10
After her talk with Betsy, Audrey left Alchemy Tea with an autographed copy of the book, and a candle that Betsy claimed 'helped with a tense atmosphere' but mostly because Audrey liked its scent of lemon and rosemary.
Around four, she left work early, and she and Nathan hit the market, where they encountered Duke and Prudence.
Prudence was looking over the meat section, a look of amazement and wonder on her face.
"I can't imagine what the market was like in your day," Duke was saying.
"You had to clean your own chickens," Prudence told him. "Not the tidiest job."
"I remember my grandmother killing a chicken for dinner once-I couldn't eat it," Duke grinned, and then noticed Nathan and Audrey approaching.
Prudence noticed them also, and Duke saw her stiffen.
"She really does not like you," Nathan whispered as they drew closer, seeing Prue's expression.
"I know. Won't dinner be fun?" Audrey replied. "Hi guys," she greeted Duke and Prue. "What are you doing?"
"Prue is getting a look at what going to the market entails these days," Duke told them.
Prue touched a shoulder roast in the meat case.
"Do they slaughter it in the back?" she asked, trying to peer through the doors.
"No, it comes to the store in refrigerated trucks," Duke grinned.
"Miraculous," Prudence breathed. "One had to use the meat the same day you purchased it. Root vegetables and fruits could be made to last, properly stored. But meat was so perishable and went bad so quickly. Now you can keep it in the-frigid?" she finished, with a skeptical look on her face.
"Fridge," Duke corrected, chuckling. "Frigid means something else entirely. We have a lot of modern conveniences now. I guess we take it for granted so much we don't notice things like that."
He remembered something. "And that reminds me," he went on, taking a phone out of his jacket pocket. "This is for you, Prue."
"I have seen these-phones, Vincent called it," Prue said, looking closer at it.
"No princess phone?" Audrey smiled at him, remembering the pink glittery cell phone he'd given her on their first meeting. Well, second, if you counted him pullng her out unconscious from the harbor.
"I was all out," Duke shot back. "Anyway, Prudence, this one has everyone's numbers programmed in. You press the 1 button, and it will ring my phone. Two is Vince and Dave, 3 is Dwight, 4 is Audrey and 5 is Nathan, so if you ever need one of us, just press one of those buttons. Just keep it with you."
"I shall," Prudence replied. "Thank you, Duke."
"Some people can say it," Duke teased Audrey, who made a face at him.
"Actually, Prudence, I wanted to invite you and Duke to dinner this evening. Duke said it was fine, that the two of you didn't have any plans," Audrey put in, hating herself for babbling.
"He told me," Prudence answered. "Thank you, we accept."
"Great," Audrey said. "Six o' clock?"
"Fine," Duke interjected, hoping to end the icy-polite conversation for the time being.
Prue and Duke made their way to the front, where Duke paid for their purchases. He kept stealing glances at Prue's necklace. He kept thinking he'd seen something similar to it in a museum once, and he asked her about it.
"So what is the story behind your necklace?" he asked as he drove.
"My grandfather received it as a gift from a man that he'd saved from a rival tribe," Prue began. "When I-became a woman-he gave it to me."
"It's really old," Duke remarked.
"As am I, great-great-grandson," Prudence smiled.
"I forget that you're over 500 years old," Duke sighed, shaking his head as he opened her door for her.
"I see that chivalry has not entirely died," Prue noted, smiling at him.
"I guess things have changed a lot," Duke ceded. "So-you haven't really said," he went on as casually as he could. "How did your meeting go with Dwight and the other members of the Guard go?"
"It went quite well," Prudence said. "I have told them that my curing them was conditional on the oath that they leave you and I be for the time being. I have to rest a few days," she sighed. "It is very taxing on my body to take on a curse."
"Wish I could help," Duke replied. "I saw how tired you were yesterday."
"Perhaps you could, Duke," Prue mused. "Perhaps you could. Would you be interested in taking a trek with me on the morrow?"
"On the morr-oh, tomorrow, you mean," Duke said.
"Yes, tomorrow. I need help in recovering an item that I left behind before my-punishment was inflicted upon me. An ancient artifact, given me by my grandfather."
"An artifact? Do you think it's still gonna be there after all this time?" Duke questioned.
"I left it well guarded. It is there," Prue replied. "So-if you wish to help me, then help me regain this item."
"What is it?" Duke asked, burning with curiosity.
"You shall see," Prue replied, gazing out the window.
"Oh, now you're going to be all mysterious," Duke chided, and Prue smiled slightly.
"You will see what it is soon enough. Provided, that is, that you are willing to assist me."
"Wild horses wouldn't keep me away," Duke grinned, and Prue smiled and nodded.
They arrived back at The Cape Rouge, and put the groceries away, and then headed over to the Gull for dinner with Audrey.
"Audrey, calm down," Nathan soothed. "It's just Duke and Prudence coming to dinner, not the Queen of England."
"I know," Audrey said. "I just want to make a good impression on her, Nathan. I tried to keep the meal-kind of homey, you know?" she gestured at the lovely table setting. "Gloria said Prudence probably isn't accustomed to heavy rich foods, so I kept it simple."
"Well, you can't really go wrong with roasted chicken, potatoes and root vegetables," Nathan remarked, hungrily eyeing the meal Audrey had been working on since their return to her apartment. "And with that strawberry pie too? Prudence will fall in love with you," he grinned. "Now, relax-chill the wine, light the candles-"
The word candles reminded Audrey of her purchases at Alchemy Tea earlier that day, and she fetched the candle out of the bag, and set it on a pillar, lighting it.
Nathan picked up the book. "Witch or Woman-The Trial of Prudence Stillwater," he read the title aloud. "Hey, you got Betsy's book. She's kind of a odd bird."
"Yeah, well, that odd bird knew Lucy," Audrey shot back. "There was a picture of she and I in her store when I was Lucy. They must have been friends."
"Wow," Nathan said. "Did she say anything about Lucy?"
"No, we mostly talked about Prudence. Betsy thinks she was railroaded on the charges. But she did say that she knew Prudence's maiden name was Crocker," she went on. "And she claimed that Duke's dad had found the location of Prue's coffin-he was going to dredge for it. She said he thought that she was still alive."
"Why would he think that?" Nathan questioned. "Unless somebody had told him she would be."
"I don't know. But I'll tell you something else, Nathan. I looked in the police files about Simon's death, and according to the report, he was supposed to be going on a dredging job when he had his accident and was killed."
"Coincidence?" Nathan said. Audrey shot him a look. "Or someone didn't want him to find her coffin," he finished.
"I was thinking along those lines myself," Audrey said somberly. "And if so, who and why?"
"Maybe someone who didn't want their family history tarnished by having their ancestor named as somebody who took part in a witch hunt?" Nathan guessed.
"Or that maybe Prudence isn't as innocent as she claims she is," Audrey said as she and Nathan heard Duke and Prudence's footsteps as they climbed the staircase to her apartment. "But I guess we'll find out soon enough."