd set the fire.
"There's something I want to show you." Marigold led him to a fault in the rock where the erosion had created a natural set of steep, uneven steps, and someone had hung a rope for support.
Marigold stood back and let Todd climb first. He went hand over hand up the rope, careful not to slip on the loose stones. When he reached the top, he watched Marigold clamber up, fast despite her long dress around her legs.
There was no sign of her mother, but Todd stayed alert as they started walking. Just before Lookout Cottage, Marigold led him down a track into the forest. The familiar cool, woody smell filled his nose.
Neither of them spoke again until they were deep beneath the cover of the trees, well out of view from the coast path. "Where're we going?" Todd asked.
"You'll see." Marigold glanced at him over her shoulder with a small smile. She obviously liked keeping him in suspense.
He checked his hunter's radar and sensed the presence of many tiny beating hearts in the undergrowth. Everything felt normal, at peace. But for the first time in his life, he didn't trust his senses. He gazed around the woodland, checking for anything that looked unnatural or out of place.
Marigold took him along a path he hadn't been down before. He focused on the smells around him, alert for the tangy smoke that robbed him of his extra senses, but the air smelled fresh and untainted. With his radar working, he knew exactly where he was and could easily retrace his steps.
After about ten minutes, the path opened onto a large clearing with one ancient gnarled oak tree in the center. The position and age of the tree were unusual, but that wasn't what made Todd halt and stare. All sorts of decorations covered the tree. The brightest caught his eye first: lengths of brightly-colored ribbon and shredded strips of cloth tied to the branches like Christmas tree trimmings.
As he got closer, other things fastened to the branches became obvious: bird feathers; flowers; twisted gold, silver, and copper wire; pieces of lace; small bones of birds and rodents. A heron's skull dangled right in front of him. He reached to touch it, but Marigold grabbed his arm.
"No. These are offerings."
"To the Wild Lord." He'd seen a picture of a tree like this in one of the Green Man books.
He circled the tree noting other things: a plastic doll, a Christmas fairy complete with wand, homemade favors bound in knots of cloth, dried herbs, and corn dolls.
Todd angled his head to get a better look at the crowd of corn dolls hung together along a thick branch. He recognized some of the people from the village: Mrs. Bishop, the woman with the twins, one of the fishermen, the woman who worked in Grandpa's shop. Professor Cardell was there, along with Ruby, Marigold, and Grandpa. But he couldn't make out who the others were supposed to be. He counted sixteen dolls in all. "Your handiwork?" He pointed at them.
Marigold nodded. "Come a little farther." She took his hand and pulled him a few steps on, then giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.
A boy and girl doll hung side by side, their hands bound together with gold wire, surrounded by a garland of flowers and ribbons. The long yellow wool hair left Todd in no doubt that the girl was meant to be Marigold. The boy doll could have been any boy with short dark hair, dressed in a scrap of denim for jeans and a black t-shirt. But the fox drawn on the front of the shirt scraped icy claws down Todd's spine.
"I asked you not to make a doll of me."
With a little flick of her shoulders she said, "It's safe. Nobody would dare touch something on the Offering Tree."
"Mari, the only people who understand that rule are the faithful. A tourist out for a walk in the woods will probably touch things on the tree, maybe even take them away."
"Don't spoil this," she whispered.
"Spoil what?" He yanked his hand away from her, angry, and more scared than he wanted to admit.
Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked rapidly. Todd rubbed his face. This whole situation made him feel powerless and vulnerable, but he hated hurting her. For a few seconds he thought about running back to Porthallow like an animal fleeing a trap, but he couldn't leave her here alone.
He pointed at the straw couple hanging on the tree. "This isn't going to work. I'm leaving soon."
"Please stay." Tears ran down her cheeks.
"It's not that I don't like you... Oh, God." Todd felt like banging his head against the tree trunk. "I want to go home. I can't stay here." Even the thought of living with Philippe didn't seem as bad now.
"I'm scared of telling them." She touched his hand. "Will you tell your grandpa for me?"
"Of course."
She smiled, a brief, sad curve of her lips as though the effort was too much to keep up. Then she walked into the forest, leaving Todd standing beside the Offering Tree.
When he was certain Marigold was gone, he unfastened the twisted wire holding the Marigold and Todd effigies before shoving the dolls into the deep pocket on the thigh of his combat cut-offs. He went to the branch where all the other corn dolls were hung and as some kind of insurance he didn't fully understand, he pulled off the Professor Cardell doll and jammed that in another pocket.
As he left the clearing, he paused and glanced back at the Offering Tree, wondering what sort of punishment the Wild Lord was supposed to inflict on people who desecrated his tree. It was a good thing the Wild Lord was just a folk tale.
Todd crouched on the cliffs and stared out to sea while he got his head together. The last couple of hours had started to feel surreal, as though he'd imagined everything.