Jeanne stepped out of the town hall. She turned her gaze to Farlow and Redwick, deep in conversation with the bald man she had spotted inside the crowd. She remembered her uncle mentioning this man the night prior. Edgar Messinger, the landowner of Jamestown's plantation, and with that, controlled the majority of the men who laboured here. He was far colder than Marshal Redwick, and Jeanne was concerned with just had deadly the man was, as a single glance at him sent chills down her spine. It was then that Jeanne realised that it would be worthwhile to reach out to the Virginia Company workers and gain their ears, for no doubt they would have some knowledge of what the three cunning men, whom her uncle didn't trust in the slightest, were planning for the future of Jamestown. And if not, the workers could at least give her some insight into the men.
Jeanne took a deep breath before approaching the three men. An innocent faux smile was present on her young features. "Gentlemen, I hope my uncle's first meeting as the new Governor of Jamestown met your expectations?" She asked, casting a long look at each of them. Redwick and Messinger weren't impressed with her presence, but Farlow, ever the gentlemen, merely smiled back at her.
"My dear Jeanne, his happy news truly surprised us all," Farlow stated. Jeanne could easily translate his words – they weren't happy at all. Messinger would no longer be the only plantation in Jamestown. It would even be losing workers as they started their plantations, rivalling the Company, which would affect both Redwick and Farlow gaining their profits.
Messinger grunted before storming away towards the town gates, Redwick offering a curt farewell before following after the bald man. Jeanne said goodbye to them, one last jab to upset the fuming men.
Farlow sighed, a tight frown forming on his lips. "I must apologise for them. No manners." Farlow's words rang with honesty. He was a true gentleman, at least when he wanted to be. Jeanne patted his arm, reassuring him it was quite alright. "Now, Jeanne, was there anything else I could help you with today? I could have some horses saddled up to give you a view of the countryside?"
"Very tempting." She smiled up at him. "But I shall take you up on that offering another day. Today I'll see the maids, ensuring they have settled in alright and have no concerns."
Farlow nodded at her. "A good idea. These young maids are undoubtedly looking to you as the Governor's niece." His smile dropped as he tilted his head in thought. "Though there is your aunt, she is far older than them." Jeanne agreed with that statement. While her aunt was the Governor's wife, she was old enough to be the mother of Jamestown's newest residents, and her overzealous nature when it came to religion could even push some of the maidens away. "But yes, you are more relatable to them!" Farlow smiled down at her. "I wish you a good day, Jeanne, farewell." Farlow gave the young woman a bow before strutting off in the exact directions his companions had done not moments before to find his companions.
Jeanne's uncle was right to suspect those three men of plotting something. It was apparent even to her simply by how each man behaved and how two spoke to her. While Redwick honestly had no interest in her, she was still unsure what Farlow's intentions were for herm, but she needed to keep her guard up. Jeanne shook the thoughts from her mind, needing to seek out her friends Verity and Alice. Jamestown was tiny, so there weren't many places the small women could hide. Her first stop was going to be the tavern.
"Jeanne!"
Jeanne's eyes travelled behind her, seeing the young mistress Jocelyn Woodbryg approaching her, her steps far more rushed than they should be for any lady of her status. "Yes, Jocelyne?" After Alice confessed about her on the ship, Jeanne was still weary of her mutterings of killing a man.
The blonde stopped before her, "Have you spoken to Alice?" Her words are straight to the point. Jeanne eyed her for a moment before shaking her head. Jocelyn sighed. "Verity took her somewhere, and she seemed rather upset about something just a moment ago."
"What?" Jeanne barked, almost causing the smaller women to jump. Her head began to snap around the town.
Jocelyn sighed. "I think they went towards that horrible little tavern."
Jeanne quickly thanked the woman before taking off towards the tavern where she had found Verity that morning, grateful she had already been heading in that direction. When coming here, she knew that every last one of the maids would be entering a new world, far different from the one back home across the seas, and with this new world, there would be a whole range of new customs and problems that the maids would face. But Jeanne wasn't sure if it was something relating to Jamestown or homesickness that could have had Alice in tears. When she entered the tavern, it had been void of patrons, for they would not come until far later in the day, so that left Verity alone with a sobbing Alice, whose cries only seemed to worsen at the sight of her Scottish friend.
"Oh, look what you've done!" Verity snapped almost light-heartedly to Jeanne.
"What I've done? Who's the arse that has caused Alice's tears?" Jeanne sat down on Alice's left as Verity sat on her right.
Verity frowned at her, looking at Alice, who was still trying to get her sobs under control. "Her husband."
"And the act?" Jeanne asked.
"Rape." Alice's sob broke out between her quivering lips before Verity could respond.
Jeanne stared at Alice, who looked no more than a child. This is what her uncle had warned her about. While she knew some men, absent from the comfort of a woman's body for so long, could act out in such an ill manner, the thought of it being one's future husband made Jeanne feel sick to her stomach. "You cannot marry such a man, Alice. My uncle will see to it."
"No." Alice sobbed again. Alice could know no other man in Jamestown would take her if they knew another had already taken her, and if she dared to return home to Norfolk, how she could ever face her family, worse if she was with child. "I must live with what has happened. He is to be my husband."
"What if he has an accident?" Jeanne stated more than she asked. Her friends gazed up at her, Alice having halted her cries, partly from the shock.
"You would kill a man for me?" Alice's voice broke, something akin to joy lurking behind her words.
"Accident," Jeanne said firmly, silencing both women with her look. If she were to simply put something into either her uncle or Farlow's ear about Henry Sharrow's sinful actions, the men could come up with their plans to dispose of the men, or maybe Jeanne could find something to taint his food or drink after all, no one would question it, not here. In truth, it wouldn't be hard to arrange something in such an ill manner. After all, living such a life here, it was common for anyone to fall sick or be maimed, and no man or woman was immune.
Jeanne had taken Alice to meet the Sharrow brothers outside of Jamestown at their new parcel of land, thirty acres to be shared between the brothers. Though she did not wish to leave her friend alone with the eldest brother, Alice should be safe from foul actions with the two younger brothers present. She remembered back to the women who hadn't lived through the passage here, wondering if God had taken them to simply protect them from the ill fates that awaited them in Jamestown, but if true, why not just take all of the women aboard the ship, let them all be spared the suffering of their new husbands and the atrocities of the New World. Jocelyn was the only woman in town who seemed to be happy about her upcoming marriage, but she had, in a way, chosen her husband, unlike the rest, who were marrying strangers. And what of her? Would Jeanne have to marry one of the lowly men of Jamestown who would force themselves upon each night, or would her aunt hold to her words and marry her off back to England to a Lord? Jeanne wouldn't be happy with either. She would fly back to Scotland to find her match before marrying anyone of English blood, be it in Jamestown or London.
Jeanne had stopped in her trek to return to Jamestown when she heard horses approaching her, their steady hoofbeats slowing as they neared her. She had spotted Farlow and Redwick upon their mounts, beautiful beasts of tan and brown. Jeanne smiled as they stopped beside her, offering the men a wave in greeting.
"Do you want to die out here alone?!" Redwick had barked at her before Farlow could have the chance to greet her properly, causing the colourful man to frown at his friend, clearly annoyed with Redwicks brutist actions towards the Governor's niece. "There are savages out here!"
Jeanne smiled at him, almost tauntingly. "So I have heard, but there are also savages inside the walls."
Redwick dismounted rather quickly at her words, marching before her, hand resting threateningly on his sheathed blade. "What I did this morning…"
"I was NOT talking about you." Jeanne snapped back, shutting the large man up on the spot.
"Why?" Farlow spoke up, trying to break the tension between the pair. He leaned forward in his saddle. "What have you heard?"
"A maid was raped last night." Jeanne thought for a moment, in truth, that Marshall Redwick had a right to know if rape had occurred, but at the same time, she couldn't betray Alice's wishes for Henry not to be reported. Redwick stared at her more angrily now, while Farlow only looked at her with concern. Farlow made a noise of disgust at the news, while Redwick only began to pester Jeanne for more information. Still, she refused to do so, simply stating that the woman was afraid to come forwards, fearful that nothing would be done, and scared of her future if something was.
"Understandable, but such horrible things can't go unpunished, right Redwick?" Redwick nodded. Farlow finally spoke, causing his friend to look up at him where Farlow remained mounted.
"They will know what fate awaits them for rape." Redwick looked back to Jeanne, his words ringing clear in her mind, almost threatening her to reveal everything to him. But alas, she didn't budge. She continued to stare him down, despite their height differences. Redwick spat into the ground beside her, turning on his heel sharply to remount his horse. Once again, he didn't bother offering her a farewell before riding back to town. Farlow followed close behind with a tip of his cap to Jeanne.
Jeanne began walking back to town as she allowed her thoughts to dwell on Redwick's words. Once the Marshall's threat reached the ears of the men, she hoped it would mean a better future for the women who came here and that it was also ensuring that Henry Sharrow would pleasure himself before ever forcing himself on Alice again. But there was also the fear that it could anger Henry, that he would know that Alice had told someone and that it had reached the Marshall's ears, would put his life in danger, and possibly even Alice's. Yet if Henry had a brain under his skull, he would know that harming her in any way would almost certainly see him hang, and that would be a fate he would rather see him fleeing into the wilds before facing the outcome.
The sun wasn't even up yet when Jeanne's uncle had awoken her the next day, pestering her with questions about the warning Marshall Redwick had given to the men the night prior at Rutter's tavern, making it well known that if any man were to rape a woman, he would see himself at the end of a rope before the day was out. George Yeardley was smart enough to question his niece about this and intelligent enough to know that a woman of Jamestown had already been forced upon. Jeanne never felt comfortable lying to her uncle, owing him for raising her for all these years, but she didn't want to betray Alice's trust. It took a lot of convincing to make him understand that it's up to the woman to come forward and that no one, not even Jeanne, can force her to do so. She made her uncle understand the woman's fear, which would continue to fear from those around her, whether the rape was known. Yeardley had promised not to hassle her for information on the matter again nor to let his wife know about the situation.
Jeanne made sure that when she met with Alice in town that morning, to let her know about the situation, but with that, Alice had news of her own. The two elders Sharrow brothers, Henry and Silas, had left that morning to venture farm into Native lands to trade with the Indian tribes, using a canoe along the river. Their conversation had been interrupted by the town blacksmith, a man by the name of James Read. He seemed genuine and sweet to Jeanne as she watched him enquire with Alice about the Sharrow Plantation and even offered her a bucket he made out of an old soldier helmet. As Alice took it from him, the shawl draped around her form shifted, showing the man the bruises that marked her wrist.
"What's that bruise on your hand? How did you come by that?" He asked, not taking his gaze off it, making a move to grab her wrist to inspect it further.
"My fault," Jeanne interjected, causing them both to look at her. "Alice tripped yesterday, and as she fell, I tried to help her, but I only ended up hurting the poor girl in the process." Jeanne lied, looking to her friend for clarification. Alice nodded, not daring to look back at James.
James could only look between them, making Jeanne suspect he knew the truth. It didn't help that Redwick's little speech last night was still fresh in his mind. "You said that the two eldest Sharrows have gone up the river to trade with the Indians?"
"Yes," Alice spoke meekly.
"If that is all, Master Read, we need to be going." Jeanne pulled Alice away before James could ask any further questions, leading the girl towards the tavern to seek out Verity, who had failed to meet them outside the town hall as planned that morning.
"Jeanne." Alice started. "Something happened after you left yesterday with the Sharrows." Alice's words caused the redhead to stop walking, an anger-filled gaze consuming Scot's face. "Not Henry. It was Farlow and the Marshall." This got Jeanne's attention; it was just the sort of news her uncle was counting on her to acquire. Jeanne signalled for her to continue. "Well, Silas has to sell his lands to Massinger to pay off Henry's debt for buying my passage."
"Alice, have you told anyone else?" Jeanne asked. The brunette shook her head. "Good. Keep it that way. I shall see to the matter is handled."
"How…?" Alice began but was silenced by a hand from Jeanne. She nodded. Alice had learned quickly from her time aboard the boat with Jeanne that she was a stubborn woman no one should mess with. Alice wasn't sure if this was the girl's Scottish upbringing, personality, or just the confidence of having one's uncle as a Knighted Governor. Maybe all three. Alice thought that while she always had a caring nature, sometimes she was still a timid farm girl with no knowledge of the world outside her fields.
The tavern was dead quiet when both girls arrived, finding only the remains of last night's drunken events by the men. But to one corner sat Meredith Rutter, slumped against a wall in only his shirt, just long enough to cover his shame.
"Rutter," Jeanne spoke and kicked the sole of one of his bare feet as Alice tried to look away from the scene before her.
"Ah!" Rutter jolted awake, his shier thankfully not moving. "Verity!" He bellowed before noticing the two women before him. "She's gone!"
"What!" Alice shrieked, running to one of the back rooms to check for her friend.
Jeanne sighed, rubbing at her temples. That woman is a living curse upon those she meets. "Well, she's taken your clothes, Rutter, so I guess she is trying to disguise herself?" Jeanne looked to Alice, who came out from the backroom, shaking her head, confirming the Irish woman had fled Jamestown.
"Where will she go, Meredith?" Alice asked the tavern owner.
He scoffed from his place on the floor. Where could the devil woman go? There was nowhere, he thought. The only place she could even try to go now that the ship had left port was Berkeley Town out west, but there was no way she would be such a foolish woman to make the journey, not when there were wild beasts and the natives to worry about. He told this to the two women. The brunette was in a panic, while the redhead next to her was contemplating the situation calmly.
"Mistress Kett, Mistress Gardner," Rutter spoke in a pitiful tone. "Out of the kindness of both your hearts…could you…uh…"
"We'll find her." Alice attempted to finish for him.
"Could you pass me an ale?"
Jeanne and Alice shared a look. Alice left the tavern without even giving the poor man another look, but Jeanne picked up a still somewhat full cup of ale and dumped it over the man's head before going after Alice. She found her friend speaking to the youngest Sharrow brother, Pepper, by the blacksmith's station, asking him for directions to Berkeley Town, directions he wasn't willing to give. Both girls implored him to tell them, and after a moment, he gave in.
West, following the river.