Lady Macbeth's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page B

greater. Not so happy yet much happier. You shall beget kings though you will be none.”
    Banquo makes a scornful sound in his throat. “They contradict themselves, the old women!” he says.
    On a cue from Helwain, Mother and Rhuven begin to back away.
    “Stay, you fateful sisters, tell me more!” demands Macbeth. “I know I will be thane of Glamis, for he is dead, but how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives. And to be king is beyond belief. How do you know this? Speak!”
    He tries to spur his horse forward, but the creature will not budge. He curses. I am afraid of being seen. I feel like the little brown rabbit in the open field, sensing the boy with his slingshot.
    Now Helwain lifts her hood over her face and turns away. A gust of wind blows a cloud of heavy mist around Macbeth and Banquo. Seizing my chance, I scurry for the hole and retreat into the dark earth. Just behind me Rhuven, Helwain, and my mother stumble down the steps, breathing hard.
    Faintly I hear Macbeth shout, “They have melted, Banquo, and vanished like spirits into the air!”
    Helwain laughs. “Ha! We gulled the powerful Macbeth.”
    Rhuven is not so pleased. “Why did we hail him with such lofty titles? If these don’t come to pass, he will know that we lie. We were to prophesy strife and trouble, for those are certainties.”
    “You heard the messengers. Because of his exploits in battle, he is certain to become thane of Glamis and Cawdor, too,” explains Helwain. “Then what is left for him but to become king? We merely put his own desires into words.”
    “As you did when you prophesied sons? Yet that did not come to pass.”
    “So, perhaps this time he will not believe me. What harm is done?” Helwain says, sounding careless.
    “I saw him start, like a guilty man, when you hailed him as king,” says Rhuven. She sounds worried.
    Helwain snorts. “Do you think he will go to Forres tonight and slay Duncan? He is not a fool.”
    Now my mother speaks. “Even if he wanted to, he would not find the opportunity, for the king will be surrounded by his loyal warriors.”
    “Then why feed Macbeth with vain promises and lying prophecies?” Rhuven persists.
    “I am an old woman without any power. This gives me some sport.”
    “Helwain, this is no game!” Rhuven’s voice rises with distress. “If my lord commits treason against his king, he will be killed and my lady banished, and I will also be ruined.”
    “By Morrigan and all the gods!” Helwain bursts out. “We are already lost, because of Macbeth. Have you forgotten that he slew Gillam and drove us from our home? I will play foul with his fate!”
    “And with Banquo’s, too?” asks Rhuven. “He is an honorable man. Lesser than Macbeth and greater—what does that mean?”
    “Banquo is not superstitious,” Helwain replies. “My double-talk is meant to twist Macbeth’s reason. And how easy that is!”
    “Do not overlook my Albia,” my mother interjects. “What will be her fate, when Macbeth fulfills his?”
    I hear my name mentioned, but I do not understand how I have any connection to the weird events of this night. Nor do I understand why my mother and her sisters have waited for the painted warrior and taunted him with great titles. Perhaps they have eaten some mixture of Helwain’s that makes them act so strangely.
    In the morning Rhuven is already gone. Helwain and Mother are silent on the way home. I follow them, biting my lip. I know that I am somehow to blame for what happened. They didn’t want to bring me. Even Rhuven was not happy to see me. Now they have quarreled and Rhuven has gone away angry. If she never visits again, there will be no more gifts for me, and it will be the punishment I deserve.
    I forget to look where my feet are taking me and stumble against a hawthorn tree. A long, sharp thorn breaks off and sticks in my hand. For a moment my mind is somewhere else. A slow, fearful wail rises from my throat. The sound surprises me.
    “Be quiet,