Wheels Within Wheels – Part Three
Iolanthe
Chapter Five
Astoria and the Stag
Draco, it turned out, was able to stop gobbling his lunch. Astoria's assurances that she would, indeed, stroll the Durres corniche with him for as long as he needed, sit with him at a café, have an espresso and a glass of mineral water, all seemed to mollify his anxiety, producing a calming effect. This led to some quiet conversation, expressions of appreciation for Lucius' repeated suggestions that they accept his correspondent, Mr. Kadare's invitation to Durres, and offer of hospitality at his magical boutique hotel in the city center. Had it not been for Lucius, Durres would not have entered into their honeymoon planning. Now that they had arrived, they were already appreciative of the physical beauty, the small city feel, and the ambiance around their magical hotel.
Draco wanted to be in Astoria's presence. Other than that, he had wanted to get comfortable sitting in a chair, looking out at the Adriatic. Astoria had taken one look at the Roman ruins from the hotel roof and decided the whole trip was worth the effort, just for that view. When she heard about Butrint, she was ecstatic.
"Need to freshen up?" Draco asked, as they finished lunch. "We can check out the room, wash up…"
"And get to the corniche," Astoria finished for him. "Yes, I would like to see the room, maybe splash a little water on my face before tackling that walk."
They left the dining room and looked around the lobby.
"We don't even know the room number," Draco said. "There's the desk, let's ask."
"Sir?" asked the clerk on duty. "How can I help you and Madame?"
"We're Draco and Astoria Malfoy," Draco said, earning him a tight squeeze to his upper arm from Astoria. "Mr. Kadare' sent our bags to our room, but we didn't get the room number. We'd like to go freshen up a bit."
"One moment," the clerk said, reaching out to tap a small bell that sat on the desk. A creature that looked something like a hybridized British garden gnome-house elf materialized in front of a closed door behind the desk. Neither Astoria nor Draco saw just how he did it, but moments later he stood next to them on the lobby side.
"Sir? Madame?" the creature said.
"These are Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, Raki, they're guests of Mr. Kadare' and they'll need an escort to Four. Show them how the room works, if you would," the clerk said.
"Of course," Raki said. "If you'll accompany me…"
Draco looked at the little being, dying to know who or what it was, but wondering how to ask. The last thing a couple of honeymooners in a foreign country needed was to ask an offensive question out of ignorance. The creature was dressed in a maroon jacket with lots of gold braid and two rows of brass buttons on the front. He wore black trousers with maroon striping along the seams, and black shoes that looked a bit large for someone of his stature. Draco wondered if he normally went about barefoot, except on duty.
"Right now, you are about to burst, trying to repress your need to ask what I am, correct?" said the creature.
A chorus of, "Yes, uh-HUH, mm-hmm, How did you know?" came back from both Draco and Astoria.
"We're a very old race," Raki said. "Our name is unpronounceable by men. Legend says we formerly worked for the Immortals, Mt. Olympus, behind the scenes at Delphi, assisting the Dionysians when they got too impaired to complete their rituals, that sort of thing. Then the old gods lost influence, and fell on hard times, and they weren't able to keep us on. My kind's sagas incorporate some of the out-placement interviews. They're heartbreaking. Then the magical folk stepped up, and we've been helping each other out in this part of the world ever since."
Raki interrupted himself and turned to the elevator control panel.
"It's kind of a magical-self-service model. Just touch the number four on the plaque there…"
Draco looked and saw a brass plaque, void of any content except a large numeral '4.' He extended an index finger and touched the number. He didn't feel any magical contact, the number didn't depress like a push button, and there was no sense of movement, but the elevator door had no sooner closed than it opened right up again, into what was clearly a very large, well-appointed hotel suite. The windows were open to the sunny day outside, letting the frothy sheer white curtains lift and fall back, in slow and elegant waves. A bowl of assorted fresh fruit sat waiting on a low table in front of the settee. Raki strode to the center of the main room and turned to address Draco and Astoria.
"Candles and lamps are in every room. You can use lumos and nox the same as you do at home, and they will respond. The bedroom and bath are through there, and this room, as you can see, goes through between the street side and garden side of the hotel. If you need anything during your stay, another bottle of water, let's say, draw your wand and use it as if you were performing an amplification charm, and speak in a normal voice to the square that's painted on the wall just there. To leave the suite and return to the lobby, just touch the wall beside the elevator door, it will open, and you can touch the star on the panel inside and the elevator will take you down.
"There is a small bar there in the corner. Under the bar is a stone cooler with a variety of beverages. Guests generally find what they're looking for there, but, as I said, if not, the desk will supplement your supply.
Raki wasn't done. Draco and Astoria were both starting to wonder how the gods had lost influence with a whole race of Rakis to support them, but they didn't know it at the time. The comparing of notes would come later. Raki turned to Astoria.
"I understand Madame would like to visit some of our classical ruins?" he asked.
"Definitely. The amphitheater for sure. Mr. Kadare' said it might be possible to visit a national park," said Astoria.
"Butrint, a very well-preserved city further south along the coast. As good a classical site as you will find. If you go…" Raki let the sentence hang, suspended, while he stepped behind the bar.
"This…" he said, coming back out, "is a half-liter of the local wine. It is a bit raw, because this wine is made for consumption in the community that makes it, and it doesn't sit around in caves, waiting to become collectable."
Raki handed over a small, lozenge-shaped, terra cotta amphora, which had been wrapped in several layers of a rough, burlap-like fabric. The whole thing felt quite pleasingly cool, and a little damp, in Astoria's hands.
"If you go, you will encounter temples. It is good manners to pour out a little libation. Sometimes they're about, sometimes they're not. They'll know, regardless, and it raises you up a bit above the tourists on those buses, if you can appreciate my meaning," Raki finished.
"Thank-you, Raki," Draco said. "That was very informative. We'll see you downstairs."
Raki bowed and summoned the elevator.
"What do you think?" Draco asked.
"I definitely want to go, if we can arrange it for tomorrow," Astoria said. "Now, though, I need to wash my face and hands, and see if the amphitheater is open. A Roman amphitheater, around the corner from our hotel!"
The Roman amphitheater in Durres did, indeed turn out to be very well-preserved. Among other things, Astoria learned it was considered by classicists to be one of the best examples of the later Roman period's public buildings. It had not suffered the indignity of having significant parts of its marble stripped and taken to the kilns for the manufacture of agricultural lime.
After touring the amphitheater, Draco and Astoria strolled down to the Adriatic and walked the length of the corniche. Then they turned around and walked back, stopping at a coffee kiosk where Draco ordered two espressos and a bottle of cold mineral water, which they sipped, sitting under a large, red umbrella.
"This could become a habit," Draco observed.
"If I may, Mr. Malfoy," began Astoria, "This is something of a surprise for me. The Draco Malfoy who is well-known among British magicals is not noted for being an habitue' of seafront cafés. He is usually sighted in Wiltshire, at the family seat, among the white peacocks, or, occasionally at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Will secret facets begin to emerge now that we are joined in matrimony?"
Draco leaned against the back of his chair and stared at Astoria.
"We're all made of bits and pieces, Madame Malfoy. Have you ever been to Blackpool?" Draco asked.
"Don't think so," Astoria replied. "No," she decided, "I haven't."
Draco turned, looking back out toward the Adriatic, where low swells rose and sank, the undulations inducing a sense of calm and peace of mind.
"You know what it is, though?" Draco asked. "It's a resort, north of Liverpool, right on the water. They have a sandy beach that's said to be seven miles long, although I confess I never stepped it off. Magical families stay away in the summer. It's not for us, it's for muggles. All mechanical rides and noise and flashing electric lights at night, very muggle high culture, based on inducing sensations of light, motion and sustained cacophony, beyond our comprehension, really."
"I've heard of it. I think Tracey's been there," Astoria said.
"I expect so," Draco said. "Anyway, that is the summer, when everyone is taking vacation and going on holiday at the seaside. Most of that ends with the start of the school term, and the last singles and couples and pensioners are gone by the first of October.
"Blackpool used to transform on the first of October. Magical families could move about with a minimum of concealment. There were a small number of guest houses and discreet hotels that catered to the magical market. The magical managers would make their own weather inside their wards. One time I overheard a vampire complaining that he wasn't paying twenty galleons a day to stay cooped up in his room, and he'd better see some thick fog the next day or he'd be taking his business elsewhere.
"Anyway, Father used to take us to Blackpool over Christmas break, in the years before everything got so crazy. Once we were there, I was relatively free to get out. Mother was always looking out for danger, but Father would take me out on some pretext and let me find my own way back. We had an actual conspiracy. I had a set time to be back. When Mother braced him he'd say I was to be back at that time, and I'd try to be back five minutes early. Thus I was mature and responsible enough to handle fifteen minutes in an unsupervised state. Those Blackpool memories are my recollections of some measure of freedom, and normalcy. To this day, when I see a beach, or a corniche, same shall be walked, preferably from one end to the other."
Astoria looked at Draco, who broke off from his contemplation of the Adriatic and looked back. Both of them burst into laughter.
"Best Draco Malfoy story ever!" Astoria exclaimed when she'd regained control.
"Don't you believe me?" Draco asked, a little plaintively. "I swear it is all true!"
"Irrelevant!" Astoria said. "I don't care, one way or the other, because the imagery is just so…so…. If I'm stepping over the line, you can tell me, but was it really so oppressive?"
Draco thought before speaking.
"There was a time…When we're very small, we all need that care and protection, which I understand. Now, it's just a little annoying when she wants to do everything for me, but I grasp that she has lifelong habits and I suppose they must give her good feelings. She sat between Potter and me at your parents' and was loading up HIS plate AND mine, do you remember? Can you imagine, a few years ago? Potter! I don't think she has a choice. Something is in there and it has to come out.
"It was very constrictive, though, from late childhood until I was twenty or so. I needed to be learning to handle the world, and she needed to keep me warm, safe and properly fed. The two impulses were…"
Astoria laid her hand on Draco's.
"At odds," she finished his thought. "So, ready for a little stroll?"
Draco picked up his cup, took a last sip, chased the espresso with a little of the Italian mineral water, and took Astoria's hand.
Promenading in late afternoon light along the Adriatic has its charms, but dinner has as well, and before too long they were back in the hotel, in Room Four.
"Draco, look, did you notice this?" Astoria asked.
She opened a pair of French doors that led onto a small balcony. A breeze began to lift the curtains, bringing a faint salty scent into the room. They stepped out onto the balcony and discovered they had an unobstructed view down the hill and out to sea.
"When's sunset, I wonder?" Draco asked. "Late, I expect. It's mid-June, the longest days of the year."
"I was thinking of dinner in that garden in the rear," Astoria said.
"If that's what you want, we'll cancel sunset," Draco assured her.
"I've heard Durres is known for fish," Astoria said. She drew her wand and stood in front of the painted square. "Draco, please look in the cooler and see if there is any white wine."
Astoria put her wand to her throat and spoke to the square.
"Desk? This is Room Four," she said.
"Madame Malfoy, how can we help you this afternoon?" said a voice.
"My husband and I would like a platter of your best fish, please," Astoria said, "Enough for the two of us, along with a vegetable or potatoes and a salad. Could the kitchen do that, and send it to Room Four when it's ready?"
"It will be our pleasure, Madame," said the voice. "Allow us just a few minutes to put in the order."
Draco held up a bottle of some kind of white wine. The label was in Albanian, so they didn't have any idea what it said.
"Thank-you, we'll be here," Astoria said to the square, and lowered her wand. "Don't open it, and we'll ask the waiter if it's the right variety for whatever they send up."
They'd washed up and were standing on the balcony when Raki arrived with dinner. The little creature pushed a cart taller than himself into the room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, how nice to see you again," he said, removing covers from trays and setting them aside. "Do you wish to dine on the balcony?"
"I'd love to," Astoria said, "But it doesn't look big enough."
"Is it big enough now?" Raki asked.
Draco and Astoria turned back toward the French doors and saw a very commodious balcony with a good-sized table and two chairs had replaced the tight little wrought iron model that had been there a minute before.
"That's some serious magic," Astoria said.
"Thank-you, Madame," Raki said, a big smile on his face. "So few recognize that these days, sadly. Ah, it's the times."
Raki went to work setting the table, and soon had a large platter of fish, boiled potatoes and lemon wedges ready in the center, with side dishes of tossed salads and green beans, cups, saucers, tumblers, and a tall green bottle of Italian mineral water ready for diners.
"Raki, we wondered if this wine would complement the fish," Draco said, holding out the bottle of white.
Raki took a look at the label and smiled.
"Mr. Malfoy, you could not find a better bottle of wine for your meal," Raki assured them. "Have you decided about Butrint?"
"I want to go," Astoria said, looking at Draco.
"Then we're going," Draco affirmed.
"Wonderful, if you'll just be down in the lobby by eight, everything will be ready. Enjoy your meal," and Raki stepped back into the elevator, the door closing behind him.
"Well, that fish smells good," Draco observed.
"And it needs eating, by someone," Astoria seconded. "I suppose we could sit on the balcony having dinner, watching the sun set behind the Adriatic, if that isn't too decadent."
Draco pulled out a chair.
"Not too decadent. Just decadent enough," he said.
Astoria sat down, and Draco pushed her chair up to the table. Astoria served fish from the platter while Draco applied himself to opening and pouring the wine. Fish, fresh green salad, and a highly complementary white wine went well, they found, with viewing the sunset from a balcony overlooking the Adriatic.
In the morning, they arrived in the hotel lobby at seven forty-five. A simple breakfast of bread with jam, hard-boiled eggs, orange juice and coffee had been prepared for them, along with two box lunches. Astoria took a canvas tote bag to carry the amphora of local wine, and the box lunches went in the bag. When the bag was fully packed, Draco took it over and wouldn't give it up, despite Astoria's offer.
They took the floo connection to the little magical tourist hotel outside the national park. The hotel staff fussed over the newlyweds, as is appropriate, making sure they had hats, a half-liter bottle of water for each of them, and the official park brochure.
They paid the very reasonable fee at the entrance and began following the routes shown on the map to the major sites. Besides the ruins, the physical beauty on the little peninsula was near-overwhelming, and they stopped repeatedly to take in views of the lake and the strait that separated Corfu from the mainland.
The time was getting on toward noon and Draco and Astoria were both thinking about their box lunches. Draco spotted a bench by an overlook and said he was going to have a seat and look out to sea for a bit. Astoria had seen a few upright columns a short distance away. On a hunch, she took the amphora with her and walked over to give them a closer look.
An ancient builder had had the foresight to leave behind a low marble bench, and Astoria sat down to study the columns. A sound, like a stick breaking, came from a little patch of shrubs, and Astoria sat, quietly, and watched a stag slowly pick its way out of the cover and present itself to her. Astoria nodded in greeting, and the stag nodded back. Without her really thinking about it, Astoria's hands felt their way to the amphora's stopper, and slowly, slowly, twisted it back and forth. The stopper came out without too much protest, and Astoria held the amphora out for the stag to see, tilted it, and poured out a generous libation.
"Sometimes they're here," she said to herself. "Sometimes they're not."
Astoria and the stag continued to look at each other. Eventually, the stag walked closer and tilted its head down, presenting its antlers to Astoria. She didn't have a ribbon or anything to use to make one, so Astoria pulled at the raw edge of the rough cloth wrapped around the amphora and tore off a strip, which she tied to a prong. The stag raised his head and looked her in the eye before ambling back to the patch of shrubs from which he'd emerged.
Astoria looked around to see fog rolling up over the low wall that ran along the drop down to the sea. It was thin at first, just a little feathery tendril, but quickly grew and became an opalescent blanket over Astoria, such that she could see only the immediate vicinity around her bench. A human form coalesced in the mist, stepped forward, and joined Astoria on the marble bench. A very fit woman of indeterminate age, she wore a short tunic that she didn't bother pulling down, and carried a bow, with a quiver of arrows.
"Considering the stag, my first guess is I am being honored by a visit from Artemis," Astoria said.
"Where do they still teach the young our stories? Yes, I'm Artemis, and you are?"
"I'm from England," Astoria said. "My name is Astoria Greengrass Malfoy. I went to school in Scotland, but that isn't why I recognized you. From the time I was first learning to read, I've loved the stories of the Immortals. I'm a witch. My whole family, on both sides, are witches and wizards. You and the others, with your feuds and finagling, and meddling in peoples' business, you carry on just like we do. I've always felt a strong affinity, like I would have been a perfect fit if I were born into your family.
"I just married a wizard. We're staying in Durres on our honeymoon and came down for the day. I was hoping to find a temple or an enchanted grove and see if one of you would come. You're perfect. Something tells me you already know why."
"Why don't you go ahead and tell me what you want?" Artemis asked, playing idly with her bow as they chatted.
"I bear a curse," Astoria said. "A blood curse, that an ancestor incurred for reasons no one remembers. It lay dormant, then it turned up in me. The healers don't have a cure. I won't have a very long life, but I'm determined to give my husband a child. If I can conceive, there is a good chance we'll be successful. I'm not asking for anything extraordinary. Fertility and childbirth are yours. I'll happily do all the work, if you can keep any malevolent actors at bay."
"You are determined," Artemis stated, looking Astoria up and down. "You will trade some of your time for what you're asking, but you know that, don't you?"
"Yes," Astoria said. "I've always known, even before they told me everything. I don't blame them. They were trying to protect me from understanding what made me different from the other children. I'm going to leave him behind, much sooner than is fair or decent, no matter what I do. All my life I've wanted a family. It wasn't always clear my…"
Astoria didn't think it necessary to finish.
"You're very unusual," Artemis said. "You're from England, but you found your way here. The Immortals don't get a lot of visitors these days, aside from the classicists and the only things that interest them are getting tenure and a full professorship. They give the impression they lust after a life in tweed."
She shook her head in mystification at such an alien thought.
"I can't promise you anything, Astoria," Artemis continued. "Keep doing what you're doing. You have to wait to see what will happen. I'll do what I can to blunt any outside maliciousness. Listen to your healers. Rest and stay fit. That's very important. Thank you for coming to see me. You're so polite and respectful.
"I'm going to tell my father about you. He loves stories about brave mortals with pure hearts, facing danger and hopeless odds. You're right, you would have fit into our family. We had a poet, in the old days. Odysseus is every mortal's best guide in these things, so I advise you to spend a little time with Homer every day. You won't regret it.
"Our little patch of fog is breaking up, and I must go with it."
Artemis stood and took a few steps into the last thick wisps of the fog. She looked back at Astoria, one last time.
"No unnecessary exertions right now," she said, just as she and the fog dissolved.
Astoria stood up and walked back to where Draco still sat, staring out at the strait, with Corfu beyond.
"That little bit of fog that came up was thick, wasn't it?" Astoria asked.
"Fog? There wasn't any. I've had a clear view the whole time I've been here," Draco replied.
"Imagine that," Astoria said, as she put the amphora back in the tote. "Ready to walk a little further? That looks like the theater just over there."
They made their way to the theater, looking for a shady place to break out the box lunches. The sun was close to directly overhead, but they found a passageway on the exterior that provided shade and cool stone footings that made serviceable benches. They put the box lunches, water bottles, and the amphora between them and started taking inventory.
The lunches included a sliced bread roll, some mild white cheese, an assortment of fresh carrot spears, radishes, and little tomatoes, a portion of baklava wrapped in waxed paper, and two grape leaves stuffed with herbed rice. There were two small paper cups in each box.
"What's left?" Draco asked.
"The theater, then there are some city walls, then some excavations that are going on, if the archaeologists are there," Astoria read from the park brochure.
Draco poured a little wine into one of the paper cups and raised it to his lips.
"Ugh…don't bother," he said, putting his cup down and reaching for a water bottle.
"Remember what Raki said? It's a bit raw. Try it with a little water. They always watered their wine in classical times," Astoria advised. "Maybe this doesn't taste right if without a bit of mixer."
Draco looked doubtful, but he poured a little water into the cup anyway. He picked up the cup and took a sip.
"Makes all the difference," he said.
Astoria poured a little of the local wine into her cup, which she then topped off with water. She lifted her cup and held it out to Draco, who lifted his in turn.
"Durres," Astoria said.
"Butrint," confirmed Draco.
They took a sip each.
"One more," Astoria suggested. "Artemis."
"Okay," said Draco, pausing to think. "Zeus."
They toasted Artemis and Zeus, Astoria giggling as she tried to swallow.
"Was Zeus the only other god you could think of?" she asked.
"I considered Poseidon, but then I thought it might be wise to honor Zeus first, and catch up with Poseidon, out of respect for thunderbolts," Draco said.
The sunshine and fresh sea air must have been just the thing to whet appetites. Draco and Astoria finished the box lunches and most of their water. The amphora didn't go down much, but Astoria figured that was fine, because they might discover they needed some for another libation later on.
The rest of the park had some serious ruins, but Astoria didn't have any more audiences with Immortals or their close relatives. Even so, their agreed-upon time for heading back to Durres arrived much too soon, for both Astoria and Draco. They worked their way back to the park entrance and on to the little magical hotel. The hotel staff insisted they use their facilities to wash up, and pressed fresh bottles of water on them, even though they had never officially been guests.
Upon arrival in Mr. Kadare's hotel in Durres, Draco suggested a short walk along the corniche, to be followed by another fish dinner on the balcony. It was still a beautiful day, the afternoon sun at a benign angle, compared with mid-day. Astoria was feeling a bit frazzled, but she thought a short walk over easy ground with Draco might be a pleasant transition to dinner and a good night's sleep. They walked the block to the corniche and turned right. They hadn't gone far when a wave hit the boulders at the bottom of the wall and threw water up and over the top. The sea went out quickly and a second wave built immediately and came rushing in. Draco could hear it roar as it got closer to the corniche.
"Back, now!" Draco said, turning Astoria around and throwing an arm around her waist. He lifted her up, nearly off her feet and tried to run inland, but it was too late. The wave came up over the wall and across the corniche, catching them with their backs turned and knocking them to the concrete. The water headed back seaward, sucking Draco and Astoria along with it.
"No!" Draco shouted. He tried to pull Astoria on top of himself, so she would not be abraded by the rough cement. A bollard near the edge of the corniche appeared before them and Draco grabbed it with his free arm, slowing their progress toward the sea. He managed to wrap a leg around the bollard, freeing both arms to hang onto Astoria.
Another wave was building offshore, and Draco could see it would be the largest yet.
"Run, Astoria, get up and run!" Draco shouted, "He can have me!"
"Never!" Astoria screamed. "I-WILL-NOT-LEAVE-YOU!"
Astoria clung tighter than ever to Draco, shouting over the now-deafening roar of the great wave's approach. A screaming sound added to the din, raising in volume along with the wave. They didn't associate the sound and the wind at first, but a wind from landward met the great wave and the two contended for what seemed like a very long time, but probably wasn't, before the wave acceded to the superior force, and collapsed back into the sea.
Water was trickling seaward all around and underneath him when Draco became aware of a pair of hands that appeared to be lifting both himself and Astoria to their feet, one hand to one armpit, but the hand lifting him didn't feel like it was exerting any force. One moment he was on the concrete surface of the corniche, and the next he was on his feet, as was Astoria. He looked at their benefactor and saw a woman, not plain, but not conventionally attractive either, wearing a kind of shift like any other tourist in summer and carrying an odd, oblong zippered bag slung across her back.
"No unnecessary exertions, please?" the woman asked Astoria before turning to Draco.
"Take care of your obligations, young wizard," she said.
She gave a toss of her head toward the sea.
"My uncle is easily miffed, the slightest thing can anger him. Always feeling he gets put in second place to Father, I suspect. The planet is two thirds water, and it all belongs to him, but is that enough?"
Turning back to Astoria she dropped her voice as she said, "Father loves your story. Now that he's gotten a look at you, I advise you to be very careful around swans, if you get my meaning."
"I do—how exciting!" Astoria said, clearly delighted with the news.
The woman turned and took a few steps up the corniche and disappeared.
"What was that?" Draco asked, total confusion showing on his face.
"That was our opportunity to get back to our hotel and button up for tonight. Tomorrow, we're going to be back here, as soon as we get up, with the rest of that local wine, and a bottle of water, and a bowl, and we are going to speak respectfully to Mr. Poseidon and ask that he look kindly on our endeavors. It seems he took offense when you deferred to thunderbolts a few hours ago, and he decided to teach us a lesson."
Draco wasn't a classicist. His knowledge of mythology reached the level of rudimentary, hence his awareness of Zeus and Poseidon. He thought Astoria's references would become clearer with time, if he waited patiently, so he decided to let her direct their response.
Dinner on the balcony was every bit as good as the previous evening. If anything, the fish itself was better. The sunset was dazzling once again. Astoria skipped coffee and tea, announcing she'd be doing everything she could to put in eight to ten hours of uninterrupted sleep after their full day of adventures. After all, they had to get up early to take their leave of the god of the sea, then port key all the way back to Wiltshire at eleven.