Crucible by S. G. MacLean Page B

of me, but I will be a friend to you. I can only do that if you are honest with me. You must tell me the truth about your husband and his friends.’
    She looked to the ground, biting her lip, the tears spilling over now.
    ‘The meetings. I know – or I greatly suspect – Robert was involved in some secret society. From what you have told me, I believe it met here, at your house.’
    She shook her head.
    ‘Rachel, you must tell me what you know, or I cannot help you.’
    ‘I know that, but they did not meet here in the house, it was down there.’ She pointed to the lodge. ‘They would spend three hours there, sometimes longer.’
    ‘How many of them were there?’
    She thought for a moment. ‘Four; never more than four, I think.’
    ‘Your brother, Robert Sim, John Innes and who else?’
    ‘John?’ she faltered. ‘How? No, I …’
    ‘I am near to certain that John was one of their number.And he is in a state of terror. For his sake, you must tell me the truth. I will tell no one that I had it from you.’
    At last she nodded.
    ‘Was it John who came here to help your husband in the first place, when he was clearing the lodge?’
    ‘No, it wasn’t.’
    ‘Then who?’
    ‘That I cannot tell you.’
    ‘Cannot, or will not? Mistress Middleton, this man’s life may depend on it.’
    ‘I know that, but my husband has sworn me to secrecy on the matter, and I cannot go against him. He too is fearful, but I do not know what he is fearful of. And I fear for him, that whatever evil was behind Robert’s death might seek him out too.’
    I stretched my hand across the table briefly to touch her fingers. ‘You must trust me. If I am to help your husband, and John Innes, I must know as much as you can tell me. Who is the fourth man? It is not Matthew Jack?’
    ‘Matthew Jack?’ Her face paled. ‘Not him, no not him. He did come here once, one evening, but he had not been invited and was not wanted. It was the evening of one of Richard’s meetings, and Matthew Jack came not long after Robert had arrived. He knocked only once on the door and then walked right in – and found the three of us seated around the table, having our supper before the others arrived. Matthew Jack demanded to know what Robert was doing here, and what he had in his bag.’
    ‘His bag? The satchel that he always carried with him?’
    She nodded.
    ‘What did they do?’
    ‘Richard lost little time in putting him from the house, and telling him that should he ever come back he would have the baillies on him. He has never been back here, but I have seen him around the town, and the way he looks at me sickens me to my stomach.’
    ‘The way he looks at you?’ She flushed and I realised what she meant. ‘I think you need to be careful,’ I said. ‘If your husband must go to his patients in the night, tell him he is to take you first to my house.’
    ‘Your house?’
    ‘My wife Sarah will be there; there will be no scandal. I think you should not be alone at night.’
    ‘Since the night of Robert’s death, Richard has not gone out to patients.’
    ‘Have you been in the lodging since your husband and his friends began to hold their meetings there?’
    ‘Never. He asked me not to go in there, and he took all the keys.’
    ‘And you have no notion of what it was they found, or of the nature of their meetings?’
    She shook her head. ‘They met for study and conversation, fellowship, that is all.’
    ‘But why then the need for secrecy?’
    She looked out over her garden, where bees were busy amongst the marigolds and daisies. ‘I am sorry, Mr Seaton,I was not privy to their secrets and did not seek to be so.’
    I could believe her, but there must have been something. ‘His bag, that Matthew Jack demanded to see. Do you know what was in it?’
    She smiled. ‘Now that I can tell you. Books. With Robert, what else but books?’
    Books. The books his landlady had seen.
    ‘Did he ever show you these books?’
    ‘No, although we