Jess patted her on the shoulder. Marianna made her feel so small and light. “They’ll be here when they can. In the meantime we have the Raider.”
“Yes,” Marianna said. “He has been a help, but John means to kill him.”
“Marianna,” Jess said, “if you hear of anything the Raider should know, tell me, I may have a way to reach him. I might be able to—”
Alex, whom she’d almost forgotten, grabbed her elbow and half pushed her from the room.
“I will,” Marianna called. “I’ll tell you, Jess.”
“Of all the foolhardy things,” Alex said as soon as they were out of the house. “She’s married to Pitman, don’t you realize that? What if she let him know what you said? What if Pitman thought you could contact the Raider? Can you contact him? Why haven’t you told me of this?”
“Alex, you’re hurting my arm. For somebody whose muscles are weakened, you can certainly grip.” She rubbed her bruised arm. “I think Marianna hates Pitman more than anyone and I’m not sure I can contact the Raider, but I might…I might see him again. Could we walk to the stream, Alex? I’m thirsty.”
He caught her arm again but without so much force. “When did you see the Raider again?”
“Last night. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
“What did he want?”
“It was a purely social visit.”
“Social?” Alex gasped, stopping at the stream edge. Jess cupped her hands and drank, then removed her shoes and began to bathe her feet in the cool water.
“Yes, social. Alex, aren’t you warm in all that clothing? There’s no one here, take off that wig. I don’t mind seeing a bald head.”
“But you’d rather see the Raider’s black hair, wouldn’t you?”
She had her skirt to her knees. “What is wrong with you today? Did you get turned down in marriage again? First you treat me with pity, then you yell at me.”
“Put your skirt down. You may not think I look like one, but I am a man.”
“Ah,” she said, smiling, smoothing her skirt. “Too long at sea. We’d better get you married. Have you tried Sally Bledman? She lives about ten miles south of—”
“I know where Sally Bledman lives. If you’re through, I’ll walk you home. I don’t trust you to stay out of trouble on your own.”
She stood and started walking beside him, bemused by his kittenish fit. When they reached the road, she saw Ethan Ledbetter approaching, a fifty-pound sack of grain on each shoulder. Her heart started beating faster. Was this man the Raider? Was this the man who held her in his arms at night?
“Wait,” she said to Alex as she smoothed her hair and tucked her scarf in neatly. It was the same scarf the Raider liked to remove, she thought, and her hand began to tremble.
“Good morning,” she said as Ethan passed.
He slowed and smiled at her, obviously somewhat astonished at her unusual display of attention. He almost dropped one of the grain bags. “Good morning, Mistress Jessica.” He walked backward for a ways, until he stumbled over a rock and nearly fell. He watched her until she was out of sight.
Alex clamped down on her elbow again. “Utterly disgraceful. You should be locked away somewhere.”
“Who asked you to be my father?” she snapped.
“Father? Father!” he gasped, then pushed her arm away so hard that she nearly lost balance. “Walk yourself home and if you get into any trouble, I hope your Raider saves you.”
“So do I,” she called after him as she watched him waddle down the road. “So do I.”
* * *
“Jessica!” Eleanor said for the fourth time. “Are you listening to me at all?”
“She’s listening to the outside,” Nathaniel said.
That brought Jessica out of her lethargy. She turned and gave Nathaniel a quelling look, but the boy ignored her.