I looked at the sky, pregnant with rain. "That could take days."
"Or longer," Christine felt for my hand. "It"s all right, Brenda. Everything will be all right."
I squeezed her hand in desperation, unable to voice my fears.
"What should we do, ladies?" Lorna sounded as despondent as I felt.
The river level had increased even as we stood beside the ford. Now water surged around Lorna"s boots.
"Look," Lorna stepped back from the edge of the ford. "Across there."
The washerwoman was hard at work, kneeling at the side of the ford, kneading a long white garment. I knew, with sick certainty, that it would be a shroud.
"You!" I shouted, hoping to be heard above the roar of the ford. "You! Washerwoman!"
She continued to work, kneading the garment in the water, taking it out, pounding it on
