Chapter Five: The Horned God
"But Professor Bradford, here's the part I don't get." After a few days or rest, Julia had largely recovered from her cold. She was feeling much better and was eating lunch from a tray in bed. "Ever since I came here, that hired hand Matthew has been telling me I'm in danger. Dunwich Manor is evil! Leave before it's too late!"
"That sounds like him, all right." Henrietta Bradford chuckled at the way her lively female assistant captured Matthew's deep, brooding voice and gloomy scowl. "Julia, my love, try not to wolf down your ham and eggs. You'll make yourself ill!"
"I can't help it! I had no appetite for days, and now I'm starving!" Julia made the professor laugh by mopping up her eggs in record time. She kept feeling like she could eat an entire elephant. "So here's what I don't get. If Matthew wanted to get rid of me, why did he shove me in the water at the family picnic? I mean, my getting sick would only keep us around when he wants us to leave. And if he wanted to, you know, get rid of me for real . . ."
"Then he could have drowned you in the swamp."
"Well, yes. I guess that's what I mean." Julia shuddered, picturing her lifeless body floating in the murky water.
"Perhaps when he pushed you in the water, he was trying to keep you from seeing something on shore." Professor Bradford poured Julia a fresh cup of tea. "Or perhaps you simply slipped and fell."
"I know I felt him grab at me." Julia frowned as she sipped her tea. The old-fashioned bitterroot mixture had done wonders for her sniffles and her sore throat. But she couldn't seem to remember exactly what had happened when she fell into the water. Had Matthew meant to shove her or was he merely trying to steady her when his big hands suddenly encircled her slender waist? Certainly she had sensed something lurking in the tall grass . . .
"Well, whatever happened, there's no need to worry. We won't let anything happen to you. Now I must get back to my research."
"Don't you want me to take notes for you? That's my job!" Feeling restless, Julia wiggled her bare feet under the velvet bed covers.
"No need, dearest." Professor Bradford picked up the tray and the tea things. "You just stay in bed and rest. Try to get a little sleep. Another day or two and you'll feel good as new!"
"But I feel good as new right now!"
"Ah, but you'll feel even better after a little snooze." Professor Bradford laughed heartily as she left, shutting the bedroom door firmly behind her.
Julia didn't like the idea of lying in bed all afternoon. She picked up some of the notes she'd copied a week ago, the ones about the witch trials from long ago. Silas Dunwich didn't seem to care whether the accused women were young or old, pretty or ugly. He only cared if they had ventured into the swamp to meet in secret and offer themselves to the Horned God. He was tall, and strong, with a dark, scowling countenance and a deep, growling voice. When he called the witches into his presence they shed their clothes willingly and danced before him. Dancing just for him . . .
Towards the end of the afternoon Dr. Ben dropped by just to see how his patient was feeling. His visit cheered Julia up right away, even though she felt foolish about being so oblivious to his arrival.
"Henrietta says you're getting bored and feeling cooped up indoors." Dapper Ben was smiling as he took her pulse and blood pressure, his hands cool, gently probing her wrist and arm.
"Huh?" Julia remembered chatting with the professor after lunch. And she remembered rereading her notes, something about the Horned God and his power over the witches who danced before him. It had felt so real, as though Matthew was the Horned God and she was the witch. But maybe she'd dreamed that part. She'd been asleep all afternoon.
"Something tells me you need a breath of fresh air." Ben was smiling at her, his blue eyes twinkling as he put away his medical kit.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Julia shook her head, determined to get rid of her grogginess and the feeling that something had happened to her while she was asleep.