Chapter 21

"If I can have everybody's attention, please," said Giles as the bus drove through Danvers. "Everybody, yes? Thank you. In a moment we'll arrive at the Judge Samuel Holten House and get off the bus. Be sure to take with you what you need for now because the bus will proceed to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. We'll walk over there after visiting this house, it's not that far."

"My feet totally disagree with his definition of not that far," whispered a voice behind Clarice and Ardelia. The two women had to work hard to keep their faces straight. Abigail was right, though. When Giles said something was not that far, it could mean a walk of up to thirty minutes.

"Actually, I'm with Abigail," whispered Clarice to Ardelia, "I'm a runner, not a stroller and his walks are killing me! Like yesterday in Ipswich..."

"Don't exaggerate, girl. You're still young!" whispered Ardelia in reply.

Clarice shook her head. "Young perhaps, but I'm feeling old and tired and my head still hurts."

"Okay, here we are," said Giles. "Everybody out, please!"

The group exited the comfortable bus and gathered on the sidewalk next to the estate. Everybody took out their cameras and quickly took pictures of the well-preserved house. The clouded sky gave the day a gloomy appearance; a downpour threatened.

"Follow me please. They're expecting us and I think I can smell the coffee!"

Everybody followed Giles as he led them towards the house. The door opened when he was halfway and a jovial woman stood in the doorway, smiling broadly.

"Giles, good to see you again! Now, what caboodle are you bringing me this time?"

"Mary, as cordial as ever," their guide replied as he hugged the broad hipped woman. "Just a bunch of no-good hobos, as usual. You know me, always looking after the needy. Now tell me, did you make that coffee that I smell? Have you finally learned how to make a decent brew?"

"Wiseass," said Mary, who hugged Martha immediately after releasing Giles.

"Heaven forbid, Mary... heaven forbid," muttered Giles while entering the building.

.

"... and of these inhabitants," said Mary, "It was Sarah Holten whose testimony against Rebecca Nurse led to her conviction. I think Giles will take you to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead later, right?"

A few heads nodded in reply.

"Good. Now, I'm sure you'd like to see the house after all the rambling I've done. So, I'd like to thank you for your attention - especially you, young man, you've been really sweet! - and wish you a happy continuation of your tour."

Everybody applauded while Benjamin, Griggs' grandson, blushed. Ardelia did agree with Mary, he was a real sweet kid. She hadn't told Clarice yet she thought she might be pregnant. It was only a hunch but she was going to covertly buy a pregnancy test as soon as they returned home. If she was, she'd tell Clarice immediately.

The tour participants dispersed throughout the house. Mary and Martha conversed while Giles walked around to answer further questions.

Ardelia and Clarice ascended the stairs to the second floor and took a look at the various rooms there.

"My god, what a house!" said Ardelia enthusiastically as they stood on the landing.

"Yeah," answered Clarice.

Ardelia looked around and saw the next room. "Hey, look there! What a place… How big is this room? What, twenty by twenty feet?"

"I guess so. That's huge, eh?"

Martha had entered the room behind them and answered Ardelia's question. "It is when compared to the dwellings of the poor. It's of average size for the wealthy. I've got some pictures of several seventeenth century houses in the next room that'll show what I mean. Follow me."

Ardelia and Clarice nodded and followed Mary into the next room. There, the woman from DAR retrieved a book and showed the two some pictures of old residences nearby, mostly Salem, where exceptionally many colonial houses survived. Ardelia was very delighted to see the pictures and Mary talked freely.

Clarice browsed the room after a while, having lost her interest. She watched outside and saw the black clouds still there. She turned around. Ardelia was still deeply in conversation with Mary. Clarice walked through the door next to her and found herself in a small corridor with stairs and another door.

Hannibal would love this place.

She smiled at the thought of him by her side now; she'd love to have him next to her but Ardelia would have a heart attack! She sighed, crossed the landing and went through the other door to step into another large room, though not as large as the other one. Several others from the group were here, discussing the building and the events that had taken place here. She had a brief look around the room and the two connecting ones, then went through the main door and headed down the stairs.

On the first floor Clarice found herself in the smaller kitchen of the two. She proceeded into the entry and stepped outside to get some fresh air. Maybe that would relieve her of the incessant ache in her head, even if only for a bit.

She inhaled deeply a few times. The moldy scent of New England in November wasn't unpleasant at all, she mused. But it was warm for the time of year, she'd heard. She watched a few birds for some minutes as they searched the ground for worms or other food. Clarice's stomach rumbled somewhat as she stood in the cold. Knowing they'd visit the Rebecca Nurse Homestead first and then have lunch, she decided to eat a Hershey's now. She retrieved one from her bag and ate it where she stood.

What would Hannibal have eaten? She suddenly thought. Probably a jerky. Hell, perhaps home made? The thought made her shudder for a brief moment, but a smile soon appeared. One jerky for Hannibal, one jerk less in the world. A snort of laughter followed.

Wish you were here…

Feeling a bit better, Clarice took one last deep breath before reentering the house. Back in the kitchen she could hear Ardelia's voice coming from upstairs, and Mary's. It didn't take long before the two women came down the stairs. When Ardelia spotted Clarice, she called out.

"Cee, there ya are! What happened that you were gone so suddenly?"

"Nothin', just needed some fresh air."

"Aw, still that headache?"

"Yeah. But I'm a bit better now."

"Good. Oh, I believe it's time to go now."

"Yes," said Mary with a peek at her watch, "Giles is probably waiting for everybody in the living room."

Mary preceded them into the next room where, true to Mary's expectation, Giles stood expectantly. Only a few tour participants were still absent. Those present chatted softly with each other.

"Giles, here's two more. How many left?"

"Eight."

"I hear movement upstairs, I think they're coming down soon."

"Okay, we'll wait."

Conversations took place in small groups, a soft murmur of voices sounded through the room. Ardelia watched Clarice as she stared out the windows, up to the clouds. She wished she could read her mind so she could know what was going on with her friend.

Ardelia's gaze followed Clarice's. Gathered clouds loomed over the city where so many women had suffered under superstition and collective mania.

Three tour members entered the room.

"Are the rest coming too?" asked Giles.

The three looked at each other an instant, one of them turned around, then faced Giles again. "Suppose so, they were behind us."

"It's time for us to go."

"There they are."

"Great. Okay. Well, Mary, thanks for everything, you're an angel."

The woman rolled her eyes in mockery. "Yeah, yeah, and you're a sly devil, that's what you are, a smooth hustler. Watch him, Martha!"

"I will, Mary. Thank you for your hospitality, as always."

"No problem. Enjoy Danvers, enjoy Salem this afternoon people!"

Everybody thanked Mary. Then Giles led them outside to walk the half mile or more to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead.

They followed Holten Street first, with beautiful trees along the road, and passed Holten Cemetery, a gloomy field with graves dispersed in an almost random way. The gray sky turned its appearance even more low-spirited.

Continuing down Holten Street they passed many houses, most in excellent state. They turned right at Pine Street. A baseball field lay deserted on their right after a number of yards. When they finally stopped, nobody could see the home.

"The home's down this track," Giles said, "200 yards only."

Ardelia could hear Griggs sigh behind her.

"Rebecca Nurse, wife of Francis Nurse, with a number of children and grandchildren, was a well-respected member of the community. And despite no credible evidence against her, she was hanged on July 19, 1692. She was then 71 years old…"

A shudder went through the whole group as they had always pictured witches as young women.

"The Nurse family had a number of disputes with the Putnam family. Rebecca was arrested based upon accusations made by two members of the Putnam family…"

Another wave of disbelief went through the company.

"Unbelievable," said Ardelia to Clarice. Her faith in law had always been absolute, her knowledge of them profound.

Clarice had always appreciated her friend's dedication. "Yeah. That's… sick. Unbelievable she was condemned."

"Remember," Giles said, "the time this all played, and the circumstances. Seventeenth century New England was very different. The first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, established their settlement in 1620. More Puritans followed. They came to Massachusetts for religious freedom, but created a community where only their religion was tolerated. Anybody not following the strict code was an outcast. As said, the first accusation of witchcraft was in 1645, only 25 years later! The Salem witch trials took place 72 years after the landing of the Mayflower. Which tells us Rebecca Nurse was one of the first children of the settlers to be born here."

Giles waited briefly before proceeding down the track towards the house.