Nathan opened his eyes and stared at me. “By the spirit you shall know the truth.”
“I understand that,” George said. “But have you actually seen Selah do any of the things from your vision? Did you see her command the weather?”
“By the spirit her guilt is known.”
“Well, by me she’s going to be set free unless you can come up with something more tangible,” George said impatiently.
In silence, Nathan continued to stare at me.
“Fine, we’ll go about this another way,” George said. “Selah, can you command the weather?”
“No.”
“Have you had any hand in causing the rain this summer?”
“No.”
“Did you kill Mark Flanders’s heifer?”
“It died of acorn poisoning,” William said before I could answer.
“I know that,” George snapped. “But I’ve got to ask. Selah, did you kill Mark Flanders’s heifer?”
“No,” I said.
“Do you have any intention of killing children?”
I almost laughed from the absurdity of the question. Instead, I lifted my chin and said, “I have no intention of killing anyone.”
Gideon passed his quill quickly over the parchment, trying to keep up.
“Did you give your soul to the Devil?”
“No!”
“What of this mark then?”
“I was burned by a piece of coal when a bed warmer accidentally fell open. It happened some years ago at the Goodwins’ house. Nora saw me get burned and her mother treated the wound. William and his father were also there and had to put out the fire that started in the mattress. They can all testify exactly how and when it happened.”
“Is this true?” George asked, turning to look at the witnesses.
“Yes,” both Nora and William answered at once.
“How did Nathan know about this scar?” George asked no one in particular.
“I watched the Devil make it,” Nathan said, holding doggedly onto his story. “Selah purposefully caused the bed warmer to fall open in order to conceal her guilt.”
“That’s a lie!” I glared back at him, meeting the hatred in his eyes ounce for ounce. “One of my lady servants must have told him. Someone at Brighmor has been spreading my personal affairs all over Hopewell this summer. I can only guess it’s the same person.”
George took a few more paces and then looked over at the witnesses again. “Henry, you’ve been married to Selah just over a month now. What do you think of this scar?”
Fortunately, Henry was a good liar. “It is rather nondescript. About the size of a halfpenny, and high up on the left side.”
“Hmm,” George said. “Does it look like something that was made by the Devil?”
Now it was Henry’s turn to laugh. “It looks like a small scar caused by a piece of hot coal.”
“And have you observed any behavior that might lead you to believe your wife is a witch?”
“No,” Henry said smoothly, undaunted by the lie. “Selah’s a good woman. She’s a gifted healer and does what she can to help those in need.”
Nathan huffed from his end of the room. “Have you ever wondered where she gets this power to heal? You call her gifted, I call her unnatural.”
Henry was to his feet and across the room before anyone could stop him. “You have insulted my wife one too many times tonight,” he said, grabbing Nathan by the throat and pulling him to his feet, the dagger back out in his other hand. “Hold your tongue or I’ll cut it out.”
Nathan kicked out at first, but ceased all resistance when he saw the blade.
Gideon dropped his quill. “You will not spill blood in the meetinghouse!” he cried.
“Shall we take our dispute outside?” Henry growled. “It’s high time you learned some manners.”
“Release him,” the constable said, though with a surprising lack of urgency. “It will only make matters worse for Selah if Nathan is harmed.”
“I will let him go once he promises to stop insulting my wife,” Henry countered. “He’s said enough tonight to be charged with slander.”
George sighed and scratched his head again. “Nathan, you have not produced one scrap of evidence other than this so-called vision. If I were expected to arrest folks based on dreams alone, the jail would be full every morning. Unless you have something more to offer, then Selah will be free to go. And be warned, I’ll have to act on Henry’s request to have you arrested if you persist on slandering his wife. Do you understand?”
Nathan glowered darkly, but nodded his head. With this reassurance, Henry released his grip.
I started to relax, pleased with how well the inquiry was going. I turned back to George for the next question when hurried steps sounded from the front porch. The door flew open and Matthew Appleton burst into the room.
“Begging your pardon, George, but I need Selah.”
“I’m not done questioning her yet,” George said.
Only one thing would have put Matthew in such a panic. “How is Susanna?” I asked.
“Not so good. The pains have started.”