John Locke - Now & Then Страница 22

Jack said, “Where’s Rose?”

They looked around the yard. And when their eyes returned to the place they’d started, Rose was standing there, a scant four feet away.

“God’s blood!” Jack swore.

Rose had rubbed gunpowder all over her face and rimmed her eyes with bright red paint. She stared straight ahead, as if in a trance.

“Jack?” George whispered tentatively.

“What?”

“We don’t have any red paint here.”

Jack turned to George. “Surely at some time you did.”

“Never. No paint of any color. Where would I come by paint?”

“Where indeed,” Johanna said. She snapped her fingers and Rose came out of her trance-like state. From inside the basket, Rugby hissed savagely.

Jack said, “How did you know to do that?”

“Trial and error,” Johanna said, and Jack felt another chill go down his spine.

He led his party of George, Johanna and Rose back up the trail, past the crossing, beyond the town, and out to Sinner’s Row.

About a hundred yards from the path that led to the small pier, Jack noticed two brightly colored soldier hats tied to trees six feet off the ground on either side of the road. He halted his horse, and the others fell in behind.

“What’s that mean?” George said.

“It means they’re dead,” Rose said.

Jack nodded. “Mr. Pim must have found them guarding the trail. From the big pier, it looks like they’re still here, standing guard.”

“There’ll be other guards I’m sure,” George said.

“If there are, we’ll probably come upon their hats as well.”

“How much danger are we in, Henry?” Johanna asked.

“It’s okay to call me Jack, miss. That’s my given name. I’m sorry for the lie.”

“Jack,” she said, softly. “I like that.”

“How much involvement do you expect from Rose?” George said. “I can’t let you put her in harm’s way.”

“I won’t use her till it’s safe.”

“And when it’s safe, what shall you have her do?”

Rose said, “Why, scare the life out of someone, right Jack?”

Jack nodded absently, trying to decide if his plan had any chance of success. The entire rescue depended on a creepy little girl who might very possibly be crazy. Or delusional, if such was different. He didn’t know if Rose was a witch or not, but he knew she had a terrifying laugh. If nothing else about her was supernatural, the laugh alone would likely suffice.

Jack looked around. It was getting on to dusk, but they were still two hours from dark. He chanced a light whistle and heard nothing in return. They climbed off their horses and led them into the woods until they got to a place where the foliage was thick enough to provide cover. They sat and waited.

An hour later, they heard a light return whistle. Jack and the others got to their feet, and Jack responded. Moments later, Abby raced into Jack’s camp and threw her arms around him. Johanna arched an eyebrow, but waited politely to be introduced. When Abby started kissing Jack repeatedly, Johanna decided to take matters into her own hands. She started moving toward them, but stopped short as Hester entered the camp.

When Johanna saw Hester’s face, she gasped, crossed herself, and spit. George did the same. Rugby arched her back, hissed, and jumped into Rose’s arms.

Rose pointed at Hester and shouted, “Behold! The Devil’s Mistress!”

Pim and Hester were even more startled by Rose.

“By the bones of Christ,” Pim said. “Hell’s cat has found its mother.”

Abby was surprised that Henry wasn’t kissing her back. She was even more surprised to find a thin young girl pulling her by the hair.

“Ow! Ow! Let go, you bitch!”

Johanna pulled her off of Jack before letting go of her hair. Abby tried to slap Johanna, but the younger girl evaded it. Abby looked at Jack. “Who is this vile bitch?”

“This is Johanna,” Jack said, warily.

“And who are you to pull my hair like a common street urchin?” Abby said to Johanna.

Johanna said, “I’m Jack’s wife.”

Chapter 17

Two months earlier Jack had paddled up the Little River and ate dinner with the Stout family when a man called to them from outside the house. George opened the door and saw a man and woman, and behind them, a young girl tied to the horse rail.

“State your business,” George said, as Jack passed him a musket. Jack pulled two flintlocks from his coat and held them crossed over his chest.

“My wife and I are trying to find the source of this feeling. If this is some herb you sell, we’re here to trade for it.”

George looked at Jack.

“Describe the feeling,” George said, though he knew exactly what the man meant.

“I can’t. It’s just a feeling that’s taken the pain from my gouty foot and my wife’s back. It led me here. I’m Richard Bradford,” the man said, “and this is my wife, Patience, and our daughter, Johanna.”

“Why is she tied up?” George said.

“So she won’t run off. She ain’t right in the head, is what she is. We aim to get her married, though, if the price be right. Are you married, sir?”

George shook his head. After determining the Bradfords weren’t likely to kill anyone, he introduced them to his family and Henry.

“Are you married, Henry?” Richard said.

“No. And don’t intend to be.”

Jack looked at Johanna across the yard. “She looks no more than nine.”

“She is in fact twelve years old, as will be sworn by her Mum and me. Why not come over and see for yourself what a delightful prize she’d be to a man who knows how to coax with a firm hand?”

“If you bring a lamp I’ll lift her dress for you, sir,” Patience said, “should you require a peek.”

Jack had never hit a woman before, and never wanted to till now. But he kept his temper in check and said, “How much?”

“Twelve pounds sterling, sir, and worth every penny,” Richard said.

“One for each year,” Patience added.

Twelve pounds of silver was an exorbitant, ridiculous price for a dowry, which proved to Jack they thought him a fool. Jack said, “Go back inside. I’ll speak to the child and give you my answer afterward.”

Richard and Patience exchanged a glance, and Patience moved closer to Jack and whispered, “No offense, sir, but do you have the money with you? Because if so, we’d like to conclude the transaction before you put your hands on her. You might, no offense, lower her value by the degree of inspection you’re planning to undertake.”

While she spoke to Jack, Richard whispered something in the girl’s ear. He left her with a stern glare, walked over to Jack and said, “I’ve told her not to scream should you decide to touch her. However, in the name of fairness, should you choose to sample her wares in a more deliberate manner, remuneration to the parents would be in order, due to her current state of innocence and the effect of wear and tear upon her future value.”

Jack said, “I can assure you that I shall not be sampling this child’s wares anytime soon, though I wish to speak to her a few moments.

“But you are interested?” Patience said.

“I am.” Jack pressed a crown in each of their greedy hands and waited until they went inside. He picked up a lantern and crossed the yard to the horse post and untied the lead line around her neck and said, “If I untie your hands and promise not to touch you otherwise, will you walk with me a few steps and talk?”

Johanna nodded her head uncertainly.

Jack untied her and led her to the bench next to the watering tough. As they walked, he noticed her limping. They sat, and Jack asked some basic background questions and got yes or no answers in return. But when he asked, “How are you being treated by your father at home?” she said, “I cannot answer these questions without receiving severe punishment.”

“I’ll tell no one.”

“There is something about you that makes me believe you,” she said. “Something that calms me and makes me want to tell you what you seek to know. But he will certainly wish to know of what we spoke here, and he will beat the truth out of me.”

Johanna turned her back to him and dropped the top of her shift so he could see her scars from being lashed.

“These marks are still wet with blood,” Jack said.

“How else would they have got me to come?”

“I promise they will not beat you again.”

“You’d have to marry me to keep that promise.”

Jack sighed. “I would be inclined to do so if for no other reason than to save you from your father’s brutality. But I can’t keep a wife. I travel and it’s often dangerous places I go.”

“You could marry me and keep me under any type of shelter that has a roof and walls and I’ll improve the place and be there when you return from your travels. I’m not experienced in wifely ways, but I can chuck rocks well enough to kill small animals to skin and cook in a pot. I can clean and sew and will do as I’m told, though I will be grateful not to be beaten or cuffed about should I vex you unintentionally.”

For one who seemed so shy at first she was proving to be a chatty little thing.

“You’re tall enough,” Jack said, “but you seem quite young. Are you even close to the age of consent?”

“I am twelve, sir, by almost nine months. There is proof from a midwife, as mine was a difficult birth.”

“Are these two in fact your parents?”

“They are.”

Now that Jack had her talking, the words spilled out of her. She told him that her father was a mean drunk who beat her older sister to death and made it appear to be an accident. “He’s nearly killed me twice,” she added, “though not recently, as I have to gain strength again before trying to run away.”

“And yet you keep trying.”

“I do, sir.”

“What’s his drink of choice?” Jack asked, and Johanna gave him a funny look.

“Kill Devil,” she said.

“Aye, that would do it,” Jack said. Kill Devil was rum laced with gunpowder. It had been Blackbeard’s favorite drink. “So your father drinks regular and beats you?”

“Regular enough.”

“What about neighbors? Is there no one nearby to offer help?”

“We live deep in the woods where there’s no one near to hear me scream. By day he keeps me tied to a lead line which is convenient because he can use it to beat me with, should I move too slow in my chores. He threatens to hobble me if I run away again, and would have by now, except that he couldn’t get a fair price for me. Of course I am as horrid as I can be around them, thinking he might wish me gone enough to lower the price.”

“I’ve met wood children before,” Jack said. “How is it you learned such a fine manner of speech?”

“They weren’t always like this. Before the poverty and drink seized him they were decent people. Mother was educated in London, taught my sister and me to read and write, taught my sister Lisbeth mostly, but Lisbeth taught me much. It was she who started the running away.”

“What did he whisper to you just now?”

She looked around. Jack said, “It’s all right. You can tell me.”

“He told me if you turn me down, he’s going to ruin me for all men.”

Jack held up the lantern and saw the bruises running up and down her arms and legs. She had choke marks on her neck, and her cheekbones were in various stages of healing. A blood bruise covered half her right eye, and her lip was fat from a recent slap or punch. A line of dried blood started at the corner of her mouth and made a stain down her chin. She looked around again and whispered, “Though he quoted you twelve, he’d be happy with half that. Should you be interested in saving me, that is.”

“You seem a lovely sort. A decent man wouldn’t quibble over the price.”

“Are you a decent man, sir?”

“I like to think so.”

“I’d like to have children someday.”

Jack nodded. He took her to mean she feared being ruined by her father, should Jack turn her down.

“He’ll eventually kill me,” she said. Her body began shaking, and he realized she was crying. “Please, sir,” she said. “I can butcher your kill and cut it down and salt it. I’m handy in the woods. I know some healing herbs and I’m good at finding tubers. If you save me I’ll never give you reason to regret it.”

Maybe it was the welts and bruises, or the unfairness of it all, or maybe just the rotgut from dinner buzzing his brain. But Jack had asked to hear her tale of woe, and now he couldn’t bear to hear another word. He took her by the hand and together they walked across the yard to George’s front door, and when they opened it, Jack amazed himself by announcing he would marry Johanna Bradford that very night. He opened his kit and paid Richard and Patience Bradford twelve pounds sterling for their daughter’s hand in marriage.

The only requirement for a legally valid marriage in 1710 was the completion of a marriage contract called a ‘spousal,’ and the exchange of vows. The entire process could be completed in minutes, with no witnesses required. For this reason, most young lovers were able to marry in secret. But Jack and Johanna had a number of witnesses. George prepared the contract, Jack and Johanna exchanged words, drinks were passed around, and then Johanna went with Marie to help put the child Steffan to bed.

Jack had half a mind to kill Johanna’s parents where they stood, but in deference to his bride he hustled them out of the house and told them to leave and never come back. With that chore out of the way, Jack sat down and worked out a payment for George and Marie to house Johanna and teach her to be a proper “helpmate,” meaning a woman who knew how to keep a house and educate children.

“She can sleep in the guest room unless we have a visitor,” George said.

Jack paid George two months in advance and said, “Her father claims she’s wrong in the head, but I think he’s the one that’s crazy. But if she proves too much for you, I’ll work out a different arrangement when I return.”

The two men shook hands to seal the agreement, and Jack took some time to explain the arrangement to Johanna. Then he kissed her on the forehead, took a blanket and a bottle of rum out to the boat, climbed in and slept. The next morning he woke early, saddled one of George’s horses, and went to the river crossing, hoping to see (but not intending to impregnate) his girlfriend, Abby Winter.

Chapter 18

Now, in the woods, Pim waited patiently while Jack confirmed Johanna’s claim. Abby called him a bastard, and Johanna lunged at her again.

Jack stepped between them and said, “Hush, you two. What’s done is done and I’ll do right by both of you.”

“I don’t see that possibility,” Abby said, “since you’re already married to this hellion, and I’m carrying your child.”

“You’ve given her your seed?” Johanna said, incredulously. “How could you do this to me? I’m your wife. That seed is rightfully mine.”

“I’d give it back if I could, you pasty-faced brat!” Abby said.