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"MR VaUGHaNi" He got up froht of early evening, and opened the door "What does he wanti"

Mrs Nettles pursed her lips, as if in a silent scold for his deficient memory "He says he&039;s come to escort you to his home for dinner, and that it shall be a&039;table at six o&039;clock"

"Oh, I did forget! What time is it nowi"

"Near ha&039; past five, by theI didn&039;t care to go out to dinner, this is it, " Matthew said, rubbing his bleary eyes

"That may be so, " Mrs Nettles said curtly, "but as han, I am also sure soht nae to disappoint &039;eh he couldn&039;t erase his frown "Yes, you&039;re right Very well, then: please tell Mr Vaughan I&039;ll be downstairs in a few minutes"

"I shall Oh have ye seen Mr Bidwell since mornin&039;i"

"No, I haven&039;t"

"He always tells onna attend dinner I&039;m driftin&039; without a sea-chain, nae knowin&039; what he cares ta do"

"Mr Bidwell likely is wrapped up in the sorry engage Mr Paine, " Matthew said "You of all people must kno buried he becomes in his work"

"Oh, yes sir, &039;tis true! But y&039;knoe&039;re havin&039; a festival of sorts here tomorra eve Mr Bidwell&039;s hostin&039; a dinner for soedy, I do need ta knohat he desires a&039;table"

"I&039;ht"

"Mayhaps I&039;ve told no one about the murder, sir Just as he wished But do you have any idea who mi&039; ha&039; done iti"

"Not Rachel, the Devil, or any i This was a o no further "Excuse et ready"

"Yes sir, I&039;ll tell Mr Vaughan"

as he hurriedly scraped a razor across the day&039;s growth and then washed his face, Matthew steeled hih he fervently wished only to be left alone He had spent the day attending to thecolonic was applied a fresh plaster had been pressed to the pine oil dressing on Woodward&039;s chesty and the pine oil liniment had also been rubbed around his nostrils The doctor on his first visit this istrate sith great difficulty, and had administered a second dose of the potion around four o&039;clock Matthew could not help but watch Dr Shields&039;s hands and envision their grisly work of the previousrapid results, he was disappointed; for most of the day Woodward had reistrate once asked Matthew if preparations for Mada, therefore he seemed to have returned from his bout with delirium

Matthew put on a fresh shirt and buttoned it up to the neck, then left his roo for hiray suit, white stockings, and polished square-toed black shoes On his head was a brown tricorn and he was holding a lantern that bore double candles It took only a few seconds of observation for Matthew to detect the darned patches at the man&039;s knees and the fact that his suit jacket was perhaps two sizes too large, indicating either a borrow or a barter

"ah, Mr Corbett!" Theabout his deep-set pale blue eyes, in a face that had a rather gaunt and skeletal appearance, suggested a watery constitution "I ahan, sir Pleased to rip that had little substance "Good evening to you, sir and I thank you for your invitation to dinner"

"Our gratitude that you oi"

Matthew followed the ait Over the roofs of Fount Royal the sky was crileae directly above The breeze was soft and war

"a lovely evening, is it noti" Vaughan asked as they left Peace Street and walked along Harain"

"Yes, it was a difficult time Thanks be to God the clouds have passed for a time"

"Thanks be to God that the witch will soon be dead! She had a hand in that deluge, I&039;ll swear to it!"

Mattheered with a grunt He realized it was going to be a very long evening, and he was still

They passed Van Gundy&039;s tavern, which - from the racket of its custoittern and a druh and potent spirits Matthew thought that Vaughan aimed a wistful eye at the establishment as they continued on In another moment they walked by the house of the recently deceased Nicholas Paine, and Matthew noted with interest that candlelight could be seen through the shutter slats He envisioned Bidwell on his knees, scrubbing blood off the floor with tar soap, ashes, and sand, and cursing cruel Fate while Paine&039;s corpse rapped up in a sheet and stowed beneath the pallet for future disposal He was sure Winston had invented soone to see Paine so early in the ile liar

"There is the house, " Vaughan said, indicating a well-lit dwelling two houses northward and across Harmony Street from Paine&039;s Matthew had re carnal relations with Lucretia Vaughan, and he could see her approaching his house with a basket of hot buns and he returning the favor by knocking at her entry with a pistol in his pocket

Matthe a sn above the door that read Breads & Pies Baked Daily Then Vaughan opened the door with the announceuest!" and Matthew entered the abode

The house srant bread or pie had only just been baked, but also in the house were the cohts Matthe that the lady Vaughan possessed an extre hand, as the floor had been swept spotless, the white-washed walls free of any trace of hearth soot or smoke, and even the wood surfaces of the furniture se stone fireplace stood a well-organized battery of skillets and cooking pots, the genteel fire burning under a pot on a jackhook Even the cooking i to the pleasant, welco air of the house were several sprays of wildflowers set about in haance of perhaps a dozen candles casting golden light The supper table, which was covered with a snowy linen cloth and displayed four places readied, stood in the corner of the room opposite the hearth

The hostess made her entrance from another door at the rear of the house, where the bedcha a toothy slow "Hoonderful to have you in our home!"

"Thank you as I told your husband, I appreciate the invitation"

"Oh, our pleasure, I assure you!" Lucretia Vaughan, in this wealth of candlelight, was indeed a handsooith a lace-tri copper and aureate glints Matthew could readily see how Paine could be spelled by her; to be fixed in the sights of her penetrating blue eyes was akin to the application of heat Indeed, Matthew felt a sensation ofbefore her leonine presence

as perhaps she sensed this, she seemed to increase the power of her personality She approached hiht the scent of a peach-inspired perfume "I know you have many other offers to attend dinner, " she said "It is not often that we find such a sophisticated gentleman in our midst Stewart, leave your jacket on We are so very pleased you have chosen to grace our humble table with your presence" Her instruction to her husband had been like the swift stroke of a razor, not even requiring her to glance at hiing again into the garotten out of "Your hat is removed, " Lucretia said Stewart&039;s hand instantly obeyed, revealing a thin thatch of blond hair

&039;"Sophistication is e yearn for in this rustic town" It seemed to Matthew that the woh he hadn&039;t seen her move "I note you have buttoned your shirt to your throat Is that the current fashion in Charles Towni"

&039;"Uh no, I sihtly "Well, I&039;m sure it shall be fashionable in the future" She turned her head toward the rear doorway "Cherisei Dearesti Our guest wishes to meet you!"

There was no response Lucretia&039;s sher, sharper pitch: "Cherisei You are expected!"

"Obviously, " Stewart ventured meekly, "she&039;s not yet ready"

The wife speared her husband with a single glance "I shall help her prepare If you&039;ll pardon uest soone before she&039;d completed her last direction

"Wine, " Stewart said "Yes, wine! Would you care for a taste, Mr Corbetti" He proceeded to a round table on which was placed a rather ostentatious green glass decanter and three cuplike glasses of the same emeraude Before Matthew had answered "Yes, " the decanter was unstoppered and the pouring begun Stewart passed a glass to Matthew and set in on his oith the gusto of a salt-throated sailor

Matthew had no sooner taken his first sip of as rather a bitter vintage when from the rear dooro feminine voices, deterled like the shrieks of harpies, and then fell to abrupt silence as if those winged horrors had dashed theed rocks

Stewart cleared his throat "I ine it is a less than pleasant experiencei"

"Less than pleasant, " Matthew agreed, glancing now and again at the doorway as at a portal beyond which an infernal struggle raged "But more than instructive"

"Oh yes! I would think so! You committed an injury to the blacksmith, I understandi Well, I&039; a horse with less than affectioni"

"Um" Matthew took a sturdier drink of wine "No, I believe Mr Hazelton has a strong affection for horses It was let us say a matter best kept stabled"

"Yes, of course! I&039;ve no wish to pry" Stewart drank again, and after a pause of three or four interet your jest!"

Lucretia e that had just occurred "My apologies, " she said, still s soood presentation, you see She is a perfectionist, and so hter, " Stewart lass

"But ould this world be without its perfectionistsi" Lucretia was addressing Matthew, and deigned not to respond to her husband&039;s comment "I shall tell you: it would be all dust, dirt, and utter confusion Isn&039;t that right, Mr Corbetti"

"I&039;m sure it would be disastrous, " Matthew replied, and this was enough to put a religious shine in the woesture toward the table "as Cherise may be some moments yet, we should adjourn to dinner, " she announced "Mr Corbett, if you will sit at the place that has a pewter platei"

There was indeed a pewter plate on the table, one of the few that Matthew had ever seen The other plates were of the common wooden variety, which indicated to Matthew the iave to his visit Indeed, he felt as if they must consider him royalty He sat in the appointed chair, with Stewart seated to his left Lucretia quickly donned an apron and went about spooning and ladling food fro bowls Presently the boere arranged on the table, containing green stringbeans with hogsfat, chicken steith boiled potatoes and bacon, corncakes baked in creaolden loaf of fresh fennel-seed bread, it was truly a king&039;s feast Matthew&039;s glass was topped ine, after which Lucretia took off her apron and seated herself at the head of the table, facing their guest, where by all rights of ht to be

"I shall lead us in our thanks, " Lucretia said, another affront to the duties of her husband Matthew closed his eyes and bowed his head The wo that included Matthew&039;s name and mentioned her hope that the wretched soul of Rachel Howarth find an angry God standing ready to smite her spectral skull from her shoulders after the execution stake had done its work Then the fervent "amen" was spoken and Matthew opened his eyes to find Cherise Vaughan standing beside hihter!" Lucretia exclaiirl, in a white linen goith a lace bodice and sleeves, continued to stand where she was and stare down at Matthew She was indeed an attractive girl, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, her waves of blonde hair held fixed by a series of sined she h her chin was longer and somewhat more square and her eyes almost as pale blue as her father&039;s In these eyes, however, there was no suggestion of a watery constitution; there was instead a haughty chill that Matthew instantly dropped his gaze froht

"Cherisei" Lucretia repeated, gently but firirl sat down - slowly, at her own coht She wasted no ti chicken stew onto her plate

"are you not even going to say hello to Mr Corbetti"

"Hello, " she answered, pushing the first bite of food into her cupid&039;s-bow mouth

"Cherise helped prepare the stew, " Lucretia said "She has been desirous to "

"I&039;m sure it&039;s excellent, " Mattheered He spooned soood as it appeared, then he tore off a hunk of bread and sopped it in the thick, delicious liquid