| She was young but she felt like an old soul. She had nae yet a score o' years, but the weight of responsibility rode easy on her shoulders. Her ma was nae strong - she had borne only the one bairn, but doin so had broken her health. As though ta make up fer it, the bairn, this daughter, grew strong and healthy. She was a comely lass, but didnae think herself so. If she had vanity, 'twas fer her work. |
| Music : Till There Was You |
| The Weaver's Daughter Speaks |
| What was her work? Maire was skilled in the 'old' arts. She knew which plants would heal and which would strengthen, which were savory and which would cause ill. She had learned weavin from her Ma, a very useful skill, but her joy lay in healin. |
| She was careful, though, nae ta be o'er zealous with her skills about the village.....folks' memories o' the auld magic ( which was nae magic atall, but only the gifts o' the Goddess) were fadin and anything nae blessed by the church was beginnin ta be suspect. Maire was content ta use her knowlege - fer now - in makin their simple meals a bit special fer herself and her Ma and ta keep the aches and pains o' creepin age at bay a bit fer her dear mothair. |
| Maire's Da had died when she was a little more than a bairn. She had only the barest memory of a strong man with a deep, hearty laugh.....and a singin voice ta stir the angels. He was a seaman and hadnae returned from his last voyage.....nae word had come atall, so the vessel and all the souls aboard were presumed lost these many years. |
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| Maire........... |
| The lass and her mothair, Fionna kept house tagether in a wee cottage at the edge of the village. Fionna was a skilled weaver, but nae as productive as she once had been. The heart seemed ta go out of her when her man didnae return from the sea and she aged quickly. She did her best ta preserve some joy fer her wee lassie, managin ta raise Maire with a sense o' humor and a wit that even her mournin couldnae quell. . |
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| Maire thought o' keepin chickens fer a plentiful supply o' eggs, but knew her heart well enough ta know that she wouldnae be able ta kill and eat a critter fer whom she had cared, and chickens sooner or later ended up in the pot. So the ladies got by, but only just, and though they were content enough, the cottage began, through the years, ta show its want of a man's attention. |
| As ta the lads, they seemed such boys ta Maire ...... she had grown up before her time and Fionna hadnae ever treated her as a child. Maire smiled and laughed at their antics, but didnae give any encouragement ta call on her or ta become anything more than casual friends. Until she saw Bowman. She would niver forget the moment........they were part of a harvest gatherin and across the threshin floor she saw the handsomest man in the world. He was talkin ta Carter and had a bow in his hand, evidently of his own makin. |
| Maire hadnae a beau, though she had caught the eye o' more than one young lad - and aye, more than one older fella as well, those who had been widowed and looked fer a younger lass ta keep their home or see ta their little ones. She was pleasant and cordial ta all, but wouldnae encourage the older men as she was devoted ta her Ma and wouldnae leave her nor take away time that her mothair might need. |
| A few coins maight be earned fer weavin or fer a 'cure' from the garden, and these they used ta buy meat and a few necessities. |
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| The two got on well enough..... Maire was a skilled gardener, so they didnae lack fer vegetables and herbs, with plenty ta dry fer the winter months. |
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| Maire would share their grain with the ducks at the millpond, for which she was sometimes repaid with an egg. |
| Maire had hardly entered the barn when her eyes were drawn ta him as though by a magnet. Surely this couldnae be a stranger..... |
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| She didnae speak ta him, she wouldnae be so bold. But through the evenin's celebrations she watched him, nae seemin ta, but always aware of where he was. Once she thought she felt his eyes upon her, but when she turned, he was laughin and talkin with a group of young men. He was explainin ta them why he chose a particular wood ta make his bows. Though the tone was jovial, 'twas evident that he took great pride in his craft. |
| there were few in this village who hadnae been born there. Why, then, had she nae seen him before? |
| Twas the next day, and every day thereafter, that Maire saw the handsome young man in the orchard when she went ta gather apples. By keepin her ears open and her lips sealed, she had learned that his name was Bowman. She found herself lookin fer him, nervous as a cat until he was sighted......and then the most amazin thing, fer as soon as she knew he was in the orchard, her spirit settled.....twas as though somethin deep inside settled inta place and was content. |