by Kari Edgren
George took off his hat and scratched his head thoughtfully. His wavy copper hair was beginning to thin, but he looked about the same as he had since my childhood. Standing a hand shorter than Henry, he was still taller than most other men, and despite a thickening midsection, he looked plenty capable of holding his own in a fight. “Nathan, I’ve already heard the particulars of your vision,” he said. “Do you have any evidence or witnesses to back up these charges against Selah?”
Nathan opened his eyes and stared at me. “By the spirit you shall know the truth.”
“I understand that,” George said. “But have you actually seen Selah do any of the things from your vision? Did you see her command the weather?”
“By the spirit her guilt is known.”
“Well, by me she’s going to be set free unless you can come up with something more tangible,” George said impatiently.
In silence, Nathan continued to stare at me.
“Fine, we’ll go about this another way,” George said. “Selah, can you command the weather?”
“No.”
“Have you had any hand in causing the rain this summer?”
“No.”
“Did you kill Mark Flanders’s heifer?”
“It died of acorn poisoning,” William said before I could answer.
“I know that,” George snapped. “But I’ve got to ask. Selah, did you kill Mark Flanders’s heifer?”
“No,” I said.
“Do you have any intention of killing children?”
I almost laughed from the absurdity of the question. Instead, I lifted my chin and said, “I have no intention of killing anyone.”
Gideon passed his quill quickly over the parchment, trying to keep up.
“Did you give your soul to the Devil?”
“No!”
“What of this mark then?”
“I was burned by a piece of coal when a bed warmer accidentally fell open. It happened some years ago at the Goodwins’ house. Nora saw me get burned and her mother treated the wound. William and his father were also there and had to put out the fire that started in the mattress. They can all testify exactly how and when it happened.”
“Is this true?” George asked, turning to look at the witnesses.
“Yes,” both Nora and William answered at once.
“How did Nathan know about this scar?” George asked no one in particular.
“I watched the Devil make it,” Nathan said, holding doggedly onto his story. “Selah purposefully caused the bed warmer to fall open in order to conceal her guilt.”
“That’s a lie!” I glared back at him, meeting the hatred in his eyes ounce for ounce. “One of my lady servants must have told him. Someone at Brighmor has been spreading my personal affairs all over Hopewell this summer. I can only guess it’s the same person.”
George took a few more paces and then looked over at the witnesses again. “Henry, you’ve been married to Selah just over a month now. What do you think of this scar?”
Fortunately, Henry was a good liar. “It is rather nondescript. About the size of a halfpenny, and high up on the left side.”
“Hmm,” George said. “Does it look like something that was made by the Devil?”
Now it was Henry’s turn to laugh. “It looks like a small scar caused by a piece of hot coal.”
“And have you observed any behavior that might lead you to believe your wife is a witch?”
“No,” Henry said smoothly, undaunted by the lie. “Selah’s a good woman. She’s a gifted healer and does what she can to help those in need.”
Nathan huffed from his end of the room. “Have you ever wondered where she gets this power to heal? You call her gifted, I call her unnatural.”
Henry was to his feet and across the room before anyone could stop him. “You have insulted my wife one too many times tonight,” he said, grabbing Nathan by the throat and pulling him to his feet, the dagger back out in his other hand. “Hold your tongue or I’ll cut it out.”
Nathan kicked out at first, but ceased all resistance when he saw the blade.
Gideon dropped his quill. “You will not spill blood in the meetinghouse!” he cried.
“Shall we take our dispute outside?” Henry growled. “It’s high time you learned some manners.”
“Release him,” the constable said, though with a surprising lack of urgency. “It will only make matters worse for Selah if Nathan is harmed.”
“I will let him go once he promises to stop insulting my wife,” Henry countered. “He’s said enough tonight to be charged with slander.”
George sighed and scratched his head again. “Nathan, you have not produced one scrap of evidence other than this so-called vision. If I were expected to arrest folks based on dreams alone, the jail would be full every morning. Unless you have something more to offer, then Selah will be free to go. And be warned, I’ll have to act on Henry’s request to have you arrested if you persist on slandering his wife. Do you understand?”
Nathan glowered darkly, but nodded his head. With this reassurance, Henry released his grip.
I started to relax, pleased with how well the inquiry was going. I turned back to George for the next question when hurried steps sounded from the front porch. The door flew open and Matthew Appleton burst into the room.
“Begging your pardon, George, but I need Selah.”
“I’m not done questioning her yet,” George said.
Only one thing would have put Matthew in such a panic. “How is Susanna?” I asked.
“Not so good. The pains have started.”
“It’s too soon,” I said, coming to my feet. “I have to go to her.”
“This is an official investigation,” George sputtered. “Can’t you summon another midwife?”
Matthew shook his head. “Susanna will have no one but Selah.”
“Nonsense!” Edgar said. “The way folks are stirred up, Selah should stay well away from the Appletons’ tonight. Let another woman go instead.”
The sound of soft laughter came from the far end of the room. Glancing over, I saw Nathan’s eyes burning with a manic excitement. In front of the entire town, he had already linked me with killing the Appletons’ baby. It was a daring bet, but from Susanna’s history of stillbirths, he knew the chances were high that this child would also die. Now that the seeds of my guilt were sown it didn’t really matter who attended the birth. If this baby died, I would be tried for murder. If it lived, I would be redeemed.
“Susanna needs me. I’ll not stay here and hide from my obligations.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Edgar persisted. “I won’t allow it.”
Anne placed a hand on Edgar’s shoulder. “Selah’s a grown woman. She can decide for herself.”
I looked pleadingly at George. “Please let me go. I’m the only chance this baby has.”
“Oh, very well,” he said. “This inquiry is closed for lack of material evidence. You are free to go. Ben and William, please escort Selah to the Appletons’. I don’t want any more trouble from the crowd tonight.” He didn’t have to say anything to Henry. He was at my side before I even got to the door.
With three armed escorts, I rushed from the meetinghouse, giving no time for my victory. Soon as we came down the steps, people pushed forward, eager to know my fate. It was full dark by now, and several torches burned throughout the crowd. The faces I could see looked severe, but at least no one called for me to be hanged.
Ben was the first to speak. “The constable has cleared Selah of all charges. Now move aside. We have serious business to attend to.”
The crowd stood its ground, not yet satisfied. “Please, let us pass,” Matthew urged. “Susanna needs a midwife and has asked for Selah.”
“What if she kills t
he baby?” someone called out beyond the light of the torches.
“Did you not hear Ben?” Matthew asked, his agitation increasing from the delay. “Selah was falsely accused. There is no witch. Now, I’ve told you my wife’s in danger and needs a midwife. If you don’t let us pass, whatever happens will be on your heads.”
This was more responsibility than most people wanted to shoulder. Grudgingly, they began to slowly move away. We stepped into the road, Henry alert at my side with the dagger firmly in his hand.
Matthew had to slow his gait not to lose me in the dark. “I’m sorry about tonight,” he said. “It was disgraceful what Nathan tried to do.”
I sighed in relief. “Thank you, Matthew. I just wish more people thought the same way.”
“Nathan has a talent for riling folks up. Give them the night to calm down and think things over. Come morning, I’m sure you’ll have more supporters.”
His sentiments made me smile. “And by then you’ll be a father. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Susanna couldn’t believe it when I returned from the meeting and told her it was you that Nathan had accused. Seeing how upset she was, I should have just left it at that, but I made the mistake of saying how some people had called for a hanging. She nearly fainted from the shock. Soon as her senses came back, she worked herself into a temper, saying how Nathan was having his revenge for you not marrying him. I’d never seen her so mad before, and tried to get her to calm down. She wouldn’t listen and then the pains started. Once I realized what was happening, I ran back to get you.”
We arrived at the house as Matthew finished his story. He reached for the door handle, but made no movement to open the latch. “I know Susanna and I haven’t had much luck bringing babies into the world, and it doesn’t look good with this one trying to come a month early. For the most part, I’ve accepted the Lord’s will, but please, Selah, I can’t lose Susanna. She’s all I’ve got in this world worth keeping.”
I placed my hand on his arm. “Susanna is going to be just fine,” I reassured him. “And I’ll do everything I can for the baby.”
Matthew gave me a thin smile and opened the door. We didn’t have to go far to find Susanna. She was in the front room, leaning against a table by the window. By the sound of her breathing, labor had undoubtedly started.
“Thank you for coming,” she said when the pain had passed. “Matthew told me you’ve had a busy evening.” Despite the seriousness of her situation, she was still the same Susanna—kind to a fault and ready to put my problems above her own.
“What are you doing out here?” I walked over to her and placed my hand on her back. Very carefully I allowed just enough power to trickle from my fingers to take a quick look inside. The baby’s heartbeat lacked proper strength, but she was alive, and I was going to make sure she stayed that way.
“I’ve been waiting at the window, watching for you.” She sounded in decent spirits, though I could feel her fear coursing back into me.
I looked a bit further to see how far her cervix had opened. Labor was traumatic enough on healthy babies. This little girl needed to come out quickly, before the stress became too much for her heart to bear. “How long in between the pains?” I asked.
“About five minutes.”
I glanced around at the room full of men, most of them still armed. “Let’s go into your bedroom.”
She nodded and leaned onto my arm for support. I got her situated in a rocking chair beside the bed before going back out to speak with Matthew. “The baby is coming tonight. I’ll need lots of towels and plenty of hot water.” I turned to Ben. “Can you fetch my leather case from the apothecary?”
He nodded and went to the door.
“William, I’m safe now if you want to go home.”
“I should stay,” he said stubbornly, still holding onto the sword and pistol as though danger lurked in every corner, just waiting to grab me.
“It would be of greater service,” Henry said, “for you and Nora to start telling people how Selah got that scar. I don’t want anyone going to bed tonight thinking it was made by the Devil.”
William looked unsure for a moment. “Very well,” he finally said. “I’ll go fetch Nora from the meetinghouse. Between the two of us, we should be able to get the truth spread around by bedtime.” He started for the door.
“You might want to leave the weapons here,” I suggested. “People are probably already wondering why a good Quaker man has agreed to take up arms—even if it was for a really good cause.” Like saving my life. Hopefully there would be no talk of having him disowned for the infraction.
Reluctantly, William left the sword and pistol in Henry’s keeping, and then set off for the meetinghouse to find his sister.
A soft groan came from the bedroom. Matthew looked at me pleadingly, the color draining from his face. “She’s going to be fine,” I said, taking his arm. “Just get me those towels and water.” Unable to move, he stood there staring at me.
Henry came up and put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go find the servant.” He gently turned Matthew toward the kitchen. Coming back to his senses, Matthew nodded, and went with Henry.
With the men gone, I went back into the bedroom to check on Susanna. She was breathing hard again, a piece of thickly knotted rope clamped tightly in her hands as she worked through the pain. I placed my hand on her stomach to hear the baby’s heart again. The beat had weakened noticeably, but the cervix remained tight. At this rate labor was going to take hours, and by then the baby would surely be dead.
“Susanna, when this pain has passed, I need you to come over and lie down.”
She nodded, her teeth clenched against the pain.
“They’re getting harder,” she panted. I helped her onto the bed and waited for the next pain to hit. As her abdomen tightened to a ball, I released a small wave of warmth into her body to help expand the cervix. I had to go slowly, a fraction of an inch at a time, so not to cause undue trauma to Susanna’s body. With a weak baby to contend with, I couldn’t risk putting the mother into shock.
Susanna grunted as each contraction forced her body further open. I took a long wooden needle from my case Ben had fetched from Brighmor, and very carefully inserted it into the birth canal to break the water sack. Fluid rushed out, soaking the towels on the bed.
“It’s time to start pushing,” I said. “At this next contraction, I want you to grab your knees and bear down for all you’re worth. The sooner this baby comes out the better.”
Susanna met my eyes with a look of sheer determination. I kept my hand on her stomach, waiting for the muscles to begin tightening again. She cried out from the pain, but grabbed her knees and pushed.
“That’s right,” I said, “just like that.” More warmth flowed from my hand and I guided the baby down into the birth canal. Fortunately, she wasn’t very big, weighing about a third of a stone. The contraction ebbed, and Susanna lay back on the bed panting, her red face dripping with sweat.
“A few more like that and this baby will be out,” I reassured her.
Susanna tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace from the next pain. Grabbing her knees, she pushed again, and with my help the baby cleared the tailbone. “The head has crowned,” I said, at the sight of the thick black hair. “One more contraction should clear it. Then another for the body and you’ll be done.”
As the next contraction mounted, the baby’s heartbeat suddenly dropped. Oh, no you don’t! I thought desperately. Power flowed into Susanna’s belly as I focused on keeping that little heart beating. “Push, Susanna! This baby needs to come out now!”
Responding to the tension in my voice, Susanna bore down with newfound strength, pushing the head free. I surrounded the tiny heart with fire to keep it beating. Another pain started and Susanna pushed again, crying out from the effort.
The baby slipped free from the birth canal onto the bed. Healthy infants have a strong reddish complexion at birth. This little girl was pale, verging on ashen. She gave a weak cry as she struggled to fill her lungs for the first time. Leaving one hand on Susanna’s belly, I placed the other right on the infant’s chest. Then, closing my eyes, I concentrated on her heart. Nothing else was going to improve until this problem was fixed.
I had looked at enough hearts over the years to immediately see the defect in the left pumping chamber. It was small and underdeveloped compared to the others. I focused on this specific area, allowing a great surge of warmth to pour from my hand into her body. The baby jolted from the energy, and started crying with more force.
“It’s a girl,” I said, my voice deceptively calm. “With dark hair just like her mother.” More energy flowed into the baby as I worked to develop the chamber to its proper size.
Finished with the birthing, Susanna had collapsed back on the bed, exhausted. “Will she live?” she asked, her voice raspy from crying out during the pains.
The baby’s heart responded, its beat strengthening and increasing in speed. Her color also improved from the air now moving through her body. “Oh, she’s going to live,” I laughed. “And by her first birthday she’ll be causing more trouble than you can imagine.”
Susanna quietly wept with joy. After so many years and losses, she was finally a mother.
It took several long minutes for the baby’s heart to stabilize and begin beating well on its own. Her cries strengthened, becoming lusty as she filled her lungs to capacity. Taking a pair of scissors from my case, I cut the cord and tied it off.
“What are you going to name her?” I asked.
“Megan after Matthew’s mother. And Elizabeth for you and your mother. My daughter’s life is a testament of truth to anyone who dares to doubt you.”
Tears temporarily blurred my vision. “Thank you, Susanna,” I said, brushing my eyes with my sleeve.
“You’re the one who needs thanking. This girl is alive because of you, and I’ll make sure everyone in Hopewell knows it.”