My good mood faded almost as quickly as it had arrived. “I can’t very well run around denying accusations that haven’t even been made yet. I’m afraid there’s nothing to do until he openly denounces me.”
“O ye of little faith,” Henry said, shaking his head. “There’s plenty to be done. To begin with, this Sunday we’ll be attending church together for all to see. Even Nathan must know it’s an uphill battle to charge a pious woman with witchcraft.” His brows furrowed as though he was trying to remember something. “Did you ever tell me which church you belong to?”
“I was baptized Catholic, but my father joined the Quakers when I was a little girl, and I’ve been attending Quaker meeting since.”
“And our dear Mr. Crowley? Is he Quaker also?”
“Through and through,” I said. “About two years ago he was recognized as having the gift of ministry and now speaks almost every Sunday during meeting.” Even before Henry’s suggestions, I had wanted to go back to meeting, but the idea of being under the same roof as Nathan was almost unbearable, especially if he felt so inclined to start expounding on witches and the like. The nearest Catholic church was in Philadelphia, but Hopewell had some other dissenter faiths, as the English liked to call them, and I thought this might be a good time to look into the Presbyterians or the Baptists. “Which church do you attend?” I asked.
“My family has been Church of England for centuries.”
“Oh,” I said, taken aback although it made perfect sense, since the King’s church was the predominant religion in England. “And how do you feel about being married to a half Quaker, half Catholic, Irish girl?”
“Completely and utterly blasphemous,” he admitted. “My father would disown me on the spot if he ever found out.”
“So would mine if he were still alive,” I said with a sigh. “It was the King’s men who stole our land in Ireland and then put a price on my father’s head, forcing him to flee to the Colonies.”
Henry became silent and I watched as he mulled over our unique situation. The other morning on the docks I could hardly have picked someone more different from myself but, at the time, survival took precedent over similarity. It was an understatement to say my parents would have been terribly disappointed in my choice, possibly even thinking me a traitor to Ireland and every ancestor who had ever suffered at the hands of the English. If my brother were still alive, he would have shot Henry on sight rather than have him married to his younger sister and living at Brighmor, despite my brother being born in Pennsylvania and never having set foot on our ancestral land so far as I knew.
At last, Henry cleared his throat. “I propose that we leave those quarrels to our fathers and focus our attention on more pressing issues,” he said diplomatically.
I nodded in agreement, while each member of my family turned in their graves.
In addition to attending church together, Henry had several other ideas and we spoke for some time as we put together a strategy. He suggested nothing overly provocative or that would openly challenge Nathan, but rather simple actions to help fortify my position, like doing more charitable work and calling on my parents’ friends to reestablish old acquaintances. Henry thought that by quietly strengthening my allies, especially among the old guard and more influential folks in Hopewell, Nathan would have difficulty finding enough people to stand against me when the time came. It all seemed so simple that I began to wonder if it would even work.
“What if he’s still able to garner enough support and come after me?” I asked.
Henry reached up and took both of my hands into his own. “Nathan can cry to high heaven if he wants, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I smiled and tightened my hands around his, wanting to believe every word.
There wasn’t a clock in the room, but I guessed it had to be close to midnight. The candles had burned low while we talked and were now throwing all sorts of strange shadows on the walls. Outside the full moon lit up the grounds, allowing me to see all the way to the woods. Without warning, my heart suddenly ached for the Otherworld. Healing Henry had taken a great deal of power and I should have gone the very night we returned from Philadelphia. Instead, I had put it off, distracted by the events of this world.