Chapter Six: Swamp Fever
"It's cold out here." Julia Tyler shivered in the damp, chilly air. When Ben invited her for a walk in the dreary, rain-wet garden, the lively young college girl had expected the fresh air to revive her. Instead she felt dizzy and strangely out of breath.
"Let's sit down and rest beside the rose bushes." Dr. Ben Carlson was as charming as ever, joking about being unable to keep up with his youthful companion's long legs. But the dapper little doctor's probing gaze suggested genuine concern.
"I'll be all right," Julia said, feeling almost hypnotized by Ben's intense, blue-eyed gaze. She trusted him completely, but she just couldn't understand feeling so weak all of a sudden. "Maybe it was reading all those notes on the old witch trials. I guess I overdid it because I wanted to prove to Professor Bradford that I'm ready to get back to work."
"And what did you discover about the lusty Horned God and his young female followers?" Ben's bright blue eyes held a sparkle that teased her, yet always made Julia feel cherished and special.
"Well, I don't believe what the Puritan judges said at the trial, that those poor girls were consumed with lust. They weren't weak. That's not what made them give their loyalty to the god of the underworld. I think they felt ignored, and exploited, forced to toil as servant girls for years and denied any freedom of their own." Julia paused to catch her breath, battling the strange dizzy spell.
"Yes, that sounds like a good solid piece of sociological analysis." Ben gave her a couple of pills from his small black medical bag. "Nothing major, just a little something for the dizziness."
"How did you know . . ." Julia gulped down the small pink pills and tried to rise at once, anxious to prove she was her old self again. Ben's calm voice and gentle manner made her feel she was in good hands. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.
"What about Madge?" Ben gently tugged her arm, urging her to sit down and rest some more. "She wasn't a saucy young girl, dancing before the Horned One in the hope of catching his eye. What did she get out of all this?"
"I don't know." Feeling tired all of a sudden, Julia fixed her gaze on the wet soil beneath her feet. The trial records suggested that Madge Tarleton had wanted very badly to keep in favor with the Horned God. Yet what did he give her in exchange for her soul? Why did the girls dance and dance until they fell into a delirium? Were they truly killed by lust or by some incurable swamp fever?
"Good evening, Aunt Caroline. It's a bit chilly for a walk, isn't it?" Ben's cheerful greeting roused Julia from her muddled thoughts. She looked up and saw two stout figures walking arm-in-arm.
"Nonsense! You're a naughty boy, Ben. Anyone can see you've got designs on Julia, and you hate being seen by prying eyes!"
"We were just talking," Julia objected, in a rather lifeless voice. She understood that wealthy old Caroline Dunwich was only teasing, but she didn't want to get into a discussion. She just felt tired and completely drained.
"Well, I think Julia will want to retire early tonight," Professor Bradford said kindly. She was the one walking with Caroline, who was in poor health and rarely came outdoors. But today both old ladies seemed unusually animated and full of energy.
That was the opposite of how Julia Tyler felt.