Part 13 (1/2)

In the kitchen, they found Nate still asleep Dark circles shadowed his eyes His coular Hannah could have asked for no irl went to her father's side

'Did he hurt his tummy?'

'Yes That's why it's all wrapped up To make him better'

'What happened to his arm?'

'We put a little hole in it so we could pour in the medicine'

Leah glanced round at herher scepticism 'I never heard of that before'

Hannah tossed the reed to coax a flame into life At the sink, she filled the kettle ater, put it on to the stove and lit the gas

As the logs began to burn and the kettle boiled, Nate stirred and opened his eyes He blinked, looking around the room to orient himself, then winked at Leah 'hello scaivecalled Moses, like God did,' she told hihed, choked, and launched into a fit of coughing 'Is that so?' He looked up at Hannah 'How are you doing?'

She took a glass fro it over to him 'I'm fine We're all fine Worried about you but fine all the sa tea, but sip this first How are you feeling?'

'Like I've been run over by a train,' he replied 'I don't think I can ot up last night That's a battlefield repair Sebastien's given you I' our friend's handiwork but if I see you off that couch again I'll have to knock you on the head with a frying pan'

Leah giggled at that

'Where's Seb?' he asked

'He went back to his place Said he'd drop in later with supplies'

Nate nodded, drinking his water When the kettle boiled, Hannah made tea for theave it to Leah, whose face lit up

'What are you going to do this ?' he asked

She rolled her eyes towards the back of Leah's head 'I need to have a talk Explain a few things I thought we'd go for a stroll Get soree 'Do you want to take Mutley here?'

'I'd feel better if he was here with you,' she said

Hannah retrieved Leah's coat froed into it before taking her outside The wind had blown itself out overnight, but low grey clouds pro to the steravel of the driveway The chill air sliding down froht a bite that orated her nonetheless

Leah ran over to the cowshed and popped her head inside, disappointed to find it eated the stone-built storehouse Its roof had partially collapsed, just as Sebastien had indicated; the stacked logs of ere soaked and useless In the second outbuilding they found the generator clacking away Nate had taught her how to reed with the old man's assessment of its diesel reserves Back outside, they walked past the abandoned stables and crossed the garden to the fence that delineated the farrazed in a long tirasses and wild flowers stretched before the to scree, boulders and the rocky ascent up the mountain

Hannah crouched down beside Leah and pointed to the horizon 'You see that peak? That's Cadair Idris, one of the highest mountains in Wales It laciers?'

'Not any more But once it did Do you knohat they say? If you spend a night at the top, the nextyou'll either wake up a poet, or hed 'That's silly' She bent down and pointed 'Look at these'

Hannah followed the line of her daughter's finger to the mud around the bottom of the fence

Animal prints Lots of them

Odd to see so many in one place Hannah spotted the hoofprints of deer, what could have been wild goat, fox, and others too tiny to identify She pointed out all the tracks she recognised, as well as a harvestto a thistle

Leah noted it all with interest, and then said, 'Is the Bad Man coirl's hand 'Coo and look at the lake We can talk as alk'

She found it surprisingly easy to explain what had happened, and was encouraged to see hoell Leah seeirl orried by what she heard, despite Hannah's attee she chose Over the last two years she had begun to use the diaries to tell Leah stories While she had not bluntly divulged their content, she had used them to spin cautionary tales, fables she hoped would allow her daughter to grasp the broader i her to the horrific detail

'Is Grandpa going to meet us here?' Leah asked, as they traipsed past the outbuildings towards the lake

The question brought an agony of grief 'I don't think so,' Hannah replied She'd left her father with Jakab; the chances of her seeing hied a teh she had not inherited Charles's quick temper, he had passed on his stubbornness, and that had led them to some spectacular clashes He had not been a perfect father, and she had not been a perfect daughter, but they had loved each other fiercely, even if they did not always get along

Hannah wrapped an argy ground and found a path of slate and stones Looking about her, she realised just hoell her father had chosen this bolt-hole The valley in which the far the s behind her, there would be no evidence of huht

They rounded a rise and came upon the lake The overcast sky had turned it to the colour of steel, a breeze dieese flew in formation above their heads

'Mummy, a boat!'

Hannah stared out across the lake, her skin prickling Sure enough, a white wooden rowing boat bobbed on the water a few hundred yards fro rods jutted from its side In the middle of the boat sat a man bundled up in a ju to race Thethe I've no idea'

She felt Leah wrap an arm around her waist 'Is it the Bad Man?'

What could she say to that?

The man lifted an arm and waved to them Hannah stared back Now he stood up He pointed at himself, pointed to their side of the shore, andThis last act seemed to unbalance him, because the boat rocked violently beneath his feet He leaned forwards and backwards in quick succession, trying to stabilise himself Finally he lost his balance and tumbled into the bottom of the boat

'He nearly fell in the water!' Leah screeched, laughing

The fisher of fear in Hannah She watched as he recovered hian to row the boat towards the shore