ashes and charcoal to bury in their gardens to ensure fertility for the coming year.
A generous portion of the Yule Log ash was always taken to the orchards for the Apple Wassail in early January. Everyone in the community gathered amongst the apple trees, hung with lanterns and small pieces of bread, and toasted the trees and their spirits with a specially brewed cider, again ensuring fertility. There were many such rituals at Yuletide and they were as much a part of the peoples’ lives as eating, drinking and making love.
But this year the time-honoured traditions would be changed to accommodate the Outsiders’ Dance, as it had come to be named. The dance itself wouldn’t affect any of the normal celebrations, falling between Yule and the Apple Wassail of Twelfth Night, but nevertheless, feelings were running high. Leveret had no intention of taking part in the dance herself but she knew that most of her contemporaries could think of nothing else.
‘So what’ll happen to all these here decorations and the like?’ asked one whiskery old woman busy cutting the metal. ‘Will they all have to come down for that night?’
‘’Twould be a complete waste o’ time, that,’ grumbled her daughter. ‘I don’t understand what this thing is they’re putting up. Sound system, I heard. What’s that then? Martin said ‘twould be a shocking mess and he reckons it will shake the old place in its roots!’
‘Aye, but the young ‘uns need something special, don’t they? Now they’re going to the Outside World and making new friends and such. We need to give it a chance.’
‘What do you think, young Leveret? I reckon you’re jumping in your boots for this dance, aren’t you?’
She smiled and shook her head.
‘Oh no, not me! I don’t like that sort of thing. I can’t bear the thought of Outsiders coming into our Village and—’
‘Well, there you have ‘un! See, not even all the youngsters want this thing! Oh, our Yul’s made a mistake here and Maizie should be doing something about it.’
Leveret glanced across at her mother, sitting with another group on the other side of the Great Barn making lists of who was going to bake what for the week-long celebrations. Maizie’s cheeks were flushed and she was totally immersed in her task. She was a natural organiser and loved this kind of challenge. Leveret smiled, feeling happier than she’d been for a long time. It was so good to be getting on with her mother at last, after Maizie had said they’d put the past incidents behind them and start afresh. Leveret was trying very hard to please her by offering to help and not waiting to be asked.
She was frightened of being left alone in the cottage with Sweyn and Gefrin, who’d cornered her in the Hall one day. They’d reminded her that as far as they were concerned she hadn’t got away with it and would take her punishment from them at the earliest opportunity. She shuddered at the thought of them. Yul hadn’t been as forgiving as Maizie either. His final words, as she’d left her bedroom in his wing, were that he’d be keeping a very close eye on her and the first sign of trouble would see her back again. She got the feeling that there were other things on his mind too, and that she was bearing the brunt of his dark mood.
Leveret judged it must be around eight o’clock or so. The groups generally disbanded by ten o’clock at the latest for people rose early at Stonewylde and needed their sleep. If she were going to slip out it was now or never. She considered asking her mother if she could go and collect the things she needed. She’d much rather tell the truth if she could, for Maizie was being so kind to her at the moment and Leveret felt guilty deceiving her. But would Maizie let her go out into the night – especially the moonlit night when the magic was strong?
Her mother had a wasp in her shawl about the Moon Fullness, always going on about girls getting into trouble and boys being wild. It was true, of course – the Moon Lust still coursed through everyone’s veins as strong as ever despite girls not falling pregnant under the full moon any more. There’d be couples out there tonight in every sheltered spot honouring the moon in traditional fashion, and Maizie would never agree to her wandering out into the bright darkness, however