* * *
After Rebecca explained her plan, she went downstairs to give Martha and me time to consider her proposal.
“It would work,” Martha said.
“It might,” I admitted. “But what is her game? Why would she help us?” I was loath to say so aloud, but I could not help admiring the cold brilliance behind Rebecca’s scheme. She seemed to have considered every possibility. God, what a dangerous man she would have been!
“That’s what worries me as well,” Martha replied. “Could she intend to turn the proceedings against you?”
“It is possible, but why discuss it with us ahead of time? If she intended to hang the two of us as witches, she’d have conspired with Joseph. It would have been much easier than this.” I paused. “I wish I knew why she has turned against Joseph.”
“So you will accept her offer?”
“If we are going to save Will and the children, I don’t know what choice we have. I presume that if you had a better scheme you’d have mentioned it already.”
Martha smiled wanly. “No. This is the best chance we have.”
We descended the stairs and found Rebecca waiting just inside the front door. She had recomposed herself, and her scarf covered most of the wounds from our battle.
I nodded as we approached. “We will do it,” I said.
“Good.” Rebecca nodded and opened the door. “You should leave here first. I do not think that Joseph suspects me, but this is not the time to be careless.”
Martha and I stepped past her and into the cold winter wind. The door slammed behind us as we wended our way back toward St. Andrewgate.
We had far too many hours to wait until Rebecca’s scheme would begin in earnest. Martha and I busied ourselves about the house as best we could, but it was impossible to focus on any one task for more than a few minutes. I could sense Hannah’s growing annoyance, and thanked God for sending such a patient servant to me.
Eventually the appointed hour arrived. Martha helped me into my most luxurious gown, and the two of us walked to the Council Hall. Before we entered I peered over the river and saw that ice now covered the hole through which Mark Preston had fallen. For a moment I wondered where his body might be, whether it would surface in the spring or be washed out to sea, but I pushed that a thought away. It would take months for me to wash the blood from my hands—if such a thing were possible—but now was not the time to start. I gathered myself for the task ahead, and Martha and I stepped into the Council chamber.
Chapter 23
When we entered the Council Hall, we found Joseph standing at the end of the table opposite the Lord Mayor. He had his back to us and was in the midst of a speech about God’s will. It galled me that such sentiments came from so heartless a man, and I took comfort in the fact that—if all went well—these would be the last words he spoke to the Council. I said a prayer of thanks that none of the Aldermen noticed our arrival. Martha and I remained quiet as Joseph spoke, keeping to the shadows behind him so that he would not notice us. The less warning he had, the better our chances of success.
Eventually Joseph ended his sermonizing and took his seat. Lord Mayor Greenbury asked if anyone else had business for the Council. For a moment I thought he glanced past Joseph in our direction, but I dismissed the idea. How could he know what we had planned? I took a breath to gather myself and stepped out of the shadows.
“Yes, my Lord Mayor,” I called out. “I do, and I must address the Council.” My voice echoed through the Council Hall with more authority and confidence than I felt. I counted it as a blessing.
Nearly every head turned in my direction, perhaps surprised that a woman would take such liberties. Joseph merely cocked his head to one side, but it was clear he recognized my voice.
The Lord Mayor peered at me, his eyes glittering in the torchlight. “This is unusual, to say the least. What business do you have?”
“It is a matter of greatest and gravest importance to York, the city which I love beyond measure,” I replied. I kept behind Joseph as I approached the table. If Joseph wanted to see me, he would have to turn his back on the rest of the Council. “It concerns the plague of witches that has so recently descended upon the city.” My mind went back to the night when Rebecca Hooke had spoken similar words to the same men, and I hoped I could speak half so effectively.
“We were told by ministers and magistrates alike that we must cut the cancer of witchcraft out of the city before the Lord God will bring this endless winter to a close. Since then the city has arrested dozens of witches. Some we have hanged, and the rest sit in prison, laid in double irons. We have done all that the Lord asked of us, yet the killing cold endures.”