Bewitching Kisses (Bewitching Kisses Series), Page 2

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  Sarah Townsend clutched her cape more securely around her as she stood in the Salem graveyard. The March wind stung her eyes, bringing tears that were already too close to the surface.

  “I miss you both so much.” She reached down and pushed some dead leaves away from the marker that carried the names of her parents. “The snow was bad last Sunday,” Sarah whispered against the wind. “And I attended services at the meeting house instead of traveling over to Topsfield. You would never have stood for such goings-on, Papa.” Sarah shivered. “Some children disrupted the services and the Reverend Mr. Parris did nothing to stop them. I understand now why you disliked the man so intensely.” Sarah rubbed her hands against the cold. “Evil is in the air.” She took a shallow breath. “You can almost taste it.” Her fingers again traced over the cold gray stone. “And Mama . . .” she whispered. “Did you have any premonition of the turmoil you would cause?” A sad smile touched her face. “I didn’t need all that land to know that you loved me. And now Samuel feels that you have betrayed him.” Heedless of the snow, Sarah knelt at the gravestone. “What am I to do, Mama? Samuel will barely speak to me he is so angry, and now George Porter has asked me to marry him. You know that he and Samuel have always been rivals. What am I to do?”

  The clouds moved across the sun and the wind took on a sharper bite. Sarah ran her fingers across the stone’s rough surface one last time, then rose and shook the snow from her cape. With the wind at her back her steps quickened as she moved between the carved gray stones. Reaching the gate, she was surprised to find Elizabeth and the Widow Tate huddled near the entrance.

  “Whatever are you doing here, sister?” Sarah took Elizabeth’s hand and found it stiff from cold. “ ‘Tis too bitter a day for you to visit the graves. Come, both of you, I will see you warm.”

  “Actually, Sarah, we were coming to visit you.” Ann’s voice held a curious tone as they walked briskly back toward Sarah’s house.

  Once inside, Sarah quickly built up the fire and put her kettle on. She pulled the high-backed settle close to the hearth to trap the heat and carefully positioned a corn-husk mat for her guests to warm their feet. With a practiced hand she measured spices into the cider and then moved to the dresser to gather her mother’s best earthenware cups. Slowly the warmth of the fire began to invade the room.

  “Tell me, Sarah . . .” Ann’s voice was sharp. “Do you spend much time in the graveyard?

  Sarah smiled and reached for the kettle. “Sometimes, when I need answers. I find it a restful place to think.”

  “So you like doing your thinking in the graveyard?”

  Sarah turned a quizzical glance back toward her guest. “My parents are buried there. You know that. And these days,” she thought of the feud between George Porter and her brother, “I find I miss them more than I can bear.”

  “And what did you think of Reverend Parris’s text last Sunday?” Ann gave a curious sniff at her steaming cup.

  “ ‘Tis fresh cider, Ann,” Sarah said softly. “I drew it just this morning.”

  Ann sniffed again. “But ‘tis not plain. What did you put in here?”

  Sarah gave the widow a patient smile. “It’s chamomile flowers and sassafras root with a touch of maple syrup.” She handed a cup to Elizabeth. “Your favorite.”

  “Sarah . . .” Elizabeth’s voice quivered with uncertainty. “You know how much I enjoy your special brews, but perhaps today,” she glanced nervously toward her companion, “if you have it, plain would be more welcomed.”

  Stunned, Sarah reached for their cups. Elizabeth was always after her to share herb mixtures. What had happened to change her so? She watched her guests watching her as she emptied the kettle and poured in fresh cider.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Sarah,” Ann commanded. “I wish to know your feelings on Sunday’s service. You and your parents always went to Topsfield and now suddenly you decide to attend our own meeting house. I would know why.”

  Sarah sat on a low stool at Elizabeth’s feet. “ ‘Tis no great mystery, Ann. The snow was heavy last week, and rather than miss Sacrament Sunday, I decided to stay in Salem.”

  “And how did you find the service?”

  Anger flashed in Sarah’s violet eyes. “Most distressing. Never have I seen such a spectacle. You were there.” She looked up at Elizabeth. “You saw the way those children were allowed to behave. And not one word of admonishment was uttered.”

  “Dear . . .” Elizabeth’s hand trembled as she hesitantly touched Sarah’s shoulder. “The children are afflicted. They’re not responsible. Surely you could see that.”

  “What I saw were five little girls rolling about on the floor, and not even the Reverend Mr. Parris gave reprimand.”

  “ ‘Tis said that they are the victims of witches,” Ann announced with authority. “Surely you’ve heard the news about Goodwife Nurse.”

  Sarah turned a puzzled look to her brother’s wife. “Has something happened to Rebecca?”

  “She was arrested yesterday afternoon.” Ann looked down her thin nose. “The children named her as their tormentor.”

  Sarah jerked to her feet and began to pace. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I went to visit Rebecca just two days ago and found her too poorly to leave her bed.” She poured fresh cider and handed them the steaming cups.

  “It was her specter that did the mischief,” Ann stated as she reached for her drink.

  “Sarah, I didn’t know you were spending time with Goody Nurse.” Elizabeth’s face grew pale.

  Sarah sat back on her stool and took a deep drink of the hot mixture. “I visit Rebecca often. She’s an interesting woman and has much to teach. Besides, I love listening to her stories.” She gave Ann an irritated glance. “But I don’t believe for a minute that those children are bewitched; and certainly not by Rebecca.”

  Elizabeth’s hand visibly trembled as she set her cup back on the table. “But Sarah, Dr. Gribbs stated it himself.”

  “Bah.” Sarah pulled her legs up before her and balanced her cup on her knee. “The good Dr. Gribbs is a kindly man to be sure, but he knows only what is written in his book. Those children are no more afflicted than I am.” Filled with righteous anger, Sarah missed the nervous glance exchanged by her guests.

  “So you would challenge both the good doctor and a holy man of God?” Ann’s voice rose in indignation. “Then just who, pray tell, has gifted you with this wondrous knowledge? I would know your source.”

  Elizabeth jerked from her chair before Sarah could speak. “I have completely forgotten the time. Come, Ann, I must see you home before darkness falls. Samuel will be most distressed if he returns home to find an empty house.”

  Sarah looked to the clock and frowned. Sunset was more than an hour away. “But, Elizabeth.”

  Elizabeth silenced her with a look. “Thank you for the cider, dear.” Snatching her cape from the peg, she ushered Ann out the door and into the winter wind.

  “Will you wait just a minute,” Ann snapped as Elizabeth closed the door behind them. “I am not walking home until my cape is fastened. And why did you insist we leave?”

  Elizabeth stomped down the yard leaving the widow to hasten her step or walk alone. When Sarah’s front gate was no longer in view she turned to her breathless companion. “Whatever possessed you to question her in that awful manner?” She struggled to keep her voice even. “Do you not realize what could have happened?”

  “But we got our answers, didn’t we?” Ann challenged.

  Elizabeth slowed her step and wiped at her eyes. “Ann, if what we suspect is true, then we would do our cause well not to antagonize Sarah.”

  “Bah, Sarah would not dare to harm us. We are good Christian women.”

  Elizabeth paused, despite the bitter cold that urged her onward. “Ann, what if . . . what if Sarah has already done her damage.”

  Ann reached for Elizabeth’s arm, alarmed by the lack of color in her friend’s face
. “Elizabeth, what are you saying?”

  Elizabeth shuddered, then turned her haunted eyes to her companion. “Did you never think it odd that I have reached my thirty-second year and I have no babies? Every child I conceived came into this world dead. Does that not tell you something?”

  Ann’s eyes grew wide with confusion.

  “Think, Ann. Surely you remember. The year that I married Samuel is the same year Jonathan Townsend came to Salem with his daughter.” Elizabeth’s voice took on a wistful tone. “How I envied Samuel’s mother. With her husband long dead and her only son married off, along came Jonathan Townsend with little Sarah for Prudence to care for.”

  Ann’s eyes grew wide as realization set in. “But after Townsend came, neither you nor Prudence had any more children that lived.”

  “Exactly.” Elizabeth’s voice shook with fear. “Now Sarah holds in dowry as much land as Samuel, the rightful heir. If Prudence had had more children, the land would have been divided differently. Or if Samuel and I had children, Prudence surely would have bequeathed land to them in her will. But Sarah is the only child.”

  “And Sarah can now lay claim to half the land that should have belonged to Samuel alone.” Ann Tate straightened her bony shoulders. “If what you say is true, Elizabeth Wittfield, then your husband’s sister is indeed a witch. And I must admit that I am not surprised. Sarah is entirely too pretty for her own good. She admits to spending time with an accused witch, and she challenges both the doctor and the good reverend. I think she must commune with the devil.”

  Elizabeth swayed on her feet. “Samuel does not deserve this. He is a good man. How will he stand the humiliation of having a stepsister who is a witch”?

  “Well, if you ask me . . .” Ann paused at the gate to her yard, “I would beg Samuel to speak with the good reverend as soon as possible. If Sarah can make the cows go dry and keep you from having babies, then who knows what else she is capable of doing.” With her declaration hanging on the bitter wind, Ann turned and snapped the gate on her friend.

  Sarah shivered under the covers. Nights were the hardest. Every evening when she pulled in the latch string and raked the fire, a melancholy would fall like a damp cloak about her shoulders, chilling her bones and surrounding her with fear. The wind rattled the shutters, the boards creaked, and her heart pounded. For two weeks after her parents had died she had not slept at all. The sudden silence of the night had become more than she could bear.

  Tonight, even though the hour was well past midnight, she law awake in her bed. Moonlight streamed through her window but brought no comfort, for the corners of the room were filled with shadows that played with her mind. The wind howled and cold shivers ran down her spine. I’m such a coward, she thought, rolling over to bury her face in the pillow. Mayhap I should just accept George Porter and put an end to this. But even as the thought surged forth, Sarah knew it was not the answer. Flopping onto her back, she straightened the covers and clasped her hands as if in prayer. I want a husband, she whispered to the ceiling. But I want someone who wants me, not the land I carry. Warming to the thought, her fantasy bloomed. I want a man to look at me with the love in his eyes that Papa showed Prudence. He should be kind, and gentle, and caring. She ticked the list off on her fingers. And I would not find it amiss if he had a pleasant face. And babies. She sighed. He would give me lots and lots of babies.

  A smile touched her lips as she hugged the thought to herself. The face of George Porter surged into her dream and she jerked herself back to reality. You have no care for me, George Porter, she thought with sudden clarity, and I’ll not betray my brother. She thought of the hurt she witnessed on Samuel’s face each time he looked at her. You were wrong, Prudence, to place me equal to Samuel. I know in your heart you meant well, but your death has bequeathed your only son with bitterness. The wind howled, and Sarah frowned. In the night’s stillness she heard horses. Shaking her head, she chided her imagination that would place a body out at midnight. I could gift Samuel with the land, she thought suddenly. Then George Porter would no longer desire me and Samuel would smile again. But even as she whispered the words to the ceiling, she knew her prospects of marriage would dwindle to naught if she carried no dowry. ‘Tis not right to think of myself first, she decided. The land belongs to Samuel and I shall learn to be content.

  Reluctantly, she sat up and rubbed her hands over her eyes. He body ached for sleep but her mind raced on. Perhaps if she read some verses . . . But she dismissed the notion knowing full well it was only a ruse to light the taper. And once lit, she would never be able to extinguish it this night.

  Taking a deep breath to strengthen her resolve, Sarah flopped back against her pillows and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

  “I am sleepy,” she chanted softly. “My eyes are closed and I will sleep.” But over and over she thought of the distressing events of the afternoon as Ann Tate’s disagreeable words echoed in her mind. She had not meant to speak ill of Dr. Gribbs. He was a kindly old man and she often enjoyed conversing with him. But why, she wondered, did he spout such nonsense as witchcraft? He knew his book did not contain all the secrets. Why, her mother’s special salve and herb teas weren’t in that volume and he knew it. Had he forgotten all the hours he had spent with Prudence discussing the merits of this potion or that? It simply made no sense.

  She rolled over on her side and pulled the covers higher about her. And dear Rebecca, Sarah shivered. If she was cold when safe within her bed, how did Rebecca fare in Salem jail? I shall go and see for myself tomorrow, she vowed, mentally listing what blankets and other essentials she might spare. Sarah shifted her pillow. Those children needed a few well chosen words, she thought, and then they’d stop that nonsense soon enough. She turned onto her back and straightened the covers. I shall speak to their parents myself.Mayhap they are too distressed to know what to do.Mayhap . . .

  Sarah’s heart froze in her chest and, despite her fear, she jerked upright. The creak stopped as suddenly as it had started, but it was one she knew well. It sounded every time she opened the front door. Her hands, trembling with terror, reached for the candle and flint. But when her fingers touched the waxed taper, her haste knocked it to the floor.

  Sarah scrambled out of the bed as if it were aflame and frantically felt along the frozen boards for the slender taper. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears that thinking became impossible. She found the candle under the bed and fought back the desire to simply crawl under and hide there until morning came.

  The beating of her heart slowed only a fraction as the candle sprang to life. The warm light touched the room, but left too many shadowy corners for comfort.

  Her feet felt like blocks of ice as she inched her way to the open doorway of her room. “Is anyone there?” Her voice trembled, and hearing the question aloud only added to her terror. Cautiously, she inched down the hallway and stepped into the main room. The outside door was shut and the coals in the fire still glowed with warmth. Feeling utterly foolish, Sarah took a deep breath and relaxed. I am a goose, she thought, giddy with relief. At ten and nine I should not be afraid of the dark. But as she stepped further into the room, a shadow from the corner moved toward her.

  Sarah’s cry of terror was short-lived. She was caught from behind as a sack was roughly pulled over her head and down her shoulders. She could feel two sets of hands as her arms were pressed to her body and tied. She lunged, trying to escape her nightmare but only succeeded in falling to the floor. Her head struck hard and pain filled her being. Her ankles were bound; then she was pulled to her feet again and propped against the table.

  Refusing to admit defeat, Sarah sucked in her breath and began to scream. There was a moment of searing pain along her jaw, the, mercifully, darkness consumed her.