Which was a big fat lie. Olivia was sharp as a tack with numbers. Like her mother, she was greedy and always looking for a way to sharpen the next potential buck. I shook my head and reached for a handful of berries. James reached in at the same moment and his hand brushed mine. I snatched mine back, losing several as I did and watching them tumble across the blanket. That was on purpose!
Olivia went on, oblivious to the exchange. James gave a self-satisfied smile and plucked the loose berries off the soft fleece and plopped them into his mouth with a gleam in his eye I didn’t miss.
“So, James, what do you think about the recent outcome at the Courts of Oyer and Terminer?” she asked.
Warming to one of his favorite subjects, James gave Olivia his full attention for the first time that day. “Well, they held the Court of Oyer the middle of June. Just going through the motions, of course. We already knew what the outcome of that would be. There were several witnesses that came forward and confessed to what they knew about the newly accused. The evidence was overwhelming against them. They held the Court of Terminer a week later to decide the outcome. They found five guilty in short order.” He finished, puffing his chest out like he’d been the one to swing the gavel.
“So when do they go to Gallows Hill to meet justice?”
A gleam of excitement entered his eyes and I swallowed my bite of potato salad before it stuck in my throat and I choked, my stomach turning at the conversation.
“Next week. Are you ladies coming to watch? I won’t be missing it. Dad and I, and Mr. Hawthorne, will be there.”
Olivia pretended to be shocked, her hand splayed wide over her bosom, fingers moving in mesmerizing circles to draw James’ eye. It worked too. In the chest department, Olivia definitely had me beat. Elspeth watched with disgust as Olivia dipped her head demurely. “Mama says it’s not a proper sight for a lady. But I know she attends. She stands in the back with the other members of the ladies’ society. It isn’t every day that one sees a witch hang. I plan to be there. I’ll be watching from the churchyard. The view is unobstructed there if you know where to stand. Where will you be at?”
I didn’t catch his response, my eyes aghast as I listened to their casual conversation about the hanging of several of Salem’s own citizens, all based on supposition and hysteria.
James turned to me and I gave a jolt when he addressed me. “So, Elspeth, are you planning to attend, to see justice served on those who deserve it?”
I opened my mouth, struggling to speak past a stomach twisted in knots.
“No. No, I’ll be busy that day.” I muttered, unable to hide my disgust at the turn of conversation.
A look of keen interest moved through his eyes. “I see the rash on your hands is all cleared up. Maybe you were allergic to something else by the river that day?”
My mouth tightened at his suspicious tone. I was fairly sure I was allergic to James Corwin. “I used some of Mama’s psoriasis salve and I was right as rain.” I ground out.
Olivia stared hard at me, eyes flashing. “You met all alone by the river?”
“No!” “Yes.” They both said at once.
Eyes heating, I spoke up. “I was gathering herbs for Mama’s medicines by the bank where they grow. Mr. Corwin was there fishing at the same time.” I was sure James didn’t miss my sarcastic tone from the chill in his eyes. Olivia stared at me in accusation, as if I were the one that had planned the entire thing.
I grit my teeth in frustration. “Wow. It’s getting warm. Should we be heading back Olivia, so Mr. Corwin can get back to his fishing?”
“James. Call me James.” He included them both as he pushed to his feet.
Olivia’s eyes warmed as she looked up at his handsome face, her heart aflutter. “James. It was nice that you could join us. Maybe we’ll be able to do this again sometime?”
I was busy counting all how that would never happen in my mind as I repacked the basket. I didn’t respond.
His eyes glittered on my stiff shoulders. “You can count on it.”
“HOW COULD YOU?” OLIVIA hissed. “You know I like him.”
Jaw tight and eyes flashing, I spat back, temper spiking. “How could I what? I was doing nothing wrong. You don’t really think I really went looking for him on purpose?”
“Of course you did. I see the way you look at him. You were flirting with him the whole time we sat there today. Scandalous.”
I turned incredulous eyes on my friend. “Are you serious? I’m not interested in the likes of James Corbin. He’s rude and full of himself. You are so welcome to him. And I wasn’t flirting, but you were.”
“How dare you! Are you questioning my morals? Some friend you are.”
I bit back what I wanted to say.
Yes!
“No, of course not. But I don’t like being accused of something I didn’t do. I don’t like James Corwin, and even if I did? I know you do. That would be enough for me. You have my absolute blessing to him. I think you two are perfect for each other, you have a lot in common.”
Olivia stared hard at me, expression pinched as if she were trying to decide whether I had just paid her a compliment or served her a grave insult.
“Thank you. I like him a lot,” she added grudgingly.
“I am happy to stand aside and let you have him with my blessing,” I smiled, teeth sharp.
I ENTERED THE BARN to the smell of fresh hay and the sound of loud voices. All three of my brothers were there, sharing a pint of ale and gathering at the old wooden picnic table there. I missed most of the last part of the conversation, picking up the words hanging and trials.
One of our old draft horses, Otis, stuck his grizzled face over the top of the stall door, looking for the bit of carrot I always brought him. My fingers smoothed over the velvety softness of his muzzle. “Is this about the hanging this coming week?” I asked, voice casual. My heart had kicked up a notch.
Fergus shot me an uneasy stare. “No. This is about the eight more accused they arrested today. They set the trial for them in the Court of Oyer for the first week in August. It’s already too late for the others.
THE LUMBER MILL WAS on the outskirts of town, away from the primary hub of activity and on the edge of the river for ease of bringing the lumber downstream as well as overland by horse and wagon. Olivia walked along the dusty road, trying to keep her skirts high and scoffing at the grime that coated the bottoms as they drug the ground. She’d pressed a fresh apron and taken special care to make sure her hair was neat and her nails trimmed. As she walked, she practiced taking in a deepening breath, which caused her bosom to rise and appear bigger. It was, in her opinion, her best feature. James had mentioned that he worked at the lumber mill. It wasn’t exactly proper that she walked there on her own, but she figured she had that covered. If anyone asked she’d simply tell them that her father was interested in what boards they might have that would be suitable for her father’s use to make a new set of chairs for the dining room table.
Salem was bustling on a Thursday and Olivia wondered just how much of that was because of the excitement of the upcoming hangings in a matter of days. Mother told her she wasn’t allowed to go. It wasn’t a proper sight for a young girl to witness. But Olivia knew her mother would be there watching. Olivia had no intentions of sitting home while all the excitement went on around her. Besides, she was hoping James would be there in the crowd.
The Roar of the mill reached her ears long before she arrived, along with the smell of sawdust from the freshly cut wood. Her eyes brightened when she recognized John Hawthorne, and standing right beside him, muscles bunching as he guided the log through the chute and blades that cut them into rough boards, stood James. He didn’t see her at first. That was okay, it gave her the time she needed to plant a proper welcome and what she considered her secret come-hither smile on her face. He was working the Single Sash saw under the apprenticeship of one lumberman. The slap of the paddles on the water wheel gave a sharp clap when it hit the water. Jo
hn Hawthorne stepped up and took over for him.
James slapped at the dust coating his pants and shirt and reached for a rag to wipe his hands, glancing up and seeing her for the first time. A flash of something passed through his eyes, but Olivia refused to acknowledge it as irritation. She was sure he was glad to see her. She’d brought him a jar of tea from the cellar and it was still somewhat cold.
He turned and spoke for a moment to John, who glanced over at her and then nodded with a frown. James moved in her direction.
“GOOD MORNING OLIVIA, what brings you this way?” he asked. He appreciated the break if not necessarily the company. A glance at the cloudless blue of the sky and the wet evidence of the rain from the night before. The heavy humidity was already rising. It was going to be a scorcher of a day; the heat already feeling like it was going to press him straight into the ground.
“Well, it’s so warm and I was coming this way and remembered you worked here. I thought you might appreciate a jar of Mama’s cool tea to quench your thirst?” his face brightened and he took the jar gratefully, uncapping the lid and tipping it back for a long refreshing drink. Olivia’s eyes narrowed on the working of his throat as he swallowed. She took the empty jar back with a sigh of regret. He’d left none for her.
He glanced at her, speculating. “So, where were you headed that you just happened this way?” He wondered aloud. Her cheeks flushed. “Oh, I was just taking a walk to take a bit of fresh air and to inquire about some lumber for daddy. Doc says walking is good for the constitution.” She added cheerfully. James smiled, looking at her plump frame. He imagined it would be good for other things if she did more of it. His eyes narrowed as she chose that moment to take a deep breath and pull her chest up and out for his viewing pleasure. James reconsidered. Olivia wasn’t much to look at, with her mousy brown hair that she pulled tight in a no nonsense bun and the extra weight than she carried more of than she should. Light acne plagued her cheeks too, in bright red spots if she wasn’t careful. Still, she had a magnificent chest and a pretty mouth.
James body tightened and he wondered what she would give out for free. He wasn’t interested in courting her. Besides, she was friends with Elspeth, and his best source of information about her.
“You know, I get off work in a couple of hours. Would you be interested in a walk down by the river to cool off in the breeze that always comes off the water?” he asked.
Olivia started, her heart speeding up. “I don’t know. I mean, we’d be all alone. I don’t know if that would be proper.” But he could see how badly she wanted to.
“You get caught, just claim it was an accident, how we both ended up in the same place at the same time. Unless you’re scared to be alone with me...” James taunted. It was just the right button to push.
“I’m not scared. A walk it is. But you’d better mind your manners, Mr. Corbin.” James eyebrows shot up, a cruel glint in them?
“Are you asking me, or telling me?”
Olivia tittered nervously. Watching the glittering hardness in his eyes that almost scared her. “I know you’re a gentleman and will treat a lady with respect,” she finished on a nervous titter.
He watched her excitement at the prospect of being alone with him mount. She was so easy to read. “I will. I have a lot of experience in such things.”
He smiled; teeth sharp. He’d be exactly the gentleman she deserved.
THE HEAT OF THE DAY had dropped by several welcome degrees when Olivia told her mother and father she was taking a walk after supper before bedtime to make her stomach feel better. Isla shot her a suspicious frown when she suggested it. Like her mother, Olivia avoided exercise when she could.
But no one stopped her and she arrived to worry for a few brief moments when James wasn’t there as she walked the river’s edge. A pit of despair settled like a hard knot in her stomach at the thought of him not showing, embarrassment rearing its ugly head.
Olivia gave a squeak of fear when he stepped out from behind the same tree they’d enjoyed a picnic under days before. His sturdy frame seemed the littlest bit sinister as the darkening shade cast his frame in the shadows of the fading sunlight of early evening.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said, though she had the sneaking suspicion he wasn’t sorry at all. He wandered out to join her as they continued on. A fish jumped and pulled his notice, and Olivia wondered if he would have rather been fishing than taking a walk with her. She kicked the unpleasant thought to the curb. He was here with her and that was all that mattered. She smiled up at him, thrusting her breasts out and plumping her lips into a little moue of interest, her eyes calculating as she watched for any reaction in his. He didn’t disappoint as his eyes wandered south with interest. She gave another deep sigh of satisfaction and her smile turned clever.
“Oh, look at that! I believe that’s a chunk of fool’s gold. How pretty!” she cried, bending down in front of him to snatch the rock up with the glittery shiny surface that caught the reflection of the remaining light and shimmered. It was no accident that her actions afforded James a tantalizing view of her backside as she did.
James body tightened with yearning. He didn’t have a lot of experience with girls, but he had enough to know when one was flaunting what she had in front of him. He knew she was interested in him. Aside from what Elspeth had told him, it was obvious the way she sought him out and paraded herself in front of him. No decent girl would have agreed to meet him all alone near dark and without supervision. James had every intention of affording her all the respect she had coming.
They continued on. After several moments she discarded the first rock. She picked up several more along the way. By the time she found the perfect one, James head was spinning and his body was stiff with tension.
When she tripped and stumbled in his direction he reached out to steady her on instinct, his hands grabbing her fleshy arms, soft and womanly. She had dabbed a hint of rosewater behind her ears and between her breasts and the scent teased his nostrils as he inhaled the sweet flowery mix. She fell forward with a slight cry, crushed for just a moment against his chest. She looked up at him, bracing herself against the worn cotton front of his shirt.
“I’m so sorry. I tripped. Thank goodness you were there to catch me. I feel so foolish?” she licked her lips and bit the lower one.” Showing her vexation.
His eyes focused on that small action and before he thought better of it, he bent down and stole a kiss. He expected her to shriek and rail at him. Instead, she leaned into the kiss, her lips parting just the tiniest bit before she pulled back.
“James Corwin, you are so naughty.” She murmured. But her voice said otherwise as she stepped back. James's heart beat faster as his senses whirled. Attractive or no, at his age it didn’t take much.
“Do you like to fish?” he blurted, blinking and wondering where the words had even come from. But Olivia grabbed at the invitation, her mouth spreading wide in satisfaction.
“No. But I would love for someone to teach me how to... fish.” She drew out the last word, and James had the crazy idea they weren’t talking about fishing at all. His heart thrummed so loud he wondered it didn’t pound right out of his chest at the possibilities.
“I can show you. I’ll thread the worms and take the fish off the hook and everything for you.”
Olivia couldn’t imagine anything she wanted to do less. She smiled in adoration. “Really? That sounds like so much fun.” She lied.
The last dip of the sun was fading and for a moment it glimmered on her cheek. It reminded him of a smooth unblemished face that had felt like silk beneath his fingers the brief second he’d touched it without permission on this same riverbank.
“What about Elspeth? Do you think she’d like to come too?” he blurted without thinking.
Olivia’s breath hissed in, shock holding her immobile for a moment. “Elspeth? I’m sure she doesn’t have time to fish. She’s always working that market or helping her Mama with those str
ange concoctions they make.”
Sensing he’d made her mad and seeing the possibility of losing his chance at a dalliance with the well-endowed flirt in front of him, James hastily amended. “No matter, it just seemed that you two were a pair and did a lot of things together. We don’t need her to come, do we?” She stared hard at him, breathing heavily in agitation, the movement drawing his fevered eyes once more, this time with no intent on her part.
“No, we don’t need Elspeth Walsh. Besides, what do you want with someone like her, with that flaky skin condition of hers. Hideous it is.”
James blinked, recalling another time and place when he too had seen the unsightly blotches of brown that resembled little flat pancakes on her arms. “I saw them too. Weird wasn’t it. Looked all scaly, like her skin was coming off in layers. She doesn’t have it all the time though. It seems to only come on when she gets mad or scared.
Olivia scowled. “Weird is what it is. Never seen a skin condition like that that comes and goes. I know mine doesn’t.” She refrained from running her fingers over the bumps that adorned her cheek and chin. In public she was careful not to touch them, but she picked at the weeping bumps in private. Her mother told her all the time to leave them alone if she didn’t want scars.
“That is strange. You’d think her mom would make something to take care of that. She makes every other tincture and salve you can think of.”
Olivia nodded. By then they were nearly back to town and she sighed with regret. Still, she’d just had her first kiss. She held the thought close to her heart. She wondered if she was his first kiss too.
“So when do you want to go?” she asked.
James blinked down at her full face in the near darkness in momentary confusion, his mind elsewhere. “What?”
Olivia grit her teeth. A boy’s attention span was so short. “Fishing. When are you going to teach me to fish?” She gritted, irritation making her voice sharp and grating. He cringed.
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