"I’ve decided. Hap
stays at the orchard. As you pointed out, it only makes sense for
someone with know-how to be working the land."
"He’ll be happy to
hear that. The children will be thrilled when I — "
"I’ll tell them.
It is my land after all," he said. "Besides, I’ve known them all
their lives. I’m like an uncle to them."
"Yes sir."
___
Jones had raced
ahead to the farm with the news then raced back to join Marvellous,
Jelly and Forest for the return journey. In the late afternoon the
four of them arrived at the farm, each carrying several bundles of
plants.
They talked late
into the night. Marvellous had been pleasantly surprised by how
much Titania looked like her mother, the children's grandmother,
but said nothing to them about it. Marvellous watched the
children’s faces and listened closely to their stories about Ma, Pa
and Pater, and all that they had done with the farm. They were so
eager to tell her all they had accomplished. She was genuinely
impressed by their work and praised them. Mixer watched Marvellous
for a while but found little in her mind of use; she was
harmless.
"When can we go
back?" asked Santa.
Porkchop was happy
to learn her father was alive but wasn’t sure she wanted to return
to the orchard. They had survived the winter, settled in, the
harvest looked good. If they went back now who would look after the
farm? Their hard work and care would go to waste.
"It would make
more sense," Porkchop said, "for Pa to come here."
"It probably would
but it depends on a few things," said Marvellous. "Your grandfather
for one." She told them of the Constable’s visit and what he had
told her and their Pa.
At the mention of
PC Pierre’s name, Porkchop flushed.
"You’ll have to be
patient," Marvellous said, trying to hide a smile. She knew what
was in Porkchop’s heart.
Even if Hap had
told her nothing about the children she would have known their
differences. As they talked she looked inside their minds and their
hearts. She hadn’t seen much goodness in the world and it was a
relief to experience such innocence.
But then she’d
come to Mixer. He didn’t look like any of his brothers or sisters
on the outside, she thought; they tended to be long faced and thin
like their father and Mixer had much larger features. But it was
the inside that disturbed her the most. She could feel his cold
greed and hatred. She knew of only one other who had both in such
abundance.
When it was her
turn to talk, Marvellous told them how she’d met their Pa and how
she’d worked out that he was her brother. She told them about her
travels and a few stories of their grandmother. She left out many
details.
Mixer struggled to
stay awake but fell asleep in Santa’s arms. Marvellous monitored
Mixer’s dreams. She almost swore out loud when she discovered he’d
been able to contact the Landlord. She was both amazed and worried
by what he’d been able to do at such a young age.
Soon they were all
yawning and nodding and Marvellous suggested it was time to go to
bed. They trooped up to the loft without argument; Titania took the
sleeping Mixer from Santa and left for the house.
Marvellous cleaned
up the dishes then sat down at the table, her mind trained on the
boy.
___
Mixer woke up
beside Titania. He had no memory of coming back to the house. He
rolled over and flinched when he saw her face. She would have to
change for tomorrow; he got to work.
When he was done
and pleased with the result he cast about for the Landlord. He
connected almost immediately. His loud, boastful voice was
unmistakeable.
Mixer had a blurry
view through the Landlord’s eyes; like looking through one of
Jelly’s plastic bags. He saw traces of things, outlines. Then he
made out a familiar human shape standing in front of trails of reds
and oranges that wavered just below his waist. It was PC Pierre
standing in front of the fireplace in his cabin.
"I was about your
age, Pierre," Mixer heard the Landlord say. "Young, full of dreams.
The bear came out of nowhere, charged me. I didn’t think twice. I
shouldered my rifle and I shot her dead. Shot her cubs, too. It was
the only humane thing to do."
Mixer admired the
real image that was inside the Landlord’s mind: the dead black bear
caught and dying in a bear trap, two cubs crying beside it.
"Well, early start
tomorrow. Don’t want to wait another minute to give the children
the good news, eh?"
Mixer waited until
the Landlord fell asleep then implanted a vision of his sister in
his dreaming brain.
___
Marvellous didn’t
have time to be horrified by what Mixer had planned. She woke up
Porkchop and Santa.
"Be quick but
quiet," she whispered to them from the ladder. "Meet me out
back."
The girls found
their aunt in Jelly's herb garden. She drew them away from the barn
and the open loft doors and out onto the edge of the field.
"There is a
chance," she said to them, "that the Landlord will show up soon.
Tomorrow."
Santa rubbed her
eyes. "The Landlord?" she asked sleepily.
"How do you know?"
asked Porkchop.
Marvellous paused
then said quietly, "Mixer."
From her
peripheral vision Porkchop saw Santa quickly turn and look at
her.
"Mixer? That’s
silly!" she said to Marvellous.
Marvellous took
Santa’s hands in her.
"Santa, you know,
you both know what I’m talking about. There’s something just not
right about Mixer, is there? He’s not slow. He's defective, but not
like the rest of us." Santa winced at the word. "He means to do you
harm."
Porkchop looked
down at her boots. She had never admitted to anyone in her family
that she disliked her brother. But it sounded right to her, what
Marvellous was saying. He was different from the rest of them. She
hadn't wanted to admit that to herself until now.
"No. I won’t
believe it," whispered Santa.
"He’s already
contacted the Landlord. He’s bringing him here. I know what he’s
capable of. What they’re both capable of. But I’m going to need
your help."
"What do we have
to do?" said Porkchop.
Marvellous took
charge. She handed Santa a packet of oval shaped reddish-brown
seeds and told her how to prepare them. She told Porkchop to send
the other children off to their chores as early as possible in the
morning.
"You’ll have to be
ready for him. Santa, you stay in the barn and don’t let Mixer out
of your sight. Give the Landlord the tea; that should knock him out
for hours. If all else fails hit him with something. I’ll take care
of things from there."
"What about
Titania?" Santa asked. "The Landlord, well, he likes Titania."
"You leave that to
me," said Marvellous. "That reminds me, Porkchop, it’s very likely
that PC Pierre will show up with him."
Porkchop blushed
in the dark.
"Remember, he may
be your friend but he’s still an officer of the law. He won’t look
kindly on the Landlord being drugged, or worse, so it’s probably
best if you take him off the farm."
"Where?"
"Up the road, I
don’t know. Just get him away from the farm when they arrive.
Maybe," she lowered her voice so that Santa couldn’t hear, "find
out if he feels the same way you do."
___
Marvellous
disappeared into the night; she didn’t tell the girls where she was
going but said she’d be back soon.
She walked to the
farthest end of the field and lay down between the corn stalks. She
closed her eyes and called up the image of her mother in the
photograph she'd given Hap back in Andrastyne. How slender her
mother was in that checked dress; how the sun made one side of her
flat brown hair glow auburn. She took a breath and cut her tie to
Mixer. She'd need all of her concentration for this.
She had only
changed that one time, when she was a girl and had changed a few
minor details about herself, but she felt certain that she would be
able to project the image of her mother. Not for long but she
didn't think she would need much time; the Landlord only had to see
her once. He would remember. And then she would kill him.
___
Dawn was breaking
when Santa set about brewing the tea as Marvellous had instructed.
Porkchop let her brothers and sisters sleep in a bit before setting
them to their chores. They were disappointed not to have had a
chance to say goodbye to Marvellous but Porkchop told them she had
promised Pa to be back by morning.
When the rest had
gone, Santa brought out a wooden crate filled with two jars of tea
and tubs of pigweed porridge for Titania’s and Pater’s
breakfast.
"Where’s the other
one?" Porkchop asked. Santa knew she was talking about the other
jar.
"Out of harm’s
way. Don’t forget to bring Mixer back with you."
"I won’t."
She left the barn
and crossed the yard to the house.
Inside the house,
Titania opened her eyes and immediately felt different. Mixer lay
asleep beside her. She looked at her hands. The skin was smooth,
the fingers long and the nails cleaned and shaped but she could
still see the scars on her hands below the surface. She drew a
strand of hair in front of her eyes. It was blonde. She didn’t need
to look in the mirror to know that it was the disguise she wore
whenever the Landlord had visited. She looked at her brother asleep
beside her. As soon as she looked at him she knew. She was about to
get up when she heard the door open and close.
When Porkchop
crossed the threshold she was bombarded by the smell of maple
whiskey and the sound of Pater’s snoring. He had returned sometime
in the night.
"Titania?" she
called, setting down the crate.
"I’m in here but
don’t get too close," Titania called from her cubbyhole. She
grabbed at her shawl and pulled it over her head. "I think I’m
getting a summer cold."
Porkchop swallowed
hard. She was about to put her trust in Marvellous to the test. But
she did trust her; just as she’d trusted Ma. What was the worst
that could happen? Titania would sleep all day. She’d done that
before.
"Then you should
have your tea at least, and eat something."
Porkchop unpacked
the box and set the things on the table.
"Don’t go to any
trouble."
"The trouble’s
been and gone."
"All right. Thank
you."
"Pater’s back by
the smell of things. He should have something to eat and drink when
he wakes up. Can you make sure he does? Oh, and is Mixer with
you?"
"Yes. Here."
Mixer emerged from
the curtain and dropped to the floor. He crawled to the door and
looked back over his shoulder at Porkchop expectantly.
She picked up her
brother at the waist and carried him under her arm back across the
yard to the barn. There was a smell to the air — a metallic tang
that settled on her tongue — that she associated with
thunderstorms. But that couldn’t be right; Forest would have known
about a storm and said something. She looked up. The sun was
brilliant and the day already had the feeling that it would be hot.
Only one thin band of white cloud marred an otherwise clear
sky.
Titania waited
till she heard the barn door slam then got up and looked into the
mirror above the stove. Even though she knew what she'd see it was
still a shock. She sat down heavily at the table and reached for
one of the two jars of tea.
___
Bull and Jones
walked into the woods along the now well-trodden path. Jones loped
easily, thinking of Pa and the orchard. Bull felt uneasy; Porkchop
had told them that Marvellous had left but he could still smell
her, or at least he thought it was her, not far off. His sense of
smell was always a little bit worse in late summer when some of the
grasses began to go to seed; at the orchard it hadn't been much of
a problem because they'd kept the grasses and weeds cut short
around the pearl apple trees. When they hit the first fork in the
trail, he headed east. The eastern trail sloped to the south, and
looped behind the fields. He wanted to keep an eye on things and he
was prepared to send his brother on a few wild goose chases if he
had to, to keep him safe.
___
Jelly, Forest and
Narrow dug up potatoes and onions. The sun was barely up but it was
already hot. It wasn’t long before a film of dirt settled on their
sweaty faces.
Narrow peppered
Jelly with questions about their journey. Jelly told him all about
it; how Jones had gone ahead to the orchard and their surprise when
he arrived back with Marvellous. She told him all she knew about
the plants they’d brought back with them.
"I’ll dry most of
it, for teas and medicines," she said. "I transplanted the ones we
dug up into the herb garden when we got back yesterday."
Narrow exhausted
his questions and they harvested and weeded in silence for a while.
Forest had been quiet all morning. Minutes passed before Narrow
stopped and straightened his back. He rubbed the dirt and sweat
from his face with his shirt tail.
"What’s the point
of all this? We don’t even know if we’re going to be here in a
month."
"We still need to
eat," said Jelly. "We can bring it with us."
"I’m not so sure I
want to go," said Narrow. "Porkchop’s right. Pa should come here.
There’s more food here and he wouldn’t have to work for the
Landlord."
"What about Pater?
And Marvellous?" Forest suddenly said. He hacked viciously at a
weed and missed, slicing into his thumb instead. He yelped.
"Forest!" Jelly’s
handkerchief was already out and she wrapped it tightly around his
thumb. "Are you okay?"
No I’m not okay,
he thought. Don’t you feel it? He winced as sudden pain shot
through his head.