7 Secrets Never to Be Told

Chapter 5

Abel thought the comment was funny as she was not more than a child herself. He made grunting noises and pointed to his throat indicating that he could not speak. She loosened the handkerchief from his neck and saw the scars made by the rope used to lynch him. Abel saw the shocked look on her face and tried to reassure her with a gentle smile that it was okay. The last thing he needed today was pity.

Raindrop size tears hung from the end of her black eyelashes. During her short life, she had seen many injustices, but she had never witnessed the results of an attempted lynching. They turned their heads upon hearing the laughter coming down the hallway and Jean burst into the room with two large mugs of beer.

"These are on the house. Now if this doesn't cure you nothing will." and he propped Abel up in pillows so he could drink. He noticed the scars that Able normally kept hidden but did not comment.

"Here's to catching that bastard Seth."

The two men clicked their pewter mugs together and downed the beer. Penny just shook her head, smiled and continued to wash Abel's hands and arms. After taking off his boots and socks she left the two alone to talk or at least one to talk.

Jean and Abel met six years ago, when both were without purpose and a dark past haunted them.

The late Lord Williams discovered Abel during his travels to the Southern United States. He and his employees came upon a lynching of Abel and three other young Negro boys. They chased off their attackers and cut the boys down. Abel was the only one that survived. The rope had damaged his throat and since then he never spoke again. Lord Williams took him back to England, educated and care for him until he was a man.

Abel was a gifted writer and a fine cook. He was shy, dark skinned, tall and a heavy built man. His hair was prematurely grey which gave the impression that he was older than his years. His size allowed him to gain employment on Seth's ships. His cooking skills soon gained him access to Seth's personal ship, The Raven. Many mistakenly assumed that his lack of speech also meant he was dim-witted. Nothing could have been further from the truth. He was a gentle giant of a man.

Jean, tall, olive skinned, black hair and a good dresser, was a lady's man. Charming, handsome and a daredevil he rejoiced in exploring and mastering new challenges. An accomplish musician, Jean Baptiste played the violin, piano and flute. He could not read music but hearing a song once he could play it back note for note and with practice could improve on the original composition. His acute hearing also helped him to be fluent in a number of languages.

Blessed with the body of a boxer and the gait of a dancer Jean's persona was of a man tightly wrung with anger just under the surface. All these abilities made him a valuable asset in Lucas Lyon's special troupe of gifted rascals as Jean could easily fit into any social situation.

Lucas also required Jean's knowledge of Seth's home. For you see Jean's home was Rose Manor, at Saint Rests, too. It was his birthplace until he left after a tragic accident years before.

Jean and his father were woodmen, harvesting trees for the Manor. Jean, still in his teens and inexperienced, was working with a team of large workhorses when they unfortunately became stuck in deep mud. He and his father tried to get them out but one horse slipped. His father swore at him the whole time as he pulled on the harness. The sound of breaking bone speared the forest as the horse nearness his father, its front leg broken, fell. Before Jean could pull his father out of danger, the great animal pinned him under his weight.

Jean ran to get help. His father's resounding curses cutting through the air as sharp as any knife followed his every step. It took a number of men to pull his papa out from underneath the horse. They placed him on a stretcher and carried him out. A few men stayed back with Jean to pull out the remaining horses and wagon.