Prologue
She'd first spotted it a month or so ago, although she hadn't been certain. The sky had been too dark, the heavy canopy blacking out even the brightest of moons and so Elsie had bade her time. But she fancied that she had and so on each occasion they'd walked that way she'd tried to remember exactly where it was, to check she'd been right. Charles hadn't seemed to notice how she'd gently steered him into selecting a variety of different routes for their daily trips to and from the Abbey nor how, as they entered the dense woodland closest to their cottage, her eyes became keenly focused on searching between the oranges and browns. He simply continued to share his thoughts on the day just gone or the one ahead, and she continued to act the dutiful wife whilst not hearing a word.
Now suddenly she saw it, its green leaves stark against a tree that appeared almost devoid of life. Its stems had woven themselves amongst the thinner branches, its characteristic shape hard to miss with the early morning sun sending its shafts of light down through the almost bare branches above. The light frost that had caught on the fat round berries caused them to glint, almost diamond-like, tempting her closer, to move towards it.
And she wanted to, desperately. How easy would it be to confess her little idea, to step off the path together to see if its sprigs were ready to be cut down and put towards a higher purpose. Well, perhaps not higher she mused, but certainly sweeter, delicious even; if the thoughts that had come to her over the intervening weeks could be coaxed into fruition.
But no, she'd told herself, she must be patient. A few more days' wait would give her the time she needed to plot and plan. She wasn't naive to the notion that finding it had been the easy part and there was still some way to go until she'd have it in her hand, and further still until the hoped for delights would be realised.
So instead she turned her attention back to the man whose arm she gripped with her gloved hand, giving it a subconscious squeeze in her excitement. It caused him to glance down, his eyes catching hers as she looked up.
"Are you alright, Elsie?" he asked with mild concern.
She nodded. "Oh yes, Charlie," she replied with a nod, fighting to hide the knowing smile she could feel spreading across her cheeks, "Quite well."