Free Where the Stones Sing by Eithne Massey Page B

deal better after they went up into thehaylofts and she had taken the warm, furry bodies of the puppies up in her arms to cuddle and stroke. The puppies wriggled in her grasp, but when they moved on to the kittens , they looked at her with blue, milky eyes and sucked on her finger with tiny, needle-sharp teeth. Now Kai was the one who had to be torn away, as it was time to go into the house for supper.
    ‘Edith is still not well enough to get up, but bring your honey cakes into her room and tell her your adventures,’ said Tom’s mother when they came in.
    The three raced upstairs into the chamber, laughing and talking. But they stopped abruptly at the door. Even since this morning, Edith looked much worse. Her skin was a greenish white and she could hardly raise herself on the pillows when she saw them. She did manage a smile, though, and Jack made her laugh telling stories of Brother Albert’s despair at Tom’s Latin. But before very long Dame Alisoun came in and said they must not overtire her. Edith waved them goodbye feebly as they left the chamber.
    Tom’s father said he would bring them back to the priory in his cart, as they would never be able to carry all the fruit, acorns and the honey cakes they had been given. ‘I hear that Jack has a way with horses, so I’ll let him drive the cart,’ he said.
    Jack looked overjoyed.
    ‘And I have something else for you,’ said Tom’s motherto Kai. Tom had been whispering something to her. Now Dame Alisoun held one of the kittens up to Kai. It was the one that Kai had especially liked, a pure black one with one white-tipped paw.
    ‘How would you like to take this one home?’ said Dame Alisoun. ‘They can eat on their own now, and are ready to leave their mother. This is the one that you liked best, isn’t it? She’s a pet. We call her Kitty. But you will have to find your own name for her.’
    Kai looked at Tom’s mother doubtfully.
    ‘What do you think Brother Albert will say?’
    ‘Brother Albert will not mind. He knows very well that my cats are fine mousers. And I hear tell the priory cat has disappeared. Take her, go on.’
    Kai took the kitten, hardly daring to believe her luck. A kitten of her own!
    Tom’s mother laughed as she saw the kitten dig her claws deep into the cloth of Kai’s cloak.
    ‘See, she knows she has found her new home.’
    Jack was in high spirits, driving the cart back through the darkening evening, and Kai was so happy she felt she would burst if she did not let her happiness out in some way. She suggested that they all sing for Tom’s father, but though Tom joined in, his heart was not in it. It was not just that he was sad to be leaving his family. He was also very worried about his little sister. Of all the family, Edith had been the one mostfull of life and mischief, the one who talked without pause and never stayed still. It was so strange to see her lying so quietly, so pale and silent. His mother had tried to reassure him that Edith would get better, but he had seen how worried she herself looked.
    Kai, on the other hand, was in the seventh heaven of delight. She hugged the kitten tightly all the way back to the priory. She had never had a pet of her own before – her family had never been in one place long enough to keep one. Nor had they ever had food to spare to feed even a cat or dog. Despite Tom’s mother’s reassurances, Kai was still nervous when they got back to the priory and she showed the kitten to Brother Albert. But she found Dame Alisoun had spoken the truth.
    Brother Albert laughed and stroked the kitten’s head gently.
    ‘That woman knows I have a great fondness for cats myself, and has foisted many of her kittens on me. But in truth they have all been good cats and fine mousers, and as the winter comes in the numbers of rats and mice will increase. So it will be good to have a cat around the kitchens. Though I wish I knew what has happened to poor Quincunx. I fear for him. What will you call this