It was a beautiful late spring afternoon. The flowers were almost in full bloom and the sweet smell of nectar overwhelmed William's senses when he walked the path in the woods toward the Sampson home. It was a traumatic few days, and this was the first time in a while he felt at ease. "Nothing soothes the soul like doing the right thing," he thought. He was proud of his decision to be proactive with Abi's parents. They would respect him for this, he kept convincing himself. And having such an enjoyable stroll on the way to their house only confirmed to him Mother Nature herself was giving him a pat on the back – a cosmic nod of approval.
Abi ran the entire way to Christina's house. She was excited to see her friend, mostly because she so enjoyed playing the role of teacher. They would first spend a little time with pleasantries, then go through the lessons together. Hopefully, she might get some more information from Christina about her encounter with Mr. Warnock. The effort of trying to figure out his plan was still near the top of mind for her, though other thoughts certainly took precedence of late. "What if Christina asks me about boys I'm interested in?" she mused. "Maybe I'd tell her I'm not interested in any boys, only a particular man," she gleefully thought. "No, I mustn't. Will would be angry if I told anyone, or even hinted at anything. I can't risk it at this point. I'll just spend my afternoon enjoying my time with Christina and then I'll see Will tomorrow for lunch." The thought thrilled her.
When Abi arrived at Christina's house, she raised her fist to knock on the door. But she paused as she realized Christina was not expecting her. "It's rude to show up to someone's house unannounced," she realized. She thought she could say she was there to drop off her class work, though others lived much closer than Abi, so maybe it would have made more sense for them to bring the work. Then again, the other girls didn't speak with Christina too much, so maybe Abi bringing the work actually made more sense. But before Abi could raise her fist again to knock, the door opened.
"Abigail Sampson, is that you?" Mrs. Anderson asked.
"Yes ma'am, hello."
"It's nice to see you, dear. What brings you all the way over here? Does your mother know you're here?"
"Yes ma'am, she does. I apologize for coming unannounced. I came to bring Christina the classwork she's missed and to see if she'd like some company. We've missed seeing her in school the last couple of days. Do you think she'd be interested in having a visitor?"
"That is so nice of you, Abigail. Yes, of course. Please come in."
Abi was never inside Christina's house. It was nice, larger than Abi's house. They owned a large bookshelf filled with books and sitting in front of the bookshelf were two sets of chairs with two small tables in between each of the sets. Each set looked directly across at the other two. Both tables held an unlit candle. The one on the left looked like most of the wax was gone, the one on the right was younger, fresher. In between the two sets of chairs lay a large bearskin rug. It looked very comfortable, but Abi did not dare to get near it. Her father despised cruelty to animals of any kind and he had a keen sense of smell. If he smelled the rug on her shoes, he would be very upset. She was nervous even being in the same room as the rug for fear her father could sniff it out.
Abi imagined the four Andersons – Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Christina, and her younger brother David, all sitting in the chairs at night, candles glowing, with all four reading. "That is my definition of Heaven," she thought. "A family reading and gathering knowledge together."
"Christina, Abigail Sampson is here for you. Put on your robe and come out," Mrs. Anderson beckoned.
Christina came out from the back room in her pajamas and robe. It was obvious she was in bed all day. "Abi? What are you doing here?" Christina asked.
"Hi Christina. We've all been so concerned about you. I wanted to come over to keep you company. And I brought the classwork you've missed. Mr. Putnam asked me to bring it – he sends his regards."
Abi immediately wondered if she said that last sentence with too much pretense. "Was I blushing when I said his name? Did she notice? Did my voice change when I spoke of him?" Her heart beat heavier, not out of love, but out of fear and dread that Christina would uncover her secret. "That's so nice of you, and of Mr. Putnam," Christina responded. "Whew!" Abi thought to herself as her heart's thumping calmed.
"Mother, is it all right for Abi and me to go into my room?"
"Of course, dear. Just let me know if either of you would like anything to eat or drink."
"Your mother is so generous and kind," Abi said to Christina as they entered her room and closed the door.
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William followed the path through the woods and made it to the clearing which led to the Sampson house. He planned to knock at their door and make small talk with Mrs. Sampson. He would tell her Abi was at Christina's and then ask her to fetch Mr. Sampson from the field for an important discussion, as he was surely still working at this time of day. Then he would ask them both to sit and he would explain the situation, adult to adult. It was a good plan, and he felt confident so easily convincing Abi to go to Christina's at lunch earlier in the day.
As he approached their house, he heard something he did not expect. Mr. Sampson was not in the field – he was inside the house, having what sounded like a rather heated discussion with Mrs. Sampson. William quickly wondered if he should cancel his mission, but this opportunity was too perfect. When would he be able to get Abi away from her house again? He was hoping to have this conversation behind him the next time he saw Abi, and since they were meeting at noon tomorrow, the time was now. "No," he decided. "I'm here and I must continue with the plan."
The closer he got to their house, the better able he was to hear the conversation inside. He didn't intend to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself. They clearly meant the conversation to be private, but he was feeling confident and a bit voyeuristic. He focused his hearing on them and subconsciously, if not intentionally, slowed his pace so he'd have more time to listen.
"I know he's near. I've sensed him for a while," Samuel said to Willa.
"But you have no proof. How could he have found us? It's been so long," she responded.
"I don't know. I don't know which one he is. He could be hiding inside any of them. He could be our neighbor for all I know. But I can't let him get to you or Abigail. She is a pureblood. She is too valuable to the Order."
The discussion fascinated William. "A pureblood? The Order? What are they talking about?" He leaned down a bit as he continued to slow his pace.
"Willa, can't you see how close he is to us now? He got to the Porters. He's closing in on us. He must know. We are not safe here. My powers are weak because of our covers. I can't risk it any longer."
William froze. "His... powers???"
"Samuel, is it at all possible you are wrong? What if you're imagining all of this?"
"If I am, then I'll admit I'm wrong. We would be someplace else and you'll both be safe. But if I'm right and we do nothing? That is not an option I can even conceive of."
"What are we to do, Samuel? Just disappear to some other territory and start over? What would we say to Abigail? Have you thought about that? How could she possibly process everything? She knows nothing of who we are – of who she is. Maybe it's time we tell her the truth about her and the prophecy. Maybe now it's finally time."
"No, not yet. She is still too young. She could not possibly understand her responsibility to the global covens."
William was now at a full stop in front of their door. He was too busy processing what he just heard – he forgot why he was even there. "Purebloods, the Order, powers, covens??? What could this all mean? It certainly sounds like they are speaking of witches, but that can't possibly be correct. Witches are not real. It's not possible." Without realizing, because he was so deep inside his own thoughts, he unconsciously knocked at the door.
Samuel and Willa immediately stopped speaking and looked at each other with worry in their eyes. They had plans in place for many scenarios. They always had to be cautious and prepared in order to remain safe. But this situation was immensely more complicated because of two realities. First, they were careless and spoke too loudly so anyone outside could hear, they now realized this. And second, Abigail was not home – they could not protect her. They would have to be prudent with their next steps.