She saw her marriage as a new beginning, an escape from her father, a man who had never cherished her. With Demetrius, there was a chance to start again with a clean piece of cloth on which a different future could be embroidered.

The remoteness of the village meant there were few visitors, even in the summer months. No one ventured that far up the mountain and only the men of the village ever went down to the town to bring back salt, sugar, things that couldn’t be made or grown on the land.

One day a hunting party arrived at the inn. It was ill-prepared for such a large, raucous group of guests. The huntsmen required rooms, wine and food and drank late into the night, throwing the small inn into chaos. The innkeeper had to ask for help from the village women so the guest rooms could be aired and cleaned. An incident occurred and the innkeeper called upon the mayor to lay down the law.

‘What happened?’ asked Edith.

‘Nothing,’ said her father, swaying. ‘Just a piece of harmless fun. And anyway, Sorina enjoyed it.’

Sorina was the butcher’s granddaughter.

‘She is fifteen. What harmless fun?’ asked Edith.

‘You’d know if you were married.’

‘How many huntsmen are there?’ she asked.

‘Four or five.’

‘Have you seen them?’

‘Seen them, talked to them. They want a guide.’

‘Guide to where?’ asked Edith.

‘Up the mountain,’ said the cabinet maker. ‘They’re wealthy merchants – by the look of them they’ve never done a day’s hard work in their lives. Only used to the weight of a pen. They don’t wear boots. Who wears shoes to climb a mountain?’

‘What are they hunting?’ asked Edith.

‘Bear,’ said her father, ‘and pretty young girls.’ He roared with laughter. ‘One of them wants to go high into the mountain. The butcher offered to take him.’

That was all the sense she could make of her father’s ramblings.

Edith didn’t give the hunting party another thought. Neither did she see them on their way back down the mountain. They stayed one more night at the inn, complaining that the weather had been against them and they’d had no luck with the bear.

‘Sorina is smitten by one of the young men,’ or so the cabinet maker said.

Edith thought, what could he know of love?

Summer began to fade. The heat lingered but the nights had a slight chill to them. The red shirt was finished and in a matter of days it would be the harvest supper.

‘I don’t believe he’s coming back,’ said Edith’s father one night.

‘What makes you say that?’

‘I’ve been thinking – why would he want you? You’d bring him nothing, no dowry, nothing.’

‘He will be back,’ said Edith.