A/N
Hi Guys, I want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews and apologize for the long wait between updates. I've been extremely busy with job applications and so this story took a bit of a backseat for a while but I'm back and ready to update more frequently. I just want to add that this story takes place before The Watergate Tape episode, so I'll be mixing some of the things that happened from the episode into my story. Also, for all you history buffs, I'll be talking about Proctor's Tavern in this chapter and while it was closed down after the death of John Proctor, I'm going to pretend that it wasn't for the purpose of my story.
Hope you enjoy!
A few hours later . . .
"Please tell me that we're almost there." Rufus groaned as the three of them continued walking down Ipswich Road, heading towards town.
"Getting tired there Rufus?" Wyatt asked a grin on his face as he looked over at him.
"Uh yeah, I am. Unlike you I'm not accustom to walking ten miles on a daily basis. How did people live like this? It's infuriating! This trip would have taken us minutes if we'd be travelling by car." Rufus grumbled.
"Not your kind of century, huh?" Lucy asked, a small smile on her face as she watched him shake his head vehemently to the side.
"Hell no. I am twenty first century guy all the way. I like the comforts that technology has brought us. Running water, electricity, medical facilities where the doctors actually know what they're doing and you won't die from a simple cold. . ." he began.
". . .and then of course there's the internet, cellphones, Netflix. . .you know, the basics." he finished, a sheepish grin on his face as Wyatt was shaking his head and Lucy was laughing.
"We'll be back there soon enough, don't worry." Lucy said reassuringly as she came to a stop, Wyatt and Rufus following suit.
"There, you see that building off in the distance?" she asked, pointing ahead at a two story wooden building that was just visible through the trees.
"That should be Proctor's Tavern which means we're half a mile south of Salem Town." she explained.
"Thank God. Maybe we can grab some food, I'm starving." Rufus said.
"We should keep moving, we can stop once we've found Flynn." Wyatt replied as Lucy shook her head sideways.
"No, Rufus is right. I think we should go into the Tavern. We know that Flynn's here but we have no idea where. He could be in Salem Town or Village and it will take way too long to find him if we start searching blindly. Our best bet would to be go into the Tavern and talk to the owner. They'll know if someone unusual has passed through town." Lucy said.
"Fine. Who owns the tavern?" Wyatt asked as the three of them began walking towards it.
"The Tavern belonged to John Proctor. He was a wealthy businessman who inherited large amounts of property from his father, the tavern as well. He was married three times and had a total of eighteen children. . ." she began as Wyatt stopped in his tracks.
"I'm sorry, did you say he had eighteen kids?" he asked in disbelief as Lucy smiled at him.
"Yeah."she replied as Rufus let out a whistle.
"They must have been really bored back then." he said as Lucy laughed.
"It was pretty normal to have a large family back then, although eighteen was exceptionally large. He had four children with his first wife and then she passed away. He remarried soon after and had seven children with his second wife, who also passed away and so he remarried for a third time, having seven more children with his wife, Elizabeth. Unfortunately not all of their children survived, with about eleven of them actually making it to adulthood. It was one of the reasons why they had so many children. As you can imagine life expectancy wasn't very long back then. Another reason to have a large family was so that you would have help running your farm or family business when the children got older. In John Proctor's case, he would manage the farm properties with his sons while his wife Elizabeth and his daughters would run the tavern." she explained.
"Your own personal work force. Nice." Rufus replied.
"Exactly. So this arraignment was working quite well until the witch trials started up. John's third wife, Elizabeth fell under suspicion of witchcraft and was throw in prison. John was adamantly against these trials and so he protested on her behalf, trying everything in his power to save his wife from the noose. This led to him being accused of witchcraft as well. He was found guilty and hung in August of 1692." Lucy said.
"And his wife?" Wyatt asked.
"She was spared but only because she was pregnant." Lucy replied.
"How nice of them." Rufus said sarcastically.
"So then who runs the tavern now? His daughter?" Wyatt asked as Lucy nodded her head.
"His eldest daughter Elizabeth and her husband Thomas took it over soon after his death. On top of that, they were also looking after some of her younger siblings as there was no one else to look after them with her father being dead and her stepmother currently in prison." Lucy said.
"That's a lot to handle." Rufus replied as Lucy nodded.
"She had older siblings that would help out as well but the main responsibility fell to her and Thomas. They had no children of their own, which made it easier for them to look after the kids." Lucy explained.
"So we find her, find out if she's seen Flynn kicking around and stop him from doing whatever it is he's doing. Done." Wyatt said as the three of them had reached the tavern, Wyatt taking a step towards the door.
"Hold on there a minute." Lucy said, grabbing his arm as she pulled him back, looking between the two of them.
"You two remember how to speak? I gave you a quick run down of Early Modern English on the way here, are you ready for this?" she asked.
"Aye." Wyatt replied as Rufus shrugged.
"I highly doubt I'm going to be the one doing the talking. That's your husband's job." He replied, a smile on his face as he watched Lucy flush. Man she got flustered easily. . . .
"I. . .just. . .let's go." she replied, pushing past them as she pushed open the door to the Tavern, the three of them stepping inside. . . .