Page 75 of The Condemned (Echoes from the Past #6)

SIXTY-THREE

Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany

Quinn took a sip of tea and settled back in her chair.

The dining room was empty except for her and Rhys, who was all packed and ready to go.

After breakfast, Quinn would take him to Frankfurt and drop him off at the airport before going to visit Jo.

She’d ordered only toast, but Rhys was about to tuck into his gargantuan breakfast. The smell of the sausages made her feel slightly ill.

“You all right?” Rhys asked as he studied her across the table.

“I couldn’t get to sleep last night. I kept going over my meeting with Jo, and worrying about today, so I thought spending a bit of time with Mary might help. I was wrong,” Quinn said hotly.

“Tell me.”

She quickly filled Rhys in on what she’d seen, from the attack on Mary to John’s execution. “It was awful, Rhys. It was as if I was right there, watching the breath being choked out of him.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you to be thrust into these situations. It must all feel frighteningly real.”

“It does.”

“Well, at least we now know how Mary came to be back in England,” he commented as he lifted a forkful of fluffy egg to his mouth.

“None of this makes any sense,” Quinn protested .

“How so?” Rhys was a television producer, not a historian. What he saw was good drama, but Quinn was disturbed by the irregularities that jumped out at her when she considered what she’d seen.

“It’s historically accurate that John would have been executed for the crime of sodomy.

I’m not questioning that. Simon got off awfully easy with only twelve hours in the stocks, but what puzzles me is the rest of it.

The information Joanna Lang forwarded raises questions that I have no answers to. ”

“Like what?”

“Joanna was able to find a record of John’s death. March eleventh, 1621. Dead by hanging. That checks out; however, she also found a deed to his plantation. After John’s death, the land passed to Simon Faraday.”

“What?” Rhys asked, putting down his fork with undue force.

“Exactly. Mary was John’s wife, and she was pregnant, with his heir, presumably.

There wasn’t a shred of evidence, besides Travesty’s self-serving testimony, that Mary had been carrying on an affair or that her child wasn’t her husband’s.

There was also nothing to indicate that she was in any way responsible for the deaths of the men who attacked her.

The plantation should have gone to Mary, and in turn, her child.

Instead, it had passed on to Simon Faraday within weeks of John’s death.

Simon still had several years on his indenture contract, which should have reverted to the Virginia Company.

Secretary Hunt, who was the representative of the company, would have sold the contract to another colonist. Instead, Simon was not only freed, but rewarded with a thriving plantation. ”

“You think Simon was up to something? Rhys asked.

“He must have been, because this is clear proof that he had some powerful friends in that colony. ”

“Like who?” Rhys asked, taking a sip of coffee. “Did Simon ever leave the plantation?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” Quinn replied. “I can only see what Mary did. What Simon did behind the scenes is a mystery to me. I would assume he wasn’t allowed to simply wander off.”

“He was John’s lover. Perhaps he enjoyed greater freedom than other indentures.”

“Perhaps, but where would he go?”

“Into Jamestown.”

“To have a glass of port with the governor or a game of dice with the marshal?” Quinn joked.

“Anything is possible. We’ve learned that from your forays into the past. Besides, Travesty Brown was freed as well,” Rhys pointed out.

“I think Travesty negotiated a deal with Hunt in exchange for her testimony, but I don’t see how Simon came to benefit so handsomely from the situation. Within a year of taking possession, Simon purchased two African slaves, which means he was doing very well for himself.”

“There were slaves in Virginia that early on?” Rhys asked, his interest piqued. This would add an unexpected angle to the episode.

“The first Black slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619. By 1620, there were almost three dozen slaves working the plantations. Given that there were about one thousand colonists who might have wished to purchase a slave, the fact that Simon was able to acquire two would indicate that he had the means and the connections.”

“What about the Virginia Company? Did it not go under? ”

“It did, but not until 1624. In 1621, the Virginia Company still governed the colony, which made Secretary Hunt as influential as the governor.”

“Do you have any theories?” Rhys asked.

“No. All I can say with any certainty is that Mary’s banishment was utterly unjust.”

Rhys resumed eating, his gaze fixed on the gentle snowflakes falling outside the window as he chewed thoughtfully. “Do you think Mary was murdered?” he finally asked.

“I really couldn’t say.”

Rhys pushed away his plate and poured himself more coffee from the French press. “Whatever happened to Mary, the end is in sight.”

Quinn nodded. She felt terribly sad for Mary and her baby, whose fate appeared to have been sealed the day Walker died. “Yes, I think Mary died mere weeks after Walker and John.”

“Do you think Mary would have been happy with Walker had they managed to get away and make a life together?” Rhys asked. “It’s an angle I might wish to explore toward the end of the episode. As in, would Romeo and Juliet have actually made it work had they lived long enough to be together?”

Quinn shook her head. “I don’t believe so.

Virginia was only a year away from the Indian Massacre, which took place in March of 1622.

The Powhatan wiped out a quarter of the colonist population.

Some of Mary’s friends might have died, as well as their children.

I can’t imagine that Mary wouldn’t have been affected by that or wouldn’t have felt as if she were living among the enemy. ”

“But she would no longer have been in Virginia at the time of the massacre,” Rhys pointed out .

“No, probably not, and I don’t think the Croatoan were part of the Powhatan nation, but I can’t imagine she would have felt entirely at home among the natives, no matter how much she loved Walker or how welcoming his tribe was to her.

She was an Englishwoman and a Christian, and that’s something that would always stand between her and her new life.

I think a part of her would always long to be among her own kind. ”

“Yes, I agree with you. Well, let’s try to wrap this up quickly, then,” Rhys replied. “Mary’s story will make for an excellent season finale. And I have it on good authority that season three has already been approved. What say you, Dr. Allenby?” he asked, smiling at her across the table.

“I say, ask me again in a few weeks.”

“Come on, Quinn. I know you have a lot on your plate just now, but this is great news. Isn’t it?”

Quinn was about to reply when a wave of nausea drove her from the table.

She rushed to the nearest bathroom and made it just in time to avoid being sick all over the floor.

She wiped her mouth and leaned against the wall.

Her legs felt like jelly and she’d broken out in a cold sweat.

Quinn’s hand went to her belly. “No,” she whispered. “Please, no.”