Заборонений ліс
XVIII. The Plague
AmosRitchieinsuchmatterswasbutatool;MarkRiddelwastoomuchfearedtobethemarkofcensorioustongues;butDavid,stilltheirtitularminister,wasapredestinedtarget.
Andasthevillagecreptbacktolife,andthosewhohadescapedtookhearttodoalittleworkagain,andtheconvalescentstaggeredtotheirdoorsandlookedontheworld,therearosestrangerrumours.Theministerwasalldayoutandabout--prayingonoccasion,butmoreoftenengagedinhomelytaskslikecleaningupakitchenandboilingwaterforthosewhoweretoofrailtohelpthemselves.Darklooksanduglymutteringsoftenfollowedhim,buthewastoointentuponhisworktotakeheedofthem.Thegeneralsullennesshesetdowntothedregsofgriefandterror.Thatwasforthedaylighthours,but--itwaswhispered--afternightfallhehadacompanion.Therewerestoriesofawoman,acreaturebeautifulandyoung,whosanginahoneyedvoice,andappearedespeciallyatthebedsidesofthechildren.Atfirstfewcreditedthetale,butpresentlycameampleconfirmation.Shehadbeenseenatthreehousesintheclachan,attheMirehopeherd’s,attheMains;withherhadbeentheminister;andthebairnstowhomshehadspokencriedforherreturn....Theoldandwiseshooktheirheads.Therewasnosuchwomanintheparishorinallthecountryside.Andsomerememberedthattheministerintheback-endhadbeenobservedtomeetwithawomanintheWood,andthatshehadseemedtothosewhosawhertobenomortal,buttheQueenofElfhame.
