“Yes,what?” Harry said again.
“Yes, sir,” Jeremy said.
“You have something to say to Mrs. Tavernor, Jeremy,” Harry said. “Say it. Address her asma’am.Raise. Your. Chin.Look at her.”
Jeremy looked, winced, and leaned down to adjust the position of his right knee.
“Attention,”Harry barked.
Jeremy, obviously close to tears, came up straight, and looked somewhere in the direction of Lydia’s chin. “I am sorry,” he said. “Ma’am,” he added quickly, darting a glance at Harry, who was standing close beside him, his booted feet slightly apart, his hands clasped at his back.
Lydia drew breath to speak.
“And forwhatare you sorry?” Harry asked. “No, do not address me. Address Mrs. Tavernor.”
“For telling on you,” Jeremy said. “Ma’am.”
“Onetellson someone when that someone has done something wrong, Jeremy,” Lydia said. “What was it, if you please, that I did wrong?”
“Back straight. Arms at your sides,” Harry said.
Jeremy jerked to attention. “You was carrying on with ’im,” he said, indicating Harry with a slight sideways motion of his head. “Ma’am. But I got nothing but grief when the reverend jumped in the river and killed ’imself thinking ’e was saving me. I was about to get out on my own when ’e jumped in and almost drowneded me. He just made an idiot of himself. And then everyone thought ’e was such a saint and you was such an angel.”
Lydia held up a staying hand to stop Harry from speaking. “Destroying someone else’s life, or at least her reputation, has soothed your feelings for what you perceive as an injustice to yourself, Jeremy?” she asked him. “You feel better about yourself now that you have toppled me from my pedestal in the eyes of your mother and other people in the village?”
“Mrs. Tavernor is awaiting your answer,” Harry said when the boy did not immediately reply. “No. Stay as you are.”
“Jeremy?” Lydia said as the boy snapped back to attention. “Do you feel better about yourself?”
“No,” he said at last. “Ma’am.”
“Are you happy,” she asked him, “that you have made me the victim of malicious gossip?”
“You was kissing ’im,” he said sullenly.
“Are youhappy?” she asked again.
“No,” he said.
“You have something more to say to Mrs. Tavernor, then,” Harry said. “Do not forget how to address her.”
“I’msorry, ma’am,” Jeremy cried. “I didn’t ought to’ve done it, and I won’t do it no more. I was just sick of everything, and I wished you would’ve left ’ere after ’e died so everyone would forget. My ma wished the same thing. But I shouldn’t ought to’ve watched you till you done things I could tell ’er about. I’m sorry and I won’t do it no more.”
“Then I accept your apology,” Lydia said.
“On your feet,”Harry said. When the boy had scrambled up, wincing and staggering, Harry took one step closer to him so they were almost toe to toe. “Whatever you saw or heard here today, you have forgotten. Not one word of it will pass your lips. The penalty for trespass on my land is a thorough thrashing, the sort that makes it impossible for a boy to sit down for a week. It is normally administered by my head groom. With a whip he keeps especially for the purpose. I will waive that punishment for now. However, if I hear, or if Mrs. Tavernor hears, one whisper of your having been here today or one breath of a whisper of what you may have seen or heard here, then the punishment will be doubled, and it will be administered by me. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Jeremy’s voice was close to a squeak.
“Yes,what?”
“Yes,sir.”
“Starting tomorrow,” Harry said, “you will attend school all day every day. If I hear from Mr. Corning that you have been absentor late, I will wish to know the reason why. Now go.” He pointed in the direction of the back of the house. “I will give you five minutes to remove yourself from Hinsford property.”
Jeremy took off at a run.
And Lydia and Harry were left staring at each other while the silent audience looked on from the summerhouse and the trees behind him. It was possible he did not even know the latter group was there and had forgotten the former group.
