by Vance Huxley
Some of the youths were already growling and threatening, so the dancing after the bear tired and sat down would be lively. A youth put the chair out to a cheer, Billi put the gloves on and the first maids stepped out to a lively tune. These were the younger maids who weren’t too sure, especially those at their first dance. Most made sure the bear didn’t catch them though a couple insisted on having their scarves or shawls caught and ransoming them with a quick, shy buss and a blush.
The next shawl ransoms were less shy and then a few were decidedly firm, and Ellibeth ransomed her shawl with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. The stakes rose as some were ‘caught’ when their shawls didn’t come free and they had to sit on the bear’s knee for a Tinkerer bussing. Then the first of those caught last time appealed for help, for rescue, since she’d been caught twice. She sat on the bear’s knee and carried out a bit of beguiling by stroking his hair and cuddling up a little bit before the Tinkerer bussing.
More followed and Billi found out he could tell the difference when a maid went on to seriously tempting and maybe a bit of chasing. Eweyna had undone an extra button on her blouse again and she told Billi very quietly he could check for tattoos if he wished. Her version of a Tinkerer bussing left Billi a bit breathless. Eweyna stood with a shriek. “The bear looked, he looked for tattoos.”
“I wonder why?”
“I would check as well.”
“Did he see any?”
She glanced down and shrieked again. “Sneaky bear! I never even noticed.” Eweyna did up the button with a shocked expression while most of the hall laughed at her act. Some laughed again when soon afterwards she joined the dancing with it undone again.
Billi wondered if he’d need bussing practice for all the different sorts from shy pecks to Eweyna’s version. Then he realised he’d done more bussing tonight than any training programme was ever likely to supply. None of it went as far as Tinkerer bussing of course. The maid version stayed gentler, more innocent, and always in the knowledge that the villagers watched them including the maid’s Da.
The noise actually dropped when Ellibeth danced by again, and nobody seemed surprised when the bear caught her. Billi held her good and tight which made her smile, and there were some whistles and comments. Billi leaned closer and whispered. “So what terrible fate is in store for you tonight?”
He saw the flash of laughter in her eyes. “Wait and see, naughty bear.” As expected now Ellibeth appealed to her Da, her Bros and her Sis. They all told her, through their laughter, that she’d been caught dancing with a bear so ‘twas her problem. Viktor even bemoaned the fact that he’d tried to bring her up proper, but Ellibeth just couldn’t stay away from bears.
“Oh no, cheeky bear. He says I’ve had time to practice my beguiling, and he wants to see what I’ve learned! Bear wanted his Tinkerer bussing first.” Ellibeth put her ear near to Billi as if listening.
So he whispered, “Bear likes that idea.”
Ellibeth giggled then raised her voice again. “But then I have to sit on his knee and beguile him. If I can’t convince bear to accept another bussing, he’s keeping me after dark!” The place roared with laughter. There were a lot of comments about how keen bear probably was to get the second bussing, and some thought bear should definitely keep Ellibeth this time. Some laughed at Billi needing to be beguiled into accepting a Tinkerer bussing from Ellibeth. Even Arikk raised a little smile.
Billi did his part. “With all the beguiling tonight I’m getting more resistant, so this will take some time. I’d better sit at the side with this maid and give the young bears a chance at the rest of the them.” Billi gave them all a big smile. “Then if I hold out until dark that won’t stop the others dancing.”
“Oh no, not until dark!” The firm hold Ellibeth had on Billi’s hand didn’t quite fit with her shocked tones, and neither did the laugh that followed.
The first youth stood wobbling on one leg and clutching at scarves and shawls before Billi sat down. The first bussing from Ellibeth felt definitely firm. The whispering and stroking Billi’s hair, and the cuddling in a bit that followed, were very nice. A lot of the whispering told him the gossip about the maids and youths and commented on the dancing and the bears tottering about. That meant Billi wore an absolutely genuine smile even if the reasons weren’t clear. Before long a few looks and comments were speculating if Billi might actually keep Ellibeth this time. Ellibeth encouraged them by periodically exclaiming, in a loud voice, “Not yet, bear? Oh no.”
Mikkel took a turn at being the bear, and he caught three. All three were, according to Ellibeth, serious about their bussing but the young Hunter didn’t give any hint about a preference. Ellibeth giggled and said they’d try harder next time. The two maids who had been to the valley had been talking to the rest, and one of them had just been bear bussing. Abbe didn’t get caught by a bear, even though a couple of apprentice bears chased her while waiting their turn.
Then Ellibeth gave Billi a bussing that left him breathless and stood up. “Ooh, I nearly didn’t get away that time!” She turned to the other maids in the hall, still dancing. “You’d better watch out at Harvestfest. If bear catches someone next time, he might keep them after dark!” Eweyna definitely looked interested in that idea. Billi was, but not with Eweyna, and only if he could persuade himself a certain bonnie maid might actually agree.
It was already dark outside of course. After dark meant the end of the dancing when everyone left to walk home through the night. If a maid and youth walked off together into that dark, publicly, that meant bonding sooner rather than later. There would be a good bit of trying to get a maid into the dark very privately of course and sometimes that succeeded, but if it did that might not be completely the youth’s idea. He might find out he wasn’t the one chasing, or so Ellibeth had told Billi about one couple.
Billi walked back with Ellibeth, but also with hers and several other families, and she ‘hid’ behind her Da. Billi enjoyed that part, the walk and the teasing from Ellibeth and two other maids, but not as much as he might have. Canitre would be out there tonight putting his Edan on Skull Rock and that came down to Billi. When he finally arrived back at his hut, Billi sat for a bit before sleeping. None of the three bright eyes watching and listening could tell Billi if Ellibeth might be chasing now. Maybe she had just reminded Billi she’d like a strong pair of arms sometime? Either way the memory of her bussing helped Billi to sleep despite thoughts of Canitre.
The following morning Billi didn’t feel so rested, not when daylight showed what he’d missed last night. He thought everyone had been guarding stock or at the wakes, for either Kelli or Edan, so who had been at his door? This time they’d brought a hammer and chisel and tried to cut out the lock, but Billi had a good solid door and the lock had stayed put. Once again the trail led to a manure heap. Billi took a quick trip to see Kravitt and the Blacksmith made him two big plates he could bolt on around the lock. They weren’t expensive, but needing them really did start to annoy Billi again.
* * *
After the wake the Village settled down to stock up for winter. Billi took his swirling dish when hunting this year and made forays along the cliffs and steep hillsides either side of the valley entrance. He found more, smaller valleys, but the others were all choked by heavy growth. Each valley had some sort of a stream issuing from it, and in one of the streams Billi found a few small nuggets. Billi tried the dish and found dust in the sand and fine gravel where the current slackened, as promised. By autumn four little pouches heavy with dust joined the one holding small nuggets. A welcome bonus as Billi didn’t range as far and wide this year because of his time at The Lakes. The Lakes, or Two Lakes, he could feel that settling into his head because the stream had brought him but the lakes kept him here.
Early in the autumn several flocks of sturdy mountain goats came through the moorland above the valley. Their meat tasted gamy and needed boiling but the Hounds and dogs loved it. Better yet the long fleeces were luxurious once the
tangles were removed and the long hair cleaned. There were discussions about eventually catching some to tame and breed for the fleece but for the first few years the goats would be a harvest. That meant taking just a few rather than hunting them heavily.
Billi finally made it up the hillside, helped by Syman, when Mikkel reported another herd or flock on the way. The Hunter wanted a second Hunter, but also claimed he wanted to keep the Elder happy by letting him get a couple of fleeces. The Hounds laid in wait and then drove the animals close to the Hunters and their bows hiding in the rocks around a sinkhole. Because of the lack of cover the Hunters had already settled on that as the best strategy. Hunting from ambush came in handy when others arrived for a share of the spoils.
These goats were being followed by a small pride of lions, but they stayed well clear of the Hounds and Hunters. Later flocks were followed by large wolf-like predators that weren’t wolves or used to men. As big as a Hound and heavily built with very powerful jaws, they could be either predator or scavenger. All the prospective settlers were pleased these Wild hunters travelled as loners or in pairs. Three times a Hunter took one of the beasts, and their thick soft pelts would make wonderful winter bed furs once Viktor was done with them.
The remains of any hunting were brought down off the hills to the same spot by the edge of the trees, tithe for the Wild. That went into the Law of the Farm, to try and keep larger scavengers away from the flocks up above. The sheep and goats would be kept off the moors as the hill goats and their predators came through each year, and so would Rubyn.
Rubyn ended up terribly torn. He wanted to look after the chickens and trap rabbits and whatever else he could in the fields near the Village, but that wonderful moor called to him. Ellibeth had been right and Rubyn loved the valley, the fish, the moors, everything there. He would talk any Hunter there into guarding him while the littlun set his traps and emptied them. Rubyn now had a dozen long tail feathers, a good selection of smaller ones from the moor, and great plans for trap lines to collect more. The hares and a fox that had been seen up there were too strong for his wood and twine snares, so Hektor taught Rubyn how to use a sling. Rubyn hadn’t hit a hare yet but became decidedly dangerous for a few weeks until he got the hang of it.
The littlun saw Stoats, and a larger type that Rubyn named a Ferrit since ‘twas always ferreting around the piles of rocks near sinkholes. He wanted to set Billi’s metal traps up there, but that had to wait until the big move next year. Then the bits of meat in the traps should bring Rubyn a thickly furred harvest in the snow. Billi expected a similar harvest in the valley even when everyone moved in because the little hunters would risk the side with only two cottages to get at the fish.
As the days began to shorten Billi finally came to terms with Edan’s death, and accept there was little else he could have done. The man forced him into a place with only two ways out, and one meant Rabbit and possibly Billi dying. The occasional attempts to get into his hut were down to scratches around the metal now because Billi never left the place empty for long. Another sort of apprehension replaced his worrying and self-searching and even his concerns about this new village, but a very pleasant sort of apprehension. The leaves turned, the fields were shorn, and Harvestfest approached.
* * *
Fifteen days before the Harvestfest, the comments started about how early the dark arrived at Harvestfest dances. Eweyna wasn’t the only one wondering what happened if the bear caught more than one maid for the third time. How many maids could sit on a bear’s knee? Billi made a trip out to the valley to collect his stones, for the Tinkerers who would arrive just afterwards. He spent the time alone thinking of the Harvestfest and bear dancing. The catching was going to be a delicate operation this time especially with that careless button!
Billi wondered what Ellibeth would come up with this time and reached a decision. He didn’t want to let Ellibeth go, and he didn’t want to catch the other maids. That was a big decision, but Ellibeth kept saying his leg didn’t matter. She’d been saying that for a long time, but Billi finally let himself believe it. Ellibeth said she enjoyed their night and hinted she might do it again. “Maybe Ellibeth would like strong arms every night?” Rabbit’s song lifted when Billi said that, so did the Hound agree?
When he went to the Two Lakes to collect his stones for the Tinkerers, Billi thought hard about that. Billi needed to work out what to give Ellibeth that would tell her straight, the bear was chasing her and only her. A gift that, if she took it, meant the bear would only dance with one maid. It might have been the thought that Ellibeth would be living here, in the valley, at the other end of the gravel night after night that sparked the idea. Because now he allowed himself to consider the idea, Billi admitted he wanted Ellibeth this end of the gravel, in his hut, and not for the dusting or bread. Billi sat a long time thinking of a gift.
Then he sat even longer with all the bright stones twinkling in the firelight, and in the end he chose to take the two oval sparkuls set as eyes. Ellibeth could wear them side by side, or as earrings if she felt daring. He carefully wrapped them in the kidskin and folded that in a bit of fur before tucking it in his pocket. He would give them to Ellibeth when he took her home. Billi firmly refused to think about what might happen if she said too much, though he’d offer them in private just in case.
Sorting the rough stones became a lot more fun as he wondered how those two would look on Ellibeth. He also thought his resistance to beguiling would improve with her in his head and his hut if Ellibeth accepted. That distracted him, thinking of Ellibeth in his hut, and Billi took a lot longer cleaning and sorting stones than expected. Then he went to bed determined to get home, the other home, straight away the following morning. Otherwise worrying about Ellibeth’s reaction might stop him going through with it.
Billi tried to get home in two days as he’d managed it once, and had a real urge to get there now. He set off at the first hint of light and it went well enough until the wind got up during the afternoon and thick snow started falling. Not a huge amount of snow but the wind blew it into drifts. As he pushed on Billi remembered that his fast trip had been with other Hunters helping, including carrying everything and making camp. He pushed on late into the night, taking a risk for once. While a drift made a good shelter for his fire overnight, the rest of them were soft, clinging and right across their path.
Normally Billi would have been admiring their beauty, but this time the drifts were between him and something more important. Billi and Rabbit struggled because there had been no frost to give a crust, so both sank deep into every drift. Eventually Billi had to give up, because he had already slipped twice. Even if he only sprained an ankle. ‘Twas his only ankle so he’d never get home and Rabbit would stay with him. After all, a day wouldn’t alter whether Ellibeth said yes or no. He made another shelter against a snowdrift and slept restlessly, with Ellibeth and those two sparkuls burning away in his mind.
At one stage during the following day Billi started to wonder if he’d make it even in three days, because the Forest seemed determined to slow him up. Once past the old Wood Hunt place the drifts all lay right across his path, but now Billi had the bit between his teeth. Luckily, as they came nearer to the Village, Billi saw signs that Hunters and Hounds had been out. They would have been following the fresh tracks to find game and had broken through some drifts. Heartened, Billi pushed on despite the lengthening shadows.
That helped but full dark had fallen long before Billi came clear of the Forest. ‘Twas too dark to see smoke from the chimney but as he came across the fields Billi saw firelight in his tiny window. He’d arrived home late before, but this time too late to be rousing a maid. He’d be rousing her since that glow came from a damped fire, not a candle, so Ellibeth and Rubyn would be asleep. Billi would peek through the door into his room just to be sure, and if they weren’t up the chickens had a lodger. Him and Rabbit would sleep in there with One-shut and supposedly arrive in the morning. Spots might not bark as he had acc
epted that Billi belonged in his pack, or maybe that he belonged to Rabbit’s.
Billi took care with his crutch and hushed Rabbit as they came near and Spots stayed silent. He swung off his pack and carefully eased the door open, then peered round it. Ellibeth was still up! In fact, she had her coat on, so had she been waiting to go home? “Hush, Spots roused but Rubyn’s still asleep. Come in, quick.” Ellibeth beckoned.
“No.” Billi whispered as well. “If he’s asleep you can stay. I’ll sleep with the chickens.”
Ellibeth stifled a giggle. “You will not. You’ll sleep in your own bed and I’ll put the bar up so a bear don’t break the door in. Now get in here because the draught’s cold.” Billi grabbed his pack and put it inside by the door before shutting it, then he pulled off his big coat and jacket.
When he turned back from putting them on the pegs Ellibeth had come across and she shrugged her coat off as she stepped in and hugged him. “That’s warmer. I worried with the snow and you late back.”
She only whispered but Billi only half heard anyway, because Ellibeth only wore a night shift and now it wasn’t under the coat! Billi looked down and a pair of soft lips came up, and his arm tightened a bit. When Ellibeth pulled her head back, he could see her eyes sparkling in the firelight. “Naughty, crafty bear. Now I’m really caught. I hope my beguiling is enough to get free.” Billi opened his mouth to reply but she added “before morning” and her lips came up again.
Ellibeth must have had an early bird in her head because it was still before dawn when she roused him, slipping out of his bed. Billi had already confirmed that the beguiling had been enough to win her freedom, but had also made him keener to catch her again. Ellibeth had stifled her giggling against his shoulder. Now Billi smiled as she sneaked back through into her room. He hoped he only needed to catch her once more. Then Billi slid into sleep.