Raised By Wolves Volume four- Wolves (41 page)

an accusation of witchcraft against her husband, which she has

an accusation of witchcraft against her husband, which she has not done, she has no right to take his children from him. I have explained this to her. Father Mark even admits this. He feels Liam is being misled by you, but he does not feel that Liam is anythingother thana good Catholic.”

“That is good to know,” I said with relief. “So, does she wish to remain here on Île de la Tortue, or return to England, or —now that she has converted to Catholicism—does she wish to go to some Catholic country? Liamis willing to provide her with a modest fortune to see to her needs. She is a sensible and frugal woman, I am sure she could live quite comfortably in many places—with or without a position. But she will not take his son with her. And, she will, of course, never marry again and neither willhe.”

He raised his brow. “On that matter, the Catholic Church has no record of their marriage, since it was not performed inthe Church.”

“Ah,”I said. “And so, cantheir marriage be annulled?” “Oui, or rather, it is already as if it does not exist unless we recognize it. What occurs if she returns to England concerning that matter is a different issue. She will be married there and subject to the Church of England’s doctrines.” He shrugged. “I willtellher ofLiam’s offer. I do not know ifshe has thought that far downthe pathshe is running.”
We thanked him and retreated to the sanctuary of our house. Even as I thought of it being a sanctuary, I recalled that that too was on tenuous ground. I stopped us outside the door and told Gastonwhat Yvette had told me about Doucette’s will.

He shrugged. “It is just as well. We will not be staying

He shrugged. “It is just as well. We will not be staying anyway.”
“I am sorry,” I breathed as I realized the magnitude of that statement. “I know youwished to remainhere.”
He shrugged again. “I will be as I am—and practice medicine—wherever we choose to go. My only desires are you and the wellbeingofthe children.”
“Now who is grantingabsolution?”
He smiled. “It is not your fault, Will. It was an unfortunate chainofevents. We could blame Henrietta; or me for having a bout and forcing you to do a thing which made you need to pray so openly; or Rachelfor allowing things to progress to such a tragic point without telling anyone; or… the Gods.” He gave a helpless shrug.
He was correct, and I acquiesced willingly. “It is as it is; but, it does force our hand.”
“Oui:how do youperceive it?”
I sighed. “When the
Magdalene
returns, we must make plans to deal with matters in England in some fashion, even if we have not heard fromyour father.”
“What willyoudo about your father?”
Ideas had been buzzing around my mind from time to time on that matter. I had ignored themuntil now. It was time to examine them. “Perhaps we can sneak into the country and arrange an accident in such a manner that none will suspect

murder.”He nodded thoughtfully. “I have been researching

 

poisons, but unless I can discover one an English physician would not know, theywillcallit murder.”

 

would not know, theywillcallit murder.”

“And suspect my physician lover,” I sighed. “I was thinking of slitting his throat and burning his house down around him, so that there is no fleshleft to examine.”

“I like that,” he said. “The difficult part would be staying longenoughto insure that no one attempted to rescue him.”
“In London, I do not think anyone will bother searching for himif we set an entire street on fire. And we will need to kill anyone who might seek himbefore the tinder is struck.”
“That will be ruthless,” he said with a frown, and then nodded withresignation.
“It is a thingofmyWolf. Yousee whyI have not wished to contemplate it, and have hoped to avoid it. Innocent lives will surelybe traded for ours. I wishto avoid that.”
“I know,” he sighed. He straightened his shoulders and smiled glumly. “But first, we should locate a ship to use for our escape, in case the
Magdalene
does not return—or at least not before Father Mark canbringthe Churchdownuponour ears.”
“Oui, let us discuss that with the others. We should speak to Pete and Striker, and I must arrange for Sam’s freedom.”
“Perhaps Sarahhas hot soup,”Gastonsaid.
I laughed, and looked at the darkening sky—the sun had set while we spoke to Father Pierre. “Pomme is sure-footed enoughto carryus there inthe dark.”
We went inside and found we would not have to ride anywhere: Striker and Pete were sitting at a table being regaled with the day’s events by Liam. All welcomed us, and Agnes seemed particularly delighted at our arrival. I was soon holding seemed particularly delighted at our arrival. I was soon holding little Jamaica and Gaston had Apollo. We sat and divested ourselves of weapons: we had learned that pistols, kicking feet, and inquisitive fingers do not mixafter Apollo verynearlyshot his father inthe thighour first week here.
We dandled the babes, sipped wine, ate cold sausage and cheese, and waited until everyone finished laughing about Muri and the soup. It was good to see everyone merry, but not drunk—including Striker. I happily noted he was only drinking wine. Theodore also seemed bright-eyed but relaxed.
By the time expectant eyes turned to us, I knew what I must say.
“Let us gather everyone,” I said. “Where are Sam and Hannah? I assume Mistress Theodore cannot joinus?”
“Nay, my wife is sleeping. Hannah is with her, but I will fetch her,” Theodore said. “I believe Sam is in the cookhouse. Oh, and I have discussed that matter withStriker.”
Striker nodded. “He’s a free man.”
“Has someone told him?” I asked. There were guilty frowns. I smiled. “Well someone fetch him and give the poor mana glass ofwine. I wishto have everyone hear what I have to say.”
Bones slipped awayto the cookhouse and soonreturned with a timorous Sam and another bottle of wine. Hannah appeared in the hospital doorway and remained there as Theodore returned to his seat.
“Sam, youare a free man,”Striker said.
As we cheered and applauded him, Samlooked as if he would faint, but he took the wine Bones proffered and smiled would faint, but he took the wine Bones proffered and smiled

widely.Theodore turned and nodded at Hannah. “I willdraw up

the papers for bothofyoutomorrow.”
She bowed deeply.
“Now,” I said and stood—with Jamaica on my hip. “I

have much to say. I will speak in English. I believe Madame Doucette is the onlyone who does not speak the language?”

Yvette frowned at me for a moment before saying in heavily accented English. “I learn.” Then she said, “And Agnes will translate for me,” in a sing-song manner in French to little Elizabeth, who bounced and laughed happilyinher lap.

Agnes was nodding as she came and took little Jamaica. I was relieved: I did not know if I could keep the child entertained while speakingseriously.

“Afore ya start,”Liamsaid. “Anyword o’ me wife?” “Father Pierre will speak to her. He says she does not wish to live with any ofus. I made it plain that you willhave your son, and tendered your offer of returning her to England. The Father noted that your marriage is not a Catholic matter.”
“That be right,”Liamsaid happily. “Thank God.”
There was amusement all around. When it settled, I began.
“First let me apologize for being a stubborn bastard and not being a good Catholic,” I said. They laughed. “I know I should simply lie about the matter, but it seems very wrong to lie to God—or about God.”
I was awarded warmand loving smiles fromeveryone— evenHannah.
“Father Pierre says that the bastard Father Mark very likely has friends who would not be troubled by burning a nobleman’s son. It is undoubtedly only a matter of time before the pompous priest receives the permission—and men—to attempt my arrest. I have no intention of surrendering to them whentheyarrive. It would be best ifI were not here. And, as the Church often views men and women guilty by association, my problems have once again endangered all of you. For that I can never adequatelysayhow sorryI am.”
“So where will we go?” Striker asked with surprisingly little animosity. There was truly not an angry or disgruntled face amongthem.
“We could not stay here, anyway,”Yvette interjected in French. “Doucette’s willgives this house to the Church.”
There were knowing nods, and then the eyes were upon me again.
“I should think it is still possible for everyone to be safe in France for the time being. That is, if the Marquis will take you in. Of course, Gaston’s last letter to him told the man a thing he surely did not wish to hear. So we do not know his disposition toward us inlight ofthat news.”
“Aye,” Gaston said, “I have ended our noble family line by marrying a woman I willnever bed again—a woman who has borne me a daughter; and I have refused to live in a manner that willallow me to inherit inFrance.”
“It just proves you’re made for each other,” Striker

teased.“Thus, as we have discussed, I would not have you

 

rushing off to France without hearing from him if it is at all possible,”I said.

“YaSayin’WeGoesTaFrance, ButNotYou. YaCan’tGoTaFrance. WhereYaBeGoin’Will?” Pete asked with a knowinglook.

“England. Gaston and I will go to England and settle matters with my father so that, at the very least, everyone will once againhave the option ofliving on English soil. I truly wished to stay on French soil and live happily to spite him—until we could find a way to thwart him; but now that I will shortly become an outlaw in France, that is gone; so I will finally do what must be done.”

There were worried faces and Liam said, “There be other ways, Will. We can learn Dutch. No one wants ya ta sacrifice yourself. What ya said when ya came back is right. It canna’ be done without hangin’.”

“Aye, aye,” I said. “If it is known, but I have been thinking, and—though it is likely innocent men will die in the doing of it—it can be done and survived if it is made to look like a natural or accidental death; and, if the person doing it is very careful and never seen. I must sneak into England, disguise myself, and live very carefully until I discover by plan or providence the perfect opportunity. It could take months, or evenlonger.”

They were solemn, but I saw no argument on their faces, onlyworry.
“You’llNa’GoAlone,”Pete said.
“Nay, I willnot. Gastonwillgo withme.”
Pete snorted. “An’Me.”
“What ofme?”Striker asked withlittle humor. Pete shrugged. “We’llFightLater.”
Striker cursed.
“Stop,” I said. “We will have time to argue. I do not think Father Mark can arrange to have me arrested immediately. If he must get permissions from France, it will take four months at the least. And, as I was saying, it would be best if we stayed here until we heard from the Marquis. We have estimated that we cannot expect to hear a response to our last letter until May at the earliest.”
Striker was frowning, but he nodded. “Sarah’s baby is due inMayor thereabouts. We should not traveluntilafter.”
“Aye,” Gaston said, “and Hannah and I should be there when she births. Will is not saying we should not separate yet. We have time to plan.”
“So we leave inJune?”Liamasked.
“That sounds right,” Striker said. “The
Magdalene
should be back bythen.”
“And possiblyPeirrot’s
Josephine
or other French ships capable ofsailingto England,”I said.
“But if our ship or others we know do not arrive in time, we will need to make other arrangements,” Gaston said. “We should arrange for a vessel—or several—to escape quickly on if the need arises.”
“An’ we should pick a place to go if we don’ know ’bout the Marquis,”Liamadded.
“So, I see these as the task before us,” I said. “Does anyone have another plan or other observations? And we must all remember to share such thoughts if we have them over the comingweeks. It is the beginning ofMarch:we have at least two months to wait and prepare.”
“Madame Doucette, you and Monsieur Doucette will accompany us?” Theodore asked. “I know you have become verymucha part ofour lives, but…”
Yvette stilled and then smiled and looked to Agnes, who nodded. She turned back to Theodore. “Agnes and I are lovers,”she said quietly.
“Oh,”Theodore said withsubdued surprise.
Pete was laughing, “ITol’Ya,”he told his matelot.
Striker was frowning as if he understood as much as Bones did about how two womencould do sucha thing.
Liamhad little care for Striker’s confusion. “So, iffn’ we must leave afore the
Magdalene
returns, we be needin’ a ship that can take…” He looked about and counted on his fingers, then looked at Striker, “Julio and Davey?” at Striker’s nod he looked to me, “and afore you two go to England?” at my nod he went on, “so that makes seventeen? Damn. An’ thenthere be the little ones, that be three, no five with Pike and the new Striker babe, and, damn, no six with me son. An’ how many dogs?” he asked Agnes.
“Eight,”she said witha grimace.
Liamlooked to me, “And what about that horse?”
I chuckled even though the question did tweak my heart with guilt and concern. “I am fond of Pomme, but I would not wish to trouble him with an ocean voyage: it can be hard on

horses and he is old. I feel we will leave him to wander free on

 

horses and he is old. I feel we will leave him to wander free on the Strikers’ land. I canonlyprayhe willmeet a good end.”

Liam appeared relieved. “So seventeen, plus six babes an’ eight dogs.”
“We’ll need to commission an entire vessel,” Striker said.
“Let us hope the
Magdalene
returns intime,”I said.
Striker snorted. “Then we’ll just have to placate the Bard with a great deal of rum.” He shrugged. “We can begin to inquire tomorrow_after we explainthis to mywife.”
“An’SheGetsDoneThrowin’Things,” Pete said, but his grinshowed he was jesting.
“I will enter first on that if you wish,” I said with humor. “Better she is angrywithme.”
“Aye, YaNa’SleepThere,”Pete said.
Striker shook his head. “I truly do not think this will make her angry—not ifyougo to England.”
This did not appear to make himhappy, however. I was sure it was because Sarah would not wish for himto go with us. In truth, I did not, either; and not because of his drinking: a onearmed manwould be hard to disguise.
Gaston, Theodore, and Hannah went to see to see to Rachel: I sat about and discussed possible destinations with everyone else. It seemed a storm had passed and left little damage. Even Yvette seemed pleased with the prospect of leaving. I supposed she was: she had not arrived on this shore willingly; none of us had. I wondered how we would view whatever place we chose to go next. Would we continue to