“Scripture says there is one who speaks rashly like the piercings of a sword.” Xander took the remaining chain off the counter. Slowly he wound it about the physic’s neck, twisting till it tightened and pinched. “Much enslavement is self-made. No shackles are required.”
Laurent’s stare held cold annihilation. “What is that to me, Renick?”
“’Tis your everlasting soul I fear for, Laurent.”
With a jerk backward, he tried to free himself from the chain’s hold. It fell to the floor with a dull, clanking thud asXander released his grip. Movements stiff with fury, Laurent picked up the chain along with the others and strode out of sight.
Selah stood turned to stone by the quarrel.
Xander spoke into the lull once Laurent had ridden away. “I owe you an explanation.”
“All this has to do with Mattachanna, does it not?”
“Aye.” He leaned against the counter, eyes on the river beyond the open doorway. “How much do you ken of Mattachanna’s ordeal among the English?”
“After Captain Kersey and others brought her to James Towne against her will, you mean?” At his nod, she dug unwillingly for what she knew. “Only that the council wanted to use her to bargain with her father, the chief. For a great quantity of corn and the return of stolen goods and English captives.”
She came out from behind the counter to stand beside him. The children were wading in the river. Soon Watseka would peel off her English clothes. But for now, Selah only cared about the troubled man beside her.
“Mattachanna was taken to James Towne by night and kept in the household of an official secretly. Word was sent to Opechancanough that she would be released with his cooperation.”
She nodded. “But her father was slow to meet the English terms, so Mattachanna was kept.”
“Opechancanough met most of the council’s demands but not all of them, not to their satisfaction, nor in the time they dictated.” He paused, gaze still on the river. “Time passed and Mattachanna grew more dispirited. She missed her people. Since she’d always treated the English with greatfavor and generosity, she felt they had dealt her an immense blow, a betrayal.”
“’Twas exactly that.” Even now Selah recalled the shock her own family had felt at the treachery done to a young woman who meant no harm. “She was soon removed from James Towne to another unknown location upriver.” Here Selah’s knowledge unraveled. Amid such secrecy, she had been denied a visit to her old friend, leaving her to speculate where Mattachanna was. How she was. “There Reverend Criswel supposedly watched over her and instructed her in the catechism and our faith.”
Xander ran a hand over his bearded jaw. In the harsh afternoon light it glinted red. “She was placed in Criswel’s care, out of sight of James Towne, because she was with child.”
With child.
The straightforward words failed to take root. Selah simply stared at him as all her preconceived notions came crashing down.
“During her early captivity in James Towne, Helion Laurent, acting as physic, forced himself on her.”
The sharp intake of breath was Selah’s own.
“To hide both his wrongdoing and her pregnancy, the council decided upriver was best. But Mattachanna grew ill in both body and spirit. Her sister was sent for as Criswel feared she might die.” His grieved gaze met hers. “I was sent for.”
“You? Why?”
“I was one of the few who could speak freely with her in her native tongue. She trusted me. I knew her father, her many kin, from living amongst them as a youth. She told me what Laurent had done to her.”
Selah looked to her knotted hands. “Carnal knowledge ... such is a punishable offense in Virginia.”
“An accusation easily made and hard proved.”
“But—”
“If you are as well connected as Laurent, especially so. After he had offended the chief’s daughter in such a way, all was silenced lest another war ensue. Even the Powhatans punish such a crime by death.”
Never had he looked so troubled, the slight grooves worn by time and weather in his handsome features taut. She schooled her ire and listened, though she wanted to cover her ears instead.
“I met with the governor and his foremost officials and told them what Laurent had done.” The dismal outcome was mirrored in his hard expression. “Their response was that carnal knowledge resulting in a child necessitates consent.”
What? Was there no justice? No recompense? Selah tried to tamp down her welling dismay. “And so Laurent escaped the hangman’s noose. But what of Mattachanna?”
“Reverend Criswel—a good, God-fearing man—knew it would be best if she came under someone’s protection by marriage. I was the logical choice.” At last a sliver of light came into his face. “By that time, I was thoroughly enamored with her. We were wed. Rose-n-Vale became her haven. Oceanus was born, the son I had long hoped for but who was not my own.”
