Lucas watched Elizabeth sleep, pulling away the strands of hair that she'd become tangled in—how did anyone live with hair that long, anyway?
She opened her eyes, widening them at the sight of him. "So, you're real, after all, I thought I you were a dream." She sat up smoothing her hair back from her face, then twisting it into a knot. "I ought to cut this, I always wake up tangled up."
"No, don't cut it!" The distress in his voice made her smile.
"It's only hair, Lucas, it grows. It used to be past my hips but it became too cumbersome. I'm always cutting my hair; I think it's time to do it again."
Lucas took a lock and wound it around his finger. He released it and took her face in his hands and kissed her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, feeling her smooth pale skin against his.
She pulled away. "I have to ask you something," she said as she struggled to sit up, "I have to know if there is someone else. Do you love someone, Lucas, is there someone that you do not want to lose? Please tell me, I need to know."
The look on his face was her answer. "I see," she said, "So there is someone-are you so sure you want me? I don't want to complicate things."
"Perhaps, but one woman has never been enough for me," he said, "I want you, Elizabeth, I don't think it was an accident that you moved to Trinity."
"Hmm," she said, not convinced, "Maybe I should cast a love spell on you and make you fall so madly in love with her that you won't want me."
"Love spells have a way of going awry," He smiled at her, rested a finger on her petal-like lips, "You may wind up with the spell falling on you and find yourself in love with me. Now hush, I don't want to hear about spells or other women. I'm going to make rough love to you and not stop until you start screaming, or beg me to fuck you harder."
There were little bruises over her body in places no one would see and she was sore between her legs, so sore she did not get out of bed until long after he left. When at last she rose from her bed she went to the mirror and began to brush her long hair. She pulled two hairs from her brush and went to the window. A little breeze came up and she released the hairs, saying, "Tell me where he goes," and watched them fly away.
She showered, washing only the top of her hair—any more and it would take hours to wash and dry. She put on a red dress with tiny white polka dots, and a leather belt the color of polished turquoise. She brushed her hair until it shone, then went outside to see if her charm had worked.
The hairs fell from the eaves like the fine threads of spider's silk. They fell onto the porch and began to twist and turn until they formed the numbers of an address.
"Thank you, now if I can only find it, this town is not that big." A breeze came up and the hairs were born up and started heading down the street as if beckoning her to follow them.
She walked down the street, looking at the houses with their little yards and white picket fences. This was so different than Boston where streets were lined with brownstones and only the rich could afford their houses with tall iron fences around them. She was in another world and wondered if at any moment she'd wake up and find herself back home.
At last, the strands of hair dropped over a fence in front of a little white house with a white camellia growing in front of it. A letterbox emblazoned with the name "Emory" sat on top of the fence next to a little gate. She opened the lid, but no letters, not even a bill, sat inside to indicate just who "Emory" was.
"Well, here goes," she told herself and walked through the gate up the steps and knocked on the door with the brass knocker.
"Hello?" A pretty woman with curly brown hair, her brown eyes full of confusion stared at the stranger standing on her porch.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth hurried her words just enough to feign awkwardness, "I'm Elizabeth Bates, I'm new in town and I just made the acquaintance of Sheriff Lucas Buck. He told me about you and sang your praises. Since I don't know anyone in town, I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. I'm kind of in need of friends."
Gail Emory looked surprised, no, shocked, so Elizabeth added, "I'm sorry, perhaps this was the wrong way to go about this, I should go."
"No, please don't, I've just put on some coffee, why don't you come in and we can talk. I'm surprised Lucas mentioned me, that's all."
Elizabeth stepped in, looked around her, "This is a pretty little place you've got here. I'm from Boston, things are so different here. The people seem different too, friendlier and not so reserved."
"Wait until they get to know you. Have a seat." Gail fetched two cups from the cupboard and placed them on the table. "What brings you to Trinity?"
"Oh, it's sort of embarrassing, I'm in hiding from an old boyfriend. I tried to take him to court but he has a rich family and I thought the best course of action would be to get out of town."
"I'm sorry." Gail filled the cups, then noticed a pendant hanging around the stranger's neck, "That's an unusual necklace, I've never seen anything like that before."
Elizabeth unclasped the necklace and held it between two fingers. "It's very old, I inherited it from one of my ancestors in Salem. The gold and crystal came from Africa, it's very fine work. The crystal is unusual, in some lights it glows with blue light, then it shines like a diamond, splitting the light."
She let the pendant dangle from her fingers, letting it turn back and forth. "Can you see it turn from blue to a rainbow of light?" The pendulum began to swing gently, "Look at how beautiful it is."
"Yes," Gail breathed softly, "I can see it now."
"I'm glad. Watching has made you feel very relaxed, almost sleepy. You feel safe and you do not have a care in the world."
"Yes," repeated Gail, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
"I'm here because I am worried about you. You must be careful of Lucas Buck; he will not necessarily have your best interests at heart. You must not trust him, always hold a part of yourself back. You have the strength to protect yourself, so use it. Lucas cannot hurt you unless you let him, do you understand?"
"Yes," answered Gail.
"Oh, and you don't need to worry, you are not pregnant, in two days your period will start. One last thing, you will not remember talking to me, you will not remember meeting me. This will seem like a dream that disappears when you wake up. Now, on the count of three, I will snap my fingers and you will wake up. One...two...three."
She snapped her fingers and Gail seemed to waken. "What happened to me? We were talking and for the life of me I can't remember what we were saying."
"That's all right, I need to leave anyway. Thank you for the coffee, I'm looking forward to getting to know you. Don't bother yourself please, I'll let myself out."
Gail looked down at the cups as the stranger walked down the hallway and out the door. Neither cup had been touched. She took them to the sink to empty and wash them.
The appearance of the strange woman slipped gently from her mind.
"I fooled you, I fooled you, I got all pig iron," Elizabeth sang to herself, "I got all pig iron." If the hypnosis worked, Gail Emory could take more control of her relationship with Lucas. Well, maybe. Gail would have to be willing; she would have to learn to say "no" to Lucas. She had been relieved to learn she was not pregnant. She had the strength to confront Lucas, but did Gail?
She didn't see Lucas on her walk home, a good omen. She skipped up the steps and went into the house.
The cats greeted her, their green eyes accusing her of neglecting their bowls. "All right, I apologize profusely, but you're hardly starving, no matter what you think." She filled the bowls with kibbles and refreshed the water, then went into the spare room.
"Let's see, east, I need east, oh yes, that one." She picked up the library table that had been in her family for 200 years and placed it against the wall, adjusting it until it felt right. She knelt in front of her trunk and ran her hands over the latches, watching them pop open and the lid raised itself.
"What color, what color—I know, white for a new altar in a new home." She lifted the piece of snow-white linen and placed it lovingly on the table. A gold-covered statue of Isis stolen by an ancestor from an Egyptian tomb followed, taking its place in the center. "Gold or silver candle holders?" she mused and chose silver.
She added a little incense burner then stepped back to admire her handiwork. She returned to her place in front of her trunk to search for her crystals when she felt someone standing behind her.
"What do you want, Lucas?" she asked, "I thought you had your fill of me this morning."
"What did you do to Gail Emory, and don't bother lying to me. You did something, what was it."
"I told her to take care of herself, is that a crime? Has she withheld her affections from you? Did she refuse your advances? I told her to be careful, and that she wasn't pregnant."
"Now, what in the world made you think you could meddle in my affairs, young lady? It looks like I'm going to teach you a little lesson—you may not enjoy it, but I certainly will." He shed his coat and dropped down onto his knees, catching her with one long arm before she could escape.
He lifted her dress and placed her firmly over his knees and began to smack her bare bottom, taking satisfaction in her futile efforts to get away. His hand was merciless as it worked its way over the plump buttocks, coming down harder as she tried to wriggle her way out of his grasp.
He stopped when her derriere turned a pretty shade of pink. Looking at her, seeing her so exposed aroused him and he undid his trousers and pushed them down, then shoved himself into her and began to move.
"No," she moaned softly, not wanting the neighbors to hear or guess what was going on. She stopped struggling when she realized it would do her no good—and her body had started responding to him.
He climaxed, then sank onto the floor, taking her with him. "Now, I want you to tell exactly what you did to Gail Emory, and don't bother to lie, your witches don't seem to be helping you. Lie to me and you'll get more of what you just got."
So, she told him what she'd done, all of what she'd done, and why. "I have a duty, a responsibility to protect her. Having your baby could kill her, she might not survive the delivery. Or she could commit suicide, just like her aunt did. She deserves better."
"And what would you do if I got you pregnant, hmmm? Well?"
"If you could bypass my Norplant somehow? I'd get rid of it, I wouldn't have a child right now, any child."
He smacked her on her sore bottom, "Wrong answer," he said and raised his hand to warn her.
"I've just made some advances in my career, and when I go back to Boston I can look forward to a promotion and a raise. And I know what having your child would mean, it's not just a baby, and you know it."
"And what kind of career are we talking about here?" He decided to ignore what she just said.
"I'm an attorney in the State Attorney General's office. I don't have time to have a baby, let alone one I don't want to see born."
"You should watch your words, you're at my mercy right now, I haven't done half of what I could to you." He ran his hand lovingly over her sore bottom, "Yes, I can think of all sorts of things I'd like to do to you."
"What do you want from me, Lucas? You have Gail, and god knows whoever else. Where do I fit in?"
"I love your fire, the way you defy me. I'm going to love taming you, making you submissive and compliant." He kissed one of her sore cheeks, "I think I'll do this every so often just to remind you that you can't resist me." He pressed himself against her, letting her feel how hard he'd gotten, "I know you're sore, but we're going to do this one more time, maybe you'll learn to behave, after all."