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WITH THE FaDING of the light, the rats grew bold Matthew had heard their squeakings and rustlings all the afternoon, but they&039;d not yet made an appearance He&039;d been relieved to find that the rodents had not eer beef broth and two slices of black bread, hu - but now, ever since Green had closed the roof hatch and left only a single lantern burning on its hook, the creatures were creeping out of their nooks and crannies to clai on her bench "They&039;ll give you a bite if you try to strike theht, it&039;s best to lie perfectly still They&039;ll be sniffing at you, that&039;s all"

"The one that bit your shoulder," Matthew said He was standing up, his back against the wall "Was it only sniffingi"

"No, I tried to get that one away from my waterbucket I found out they can ju to have your water no matter what you do"

Matthew picked up his own bucket of water, which Green had recently filled froh, he hoped, to quench his thirst for the night

Then he placed the bucket on the floor in the opposite corner, as far away fros fresh water every other day," Rachel said, watching hiet thirsty enough"

another quandary had presented itself to Matthew, far worse than the probleht in a fresh bucket to be used for eli to have to pull down his breeches and use it - sooner or later - right in front of the wo her oithout benefit of a shade or screen He thought he ht endure two more lashes added to his sentence if he could have at least a modicum of privacy, but it was not to be

Suddenly a dark shape darted from a small crevice in the wall of Matthew&039;s cell and went straight for the bucket as Mattheatched, the rodent - black-furred, red-eyed, and as long as his hand - climbed swiftly up the bucket&039;s side and leaned over its ri the wood a second one followed, and then a third The things interrupted their drinking to chatter like washerwoossip at the common well, and then they broke ranks and squeezed their bodies again into the crevice

It was going to be a very long night

Matthew had several books on hand, courtesy of the ht the toht was so ht Woodward had told hi conversation with Dr Shields, and would reveal h, Matthew felt the walls and bars closing in upon hiht by which to read or write, and with rats scratching and scurrying in the logs, he feared he rip on his decorum and shame himself before Rachel Howarth It shouldn&039;t matter, of course, because after all she was an accused murderess - and much worse - but still he desired to present himself as a sturdy oak, not the thinhe felt to be

It araol Rachel cupped her hands into her waterbucket and da off the salty perspiration that had collected on her cheeks and forehead She cooled her throat with the water as well, and paid no heed when two rats squeaked and fought in the corner of her cage

"How long is it that you&039;ve been herei" Matthew asked, sitting on his bench with his knees pulled up to his chin "This is the second week of May, is it noti"

"Yes"

"I was brought here on the third day of March"

Matthew flinched at the very thought of it No ht have done, she was made of sterner stuff than he "How do you stand it, day after dayi"

She finished bathing her throat before she replied "Do I have any choice but to stand iti I suppose I could beco fool I suppose I could break down, fall to my knees, and confess witchcraft at the boots of fine Mr Bidwell, but should I go to my death that wayi"

"You could recite the Lord&039;s Prayer before hiht win you some mercy"

"No," she said, and she aimed those fierce amber eyes at hi that has no e no one&039;s ain and this tih her wild istrate said If I spoke the Lord&039;s Prayer, it ht be a trick of the Devil to save ht Bidwell and the others havewill shake the who really murdered the reverend and ainst me"

"Discovery is only half the solution The other half would be the presentation of proof, without which discovery is hollow"

When Mattheas silent again he are of the noises the rats were , so he chose to speak in an effort to keep his mind busied "Who would have cause to commit those crier someonei Did he cheat someonei Did he - "

"This is not about Daniel," she interrupted "It is about me I was chosen as the object of this farce because of the very reasons I was hounded frouese, my father a dark Irishman But I have my mother&039;s color and her eyes Theydoves I alone am of this color, here in this town Who would not look upon me as someone differentsomeone to be feared, because I aht of another reason, as well: her exotic beauty He doubted that a woman more comely than Rachel Howarth had ever set foot in Fount Royal Her nigrescent coloring was surely objectionable to many - if not most - in this society of pallid whitebreads, but that very same hue was as the burnished flesh of a forbidden fruit He&039;d never in his life seen anyone the equal of her She seeht that this quality too could stir the fire of aeainst you," he said, and quickly aainst you is overwhel Buckner&039;s story may be riddled with holes, but he believes what he said today to be true The same with Elias Garrick He firmly believes he witnessed you inshall we sayintimate accord with Satan"

"Lies," she said

"I have to disagree I don&039;t think they&039;re lying"

"So you do believe me to be a witch, theni"

"I don&039;t knohat I believe," he said "Take the poppets, for instance They were found under a floorboard of your kitchen a woman named Cara - "

"Grunewald," Rachel said "She pinched her husband&039;s ear for speaking tobefore any of this happened"

"Madam Grunewald saw the location of the poppets in a dream," Matthew continued "How do you account for thati"

"Simply She made the poppets and put them there herself"

"If she hated you so deeply, then why did she leave Fount Royali Why did she not stay to testify before thehere to watch your executioni"

Now Rachel was staring at the floor She shook her head

Matthew said, "If I had made the poppets and hidden them beneath the floorboard, I would make certain to be in the crowd on the day of your departure from this earth No, I don&039;t believe Mada theain at Matthew "He was one of the three , bound on He also was one of the men who found the poppets"

"Who were the other two men who took you into custodyi"

"Hannibal Green and aaron Windoed me from my bed, and Green locked his ar I spat in Windoot a slap for it"

"Paine, Garrick, James Reed, and Kelvin Bonnard discovered the poppets," Matthew said, recalling what Garrick had said on the night of their arrival "Can you think of any possible reason Paine or any of those others ht have fashioned theht, then" Matthe another dark streak go across the floor He watched the rat climb up the side of the waterbucket and drink "Let us say that Paine, for whatever reason, did make the poppets and put them under the floorboard Why should it be Madam Gruneho saw their location in a dreaer to present physical evidence against youi" He pondered the question and thought he ht have an answer "Did Paine haveuha relationship with Madam Grunewaldi"

"I don&039;t think so," Rachel replied "Cara Gruneas as fat as a pig and had half her nose eaten away by the pox"

"Oh" Matthew pondered some more "Less reason she should leave Fount Royal, then, if she had made the poppets and knew you to be falsely accused No, whoever fashioned them is still here Of that I&039;o to the effort of such deceit wouldyou die" He glanced through the bars at her "Pardonfor a while, as the rats continued to squeak and scurry in the walls Then, "You know, I&039; to believe you&039;ve not been sent here to spy on me"

"You should I&039; the blacksmith, did you sayi"

"I entered his barn without permission," Matthew explained "He attacked me, I injured his face, and he desired satisfaction Therefore the three-day sentence and three lashes"

"Seth Hazelton is a very strange man I wouldn&039;t doubt that he attacked you, but as the reasoni"

"I discovered a sack hidden in the barn that he desired not to have brought to light according to his But I think it was soether"

"What, theni"

He shook his head "I don&039;t know, but I do intend to find out"

"How old are youi" she asked suddenly "Twenty years"

"Have you always been so curiousi"

"Yes," he answered "always"

"Froistrate doesn&039;t appreciate your curiosity"

Matthew said, "He appreciates the truth Sometimes we arrive at it from different routes"

"If he chooses to believe what&039;s claimed about me, he is lost in the wilderness," she said "Tell rant istrate of the law"

Matthew thought about this point before he gave a reply "Perhaps it&039;s because I never istrate hasi"

"He&039;s never tried a witch, but he does know judges who have I think also that he was more impressed by the Salem trials than I, since I was only thirteen years at the time and still in an almshouse" Matthew rested his chin upon one of his knees "Theall the acculish law," he said "Soe is built on a framework of medieval belief as I am a lowly clerk and have not yet been ily to its conceptions You should realize, however, that Magistrate Woodward is indeed a liberal jurist If he were entirely of the medievalfor, theni If I&039;istrate wants to give you an opportunity to answer all the charges It&039;s the proper way of procedure"

"Damn the procedure!" Rachel snapped, and she stood up "Daes! They&039;re all lies!"

"Profanity will not help your position," Matthew said calest you refrain from it"

"What will helpthe bars "Shall I fall onn over my husband&039;s land and all my possessions and swear upon the Bible that I shall never bewitch the citizens of Fount Royal againi Tell ood question So good, in fact, that Mattheas unable to supply an answer The best he could e was: "There is some hope"