who’d enticed him to her abode deep below the sea.’
‘Really,’ Colenso burst out laughing. ‘Apart from the fact my father said I’m built like a bal maiden, my singing would wake the dead not entice anyone.’
‘True or not, the story put a smile on your face. Anyhow, just think, when we reach Bodmin you can transform back to a girl. Surely that’s enough to spur you on.’ Immediately, Colenso brightened. To be able to wear her thin skirt and blouse would be bliss after these coarse clothes especially as it seemed summer had arrived. She stared around at the primroses and dog violets in the hedgerows. Everything seemed to bloom later here in the north of the county compared with on The Lizard.
‘Them mauve beauties be good for the treatment of piles,’ Mara said, following her gaze. ‘Still, those periwinkles winking over there might be more appropriate for you. ’Tis said if a woman and man eat the leaves together love will blossom between them.’
‘Hmm,’ Colenso murmured sceptically. ‘But that reminds me, I’m going to send Kitto a card when we arrive,’ she told Mara. ‘What address will I give him?’
‘The Kumpania of Cornwall,’ the woman quipped. ‘Seriously though, you’d better give the address of the post office at Truro. We’ll be there for the June fair. Make sure you seal the envelope though. Don’t want it getting in the wrong hands.’
‘I can’t wait until we get to Bodmin,’ she cried, eager to write and tell Kitto where she was. She’d ask him to tell her what he’d been up to in his reply.
‘Well, you’ll have to hold your fire for another three days, my girl, for that’s how long it’ll take us.’
‘Oh,’ Colenso murmured, her heart sinking like a stone.
As the sun rose higher, Colenso felt herself flagging. The trail of wagons, their owners and children alongside, were leaving the moor behind and descending towards a valley where, to her relief, the lane was shaded by trees that were coming into leaf. It still amazed her that these people carried all their worldly goods and the wherewithal to make a living, along with them. True, they didn’t have many but then, what worldly goods did she possess? It was a sobering thought to think she only had her clothes and the boy’s cast-offs she was wearing to her name.
Suddenly through the bushes she saw an enormous round granite rock on the ground. It must be as high as their wagon, she thought, stepping closer and looking up at it.
‘Whatever is that?’ she asked.
‘Legend has it that stone was used by the giants Trecrobben and Comoron to play Boule,’ Mara replied delightedly.
‘Not another one of your myths,’ Colenso said, shaking her head.
‘I prefer the word legend and there are hundreds of them around these parts. Of course, nobody really knows how that boulder got there, but it’s fun to imagine a couple of big men playing with it,’ Mara laughed.
‘Well, I’m too hot and tired to even think of playing,’ Colenso sighed.
‘It’s not far to the river where we’ll be stopping to rest and have a cooling drink.’
Sure enough, minutes later they came to a mill and above the creaking of its wheel Colenso could hear the brook chuckling. Ears picked up his pace, coming to a halt on the bank where Mara released him from the shafts. While he drank thirstily, the children kicked off their boots and jumped laughing and shrieking into the water. Colenso was tempted to do the same, but Mara was holding out the kettle for her to fill.
‘I’ll rack up the stove and we’ll have a nice brew afore we go foraging,’ she told her. ‘This is a good spot for chickweed and cuckoo flowers, then further on we might find some three-cornered leeks to go with them. Should have the makings of a good garlic soup and salad tonight,’ she said, rubbing her hands together delightedly.
Later, refreshed from their rest, they went in search of the wild plants Mara had spoken about. The woman’s knowledge and enthusiasm for them reminded Colenso of Mammwynn and she couldn’t help feeling a pang for the grandmother she’d loved so much. And yet, almost without realizing it, she knew she was beginning to come to terms with her loss. The cycle of life, she thought, placing the fresh green ramson leaves carefully into Mara’s basket.
With the basis for a good supper neatly stored in the tiny kitchen area, they rejoined the group and headed north where the country gave way to grime and dirt as they passed the iron foundry belching out plumes of black smoke. Trundling along the long straggling street, local people stopped to observe their progress. Some smiled but others glared.
‘Why are they staring at us like that?’ Colenso asked.
‘Probably making sure we’re not camping here. They don’t trust the folk of the fairs. Regrettably there are some who steal, or worse, which gives us all a bad name,’ Mara sighed.
Having left the buildings behind, Mara hopped up on the cart and gestured to Colenso to do the same.
‘Nice and flat for quite a while now, so we can give our legs a break,’ she said, wiping the perspiration from her brow. To Colenso’s delight, they followed the line of the sand dunes for some miles and she revelled in the tang of the salty air and the cries of wheeling gulls. Then the vista changed as they reached the dirty, noisy towns of the tin- and copper-mining area.
The smelters and factories were blanketing the sky with smoke and soot, while the constant hiss and clunk from stream-driven pumps in the engine houses reminded Colenso of the noise at the serpentine works.
‘Down we get again,’ Mara sighed, as they reached the hilly main street and Ears began to labour. It was lined with grand granite houses, but as Colenso peered down the side streets she saw they were crammed with smaller run-down terraced cottages. Beyond them, ragged children played barefoot among the spoil and slag heaps.
‘This is terrible,’ she shuddered.
‘I know, there’s no vegetation at all so there’ll be no foraging here,’ Mara said sadly. ‘Too much copper and arsenic in the ground.’
That wasn’t what Colenso had meant, but they’d begun to leave the oppressive area behind them and she let the subject drop. When they reached the open moorland again, she raised her face and breathed deeply of the fresh air.
‘Bet you don’t think the countryside’s so bad now,’ Mara said, giving her a wry look. They continued the journey on foot, over undulating hills, past farm fields bordered by hedges, until they reached Blackwater where they set up camp for the night. After the hullabaloo of the previous days, Colenso revelled in the gentle company of the kumpania as they sat around the fire.
‘Looks like you enjoyed that,’ Mara said, gesturing to her empty dish.
‘It was delicious. I never knew you could make such wonderful meals with a few flowers and leaves.’
‘We’ll make a country girl of you yet,’ Mara grinned.
✳
The next day followed much the same pattern as they trekked on through the countryside, passing yet more farms bordered by high hedges. The sun beat down relentlessly,
