‘No,’ said Kaelin. Chara shook her head, but said nothing.
‘Take each other by the hand,’ ordered the Dweller. Chara and Kaelin glanced at one another, then Kaelin reached out. Chara put her hand in his. ‘Life carries many perils, and much sadness,’ said the Dweller. ‘Against this we have only love to feed us on the journey. Do you love each other?’
For a moment there was silence, then Chara saw Kaelin relax, and felt his hand squeeze hers. He was about to speak when the Dweller interrupted. ‘Do not tell me, Ravenheart. Tell her.’
Kaelin turned towards Chara. ‘I love you,’ he said.
‘And I you,’ she replied.
‘Then you should Walk the Tree,’ said the Dweller. ‘But will you accept the advice I am ready to offer you, hard though it be?’
‘I will accept,’ said Chara. ‘You are the wisest of us all.’
‘And you, Ravenheart?’
‘I will.’
‘Then Walk the Tree, but not now. Wait for two years.’
‘Two years?’ said Kaelin. ‘That is an eternity!’
‘Only to the young,’ answered the Dweller. ‘I know that you burn for each other. The burning is a fine feeling, full of life and lust. But you will need more to carry you through the decades. You will need to be friends as well as lovers. You will need to trust one another, to understand one another. If, after two years, you still burn then that flame will last to the end of your lives. This is my advice. And now I must return to the island. I have much to do.’
Kaelin and Rayster eased the boat back into the water, and the three of them watched as the Dweller returned to the tiny bay, mooring her boat and walking into the trees without a backward glance.
Rayster watched Kaelin take Chara’s hand and kiss it. The rangy highlander chuckled. ‘I’ll see you both back at the house,’ he said. T’m beginning to feel like the third pigeon on the branch.’
With that he strolled away. Kaelin looked into Chara’s eyes. ‘Can you wait two whole years?’ he asked.
‘I don’t want to,’ she said. ‘I want to throw off my clothes and make love here on the earth.’
‘As do I,’ he said, reaching for her. Chara stepped back swiftly.
‘The Dweller is never wrong, Kaelin. I want our flame to last all our lives. I want to live with you, and grow old with you. I want to love you till the stars die. If waiting two years will bring us this joy, then we should wait.’
‘It is going to be a long, long two years,’ he said.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ALTERITH SHADDLER SAT ON THE RICKETY BED IN HIS SMALL ROOM, watching the snow forming ridges on the leaded window. It was cold, his meagre store of fuel exhausted. A thick blanket was wrapped around his skinny shoulders. There had been low moments in Alterith’s life, but none so bleak as this. He gazed around the room. Four bookshelves groaning under the weight of historical tomes, a chipped and ancient chest containing his spare clothes and the certificates and prizes he had won as a student. On top of the chest lay his white horsehair wig, threadbare now, the canvas lining showing through at the temples. The west wall was bare. The dripping water upon it gleamed in the pale light, as did the black mould staining the plaster above the floorboards. His was the highest room in the old boarding house, and directly below the cracked roof. His best frock coat had been ruined a year ago, when he had inadvertently left it on a chair against this wall. The summer rain had seeped in, carrying tars and muck from the roof felt, and when autumn came, and he needed the coat, he found it stained with a grey fungus that had eaten away at the fibres.
Alterith had always hated this room, yet now that he was about to lose it he found himself filled with despair.
The last year had been one of his best as a teacher. The conversation with Mulgrave regarding the great king Connavar had caused him to re-examine the histories. He had found many records that contradicted the official view. In the spring he had saved enough daens to subscribe to the Journal of Varlish Studies, published in Varingas, and had sent away for the back issues regarding the wars between Vars and Keltoi. Some of these had proved fascinating, especially a section on the battles of King Bane, which detailed the nature of Rigante society in the years after the death of Connavar. Alterith had discovered a new respect for the ancient people and their way of life. He had tried to impart this new respect in his teaching of the clan children. It had been most successful and rewarding, for truancy fell, and his classroom was always packed. His students endeavoured to complete their homework assignments, and there was little dissension during lessons.