The Prodigal Son

by Belfrage, Anna

  Ian mumbled something unintelligible in reply.

  Alex smiled down at the back of his head and went on with what she was doing. They sank into a companionable silence, broken every now and then by the loud calling of a bird or the rustling of something moving through the forest that surrounded them.

  “There.” Alex sank back on her heels and returned her comb to its keeping place. “You’re so like him,” she said, studying her teenaged stepson, who had now gotten to his feet. A younger version of her Matthew, tall and well-built with the same hazel eyes, the same dark hair that went chestnut under the summer sun and the same generous mouth.

  “Is that good or bad?” Ian teased, helping her to stand.

  “Good, obviously.” She bent to pick up her basket. A flurry of movement made her rear back as something mid-size and grey rushed by her.

  “A wolf?” she asked tremulously.

  Ian laughed, shaking his head. “Raccoon. Curious as to what’s in yon basket.”

  “Nettle shoots,” Alex said, “will make us all a very nice soup.” She was very happy with her find, thinking that she’d poach some eggs to go with it. Ian eyed the contents with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

  “Eat nettles? Won’t it blister our mouths?”

  “Of course it will. It will make all of you shut up for days and days,” Alex said, elbowing him hard. “Idiot,” she added, making him laugh.

  “What happened to your promise to fix the hen coop?” Alex said, accepting Ian’s hand when they clambered over a mossy trunk.

  “I’ll do it now,” he said, his cheeks staining a suspicious red. Alex studied him narrowly; grasses and leaves all over his clothes, all that stuff he’d had in his hair… She smiled and hefted her basket higher onto her arm. Apparently young master Graham was discovering the pleasures of the opposite sex. She wondered if it was Jenny he’d met up in the woods – she sincerely hoped it was Jenny Leslie, given that Matthew and the girl’s father were very much in agreement regarding the desirability of such a match.

  Ian turned towards the house, Alex dithered; she had to find the girls.

  “Are you coming?” he asked.

  “Soon, I… well, I need some more nettles.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Ian held out his hand for the basket.

  “I’ll be fine on my own,” Alex said.

  He shook his head. “I’ll come, aye?” Great; absolutely marvellous. Those protective genes so prominent in his father had made it down to the next generation unscathed. From the way Ian’s mouth set into a line, she knew there was no point in arguing, and anyway, what did it matter if he saw the girls – he’d never tell.

  “Da said you’ll be staying with the Leslies when we ride down to Providence,” Ian said.

  Alex made a face. She was fond of both Thomas and Peter Leslie – although she should probably revise her opinion of Peter given what those girls had told her – but Mary Leslie had the intellect of a dormouse and as to Elizabeth…

  “Aye,” Ian said, following the train of her thoughts. “She is a bit much at times.”

  “Very much so,” Alex agreed, thinking that Elizabeth Leslie must be an awful cross to carry for a man as mild-tempered as Peter.

  A high wail had Alex almost jumping out of her skin.

  “What was that?” She stooped to pick up the nettles she’d scattered all over the ground.

  “I don’t know,” Ian frowned.

  Yet another shriek, and now there was no doubt – this was a human voice, raised in fear and pain. The girls! Oh my God, and now they were being eaten alive by a bear, or were surrounded by wolves, or… Alex flew down the slope, making for the terrified sounds. Another voice; low, male. Someone laughed, harness jangled and Alex faltered. Could it be one of the Leslie brothers?

  “No, please! No…” The sound was cut short.

  Ian’s hand closed on Alex’ arm, bringing her to a halt. They crouched behind a screen of bushes, silent spectators to what was happening in the small clearing. Three men, unrecognisable in broad brimmed hats, and then there were the two girls, one of them fighting like a hellcat, while the other was gagged and hogtied, squirming like a caterpillar where she’d been thrown across a horse. To the side stood yet another man, eyes trained on the surrounding woods and musket held at the ready. Alex did a double take; she knew this man from somewhere. Thinning hair, a long narrow face with a rather prominent mouth, and dark eyes sunk into deep hollows. Yes; she had definitely seen him before, but when? Where?

  “We must do something,” she hissed, “those poor girls!” She made as if to stand but was arrested by Ian’s hold on her hand.

  “Nay,” he whispered, “there’s nothing we can do – not the two of us against them.”

  However much she hated admitting it, Ian was right.

  In the clearing the screaming girl was slapped – repeatedly. The last slap was so hard her head snapped back. The man who hit her laughed, watching as his companions wrenched her hands behind her back and tied them, before sauntering over to the sentry, saying something in a low voice. He took off his hat, releasing black hair to fall like overlong bangs over one side of his face. A handsome man, his face a collection of sharp planes and angles, complemented by a square chin and a chiselled mouth. A cruel face, Alex decided – or maybe that had more to do with what she’d just witnessed him do to the poor girl. His eyes wandered over the closest bushes and Alex shrank together, thinking she had never before seen eyes so disconcerting. Irises so light so as to look almost white, the pupils like black, miniature well shafts. For some reason Alex knotted her hands together and held her breath – anything to make sure he wouldn’t discover her.

  The man took a step or two to the side, unlaced himself and pissed, talking with his companions over his shoulder. It was evident he was the leader, the sentry nodding at whatever it was he was saying. Alex caught the word Virginia a couple of times and focused her attention on the sentry. Why did he seem so familiar, all the way from his obsequious grin to how he stood, slightly pigeon-toed? There was a flurry of movement, the men sat up, and then they were gone, horses whipped into a canter as they set off towards the south.

  Chapter 1

  The Matthew and Alex story continues inA Newfound Land

  The household was still asleep when Alex Graham snuck out of bed. Matthew grumbled, half opened an eye, and subsided back into sleep. On tiptoe, Alex traversed the room, stepping over one sleeping shape after the other. No more, she sang inside, throwing a look at the furthest wall and the as yet boarded up doorways. Matthew had promised he’d finish the extension today, and tonight they’d sleep in their new bedroom, an oasis of privacy after years living as cramped as salted herrings in a barrel.

  Alex stuck her feet into her clogs and stepped outside. The sun was as yet no more than a promise on the eastern rim, the stands of grasses to her right sparkled with dew, and just by the door her precious rose was setting buds. This was their new home, a small pocket of domesticity in a wilderness that at times she found most intimidating. Not that she felt particularly threatened by the miles and miles of uninterrupted forest that surrounded her, but should anything happen they were very alone, their closest neighbours well over an hour’s ride away.

  When they had first arrived in 1668, not yet four years ago, this had been virgin forest, a gently sloping clearing with man-high grass and not much else. Now they had managed to carve out several sizeable fields and pastures, a respectable kitchen garden, as well as the yard she was now crossing on her way to the river. She turned to look back at the small house. The elongated wooden building with its shingled roof was already beginning to grey, acquiring an air of permanence that Alex found comforting. It spoke of roots –as yet shallow, even extremely shallow – but still, roots.

  The water was so cold it numbed her toes in a matter of minutes, but Alex didn’t mind. She enjoyed these early morning outings, moments when she was alone with only her thoughts for company. A brisk wash, a couple of muttered
curses at just how bloody cold the water was, and she was back on the bank, dressing quickly before settling down to comb her wet hair.

  In the nearby shrubs a couple of thrushes squabbled, the sun had risen enough to send a ray or two her way, and on the opposite bank a couple of deer came down to drink. So peaceful – until she became aware of the eyes. Strange that; there were eyes all over the place, but somehow one knew when another human being was gawking at you – in this case someone who was doing his or her best to stay hidden.

  She returned her comb to the basket and groped until she found the knife. A sidelong glance revealed someone sitting just behind the closest stand of trees. Alex loitered, humming casually while straining her ears. Someone whispered, was hushed. She did a double take; women, not men. Without stopping to think overmuch – one of her major faults according to Matthew – she rushed for the trees.

  One of the women squeaked. The other tried to run, slipped and fell.

  “Sit,” Alex said, waving her knife at them. They complied, huddling together under the oak. They looked bedraggled, caps askew, one with tears in her apron, both quite dirty. Escaped bond servants, Alex guessed and she recognised the monogram on one of the aprons.

  “You’ve run away,” she said.

  “Please, mistress, please don’t tell,” the elder of them said.

  Hmm. Alex was no major fan of indentured servants, but her Leslie neighbours had paid good money for these two, and would be pissed off if they weren’t returned.

  “He hit us,” one of the girls said. “Belted us, he did.”

  “He did? For what?”

  The elder of the girls muttered something, the younger hunched together, dark eyes never leaving Alex.

  “We stole,” she said.

  “Stole?” The elder girl spat. “I didn’t steal. I took payment.”

  “Payment?” Alex echoed.

  The girl gave her a condescending look. “He helped himself.”

  “Ah.” Alex was somewhat taken aback. She’d never have taken Peter Leslie for the lecherous type. “And now you’re planning to do what?”

  “Walk,” the eldest girl said.

  “To Providence?” Alex shook her head. That was well over a week’s walk, and the two girls seemed to have no sense of direction as they’d walked north from the Leslie settlement, rather than south.

  “No; to St.Mary’s City,” the younger girl said. Good luck to them; that was almost twice as far.

  “You’re Catholic,” Alex said. No other reason to go that far – unless they’d done more than steal. The elder girl glared at her, an arm coming up protectively around the younger’s shoulder.

  “And what if we are?”

  “I couldn’t care less,” Alex told her with a little smile. “But it’s a very long walk – that way.” She pointed south. “How are you to survive, all on your own?”

  “I have a knife,” the elder said.

  “Whoopee,” Alex muttered. She should send them straight back to the Leslies’, but she already knew she wouldn’t. Matthew wouldn’t like it, but on the other hand, why tell him? She gnawed her lip. “I’ll see what I can find for you,” she said. “You’ll need food and a blanket or two.” The youngest girl burst into tears and clutched at Alex’ skirts. “Yes, yes,” Alex said, rather embarrassed by all this. She gestured into the deeper forest to their right. “Hide in there, somewhere. You’ll have to stay put until you hear me whistle for you. ” She shooed them off, admonished them to keep well out of sight and set off up the incline.

  She was almost back at the house when her three youngest children ambushed her.

  “Ouff!” Alex said when Sarah barrelled into her. Her daughter grabbed at her legs and rubbed her head against her skirts, dislodging what little remained of her night braid. The fair hair fell in soft waves around her face, making her look like a sweet angel – which she definitely was not.

  “Where have you been?” Matthew said from behind her.

  “I went for a swim,” Alex said.

  “A swim?” Sarah’s reproachful blue eyes stared up at her. “Without us?”

  “Aye, why didn’t you say?” Ruth asked.

  Because I wanted to go alone, Alex thought, smiling at her little redhead. Ruth smiled back, the hazel eyes she shared with her father and most of her siblings shifting into a light greyish green.

  “We can go later,” Alex said. “I probably need to give all three of you a proper scrub.”

  “Not me,” Daniel muttered, shoving his dark hair off his brow, “I’m clean, very clean.”

  Alex looked at the trio; three children in three years, but since then Matthew and she had been very careful, even if at times both of them were left extremely frustrated by this. Her eyes slid over to rest on her man. Alex fluffed at her hair, catching Matthew’s interested look. As far as Alex was concerned, five children – six, counting Ian – were quite enough, but she wasn’t sure Matthew agreed. What the hell; she wanted to have wild and uninhibited sex with him, and damn the consequences. She saw his mouth curve and felt the blood rush up her cheeks, making him smile even wider.

  “Right, you,” she said to her children. “You all have chores to do.”

  Daniel made a face, but at Matthew’s nod he and Ruth hurried off. Sarah loitered, throwing Alex a hopeful look. You wish, Alex thought, handing her three year old the egg basket.

  “You look thoroughly,” she said, “now that they’re back to laying properly, I want them all.”

  Sarah set her mouth in a sulk and dragged her feet on her way to the stables.

  Matthew took Alex’ hand and squeezed it. She knew exactly what he was thinking. This their youngest daughter was in many ways a throwback to their eldest girl, Rachel, and both of them were very relieved that in looks Sarah did not take after their dead daughter – that would have been a bit too much.

  “She’ll drive her future husband to the edge of despair,” Matthew said in an undertone.

  She chortled. “Let’s hope she calms down a bit.”

  They walked across the yard, him shortening his stride to match hers.

  “I don’t like it, that you go about alone,” he said.

  “I was just down there,” Alex said, gesturing in the direction of the river.

  “Still, I don’t like it.”

  Alex chose not to reply, studying her house – well, cabin – instead. Two chimneys, one sticking up from the new extension, and several windows, four with horribly expensive glass panes in them that Matthew had transported up here piece by careful piece, swaddled as if they were priceless porcelain.

  According to dear Elizabeth Leslie, window glass was an unnecessary luxury, but Alex didn’t care about her opinion, thrilled to have light streaming into her kitchen and parlour, and now into her bedroom as well. Elizabeth… Alex threw Matthew a look. She should tell him about the girls, he didn’t like it when she kept things from him. On the other hand, it made her shudder just to imagine how Elizabeth would punish her two servants for running away. Bread and water for a month, and no doubt a severe beating with that cane Elizabeth always kept close at hand.

  “What is it?” Matthew said.

  “Nothing.”

  He turned her to face him. “What?”

  Alex sighed. This man of hers read her like an open book, no matter how much she tried to dissimulate. Briefly she told him of her encounter with the girls, shifting on her feet under his eyes.

  “But I don’t want to force them to go back,” she finished. “Can you imagine how angry they’ll be?”

  “Escaped servants must be returned. You know I don’t much hold with it,” he said, swinging her hand as they covered the last few yards to the door. “It sticks in my craw, it does, to hold a fellow man as a slave, however temporarily. But that’s how things are ordained here, and Peter Leslie paid good money for them. Besides, two lasses on their own in all that …” He waved a hand at the woods.

  “So what do we do?”

  Matthew opene
d the door for her and gave Fiona, their maid, a curt nod before replying.

  “For now we do nowt.” He leaned close enough that his breath tickled her ear. “But if they come looking we tell them.”

  Alex nodded; a fair compromise and hopefully Peter would expend his efforts to the south.

  The small kitchen filled with people. Mark and Jacob came from the direction of the stable, Sarah danced in to show them just how many eggs she’d found, and Daniel and Ruth were sent off to wash when they appeared dirty at the door. Eggs, ham, porridge and thick slices of rye bread were set down on the table. From the yard came Jonah, their second indenture, and after a hastily said grace everyone threw themselves at the food.

  “And Ian?” Alex looked at Mark.

  “I don’t know,” Mark said, “he may have gone hunting.”

  “Or fishing,” Jacob suggested through his full mouth. Alex smoothed at his thick blond hair.

  “Maybe,” she shrugged. Ian was old enough to take care of himself.

  No sooner was the table cleared than Fiona begged to be excused, whispering something about her monthlies. Alex just nodded. The last few weeks, Fiona was forever begging to be let off for one reason or the other, and this her latest excuse was wearing a bit thin. Still; mostly she did what she was told to do, and if Fiona found some sort of relief by wandering the nearby woods, so be it.

  Matthew sat for a while longer at the table, conversing her as Alex went about the dinner preparations. She still had days when it shocked her just how much time she spent on something as simple as cooking. In the here and now there were no electric cookers, no microwaves, it was all open fire and heavy pots. Alex wiped her hands on her apron and leaned against the work bench.

  She rarely thought about the life she’d left behind – given the circumstances she preferred not to – but every now and then she was swept with a wave of longing for her people, lost somewhere in the future. Isaac, her son; he’d be sixteen by now, and she wondered if he’d be taller than her and if he still wore his hair short. And Magnus, now pushing seventy… she couldn’t quite see her father as old – to her he was an eternally middle-aged tall blond man with eyes as blue as hers.