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MRS NETTLES CaUGHT MaTTHEW at the staircase when he returned to the istrate asked that you see him directly ye arrived I ha&039; to tell you that the preacher&039;s been here, and he was ht loud"

"I expected it Thank you" He braced himself for as ahead and started up the stairs

"Oh, sir!" Mrs Nettles said before he&039;d gotten ht you ht find of interest about Rev&039;rend Grove"

"Go on," Matthew urged

"Well, siryou asked if the rev&039;rend had any enemies, and I said he had none I knew of But I was thinkin&039; over it so happened - oh, I&039;d say it was three or four days &039;fore he was killed"

"What was iti"

"He&039;d come for dinner," she said "Had some business &039;bout the church to talk over with Mr Bidwell and Mr Winston, so his wife had stayed home I remember they were talkin&039; there in the parlor, with the fire goin&039;" She nodded toward that rooe I had come in to ask the rev&039;rend if I could refresh his cup, and he said no, that he was fine as he was I turned my back and started to leave, and he says, &039;Mrs Nettlesi What would you do if you knew a thing, and tellin&039; it ood purposei&039; That&039;s what he said"

"Did you ask what he meanti"

"No sir, that would not have been proper I told hiivin&039; advice to a man a&039; God, but that it depended on what it was he knew"

"and as the reverend&039;s responsei"

"He just sat there, lookin&039; at the fire I started out again, on my way to the kitchen, and then I heard him say, &039;No Latin&039; That was all, and he&039;d said it so quiet I hardly heard it But I said, &039;Siri&039; &039;cause I didn&039;t knohat he meant He didn&039;t answer; he was just sittin&039; there, lookin&039; at the fire and thinkin&039;"

"Hrunted "You&039;re sure he spoke those words, and not so elsei"

"I heard him say, &039;No Latin&039; at least, it sounded like that to me Then Mr Bidwell came back in, and I went about my business"

"and you say Reverend Grove was killed three or four days afterwardi"

"Yes sir, he was His wife found him, lyin&039; there on the church floor" She frowned "What do ye think he meanti"

"I have no idea," Matthew said, "but his question to you may mean that someone of physical rather than spectral nature had cause to wish hiht have been he knew May I ask why you&039;ve not brought this up beforei"

"I&039;d forgot it, &039;til this mornin&039; Bein&039; who he was, the rev&039;rend knew a lot of things about a lot of people," she said "But like I told ye, he had no enemies"

"Obviously he did," Matthew corrected "Only it was so a friend"

"Yes sir, I suppose so"

"Thank you for telling me this" Matthew decided to store this inforht now there was the o up" He ascended the stairs, his face griistrate&039;s condition, and had been inforh the sickness appeared serious it ell under control The doctor saidwould have to be done and there would be tiistrate would feel both better and then worse before he improved But, said Dr Shields, the road to recovery was never easy, especially froistrate was a strong speciood health, Dr Shields had said, therefore there was no reason he shouldn&039;t respond to the bleeding and put this sickness behind hiistrate&039;s door and tentatively knocked "Who is iti" ca

"It&039;s me, sir"

There was a pointed silence Then, "Come in" Matthew entered Woodas still in bed, propped up by two pillows The box of documents lay beside him, a sheaf of the papers on the blanket that covered his lap Three candles burned on the bedside table He didn&039;t look up fro "Please close the door," he said, and Matthew obeyed Woodward let his clerk stand there for a while; his throat was agonizing hiain, his nostrils were swollen, his head ached, and he had a hellish mixture of chills and fever, so when Exodus Jerusaleood to his nerves or te, unwilling yet to display one iota of anger

"Siri" Matthew said "I know you had a visit from - "

"I&039;m involved at the e"

"Yes, sir" He stared at the floor, his hands clasped behind hiistrate put aside the documents and clear his throat hat sounded to be painful difficulty

"as usual," Woodward began, "you have done an admirable job The papers are excellent"

"Thank you"

"I should finish reading thelad to get out of this place!" He lifted a hand andmirror had told him how bad he appeared - pasty-faced, dark hollows under the eyes, and a sheen of fever sweat on his cheeks and forehead He was extrees of his illness and the bleeding lancet, and all he really cared to do was lie back in this bed and sleep "I&039;lad too, won&039;t youi"

a trick, Matthew thought So obvious it was hardly worth dodging "I&039;ll be glad when justice is done, sir"

"Well, justice is about to be done I shall deliver my decree tomorrow"

"Pardon me," Matthew said, "but usually you spend at least two days reviewing the documents"

"Is it etched in stonei No, I hardly need to read these papers"

"Does it ly - that Rachel Howarth is neither a murderess nor a witchi"

"Evidence, Matthew" Woodward tapped the sheaf of papers "The evidence is right here You heard it, and you recorded it There are the poppets on the dresser over there Tell me what evidence refutes the testimonyi" Matthew remained silent "None," Woodward said "Your opinion, and your opinion only"

"But do you agree that some of the testimony is questionablei"

"I find the witnesses to be credible How do you explain that all their stories have overlapping elementsi"

"I can&039;t"

Woodward sed and winced at the pain He had to speak, though, while his voice had at least a th "You knoill be best for this town, just as I do I don&039;t relish it But it has to be done"

"Will you not allow me time to ask some more questions, siri I believe that Violet adams may - "

"No," came the firm answer "Leave that child alone and I want you to stay away froaol, from this minute on"

Matthew took a deep breath He said, "I believe I should be able to go where I please, sir" He saw the fire juistrate was "If you are basing your restrictions on what Exodus Jerusaleht inforns on Madam Howarth He wants her to confess and throw herself at your mercy, whereupon he will step in and vouch for her newfound Christian soul His ai doxy"

Woodward started to speak, but his voice cracked and so he had to pause until he regained it When he was able, he said, "I don&039;t give a damn about Exodus Jerusalem! Of course he&039;s a scoundrel I knew that the minute I saw him My concern is your soul"

"My soul is well protected," Mattheered

"Is iti Reallyi" Woodward stared up at the ceiling for a tihts "Matthew," he said, "I fear for you That womanshe can do you some harm, if she pleases"

"I can take care of h it fiercely pained him "The famous last words of a million sons to their fathers!"

"I a in his jaw "You are not my father We have a professional relationship, sir, and that is all"

Woodward didn&039;t reply, but simply closed his eyes and rested his head on the pillows His breathing was slow and steady, if so He opened his eyes and looked directly at Matthew "The time has come," he said

"Siri"

"The tisthat perhaps should already have been told Sit down, if you like" He nodded toward the chair that was placed close beside the bed, and Matthew sat down upon it

"Where to begini" It was a question the , of course When I was a prosperous attorney, I lived in London with arden in the back, with a fountain Oxford had prepared ht, sad smile, and then it went away "We had been o years e had a son, e named Thomas, after my father"

"a soni" This was an aent, veryserious, I suppose He loved for " Woodward heard in his reen Italian tiles that graced the fountain "Those were the finest days of my life," he said as softly as his tortured voice would allow "On our fifth anniversary, I presented ann with a silver old-striped waistcoat I rethat no ed to be alive There I ith my loved ones before me, my house, my possessions, my career I had tasted the full fruit of life and I was a rich , but now hethe treasured garment in Shawcombe&039;s hands

"Four years later," Woodward continued after a painful s, "ann and ed me to pursue the robe I passed the necessary examinationsbecame a jurist apprentice In time I was informed I would advance when the next appoint breath and let it go "I didn&039;t have long to wait That sus were created"