I’m not sure if he pulled me into his arms or if I fell into them, but in an instant he was holding me close. His arms were strong as they wrapped around me. His chest solid and comforting. I could feel the beating of his heart against my cheek, and I closed my eyes, certain that no one or nothing could hurt me here.
After a moment, I realized Grace was watching, and I pulled back, wiping my face.
“Why are you crying?” he asked, his voice low and gentle.
“I fought with my father” was all I would tell him.
“I’m sorry.” He glanced at Grace and then back at me. “I brought something. Perhaps it will cheer you.” He reached into the bag he carried and removed a round, shiny orange.
My lips parted in surprise as I looked up at his handsome face. “Where did you find it?”
“In Boston. It cost a king’s ransom, but I knew it would please you.” He took my hand and turned it over, then he placed the fruit onto my palm. “For you.”
I swallowed the emotions that welled up inside me. I hadthought I’d never get another orange after dying in 1912—but Isaac had found one for me. “How did you know?”
“You told me once, many years ago.”
Without another thought, I threw myself into his arms again, and this time I hugged him.
That evening, darkness fell over Salem Village, bringing with it a relentless storm that pounded against the windows of the ordinary. Isaac stayed for supper, and I made sure he had extra servings of the roasted turkey and stewed peas Grace cooked.
Susannah had not yet come down from her room, and I suspected she was both embarrassed and enraged at the way Father had treated her. He stayed abovestairs for most of the evening, and I could hear him pleading with her to forgive him.
He did not ask for my forgiveness.
As the storm wore on, Grace and I encouraged Isaac to stay and enjoy the orange with us. We drew chairs up to the hearth in the kitchen, and I peeled the orange, relishing the scent of the citrus. I wished I could tell Isaac what the gift meant to me, but I couldn’t without revealing our time-crossing. So I showed him with my smiles and kind words.
I tore the sections apart and handed Grace and Isaac their pieces, then slipped one into my mouth and audibly moaned with delight.
“Had I known how much the gift would please you,” Isaac said with a laugh, “I would have bought you one much sooner.”
I laughed as juice dribbled down my chin. I hadn’t been this happy since losing 1912.
I was just finishing my last bite when a strange noise sounded above our heads. Looking up, I frowned.
A moment later, Father appeared at the head of the steps, his face wild with fear. “Susannah is under affliction. She spasmslike the others, and she is crying out in anguish. Come! I need help restraining her.”
The three of us raced up the stairs, my stomach filling with dread at what we might see. The behavior of the afflicted was often gruesome and unhuman-like.
Susannah lay on the floor in a contorted position. Her body jerked this way and that as she cried out in pain.
“She afflicts me!” She grabbed at her arm. “She bites me and pinches me.” A bitemark was fresh upon her forearm as she cried out to an invisible phantom in the room. “Leave me be! I beg of you!”
“Take hold of her,” Father commanded us. “I fear this affliction will hurt the unborn child she carries.”
Father knelt and put his hands on Susannah’s shoulders, and Isaac secured her legs. Susannah still jerked and screamed, but she could no longer hurt herself.
“Who doth afflict you?” Father demanded as he looked into his wife’s face.
“The woman who was here today,” Susannah cried. “The one with the fair hair. She causes strife in my home and now afflicts me, causing me to suffer.”
Father looked up at me, accusation in his gaze. “She speaks of Rachel Howlett.”
I knew exactly who she spoke of—and exactly why she called her out. Either she was angry because of Father’s treatment, or Father had convinced her that Rachel was a witch so he could be rid of her.
I left the room and ran down the back stairs. Did Father believe we would allow this plan to succeed? I needed to warn Rachel so she could escape Salem Towne—perhaps go to her family in Sandwich.
In the kitchen, I reached for my cloak by the door, but Grace appeared right behind me.
