‘Not good, exactly, but an accepted fact of life. Christianity was well established in Wales by then, of course, and yet we read often that many still held the “old religion” dear. Paganism did not go away, and witches were very much a part of the older Celtic belief system. Many communities would have had a resident witch who might have provided spells and remedies for healing, or to assist warriors in battle. Some foretold future events. They would only have been prosecuted if they had been deemed to have used their magic against members of the community in which they lived—putting a hex on someone they took against, perhaps, making them ill, or causing their cattle to die, that sort of thing.’

‘Do you think the bracelet could have been owned by a witch?’

‘That seems a plausible hypothesis. Although, given the amount of gold needed to make such a thing, this particular witch must have been very wealthy. Or at least, had wealthy friends; someone who might have given the piece of jewelry as a token of thanks, possibly. All in all, I can’t say I am surprised to find evidence of such a person living by the lake, whether at the time we are considering, or later, or indeed any time at all. Greta always told me there were things history could not explain. Things we would never find proof of but would have to accept as inexplicable. Magical, even. No, I can’t say I’m surprised.’

Later, after copious amount of tea and some chunky cheese and pickle sandwiches, Tilda thanks the professor for his help, deciding it is time to leave. Suddenly there threatens to be an awkward moment.

Is Dylan expecting to come back to the cottage with me? Why would he? Come to that, why shouldn’t he?

‘I’ll give you a lift home,’ Dylan offers.

‘Actually, I want to go down to the dig and have another talk with Lucas.’

‘Oh?’

‘About who it is they are digging up. Though I can’t imagine they’ll do much in the snow.’

‘Ah, you might be wrong about that,’ says the professor, polishing off the last of his tea. ‘The ground is actually less frozen now than it was a few days ago, when it was actually too cold to snow. My guess is, they might actually make some progress today.’

‘They could finally be removing the remains?’ Tilda asks.

‘It’s possible.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ Dylan walks with her as she heads for the door. Tilda cannot quite decide if she feels pleased or put off by how keen he is to spend more time with her. As if sensing this, he adds, ‘If things are moving again at the dig they might want to put me to use. The snow doesn’t settle on the lake, after all.’