Witch Hunt by Devin O'Branagan Read Free Book Online Page A

witch. Leave me alone .” Elizabeth flailed the air around her at the unseen specter and continued to develop new wounds.
    Then William saw the tiny flash of reflected light. Elizabeth had a needle in the palm of one hand and was poking herself with it. William’s mouth fell open with surprise. He looked to Sheldon, but the magistrate had apparently not seen.
    The clamor the girls made increased in volume. William had never seen or heard such commotion. Was this show performed at every hearing? How could grown men take such things seriously? One of the girls jumped to her feet, ran around the room, and flapped her arms. “She’s trying to make me fly. Please make her stop.”
    Another girl crawled around the floor on all fours, barking.
    Elizabeth pointed to her. “Look! The devil dog has come back to be with his mistress.”
    The dog-girl stopped in front of the bar, squatted and urinated a huge puddle, then scampered back to the bench and the other girls.
    The crowd gasped.
    Sheldon raised his hand. “I’ve seen enough. Take the little witch away to Boston where she’ll be held over for trial.”
    “Father?” Priscilla turned and threw her arms around William’s waist.
    Rage filled William. He pointed at Elizabeth. “She was sticking herself with a needle. I saw it.”
    Sheldon appraised him. “If you saw something, I’m sure it was the witch’s doing.”
    “Search her. See for yourself.”
    Sheldon shook his head. “If there’s a needle on her person, I’m certain it was placed there by the witch.”
    “But she was sticking herself ,” William said.
    Sheldon made a sound of exasperation. “Then the Devil, or this young witch, made her do it.”
    William’s mind raced. “She cried.”
    “What?” Sheldon asked.
    “I’ve been told witches don’t cry.” William turned Priscilla’s tear-soaked face toward the magistrate.
    “I see the Devil pouring water into her eyes,” Elizabeth shouted, the venom in her voice more pronounced than it had been before William’s attempt to discredit her.
    “There you have it.” Sheldon waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “Take her away.”
    Priscilla was pried out of her father’s arms and led away.
    A sob escaped William as they took her from him. Panic filled him. He struggled with thoughts of grabbing her and fighting their way out of the court. He no longer felt like a man.
    Margaret was brought into the room and led to the bar. Relief crossed her face when she saw William, but she shook her head to tell him that he shouldn’t have come.
    “Margaret Hawthorne, you’ve been brought to this hearing on the charge of witchcraft,” Sheldon said. “Are you a witch?”
    “If a witch is one who harms the innocent and cavorts with the Devil, no, I am not,” Margaret said.
    “Did you deliver a baby girl, named Grace, to Susanna Weston on March twenty-eighth?”
    “Yes, I did. I’m a midwife.”
    “Did you devise a blend of herbs for Goodwife Weston to give to her newborn?”
    “And to take herself. Yes.”
    “Why did you do that?”
    “It was a hard birth. Goody Weston lost a lot of blood, and was weak. The child had taken a long time to be born, and she, too, was weak. I gave them herbs to strengthen their hearts and enrich their blood. I’ve given it to other mothers and babies in the past.”
    “What were the herbs you gave Goodwife Weston?” Sheldon asked.
    “A blend of hawthorn berries, shepherd’s purse, and comfrey. They’re quite common herbs, your honor.”
    “And you are aware that baby Grace Weston died this Wednesday past?”
    “I didn’t know until my arrest, but yes, I’m now aware of that.”
    “Did the herbs you forced on Goodwife Weston kill baby Grace?”
    “I did not force anything upon Goody Weston, and no, I’m sure they didn’t harm the baby at all.”
    Sheldon paused and studied his notes. “Where did you obtain your knowledge of herbs?”
    Margaret hesitated, and William knew she was searching for a safe