Page 17 of Lady Elinor’s Elf

“It will sound like a fanciful fairy tale for children, Elinor. At least it did to me once I started reading…”

“But you could read it, then…”

“Yes, I could. It took a while to get used not only to the writing, but to the language style, and of course the illustrations.”

“It sounds like a mediaeval manuscript I saw once,” she said thoughtfully. “And from what I recall, it looks like one as well?”

“Exactly,” he nodded. “The one advantage was that many of the pages were so ornamented that the actual text wasn’t as long as one might have expected, given the size of the book itself.”

“So…” She fidgeted, and he knew she was as eager to hear the tale as he’d been when first reading it.

“Let me start by asking what you know about…” he cleared his throat, “er…mythological Welsh characters. Or species, perhaps. I don’t know how to describe them…”

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised. No words were needed.

“Have you ever heard of anything else strange? I mean other than elves,” he added.

“Ah.” She wrinkled her nose. “Now and again, yes, but not a lot. This whole area, in fact most of Wales, is filled with amazing stories about fascinating beings, but I can’t say I’m very well read on too many of them.” She lowered her voice. “Except for elves, of course.”

“Your family doesn’t know?” He tipped his head toward the door.

“No. I don’t know how or why I was chosen, only that I can see and speak with them. I’ve never questioned it, nor mentioned it to anyone.” She paused. “Until you.”

He smiled. “I’m honoured, Elinor. Truly I am.”

“I’m still not sure why I told you, but somehow I felt I had to share my secret with you, Caleb.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” He took a breath. “Everyone has secrets, and some are best kept hidden. Others,” he paused, “others should only be shared with special people, or at special moments.”

“Is this a special moment?” Her blue eyes held his gaze. “Am I a special person?”

“Oh yes,” he breathed. “Never doubt it, love.”

“And your secret?”

“I’ll tell you when we have more time, and less chance of being overheard.”

She straightened. “I’ll hold you to that, Caleb.”

“I just wish I was holding you…” The low whisper seemed to have an effect, since Elinor shivered.

“As do I,” she whispered back.

A rattle at the door reminded them where they were.

Benson entered. “Lady Molliney thought you might care for refreshments, Lady Elinor, Sir Caleb.”

“How kind. Please offer her my sincere thanks.” Caleb rose and accepted the tray, placing it a fair distance away from the book on the table.

“Thank you, Benson,” Elinor smiled at him.

“My pleasure, my Lady.” He left the room.

“He will report to Mama that we are having a civilised conversation from either side of the table,” Elinor grinned at Caleb.

“Not a surprise, given the temptation of your beauty, Elinor.”

“Oh, hush.” She blushed and waved the compliment aside. “Let’s get back to your Welsh mythological creatures?”

“Well, the story—at least what I managed to decipher—goes like this.” He turned the book to her and opened it, revealing some of the magnificent illustrations.

“This fellow here,” Caleb tapped a picture of a man in old-fashioned clothing, “is, I think, one of my ancestors.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but unfortunately he was not a good person.”

“Oh dear.”

“As is the case with many a story, it begins with greed, and leads to the desire to take what is not one’s own.”

“A not unfamiliar theme.”

“I know. And that, in and of itself, is a very sad statement.”

“Go on…”

“This Howell, whoever he was, certainly displayed a huge amount of greed. He was living in a small part of what is now Tylwyth Teg Abbey, and ran into some financial difficulties during construction. His goal was to have the largest and most important estate for miles around.”

“From which he would pretty much rule?”

“I’m sure that thought was there, yes. He knew there were other residents on his land, however. And these residents did not wish to move.”

“Farmers, I suppose?”

Caleb shook his head. “No, these residents were not your usual tenants or landowners. In fact, the land they owned was beneath the buildings.”

Elinor’s eyes widened in surprise. “Good God, the Tylwyth Teg?”

“Yes. The Tylwyth Teg had a large community underground, and quite correctly got very upset when their world was turned upside down by this Howell and his army of builders.”

“I can’t blame them,” she sighed. “It must have been awful for them.”

“Wait…it gets worse.”

“Oh no.”

Caleb sighed. “This evil Howell, upon grasping the potential of what lay beneath his land, got his hands on a certain volume, a Book of Knowledge, if you will. There’s no mention of how he did that, of course. And he managed to use it to develop dark skills.”

“But how could he? He was human…he had no magic at all.”

“You’re correct, but he was clever. Once he deciphered the book, he started to practise these dark magics as best he could, knowing his skills were limited. But one thing he could do…and did… was to summon the Coblynau .”

“The what?”

“Actually, they’re a who,” clarified Caleb. “Spirits that lived underground in Welsh mines, apparently. Most are harmless, but some…well, the word ‘malicious’ is mentioned, and after that? Just plain evil.”

“So,” Elinor frowned at the book. “Your ancestor called these Coblynau—cobblythings, whatever they are—and they pushed the Tylwyth Teg out of their homes?”

“Yes. It was ugly, too. But the result freed the wicked Howell to claim the land, dig wherever he chose, build himself a very fine castle, and rule the area as he pleased. All of which he could easily do, since he’d also seized the treasures left behind by the Tylwyth Teg as they fled.”

“If he was so evil as to do all this, there had to be a price?” She sat straight in her chair. “There’s always a price, Caleb. Evil doesn’t just get away with it, surely?”

“Apparently this evil did indeed get away with it, as you so succinctly put it. And for several decades after, too.”

“Please tell me there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

Caleb laughed. “Yes, my dear girl. There is a definite ‘but’.”

She heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

“Wicked Howell had neglected to consider that the Coblynau might require something in return for their services. They did not make any immediate demands of him, but bided their time, and eventually decided that they would take over the empty homes beneath the land of the Tylwyth Teg for themselves. Which Wicked Howell could not allow, since he was still expanding his holdings, and digging up even more of the land himself, to expand his magnificent property.”

“And so…” prompted Elinor.

“And so the reign of Wicked Howell ended abruptly when both he and his horse vanished into a great pit that opened beneath them during one of his daily rides. Neither man nor beast was ever seen again.”

“And the cobblythings?”

“The text becomes harder to follow after that, I have to admit. But from what I could deduce, the land lay empty for a generation or two, during some wars or battles or other nasty goings-on between mortals. The Coblynau found the land too susceptible to flooding—they were not good swimmers—and gradually their community faded away as well.”

“Leaving Tylwyth Teg all but desolate? In ruins?”

Caleb sighed. “Close to it.” He looked at Elinor. “But there is mention at the very end of the book about a Howell rediscovering the property and rebuilding. I found out, to my surprise, that he was a cleric as well as a Howell…”

“Oh, is he the one who gave it the designation of Abbey?”

“That’s the one.” He grinned. “It was sold, repurchased, rebuilt a little, excavated, and generally messed around with, for a few hundred years until it landed on my branch of the Howell family tree.” He wrinkled his nose. “All of which probably explains why the cellars leak so badly.”

Elinor heaved a sigh. “That is an amazing tale, Caleb. Truly amazing.”

The clock in the hallway struck the hour, reminding him that he had probably overstayed his welcome. He stood and held out his hand to Elinor. “I must go before I’m chastised by your parents.”

She took it and squeezed his fingers. “I know. But I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I. Come visit if you can? When you can?”

“I will. I promise.”

He kissed her hand, holding tight for a long moment. Then he turned and walked to the door, opening it for her. “My thanks, Lady Elinor. I believe our discussion has brought several matters to light that I must further explore…”

Benson was ready to show him out, and as he left, Elinor sighed.

She just didn’t feel complete anymore if she wasn’t with Caleb.

She waited at the door until he’d left, then turned back, lost for a moment in her thoughts.

Reaching into her pocket, she felt the edge of the note she’d forgotten, still waiting…

She didn’t notice her mother peering around a door jamb at her, nor did she see the slight smile that curved her lips.