‘Please wait,’ she cried. ‘Gerin, I think we should find out what is happening there.’
He reined in and sat for a moment with his back to her. His irritation showed in every line of his body. And then he seemed to pull himself together and turned in the saddle.
‘Forgive me, Olwen. I’ve no right to treat you this way.’
She shrugged, smiling awkwardly, not knowing what to reply.
He turned his horse around. ‘I’ll follow. You lead,’ he said, and his voice was much gentler.
They reached the wood at last and rode in under the shadow of its trees. It was not deep, merely a fringe of trees on either side of a river. As soon as they entered it they could hear water lilting musically over rocks. The sound of crying had ceased.
When they emerged from the trees they were astonished to find thems
