Hesitantly, he touched their foreheads together, relaxed when Arthur pressed against him. He stroked Arthur’s face. As always, his furry fingers curled in to keep his claws away.
Arthur sighed, oddly contented considering the state of him. “How far to the heart of the wood?”
“A couple hours, if we stay on track and keep a good pace.”
“That might be a tall order for some of us just now.”
“Calyx can carry you. It carried your sister the whole way here. I think it’ll be able to carry you both, so she doesn’t wear herself out walking. It’ll need the night’s rest first, it’s never grown that big before, but I think it can do it. And the children have the horse.”
Arthur smiled. A real smile, this time, at the thought Ira had put into the well-being of his family. He kissed Ira’s furry snout. Ira huffed a laugh, his breath sweet like spring flowers.
Behind them, Charlotte cleared her throat. Arthur pinkened, but she gave them a small smile.
“There’s supper, if you’re up to it. Mind you don’t wake the children.”
xli. In which Arthur plants an acorn, which does not go as expected
The next morning, as they headed for the heart of the wood, Charlotte told Arthur about her journey, and Elspeth. It distracted him from his unease at being wrapped in Calyx’s vines, far too high above the forest floor, and the bone-deep cold and all-over ache he felt despite the cat purring in his lap. Charlotte fiddled with the acorn Elspeth had left her as often as she fiddled with John’s wedding ring. At their side, on Maurice’s back, Sasha regaled Ira with a dramatic retelling of her own adventures in the forest.
At midmorning, a horse riding the other way at a smart trot caught up to them. It skidded to a halt, its rider dismounting almost before it had stopped: a woman with tawny skin and a black braid, improbably wearing trousers.
Charlotte cried out, struggling to dismount Calyx. The plant creature helped her down.
The women flung their arms around each other. Arthur had been worried when Charlotte cried out, but now he relaxed; this must be Elspeth.
“Told you I’d find you,” Elspeth breathed, pressing her forehead to Charlotte’s.
To Arthur’s astonishment, his sister melted into her. Of course Charlotte had told him the nature of their relationship, but to see her like this—forgetful, for once, of all eyes that might be on her—was a shock.
Charlotte’s fingers curled around the other woman’s collar. “And—your scar—is it...?”
“Sickness ain’t come back, Lottie, I’m fine.”
Sasha launched herself at them. “Miss Elspeth!”
Charlotte pulled away, pink cheeked, as her daughter hugged Elspeth tight. Elspeth laughed.
“How now, my little bug! Here I thought your mam told you to go to the convent if’n we didn’t come back.”
“Jonas and I had to find you,” Sasha told her solemnly. Hanging back with Ira and Maurice, Jonas was as pink as Charlotte, but they nodded when Elspeth smiled at them.
“Guess it’s just as well.” She tugged one of Sasha’s pigtails. “It was on account of hearing your voice I found you all so easy. Must be entertaining the whole forest, huh?”
Noticing Arthur, and his bandages, she whistled.
“Didn’t quite find you in one piece, did she? You’re the brother, I take it.”
“Yes,” Charlotte said, too loudly, and Arthur was even more astonished. Charlotte wasflustered. “This is Arthur. Arthur, this is Elspeth. Did you find Maggie?” she asked Elspeth.
Elspeth shook her head. “That’s why I was coming back. I made it to the tree, but there’s a work camp been setting up all morning, and I don’t think I’ll find Maggie long as they’re there. I tried to make out like I was another worker, but they chased me off when they realized I was a woman. They won’t let anyone near that stump who’s not part of the camp. They mean to uproot it.”
Ira’s jaw tensed.
“What do we do?” Arthur asked.
Before anyone could answer, Ira groaned and bent double. Charlotte stepped toward him, her brow furrowing in medical concern. Tendrils shot from Calyx’s sides.
Ira screamed. Charlotte flinched away, shielding the children.
