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THE MaGISTRaTE HaS MaDE HIS DECREE, " Matthew said Rachel, as sitting on her bench with the coarse robe around her and the cowl shielding her face, hadn&039;t aol Now she siment of the document that was about to be read

"Go on, let&039;s hear it!" Bidwell had been in such a hurry that he&039;d dee to be readied, and noas truly cha at his bit

Matthew stood beneath the roof hatch, which was open He unrolled the docuan to read the preface in a calm, emotionless voice Behind him, Bidwell paced back and forth The master of Fount Royal abruptly stopped when Matthew reached the portion that began: "On the Charge of the Murder of the Reverend Burlton Grove" Matthew could hear theat his back "I Find the aforesaid Defendant Guilty"

There was a sesture of triumph Matthew flinched, but kept his attention focused on Rachel She showed no reaction whatsoever "With a Stipulation, " Matthew continued "That the Defendant Did Not actually Commit the Murder, But Caused It to be Committed by Her Words, Deeds, or associations"

"Yes, but it&039;s all the saht as well have done it with her own hands!"

Matthew kept going by sheer force of will "On the Charge of the Murder of Daniel Howarth, I Find the aforesaid Defendant Guilty, With a Stipulation" at the word guilty, this tiiven a soft cry and lowered her head "That the Defendant Did Not actually Commit the Murder, But Caused It to be Committed by Her Words, Deeds, or associations"

"Excellent, excellent!" Bidwell gleefully clapped his hands together

Matthew looked fiercely into theface "Would you please restrain yourselfi This is not a five-pence play requiring corin only broadened "Oh, say what you like! Just keep reading that blessed decree!"

Matthew&039;s task - perforistrate&039;s behest over criminals common and extraordinary - had becoe of Witchcraft, " he read to Rachel, "I Find the aforesaid Defendant" and here his throat al, but the horrible word had to be uttered, " Guilty"

"ah, sweet deliverance!" Bidwell all but shouted

Rachelhand to her cowl-shrouded face as if the word - which she had knoould be delivered - had been a physical blow

"By Virtue of the Power ascribed to Me as Colonial Magistrate, " Matthew read, "I Hereby Sentence the aforesaid Defendant Rachel Howarth to Burning at the Stake as Warranted by the King&039;s Law The Sentence to be Carried Out on Monday, the Twenty-Second of May, Sixteen-Ninety-Nine" When the distasteful chore was finished, he dropped the document down by his side

"Your hours are nu behind Matthew "Your ht, but we&039;ll build it back!"

"I think you should leave, " Matthew told hio to your reward knowing that all your work to destroy !" Bidwell raved on "Once you&039;re dead, Fount Royal shall rise to fa coh her sphere of misery

Still Bidasn&039;t done "This is truly the day that God made!" He couldn&039;t help it; he had to reach out and clap Matthew on the back "a fine job you and the istrate have done! and an excellent decision! Now I o start the preparations! There&039;s a stake to be cut, and by Christ&039;s blood it&039;ll be the best stake any dah the bars "Your master may send every demon in his barn to cause us woe between now and Monday morn, but we&039;ll weather it! Youthat Robert Bidwell never failed at anything in his life and Fount Royal will be no exception! Do you heardirectly to Rachel now but was looking around the gaol, his voice thunderous and haughty as if he were sending a warning to the very ears of the Devil "We shall live and thrive here, no ainst us!"

His chest-beating complete, Bidwell stalked to the door but stopped when he realized Matthew had not followed "Co! I want you to read that decree in the streets!"

"I take istrate, sir If he requires me to read it for the public, I shall, but not until he so orders it"

"I&039;ve neither the tile with you!" Bidwell&039;s ly sneer "Ohhhh yes, I see why you wish to dawdle! You intend to console her! If Woodward could see this lovely scene, it would send him two steps nearer his death!"

Matthew&039;s initial impulse was to advance upon Bidwell and strike his face so hard that what served as theduel that would likely folloould provide no good purpose save work for the gravedigger and a probableof his own name on the lowered daggers at the hed, which acted as a bellows to further heat Matthew&039;s banked fires "a tender, touching moment between the witch and her latest conquest! I swear, you&039;d be better off lying in the lap of Mrs Nettles! But do as you please!" He aimed his next jibe at Rachel "Demons, old men, or babes in the woods: it doesn&039;t matter what flavor your suckets! Well, take your rapture, as you shall be paying dearly for it co bird whose gaudy blue colored his suit

In the aftermath of Bidwell&039;s departure, Matthew realized that words were not potent enough instruments hich to communicate his sorrow He rolled up the document, as it would have to be placed on official file in Charles Town

Rachel spoke, her face still shielded "You have done what you could For that I thank you" Her voice, though weakened and listless, yet held a full nity

"Listen to rasped one of the bars with his free hand "Monday is still a distance off - "

"a small distance, " she interrupted

"a distance, nevertheless The istrate may have issued his decree, but I don&039;t intend to stop ht as well" She stood up and pushed the cowl back from her face "It is finished, whether you accept it or not"

"I don&039;t accept it!" he shouted "I never shall accept it!" He shut his mouth, shamed by his loss of control; he stared down at the dirty floor, searching within himself for any se ree with it and that is iree with this this wrongful execution of an innocent victim"

"Matthewi" she said softly, and he looked at her They stared at each other for a moment Rachel approached him but stopped well short of the bars

She said, "Go on about your life"

He found no answer

"I am dead, " Rachel told him "Dead When I am taken on Monday to be burned, my body will be there for the flames but the woer here Since I was brought to this gaol, I have slipped away I did have hope, at one point, but I hardly reive up hope, " Matthew insisted "If there is one more day, there is always - "

"Stop, " she said firht thing, by encouraging my spirit but you are not The time has come to embrace reality, and to put aside these fantasies ofspared Whoever comainst such a power, I have no hope and I wish to cease this pretending It does not prepare me for the stake, and that above all else is what I , " Matthew said "Soh I&039;h I think I have uncovered the first strands that for you, " she whispered, and now there were tears in her eyes though her face displayed no other betrayal of e with Fate You can&039;t free me Neither can you save my life Do you not understand that an end has been reachedi"

"an end has not been reached! I&039; that ht study it until a year froer, Matthew I a to be burned, and I must - I must - spend the time I have left in prayer and preparation" She looked up at the sunlight that streah the hatch, and at the cloudless azure sky beyond "When they come for me I&039;ll be afraid, but I can&039;t let them see it Not Green, not Paine especially not Bidwell I can&039;t allow myself to cry, or to screa in Van Gundy&039;s tavern, boasting over how they broke ed for mercy I will not If there is a God in Heaven, He will seal e me and strip me, dirty me and callaniain "I have a single wish Will you grant iti"

"If it&039;s possible"

"It is I wish you to walk out of here and not return"

Matthew hadn&039;t knohat to expect, but this request was as painful - and as startling - as a slap across the face

Rachel watched him intently When he failed to respond, she said, "It is more than a wish, it is a demand I want you to put this place behind you as I said before: go on about your life" Still he couldn&039;t summon an answer Rachel caripped the bar "Thank you for your belief in me, " she said, her face close to his "Thank you for listening But it&039;s over now Please understand that, and accept it"

Matthew found his voice, though it was near perished "How can I go on about ave him a faint, wry smile "Injustice is done so If you don&039;t already know that to be true, you are hed, and let her hand fall away from his "Go away, Matthew You&039;ve done your best"

"No, I haven&039;t"

"You have If you need ation to me there" Rachel waved her hand past his face "You are released"

"I cannot just walk out of here like that, " he said

"You have no choice" again, she levelled her gaze at him

"Go on, now Leave me alone" She turned away and went back to her bench

"I will not give up, " Matthew said "You may but I swear I won&039;t"

over toward her waterbowl She cupped her hand into it and brought water to her mouth

"I won&039;t, " he repeated "Do you hearher face once more, and withdrew into her ht stand here as long as he pleased, but Rachel had removed herself to a sanctum that only she could inhabit He suspected it was the place of reflection - perhaps of the me during the long hours of her iuish, that he was no longer welcome in her coue with Death

It was indeed tiure He hoped she ain to him, but she was silent after a few moments he went to the door There was no movement or response from Rachel He started to speak once more, but he knew not what to say Goodbye seemed the only proper word, yet he was loath to utter it He walked out into the cruel sunlight

Shortly the smell of charred wood drifted to his nostrils, and he paused at the pile of blackened ruins There was hardly anything left to attest that it had ever been a schoolhouse all four walls were gone, and the roof had fallen in He wondered if soht be the wire handle of what had been a bucket

Matthew had alht, but he&039;d decided not to for the same reason he&039;d decided to withhold the information from Bidwell: for the moment, the secret was best kept locked in his own vault He needed an answer to the question of why Winston was spiriting infernal fire fro it to set flame to Bidwell&039;s dream He also needed from Winston further details - if the man could supply them - of the so-called surveyor who&039;d co was clear: to find Edward Winston

He inquired fro a flasket of yellow grain - as to the location of Winston&039;s house, and was infor stood on Harmony Street just shy of the ce at a brisk pace

The house did stand within a stone&039;s toss of the first row of grave markers Matthew noted that the shutters were sealed, indicating that Winston , and probably only held two or three rooms The house had been painted white at so a mottled appearance to the walls It occurred to Matthew that - unlike Bidwell&039;s mansion and some of the sturdier farmhouses - Winston&039;s abode had an air of shoddy impermanence akin to that found in the slave quarters Matthew continued up the walk, which was made of packed sand and hammer-crushed oyster shells, and knocked soundly at the door

There was but a short wait "Who is iti" caed and perhaps a bit slurred - from within the house

"Matthew Corbett May I please speak with youi"

"Concerning whati" This tiht be termed an unbalanced condition "The witchi"

"No, sir Concerning a surveyor who cao" Silence fell "Mr Bidwell has told me you walked the man around, " Matthew pressed on "I&039;d like to knohat you ht recall of him"

"I have no recollection of such a er business to attend to"

Matthew doubted that Winston had any business other than drinking and plottingto Rachel Howarth Might you want to see theit to her"

al undone The door opened a few inches, enough for a slice of sunlight to enter the house and fall upon Winston&039;s haggard, unshaven face "The decisioni" he said, squinting in the glare "You have it with youi"

"I do" Matthew held up the rolled document "May I come ini"