by Em Pitts
"You were supposed to be hidden away when everyone arrived." He shrugged with his arms still crossed. I don't buy that. It was still too much of a risk I could have ruined what they were doing. I glared back daring him to give me honesty.
"I trust you." Nick rasped out. "You're different." He still didn't look at me.
"We trust you." Isaake clarified. "You see the problems that everyone else is blind too. You get frustrated with the injustices and aren't afraid to speak out on them."
"Unless I feel like I'm going to be hanged." I pointed out thinking about the times I had to bite my tongue.
"You fought Jayne for the children." Raynor gave my leg a gentle squeeze. "You care."
I looked back at Ollie for his truth. Why did he let me go? "I can't make up their mind for them." He shrugged. "If they want to fuck up, then it's on these fools." He turned around and headed down the hall. Nick ran his hand through his hair watching Ollie's retreat.
"Don't listen to him, Tess. If he didn't want you there tonight, he would have fought to not let you go. He trusts you too." Isaake sighed out with a headshake.
"He's got straw stuck up his ass." Raynor huffed out.
"That's the same thing I said! Well, I said a stick stuck up there." I laughed at the ridiculousness and heard the strained chuckles from the others.
Raynor patted my leg. "I've got to go. We need to look innocent in these situations. I'm going to switch nightwatch duty with Hector and pretend to find out about everything. Stay here tonight. There's room for you." He rocked up off the couch and nodded to Nick and Isaake. And then there were three.
I looked back and forth between the two who were desperate I stay and decided I was done. Tonight was long enough and I needed sleep. Everything else can wait. "Where am I sleeping?" I hopped up to head to bed. The rest can come tomorrow.
20
The sun was shining through the window and stabbing my eyes in pain. I groaned turning over. Why was the sun against me today? My eyes peeked slowly open as I woke up. Immediately I shot upright at the unfamiliar sight of the room. It took a second for my heart to stop racing as I realized I was at Raynor's where I stayed last night. Fuck!
I jumped out of bed and raced down the hall to get to the living room. I need to be at Granny's to get ready for the day. I can't forget how she reacted the last time I stayed out for the night. I would be racing there looking disheveled too. "Fuck!" I cried out as I rounded the corner to the living room and stubbed my toe on something. Who the hell puts a dresser beside a corner? That's asking for trouble. I glared at the offending item while hopping on my uninjured foot.
"Tess?" Nick's raspy voice sounded amused from behind me. I turned to see Ollie on the couch arm and Nick slouched down with a cup in his hands. I waved them off.
"No time. Bathroom." I explained.
I needed to go and then I needed to make myself presentable and get to Granny's. I didn't have a clue what else I was supposed to do today. Last night sent me on a loop and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to act normal or not now.
Ollie's eyes widened as Nick looked confused. I had another déjà vu moment as he stood up to show me the way. I waved him off with a muffled "I got it" and shot to the bathroom I had seen the other night. Raynor had an outhouse like Ollie, thank goodness. Never thought I would be happy about using one.
I took care of business and smoothed myself as best I could. I wasn't getting any better than this. Luckily, I'm pretty sure I'm one of the most hygienic people here so it won't be noted that I didn't bathe and change last night. I needed to go back inside and grab the bonnet before I left though.
Nick and Ollie were still in the living room when I made my way back. "Where's Isaake and Raynor?"
"Asleep. Raynor came to get him last night to help search for Eliza." Ollie gave me a guarded look like he was expecting me to go off on him again. "They just got back not too long ago and went straight to bed."
"Okay, so no fast tunnel, huh?" I joked trying not to think about Eliza. I had to trust that she was being taken care of. I would see the truth of that soon. "I've got to go. I should have been helping Margrete with the trial setup already. There's no telling what kind of shit Granny is going to give me about staying out all night either. It's like I'm a teenager again." I shook my head mostly talking to myself as I hurriedly grabbed the bonnet and made my way to the door.
I heard Ollie grumbling behind me as Nick called out for me to wait up. "What's up?" I cocked my eyebrow while thinking about if I should just go straight to Margrete's and pretend I snuck out early. That would fix the Granny problem.
"Walking you back." He gestured me to go ahead of him.
"You don't have to walk me back every time you know. I'm a big girl. It's bright outside too and I can easily find my way on my own." I rolled my eyes. I wasn't upset, I just wanted to make sure he knew he didn't have to walk me and feel like a babysitter.
"Well, it's either I spend time speaking to a beautiful girl who actually listens, or I keep annoying Ollie for the morning and possibly get punched." He spoke cheerfully.
"So, it was a hard choice then." I teased.
"It really was. I almost chose neither to be fair. Then I thought, why not both? Spend time with the beautiful Tess and head back to annoy Ollie." He sighed blissfully. "My life is complete." I burst out laughing at his dramatics. Last night felt more like a dream when we were acting normal like this.
"What are you two doing today?" I was curious what the guys got up to during the day. I never saw them working, but I knew they had to be with the way everyone in the village worked. Even if Ollie cheated somehow like Isaake alluded to.
Well, almost everyone. I could think of a few men who would just stand around speaking to each other because they believed themselves above the rest of us.
"Clock hunting." He rubbed his hands together with a wicked smile and playful glint in his eyes. "I'm going to show off by stopping by a few homes to make sure the wives have everything they need while the men are busy preparing for the trials." He winked.
My mouth dropped open in shock. Disgust filtered through me at what he was implying, I didn't think before snapping out at him. "You're using my clock problem to get laid? With all the married women?" I screeched.
His mouth dropped in response and he looked shocked. I started stomping away, realizing that I had stopped to yell at Nick. I don’t have time to yell at him anyway.
"That's not what I meant!" He finally got out as he raced to catch up with me.
"So, it's not exactly how you made it sound?" I snorted in disbelief.
"Heavens, no!" He vehemently denied. "I thought you understood my playful side. I don't actually sleep with women; I joke about it to rub it in everyone's face." He stumbled over his words.
Now I was confused again. He said the other day he wasn't gay. "You're not gay?" I asked to clarify.
"If I'm not sleeping with women, then that means I'm gay?" He scoffed. "People in your time are very different."
"No." I scrubbed a hand down my face. I seemed to be doing that more, the longer time I spent with Ollie. "You just don't make any sense. You are flirty, which is different than anyone here actually, and it seems to be implied more often."
"No, I wouldn't do that to someone. Sex outside of wedlock is seen as a major sin. Two years ago, there was a public lashing on a man for doing so and the woman was shamed in front of the entire village. She had to move for fear of not finding a suitable husband." He had sobered up from the conversation and was staring down at the dirt as he walked.
"Then why would you act like you are constantly doing this 'heinous sin'? Wouldn't you be publicly whipped for something like that?"
"I toe the line to piss them off." He shrugged his shoulders. "I act like I'm doing things I shouldn't, but I can't ever get caught because I'm not. Furthermore, they wouldn't just accuse me because of my power. So, I'm just pissing them off in the only way I can right now." He looked up at me then with a small smile.
>
"That and kidnapping their children." I deadpanned. I was wrong to think of the guys last night as the bad guys. They were clearly the seventeenth century version of vigilantes. I bet these men would have tossed the tea in the harbor and planned the whole thing too.
He laughed cheering up at my statement. "Yes, there's that too." He seemed thoughtful for a minute. "Sorry about springing that on you as we did. We really are helping them though."
"I know." He looked shocked at my statement.
"You do?"
"Yes, I believe you. I trust you." I looked him in the eyes, so he knew I was telling the truth. God help me, I trusted these four guys. I hoped that didn't backfire on me. He gave me a blinding smile.
It was a while later before we reached our destination that a thought occurred to me. I held up my hand to stop Nick mid-speech as he was telling me about the incident where Nick burned half his beard off. It was a retelling because the first time he was explaining poorly. The thought of Ollie walking around with half a beard because he was too stubborn to shave it, gave me another twinge through my aching sides from all the laughter.
"Hold up. Time out for a second. Earlier you said, you don't actually sleep with women." He looked at me confused where I was going with this but nodded for me to continue. "You're a virgin?" I asked in disbelief.
He blushed and raked his fingers through his hair. "Well, yes. People tend to not have sex until marriage." He looked uncomfortable and tried to change the subject.
"Nope. Not getting away that easy." I pulled his arm to stop him. "You guys told me there were brothels. That means people have sex outside of wedlock." I put my hands on my hips. "You mean to tell me you're what twenty-five?" I questioned, realizing I didn't know their ages. "How old are each of you?"
"Twenty-two." He sighed out. "Raynor is the oldest at twenty-five, Ollie is twenty-four, and Isaake is my age." I nodded my head making a mental note of remembering ages.
"Twenty-two-years-old and you haven't gone to a brothel, if nothing else."
"Keep your voice down, we are getting close." He hissed out. I looked up to see that the time had passed quickly, and the square was visible with people milling about. I stopped walking to finish this conversation. Nick took my cue and stopped with me. "Working ladies are in larger cities. Ones where religion isn't so heavily enforced among everyone." He sounded strangled as he tried to explain it to me. "No, I haven't gone to go do that."
"If they were closer would you have?" I was curious now. A twenty-two-year-old virgin wasn't something I was experienced with.
"No." He answered quickly. I grinned feeling like teasing him.
"Are you sure?" I practically purred. He ran his hands through his hair and his blush was down his neck now.
"I don't know." He choked out. "Can we stop talking about this?" He was cute flustered.
Nick was always the confident, silly, and flirty man. This? This felt like something not everyone got to see. It felt like something only I saw, and I liked it. I stepped closer to him. Close enough to easily touch him.
"I could show you," I whispered the words and watched his eyes widen as he realized what I meant before he quickly turned away and started walking towards Ollie's. "What, you can dish it but not take it?" I laughed out. He waved goodbye to me without saying anything. He looked back and jumped when he saw me watching before picking up his pace. Now, that was cute.
Shit. I sobered up quickly when I realized what I was doing. I was flirting with Nick. I had just kissed Ollie the night before and I was engaged to their friend. It was fake but real enough in this time. Why is this turning complicated? I shook my head and made my way to the tavern. Maybe I deserved to have Granny whack some sense into me this morning.
One more day until the trials. The Village was crowded with laughter and the tavern was booming with life already. Granny was bustling around the kitchen with Rose and Willoughby.
Turns out, Willoughby helps every year. It still feels a bit like she is replacing me even though I know I only worked with Granny for four days. Come to think of it, I've been with Margrete for almost that amount of time as well.
I still don't feel as comfortable with Margrete as I do with Granny. Granny was a kindred soul. She was tough and stubborn even in the wake of it being dangerous because of her being a woman.
If I had a grandmother, I would want it to be her. Hell, if I could have chosen my mother, I would have chosen her. Not that I have much experience in that department, but Granny seems like the perfect maternal person.
She is the kind of person that is tough to everyone and only gives her softness to those close to her. Those people get a glimpse of the real Granny. I'm glad I get to see that side of her.
I shake my head out of my musings as I watch the activity and make my way to the kitchen. "Bridget, can I speak with you?" Her head snapped up and her face quickly went blank. She nodded and wiped her hands on her apron. Granny walked past me to the back door and went outside.
"Hey, I need—" I started but was quickly cut off by an angry Bridget.
"Where were you?" She demanded shocking me into silence. The silence wasn't a good enough answer for Bridget though. "Answer me, girl!" She grabbed my wrist shaking me. I yanked my arm out of her hold.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed.
"Last night a child was taken. Every home was checked. Everywhere Tessa! You weren't in your bed." She started pacing in frustration. "I tried to lie and say that you were using the jakes and shy about it. They checked again later. Raynor tried to head them off saying he just saw you checking on someone in their room." She shook her head and yanked at her bonnet throwing the thing on the ground. "I checked and you weren't there. I waited all night trying to find out if you were okay. The only thing keeping me sane was that Raynor lied for you." Her voice croaked and I realized what was happening. She was scared. For me?
I watched her shoulders bobbing and quickly walked to envelope her in a hug. She was heaving for breath. For me. She cared.
Tears pricked my eyes and I didn't bother holding them back. I was shocked by her ability to care for me in such a short amount of time. My mother had me for seventeen years and she couldn't find the time to care for me. This stranger in the past took less than two weeks to achieve the task.
"You cannot..." She croaked out before clearing her throat. She stepped away and wiped the tears from her face that I didn't realize had fallen. "You can't disappear like that. Not even to see Isaake. It is bad when they find you sinning, but to be missing when I child cannot be found? They will blame you, Tessa. You have nothing to fall back on. No family wealth or power. They will blame you and the people will see their revenge in blood and pain."
I nodded my head numbly and wrapped my arms around my waist. The thought of being someone's scapegoat? That shook me.
If I die by my own actions, that's hard enough to consider. But dying for another person's actions, just because I am easy to blame and they need revenge? It felt like I truly wasn't safe at that moment. I wanted the guys and their powers more than ever right then. I wanted the reassurance that they would keep me safe. Would they?
Hands rubbing my arms had me looking up into kind green eyes. Granny smiled at me even though she still looked shaken up. "I'm sorry," I whispered hating that I made her worry and loving that she worried all the same. I was a ball of conflicting emotions.
Granny pulled me into another hug hushing me as she tried to soothe the worry away. It was the best hug I had ever gotten. Safe. It felt safe, warm, and like home. She extended her arms out as she stepped away and kept her hands on my arm.
"What did you need to ask me?" I choked out a laugh.
For some reason, it didn't seem that important. No, it was important, I corrected myself. It was for Eliza. I straightened myself up and tried to shake out of the funk I was in.
"I need you to help me learn to make a doll." I got a raised brow in response. Quickly trying to come up with a reason, I realized
I already had a valid excuse. "I heard about Eliza before now and she had a doll she played with at the chandler’s shop. I wanted to do something for her while the others were searching." Her eyes warmed at my explanation. She nodded her head.
"Would you like to work on it tonight?" She asked. I panicked thinking about when I was supposed to go to the tribe. I knew it was after the trials, but I didn't know how much time I actually had to make it. I didn't think to ask the guys.
"Actually, can we go ahead and work on it? I would feel better if I could finish it. My mind would just think about it all day otherwise and I might make mistakes." She took a moment debating and seeing the truth in my words before responding.
"Alright. I need to see if I can get Ellyne to come to help the others here. We need to send word to Margrete as well. Let me see if I can send Willoughby to take care of both and you can help while we wait on her."
I felt an uncomfortable feeling at the thought of Willoughby going to do the tasks. She was spreading lies to her family about me. I wasn't sure she would be truthful in her errands. Still, I nodded uneasily, and Granny didn't notice.
We made our way to the front where Willoughby was picking up the slack from Bridget's husband. I let out a gust of air when I saw Hector and a man who looked familiar. I recognized him from the meetinghouse when we were cleaning and placing candles yesterday. I didn't want to approach Hector with that man there, but I really didn't want Willoughby possibly sabotaging me either. The lesser of two evils was the unknown man being around while I spoke to Hector.
I stopped Granny to get her attention and pointed out Hector, so she knew I was going to speak with him instead. Her eyes widened in understanding before shooing me off.
"Hector." I greeted with a smile. He turned giving me his attention.
"Ms. Woods." His greeting was much more subdued with a polite head nod. I forgot that I had upset his wife and his other wife had lied about me. This was going to go one of two ways.
"Would Ellyne be able to come by and help out for a few hours this morning?" He looked confused and searched out Willoughby to find her still working behind the bar.