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WHO WHO&039;S THEREi" Mattheas taken aback Green actually sounded frightened Such was the double power of murder and fear, to imprison persons inside their own homes
"It&039;s Matthew Corbett, sir, " he said, emboldened by the tremor in Green&039;s voice "I have to speak with you"
"Corbetti My Lord, boy! Do you know the houri"
"Yes, sir, I do" and here was the beginning of the necessary lie "I&039;ve been sent by Magistrate Woodward" aue!
a woman&039;s voice spoke within, the sound istrate&039;s clerk! I&039;ll have to open it!" a latch was thrown and the door cracked Green looked out, his red ht When he saw that it was only Matthew standing there and not an eight-foot-tall demon he opened the door wider "What&039;s the need, boyi"
Matthe a rotund but not unpleasant-looking wo a lantern in one hand and the other arm cradled a wide-eyed, red-haired child two or three years of age "The ht before hilanced around; no other lights had appeared in the houses surrounding Green&039;s, which was either a testament to fear or the fact that they had been abandoned
"She&039;ll be led to the stake in three or four hours!"
"That&039;s why he wishes to see her now, to offer her a last chance for confession It&039;s a necessary part of the law" again, an able-tongued lie "He&039;s waiting for her" Matthew motioned toward Bidwell&039;s ed frohtshirt He looked in the direction of the ht in the upstairs
"He would have preferred to go to the gaol, but he&039;s too ill, " Matthew explained "Therefore I&039;aol to remove the prisoner, and froistrate"
Green was obviously disaol-keeper and this was official business he could not refuse "all right, then, " he said "Give me a minute to dress"
"a question for you, please, " Matthew said before Green could enter the house again "Can you tell hti"
Green snorted "Would you sit up there tonight, alone, so sooti Every man, woman and child in Fount Royal - left in Fount Royal, I mean to say - are huddled in their houses behind latched doors and closed shutters!"
"I thought as much, " Matthew said "It&039;s a shame, then, that you should have to leave your wife and child alone Undefended, I ain, it is an official request"
Green looked stricken He rumbled, "Yes, it is So there&039;s no use jawin&039; about it"
"Well I estion, " Matthew offered "This is a very precarious tiive istrate She&039;ll probably not need to be returned to her cell before the execution hour Of course, I wouldn&039;t care to face her without a pistol or sword Do you have eitheri"
Green stared him in the face "Hold a minute, " he said "I&039;ve heard talk you were sweet on the witch"
"You havei Well yes, it was true Was true She blinded me to her true nature while I was imprisoned with her But I&039;ve since realized - with the istrate&039;s help - the depth of her powers"
"There are soht be turned to a dehan spoke such at the reverend&039;s camp on the Sabbath"
"Oh did shei" That daue with the witch and Reverend Jerusalem said he knew you to be desirous of her body"
It was very difficult for Matthew to"Mr Green, " he said, "it was I who delivered the execution decree to the witch If I were truly a deistrate to prevent hiuilty I had every opportunity to do so"
"The reverend said it could&039;a been you made Woodward sick, hopin&039; he&039;d die &039;fore he could speak the decree"
"Was I the central subject of the reverend&039;s rantingsi If so, I should at least ask for a percentage of the coin he made off my name!"
"The central subject was the Devil, " Green said "and hoe&039;re to get out of this town still wearin&039; our skins"
"after the reverend is done, you&039;ll still have your skins, but your wallets will befroood "But please there is the istrate&039;s request to consider as I said, if you&039;ll give ht - "
"No, " Green interrupted "Much as I despise to leave e, and no hand shall unlock her cage but istrate"
"Well Mr Green I think that, in light of the reason to stay and defend your - " But Mattheas left talking to the air, as the giant gaol-keeper turned and entered his house
His plan, tenuous at best, had already begun unravelling Obviously Green ary of Matthew&039;s intentions also, the red-beardedhis wife and child on this Satan-haunted eve The man was to be co hihtshirt over his breeches and heavy-soled boots on his feet around his neck was the leather cord and two keys He carried a lantern in his left hand and his right paw brandished, to Matthew&039;s great discoht be used to behead an ox "Remember, " he said to his wife, "keep this door latched! and if anyone even tries to get in, let out the loudest holler your lungs ever birthed!" He closed the door, she latched it, and he said to Matthew, "all right, off with you! You walk ahead!"
It was tiht, for his second plan
The only probleaol He didn&039;t look but, from the way the flesh on the back of his neck crawled, he assu of a dog further up on Harmony Street caused a second canine to reply fro melody to Green&039;s nerves
"Why wasn&039;t I told about thisi" Green asked, as they approached the gaol "If it is such a necessary part of the law Couldn&039;t it have been done in daylighti"
"The law states the accused in a witchcraft trial shall be afforded the opportunity for confession no more than six hours and no less than two hours before execution It is called the law of uet aith his rite of sanctieistrate would visit the accused&039;s cell in the coyman, but in this case it is impossible"
"Yes, that makes sense, " Green admitted "But still asn&039;t I told to expect iti"
"Mr Bidas supposed to inform you Didn&039;t hei"
"No He&039;s been ill"
"Well, " Matthew said with a shrug, "there you have it"
They entered the gaol, Matthew still leading Rachel spoke to the lights instead of the persons carrying thened to her fate "Is it tiistrate wishes to see you, to allow you opportunity for confession"
"For confessioni" She stood up "Matthehat&039;s this abouti"
"I suggest you be silent, witch, for your own good Mr Green, open the cell" He stepped aside, feverishly trying to think of what he was going to do when the key had turned
"You step over there, away from me, " Green instructed, and Matthew did
Rachel came to the bars, her face and hair dirty, her a him "I asked you a question What is this abouti"
"It is about your life after you leave this place, witch Your af-tetlife, in a faraway realue"
Green slid the key into its lock, turned it, and opened the cage&039;s door "all right Co the bats "It&039;s the law of confessiassho! Coistrate&039;s waitin&039;!"
Matthew&039;sHe saw the two buckets in Rachel&039;s cell, one for drinking water and the other for bodily functions Well, it wasn&039;t much but it was all he could think of "By God!" he said, "I think the witch wants to defy us, Mr Green! I think she refuses to co toward the rear of the cell "Will you co youi"
"I don&039;t"
"By God, Mr Green! She&039;s defying the istrate, even at this final hour! Will you cos difficulti" He added the emphasis on the last three words, and he saw that Rachel was still puzzled but she&039;d realized what he wanted her to do She retreated fro only when her back aret,so fa in there and dragging you out! Mr Green, have at it!"
Green didn&039;t budge He leaned on his sword "I ain&039;t goin&039; in there and risk gettin&039; my eyeballs scratched out Or worse You want her so bloody bad, you go get her"
Matthew felt the wind leave his sails This was becoht&039;s s "Very well then, sir" He clenched his teeth and held out his hand "Your sword, pleasei"
Green&039;s eyes narrowed "I&039;ll go in and drag her out, " Matthew pressed on, "but you don&039;t expect er&039;s den without a weapon, do youi Where&039;s your Christian , and did not move "Matthewi" Rachel said "What&039;s this - "