“Describe the feeling,” George said, though he knew exactly what the man meant.
“I can’t. It’s just a feeling that’s taken the pain from my gouty foot and my wife’s back. It led me here. I’m Richard Bradford,” the man said, “and this is my wife, Patience, and our daughter, Johanna.”
“Why is she tied up?” George said.
“So she won’t run off. She ain’t right in the head, is what she is. We aim to get her married, though, if the price be right. Are you married, sir?”
George shook his head. After determining the Bradfords weren’t likely to kill anyone, he introduced them to his family and Henry.
“Are you married, Henry?” Richard said.
“No. And don’t intend to be.”
Jack looked at Johanna across the yard. “She looks no more than nine.”
“She is in fact twelve years old, as will be sworn by her Mum and me. Why not come over and see for yourself what a delightful prize she’d be to a man who knows how to coax with a firm hand?”
“If you bring a lamp I’ll lift her dress for you, sir,” Patience said, “should you require a peek.”
Jack had never hit a woman before, and never wanted to till now. But he kept his temper in check and said, “How much?”
“Twelve pounds sterling, sir, and worth every penny,” Richard said.
“One for each year,” Patience added.
Twelve pounds of silver was an exorbitant, ridiculous price for a dowry, which proved to Jack they thought him a fool. Jack said, “Go back inside. I’ll speak to the child and give you my answer afterward.”
Richard and Patience exchanged a glance, and Patience moved closer to Jack and whispered, “No offense, sir, but do you have the money with you? Because if so, we’d like to conclude the transaction before you put your hands on her. You might, no offense, lower her value by the degree of inspection you’re planning to undertake.”
While she spoke to Jack, Richard whispered something in the girl’s ear. He left her with a stern glare, walked over to Jack and said, “I’ve told her not to scream should you decide to touch her. However, in the name of fairness, should you choose to sample her wares in a more deliberate manner, remuneration to the parents would be in order, due to her current state of innocence and the effect of wear and tear upon her future value.”
Jack said, “I can assure you that I shall not be sampling this child’s wares anytime soon, though I wish to speak to her a few moments.
“But you
“I am.” Jack pressed a crown in each of their greedy hands and waited until they went inside. He picked up a lantern and crossed the yard to the horse post and untied the lead line around her neck and said, “If I untie your hands and promise not to touch you otherwise, will you walk with me a few steps and talk?”
Johanna nodded her head uncertainly.
Jack untied her and led her to the bench next to the watering tough. As they walked, he noticed her limping. They sat, and Jack asked some basic background questions and got yes or no answers in return. But when he asked, “How are you being treated by your father at home?” she said, “I cannot answer these questions without receiving severe punishment.”
“I’ll tell no one.”
“There is something about you that makes me believe you,” she said. “Something that calms me and makes me want to tell you what you seek to know. But he will certainly wish to know of what we spoke here, and he will beat the truth out of me.”
Johanna turned her back to him and dropped the top of her shift so he could see her scars from being lashed.
“These marks are still wet with blood,” Jack said.
“How else would they have got me to come?”
“I promise they will not beat you again.”
“You’d have to marry me to keep that promise.”
Jack sighed. “I would be inclined to do so if for no other reason than to save you from your father’s brutality. But I can’t keep a wife. I travel and it’s often dangerous places I go.”
“You could marry me and keep me under any type of shelter that has a roof and walls and I’ll improve the place and be there when you return from your travels. I’m not experienced in wifely ways, but I can chuck rocks well enough to kill small animals to skin and cook in a pot. I can clean and sew and will do as I’m told, though I will be grateful not to be beaten or cuffed about should I vex you unintentionally.”
For one who seemed so shy at first she was proving to be a chatty little thing.
“You’re tall enough,” Jack said, “but you seem quite young. Are you even close to the age of consent?”
“I am twelve, sir, by almost nine months. There is proof from a midwife, as mine was a difficult birth.”
“Are these two in fact your parents?”
“They are.”
Now that Jack had her talking, the words spilled out of her. She told him that her father was a mean drunk who beat her older sister to death and made it appear to be an accident. “He’s nearly killed me twice,” she added, “though not recently, as I have to gain strength again before trying to run away.”
