I was overwhelmed with guilt for having been away for so long, but they leapt all over me as if they bore no grudge. We divided the burgers between us and wolfed them down. Then we set off again. I was glad to see the lights of Hereford disappearing. For evermore, I’d remember it as the place where I’d learnt that I couldn’t run away from what I’d done to Gilda. I sat up on the high bench seat, wondering with dread what my journey would teach me next. I tried to comfort myself with the thought of my seafaring father waiting for me when I got to the sea. But, in my new state of clearsightedness, I knew that I was kidding myself. We rested in a barn but I couldn’t sleep. At first light we set off again, but the only thing that kept me going was the promise I’d made after my night in Llewellyn’s cave not to give up. There seemed no point to anything any more. I huddled on the bench seat, watching Harri and Mari pulling the sled, and wishing I had half their spirit. All that day I felt edgy and nervous.
