Wildewood Revenge by B.A. Morton Read Free Book Online

surroundings.
    There was only the boy, Edmund in the room. The building where they’d rested was little more than a shack; a shepherds hut maybe, with unfinished stone walls and a dirt floor. She didn’t recognise it and couldn’t even guess at where she might be. Though Miles said they were high on the Crags, she’d no reason to believe anything he said. They could be far away from her home or merely round the corner, how would she know the truth of it. All she did know was something very strange was going on. She was being held against her will and it was about time she did something about it.
    She felt reasonably clear headed, the pain in her leg bearable and she was determined to end this today.  She was Grace Gardner, she was in control. She repeated the mantra silently. She hadn’t gone through the nightmare of the previous year without some measure of courage, and no way was she going to let some scruffy woodsman cart her off to goodness knows where and tell her what to do. She sat up gingerly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The boy smiled at her.
    “ Yer clothes be dry, my lady.” He gestured to the trousers and woollen jumper which lay folded beside her. “I stitched yer hose.” He added with a shy smile and Grace realised that despite the annoying Milady affectation he spoke to her in English with a rural burr, rather than a French accent. She reached for her clothes. The trousers had indeed been crudely stitched but they were stiff with dried blood and mud.
    “Thank you...Edmund.” Yes, she recalled his name and he seemed pleased that she had. “You’re wearing my hat,” she added with a smile. “It suits you.” Edmund grinned. It was his hat now.
    “You found me in the forest didn’t you? Do you know what’s going to happen to me? Where we’re going? I really do need to get home.”
    Edmund glanced at the door. “ Yer should be gettin ’ dressed, my lady, and takin ’ some refreshment. Yer need to eat before we leave.” She sensed his reluctance to discuss Miles’ plans, as if perhaps he didn’t agree with them. She filed away the knowledge of his uncertainty for future use.
    “Leave for where, Edmund? Where are we going? Are we going back to Kirk Knowe ?” Perhaps she’d been worrying unnecessarily. Maybe it had all been a misunderstanding and at this very moment they were preparing to take her straight home. She checked the pockets of her trousers as she spoke. The assorted contents were still there untouched. They hadn’t thought to search her, she smiled to herself. Perhaps they’d regret their oversight.
    “To Wildewood ,” he offered eventually, as he began to pack away the cooking utensils and sleeping rolls.
    “ Wildewood , where’s that?” The name was unfamiliar despite Miles’ earlier mention of it, but it conjured up images in her mind. A Rapunzelian tower with giant vines and creep ers. Her curiosity was piqued; s he was no Rapunzel though and she wasn’t going anywhere but back to Kirk Knowe .
    “Tis, Miles’ birthplace. We be takin ’ yer home. Please do not worry yerself , my lady. No harm will come to yer .”
    “And if I refuse?” she asked.
    Edmund shrugged. “Miles has decreed it, so yer will go to Wildewood . Yer cannot refuse. Please get dressed, my lady and eat yer fill before he returns.”
    Edmund turned away from her and she dressed quickly in clothes that smelled. In fact as she wrinkled her nose she realised it wasn’t just the clothes that reeked. The odour of stagnant water and sweaty horse clung to her hair and skin. She needed to wash.
    Edmund ladled the last of the previous evenings stew into a wooden bowl and handed her a small knife for eating. She took it from him with shaking hands. She hadn’t eaten since leaving the house with Fly. Her stomach was empty and she continued to feel nauseous, and more than a little apprehensive.
    “What about you, aren’t you hungry?” she enquired of the boy. She wondered why he wasn’t