Nathan fell silent while he thought back. “Anne and Gideon stopped by to visit at four that afternoon. They stayed past six.”
I couldn’t have asked for a better alibi, but there was still another matter that needed settling. “And which of my maidservants has been acting as your accomplice this summer?”
He looked genuinely confused. “No one.”
“Then how did you know that I had locked Henry in his room our first night at Brighmor, or about my scar?”
“I heard of the door by listening to the gossip. Hopewell has been rife with it since you and Henry married. The scar though, I learned about in a letter. The writer insisted that you had been marked by a demon.” He dropped his gaze, embarrassed by this last confession.
“And what of the witch bottle buried under the walkway?” I asked him. “Do you know anything about that?”
He shook his head. “Nothing at all.”
I felt the prickle of cold sweat on my body. Not until this moment did it occur to me that someone other than Nathan could be conspiring with a member of my household. There was but one hope to find this anonymous fiend. “What will you do after declaring my innocence this morning?” I asked Nathan.
“Once the meeting is over, I will make a full confession to the constable.”
“No,” I said, surprising everyone in the room, including myself. “You would be of more use trying to find out who is behind these letters.”
“You can’t mean it,” Henry protested. “He tried to kill you!”
“My life remains in danger while this other person is at large. If Nathan is truly sorry for his crimes, then he will do everything in his power to discover this man’s identity.” Deep in my gut, I knew this was the right thing to do. It was my best hope to learn who killed my mother and grandmother, and the only way I could ever be free. “Will you do this for me?”
Nathan rose out of bed and knelt before me. “On my soul, I will do everything in my power to help you.”
Teme moved to stand beside Henry. “Fail, Minister, and we will cut you into a thousand pieces.”
Nathan stood and looked Teme straight in the eyes. “There will be no need,” he said softly. “If I fail, I’ll do it myself.”
Chapter Eighteen
An Unexpected Visitor
For the next hour we debated how best to draw the anonymous letter-writer out into the open. It would have been to our advantage for Nathan to continue acting as though he thought me guilty, but since word of his overnight stay had most likely reached every ear in Hopewell by now, some kind of explanation was necessary to allay further suspicion. We needed the person to think that Nathan was simply wavering and required additional persuasion. To accomplish this, he would openly address his visit to Brighmor in meeting this morning while speaking in noncommittal terms about my possible innocence.
After that, our strategy was remarkably straightforward. Nathan would wait for another letter. Once it arrived, he would reply and then Teme and Henry would begin watching the abandoned dairy around the clock. This plan was more passive than I would have liked, but anything more aggressive might have given us away.
We were deep in conversation when someone knocked on the bedroom door. I immediately put a finger to my lips for quiet. “Come in,” I called.
Mary opened the door and poked her head into the room, her eyes growing bigger as she took in our group. Not that she hadn’t expected to see us, but all assembled, we must have looked quite a sight. “Good morning, ma’am. Would ye be needing help to dress for meeting?” she asked me.
Meeting would have to take precedent over visiting the Otherworld this morning. “I’ll be over shortly. Would you please instruct Karta to have breakfast brought up for our guests?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mary said. She darted furtive looks at both Nathan and Teme.
“That will be all.” Until I knew which servant was speaking behind my back, everyone had to be considered a possible suspect.
With a quick curtsy, she left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.
“I believe it is all decided then,” Henry said and turned to Teme. “While the three of us are at meeting, you should return to your village to rest. We can meet up tonight to discuss any new developments. And I would like to see all the letters from this anonymous writer.”
“I’ll bring them,” Nathan said.
Henry narrowed his eyes in thought. “We can’t meet at Brighmor again without raising suspicions. Is there another place where we won’t be seen?”
Teme nodded. “Selah’s altar. I will be there at dusk.”
My brows rose up in surprise. “You found that, did you?”
“The Lenape have always known of it.”
And all this time I assumed it to be my secret.
I turned to Nathan. “What about you? Do you know of it as well?”
He looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “I stumbled upon an altar of sorts last night when I was hiding in the woods.”