“No. But we don’t know what we’re going to do. We cannot imagine being away from each other.”
As an unmarried pregnant woman, she was taking a risk to be seen in public. She could face fines, whipping, and even imprisonment. If it was proven that Mister Reed had committed adultery, he could face fines and whipping, as well. It was a very serious crime, one that would not go unpunished if discovered.
“What can we do to help you?” Grace asked, though there would be very little assistance we could give.
“If I need somewhere to live,” she said to us, “once his wife arrives in Salem Towne, could I come here?”
Grace looked up at me, and I knew what she was thinkingas she let out a weary sigh. “Our father would never allow it. Perhaps you should go back to your family in Sandwich.”
“I cannot,” she said bitterly. “They would never take me.”
“I think they would.” I squatted next to her and laid my hand on her other arm. “They welcomed back our mother when she arrived with us on her hips.”
“She was married,” Rachel said.
“They love you,” Grace told her, “and would rather see you safe at home than whipped and put in prison.”
A noise at the corner of the house caught my attention the moment before Susannah appeared. Her gaze darted from one person to the next and then landed on me, a self-satisfied smile tilting up the corners of her lips.
“Uriah!” she called. “I’ve found them.”
Rachel looked like she was about to bolt—but it was too late.
Father appeared, and he did not look pleased.
———
“What is the meaning of this?” Father asked as we all stood in the sweltering kitchen a few minutes later. “Who is this woman?”
I swallowed my fear and said, “This is Rachel.” I didn’t even know her last name—a fact that hadn’t seemed to matter until now.
“Rachel?” Father stepped closer to her. His arms were crossed as he looked down his nose. “Rachel who?”
“Rachel Howlett,” she said in a small voice, sweat dripping down her temples.
I could see the moment the name registered in Father’s mind. Shock, fear, and then anger raced across his face. “Howlett?”
“Yes, sir.” She clasped her thick shawl so tightly about herself, her knuckles were white.
Susannah stood off to the side, watching, her own growing babe just starting to show.
Father turned to her. “Leave us, wife.”
Her eyes grew large as indignation rose in her face. “Leave?”
“Now!” Father commanded.
Susannah jumped, and then she began to cry as she ran up the back stairs.
Father’s face had turned red as he stared at Rachel. “What are you doing here?”
I stepped forward. “I invited her to come.” It wasn’t quite true. I had told her to get word to us if she needed us, but it was an invitation, nonetheless.
“You?” He turned to me, and all the years of strife and anger we had pointed at one another seemed to come to a volcanic head. The rage in his face was frightening. “Do you know who this woman is?”
“She is my cousin,” I said, unwilling to back down, though I knew the ramifications would be severe.
He ran his hands through his hair and said, almost to himself, “I should have silenced Ann Pudeator twenty-four years ago. She hath brought this curse upon my house. At least now she will pay.”
