spend the next five minutes without
thinking of anything under that robe.
Sarah greeted him
kindly, offering him the basket once he’d beckoned her inside.
“Please put on
some tea for Miss Brightwell, William,” Merrick instructed, and sat with her at
the table.
I listened to them
as I put on the kettle. It wasn’t often I was in the room when Merrick spoke to
his customers. Sarah had come to procure more of a remedy Merrick made for her
headaches. She could have ordered it easily from Thomas the courier, but it was
plain enough to see that she had wanted to get a look of the young apprentice
from the city. She was an endearing little thing, and I was glad she’d come by.
“Good day,
William,” Sarah said from the door as she was about to leave, fixing me with a
sweet, sunny smile. “Good day, Doctor Merrick.”
When the door
closed and Merrick turned to me, I realized I’d forgotten to bring back the
bark he’d asked me to find. My eyes widened. “I beg pardon, sir. I did not
fetch the bark you asked of me. I can return quickly…”
“No,” he said.
“I’d like you to do your regular chores. There is a list of things to be
prepared for tomorrow. Take care of the ones I have marked. I will check them
before they go out. When you’re finished, I want you to read for a spell and
prepare to summarize what you’ve learned.”
I nodded. “Yes,
sir.” I watched him disappear through the bedroom, headed for the cave. I had
made it five minutes, and I let out a long, exhausted breath.
Chapter 16
That day I worked
with unusual fervor, desperate to keep my head quiet. I finished everything
before late afternoon, and then I did some more. I tidied the lean-to, dusted
every inch of the cottage, and washed the stone steps outside. I beat the rugs,
aired the quilt, fluffed the pillows, straightened the books, and polished the
table.
By evening the
place was sparkling, and I had settled at the table with the book on Indians.
I’d become absorbed in a series of accounts on tree devils, mysterious spirits
who lived to trick and taunt travelers who wandered too deep into the woods,
and I was so lost in the stories that when Merrick entered my field of vision,
I jumped.
He was still in
his robe, and I imagined him staring at me from behind his hood for my
reaction. After a moment, he sat across from me at the table.
“Have you eaten?”
he asked, folding his hands loosely in front of him.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Shall I get you anything, sir?”
Merrick shook his
head and then pushed back his hood. He said nothing, studying my face with his
penetrating eyes.
I cleared my
throat. I was used to him being quiet, but it was different when I could see
his gaze fixed on me like that. Without the hood, I had to wonder what he was
thinking. Although his tone was as patient and pleasant as ever, his expression
could be very difficult to read.
“I have been
indoors too long,” he said, just as I was about to mention what I’d read during
the day, and he rose from the bench. “I would like to take a walk.”
I nodded. “It’s a
fine, clear evening.”
The veil and hood
were drawn over his face again. “Will you join me?”
“Certainly, sir.”
I rose after him and fetched my jacket from the hook near the door as we left.
Merrick led me
along the road in silence, and then veered through the meadow where I’d
gathered dandelions and into the forest at its borders. As the canopy of trees
cut off the already faint moonlight, I realized stupidly that we carried no
light.
“Ah, forgive me, sir,”
I said. “I did not think to take a lantern.”
Merrick slowed and
turned slightly, lifting an arm to lightly touch my back. “Is it difficult for
you to see?”
I peered ahead.
The forest was just sparse enough to allow for easy walking, even though there seemed
to be no well-made path. “I can manage well enough, sir.”
He kept his hand
lightly to the small of my back as we walked on, as though
thinking of anything under that robe.
Sarah greeted him
kindly, offering him the basket once he’d beckoned her inside.
“Please put on
some tea for Miss Brightwell, William,” Merrick instructed, and sat with her at
the table.
I listened to them
as I put on the kettle. It wasn’t often I was in the room when Merrick spoke to
his customers. Sarah had come to procure more of a remedy Merrick made for her
headaches. She could have ordered it easily from Thomas the courier, but it was
plain enough to see that she had wanted to get a look of the young apprentice
from the city. She was an endearing little thing, and I was glad she’d come by.
“Good day,
William,” Sarah said from the door as she was about to leave, fixing me with a
sweet, sunny smile. “Good day, Doctor Merrick.”
When the door
closed and Merrick turned to me, I realized I’d forgotten to bring back the
bark he’d asked me to find. My eyes widened. “I beg pardon, sir. I did not
fetch the bark you asked of me. I can return quickly…”
“No,” he said.
“I’d like you to do your regular chores. There is a list of things to be
prepared for tomorrow. Take care of the ones I have marked. I will check them
before they go out. When you’re finished, I want you to read for a spell and
prepare to summarize what you’ve learned.”
I nodded. “Yes,
sir.” I watched him disappear through the bedroom, headed for the cave. I had
made it five minutes, and I let out a long, exhausted breath.
Chapter 16
That day I worked
with unusual fervor, desperate to keep my head quiet. I finished everything
before late afternoon, and then I did some more. I tidied the lean-to, dusted
every inch of the cottage, and washed the stone steps outside. I beat the rugs,
aired the quilt, fluffed the pillows, straightened the books, and polished the
table.
By evening the
place was sparkling, and I had settled at the table with the book on Indians.
I’d become absorbed in a series of accounts on tree devils, mysterious spirits
who lived to trick and taunt travelers who wandered too deep into the woods,
and I was so lost in the stories that when Merrick entered my field of vision,
I jumped.
He was still in
his robe, and I imagined him staring at me from behind his hood for my
reaction. After a moment, he sat across from me at the table.
“Have you eaten?”
he asked, folding his hands loosely in front of him.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Shall I get you anything, sir?”
Merrick shook his
head and then pushed back his hood. He said nothing, studying my face with his
penetrating eyes.
I cleared my
throat. I was used to him being quiet, but it was different when I could see
his gaze fixed on me like that. Without the hood, I had to wonder what he was
thinking. Although his tone was as patient and pleasant as ever, his expression
could be very difficult to read.
“I have been
indoors too long,” he said, just as I was about to mention what I’d read during
the day, and he rose from the bench. “I would like to take a walk.”
I nodded. “It’s a
fine, clear evening.”
The veil and hood
were drawn over his face again. “Will you join me?”
“Certainly, sir.”
I rose after him and fetched my jacket from the hook near the door as we left.
Merrick led me
along the road in silence, and then veered through the meadow where I’d
gathered dandelions and into the forest at its borders. As the canopy of trees
cut off the already faint moonlight, I realized stupidly that we carried no
light.
“Ah, forgive me, sir,”
I said. “I did not think to take a lantern.”
Merrick slowed and
turned slightly, lifting an arm to lightly touch my back. “Is it difficult for
you to see?”
I peered ahead.
The forest was just sparse enough to allow for easy walking, even though there seemed
to be no well-made path. “I can manage well enough, sir.”
He kept his hand
lightly to the small of my back as we walked on, as though
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