8
Prudence walked with an angry stride, and Duke hurried off to catch up with her.
"Prudence-Prue, wait up!" he called after her.
"Do not touch me, please, Duke," she said. "Hailey's Trouble has become mine for a short while."
Duke stopped a few feet from her. Prudence was smeared with blood over her face and neck, and she wiped at her eyes, and Duke realized she was crying.
"What happened in there, Prue?" he asked gently.
"The girl put her hand on me, and she just-vanished into nothingness," Prue answered. "One moment she was there, and the next, I was covered in her blood. She had a Trouble that caused dairy to curdle."
"Kind of a mild Trouble," Duke commented.
"It would have been enough to have gotten her hanged as a witch in my time," Prue pointed out.
She gazed at him a few moments. "Her friends did not seem overly pleased to see you there."
"My admiration society," Duke muttered.
"They hate you because you are a Crocker," Prudence said.
"Not just that," Duke sighed. "Because I released all those Troubles on Haven again. We've been trying to figure out a way to round them all up again, but so far, we haven't found a way." He smiled slightly. "Maybe you can help on that count, Prue. Maybe it was fate that washed you ashore after all this time."
"Perhaps," Prue murmured. She bent down, and touched a stone, which crumbled to dust.
"Guess it hasn't worn off yet," Duke observed.
"It will take some time. I usually cannot absorb more than one curse at a time, and now I find myself trying to absorb two at the same time," Prue sighed, staggering slightly.
Duke started to reach for her protectively, but caught himself at the last moment. Prue saw his movement, and gave him a weary smile.
"You still wish to help, even at the risk of your own life," she told him gently. "You are a good man, great-grandson of mine," she finished, and turned to walk away again.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I just wish to walk for a while. It has been a long time for me since I was able to. It helps me to think," Prue said, and turned back. "I will find my way back," she called as she went over the little hill, disappearing from sight.
Duke exhaled heavily, and headed back towards his truck. The remaining Guard members had loaded back into their van, and drove off under Nathan's piercing glare.
"Where's Prudence?" Nathan asked.
"She wanted to walk home," Duke said. "Said she needed to think."
"Should she go alone? Those guys know what she can do," Audrey protested. "They might try to kidnap her."
"Well, if she's got Hailey's Trouble now, she's safe for the moment. They won't risk getting killed to try and grab her," Nathan replied. "We better get hold of Dwight and let him know the cat's out of the bag about Prudence. We'll put a couple guys on the Rouge too."
"I can take of myself-and Prue," Duke said, and climbed into his truck. He roared off in the direction Prudence had gone, and Nathan watched him go.
"Prudence said something in there," Audrey spoke quietly. "She said that William and-I-Troubled people just for the fun of it. And she was right."
"We know what Mara was like, Audrey," Nathan said, putting his arms around her. "And you are not her. You're helping the Troubled."
"But Prudence still sees me as Mara," Audrey told him.
"We'll convince her otherwise," Nathan soothed.
"I just hope we can," Audrey mumbled.
Duke returned to the marina, unsuccessful in his attempt to try and find Prudence. Whichever way she had gone, it wasn't by the main roads.
He gave up at length and went back on board the Rouge and to the dinner he and Prue had fixed, long since cold.
"Prue?" he called. "Prudence?"
Silence answered him.
"I guess she hasn't made it back yet," he said to himself. He reheated his stew in the microwave, and sat down to eat when he heard the sound of feet on deck.
Duke surreptitiously reached for the pistol he kept taped under the table when he heard Dwight's voice.
"Duke? You in?"
"Yeah," Duke replied, tucking the pistol under his thigh.
Dwight came in, Prudence trailing along behind him. Her hair and clothes appeared to be damp, and he wondered where she had stopped to wash herself off.
"Prue," Duke said, relieved. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine," she replied. "The constable was kind enough to offer me a ride."
"So you're-better now?"
"The danger has passed," Prudence said.
"Audrey and Nathan told me what happened at Hailey's house," Dwight told them. "You're not to blame, Prudence. She didn't understand how your Trouble worked. Now I see why you told Vince and Dave to stay away when you cured me."
"I am still sorry the girl died," Prudence sighed. "What was her name?"
"Her name was Lauren," Dwight muttered. "I'm sorry too. As far as Troubles went, hers wasn't bad. But she was a good kid."
"I will help as much as I can, while I am here in Haven," Prudence said. "For now, all I need is some nourishment and rest."
"Guess you have had a busy day," Dwight said. "I'll see you in the morning, yes? And please, just call me Dwight."
"Or Sasquatch," Duke grinned.
"Why would one call him that?" Prudence remarked. "That is only a Mik'Maq legend."
"Duke's trying to be funny," Dwight retorted, his eyes narrowed. "Get some rest, Prue, and I'll see you tomorrow. Duke," he nodded curtly, and ducked back out the door.
Prudence looked exhausted, and Duke walked her over to the table, and helped her sit down.
"Here, let me heat your food up again," Duke said, but Prue put her hand on his.
"It is fine. I have eaten cold food before," Prue answered faintly, and managed a few forkfuls until she finally laid down her fork, and rested her head in her hands, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"You're exhausted. You need to sleep," Duke told her. He put his arms around her, and helped her walk to her room. He knelt down to take her shoes off, sitting them down by the bed before he lifted her legs onto the bed.
"Thank you, Duke," Prudence yawned. She laid down on the bed, and he covered her over with a comforter.
"Sweet dreams," he told her, glancing down at her, and saw that Prue was already sleeping.
Duke shut the light off, and gently closed the door. It had been a long day, and after checking with Denise, his restaurant manager about how the night at the Gull had gone, he too decided to turn in.
That night, he dreamed of Jennifer. He hadn't had those dreams for awhile now. In the dream, it was always the same-she was walking just ahead of him, and he would call out to her, but she never acknowledged he was there. He would try to catch up with her, but she always remained just out of his reach.
He woke with a start early the next morning when he heard someone moving around.
He peered out of his bedroom, and could smell food cooking. Still half caught in his dream, he called out.
"Je-?" he began to say, and then realized it must be Prudence.
"Good morrow, Duke," Prudence greeted.
"Hi," Duke mumbled, yawning. "You're up early."
"I have made arrangements with Cons-Dwight this morning, if you recall," Prue said evenly. She was dressed in a gray T-shirt topped with a flowy blouse and a pair of jeans with boots. She had her hair neatly braided down her back, and for the first time, Duke noticed the necklace around her throat.
"That's unusual," he said, peering closer. "I've never seen a talisman like that before."
"A gift from my grandfather," Prue replied. She turned, smiling at him. "Sit. Breakfast shall be ready shortly."
"I don't usually eat breakfast," Duke said, noting the teapot with steam coming out its spout. He took a cup, and filled it from the teapot, sipping it.
Prudence set down a plate with potatoes, ham and scrambled eggs on it in front of him. He noticed what looked like a cross between a pancake and a biscuit.
"Hoecake," she said. "Not as good as my mother's, but the ingredients are a bit different now. Although," she went on. "I will say that whomever grinds your flour and meal does an excellent job."
"We buy it like that from the store. Our modern market," Duke told her.
"I should like to see this place," Prue said.
"Well, maybe we can go when you and Dwight get done with whatever you two are up to today," Duke answered. "What are you two doing today?"
"He is showing me Haven."
"Well, I could have done that with you, Prue."
"He also wishes me to meet with some of his friends."
"Uh-huh," Duke said skeptically, imagining that Dwight had a veritable army of Troubled people lined up for Prue to cure.
It also worried him; Prudence might be able to cure Troubles, but it was Audrey that was the key to solving them. He didn't want everyone else to be distracted from the long-term solution and opt for the quick fix.
Troubles didn't happen overnight; and we won't cure them overnight, he thought.
"Prudence," Duke began slowly. "Don't let Dwight-push you into anything. You can cure Troubles, yes. But I don't want them using you like that. You don't know what people are like now."
"I would imagine that people are much the same now as they were in my time," Prue said evenly. She gave him a small smile, and touched his cheek. "Do not worry so about me, Duke," she chided gently. "I am very capable of keeping myself well."
"I'll just bet," he grinned. "You sure seemed to know what you were doing with that letter opener yesterday," he went on. "You got to work with Audrey," he said cautiously. "She isn't like Mara anymore, is she?"
"Our time together was so brief, I did not have much chance to form a better opinion," Prue answered briskly.
"Then you should spend some time with her," Duke replied.
Prudence was about to answer, when Dwight knocked on the door frame. "Morning," he called.
"Good morning-Dwight," Prudence greeted. "Would you care for some breakfast?"
"Oh, no thanks, Prudence, I already ate this morning," Dwight said. "But if you have coffee, that would be great."
"I have brewed some on the stove, but it must be filtered to be drinkable," Prue frowned.
"We'll work on learning how to use the coffeemaker when you get back," Duke told her. He was hungrier than he'd realized; either that, or Prue was no slouch in the kitchen. He finished the last forkful of potatoes, and wiped his mouth.
"Dwight, be careful with her," Duke warned. "I know you want to cure everybody, but Prue's a little rusty. She's already cured three people in one day. We don't know how much she can take."
"I know this, Duke," Dwight said sternly. "But Rory's already told the other members of the Guard about her. We're going to meet with the other leaders this morning and discuss what to do. Ideally, the Troubles that are the most dangerous need to be resolved first, like Hailey's."
Duke bit down the remark that Dwight's Trouble had been only a danger to himself, but he held his tongue. Prue had offered to cure Dwight, she'd told him, he hadn't asked her to do it.
"He saw I wasn't wearing my vest anymore, and he wanted to know how I was cured," Dwight was saying. "There are a lot of people desperate to be rid of their Troubles."
Duke recalled Rory as being the one he'd tussled with at the gate. Rory Palmer had a Trouble that caused people to lose their memories for a few hours. When he was a teacher, he would assign homework, but none of his students could ever remember him doing it, and Rory had ended up having to quit. It had made him embittered, and instead, he had become one of the Guard's 'enforcers'.
Duke remembered even he had been hit with Rory's Trouble once himself, wondering who he was and why in the hell he was in a field before Nathan and Audrey arrived and reminded him that he was supposed to be helping them with a Trouble. Rory had thought it exceedingly funny; yet didn't see the humor in it at all when someone 'accidentally' nudged his truck into a fire zone, resulting in a ticket.
"Just-be careful," Duke said in a gentler tone.
"I'll look out for her, promise," Dwight stated. "Are you ready to go, Prue?"
"Yes," she replied, and kissed Duke on his nose.
"Do not worry so much," she whispered. "It will be fine in the end."
"I hope so," Duke smiled.
He dressed quickly, and drove down to the Gull, where he encountered Audrey, coming downstairs to start her day at Haven PD.
"Is Prudence with you?" she asked.
"No. Dwight already came by the Rouge and snatched her up," Duke answered. "Unfortunately, the word's out about her-skill set."
"It does make her incredibly valuable," Audrey murmured. "I don't understand how she can cure Troubles. How is she able to take them from people-without having to kill them? Does she keep them stored inside of her, like you do-or did?" she continued. "I really need to talk with her, but I'd like you there too," she finished. "She trusts you, Duke."
"Mm," Duke said, scratching his jaw absently. "She does seem to, doesn't she?"
Audrey didn't answer, and Duke had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't all business Audrey wanted to discuss with Prue-she wanted her to try to cure Nathan too.
"Audrey-just ask her to fix Nathan," Duke chided, a small smile on his face.
"Gloria said that Prudence was mad at him because he was a little rough with her at the cabin," Audrey told him, biting her lip. "Said she wouldn't fix him at this time."
"So get him to apologize-nicely-and maybe she will," Duke grinned, and then sobered. "Dwight's got her meeting with his underlings this morning. The plan is try to eliminate the most dangerous Troubles first, though."
He put a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "But I still believe in you, Audrey. Even if Prue cures every Trouble in Haven, it's been you who's figured it all out."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Audrey smiled faintly. "But if you can, just-bring her by here tonight, and we'll all have dinner together, you, me, Prue and Nathan, and maybe we can figure out what to do."
"We'll see," Duke answered cautiously. "I told Dwight not to wear her out today."
"He'll look out for her, you know that. Dwight won't let anything happen to Prudence."
Out in Evergreen Gardens, Haven's oldest cemetery, Prudence and Dwight were walking among the tombstones. Some were recent, others were dated to the 1700's.
The meeting with the other Guardsmen had gone well-they kept a detailed list of who had been hit with what Trouble, from the most dangerous to the least, and Prudence had promised to begin working to cure them within the next few days, but first, she needed to rest, and they had understood, promising to leave her and Duke alone until she was ready.
She'd asked him to come here after the meeting, in hopes of finding her family's graves, but due to the fact it had been nearly 500 years since their passing, he had little hope of ever discovering where they'd been buried. Maybe Vince had found something, he thought, as he watched the Teagues crossing the cemetery towards them.
"Vincent," Prudence greeted. "Have you found what I asked for?"
"I believe that I have," Vince said.