But no matter how carefully she trod, or how heavily she leaned on her new hawthorn staff, still she winced with every step. Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she bent and eased on the tight shoes once more, then limped forward to catch up with the others. It was not as hot as the previous day; gathering clouds spoke of the promise of rain later. Janna sighed at the thought and wished she had a cloak to protect her new gown from the ravages of the journey. As there was little she could do about it, other than to hope they found shelter before the rain came, she decided to ignore the problem, as well as her sore feet, and instead gave herself up to enjoyment of the journey. A riot of twining honeysuckle and wild roses scented the hedgerows. Lacy, white elderflowers, privet and creamy meadowsweet added their own fragrance to the air. Tall purple-pink spikes of foxglove and rosebay willow herb and the yellow stars of St John's wort added splashes of colour to grassy banks and green weeds.
