I arrived home from the big house soaking wet from the rain and burning with rage.
I was angry all the time at the moment. It was really unlike me – I’d always been content to wander through life, following my mother’s lead, or letting Kyla drag me into her mischievous schemes, but no more. Now I felt like one of my cats when they were ready for a fight. Hissing and spitting, my back arched and my hair standing on end. I didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t want my mother – and me – accused of being witches when we were guilty of nothing more than being women who were not dependent on a man. At least, Ma was. My own guilt was less clear cut. Rationally I knew that Christy had recovered because my mother had healed him, that the milk was sour because the cows were ill, and the storm had been coming long before I’d spied on the Kincaid brothers, but right at the back of my mind there was a small, nagging doubt that perhaps – perhaps – they’d happened because I’d wanted them to. And I quite liked it.
My mother was in the kitchen, making something to eat, and she stared at me as I entered, dripping water on to the stone floor.
‘Where have you been?’
I thought about telling her what I’d seen, and heard, and how the Kincaids were plotting against us, but I’d not worked out what to do yet, and I didn’t want to worry her. Instead I just shrugged. ‘Went for a walk, but I got caught in the storm.’
‘You must be freezing,’ she said, and her look of concern made my heart twist with protective love for her. ‘Come here.’ She threw her shawl around my shoulders and wiped my damp face.
‘Go and get into some dry clothes, and then come and sit by the fire to get warm. I’ll heat up some milk for you.’
‘Thank you,’ I said.
We passed a quiet evening, Ma and I. We sat beside the fire. I had hung my wet dress up and it steamed in the warmth, making the room feel heavy and cosy. Ma passed the time writing in her records and reading through some notes. I wound some wool, ready to knit into a shawl for the colder months.
From the outside, it must have looked like a quiet, peaceful scene. But inside my anger was still smouldering.
It burned away inside me all evening, and while I slept, and when I woke up the next morning, it was still there, scratching at me, reminding me that while we may be pretending all was peaceful, the Kincaids were plotting to send us fleeing – or worse.
And then the rain stopped, and Davey Kincaid arrived at our door.
I was upstairs when he arrived, but I recognized his voice immediately and the anger surged through me again like the waves in a storm.
I hadn’t intended to confront him, but almost before I realized I was moving, I was running down the stairs to face him.
‘What do you want with us?’ I demanded.
‘Alice, please,’ my mother said, but Davey looked sheepish.
‘I do not wish you any harm, Alice,’ he said.
I laughed in his face, a sharp, barking laugh. ‘You are lying.’
‘No.’
‘I heard you,’ I hissed. ‘You and that lying, deceitful brother. I heard you plotting against us.’
Davey’s face was pale in the dim hallway. ‘I don’t know what you heard, but it certainly wasn’t a plot against you and your mother.’
‘Your brother told you of allegations that had been made against us.’
My mother gasped and shrank back against the wall, and I cursed myself for not telling her the truth about where I’d been yesterday. She shouldn’t be hearing all this for the first time in this way. But now I’d started, I couldn’t seem to stop.
‘He told you that Kyla had made accusations against us, and that she’d given the evidence to the minister.’ I took a breath. ‘And you were on your way to put the allegations to Ma when the storm came.’
Davey’s eyes widened. ‘You were spying on us?’
‘I’d come to tell you that Kyla was not trustworthy.’ I tossed my hair. ‘But you’ve obviously made your mind up about her if you’re here.’
Ma was looking shocked but, I had to admit, not surprised. She’d been expecting something like this, I knew.
‘Kyla is a troubled soul,’ she murmured, almost to herself. ‘She is never happy. Always wanting what someone else has.’
‘She is a liar,’ I spat. ‘Like the Kincaids.’
Davey flinched, but I thought I saw a flash of annoyance in his eyes. ‘Gregor is …’ He paused. ‘He loved his wife deeply and he is heartbroken.’
I scoffed but Ma nodded. ‘She was a good woman.’
‘Gregor has always been focused on wealth. It’s what drives him. But Isobel was always there to give him something else to think about. She softened his edges, made him more likeable. With her gone, he has no one to be good for.’
‘He’s grieving.’ Ma looked sad, but I shot her a disgusted look. How could she be so nice about this?
‘He’s grieving, and he’s got nothing to lose,’ Davey said. ‘And I fear that makes him dangerous.’
It was my turn to wince. ‘What will he do?’
‘He wants to make these allegations and he believes he has proof.’
‘There is no proof,’ Ma said, her voice firm. ‘Because the allegations are false.’
Davey held her gaze and for a second I felt something unspoken pass between them. ‘I know,’ he said eventually. ‘But I fear he will take them to the town council.’
Ma shrugged. ‘Let him do his worst,’ she said. ‘I am a burgess and I have voting rights.’
Davey bit his lip. ‘Is that enough?’
‘I believe it is.’ Ma gave him a sly smile. ‘It was enough to vote down his proposal to dredge the harbour.’
‘What about you?’ I asked shortly. Davey looked at me as though he had forgotten I was there.
‘What about me?’
‘You are also a burgess, with voting rights,’ I pointed out. ‘But you always back up your brother. You voted with him on the harbour. Will you stand with him against us?’
There was a pause. I felt it hang heavy in the room.
‘No,’ Davey said hesitantly. ‘At least, not if I can avoid it.’
I raised an eyebrow but I said nothing.
‘I am on your side,’ Davey went on. ‘You can trust me. But these things are complicated and often it is better to be quietly in opposition, than confront them.’
I snorted.
‘You may think that I am working against you, but I urge you to understand that I am not,’ Davey said. Once more he wasn’t talking to me, just to Ma. He looked earnest, but I didn’t believe anything he was saying. ‘Things are more complicated than they seem and I need to think about Christy.’ He took Ma’s hand in his and I snorted again. ‘You must know that I think you are a clever woman doing an important job,’ he said to Ma. ‘And you should be celebrated for it, not criticized.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I am going to the beach. I will be there for a while, walking and thinking. If you care to join me, I would enjoy your company.’
I gave a loud sigh, but Ma was looking at him in a way I’d never seen her look at anyone before. He had bewitched her, I thought in disgust. Charmed and enchanted her into thinking he was a good man, using his sweet words and his handsome face.
Davey put his hat on and gave Ma a little bow. A bow. ‘I hope I will see you shortly,’ he said.
Ma and I watched him walk down the road towards the beach in silence. Ma shut the door and looked at me. I couldn’t read her expression, which was unusual. Was she annoyed with me? Disappointed? Upset? Scared? I had no idea. And so, unsure of the best way to react, I chose to attack.
‘Do not trust that man,’ I snarled. ‘Do. Not.’
Ma pushed past me and went to stand by the fire, warming her hands. ‘I know people, Alice. Wasn’t I right about Kyla? And Davey Kincaid is a good man.’
‘You aren’t thinking straight,’ I said. ‘Your head is turned by him.’
Ma hissed through her teeth. ‘I’m no fool, Alice Seton. I’ve known the Kincaids a long time and I know Davey is worth ten of his brother.’
‘You are acting like a fool.’ It felt as though I was the mother and she my wayward daughter. Everything had been turned upside down since the sickness came to the big house and I didn’t like it.
I glared at Ma where she stood by the fire, and was it my imagination or did the flames suddenly jump higher in the grate? She saw it too, because she turned to me, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
‘Rumours are rife,’ she hissed. ‘There are whispers in the street when I walk by. I have to scurry into people’s cottages because no one wants to be seen with me. Everyone is scared, and scared people do dangerous things. We have to be careful and having Davey on our side will work in our favour.’
I threw my head back in despair. ‘Davey is not on our side.’
Ma caught my arms and pulled me to her. She clasped my face in her fingers. ‘Trust me, Alice,’ she said. ‘Davey Kincaid has his own demons to fight. But I would never lie to you and I know he is a good man. I truly believe that if things go too far he will stand up for us if Gregor makes these allegations.’
‘If you believe that, then you are a fool,’ I said in a dull tone. ‘I know Davey likes to gamble. He is as driven by money as his greedy brother and you should not expect him to stand up for you.’
Ma looked surprised when I mentioned gambling. Perhaps she had hoped I didn’t know about Davey’s misdeeds. But we were not the only people that the town liked to gossip about. I wondered if Davey had told her about his old life, drinking and spending someone else’s money. The thought of them huddled together, exchanging chit-chat, sickened me.
‘You said you wanted to run away.’
‘Maybe we won’t have to.’
‘Do you really believe that?’ My eyes searched her face. I wanted to trust her, I really did.
She nodded, slowly. ‘I do.’
But I did not.