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magnificent head toward the water to drink. He was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen in her life. She watched mesmerized as he entered the water and began to swim.
    Jane longed to form a bond with him as she did with other animals. What a rare privilege it would be if some day she could swim alongside him. Then she remembered her brother Keith's
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    VIKLrllNIA HtlNLtl words about the lynx being an omen of fateful things to come. Cautiously, she moved back through the trees, then when she was a safe distance away, hurried back to the protective walls of Dumfries.
    It was lambing season, and Ben and Sim Leslie were the master shepherds of flocks that numbered over a thousand sheep. That afternoon Jane helped her brothers with the ewes that were in labor. "Sim, have you lost any of your flock to wolves lately?"
    "Not many, the dogs are well trained tae warn us when a marauder is nigh."
    "That's good." Jane hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Have you ever seen a lynx in these parts?"
    "Nay." Sim shook his head. "This is out of their territory. Later, when we take the flocks to graze in the Uplands, we'll encounter big cats. There's lots up in the Pentlands and the Lam-mermuirs."
    Jane lapsed into silence, glad that her lynx was not decimating Dumfries'flocks.
    By the time night fell there were three tiny, motherless lambs who would not survive without Jane's tender care. Sim carried them to the stone cottage, where Jane laid them before the hearth to keep them warm.
    Megotta had water boiling so that Jane could wash away the blood and mucus that covered her from neck to knees. When Jane was clean she moved toward the hearth.
    "Nay, ye will eat before ye tend them. Ye must keep up yer strength or yer power will be diminished."
    Jane knew the truth of her grandmother's words. She would have to work over the black-faced lambs for hours if she hoped to save them. She obediently joined Megotta in a bowl of hearty stew flavored with herbs.
    "Kate and Mary didn't say anything to Father about finding me a husband, did they?"
    Though Megotta knew full well the subject had been thoroughly discussed and solutions suggested, she felt she could over-
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    rule Jock regarding his youngest daughter. "Jane, I give ye my word that ye won't be forced tae marry. Put the disturbin' thought out of yer head. There's none good enough in these parts tae be husband tae ye. I'll not see ye sacrificed tae a swineherd or some such lout."
    Reassured, Jane filled a small stone bottle from a pan of ewe's milk that stood warming by the fire, then she pushed a clean linen wad into the narrow neck and tipped it up until the linen became saturated.
    Gently, she lifted the smallest lamb and gave it the linen teat. It seemed too small and lifeless to suckle at first, but Jane's voice and hands began to work their magic.
    At the end of half an hour she had managed to get some milk inside the frail creature, and its fleece, now dry and fluffy from Jane's insistent fingers, made it look as if she held a fuzzy ball of wool.
    She laid it back on the hearth and picked up the second frail creature. With gentle forbearance, Jane ministered to the tiny trio until the hour was late.
    Megotta brought a blanket to the hearth. "Get some rest, child." Jane smiled her thanks, as she tucked the lambs about her and lay down before the fire. With their little bellies full, she knew they would doze for the next few hours. Her last thought before she slept was of her magnificent lynx.
    Jane drifted into a dream where she found herself back in the forest. She was in a state of agitation because she knew that eyes watched her. The urge to flee came upon her ,but she could not move. When she looked down at her ankles, they were entwined in long vines of bistort that held her fast. Jane could feel the eyes upon her; silently watching every move. Thenshe knew he was moving closer through the canopy of leaves.
    As she opened her mouth to scream, a lynx glided through the trees.