Merrick Read Online Free PDF Page A

energy in the right movement.”
    “I see,” I said,
blushing as his hips brushed against me. His hand on mine was cool and firm,
its grip deft and sure.
    “Finish this batch
and leave it,” he said, and stepped away to go back to his work.
    I did as he said,
then put everything in its place and turned back to the table. “Is there
anything else for me to do, Master Merrick?”
    “No, William. Go
and bathe.”
    I took my night
shirt and did as I was told, sighing in the lean-to as I scrubbed my body with
the soft-smelling soap. Another day, no mysteries solved, and it was back to
bed.
    Merrick was absent
when I went back into the cottage, and a small lamp was burning in the cavern
along with a resin I had not smelled before. I breathed in the pleasant, musky
scent and sat on the edge of the bed, brushing my damp hair from my eyes.
    Behind the hide
hanging in the rear corner of the cavern, a dim light flickered. It became
brighter by the moment until the hide was pushed aside and Merrick emerged
carrying a lamp.
    “What’s down
there, sir?” I asked. As soon as I said it, I felt a little surprised I’d been bold
enough to ask. I supposed the oddness of the day before hadn’t stopped me from
feeling strangely comfortable around the man.
    “Perhaps I’ll show
you sometime.” Merrick set the lamp on the stone shelf at the rear of the room
and went to the resin, leaning over the smoke for a moment and then wafting it
with his sleeve. The scent was hard to place, but it was very welcoming. “Was
your mother much connected to her people, William?”
    “My mother? To the
Indians? Not as much as I guess she wished. She lived all her life in the city.
She never saw her mother’s home. They often talked about it. She always wanted
to get out of the city. Said she was a child of nature. But, she didn’t know
anyone from my grandmother’s home country. That always made her sad. I guess
she knows some things, though. Some chants and charms, even herbs, funny as it
is, though she’s always afraid of being called a witch…” I left off, frowning a
bit. Why was I talking so much?
    Merrick had moved
to stand before me now in his dark hooded robe, near the smoking resin. “And
your father? What kind of a man is he?”
    “He’s been dead
for ages,” I said. “Since I was seven. He drowned at the docks – I don’t know
how or why. He drank a bit, though, as I recall.”
    Merrick’s hooded
head dipped in acknowledgement.
    I breathed in.
“What’s that scent, Master Merrick?”
    “What do you think
of me, William?”
    “Well,” I replied
easily, “I have to say you’re a fine gentleman, sir, a master of your trade and
a generous one, taking me in and treating me as kindly as you have. Though the
oddities are hard to ignore, I find myself more at ease than I guess I ought to
be…” Good God! My tongue was loose! Before I could think on it, I was talking
again. “I don’t believe you’re seventy-seven, that is, or if you are, you must
be a witch or a devil – I don’t know what other explanation there could be. Or
can an herb be so powerful? Maybe you’ve found the secret to eternal youth? I
wouldn’t press the matter, sir. I’m very pleased to be your apprentice.”
    “Does it not
bother you, the thought of living with a devil?”
    “Well, I never
thought much on that. I don’t think I ever believed in witches or devils. But
there is something afoot here, isn’t there? There’s no herb can heal like you
healed my hand, that is. And no old man as fair and fit as you.” Christ, was I
still talking? “Still, it’s clear you’re more a gentleman than any man I ever
have known before, and if I had to choose between you and any judge or
constable or blacksmith, I’d pick you right away even if you were a devil.” Was
I lightheaded? My nose was tingling, and I looked at the resin. “Master
Merrick…”
    “And if witchcraft
were afoot? That would not give you cause to flee?”
    “Flee?”