Blood and Clay (12 page)

“
No Sir, I have three pence to buy pins with. Honest I do. I
just want to buy some pins from you.
”

“
Your money
’
s no good to me girl. I don
’
t want anything to do with earning
’
s of the Devil. I
’
m an honest God fearing man and you
don
’
t have no right tricking me with your dishonest earnings.
”

“
Sir please. I
’
ve waited many an hour for you. It
’
s honest money, I swear, and I just
need some pins and a needle then I
’
ll be on my way.
”

“
You
’
ll get nothing from me girl, out of my way
”
John Law said as he pushed me
roughly to the side so as to walk past.

I
stumbled on the small stones as his push threw me away from him. As I fell I
caught my knee on the rock and it began to bleed. I cried out in pain but my
cry was soon drowned out by the growling and barking of the black dog as it
moved to stand over me and faced the peddler. John Law hurried to pick up his
bags as he looked at the dog with fear. It was a large dog and seemed ready to
attack if he made another move towards me. Tears made my vision blurry and my
knee had begun to sting and throb. Sticky blood dribbled down my leg and pooled
at the top of my shoe before running down the insides of the leather to make
the sole of my foot damp. As I looked at the peddler he began to heft the
biggest of his bags onto his back then suddenly stopped. One arm seemed to go
limp and he dropped his bag from the other hand to be able to rub the floppy
arm.

“
What have you done you bitch? You and that cursed hound of
yours. What spell have you cast on me?
”

Suddenly
he wavered in his feet and fell to the ground. The dog
’
s barks had settled into a low
rumbling, chesty growl and it seemed to relax away from the peddler then went
quiet and started to lick at the tears on my face. I looked in shock between
the dog and the peddler who now lay on the ground. The left side of his face
was twisted in an inhuman grimace and he floundered around like a beetle on its
back as he tried to get up. I crawled towards the peddler to try and help but
as I got closer he lashed out his arm and turned his face towards me, half of
it normal and half now drooping at the eye, cheek and mouth. He looked like a
wax doll melting right in front of me. I shrank back in fear and dragged myself
backwards towards the rock. As I reached it I pulled myself upright and began
to run back towards Malkin Tower. Maybe the Devil was in him. What had I done?

The
black dog ran beside me for a while and then I stopped to rest as my knee began
to throb once more and realized that the dog was gone. I started off once more
and didn
’
t stop until I reached my clearing. I collapsed into the
clearing and crawled into the hiding tree, sitting still and quiet for a few
minutes as I caught my breath before beginning to sob.

I
hugged my knees to my chest and rocked as I sobbed. Visions of the fabric left
behind, the dog and, most often, the peddler
’
s face, crowded my thoughts until I
finally cried myself to sleep.

The
water pooled around my ankles and tickled them as it trickled past. Every so
often a trout would swim slowly past. They were plentiful at this time of year.
T
’
weren
’
t our river but it were so close to Malkin Tower that not
many folk came near. Summer meant a change in the pace of life and most of our
food came from the river or land rather than Beggar
’
s Bend. I
’
d not caught a thing today though,
not even tried. My head was too filled with thoughts of the day before, the
peddler
’
s face as he lay twisted and writing on the ground, the
lack dog that I hadn
’
t seen since. I
’
d tossed and turned all night as they
clamoured my dreams. By morn I was sweaty and claggy, tangled up in my sheets.
I had left the barn without speaking to anyone and made my way down to the
river for some time alone with my wicked thoughts.

My
heart had been beating hard, trying to fight its way out of my chest to tell
the world what I
’
d done. Out here in the open it didn
’
t beat so hard. I lay back on the
grass and pulled my feet out of the water. They instantly began to warm up. The
grass tickled the back of my neck and my ears. Where my back pressed into the
floor I felt damp and warm as the morning dew still lingered where I rested.
Looking up I began to feel dizzy as the dandelion clock puffs of cloud seemed
all at once very far away but close enough to touch. The sun was already high,
even though it was still early, and the blue of the sky was so bright that it
almost hurt to look at it. A dragonfly, looking all the world like a fairy,
buzzed over my face and settled on my chest for a while before flittering away
again. I closed my eyes and listened to the whisper of the trees, tinkling and
bubbling of the river and the clattering of horse hooves, coming up fast.

I
shot up, the calm of a minute ago totally gone, my hammering heart making
itself known again, threatening to leap out of my chest. Roger Nowell had come
to get me, or Constable Hargreaves perhaps. All the possibilities flitted
through my mind quicker than a blink. Hide, run real wick back to the barn,
stay and face up to a flogging. Before I could decide the horse skidded to a
stop at the other side of the river sending a shower of tiny pebbles and dusty
dirt into the river, making a small cloud in the water before it sank or was
swept away. A pair of heavy boots hit the ground and bounded into the river. The
rider was all that way across the river before I calmed down enough to look at
his face and realised it was Gabe. A sob erupted from my throat before I could
stop it as relief washed over me, making me as dizzy as I had been when I was
watching the clouds. I quickly pulled myself together. I hadn
’
t realised how scared I was until
this moment but I didn
’
t want Gabe to see me cry.

“
Lizzie what happened?
”
Gabe reached my side and plopped
down next to me heavily. He set down a large bag he was carrying.
“
The village is saying you crippled
John Law the peddler. Not just one village, all of them. They are talking about
you from Read to Barlick to Clitheroe.
”

“
I didn
’
t do it.
”
I gasped.
“
Honest Gabe I didn
’
t. Or maybe I did. I don
’
t know. I
’
m all a tizz, all confused. I didn
’
t mean to do it, I know that much. Is
he dead?
”

I
could feel the tears threatening again. My eyes prickled and I felt as if a
lump of apple were stuck in my through, making me want to gag.

“
He
‘
isn
’
t dead Lizzie, just lamed. Frozen on one side the gossips
are saying. What happened?
”

I
shot a look back to the house. I didn
’
t want Mam or Gran seeing Gabe. They
didn
’
t know I had a friend and if they did find out they would
find some way to harm our friendship. Make me steal from Gabe or tell him
untruths about me. They wouldn
’
t let me have the bit of happiness that Gabe brought me.

“
Come on. We should move away from here. Mam might see.
”

“
She can
’
t be that bad Lizzie. Perhaps I could meet her.
”

“
No!
”
Gabe moved back a bit and his eyes widened. I realised I
had just shouted.

“
Sorry I mean, she isn
’
t nice Gabe. Not like your Mam. Let
’
s just go alright?
”

“
Alright. Let
’
s be off then.
”
Gabe was still looking at me like I
was moonstruck and I remembered again how far apart our lives were, how he
could never really understand how my life and kin were.

I
stood up and slipped my shoes on. Gabe waded across the river to get his horse
then waded back.

“
You might be better off than I Gabe but you can
’
t afford a horse. Where
’
s that from?
”

“
Mr Nowell. I went to see him to find out what was going
with Mr Law.
”

“
I didn
’
t know you knew him Gabe. What did he say?
”

I
was shocked that Gabe knew the Justice. What had he told him about me? I couldn
’
t bear for Gabe to know that I had
lied to Mr Nowell or about the horrible visit of him and the Constable a few
months earlier.

“
He didn
’
t say nowt Lizzie. Just that I should come see you and find
out if you were troubled. I thought you knew I knew him Liz. It were him who
got me my job with John Nutter. Mr Nowell is my Uncle.
”

I
stopped walking and Gabe bumped into me.

“
Your Uncle? What do you know of me really Gabe? What has he
told you? You lied to me Gabe. You
’
ve been lying
’
and pretending
’
you know nowt about my kin but what
I
’
ve told you.
”
I felt close to tears.

Gabe
looked at me wide eyed.
“
I don
’
t know nowt but what you told me Lizzie. What do you mean?
I thought you knew he were my Uncle. He
’
s Mam
’
s big brother. I don
’
t know him right well, only spoken to
him once or twice in my whole life, but I knew he would know what was going on
an
’
I was worried.
”

Gabe
was looking at me like I was a mad beast, a boggart dancing a jig. His brow was
furrowed and he stared at me.

“
Lizzie, I don
’
t know nowt about you really do I?
Just that you ha
’
nt got much money, you don
’
t get on with your kin and your Mam
and Gran fancy themselves witches. What don
’
t I know Liz? Time to be honest with
me lass.
”

I
nodded. Perhaps the relief of talking the truth to him would help. Perhaps he
would know what to do, maybe help me and Nettie run away and start again. It
was getting worse every day at home. There was never enough money for me to
save enough to start a new life and it was going to be a right old age before
Nettie was grown enough to find a husband and get free.

“
Come on, not here.
”
I glanced a little ahead to the
haunted clearing that we were now reaching. A place of evil was not the place
so be sharing confidences.
“
I know somewhere we can go. Somewhere we can talk.
”

I
had been planning to walk us through the woods and into one of the fields
beyond but something pulled me to the security of my clearing now. If I was
going to share my secrets with Gabe I should share all of them and that meant
showing him my secret hideaway. We kept on walking, me at the front. Gabe shot
a look at the haunted clearing.

“
I don
’
t like it here Lizzie. It feels cold, dark. Is this the
place they talk about in the village? The place where your Pa was murdered?
”