Alis (27 page)

“Later, when I was near my time, Master Luke came back, saying he had been to Freeborne.
His
Alis”—she spat out the words venomously—“had married the Minister there because of my lie, and now they would never be together, him and her. He was so angry, I was afraid of him. I told Master Thomas about it, for I thought to win his favor again.”

“You returned to Master Thomas?” William’s voice was sharp with disbelief.

Lilith nodded. “He hated her. I knew he would be glad to hear ill of her. And so I thought he might take me back, and my child would not be fatherless.”

There was a murmur from the crowd, and William said, “Yet he did not take you back. How was it then?”

Once more, Lilith gave Thomas a savage look. “He seemed pleased at what I told him. He walked up and down, and bid me be silent that he might think. Then he said he would go to Freeborne. I begged him to take me also, and our child when it should come, but he grew angry and turned me away as he had before, saying he would have me whipped and driven out. He did not care if we starved.”

There was silence for a moment. Then a voice from the crowd, a woman’s voice, shouted, “Hang him,” and the cry was taken up by others. But William was ready for them, threatening that he would send away those who called out, and they were quiet again.

William was looking coldly at Thomas. “Well, Master Thomas. Will you deny any of this?”

Thomas gave no answer and William went on. “It seems you are an adulterer and a liar. You would deny the child that you have fathered and let its mother beg for bread. You accused Mistress Alis of setting fire to the prayer house in Two Rivers, though this young woman had told you of the mad wife with the tinderbox. What else have you done, I wonder, in your desire to bring Mistress Alis down?”

There was a sullen ferocity in Thomas’s expression that was fearful to see; the dark handsome face was ugly with hate. When he spoke it was with no pretense at politeness. His voice was low and savage.

“Whatever I have done, the case against Mistress Alis stands. No one knows how far it had gone between her and the boy Luke, but she withheld from Minister Galin his rights as a husband. She admits she threatened to kill him with a knife, and he was attacked with a knife. She delayed in sending for the Healers, and the delay helped him to his death. Try me for my sins if you will, but let her hang first.”

Alis held her breath. He would not give up even now. He meant for her to die. And he was right, too, that the case against her was unaltered by what had been revealed. She looked at Mistress Elizabeth, but she was watching William with an anxious face.

He looked sternly at Thomas. “Master Thomas, you will hold yourself at our disposal. This matter of the girl and her child must be attended to, and there is the accusation of fire-setting to be gone into also.” He turned to Alis. “Mistress Alis, is there anything else you wish to say? If there is something you have forgotten, something that you might add to your testimony, you must speak now, before it is too late. Bethink you. We will give you time.”

She stared at him. It was as if he willed her to speak. But there was nothing she could say without betraying Edge, and that she would not do. She shook her head.

He frowned, and when he spoke it was clear he was both troubled and angry. “The Judges will consult together before judgment is given. But I tell you, I do not like the way this matter has gone. I would have the truth, and I do not think we have heard it.”

Perhaps he spoke of Thomas when he said this, but he looked at Alis and she quailed before his look.

The Judges withdrew and Alis was taken to a room behind the hall where she must wait until they were ready to give judgment. She could not control her trembling. It was some comfort to know that Mistress Elizabeth was nearby, and Lilith’s story had shown Thomas for a sinner and a liar. But surely he had defeated her all the same and she would hang.

The woman from the inn was on guard outside the door, and Master Aaron sat with her. Sick with terror, she asked him if Elzbet might come and be with her, and her parents. He said he would fetch them and went out, locking the door behind him.

They all came together. Her mother was stiff and white-faced; her father looked at Alis so sorrowfully that her courage failed her, and she wept. She did not want to die, and she was afraid. Why could they not save her? They soothed her as best they could, and though they could not take away the fear of death, their love comforted her. She thought her mother struggled to conceal her horror, and feared Hannah thought her guilty after all, though she spoke comfort to her daughter, telling her that all was not lost. She must trust the Maker. They would all pray for His help.

Time passed. Food and drink was brought. Elzbet went away to tend to the baby and came back again. The Judges were still deliberating. Her parents sat, one on each side of her. Alis rested her head on her father’s shoulder, and her mother held her hand, stroking it gently from time to time. They did not speak much. Once she said, “I did not kill him, I promise you.”

And her father replied, “Of course not. Your mother and I know that well.”

He sounded faintly surprised that she should feel the need to say it, and her mother nodded. Alis was comforted a little.

The sky outside darkened and still there was no word. Then suddenly the door opened and she jumped. Was the time come? But it was Master William. His expression was dark, though he spoke courteously enough, asking her parents and Elzbet to leave so that he might have a few words alone with Alis.

When they were gone, William gestured to her to be seated. He did not speak at once but went over to the window and stood there with his back to her. Heart beating and mouth dry, Alis waited.

At last, he turned and looked at her. His face was in shadow and his voice somber. “Mistress Alis, your time runs short. Do you still say that you are innocent?”

She could not speak, but she nodded her head.

He went on as if she had not responded. “If you must hang, it would be better to confess yourself first, rather than be cast into darkness. The Maker is merciful.”

She understood him: he wanted to be sure. It made her angry, and that gave her strength to speak. “Master William, I know that you would have my word, that you might hang me with a clear conscience, but I tell you, I did not attack my husband nor did I do anything to bring him to his death. And if the Maker is merciful He will not cast me into darkness, for He must know the truth even if you do not.”

His lips tightened. “If I do not, it is because you will not tell me.” Was it not enough that she must be condemned in a few hours? Why was he tormenting her? Angrily she said, “Would you have me lie? I have told you that I did not kill my husband.”

For a moment he was silent, then he said very softly, “But you know who did.”

She gasped in shock.

“Mistress Alis . . .”

Her head was spinning. He knew! Edge’s name was on her lips. She could save herself. She heard her voice cry out to him, “Go! Go! I will tell you nothing.”

Giddiness overcame her and she slid from her chair.

 

 

When she came round he was gone, and she was lying on the floor. The woman who guarded her was kneeling over her, splashing her face with water from a bucket. Alis sat up wearily. She felt empty—tired to her bones.

 

 

It was dark now and someone came to light a lamp. Then they sent for her.

 

 

The people were talking softly among themselves when Alis was brought back in but they ceased at once and a terrible silence fell. Then the door behind the Elders’ table opened and the three Judges entered to take their places. William did not sit down. He was not a tall man, but to Alis he seemed immense as he stood there, not looking at her but directing his gaze at the people massed on the benches. He began to speak.

“People of the Community of Freeborne, we have considered all that had been said and it is clear to us that the evidence is heavy against the accused. Her own account is in all respects unsatisfactory and there is nothing to support it. We have no choice therefore but to pass sentence of death upon her.”

There was a gasp from the crowd. Alis felt herself go dizzy. She gripped the edge of the table. Master William was still speaking.

“Nevertheless, I am not satisfied with these proceedings. Her accuser is her enemy and not one whose word is to be trusted. And though it is true that the accused herself has confirmed much that points to her guilt, she continues to declare her innocence. So this much I will do. I will have the hanging delayed and we will institute further searches for the man who is supposed to have committed the crime. If at the end of two months he is not found—the sentence will be carried out.”

S
till confined to the prison room in the guesthouse, Alis waited, swinging between terrified despair and irrational hope. Although the weather grew chilly, she insisted on the shutters being open at all times. If they were closed she thought she would choke to death, so trapped did she feel. The window looked out on a lane that led to one of the farms. She watched the scene for hours, though there was little enough to see, only a farm cart, and the people coming and going. They never looked up.

Sometimes she tried to pray but she felt that her words disappeared into a void.

She was allowed some visitors: her father and mother; Elzbet with the baby. Mistress Elizabeth had gone back to Two Rivers with Lilith, but she had come every day until her departure, putting aside her grief for her husband, whose frail heart had given out at last. She blamed herself for letting Alis stay in her household and bringing Thomas’s wrath upon her. She had not thought him so far gone in wickedness.

Minister Seth spent time with her also, doing his spiritual duty. Close up, the skin of his face and scalp looked scorched; it flaked and peeled as though he had been too long in the sun. He meant well, no doubt, speaking to her of the Maker’s mercy, trying to ease her terror of dying. But Alis saw that he thought her guilty and that he hoped for a confession, so she closed her mind to all he said.

Luke, she knew from his grandmother, had returned to Ellen’s. He was helping on the farm, for two of her men had gone elsewhere, frightened away by her willingness to stand up to the Elders. Alis longed to see him, but of course she could not. She must not even mention him, for it might confirm the suspicion that she had sought her husband’s death so that she could be with another man.

In the midst of it all, Alis’s parents brought the news that Joel had returned to Freeborne. He was very sick they said, and not fit to visit her. She tried to be glad for their sakes, but Joel’s homecoming did not seem real to her. Fear was her only reality now.

She found herself wishing that Edge would be caught. Then she was horrified and tried to stifle the thought, but it would not go away. It was
not
right that she should die for another’s crime. Afterward she wept for her wickedness in wishing evil on Edge, who had meant no harm to Galin, and who had been her friend. It was no wonder the Maker did not hear her prayers. But she was so afraid of dying.

Then Master William sent for her.

When she entered the room, he was seated at a table. On the dark polished surface lay a rolled-up document whose seal was broken. To the right, Minister Seth sat with paper, ink, and a pen before him.

The Judge looked up as she came in. An empty chair faced him and he motioned her to sit. She had not seen him since the day of the verdict. His gray hair had been recently cropped, and his dark face was as stern as ever. He looked at her in silence. Finally he said, “Well, Mistress Alis, I have some news for you.” He tapped the document sharply with his forefinger. “We know who attacked your husband.”

The blood pulsed in her head. Surely Edge had not been caught. Hope, treacherous but irresistible, sprang to life. He picked up the document and unrolled it.

“There has been a series of thefts on farms many miles to the south. And one unfortunate man who tried to protect his property has a nasty wound in the forearm for his trouble. According to this report, the assailant evaded the farmer’s attempt to detain her by slashing at him with a knife that she carried in her hand.”

He looked again at the document. “She said, it is claimed here:
I did for the Minister in Freeborne and I’ll do for you if you don’t get out of the way.
She goes by the name of Edge, it seems—a city girl—and she had in her possession a shawl stitched in the Freeborne pattern.”

Alis felt herself go cold. The shawl was hers; she had given it to Edge that night. Fearfully she said, “She has been caught then?”

William frowned. “Unfortunately not.”

She willed herself to keep still, not to show relief. He looked at her and said in a voice edged with anger, “And now, Mistress Alis, I will tell you what I think. I think that you knew this girl, that you kept silent to shield her, and that in doing so you condemned your husband to death.”

“No!” She almost shouted it. “That is not how it was.”

His expression was hard. “Then you had better tell me how it was.”

She did not speak. He leaned forward. The light from the window fell upon his face and the pupils of his eyes were tiny slits. Softly he said, “Would you not like to be free? To walk under the sky again, and feel the fresh breeze on your face?”

She turned her head away. She had meant to be like stone before him, but the shameful tears ran down her cheeks. It was cruel of him to torture her so.

When she did not speak he added in a sharper tone, “Do you mean to hang, Mistress? Will you dangle at the end of a rope rather than break your silence? I must know the truth of what happened that night.”

She said angrily, feeling the wetness on her face, “Why must you know any more than you do already?”