‘Woah there, lass, I don’t need to hear you say it!’ Uncle Alf spluttered through his stifled chuckles. ‘Anyway, it’s not her I’m sending you to see today. Your Alice requested a fresh delivery of mandrake root, valerian, coltsfoot, and a few other bits and pieces last week to be delivered today or tomorrow. Well, I thought Frank could do the local deliveries when he arrives later, and you could manage the longer journey.’ He dropped an overflowing wicker basket on the table in front of her. ‘I told her I’d send you up and I thought maybe you would be grateful to see her and those beloved forests of yours. You’ve been working far too hard lately. It’s not good for a young lass like you to be cooped up in here, much as I appreciate your help.’ He ruffled her already messy hair. ‘I thought you may as well take some food with you and stay for the rest of the day. There’s not much to do here for once, so make the most of the free time.’

Lily leaped from her seat and embraced her uncle, gratitude glowing from her bright eyes. ‘Thank you, Uncle!’ She grinned and kissed his cheek, before throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into another melodramatic embrace.

‘Be careful, mind.’ Alf held her shoulders in his firm grip and looked her straight in the eyes. ‘You’ve heard the tales they’re telling, the rumours, haven’t you?’

Lily shrugged. ‘Nonsense. I’d bet my life on it.’

‘Well, I’d rather you didn’t. If there’s talk of strange folk wandering around these parts, of people going missing, of murders… I know you’re sensible, and I know how much good it does you to head up into those mountains so just—’

Lily held her hands up in surrender. ‘I’ll be careful.’ She drew his hands from her shoulders and gave them a gentle, reassuring squeeze. ‘I promise.’

Chapter Two

With the basket of wares hung on her arm, Lily hitched up her dress and started out on the old familiar track she’d roamed along hundreds of times. Before she left, she had quickly changed into a less restrictive dress that matched the colours of the dazzling autumn leaves, and she had removed her corset so she could breathe freely in the mountain air.

As Lily left the confines of the town, the cobbles gave way to a grassy driftway, which in turn became a lightly trodden unmarked path up the side of the mountain. It was a rugged landscape, but it was entirely hers. She knew every pinecone, every animal track, the grey corries and mountain ridges that obscured the horizon; it all felt like home. Far more than the whispering thatches of Alder Vale.

Once she was sure she was out of sight, she bent to unfasten and remove her supple leather boots and tucked the hem of her dress through her belt, so her legs and feet were free from the heavy folds of material. She needed the feel of the grass and moss between her toes like a flower needs water and sunshine; it was a necessity she simply could not live without. Lily tied the laces of her boots in a knot around her belt so they could hang there, out of the way until she needed them. Continuing up into the forest-covered mountain, the morning breeze whistled sweet melodies through the canopy.