Her feet became swollen and hurt in her riding boots. And now it seemed as if the forest was even bereft of animals and birds. She was very relieved to see a doe eyeing her at one point from the brush. The shadows began to lengthen within the forest and she was fearful now of having to spend another night in the woodlands. She was thirsty and her head was aching. Then suddenly Francesca noticed that the trees were thinning. She summoned what strength she had left and hurried along, finally coming out into a large clearing. And there, to her surprise, she saw a good-sized building, a sign hanging above its door indicating it was an inn. An inn in the midst of the woods? How could any traveler possibly find it? Was it even inhabited? The answer to her question came to the inn’s open door and, stepping outside and seeing Francesca, called to her. “Come here, girl! You look lost.” The woman who spoke seemed ageless. She was short but stocky, yet not plump.
