It was the 7th of April, 1774, and Benjamin Davidson was about to make a most unusual delivery.
"A yard of linen and a pair of lady's stockings! What use could Jiggy Nye have for ladies stockings?!" Felicity cried, reading the list she had taken from Ben's satchel.
Ben shrugged and tightened his grip on the parcels that were slung over his shoulder. "Perhaps he has taken a wife."
Felicity rolled her eyes and bounced alongside the boy, bunching her skirts into her arms as she walked. "But he hasn't a wife! He is so cruel that I don't think anyone should ever think to marry him."
"Well perhaps he has"
"He hasn't!", came the indignant reply. "I have been to his tannery every morning, and I've never seen a soul."
Ben sighed. Felicity was a dear friend to him, but she could be very pestering. "Perhaps she does not rise early."
Felicity shook her head in annoyance. Jiggy Nye did not have a wife; this she was adamant about.
"He hasn't a wife, and I know it! Besides, Grandfather says that he had a wife once, but she died, and I shouldn't think that he would take another."
They spent the rest of the walk in silence, Felicity still carrying her skirts in her arms, and Ben plodding along silently. He was very quiet, and Felicity found it very tiresome to be so quiet as well.
As always, the smell of the tannery greeted them before it was fully in view, causing Felicity to pinch her nose as they walked closer. Although she visited Penny nearly every night, she was still not used to the terrible smell of the vats. It seemed to smell better at night, almost fresher, but she did not know if it truly did, or if the sheer joy of seeing Penny took away the stench.
Just as Felicity began to dream about Penny, a sharp voice rang out. "Why are ye here?!"
It was Jiggy Nye, as angry as ever.
Ben stepped in front of Felicity, hesitant from their last visit. "I have a delivery for you, Sir."
Jiggy Nye only grunted in response, and turning towards the house, he called out for "that useless chit" to come to him. Felicity and Ben exchanged confused glances. "Useless chit", they both thought. "but Jiggy Nye has no children."
They received their answer in the form of a small girl who quickly darted from the door to Jiggy Nye's side. She was perhaps Ben's age, but she was so small that she looked as though she might drown in the fabric of her own dress. Rather than meet their eyes, she stared at the ground in front of her.
"Well," cried Nye, "oughten ye to pay them?"
The girl glanced at Ben, and for a moment he swore that he saw fear in her eyes.
"Well oughten ye?!" came the rough voice again, this time accompanied by a sharp shove.
She stumbled forward, fumbling with a small purse. She pulled out two small coins and dropped them into Ben's hand, taking the fabric and stockings from him. She glanced at Felicity and curtseyed a rather pathetic curtsy, and afforded the same pleasantry to Ben. She ducked her head and quickly turned back to the safety of the house.
"Wait!", called Felicity, "what is your name?"
The girl turned and spoke for the first time in weeks.
"Silence. My name is Silence."
And with that, she quickly scampered back to the porch.
It was only when the two left that they realized the most peculiar thing about this silent girl.
She wore no shoes.