"Hello there Ellie," Malva greeted as the child appeared above her. Malva was on her knees digging up potatoes from the soil. "Are ye here to help me?"
"Uhhh, I guess," she huffed.
"Aye good," Malva replied. "Ye can help me with the potatoes. Come here, ah'll show ye." Ellie huffed again as she lowered herself to the ground and kneeled beside Malva.
"This is dumb," Ellie mumbled.
"It is better than a beatin," Malva responded.
"Mr. Jamie would never have allowed that," Ellie snapped.
"Aye," Malva commented. "Ma father can be vera persistent." Ellie rolled her eyes and began digging for potatoes. "How do ye ken Jamie and Claire?" Malva asked.
"I don't really," Ellie replied, still unsure how to respond to questions like these. "But they've been very good to me. They're good, kind people."
"Aye, ah see," Malva sighed. "Ye mustn't ken them vera well. Ma father says Jamie is a bad man and Claire is a witch," Malva commented. "And ye're an evil child." Ellie couldn't believe her ears, and how forthright Malva was with her words. She felt her face get hot and she clenched her little fists tightly. Ellie fought the urge to slap Malva.
"Uhhh, your father is a liar!" Ellie huffed as she picked up a fistful of dirt and threw it on the ground. "Jamie is a good man and Claire is a doctor, not a witch! How could you even say that?! You shouldn't make false accusations." Ellie was confused and upset. She jumped up to her feet and glared down at Malva. "If anyone here is evil, it's your father!" Malva stood up in front of her.
"Ye take that back!" Malva demanded.
"No!" Ellie yelled back, "Your father is an evil, disgusting man and I hate him!" She noticed a smile appear on Malva's face and then a hand was placed roughly on her shoulder, and she was spun abruptly to face Mr. Christie. Before she had a chance to react, Mr. Christie landed a fierce blow to her right cheek causing Ellie to stumble backward only to be pulled toward him again. Tears sprang to her eyes. She tried to scream for Roger or Ian, but nothing came out.
"How dare ye?" he growled. "Ah'm going to beat this evil out of ye." He grabbed her roughly under the right shoulder and started to drag her out of the garden.
"Let me go!" she cried. "Roger! Ian!"
"Quiet!" he hollered, "Ye're a disgrace to the settlement!" Ellie was terrified and couldn't understand why no one was helping her. Instead, she heard some laughing and clapping. She swung her free arm across and clawed at the grip Mr. Christie had on her. However, his grip did not quaver. He dragged her up the steps to the meeting house and inside, the doors closing behind him. He forcefully pushed her upper body onto the desk in front of him and held her in place, while trying to loosen his belt with his other hand. "If Jamie had done his job, ah wouldna have to do this," his voice boomed as his swung his belt off. He placed the belt on the desk beside Ellie and proceeded to lift the back of her dress.
"I hate you! Let me go!" Ellie screamed as she frantically tried to push herself up from the desk. "Jamie's going to be very angry about this!" Mr. Christie quickly placed her dress and shift over her back, exposing her bare bottom. Ellie became frantic and couldn't believe what was happening. "Let me go!" she desperately screamed again as tears rolled down her cheeks. Mr. Christie grabbed his belt and raised it in the air. However, when he started to bring it down on her bottom, he couldn't move his arm. He turned to find Roger and Ian standing behind him.
"Ye have no right Mr. Christie," Ian stated angrily. His grip on Ellie released and she quickly fixed her dress. She glanced at Ian and Roger angrily and ran for the back door. Ellie pushed open the door and ran as fast as she could into the nearby woods. She had no idea where she was going but kept on running. She finally stopped when her legs felt like they were going to give out beneath her and collapsed onto the ground in tears. A few minutes later she heard leaves crunching in the distance and quickly took cover behind a large weeping willow.
"Ellie!" called Roger's voice.
"The trail ends here," she heard Ian's voice comment. "The lass is nearby."
"Ellie!" Roger called again, "It's just us."
"I'm here," she mumbled as she stepped out from behind the tree. Roger and Ian both jumped down from their horses to greet her.
"Are you hurt?" Roger asked.
"I'm fine," she replied as she crossed her arms against her chest. "Is he looking for me too?" she questioned worriedly as she broke down into tears again.
"Ye're safe lass," Ian said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Ah told Mr. Christie that ye wouldna be back until ma uncle returned."
"I will never go back there," she replied firmly.
"Ellie, what happened?" Roger asked. "Mr. Christie said you were spewing evil words from your mouth."
"Uhhh," she sighed. "I don't want to talk about it." She shrugged Ian's arm off of her shoulders. "I just want to go home."
"Aye, ye can ride back with me," Ian offered. They headed back to the homestead and once they arrived, Ellie immediately hurried inside and up to her room while Roger and Ian went to find Claire. Once inside her room, Ellie lost it. She started to rip the blankets off of her bed, and then proceeded to push the books and lantern off of the small desk in the corner. Glass scattered everywhere. Ellie then took her fists and started punching the wall. She barely heard her bedroom door open and felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind. She turned her head to find Roger.
"Let me go!" she demanded.
"Ellie," Claire said gently as she appeared in front of her. She placed a hand on each of the child's cheeks gently. "You're safe now." Tears immediately fell from Ellie's eyes. Roger slowly released the grip he had on her, and Ellie threw herself into Claire's arms. "I know it must've been horrible," Claire said gently as she stroked the back of Ellie's head. Claire motioned to Roger that she had it under control. He nodded and left the room.
"She said horrible things about you," Ellie sobbed.
"You can tell me all about it," Claire said gently as she took a step back and examined Ellie's hands. "But first, let's clean these hands up." They headed down to her clinic and Ellie took a seat on the examination table while Claire gathered the materials to clean up the cuts on her knuckles. "So, who said terrible things about me?" Claire questioned calmly.
"Malva told me that Mr. Christie did," Ellie replied.
"Oh, I see," Claire replied. "What did Malva say?"
"She told me that you're a witch and Jamie's a bad man," Ellie said angrily. She studied Claire's face and was surprised that she didn't look upset.
"Why aren't you mad?" Ellie asked curiously.
"People say a lot of things when they don't understand," Claire replied. "And these people don't understand how a woman can be a doctor." Claire wrapped each of Ellie's hands with a cloth. "You did a number on your knuckles," she commented as she looked at Ellie and smiled gently. "Mr. Christie and Jamie have a history and Mr. Christie doesn't like Jamie so that is probably why Malva said he's a bad man. I know it's hard, but sometimes you just need to accept that you can't please everyone and sometimes there are people who will never accept you and that's okay."
"But it's wrong to spread rumors," Ellie commented. "Especially about you when all you want to do is to help people." Claire smiled at Ellie.
"Thank you Ellie and you are right, rumors can be dangerous, but Mr. Christie is a stubborn man and he's inflexible in his ways," Claire explained. "And unfortunately, he probably won't change. Now, how about you tell me the rest of what happened today." Ellie sighed.
"Do I have to?" she whined.
"Yes," Claire replied firmly.
"Well….after Malva said those things I got really mad and I started yelling at her. I don't remember exactly what I said, but something along the lines that her father was an evil, disgusting man and I hated him." Ellie paused when she saw a look of disappointment on Claire's face.
"Go on," Claire commented.
"I didn't know Mr. Christie was standing behind me and he slapped me, and then dragged me into the meeting house and was going to beat me," Ellie said as tears came to her eyes again. "I was so scared and then Ian and Roger stopped him, and I ran off." Ellie covered her hands with her face. "I make such a mess of things," Ellie sobbed. Claire took her hands gently and moved them away from her face. "Are you mad?" Ellie questioned worriedly.
"I'm disappointed in the way you handled yourself today, but I also understand," Claire replied. "It's hard to hear things like that and not react. But Ellie, you should never speak of adults in that way. In Mr. Christie's mind, you were being disrespectful, and he thought he had every right to teach you a lesson."
"Why are you defending him?" Ellie gasped.
"I'm not, but it's different here than what you're used to," Claire explained. "Children don't talk back and most of the time, they do what they're told. The way you address adults sometimes is downright unacceptable. However, I do not condone Mr. Christie's behavior either. He should've went to Roger or Ian if had issues with you and I'm sorry this happened to you. I'll be having my own conversation with him this afternoon."
"I'm sorry," Ellie sighed. It was hard for her to hear Claire be so direct.
"I know," Claire replied gently. She took Ellie's hands and helped her hop down from the table. "I believe there's a big mess in your room that needs to be cleaned up," Claire said somewhat sternly. "You'll find a broom and dustpan on the porch."
"Fine," Ellie sighed as she trudged off. Claire took a deep breath. She was worried about Ellie. The child had already been through so much and navigating this time period was proving to be a challenge for her.