The Memory of Snow by Kirsty Ferry Read Free Book Online Page B

do, it is magical.’
    Alice laughed, but there was a bitter note to the sound.
    ‘Magical. Aye. Things happen out here. Things mortals do not
understand. But you are different. You understand the place. You believe in its
guardians and its spirits, don’t you? Anyway. I came out here to say goodbye to
you. I’m leaving, and didn’t want to go without telling you.’
    ‘Alice! Where are you going? Are you leaving because
of...what’s happened?’ cried Meggie. Alice nodded, still staring out at the
countryside.
    ‘It can’t be helped. I’m sorry to do this to you. I hope you
understand,’ she said.
    ‘But where will you go?’ asked Meggie. ‘Is there anything I
can do to stop you? Is it him – Charles Hay? Is he making you do this?’ Her
voice rose hysterically and she felt tears springing to her eyes. She brushed
them away angrily. Alice was the only one who truly knew her, who she felt
truly comfortable with. What would she do without her? Her Grandmother had died
last year, her parents long before that. If Alice left, she would be alone.
    ‘Dear Meggie,’ sighed Alice. ‘If there was another way, I
would seize it.’ As if to underline her point, she unfolded her arms from
around her knees and leaned towards Meggie. She took Meggie’s hands in hers.
‘Thank you, Meggie. Know that you did what you could. I’m sorry this had to
happen.’ Alice raised Meggie’s hands to her face. She brought them to her lips
and kissed them. Gently, she replaced them on Meggie’s knee and smiled at her
friend. A tear rolled down Alice’s cheek as well. ‘I’ll see you again, though.
Don’t be afraid,’ she said and stood up. She brushed her dress down and looked
at Meggie, who remained kneeling on the grass.
    ‘Alice!’ she cried. ‘Please...’
    Alice shook her head and turned away. She walked off across
the valley and over the old fort. Meggie watched her until she disappeared from
sight.
    ‘No,’ Meggie whispered, suddenly understanding. ‘Oh no!’ She
jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could back to the village. ‘No!’ she
cried as she left Coventina’s Well behind. The flower heads lay scattered across
the grass, until a breeze blew up and lifted them off the ground to dance away
across the valley.
    Meggie arrived back at the village, gasping for breath and
red in the face.
    ‘Alice!’ she cried as she ran through the dirty track which
was the main street of the village. ‘Alice!’ She pushed her way past a crowd of
farmers who were arguing about something and wove her way through the buildings
until she came to Alice’s house. Before she even reached the door, she heard
howls and crying coming from the building and she began to panic.
    ‘My daughter!’ cried a woman’s voice. ‘My only child. My
little Alice!’ Meggie burst into the small living quarters and ran towards a
bed in the corner of the room.
    Alice lay on the bed white and cold, her black hair fanned out
around her pale face. Her eyes were closed and her lips were bloodless. Dark
smudges stained the skin beneath her eyes, as if thumbs had been pressed into
the hollows and dragged out ugly marks.
    ‘Oh no. Oh no. What happened? What happened to her?’ sobbed
Meggie, throwing herself onto her knees by the bed. She grasped hold of Alice’s
hand and tried uselessly to rub some life into it. Alice’s mother cried out and
pulled Meggie away from her.
    ‘It’s your fault. You did this to her!’ she cried. ‘You and
your potions. I found it. I found the stuff you’d given her. I knew all about
it. I could tell. She was different. I guessed what had happened. I knew it was
that Hay lad. But we could have done something. Anything would have been better
than this! You killed her.’
    Meggie stared at her, terrified. Two more women appeared from
somewhere in the shadow alcoves by the fireplace and stood glaring at her, arms
folded and heads shaking.
    ‘I didn’t! She asked me to help her. I did what she
wanted...’