Robert McCammon - Speaks the Nightbird

He had previously put on a pair of black trousers-again, a shade snug but wearable-and white stockings and a pair of square-toed black shoes. Over his shirt he donned a pearl-gray silk waistcoat, loaned to him from Bidwell's own wardrobe. He checked his face again in the mirror, lamenting that he would have to meet these new people in a bareheaded and age-spotted condition, as a wig was such a personal item that asking the loan of one was out of the question. But so be it. At least he still had a head upon his neck. If truth be told, he would rather have slept the night away than be the centerpiece at Bidwell's dinner, as he was still exhausted; but he'd slumbered for three hours after his bath, and that would have to do until he could again stretch himself out on that excellent feather-mattressed four-poster behind him.

As a last precaution he opened his mouth and checked the condition of his teeth. His throat felt somewhat parched but nothing that a draught of rum couldn't satisfy. Then, smelling of sandalwood soap and lemon-oil shaving lotion, he opened the door of his spacious room and ventured out into the candle-illumed hallway.

Downstairs, he followed the sound of voices into a large wood-panelled room that stood just off the main entrance vestibule. It was arranged for a gathering, the chairs and other furniture shunted aside to afford space for movement, a polite fire burning in a white stone hearth as the rainy night had turned cool. A chandelier made of antlers hung overhead, a dozen candles flickering amid the points. Bidwell was there, wearing another opulent wig and a velvet suit the color of dark port. He was standing with two other gentlemen, and as Woodward entered the room Bidwell interrupted his conversation to say, "Ah, there's the magistrate now! Sir, how was your rest?"

"Not long enough, I fear," Woodward admitted. "The rigors of last night haven't yet been eased."

"The magistrate tells a remarkable tale!" Bidwell said to the other gentlemen. "It seems he and his scribe were almost murdered at a tavern on their way here! The rogue was evidently well versed in murder, isn't that right sir?" He lifted his eyebrows, prompting Woodward to take over the story.

"He was. My clerk saved our skins, though that's all we came away with. By necessity, we abandoned our belongings. Oh, I look forward to the morrow, Mr. Bidwell."

"The magistrate has asked me to send a party of militia there in order to regain his worldly goods," Bidwell explained to the two others. "Also to arrest that man and bring him to justice."

"I'll be going, too," Woodward said. "I wouldn't miss seeing the expression on Shawcombe's face when the iron's slapped on him."

"Will Shawcombe?" One of the gentlemen-a younger man, perhaps in his early thirties-frowned. "I've stopped at his tavern before, on my trips back and forth to Charles Town! I had my suspicions about that man's character."

"They were well founded. Furthermore, he murdered the magistrate who was on his way here two weeks ago. Thymon Kingsbury was his name."

"Let me make introductions," Bidwell said. "Magistrate Isaac Woodward, this is Nicholas Paine"-he nodded toward the younger man, and Woodward shook Paine's outstretched hand- "and Elias Garrick." Woodward grasped Garrick's hand as well. "Mr. Paine is the captain of our militia. He'll be leading the expedition to secure Mr. Shawcombe in the morning. Won't you, Nicholas?"

"My duty," Paine said, though it was obvious from the glint in his iron-gray eyes that he might resent these plans of arrest being made without his representation. "And my pleasure to serve you, Magistrate."

"Mr. Garrick is our largest farmholder," Bidwell went on. "He was also one of the first to cast his lot with me."

"Yes sir," Garrick said. "I built my house the very first month."

"Ah!" Bidwell had glanced toward the room's entrance. "Here's your scribe!"

Matthew had just walked in, wearing shoes that pinched his feet. "Good evening, sirs," he said, and managed a wan smile though he was still dog-tired and in no mood for convivialities. "Pardon my being late."

"No pardon necessary!" Bidwell motioned him in. "We were hearing about your adventure of last night."

"I'd have to call it a misadventure," Matthew said. "Surely not one I'd care to repeat."

"Gentlemen, this is the magistrate's clerk, Mr. Matthew Corbett," Bidwell announced. He introduced Matthew to Paine and Garrick, and hands were again shaken. "I was telling the magistrate that Mr. Paine is the captain of our militia and shall be leading-"

"-the expedition to secure Mr. Shawcombe in the morning," Paine broke in. "As it's a lengthy trip, we shall be leaving promptly at sunrise."

Woodward said, "It will be a pleasure to rise early for that satisfaction, sir."

"Very well. I'll find another man or two to take along. Will we need guns, or do you think Shawcombe'll give up without violence?"

"Guns," Woodward said. "Definitely guns."

The talk turned to other matters, notably what was happening in Charles Town, and therefore Matthew-who was wearing a white shirt and tan trousers with white stockings-had the opportunity to make quick studies of Paine and Garrick. The captain of militia was a sturdy-looking man who stood perhaps five-ten. Matthew judged him to be in the vicinity of thirty years; he wore his sand-colored hair long and pulled into a queue at the back of his head, secured with a black cord. His face was well balanced by a long, slender-bridged nose and thick blond brows that settled low over his gunmetal gray eyes. Matthew surmised from Paine's build and economy of motion that he was a no-nonsense type of man, someone who was no stranger to strenuous activity and probably an adept horseman. Paine was also no clotheshorse; his outfit consisted of a simple gray shirt, well-used leather waistcoat, dark brown trousers, gray leggings, and brown boots.

Garrick, who listened far more than he spoke, impressed Matthew as an earthy gentleman who was probably facing the dusk of his fifties. He was slim and rawboned, his gaunt-cheeked face burnt and weathered by the fierce sun of past summers. He had deeply set brown eyes, his left brow slashed and drawn upward by a small scar. His gray hair was slicked with pomade and combed straight back on his skull, and he wore cream-colored corduroy trousers, a blue shirt, and an age-buffed waistcoat that was the bright yellowish hue of some spoiled cheese Matthew once had the misfortune to inhale. Something about Garrick's expression and manner-slow-blinking, thick and labored language when he did deem to speak-made Matthew believe that the man might be the salt of the earth but was definitely limited in his selection of spices.

A young negress servant appeared with a pewter tray upon which were goblets-real cut glass, which impressed Woodward because such treasures of luxury were rarely seen in these rough-edged colonies-brimming with red wine. Bidwell urged them all to partake, and never did wine flow down two more appreciative throats than those of the magistrate and his clerk.

The ringing of a dulcet-toned bell at the front door announced the arrival of others. Two more gentlemen were escorted into the room by Mrs. Nettles, who then took her leave to attend to business in the kitchen. Woodward and Matthew had already made the acquaintance of Edward Winston, but the man with him-who limped in his walk and supported himself on a twisted cane with an ivory handle-was a stranger.

"Our schoolmaster, Alan Johnstone," Bidwell said, introducing them one to another. "We're fortunate to have Master Johnstone as part of our community. He brings to us the benefit of an Oxford education."

"Oxford?" Woodward shook the man's hand. "I too attended Oxford."

"Really? Which college, may I ask?" The schoolmaster's elegant voice, though pitched low and quiet, held a power that Woodward felt sure would serve him well securing the respectful attention of students in a classroom.