I grasped Grace’s arm and said in a hushed whisper, “That’s our cousin, Rachel.”
Grace turned to me, surprise and concern in her brown eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I looked toward the ordinary, my heart pounding. “If Father sees her, it will not go well for any of us.”
“We need to stop her,” Grace said, “but we don’t want to draw attention from the watchtower or from anyone in the ordinary. Mercy Lewis and Mary Walcott were just here visiting Susannah.”
“Let’s go to the side of the ordinary, out of sight from the watchtower, and see if we can catch her eye before she goes in the front door.”
I was already moving in that direction. There were no windows on the east side of the building except our bedroom window on the second floor. Grace followed, and we stood there until Rachel was within shouting distance. I glanced around the front of the building to see if anyone was there and then called out to Rachel.
She didn’t hear me at first, but when I called her name a second time, she looked up.
I motioned her toward me, conscious of the customers who came and went throughout the day. I had told her to send word and I would go to her if she needed me. It was too dangerous for her to come here. We could not be seen with Rachel. There would be too many questions. And if Father found out we had learned our mother’s identity and were in contact with family members, they would all be in danger.
Rachel hastened her steps, making her limp more pronounced, and joined us on the side of the ordinary. We were sheltered there, within the overgrown brush that grew on that side of the building.
She was dressed much the same as the last time I had seen her, with the oversized shawl held snug next to her throat, covering most of her body. She looked just as ill as before, though she was sweating, and her coif was askew.
“You’re hurt,” I said as I drew her toward us.
“’Tis just a twisted ankle,” she said. “I fell outside of town, so I haven’t come far with it hurting.”
“You walked all the way from Salem Towne?” I asked. It was five miles, and though people walked it all the time, it wasn’t wise to be out alone. The fear of Indian attacks or highwaymen was a constant threat, especially to single women.
“It was the only way I could get here.” She looked from me to Grace and back to me. “Are you Hope?”
I nodded and then pointed to my sister. “And this is Grace.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Rachel,” Grace said with a pleasant smile. “I’m happy you’ve come.”
“Whyhaveyou come?” I asked. “I hope you’re well.” Though she didn’t appear well.
Rachel looked down at her hands, which clasped her shawl about her like a vise. “I am not well—and I knew not where to turn.”
“What can we do for you?”
Taking a deep breath, Rachel unclasped her hands and opened her shawl to reveal her midsection, which was large with child. I pulled back, both surprised and alarmed at her secret.
“The child belongs to Mister Reed,” she said with her eyes cast down, her voice in a whisper.
Grace did not pull back but gently laid her hand on Rachel’s arm. “Will he not marry you?”
She wrapped her arms around herself, closing the shawl onceagain. “He’s married to another. She lives in England with their children, but a letter arrived this very day telling him that she will be here by autumn.”
Grace looked at Rachel with empathy and pain and asked the question that had been burning in my mind. “Was this child conceived in love or abuse?”
Tears came to Rachel’s eyes, and she buried her face in her hands. “I met Josias before I moved to Salem Towne. I-I came because he asked me to live with him.” She shook her head. “I’m not living as his servant, but as his kept mistress. His wife was supposed to stay in England.”
“That’s why you left your family?” I asked.
She nodded, but then the tears started in earnest. “I love him.” She bent under the weight of her circumstances and crumpled to the ground, her back against the ordinary.
Grace crouched down and put her arm around Rachel’s shoulder, murmuring encouraging words while I looked around to make sure no one had found us. When Rachel settled and had a better command of her emotions, she wiped her cheeks and looked up at me.
“I’m sorry to have come. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“Hath Mister Reed told you to leave his home?” Grace asked.
