Elizabeth George Speare / Элизабет Джордж Спир
The Witch of Blackbird Pond / Ведьма с пруда Чёрных Дроздов
Книга для чтения на английском языке в 10–11 классах общеобразовательных учебных заведений
Адаптация и словарь: А. В. Шитова

© Шитова А. В., адаптация, словарь, 2014

© ООО «Антология», 2014

Chapter One

On a morning in April, 1687, the brigantine Dolphin sailed into Saybrook harbor. Kit Tyler was standing on the deck, looking at the land for the first time in five weeks.

“There’s Connecticut Colony,” someone spoke in her ear. She looked up, surprised. The whole long voyage the captain’s son didn’t say a word to her. But she had often noticed him, his thin figure, tanned skin and sunburned hair. His name was Nathaniel Eaton or just Nat. “How do you like it?” he asked.

“Is that Wethersfield?” she asked Nat. America looked disappointing to Kit. The thin shoreline, gray harbor, ugly wooden houses – they were such a contrast to Barbados which was her home.

“No, this is the port of Saybrook, our home.”

She could see nothing interesting and was happy because this was not her destination.

“Have you ever been on a ship before?” Nat asked.

“I’ve sailed on little row boats in the islands all my life.”

He smiled, “That’s where you learned to keep your balance.” So he had noticed!

“Weren’t you scared of the wind and the waves?” Nat asked.

“I was! But now I think that it was the most exciting thing I’ve ever known.”

There was a sudden activity on the deck. “What is happening?” Kit asked. “Are we stopping here?”

“Some passengers will get off,” Nat explained. “We’re going to anchor here and take a boat to the shore. That means I have to go.” He went away, lightly and confidently.

Then Kit saw the captain’s wife Mistress Eaton among the passengers leaving the ship. They were the only two women aboard the Dolphin, and the older woman was friendly and kind. Now, seeing Kit, she walked up to her. “I am leaving the ship, Katherine. But don’t look so sad. This is not far to Wethersfield, and we’ll meet again.”

Kit looked at the shore again. Suddenly she had an idea. “Can I ride in the boat to the shore with you?” she asked. “There is America and I can’t wait to see it!”

“You are such a child, Kit,” smiled Mrs. Eaton. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that you are sixteen.” She asked her husband about it. The captain looked at the girl’s shining eyes and then agreed.

On the shore Nat helped his mother to get out of the boat first and then gave a hand to Kit. When she set foot on America, she smelled the salty air and looked around. Three poorly-dressed women stood nearby. Kit smiled and wanted to talk to them, but then she stopped herself. There was something in the women’s stare: they looked critically at Kit’s tangled brown curls and sunburned face. She had no gloves, no cover for her head. Embarrassment was a new feeling for Kit. No one on Barbados had ever stared like that at Sir Francis Tyler’s granddaughter.

“Katherine, dear,” said Mrs. Eaton at that moment, “Are you sure your aunt will be waiting for you at Wethersfield? There’s Goodwife Cruff going aboard. I’ll tell her to keep you company.”

Then she walked away, and Nat followed her along the narrow dirty road. Kit stood alone, waiting. She already regretted this trip to the shore. There was no welcome for her at this Saybrook.

* * *

At last the captain called everyone back to the boat. There were four new passengers: a tall young man with long fair hair, then a sullen older man, his wife and their little girl with a wooden toy. They were halfway back to the ship when the child started crying. Her mother smacked her, but the child only started crying harder. “Ma! The dolly’s gone!” she cried. “The doll Grandpa made for me!”

Kit could see the little wooden doll drifting in the water right behind the boat.

“Shame on you!” the woman said angrily to the girl. “He worked so hard to make you a toy, and now you throw it away!”

“I was showing her the ship! Please get her back, Ma! Please!”

The toy was drifting farther and farther away from the boat. No one in the boat paid any attention. Kit could not keep silent. “Turn back, Captain,” she asked.

The captain did not even look at her. Kit had never been ignored before. Then, suddenly, she took off her shoes and jumped over the side of the boat. The water was terribly cold. Kit saw the wooden doll and quickly swam to it. She had the doll in her hand when she saw that Nathaniel too was in the water beside her. She laughed and swam back to the boat. The captain helped her and Nat to get in. Kit was smiling excitedly, and her cheeks were red, but then she saw the shock, horror and anger in the faces of the other passengers.

“You must be mad,” the woman said angrily.

Even Nathaniel was furious. “You don’t think about anybody else, do you?” he asked her.

“Why did you jump in anyway?” Kit asked.

“I wouldn’t have, if I had known that you could swim.”

“Swim?” she was surprised. “My grandfather taught me to swim before I could walk.”

The others stared at Kit silently. What was wrong with these people? Only the young man with fair hair smiled warmly, and the child, holding her wet doll, looked gratefully at her.

* * *

Two hours later Kit was sitting on the deck when the tall young man came up to her. “I am John Holbrook,” he said. “I’m going to Wethersfield.”

Kit had not forgotten his warm smile. “I am Katherine Tyler,” she answered. “I am on the way to Wethersfield too to live with my aunt, Mistress Wood.”

“Is Matthew Wood your uncle then? His name is well-known there.”

“Yes, but I have never seen either him or my aunt. I only know that she was my mother’s very beautiful sister back in England.”

The young man looked puzzled. “I have never met your aunt,” he said. “I came to talk to you because I think that it was a kind thing you did for the child.”

“It was a very foolish thing, I understand now,” she replied. “But I don’t understand why it made everyone so angry.”

He paused. “You surprised us, that’s all. We were sure you would drown. It was shocking to see you swimming.”

“But can’t you swim?”

“No, and no one else on this ship can, except Nat who was born on the water. Where in England do they teach you that?”

“Not England. I was born on Barbados.”

“Barbados? The wild island in the West Indies?”

“Yes, but it is as civilized as England, with towns and fine streets and shops. My grandfather had one of the first plantations there, with a grant from the King.”

“You are not a Puritan then?”

“Puritan? One of those who betrayed King James?”[1]

The young man opened his mouth to protest, but then looked at Kit and just asked, “Are you going to stay here in Connecticut? I think you will be a surprise to the good people of Wethersfield.”

Kit suddenly felt uncomfortable. Can he possibly know? Had he guessed? There was no one to tell him. She had kept her secret even from the captain’s wife. “Do you live in Wethersfield yourself?” she asked to change the subject.

The young man shook his head. “My home is in Saybrook, but I am going to Wethefsfield to study under the Reverend Bulkeley. In another year I hope to have my own church.”

A clergyman! She should have known it! Suddenly she was distracted by Nat Eaton. His friendly morning smile was gone and he spoke formally. “My father sent me to find you, Mistress Tyler. He thinks you should now eat with Goodwife Cruff and her family.”

“Ugh,” Kit exclaimed, “her sour face will spoil my food!”

Nat laughed. “And yours will spoil hers,” he answered. “She has told my father that you are a witch because no good woman could swim like that.”

“Nonsense!” Kit cried.

“Don’t you know about the water test?” Nat asked her. “A true witch will always float. The innocent ones just sink like a stone.” Nat was clearly joking, but she was surprised to see that John Holbrook’s face was now even darker than before. “That is not a funny thing,” he said. “Was the woman serious, Nat?”

“She was,” Nat answered. “But my father has calmed her down. He knows Barbados. He explained that the sea is always warm there, and that even good people sometimes swim in it. But, Mistress Katherine, now that you’re in Connecticut, I’d advise you to forget that you can swim.”

They all laughed, but inside Kit felt uneasy. Nat was joking, but he definitely warned her. There was something strange about this country of America; something that they all seemed to understand, but she did not.

Chapter Two

It took nine days for the Dolphin to make the voyage from Saybrook to Wethersfield. As if the ship was bewitched – from the moment they left Saybrook everything went wrong. The wind almost died away, and the ship was moving down the river very slowly. Kit was very frustrated. How could she stand another meal at the same table with Goodwife Cruff, her sullen husband and that miserable little child Prudence. Yet Kit couldn’t get the girl out of her mind. There was something in that small child. One afternoon Kit saw the little girl standing alone on the deck. Kit moved closer and they stood side by side watching beautiful birds and dark trees on the shore. The child looked at the scenery with wonder. But soon a call from her mother made her run away. Suddenly, Kit realized that she hadn’t seen the girl’s wooden doll.

Captain Eaton and Nat were avoiding Kit. John Holbrook was the only one on this ship who didn’t mind her company. Most of the time, he was reading his books, even forgetting about the meals. But the moment he noticed Kit, John would smile, shut his book and come to join her. Slowly Kit learned the details of his dull history.

“It was foolish of me, the farmer’s son, even to think about Harvard,” John told her. “It was too far to the school, and my father could never let me go for more than a month out of the year. But he wanted me to learn, and I wanted to go to college. Till this spring I was hoping I could save enough money. Well, the Lord didn’t provide the money, but now He has another plan for me. Reverend Bulkeley of Wethersfield has agreed to take me as a pupil. He is a famous scholar, in medicine as well as theology. There isn’t a more learned teacher, even at Harvard.”

This talk about money embarrassed Kit. Her grandfather seldom mentioned such things. For sixteen years she had never questioned the expensive and beautiful things she had. In the last few months she had had a terrifying experience of living without money, but she didn’t want to speak about it. Instead, she tried to tell John Holbrook of her own childhood. She saw that he didn’t like the way she had grown up on the island. The green palms, warm blue ocean, white sandy beaches meant nothing to him. Didn’t her parents give her work to do?

“I don’t remember my parents at all,” she told him. “My father was born on the island and was sent to England to school. He met my mother there and brought her back to Barbados with him. They had only three years together. They both drowned by accident on a pleasure trip to Antigua, and Grandfather and I were left alone.”

“Were there no women to care for you?”

“Oh, there were slaves of course. I had a black maid. But I never needed anyone but Grandfather.” Kit remembered her Grandfather: his fine cheekbones, his thin aristocratic nose, and his loving eyes.

“It must have been hard to lose him,” said John gently. “I am so glad you have an aunt here. I’m sure she will be very happy to see you.”

“She was my mother’s only sister,” said Kit. “Grandfather said that my mother missed her very much. Her name is Rachel, and Grandfather said that she was beautiful. My mother remembered that she was always laughing. But she fell in love with a Puritan and ran away to America. She wrote to my mother from Wethersfield, and she has written a letter to me every year of my life.”

John Holbrook looked at Kit. “That was many years ago,” he told her. “Don’t forget that your aunt has been away from England for a long time.”

Kit felt that it was another warning which she could not yet understand. Later that hot afternoon Nat walked over to her where she stood on the deck looking at the river.

“How I would love,” she said. “To get into that water and away from this filthy ship!”

Nat’s blue eyes darkened. “Filthy – the Dolphin?”

“Oh,” she laughed, “You know, that stable smell!”

“Maybe you think it would smell better with a hold full of human bodies in chains, half of them almost dead?”

Kit was shocked. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you have slaves on Barbados?”

“Of course we have. We used to own more than a hundred to work the plantation.”

“How did you think they got there? Did you think they traveled from Africa in private cabins like yours?”

She had never thought about it. “But don’t you have slaves in America?”

“Yes, to our shame! But we, Eatons, we’re very proud that our ship has never had any slaves in its hold!” With these words Nat was gone again. What a temper! She insulted his precious ship. They almost made friends again, but now he will probably not speak to her for the rest of the trip. And why should she care? He is just a rude sailor!

But even John Holbrook didn’t approve of her now. She shocked him last night when she took his book, opened it at the marked page, and read a boring passage aloud. “Is this what you read all day long?”

John was staring at her. “You can read that?” he asked, amazed. “How did you learn to read?”

“I don’t even remember how I learned. Grandfather sometimes took me into his library where it was dark and cool, and read to me aloud from his books, and later I would sit beside him and read to myself while he studied.”

“What books?” John asked doubtfully.

“Oh, history, and poetry, and plays.”

“Plays! Your grandfather allowed a girl to read such things?”

“Yes. Wonderful plays by Shakespeare, for example. They were beautiful! Haven’t you read them?”

John’s cheeks reddened. “There are no such books in Saybrook. The right use of reading is to improve our sinful nature and to fill our minds with God’s holy words.”

Kit stared at him. She remembered her Grandfather, and she knew that he hadn’t read his books to improve his sinful nature. John Holbrook’s words made her feel uncomfortable again.

* * *

Early the next morning the Dolphin finally arrived at Wethersfield. The shore looked just like the forest they had seen for the past week. Her heart sank. So this was Wethersfield! Just a narrow sandy shoreline with a row of huge wooden warehouses, and beyond that – green fields and woods. No town, not a house. Only a few men and boys and two dogs had come to meet the boat. Kit watched Goodwife Cruff walk with her husband along the shore. Prudence, holding her mother’s hand, looked back.

“Bye, Prudence,” Kit shouted. “I hope to see you often!”

Goodwife Cruff stopped and looked at Kit. “Please leave my child alone! We do not welcome strangers in this town, especially the ones like you!” With these words she marched up the dirty road and disappeared in the fog. Even John Holbrook’s goodbyes were very formal, and he, too, walked away into the fog to meet his new teacher.

Then Kit saw Captain Eaton coming and knew that this was the moment to tell the truth.

“There must’ve been some mistake,” the captain said. “I am sure that your aunt and uncle will be here to meet you any time soon.”

Kit gathered her courage. “Captain Eaton,” she said quietly, “my uncle and aunt will not come to meet me. To be honest, they do not even know that I am here.”

The captain’s eyes widened with surprise. “Didn’t you tell me that they had sent for you to come?”

“I told you that they wanted me,” Kit corrected him. “Mistress Wood is my mother’s sister. Naturally, she would always want me to come.”

“But how could you be so sure that they were still in Connecticut?”

“My Aunt Rachel’s last letter came only six months ago.”

He frowned. “You know very well that I would never have taken you on board had I known this. Now I will have to waste my time trying to find where your uncle lives and taking you there.”

Kit’s cheeks turned red. What if Aunt Rachel – but there was no time for doubt now. She would hold her head high and meet her destiny.

Chapter Three

Kit, Nat, the captain and some sailors, carrying Kit’s trunks, walked along the dirty road. Her last hopes died: there was no fine town of Wethersfield – just a settlement more lonely than Saybrook. A man with a cow stopped to stare at them, and Captain Eaton asked him for directions. “High Street,” the man said, pointing to the right. “Matthew Wood’s place is the third house.”

High Street was just a narrow path. Kit saw that at least her uncle’s house looked respectable. The captain knocked hard on the massive door. The door opened and there was a thin, gray-haired woman. She looked like a servant, but the captain took off his hat and greeted her.

The woman looked at the girl, and her face suddenly turned white. “Margaret,” she whispered.

For a moment the two women stared at each other. Then Kit understood. “Aunt Rachel!” she cried. “It is Kit! I am Margaret’s daughter.”

“Kit? Katherine Tyler? I thought… Oh, my dear child, how wonderful!”

All at once there was warmth and happiness. Yes, this strange woman was really her Aunt Rachel!

Captain Eaton then started saying his goodbyes. “Well, I am glad that everything is well.”

“I’m sorry about all this trouble,” Kit said. “And I thank you, all of you.”

The captain had already started walking back along the road, but Nat still stood beside her. As their eyes met, something passed between them. “Remember,” he said softly. “Only the guilty ones swim.” And then he was gone too.

Through the doorway of Matthew Wood’s house Kit stepped into a great kitchen. “Matthew! Girls!” cried her aunt. “Something wonderful has happened! Here is Katherine Tyler, my sister Margaret’s girl, who has come all the way from Barbados!”

Three people stared at Kit from the dining table. Then a man stood up and came toward her. “You are welcome, Katherine,” he said gravely. There was no welcome in his dark eyes. From behind him a girl came. “This is your cousin Judith,” Kit’s aunt said. Judith’s face was so beautiful – clear white skin, blue eyes, black curly hair. “And your other cousin, Mercy.” The second girl came up more slowly, and at first Kit only saw her extraordinary clear gray eyes – the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Then, as Mercy stepped forward, Kit noticed that she walked with crutches. “How lovely,” said Mercy, “to see you after all these years, Katherine! Have you had breakfast yet?”

“I am afraid not. And please call me Kit.”

“Then take off your coat and come close to the fire, my dear,” said her aunt.

“Oh!” Judith exclaimed. “You traveled in a dress like that?” Here in this plain room Kit’s beautiful dress seemed too elegant. The three other women were all wearing some simple gray gowns.

Then Judith saw Kit’s gloves. “They are so beautiful,” she whispered.

“Do you like them? I’ll give you some just like these, if you like. I have several pairs in my trunk.”

Meanwhile, Rachel Wood set a mug, a spoon and a simple wooden plate for Kit. “Tell us, Katherine, how you came so far. Did your grandfather come with you?” she asked.

“My grandfather died four months ago,” Kit explained.

“Oh, you poor child! All alone there on that island! Who came with you, then?”

“I came alone.”

“Oh, poor child!” her aunt cried. “Well, you’re safe here. Have some corn bread, my dear. It was baked yesterday, and there is butter.”

Kit was thirsty and lifted the mug, but then put it down again. “Is that water?” she asked politely.

“Of course. Fresh from the spring.”

Water for breakfast! But the bread was delicious. While Kit was eating, Rachel Wood was looking at her young face. Her eyes filled with tears. “You look so like my sister.”

Matthew Wood had not sat down at the table with the others. What did this kind woman find in that grave silent man? Was he so handsome? Uncle Matthew had said nothing, but Kit understood that he had been watching her very carefully. Now he put on a leather jacket and prepared to leave. “I will be working in the south meadow till sundown,” he told his wife.

At the open door, however, he stopped and looked at Kit’s baggage. “What is all this?” he asked coldly.

“Oh,” said Kit. “Those are my trunks.”

“Yours? Seven trunks? What can be in them?”

“Well, my clothes and some things of Grandfather’s.”

“Seven trunks of clothes, all the way from Barbados, just for a visit?”

The room became suddenly cold and quiet. “I have not come for a visit, sir,” Kit managed to answer. “I have come to stay with you.”

Rachel gasped. Matthew Wood closed the door and came back to the table. “Then why did you not write to us first?” he asked.

“I was afraid that you might not ask me to come, and I had to come,” Kit said.

“We wouldn’t have said no,” said her uncle. “But a step like this should not be taken thoughtlessly.”

“Matthew,” protested Rachel timidly, “we are the only family she has. Let us talk about it later. Now Katherine is tired, and your work is waiting for you.”

Matthew Wood took a chair and sat down heavily. “The work will have to wait,” he said. “It is best that we clear this matter now. How did you get on the ship all alone?”

“There was a ship in the harbor and they said it was from Connecticut. I should have sent a letter, I know, but it might have been months before another ship came. So instead of writing I decided to come myself.”

“You mean that, just on an impulse, you left your home and sailed almost across the world?”

“No, it was not an impulse. I really had no home to leave.”

“And what about your grandfather’s estate? As I know he was a wealthy man.”

“He was wealthy, once. But then he was ill for a long time and couldn’t manage the plantation. He left everything to an overseer who sold the whole crop and then disappeared. So after Grandfather died, there were just debts everywhere. I paid all of them. The land had to be sold, and the house and the slaves, and all the furniture from England. There wasn’t anything left.”

“Humph!” said Uncle Matthew.

There was an awkward silence. Then her aunt put an arm on Kit’s shoulder. “Poor Katherine! It must have been terrible for you! You were absolutely right to come to us. Wasn’t she, Mathew?” said Aunt Rachel.

“Yes,” her husband agreed. “She was right, I suppose, since we are her only relatives.”

At the door he turned again. “Your grandfather was a King’s man, I believe?”

“He was a Royalist, sir. Here in America aren’t you the subjects of King James?”

Without answering, Matthew Wood left the room.

Chapter Four

As the door shut behind him, the atmosphere in the room became friendly again. Rachel began to wrap the bread in a clean napkin. “I must take this to Widow Brown,” she said, “She’s still too weak to cook for herself. I’ll be back very soon.”

“Soon!” exclaimed Judith when her mother was gone. “She’ll have to make the fire, cook porridge and tidy the whole cabin for that lady.”

“Judith,” Mercy said gently. “You know what the Bible tells us about caring for the poor and the widows. And anyway, we should start the work that is waiting right here.”

But Judith did not move. She was looking at Kit’s trunks. “Did you say that every trunk is full of beautiful dresses? When are you going to open them?” she asked.

“Well, I can open them now, if you like. You have the same things too, don’t you?” said Kit.

Mercy laughed. “We don’t! We can’t even imagine! But I don’t know if we should open them now,” she said doubtfully. “There is so much work that we need to do. Father says the Lord doesn’t like laziness. But then, the Lord doesn’t send us a new cousin every day. Perhaps He would forgive us for a little joy…”

Kit opened the first trunk. “Here are the gloves,” she said. “Please, you must take them.”

“What a beautiful dress with ribbons and bows!” cried Judith excitedly. “Our minister preached against such things, and Father won’t let us make one.”

“Try it on,” suggested Kit. Judith quickly put the silk dress on and looked at herself in a small mirror. Truly, in this dress Judith was gorgeous. “If only William could see me in this!” she sighed. “Just wait till I walk into Church in this on Sunday morning. They won’t hear a word of the sermon!”

Kit laughed. “Well, it is yours, Judith. You can take it. Now, which one will be best for Mercy?”

“Please, I do not need such things,” Mercy laughed. “I don’t even go to Church very often.”

But Judith saw a light blue woolen shawl. “This would be perfect for Mercy,” she cried.

Kit put the shawl on Mercy’s shoulders.

“Oh, Kit, how lovely! I never felt anything so soft!” Joy and protest struggled in Mercy’s face.

“Girls! What is going on here?” Rachel Wood had come back and stood now looking at her daughters. “Judith, you look gorgeous!”

“You, Aunt Rachel,” Kit said, “looked just like that yourself. I know because Grandfather told me how beautiful you were.”

The two girls stared at their mother. Kit took something else out of the trunk. “Put this bonnet on, Aunt Rachel,” she said. Rachel did and looked at herself in the mirror. Her two daughters stared at her in disbelief. “Oh, Mother! You look so beautiful! Wear that on Sunday!”

But Rachel’s face suddenly turned white. The door opened and there stood Matthew Wood. “What is this?” he demanded.

“The girls were helping Katherine to unpack,” Rachel explained. “Why are you back so soon, Matthew?”

“Look, Father!” Judith said. “Kit has given me this fine dress.”

“Can a man not come back when he wants to his own house? And you, give it back to her at once! Do as I say!” Matthew shouted. “No one in my family needs any of such things.”

“But they are gifts,” cried Kit, hurt.

“Be quiet, girl! It is time you understood one thing. This will be your home because you have no other, but you will live our ways and not spoil my daughters with your vanity. Now close your trunks and do the work you have to do. Rachel, take off that stupid thing! No member of my family will appear in public like this.”

Mercy had said no word, but quietly folded the blue shawl and put it on top of the trunk.

“Will you let Mercy keep the shawl?” Kit asked quietly.

Matthew looked at the shawl and into his older daughter’s eyes. “All right, Mercy may keep the shawl. I thank you for it.”

So there was one weakness in this hard man!

* * *

“Well,” said Rachel when her husband had left the house again, “it’s my fault. And the table has not even been cleared from breakfast.”

Kit looked at the table. “Don’t the servants do that?”

“We have no servants,” said her aunt quietly.

Kit was surprised and disappointed. “I can help with the work,” she said finally.

“In that dress?” Judith protested.

“It is the simplest I have,” answered Kit. “Give me something of yours then.”

Judith turned red, “Oh, wear that one. You can help Mercy with the carding. You won’t make yourself dirty at that.”

For four long hours Kit sat on a wooden bench and struggled with wool. Mercy showed her how to do it. Carding looked so easy, but the moment Kit took the wool into her hands she admired Mercy’s skill. “Do you have to do all that by yourself?”

“Oh, the others help sometimes. But of course, there are so many things I can’t do. It’s so nice to have you to help.”

How terrible it must be for her, working here day after day. Suddenly, seeing Mercy’s friendly smile, Kit decided to ask a very important question, “Do you think I did wrong, Mercy, to come here? Your father…”

“You did exactly right,” smiled Mercy. “Father doesn’t mean to be unkind. It has been very hard for him here in Connecticut.”

Since Kit’s grandfather died, there had been no one whom she could trust. Now she found the words to say what she had never dared to say. “I had to come, Mercy. There was another reason. There was a man on the island, a friend of grandfather’s. He used to come often to see my Grandfather, and then I found out that he wanted to marry me. He tried to make me think that Grandfather had wanted it, but I’m sure that it was not so. He wanted to pay for everything and save the house. Everyone expected me to marry him. They said what a wonderful match it was. He wasn’t a bad man; actually, he was very kind. But Mercy, he was fifty years old! You see why I couldn’t wait to write? You see why I can’t go back, don’t you?”

“Of course you can’t go back,” said Mercy. “Father will not send you back. You will just have to show him that you can be useful here.”

* * *

By the end of that first day Kit understood that work in that house never stopped, and much of it Kit didn’t even know how to do. By the evening her eyes hurt, and she had burns and blisters on her fingers.

After dinner the candles were lit and Matthew put the great Bible in front of him on the table. Matthew’s reading was monotonous. Kit could not keep her mind on the words. Her head felt heavy, and she almost fell asleep. The others did not notice. Finally, her uncle closed the book and bent his head for the long evening prayer.

That evening, when Kit was going up the stairs to the chilly bedroom, she overheard some unpleasant words. “Why does she have to sleep with me?” Judith complained. “If I have to share my bed, will she share my work? Or will she expect us all to serve her like her black slaves?”

“Shame on you, Judith,” her mother told her. “The child does her best, you know that.”

“I wish our cousin were a boy!” cried Judith.

Kit ran upstairs. When Judith came to bed, she was already under the covers, crying silently. For a long time after Judith blew out the candle Kit lay there awake. Suddenly, she heard something. It was a strange long sound. Indians?

Chapter Five

On Sunday morning the Church bells rang. Matthew Wood stood at the door of his house and examined the three women. Aunt Rachel and Judith were dressed in home-made gowns, but Kit’s flowered silk was obviously out of place. “Your looks will disgrace the Lord’s assembly,” Matthew shouted.

“But these are the only clothes I have,” protested Kit. “If they are not right, then I’ll stay here with Mercy.”

This was the second time this morning that her uncle was mad at her. An hour ago she had said that she wouldn’t go to church because she and her grandfather had only attended the Christmas Mass. Her uncle got so angry! There was no Church of England in Wethersfield, he had informed her, and, since she was now a member of his family, she should forget all her stupid ideas and attend the church meetings like a good woman.

Now Rachel put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Matthew,” she said, “everyone knows that the child has not had time to get new clothes. Besides, Katherine looks very pretty, and I’m proud of her. Please, let her go with us.”

As they left the house, Kit became excited. If they were going to church, then there must be a town somewhere. The sky was blue and the air was delicious. The family walked along the street past simple houses and came to a small square clearing. Kit looked about. “Is it far to the town?” she whispered to Judith. There was silence. “This is the town,” said Judith. The town? There was not a single stone building or shop there. The church, or as they called it the Meeting House, was just a square wooden structure which stood in the center of the clearing. Kit was shocked to see the objects that were there: a pillory, stocks and a whipping post.

Inside the small building on rows of benches sat the good people of Wethersfield, men on one side and women on the other. At the door Matthew Wood left his family and walked to the bench right in front of the pulpit. Rachel and the girls went to the family bench. As Kit walked behind her aunt, she noticed the silence and felt the astonishment of the townspeople. She knew that they were watching her, and her cheeks turned red.

The Puritan service was plain and boring. Kit was surprised when her uncle stepped forward to read the psalm, and the congregation repeated it after him line by line. Secretly, Kit looked at the other people in the church. Some were as fashionably dressed as Kit, but the majority was poorly dressed. One time Kit looked around and saw John Holbrook. He turned away. All of the people sat still and silent. It was impossible that they were listening to the sermon, Kit thought. She couldn’t concentrate on it for a second!

There were about twenty small boys sitting shoulder to shoulder near the door. Four of them couldn’t keep quiet and started giggling a little. A man with a long stick stepped from the corner and hit the misbehaving boys on the head. Kit couldn’t believe her eyes! Finally, in about two hours the sermon ended with a final prayer.

When they were standing outside the Meeting House, most of the people from the church did not come near Kit. At the distance she saw Goodwife Cruff, surrounded by women, all looking suspiciously in Kit’s direction. Kit waved to Prudence who was clearly glad to see her. Then she saw John Holbrook walking to her. “I was glad to see you at the Meeting,” he said. “I hope you enjoyed the sermon. We were lucky to hear Dr. Bulkeley. He seldom preaches now. It was a remarkable sermon. Every word of it was inspired.”

Kit didn’t know what to say and just stared at him. She was still looking for an answer when Judith, who was standing near, spoke. “Dr. Bulkeley’s sermons are always inspired,” she said, “especially when he preaches about the final judgment.”

John looked at Judith with surprise and respect. Under the white bonnet he noticed her serious face and her blue eyes. Now Dr. Gershom Bulkeley himself came up to them, too. He took Kit’s hand in his. “So this is the orphan from Barbados?” he said. “How grateful you must be, young lady, for the kindness of your aunt and uncle.”

Had Uncle Matthew informed the whole town that he had taken her in out of charity? If so, then she was obviously a surprise to them because she didn’t look poor.

“You must bring your new pupil with you when you come to dinner at our house on Thursday,” smiled Rachel Wood. “And now, Katherine dear, here are other neighbors you must meet. This is Mistress Ashby and her son, William.”

Mistress Ashby was a fashionably dressed woman, and her son William Ashby looked at Kit with admiration. She noticed that and gave him a big bright smile. Now poor William was speechless.

On the way back Judith quietly asked Kit about the handsome man she had talked to.

“Handsome? Do you mean John Holbrook? I met him on the boat. But most of the time he sat by himself and studied.”

“You seemed to know each other quite well. Do you fancy him?” asked Judith.

“Oh, no!” protested Kit. “What made you think of such a thing?”

“I just wondered,” Judith said. “But you certainly impressed William Ashby.”

That was true. “But only because I was someone new,” said Kit.

Chapter Six

“Such an excellent dinner, Mistress Wood. Especially your apple pie,” said Reverend Gershom Bulkeley, putting down his linen napkin. The preparation of this dinner had taken almost four days. Dr. Bulkeley had been pleased, but had anyone else? Matthew Wood had Eaton little and not spoken a word. Rachel looked tired, and even Mercy was unusually quiet. Only Judith had enjoyed herself. In the candlelight she looked beautiful, and Reverend Bulkeley smiled at her. But mostly he paid his attention to Kit as he had understood that her grandfather had been Sir Francis Tyler. “Was your grandfather a loyal subject of our good King James?”

“Well, of course, sir.”

“And you yourself? You are a loyal subject also?”

“How could I be not, sir?”

Matthew pushed back his chair. “Her loyalty is in no danger in this house! What are you trying to say, Gershom?” he asked angrily. “I am a selectman in this town. I am not disloyal!”

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Matthew,” said the older man. “I know that you are not disloyal – not yet.”

“Are you saying that because I don’t like this new King’s governor?”

“Governor Andros was appointed by King James. Massachusetts has accepted that.”

“Well, here in Connecticut we will never accept it!”

“You are wrong, Matthew!” cried Gershom Bulkeley. “If you do not live to see the evil results of it, your children or their children will. Such views can lead only to revolution and war!”

The two men sat staring at each other across the table. Tears filled Rachel’s eyes. Then Mercy spoke. “Reverend Bulkeley, would you read to us this evening?” she asked gently.

Dr. Bulkeley smiled. “I need some rest, but my young pupil here is a very good reader.”

Matthew Wood put the heavy Bible in front of John Holbrook, and Rachel moved the candlestick nearer. John had been silent all evening, and now he seemed pleased to be in the center of attention. Now he looked at the Bible in his hands and asked his teacher, “What would you like me to read, sir?”

“I would suggest Proverbs 24:21,” said the old minister.

John began to read: “My son, fear the Lord and the King…”

Matthew Wood was about to say something when his wife stopped him gently. When the reading was finished, Reverend Bulkeley began the evening prayer. At one time Kit opened her eyes and saw that Judith was studying John Holbrook. Then one phrase of Dr. Bulkeley’s prayer caught Kit’s attention. “And bless our sister in her weakness.” Was he talking about Mercy? After a few days in this house Kit had stopped noticing Mercy’s lameness. No one ever mentioned it. Mercy certainly wasn’t weak. She did a full day’s work and more. Also Kit saw that Mercy was the central figure of this family. She softened her father when he was in his bad moods, supported her gentle mother, preached her younger sister, and had helped Kit to join their family circle.

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Примечания

1

Пуританство – крайняя форма протестантизма в англиканской церкви, возникшая в 60-х гг. XVI в. Пуритане (от лат. purus, т. е. чистый) стремились очистить церковь от остатков католицизма и вернуться к Библии в чистом виде. Они находились в оппозиции к королеве Елизавете и её приемникам Стюартам, в том числе к королю Якову (англ. King James), отказавшемуся от проведения реформ. Гонимые властями и завлечённые обещаниями наделов земли, пуритане стали первыми поселенцами в Новом Свете, в частности в Массачусетском заливе, где они основали колонию и создали свою независимую церковь. К сожалению, пуритане привезли с собой из Старого Света мрачный европейский религиозный фольклор – мифы и легенды о колдунах и ведьмах, нашедший в Новой Англии благодатную почву.

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