Saturday's Child (22 page)

He walked with her to the barn. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Two cops asking if I’d seen anything here last night. They said they’d been a fire and a murder. Was it arson? Was anyone hurt? Who died? Why didn’t you call and tell me? I was worried sick when the police told me.”

“Don’t you remember?” He put the bags down on the table in the barn and turned to her. Was she joking?

“Like I told them, we made the guy, and I left between seven and half past before the storm hit. Didn’t make it home in time, but other than that nothing happened.”

“You don’t remember the fire?” He held her gaze. What was going on here? Why didn’t she remember? She’d gone to investigate and almost gotten caught, and then
she
was the one who wanted to report it.

“I think I’d remember a fire. Where was it? How big? Was anyone hurt?”

“The fire was in the top field. Clive is currently plowing and then seeding it.” Aaron had the sensation of someone watching him and shivered. He turned to find the crow perched on a sack of seed, his single yellow eye fixated on them. He went with the cover story. “It looked like kids messing about and building a bonfire a little early. Hopefully, seeding the land will keep them away.”

They made two more trips with bags and boxes. He had no idea they would need so much stuff. But then they were expecting upwards of six to eight hundred people.

Meggie wiped her palms on her jeans. “OK, that’s the lot. Pastor Jack said the team should arrive around midday tomorrow to make a start digging out the fire pit. If that’s all right with you.”

“I have a meeting at ten thirty, so can they come about two instead? I should be back by then.”

“Sure. I’ll text Pastor Jack and let him know.” She pulled out her phone and started typing. “Who are you seeing?”

Too late, Aaron remembered the crow, sitting, listening to his every word.
OK he
was
crazy
. “Just an old friend. Someone I haven’t seen in a while. Bit of a chinwag and catch up, you know how it goes.”

“Tidy. Gareth is coming up tonight. He has a series of meetings in Wokingham tomorrow, and as I’m way cheaper than a hotel, he’s staying in my spare room. I’m trying to convince him to stay another night or two and come to the bonfire. But we’ll see.”

“It’ll be company for you tonight anyway.”

“Yeah.”

Aaron slid his arm around her, brushing his lips against hers. “Is it too soon to mention marriage again?”

She parted her lips and he took it as invitation, pouring as much passion into the kiss as he could. He held her against him, his fingers running along her arm. Her hand curled around the back of his neck, winding through his hair, sending waves of pleasure rippling through him, from the tips of his fingers to his core.

Meggie broke off, breathless. She sighed and looked up at him. “That’s some proposal you have there. What’s a girl meant to do?”

“Say yes.” He cupped her face with his injured hand. “I’m going to keep asking.”

A cough from the doorway turned both their heads. Drake stood there, his black cloak waving in the breeze. “Miss Knight, perhaps you would join us inside for a few minutes.”

“I should be going,” Meggie began. “I have things to do back at—” Her voice died and her eyes glazed over. She froze in Aaron’s arms, her face blanking. Then she nodded. “Tea would be nice, thank you.”

“Tea?” Aaron said surprised. No one had mentioned drinking anything.

An image of a steaming mug of tea popped unbidden into his mind. He could almost taste the hot liquid running down his throat. “Yeah, it does.”

He took Meggie’s hand and walked with her, following Drake inside the cold farmhouse.

****

Meggie blinked hard. How did she get here?

One minute she was being kissed senseless by Aaron, in the way of the most amazing marriage proposal ever. And the next she was in the farm house, in the front parlor, nonetheless, drinking very hot, scented tea.

She didn’t like it, the smell alone made her want to gag, but she kept swallowing. She even accepted a second cupful.

In front of her was a file, detailing everything she had ever done. The fine for the DUI she’d gotten when she was nineteen. The one time she’d experimented with drugs and taken ecstasy at a university party. The fight she’d had with her parents as a result. All the lies and hateful things she’d said and done. Even the baby she’d miscarried late in the pregnancy was written down in there, in black and white condemning her before she’d even opened her mouth in her own defense.

How did they find out all this stuff? She hadn’t told anyone about how rotten her life had been before she’d met Jesus. She wasn’t perfect now. She knew that only too well. Her failed relationship with Ted proved that. But she sat listening as her sins were listed one by one. She felt dirty, sick, and unforgiven.

Her face burned and her stomach rebelled against the tea. She longed to run, but she was rooted to the spot under the weight of her sin.

“You are not worthy of his love,” Tanis told her.

Tears burned her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough. You say you love him, yet your behavior hasn’t changed one iota. He doesn’t want you. He won’t marry you. You’re not even chaste. You belonged to another before you were his. His kisses mean nothing. His declaration of love means nothing. You are unwanted. Unloved. Worthless.”

Tears streamed down Meggie’s face as Tanis put away the file. “Please…”

“You will leave after the fire and never return. You will not contact him again.”

Her hands shook as she took another unwanted sip of the hot, bitter liquid. Her stomach rebelled, and her heart burned with an acute sense of loss.

Tanis rose. “I will come back in a few moments with the others and then we’ll begin. Take the time to think things over and compose yourself. I must speak with Aaron.”

****

Aaron sat in the kitchen, Drake staring at him from the other side of the room. He glanced up as Tanis came back in. “Where’s Meggie? What have you done with her?”

“She is drinking her tea. We had a nice chat, sorted a few things out. Now it is your turn.”

“We have nothing to sort out, Tanis.” He tried to get up, but he couldn’t move.

Tanis sat opposite him, staring at him, blowing smoke in his face. “You have a choice here, Aaron. You can choose the farm or Meggie. You can’t have both. I have uncovered things about her, things that would shock you if you knew the truth.”

“I know about her ex-boyfriend.”

“Did you know she was sleeping with him?”

Something slammed into his gut, and for an instant, he couldn’t breathe. Then it passed. “That’s between her and him.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“I didn’t say that. But then she wouldn’t be my first, either.”

“She had an abortion, she doesn’t want children. You do. You’re incompatible.” Her voice wheedled its way into his mind and worked on his inner most thoughts. “So you can either choose her or the farm. You can’t have both. Besides, she almost got into trouble last night, sticking her nose where it isn’t wanted. Who knows what might happen to her? You wouldn’t want her hurt, would you? Best to tell her to go once the bonfire is over. Or better still, tell her to leave tonight and not to come back. If you love her and you want the farm, you’ll let her go. Give her up and you keep the farm.”

Aaron sat in the chair, torn. He knew Tanis wanted the farm at any cost and he didn’t want to let it go, not without a fight, but more than anything, he wanted Meggie safe.

What do I do?
The fragranced tea filled his senses and he swallowed it. He had to let her go.

“OK, I’ll tell her in the morning.”

Tanis smiled. “A wise decision. I’ll have the papers drawn up for you to sign. You can even get your fancy lawyer to read them over. The farm will be yours. All of it.”

He looked at her. “All of it?”

She nodded. “Yes, all of it.”

“OK.” Yet it felt like a hollow victory. As if he’d just made a deal with the devil and exchanged his one chance at happiness for his soul.

20

Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Psalm 22:20

Meggie didn’t meet Aaron’s gaze as he came into the room. She could feel it burning into her, but it was safer not to look up. He sat beside her, his scent washing over her and unlike the joy that normally filled her, this time she welled with grief and shame. She risked a quick glance at him. He sat ramrod straight with a shattered look on his face.

He must know, perhaps Tanis told him or he found out some other way, how bad she was and what she’d done. Other people came into the parlor. They were all wearing black robes and cloaks. The unease grew within her, tempered by the way her head was swimming. Her senses were dulled as if stuffed with cotton wool.

Tanis lit a dozen candles and a couple of incense sticks. She began swaying and chanting, the candle flames rising and falling in time with her words. Drake put a bowl in front of her, and as Tanis passed a hand over it, the liquid contents burst into flames.

Meggie tried to get up, not wanting to be here, but her body refused to obey her. The chanting was hypnotizing. She didn’t understand any of the words, but knew what was happening. Thick darkness filled the room. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Goose bumps covered her skin. Terror twisted her stomach, searing every part of her with panic. The chanting turned to incantation.

Everyone in the room joined in, with the exception of Meggie and Aaron. The only sound coming from him was the same shallow breaths that she managed.

She needed to pray, she knew that. But she was unwanted. Unwanted. Unworthy. Unloved. The three words repeated over and over in her mind like a mantra.

Unwanted…

Unworthy…

Unloved…

Unwanted, unworthy, unloved…

Flames roared, incense rose, incantation increased. And then she knew the words to the incantation. They twisted in her mind. It would be so easy to join in.

The room flooded with an overwhelming sense of evil. The chanting intensified. A presence filled it, the face hovering above the table, rising from the flames.

Oh God, help me!
she cried.

For an instant there was silence, then it was as if she hadn’t said anything.

Jesus is Lord.

She shivered as something touched her soul. Screwing her eyes tight shut, she reached out in prayer.
I know I’m not worthy, that I am weak and sinful and a mere speck of dust in the presence of a Holy God. But please, look down on Aaron and me and help us. Jesus is Lord, You are Lord and alone are worthy of praise.

She continued praying, keeping central the thought that Jesus is Lord. Through the distraction of the chanting she struggled to focus her mind. She raised her hand, and the prayers came easier. Her hand dropped and the chanting increased in volume. Just like Abraham, she realized, raising her hands again. Her eyes sprung open.

Tanis stood silent, looking directly at her. “You…” Her hand rose, her finger with its long blood red nail pointed. “Be silent.”

“I will not be silent,” Meggie said. She began singing
Amazing Grace
quietly, hearing Aaron’s bass voice join her.

Then she was outside in the hallway, with the parlor door firmly closed. She looked at Aaron. “How did we get here?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. Was his mind just as befuddled as hers? “But I think we should pray around the house, starting here. Could you text the others and ask them to pray as well?”

Meggie nodded. She pulled out her phone, sending a quick text to Cadfael, Pastor Jack and Pastor Bruce.

Aaron put a hand on the parlor door, wincing as pain crossed his face. “It’s hot.” He began to pray aloud that God would fill this place with His presence and keep them safe.

Slowly Meggie walked through the house with him, praying alongside him. They reached the door of the spare room. A chill permeated through the door.

Meggie pulled back, wrinkling her nose. “What’s that smell?”

The door seemed to bow and give as Aaron touched it. “It’s hot,” he said, pulling his hand back. Red marks immediately came up on his fingers. “It burned me.”

Tugging his sleeve down over his hand, he opened the door.

Meggie gagged as the foul stench overwhelmed them. She stepped backwards, her hand flying up to cover her nose and mouth.

Thick, green mold covered every wall, the floor and ceiling. Every picture and piece of furniture was encrusted in olive fur. Bar one. The picture of Jesus looked singed.

Flies buzzed, obscuring the window. Two eyes glowered at them from the encased mirror.

Pain sliced into her arm, forcing her away from the door and shoving her into the opposite wall with a bone jarring thud. She clutched her arm, in an effort to staunch the burning pain and the blood oozing from the three cuts. “Oh, God, protect us,” she whispered. “Lord, send an angel to stand between us and them.”

“Our Father, who art in heaven…” Aaron wrestled with the door, finally pulling it shut. He held it, continuing to pray.

Meggie ran to the bathroom, barely making it before she threw up. The tea burned her throat and mouth as she heaved, her stomach wrenching in its desire to be rid of the bitter, vile contents.

Her armed burned as she leaned against the cold tile wall. She clutched it tightly, trying to deal with the intense pain and myriad emotions filling her.
Oh, Lord, it’s worse than it was before…

“Meggie?” Aaron’s voice came from the doorway.

“I’m all right.” She rose on shaky legs and turned to face him. Her jaw dropped in shock. The man in front of her had visibly aged. “Aaron…”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Your hair…” She reached up a hand, touching the strands, trying to determine if it were real or just her sight. “It’s gone white.”

Aaron moved past her and stood in front of the mirror. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open. He slowly pushed a hand through his hair. His gaze met hers. Her few strands of grey had multiplied to salt and pepper coloring, but nothing like his. It was more white than blond.