Free A Newfound Land by Anna Belfrage Page B

6
    “Come on.” Alex shooed her daughters in front of her. “And don’t forget your baskets. The more we bring home, the more jam we have for the winter.”
    Ruth and Sarah followed her up the slope behind their home and on, walking for about half a mile before they stopped. Alex studied the small red strawberries that covered the ground. It had been one of her more pleasant discoveries some years back, and this was the second time she harvested this particular place this summer.
    “Can we take some jam to Per and Erik?” Ruth asked through her crammed mouth.
    “If you eat them all, there won’t be any jam, will there?” Alex said.
    “Can we?” Ruth insisted.
    “Yes, of course we can.” Alex sighed. From the moment they woke up, her children were on about the Waltons, fascinated by these new playmates. Alex wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, not so much because of the boys whom she found charming and polite, but Lars... There was something seriously wrong with that man, however gorgeous he might be. Taciturn to the point of rudeness, eyes that studied everyone but his immediate family with absolute blankness, and then there was his disconcerting tendency to pop up out of nowhere, a silent presence that would gawk and slide away. The more she thought about it, the more Alex was certain it had been Lars who’d been spying on her and Matthew a few weeks ago.
    She filled her first basket and began filling the second one, picking her way over the ground. A soft rustle made her look up. On the other side of the clearing, Fiona appeared from behind a large oak, smoothing down her clothing. At the sight of her, Fiona dropped a curtsey and fled, making Alex shake her head. She sincerely hoped Fiona was being careful, because neither Jonah nor Fiona had the means to support a child. Still, who was she to deny two adults what little fun they could find? She made a mental note to talk to Matthew about this, even if she suspected he would be less than pleased.
    “Ruth?” Alex frowned in the direction of where she had last seen her daughter. “Ruth? Where are you?”
    “Over here!” came the floating reply.
    “Don’t stray too far.” Alex went back to her picking, listening with half an ear to Sarah’s story about one of the hens.
    *
    The shriek had Alex off her knees and rushing madly in the direction of Ruth’s voice. A snake, or a bear, please not a bear...not a snake either. She slipped and landed on her rump, skidding at surprising speed through the damp grass to end up only a foot or so away from her daughter.
    “Ruth?” Alex struggled to her feet. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” She inspected her child, hands running over limbs and head to make sure she was undamaged.
    “Mama,” Ruth moaned, raising her hand to point behind Alex. Shit, Alex thought, it was a bear, or perhaps a mountain lion. Sarah plummeted down the incline and leeched onto Alex’s leg, and it was with a wildly thudding heart that Alex turned to face whatever it was that had Ruth standing immobilised.
    The man lay thrown into a thorny thicket, impaled face downwards. He uttered a low howl and tried to pull himself free. His head was crowned by greying blond hair, and his hands hung white and soft, helpless in the brambles. Where had he come from? Alex looked about, trying to understand from where he had fallen to land where he was.
    “Stay here,” Alex said to her girls and took a tentative step towards him.
    “Mama?” Ian materialised by her side. “Who’s that?”
    “I have no idea, but he needs some help.” She glanced at Ian, taking in the leaves in his hair and down the back of his breeches. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping your father with the new clearings?” she asked, a niggling suspicion nudging at her brain.
    “I heard Ruth.”
    “Supersonic hearing,” Alex muttered. “Come on then, let’s see if we can get him out of there without leaving him a permanent pincushion.”
    “How in God’s name…” Ian