“I’ll go,” Gwyn said, and he nudged Teddy in the head as he walked past.
Nellie clasped her hands together and moved to the centre of the group, an excited smile on her face. “Ok, I want to fill both baskets with as many flowers as we can pick. Leave the red ones though, they’re bad luck. Are you ready?”
Nan picked up the empty basket she had brought, tucking it into the crook of her arm, and then helped Mair to her feet. Excitedly, the three women walked out from under the trees into the meadow, gossiping as they went.
Betty hadn’t looked up from her book the whole time that Nellie was speaking and they hadn’t waited around for her to go with them. “Are you not joining them?” I asked.
“I think I’d rather stay in the shade,” she replied, returning her gaze to the page. “I’ll only slow them down.
“Here, Tom, help me with this,” Mrs Hopkin asked, waving a bottle of her home-made lemonade at me with the cork firmly wedged into the top. I shuffled along the grass to sit beside her as Gwyn returned with Howell tucked under his arm.
“In you go,” he said, walking straight past us and tossing Howell over the edge of the bank into the river. He turned around to us with a huge grin on his face, immensely proud that he’d drenched an eleven-year-old who was now flapping around in the water trying to get out.
“It’s good to see you smiling again,” I said as Mrs Hopkin watched on, laughing.
“It feels like it’s been a while,” she said, and I caught the warmth of her stare for the first time since we all got sick. “I think it’s about time.”
I threw my arm over her shoulder and drew her in close to me. She’d become like family. She technically was. Seeing her act more like her old self meant more to me than I ever realised it would.
Howell wasn’t quite tall enough to pull himself up onto the banking, and unable to get a grip on the slippery grass he was repeatedly falling back into the river, causing Gwyn and Teddy to double over in hysterical laughter. Even Betty took her nose from her book to giggle at the situation. After several cries for help, I took pity on the lad and reached down to pull him out.
“Tom, what’s that?” Teddy asked, pointing across the river through an opening in the trees. Foolishly, I followed the path of his finger and squinted against the sunlight as Gwyn's palms connected with my shoulders sending me tumbling into the water below.
I immediately drew in a huge breath, swallowing mouthfuls of murky river water as I thrashed about trying to find the right way up. I finally broke through the surface, wiping my hair out of my eyes, and shot Gwyn an evil glare. Not that he noticed, of course. He was on his knees, pounding the ground with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other as he struggled to breathe through his laughter.
“Think you’re funny, do you?” I shouted as I swept my arm through the river, spraying them all with water and making them all laugh even more.
The water was nearly up to my chest and absolutely freezing. I waded over to the edge, my boots weighing me down, and Gwyn stupidly reached out a hand to help me out. I immediately kicked my foot against the side of the river, using the ground as leverage to pull him in beside me.
“Payback,” I said, quickly jumping onto the side of the bank and away from any retaliation.
I was soaked to the bone and my woollen trousers weighed heavy on my waist making it difficult to walk. As I reached for the bottom of my shirt, intending to pull it off and over my head, I heard Mair yell for her brother from the field, followed by the sound of hooves coming along the ground.
Gwyn jumped out of the water and ran over to me, alerted by the yells from his sister, as a figure rode up and blocked the entrance to the glade.
“You’re trespassing,” he said, and I had to put my hand to my eyes to block out the sunlight and get a good view of him. It wasn’t until he swung his leg around and jumped down from the horse that his features became clearer and I saw that it was Arthur Morgan, back from wherever he’d been hiding since he’d had us arrested and stolen the ring from me.
“You’ve got some nerve,” Gwyn said, taking a step towards him. I put my arm out to stop his path and Arthur smirked, unbothered by the thought of Gwyn’s approach.
“We’ve been coming here for years,” Mrs Hopkin said, coming to stand beside us. “The whole village has. You’ve no right.”
“I’ve every right,” Arthur snapped. He took a step towards her and Teddy jumped in front of his mother, putting a barrier between the two. “Now, I won’t say it twice. Get off my land, old hag, and take your vermin with you.”
This time I was the one who made a start for him and he reached for the rifle saddled at the back of his horse. Mrs Hopkin grabbed hold of my sleeve, pulling me to a stop and I waited to see what he would do next.
“Mama, let’s just go,” Betty said. I hadn’t noticed that she’d even gotten up, but she walked slowly toward Arthur, unafraid of his threats. “There’s a foul smell around here, anyway.”
“That’s right girl,” he said, sneering at Betty. She grabbed Howell's hand and pushed past Arthur into the field as Nan, Mair and Nellie finally reached us.
“Go,” I said, ushering Mrs Hopkin and Teddy towards the opening. “We’ll collect your things.”
Mrs Hopkin kept her eyes on Arthur as she walked past and Teddy made sure to keep himself between them until they were both out into the clearing with the others.
“As for you, freak,” he said, taking steps towards us. “Your time is coming.” He grabbed me by the wrist, and pulled me against him, bringing his face so close to mine that his breath caused a dampness on my cheek. “We’re not done, you and me.”
“I know you took my stuff,” I said, pulling my face away from his and freeing my arm from his grip.
I caught a brief glimpse of Gwyn from the corner of my eye as his arm swiped past my face and his fist connected with Arthur's jaw. Arthur stumbled back a few steps putting space between us and Gwyn looked ready to go for him again. Mair called out from somewhere in the background as Gwyn went in for another swing, but this time Arthur sidestepped him and Gwyn’s blow connected only with air.