The Witching Pool: A Justice Belstrang Mystery (Justice Belstrang Mysteries Book 2) by John Pilkington (love letters to the dead .TXT) 📗

to me as I returned to bed and I agreed, if with misgivings. Thereafter, Thirldon slept until the sun was up. When I arose it was with some unease, along with much curiosity: why had the Cobbett girls chosen to come to me?

After breakfast I ventured outdoors, to find that the cart was gone. At once, I sought out Elkins.

‘The fellow drove off, sir, soon after I went back to bed,’ he said. ‘By the time I came out he was away. Didn’t even water the horses. I did offer him a pallet, but he wouldn’t stay.’

‘Did he not say anything?’ I asked.

‘Only that he was hired to make a delivery of goods, and his work was done.’

I sighed, thinking that I must have slept most soundly not to hear the cart rattle away. But then, it was of little importance: what mattered was to speak with my new charges, to whom I appeared to have given sanctuary. It was mid-day before the opportunity arrived - but when at last it did, it would occasion both amazement and dismay.

The first surprise was that, all the time we had been searching for the runaways, they had been in hiding at a house in Worcester. And when I asked who had hidden them, the answer came as a shock: Parson Thomas Woollard.

‘We went to him for two reasons,’ Jane said, sitting quietly in my private parlour. ‘Firstly, because I believed the Kempsey parsonage was the last place my father would look. And secondly, because I knew I could force Woollard to help us.’

I heard her in silence, as did Hester and Childers, who were seated close by. The sisters sat side by side, calmer now and rested, though both looked pale and taut. Alison said not a word, nor had she from the moment of their arrival.

‘He fears my father, but he fears the law even more,’ Jane went on. ‘As he knows I have knowledge enough to lose him his living – perhaps even his freedom.’

She bit her lip, seemingly unwilling to say more. I exchanged looks with Hester; it was only three days since Boyd and I had caught Woolland at the inn, with a girl young enough to be his grand-daughter.

‘In truth, I know something of the parson’s ways,’ I told her, as kindly as I could. ‘You need not fear to accuse him.’

‘Accuse him?’ Jane echoed. ‘I did not dare, sir… but then, he could not be sure of my silence. Which is why, when I roused him and told him what I wanted, he made the arrangements.’

‘And what were those?’

‘To convey us to Worcester before the night was done, in secret. Then, as soon as the gates were open, to take us somewhere in the city where we could wait out the day. After that, to get us here to Thirldon…’ the girl sighed. ‘It was the only place I could think of – you were the only person I could think of, sir, who might offer the sanctuary we need.’

‘I’m flattered,’ I said. ‘And I do offer it. I suppose, since you knew a search would be mounted, you waited until the middle of the night to complete your journey?’

‘In truth, we hoped to come here at dusk,’ Jane answered. ‘But the carter was very late. I thought Woolland had betrayed us… we were mortally afraid, waiting by the road. We knew not whom to trust.’

I glanced at Hester and Childers, who were as attentive as I was. I had a score of questions, but reined in my impatience.

‘So, the parson himself took you to Worcester,’ Hester said.

Jane nodded. ‘On his horse, we two riding together. He borrowed a mule for himself from somewhere, and led us there by dark, our heads covered. But we met no-one, and by early morning we were in the city, where he knew someone who would shelter us for the day and keep it secret.’ She threw a glance at her sister, who still made no sound.

‘Who is this person?’ I demanded. And when she hesitated, I was obliged to be firm. ‘See now, I swear you have nothing to fear – not from me, Mistress Hester or John Childers, who have my absolute trust. But if you desire my help, I need you to tell me everything. Can you not do so?’

A moment passed, then: ‘She’s an old woman, who keeps a certain kind of house,’ Jane said, lowering her eyes. ‘There are many rooms there. We were given one below the eaves, and a little food, and told not to come out again until fetched.’

I tensed: at last, I had the picture. ‘Were you left alone, until it was time to leave?’ I asked, somewhat sharply.

She hesitated again, then uttered words that surprised us further. ‘You need not trouble to spare my feelings, Master Belstrang, for I know what a bawdy house is. Yet we were not molested. And I was not surprised to see how familiar Parson Woolland was with the place… nor how well he seemed to know the woman whose house it was.’

I looked at Childers, who shook his head, eyes downcast.

‘You said you knew enough to threaten the parson,’ I said. ‘While visiting such places would perhaps ruin him if it were known, I don’t see how-’

‘They were children!’

It was Alison who spoke, startling everyone, her voice shrill. ‘She kept maids - some my age, even younger,’ she cried, looking round angrily at the company. ‘We saw them, peering round doors when we left. One looked no more than seven or eight years old!’

She turned to her sister, who kept silent, then faced me. ‘You speak of Woolland being in fear? Well, so are we both, sir. And if it were in my power, I would kill him myself!’

Whereupon, giving way to a flood of