“Answer my question!” Gloria trembled as she approached the bale of hay. “Did you ever love Edward, even for a moment? Why did you have poison in your room?”
Simon smiled, a strange gleam in his eyes. “How could I love him?” he said coldly. “When I went to the slave quarters one day, a wise woman intercepted me. She looked at me with such pity. ‘You are not a man,’ she told me. ‘Something is missing from your heart.’ She said that she had seen a vision in her mirror. A son would be born to me one day. She said that son would grow to be stronger than me. ‘A weakling child will be worth more than you’ll ever be. He will grow amid the slaves and the free, and he will bring liberation to those in captivity.’ ”
Thick silence descended. Even the crickets stilled their concert. Simon stared at Gloria’s stricken face and smiled contemptuously. “You gullible fool. You never suspected a thing. It was so simple to deceive you. The poison was easy to acquire. Enough money, and you can procure anything and buy anyone’s silence. Necessity breeds ingenuity, you see. I only give him small amounts. The demand for medicine continues even as he weakens. The more medicine that is needed, the more jewels I acquire.”
Simon rose to his feet. “Why did you meddle in my affairs? You’ll regret—” He gasped as a severe spasm of drowsiness hit him.
“Are you sleepy? You’ll grow even sleepier.” Gloria bowed her head with sorrow. “I loved you, Simon. I wanted to help you find the jewels so that we could finally make Edward well. I could give you no more children. I wanted—”
“Exactly!” Simon snarled. “You’re worth nothing. I never believed that witch’s prediction until Edward was born. A sickly, mewling brat! I looked into his whey-colored face and saw a reflection of myself.” His face contorted with rage. “I won’t be a weakling, do you hear me? I—” Another spasm of drowsiness seized him, and Simon fell to his knees. “What did you give me?” he whispered, his words slurred.
Gloria smiled. “You did it to yourself,” she said. “Apple butter’s always been your favorite. I only regret it’s merely a sleeping draught and nothing stronger.”
She watched as Simon collapsed on the ground. She turned to the stable door. He’ll awaken at dawn, she said to herself. She had to be on her way as soon as possible. Isaac’s words filled her mind. Hart Spring lay to the north across a river. Look for the hand in the sky, the hand that holds a drinking cup.
There was one more thing to do before she left.
Chapter Thirteen
“We get to help Mama gather flowers today,” Annika said, splashing the dishwater around in her excitement.
Bianca nodded as she cleared away the breakfast dishes, but she was distracted. “Maybe we’ll find some roses,” she said.
Annika grinned. “And daisies. I love to make daisy chains.”
Bianca did not answer. Unease wrapped itself around her shoulders. She grew more homesick every day. Even though Hart Spring felt more like home than anywhere, she missed Priscilla and Mabel terribly. She also could not rid herself of the feeling that there was something she had left undone. She knew this feeling grew from her worry for Edward.
A knock sounded on the cabin door. Annika turned to Bianca with a puzzled frown. “No one knocks here,” she said. “Everyone knows everyone.” She turned toward the door.
“Wait,” Bianca said quickly. “Let’s fetch George and Louise first.”
Annika nodded and went to the adjoining room.
From outside, a reedy child’s voice said, “I’m hungry.” The voice was stronger than Bianca remembered it ever being, but she knew it immediately. Her heart pounding, she hurried to the door and opened it.
Four people stood outside. Bianca cried out with joy and flung herself into Priscilla’s arms.
Priscilla grasped Bianca tightly. She was trembling. “My darling! My sweet dove!” She finally held Bianca at arm’s length and stared into her eyes. “Thank the Creator you were led here,” she breathed.
Bianca blinked rapidly. “George and Louise told me their story,” she said. “You’re George’s sister. I missed you so much!” She turned to Mabel and Isaac.
Isaac gave Bianca a tentative smile. “I’m sorry, child,” he said. “I had to do what I could to keep you safe.”
Bianca shifted her attention to the little boy fidgeting impatiently beside them. “Edward,” she said softly. “It’s so wonderful to see you walking. You’re looking so well.” His cheeks were flushed with life, and he gazed around him with interest.
“I’m hungry,” Edward repeated.
“What’s this?” George’s voice boomed. Bianca turned to him with a smile. George stared at the assembled people. His face crumpled, and he fell into Priscilla’s arms. Sister and brother embraced, both of them shaking with sobs. After a long moment, George stepped back and cleared his throat.
George surveyed Edward, his brow furrowing with concern. “Seems a storytime is in order,” he said gruffly.
“Not until after the child eats.” Louise appeared behind her husband. “No one who comes to my house will stay hungry long. Annika, go fetch some bread and cheese.”
Annika nodded, her face crumpling as she turned to obey her mother. She blinked a few times.
“I’ll come with you,” Bianca said quickly. She followed Annika to the small annex that served as a pantry. “What’s wrong?” she asked gently.
Annika shook her head with a sigh. “You’ll go away now,” she said sadly.
Bianca frowned. “Not just yet,” she said. “And even if I went away, I’d never forget you.”
“But they’ve come here now,” Annika said. “They have a free boy with them. Someone will look for him. They could get in trouble. Would you leave then? I’ll miss you.”
Bianca hugged Annika tightly. She looked around the small room. “I wish I could stay here,” she said. “If there were only a way to be in two places at once!”
“I feel like I did the day I had to let Prickles go,” Annika sniffled.
This was too much! Bianca burst out laughing. “You’re saying I remind you of a hedgehog?”
Finally, Annika laughed and managed a small grin.
“Girls, the bread is already baked,” Louise called. “Are you making a fresh loaf?”
The girls retrieved the supplies. “I know you have to go. I have to let you go if you want to,” Annika said. “I’m glad the cheese lady came to the market last week. You get to have some more before you leave.”
Bianca tousled Annika’s hair. “You’ll be all right,” she said. “I promise. You’re in Hart Spring, and you’re—” Her voice stopped as realization pummeled her. Imbecile! She was an imbecile! Why hadn’t she thought of this before?
“Priscilla!” Bianca ran into the adjoining room, causing the pewter dishes to rattle on their shelves. “You’re safe here. You’re free!”
Priscilla looked up with a wan smile. “Yes,” she said, but her voice shook. “We are free according to the law of land boundaries, but I’m afraid—”
As if on cue, the cabin door opened. A burly man stepped across the threshold. George rose to face the man.
“Governor Charles,” he said. “What brings you here so early in the day?”
“George, there’s trouble in the marketplace,” Charles said, his face lined with worry. “An intruder claims a free child was kidnapped by some runaways.” He scanned the room, his eyes alighting on Edward. The boy’s pale skin gleamed. The man surveyed the newcomers assembled around the table. “You all must come with me,” he said brusquely.
Priscilla and Isaac exchanged frightened looks. “We have an explanation. The child was in danger,” Isaac said.
Governor Charles inclined his head. “You’ll have a chance to defend yourselves,” he said. “Come along.”
Chapter Fourteen
The makeshift market stood near the river. Vendors’ tables were pushed back, and a platform was erected.
As Bianca entered the market, her heart skipped a beat. Father was s
eated in a chair flanked by two burly guards. His expression was livid.
Governor Charles gestured to the platform. “The accused must stand and face the accuser,” he said. “Everyone else may be part of the audience.”
Bianca watched helplessly as Priscilla, Isaac, and Mabel stepped onto the platform. Why had Edward come with them to Hart Spring? Something was wrong.
Priscilla and Isaac boldly approached Simon. They did not avert their gazes from his murderous stare. Only Mabel hung back. Bianca was startled to see that Mabel was shaking.
“Strangers,” Charles intoned, “you have come to our land in search of refuge. Yet you bring a free child with you. This man claims that you drugged him and took his son away. If you have engaged in such an unlawful act, the sentence is immediate expulsion from this community. What have you to say in your defense?”
Isaac turned to Charles. “What he says is true,” he said. “But the child was slowly being poisoned. This man cares nothing for his son. We have proof.” He gestured to Priscilla.
She withdrew a strange object from her garment. A beautiful decoration of applewood shimmered in her hand. A princess struggled in the coils of a dragon. Priscilla removed the comb from the princess’ hair. Bianca gazed at the remnants of crimson powder that were revealed.
“I retrieved this from the child’s nursery,” Priscilla said.
Charles frowned. “What is this strange object?” he inquired.
Isaac gestured to Mabel. Shaking, the girl stepped forward. “It’s a mobile that hung from the ceiling. It holds a container that can be used for making a room smell pleasant. This container held poison,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“She’s lying.” Bianca heard Father’s familiar, deep-toned voice. It held a note of amusement. “My wife adores cosmetics and perfumes. It’s a gift for her that I had especially made by a peddler.” He sneered at Priscilla. “The ugly wretch must have stolen it in addition to my son.”
Bianca gasped as if she’d been slapped. She watched as Priscilla raised a shaking hand to cover her face. Isaac took Priscilla’s hand and glared at Simon. A rumble of angry voices filled the air.
Charles turned to Simon with a frown. “You will have an opportunity to tell your side of the story,” he said harshly. “And you will refrain from name-calling. Everyone is given dignity here.”
Bianca noticed that Mabel’s head rose a little higher. Her voice grew stronger. “He shut me in the boy’s nursery and used this evil instrument to put me to sleep. It was a trap for Mother. He wanted her to tell him where my sister was.”
“Your sister?”
Mabel nodded. “She is free,” she said firmly. “She had nothing to do with this.”
But it wasn’t true. If Mabel had been poisoned, it had everything to do with her. Mabel had called her sister, and Bianca knew that Mabel spoke the truth. Hadn’t she herself felt drawn to Mabel all her life? They were indeed sisters, bound together forever. The yarn was not a binding of blood but a yarn of superior strength, the yarn of love. That skein also bound her to Priscilla.
Bianca trembled violently as she stepped forward. She saw Mabel desperately shaking her head, but she ignored her. “Here I am, Father,” she said. The people murmured among themselves.
Clearing her throat, she turned and addressed the assembled crowd. “May I relate a tale?”
“Please do,” the people chorused.
“Will you listen well?”
“Weave for us your word spell.”
“Creator, give my words grace. Let my tale enliven this place.” She clapped three times.
The people clapped four times. “Spin, spin, spin. Weave a tale of glory,” they chorused.
Bianca stared at Father’s face. He glared at her. Once again, she turned to the crowd. They were smiling encouragingly. She saw Priscilla’s smile and Mabel’s and Isaac’s. Then she saw Annika. The girl raised her hand in a gesture of encouragement. Perhaps love’s skein stretched even farther than she thought. Perhaps she belonged somewhere after all. Tears of gratitude coursed down Bianca’s cheeks as she spoke.
“Once there was a girl who loved her father very much. He took her on picnics and gave her her favorite treat, apple butter. He called her his sweet princess. But the father always had a task for the girl to do. She had to listen to the music of the earth and tell him where its treasure lay buried. ‘You must help my son,’ the father said. ‘I will buy a medicine that will cure his sickness. I will sell the jewels you hear and obtain enough money to have the medicine made.’ The girl listened eagerly and told her father where to find the jewels.
“But the girl had to listen more and more. She grew weak, and the earth was losing life. Its energy drained away as the father took and took. The girl’s energy left her. Her brother was always ill, and the father said the girl must try harder. But she could never satisfy him.
“Then one day, the girl was sent away from the land. She found freedom and strength in a place of peace. While in this place, the girl learned a horrible truth: she had not been helping her brother. She had been tricked. Her father had only wanted the jewels for himself. She learned that many people had died to satisfy her father’s greed.
“The girl’s mother and sister found her in her new home. The land welcomed them, along with the girl’s brother and the one who had brought him.”
Bianca gazed over the crowd.
Finally, the people spoke as one: “Thank you for the tale you have spun.”
Bianca wiped away her tears. “Thank you for listening.”
Chapter Fifteen
“This girl has exposed her heart for us that we all might understand what she has lost and what she has gained,” Charles informed the crowd. “She has found refuge here, as have these others.” He gazed at Simon with fury in his eyes. “If there is proof of the girl’s story, we will punish you with the harshest sentence that is in our power to inflict. Have you anything to say in your defense?”
Simon smiled, his eyes blazing with amused fire. “There is nothing to say except that they are all liars. When they are released to me, I will make them suffer.”
Bianca trembled more than ever, but she approached the platform and stepped upon it. She stood beside Priscilla, Isaac, and Mabel. She turned to Father. He looked upon her with hatred.
“If they must suffer, then I shall suffer too,” she said hoarsely. Nausea clawed at her stomach. “I’ll listen to the earth everyday if need be. Please spare everyone else. Please let them remain here.”
“Wait.” Governor Charles gestured for Priscilla to step forward. “Hand me the trinket you hold,” he instructed. Priscilla did so. Charles inclined the container toward Simon. “If this concoction is merely perfume as you say, you will have no objection to smelling it.”
Simon blinked, drawing back from the man’s penetrating stare. “I see no purpose in continuing this sham of an interrogation,” he said. “Release the slaves to me and relinquish my son. We will leave this place and cause you no further trouble.”
Charles smiled. “It’s a simple request,” he said reflectively. “The only possible reason for your refusal is that the concoction is not what you claim.”
Murmurs filled the crowd, and feet shuffled on the path. “He may not want to smell it, but I shall,” a voice said.
Bianca gasped as Stepmother made her way through the crowd. She was dressed in black, as if she were in mourning, and no cosmetics adorned her face. Lines of despair were etched onto her skin. She was holding a box in her hand.
Gloria approached the platform and pointed a shaking finger at Simon. “I am his wife,” she said, “and the boy is my son. I ask that you allow Edward to stay here where it is safe. I have brought something to pay you for the trouble.” She held out the box and opened the lid.
Blinding light filled the marketplace, and Bianca gasped. An abundant array of jewels gleamed before her: sparkling Hart’s Tears that shone with dazzling light. Here! The jewels whispered in her mind. We are h
ere.
Simon tried to rise from the chair, but the guards restrained him.
“What is the meaning of this?” Charles asked.
“There are numerous boxes of this sort in my husband’s bedchamber. I have seen them with my own eyes,” Gloria said, her voice choked with tears. “I believed he was using the jewels the slaves procured to buy medicine for our son, but he was not.” She turned to Priscilla and pointed to the mobile. “Give me the container,” she instructed.
Priscilla shook her head. “No, Mistress.”
Gloria frowned. “Obey me at once,” she said. “I am a fool deserving of death. I have failed Edward and everyone else. These people want proof. They shall have it.”
“That is not necessary,” Charles said calmly. “I have seen enough.” He turned to the crowd. “What say all of you? Is the accuser deserving of punishment?”
The crowd turned to the platform. “Let him be buried within a dragon’s den,” someone called. The crowd shouted in approval.
Charles nodded and raised a hand in a gesture of finality. “Hart Spring was purchased by the blood of many,” he said solemnly. “The story we all know of the hart who stood between the escaping slaves and their pursuers to protect them is a story that immortalizes the many slaves who let themselves be killed so that others might live.”
He pointed to Simon. “Therefore, as slaves have died while obtaining the wealth you seek, you will be bound and placed in one of the mines. Perhaps it will stand for some time, or perhaps it will not. Either way, you will be surrounded by the treasure you seem to love so.” He bowed his head pityingly. “We will give you an opportunity to repent of your actions. Leave this land and swear never to return, and all will be forgotten.”
Simon rose to his feet. The guards made no effort to stop him. “You think you can keep me away? No one will believe your word over mine. I’ll summon the proper authorities, and you will suffer beyond imagining,” he hissed. He lunged at Gloria. Bianca reached out, clamping her hand onto Simon’s wrist.
Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption Page 14
