Esi Edugyan - The Second Life of Samuel Tyne

He woke without sense of what day it was, a taste of ash in his mouth. Samuel stumbled downstairs, frustrated by the same foreboding. The house seemed stark, sombre, the last of a lineage of great homes that, like their human equivalents, could not possibly deliver on an old glory. Its decay overwhelmed him, and he stepped outside, onto the front porch. Beyond the trees he saw the beginnings of fall. The crisp air rejuvenated him. He went inside, walking out to the patio, where the ground still smouldered before his feet. Porter’s house looked like some huge, horrific, worm-ridden bird, its plumage blistered and discoloured. He was still gazing at it when Maud brought him to earth with her voice.

Framed in the open bay door, she stood in a wrinkled beige frock, her hands nervous in her pockets. “The Franks are here.”

Samuel nodded. He wanted to talk to Ray about the fire, to help the Porters however he could. He had suggestions for the town council on how to resettle them, what to do in the meantime, in organizing a drive to earn money to at least buy them a modest bungalow. Porter no longer had the money to pressure him to sell, and Samuel’s sympathy ran strong. He went in.

The mood in the kitchen felt grave. The Franks wore the sober clothes of mourners, panicking Samuel with the thought that one of Porters had succumbed to the fire after all. Eudora reassured him otherwise, and Maud asked everyone to sit, nodding at the fresh pot of coffee on the table. As Maud poured, Samuel expressed the Tynes’ condolences, bumbling into an explanation of what could be done for the Porters. It was some time before he noticed the reluctance in Eudora’s eyes, her periodic glances at her husband. He stopped talking.

“We’re here precisely to talk about the Porters,” said Ray, fixing Samuel with a look. “If I don’t speak freely, I won’t speak at all, Sam, you know that. So I won’t mince words in saying that they feel, and I feel, that we have to look real deep into the causes of this fire.” His glasses dissected his hard, clear eyes. “We have to get at the heart of this, and make amends wasting precious little time.”

“We agree,” said Samuel.

Ray scoffed, and Eudora gave him a guarded look, then confronted Samuel herself.

“Samuel …” she said. “The Porters say your daughters are responsible for the fire.”

Maud made a noise of pained surprise. Samuel sat back. He felt a burning annoyance, but far worse was the idea’s awful familiarity, the cause of his discomfort all day. But hearing it spoken aloud, the ludicrousness of it convinced him it wasn’t true.

“Eh, is that so?” he said. “And how is that — they saw them?”

Eudora hesitated, glancing at her husband, who remained exasperated, but silent. “Well, no, she didn’t see them. But she—”

“She? Who? Who, which ‘she?’ ”

Eudora’s face darkened. Her voice became severe. “Akosua Porter. Now, she didn’t see them, but she’s certain they did it. If not physically, then — and we don’t at all agree with this — through some magic or curse.”

Maud made another pained noise. Grieved by his wife’s anguish, Samuel grew angry. “Raymond Frank, a trustworthy man indeed,” he said. “Brother, tell me. Did you not say these five weeks ago that Porter himself is known as Warlock Porter? Did you not tell me he burnt the pests from his fields? Or can I hear the wind?”

“She says you never had a proper burial for your uncle,” said Eudora. “She says he’s causing madness in your children because of it.”

“She is the one who is mad. She left her common sense back home and brought her lunacy with her. What is this magic , what is this curse? Are we not in Canada? Did I turn my map upside down and end up right where I began?” He paused, then said, “Anyway, a curse would not function if the recipient was not guilty.”

“She says they are evil.” Maud watched Eudora with steady eyes. “She says they are evil, and you mind her.”

“No one said ‘evil,’” said Ray in a gentle voice. “You know no one here puts stock in that nonsense.”

“What is this ‘evil’?” said Samuel, his right eye twitching. “People are not evil, people are not good — they only behave in evil or good ways.” The corners of his mouth had calcified with saliva. “We are what we are because of what we do , not do what we do because of what we are .”

Eudora pressed her lips into a bloodless line, trying to suppress her displeasure, as though the Tynes had withheld their true opinion all of these weeks, making a fool of her.

“Let’s keep things reasonable here,” said Ray, a little distressed.

“Maybe, for all we know, it was an accident and they didn’t mean to set the fire. But they’ve got to face up to that responsibility. And you’ve got to face up to the truth.”

“Truth,” Samuel spat. “Don’t tax your mouth with so heavy a word.”

Ray flushed, but said nothing.

“There was an arsonist before we moved here,” said Maud.

“There were a few fires,” Ray conceded. “But a few months ago, the man we suspected of being responsible, a Mr. John Rodale, left town for good. The fires stopped when he left. Besides, the ones at Thorpe’s Diner and the Porters’ were different. I have no business telling you this, but it’s a copycat, we’re sure of it. Porter’s was real significant because yesterday was August 15—the fifty-fifth anniversary of the fire that near burned down all Athabasca. The police are afraid it’s a message, telling us there’s more to come. All in all, the work of a clever person, of clever people.”

“But the twins?” said Maud. “No one even saw them.”

Ray cast a sidelong look at Eudora, settling back in his chair. He ran a nervous finger along the rim of his mug. “Now, this is the first anyone is hearing of this. I haven’t even told the police, or you, Dora.” He frowned in apology. “But the littlest Porter, Atoh, did see the twins. From his bedroom window. About two hours before the fire they came barrelling out your back door and across the field. He said he went down to talk to them and found them playing with a lighter, my lighter, the one I left here.” Ray gave Samuel a searching look. “How much longer can we let these accidents go on, Samuel? Ama’s near-drowning, Maud’s leg, you, with the pills.”

Samuel flinched. He glanced at Maud, who looked astonished.

“Who’s next?” continued Ray, concern on his face. “I’m the first to admit your girls are brilliant, but it seems to me they’re imbalanced. They don’t have friends, they don’t talk … they’re not easy in society, especially one so close-knit as Aster. As your friend, and a council member, too, I recommend you get them professional help. Dora’s done some work with the Red Deer Facility for Distressed Children, and we’re sure that with her recommendation they could be in by next week.”

“Eh, he is a doctor now, too?” said Samuel. “You will not fault me for asking to see your degree.”

Ray controlled his words. “Whether you respect me or damn me doesn’t matter. The twins can’t stay in Aster. But I advise you, we both do, don’t just take them back to the city with you. They can’t cope in society, and by all means should be given a break from it. I know this is hard, but you have my word we’ll give you a good price for your property.”

The Tynes’ prolonged silence made Eudora lower her eyes.

“Surely you wouldn’t want to stay here?” said Ray, astonished. “Nobody blames you, but … you’d be uncomfortable.”

“Property,” said Samuel, frowning. When Eudora began to speak, he silenced her with a raised finger. “Ahein … so this is what you have made of my request for you to find the will. This, this bargain.” He nodded grimly. “This stupidity with the wheat, this supercrop — it’s no joke. You have wanted my land since the day Jacob breathed his last.”