Everyone stopped. I glanced back at Eleanor, she and Tom had stopped dancing, still in each other's embrace and looking toward the commotion. Wait Mr Williams must only be wanting to ask her questions. He must. Tom was trying to usher Eleanor away from the party but she stood still. She didn't speak up but seemed worried and concerned. Tom whispered in her ear and again trying to pull her away.

"Concerned with my daughter's favourite maid, are you?" Duchess Hemerton called shrilly over the crowd, a sharp edge to her voice.

"Duchess this 'maid' of yours has reasonable evidence to show that she has been responsible for the witchcraft going on," Lord Warlest stated. Eleanor began to leave with Tom, her face only slightly worried. We made eye contact and she gave me a quick nervous smile. She thought that I was going to fix this.

Abraham spoke up before I did though, "There is absolutely no evidence supporting this outlandish accusation, father." He spat the last word like it tasted bad in his mouth.

Mr Williams smiled a cruel and twisted smile, "There is in fact incriminating evidence that we have collected. But we will not be revealing it until the trial tomorrow."

"There is not going to be a trial!" I shouted angrily at the two lying men.

"Of course there will be! Do not speak woman, this does not concern you!" Lord Warlest spat, his calm demeanour breaking, and the hidden cruelty bubbling to the surface. Maybe him and William were meant to be, both of them were cruel.

"This does concern me, you wretched disgraceful liar! Eleanor is my friend and you will not touch her as long as I am here!" I balled my hands into fists. I had always been short-tempered when those I cared about were insulted or threatened. When a little girl down the street stole my little sister Monica's bike when I was ten, I marched down the street and stole the bike back while the girl was still riding it. I got in a crap load of trouble after because she hurt herself, complained to her mother, who came and complained to my mother. Apparently she was 'borrowing' the bike which made my punishment even larger. I didn't regret it then and still don't now. My stomached boiled, the fuel of my anger heating my insides. I stepped forward, ready to take a swing at the two men, but I held myself back. A physical fight would not help Eleanor.

"Abraham, keep your woman contained," Mr Williams sniffed. He scanned the faces of the crowd, trying to find the person who he would lay the blame.

"Do not tell me to contain her. She is not my child, she is my wife and she can speak as she wishes!" Abraham said. "Now leave our wedding festivities at once. You are not invited here."

Abraham's mother spoke up finally, "Do not be ridiculous Abraham. If your father says this woman is the witch, she is the witch."

"You can leave as well mother."

Lady Warlest's mouth opened and closed quickly. She raised her chin and squared her shoulders. Empathy had left Lady Warlest a long time ago if she ever had it at all, usually you could almost assume she did feel it if not very little,but her usual trickery had left her voice. She said stiffly and shallowly, "Do not bother bringing your wife back to our home. Do not bother speaking to us again. You do not support the family so you are not a part of the family."

Abraham stood still his face as still as the wind in the block. It seemed to stop along with everyone else. A breath being held.A scandal so publicly shown instead of whispered in back rooms, it was unlike anything the town had ever seen. Townspeople held poorly concealed glee; the prosperous have finally been broken. Abraham's eye twitched slightly and his voice came out quietly like the silent flames that sneak out of the fireplace, heading to burn down the house,"You were never my family."

Mr Williams paid no attention to the stiffness of the environment but continued to survey the people, trying to find the accused witch. He jumped pointing over the crowd of awed onlookers, "There! She is there! The witch! Arrest her!" He barked. Two men ran after Eleanor, who was nearly a block away. Tom instead of running away from the men, charged into them, his fists flailing. He punched the smaller man in the stomach but the bigger man merely tripped him and continued after Eleanor. She struggled to run in her dress and the man caught her quickly. She wretched herself to and fro attempting to shake out of his grasp. "Take her to the jailhouse!" Mr Williams shouted.

"No!" I yelled but the protest was lost in the shouts and cheers of the crowd.

"We've got to go," Abraham said directing me to a carriage, I saw Margaret being lead by Duchess Hemerton towards the same carriage. Margaret kept her head turned toward the crowd, watching the crowd.

"Abraham, no! Don't you see-"

'Yes I do but we can't do anything about it with all these people! We will decide what to do when we reach the estate." He helped me into the carriage, remaining outside to help Margaret and the Duchess into the carriage. The carriage shook as he climbed into the seat outside so he could drive. Margaret craned her neck trying to look out of the window.

"I do not believe this. Our head maid would not hire a witch, she has better sense than that. You girls did not hear this from me but I never thought that that lawyer was trust-worthy." Duchess Hemerton said pursing her lips and looking out at the crowd.

"We should not have left! We should have tried to help that maid!" Margaret said sadly.

"That was no place for us. It will sort itself out," the Duchess sighed, obviously not very worried. Margaret made eye contact with me, a silent agreement came between the two of us; we were going to try to help her.

We arrived at the house and Duchess Hemerton rushed off muttering that today was too much and she must take a hot bath. We remained in the carriage, expecting Abraham to join us so we could discuss the rescue plan. The carriage shook as Abraham got off of the driving seat. He opened the door, no smile on his face. Another man who's face was shaded from the dark stepped into the carriage behind him. 

"So I am assuming that you will be joining us on our mission to right the wrong that I am assuming you already know about," Abraham said in a very serious and long winded tone.

"You assumed correctly. I do not know Eleanor very well but I will not stand for this English injustice. I 'ave never seen such an injustice such as zis in France before," Margaret exclaimed, her accent getting slightly thicker. She usually tries to hide her accent but once in a while it slips.

"Wait isn't witch hunts happening like all across Europe right now?" I asked.

"This is Tom, Eleanor's fiancé," Abraham said, ignoring my question after giving me a side glance. Tom gave a curt solemn nod to both of us. I had only ever seen him from far away, and up close I couldn't really see him well either.

"If you do not mind, I would like to skip the introductions. My Eleanor is being held in the hands of those horrible men-no offence Lord Warlest- so I would like to get her immediately!" He exclaimed frustrated and obviously fearful for her well-being.

"If we rush in there and attempt to grab her, my father I assure you, will kill her. We must have patience and a plan,Tom." Abraham stated.

"Abraham you may find it the easiest to attract the attention of the crowd." Margaret hinted, reluctant to fully share her thoughts.

"Yes, perhaps I should lure my father away or distract them. I will go to 'apologize' while you enter through the window or the back door if it is unguarded." Abraham suggested after picking up on Margaret's idea. Climbing through a window? I look down at my large unmovable wedding dress.

"Um maybe we should get out of our good clothes? Put on a pair of pants or something?" I hated suggesting something that would delay Eleanor's rescue further but what would be the use if I or Margaret got caught. Then there would need to be another rescue.

"But-" Tom began to protest but Abraham raised his hand, shutting up Tom immediately.

"Maybe it is best they do change, Tom. They can not help us in those impractical-but beautiful- dresses. Can you be quick?" He asked looking at me his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah we'll be quick," I muttered pulling Margaret out of the carriage. We went to my room. Margaret immediately began helping me get the dress off. As quickly as she tried to untie, unbutton and unlaced the layers it was still slow and tedious. "Can you go any quicker?!" I snapped, my eagerness to get back making me itch to move.

"I am trying to move as quickly as possible, Elizabeth!" She said throwing the second skirt onto the bed. A few minutes later we were down to the base layer.

"Ok good enough," I brushed her off, scurrying away to find my jeans and t-shirt.

"What are those?" Margaret asked curiously as I jumped up and down to get into the pants.

"Jeans. Now go find some pants or trousers or pantalon or whatever you usually call it." I said, too distracted with dressing to pay much attention.

"What men wear?"

"Sure yeah whatever go find some."

She came back quickly with a pair of ratty linen pants. Her dress was simpler than mine with less layers and simpler ties. She was out of her bridesmaid dress and dressed in a shirt and pants in half the time than it took me. Her cheeks were flush with embarrassment as we walked out of the house. Margaret walked unnaturally in the pants, never probably have worn pants before. She walked with her legs stiff and far apart. We lurked along the dark corridors, fortunately not meeting any servants or (thank god) Duchess Hemerton. We reached the front door. I slowly opened it like I did when I would sneak out of my room when I was little. Wincing when the door creaked. I stepped out into the cold wind and into a guy. A scraggly beard and uncombed hair adorned by twigs, leaves, and moss. A long toga type cloth brown from dirt hung on his thin but muscular frame. He jumped back in fright as much as I did.

"What are you doing here, George?" Margaret demanded from behind me. George spun his crazy beard with one hand, his eyes apologetic as he stammered for words.

"I am indeed sorry, my ladies. I must admit that times when I do not think that your family is home I enter the house. I know I am supposed to stay in my hut, but if you are not home then perhaps you would not care what I do. I will go back to my hut now," he sighed, turning to go back. George was the hired garden hermit, a job I found to be cruel. Apparently a graze here was to hire a man to live and dress as a dryad in the garden of large estates. The Hemertons hired George to be their garden hermit. They paid him in morsels, didn't feed him, and he wasn't allowed to go in the house, lest it ruin the image. Margaret reached passed me, grabbing his arm. She gently pulled him into the house.

"We never saw you," she said winking. George's eyes crinkled, the only sign that he was smiling behind the beard. Without saying goodbye I yanked Margaret towards the waiting carriage. We jumped into the carriage.

"Took long enough!" Tom exclaimed before looking back down at his feet and in a softer tone, "I apologize."

"Okay let's get this plan rolling!" I exclaimed pushing Abraham towards the door. "Now get driving, Mr chauffeur!" Abraham smiled and clasped my hand quickly before getting out. We drove in silence, Toms tapping finger the only sound between the three of us. He seemed extremely anxious. I wonder how long they have known each other. I didn't feel as nervous. I was concerned, but not nervous. I don't know but something inside me just told me it was going to be okay.

Abraham pulled the carriage toward the back of the jail house, a squat little stone building with small high windows. I don't know if I would be able squeeze through a window that small. I hopped out of the carriage on my own finally able to move without the hefty dresses. Margaret waited in the carriage door, still expecting someone to help her down. Abraham who had just climbed down from the drivers seat moved to help her but I stuck out my arm.

"Just curious to see how long it will take before she thinks to get out by herself," just as I said it, Margaret hesitantly stepped out of the carriage, then smiled looking pretty proud of herself.

"I will depart now, hopefully this will go according to plan," he smiled and leant over pecking me on the cheek. He darted around the building and out of sight. Margaret rushed forward, ducking low as she came up to a jailhouse window. Tom and I followed her path. My heart began to race as I peeked into the room. A dozen or so men were arguing in what must have been the jailer's office. I quickly ducked back down.

"Margaret stay here. Tom and I should go look for where Eleanor is. Signal us or come find us when it's time to break her out," I said in a low voice. Margaret nodded solemnly to me, the most serious I had ever seen her. She positioned herself a few feet away from the window so she could watch without being seen. Tom moved as quick as possible away without being heard. I followed him slowly so my feet wouldn't crunch on the gravel underneath. The blood was pumping in my ears making it hard to hear anything. But luckily it wasn't hard to hear her.

After we rounded the corner we could hear her desperate cries. She had her arms pushed out of the bars trying to claw at anything to help her out. I felt a choke of guilt in the back of my throat, it was my fault she was thrown in there. Tom abandoned any attempt at being stealthy(not that he was trying much before) and ran to her, sticking his own arms through the bars like they were in some romance movie. Her cries for help became sobs. Tears streaked her face causing lines through her makeup. I stood a few feet away, letting the lovers(or so I'm assuming) comfort each other.

"Tom-Tom get me out of here. Tom get me out of here!" She stuttered, eyes filled with fear.

"That is what we will do," he reassured her, stroking her cheek. Her eyes flickered over to me. She lit up slightly.

"Oh Alice you are here! You can help." Her eyes flicked back to Tom,"She can help us! She's not from here! She'll know how to fix this. Right, this is uncomplicated compared to what you have. Did you bring it?" Her words spilled together as desperation and hope coursed through her.  I felt my blood run cold. I couldn't fix this with my 'magic' phone.

"No, Elizabeth is here. I am just going to get some supplies," he ran off into the woods supposedly getting these 'supplies.' I inched closer to the cell window. I could barely see into the room. There wasn't any light in the room and from what I could see no toilet or bed.

"I'm so sorry Eleanor, my phone can't help you get out of this but it got you into it. I got you into this and I won't be the one getting you out."

She sighed leaning against the bars, wearily, "No Alice do not blame yourself, please. I will be out of here soon and it will be all of a memory. You did not just stay at home but are helping rescue me. That is enough."

"I guess..."

Tom came back out of the woods, carrying large shear-like scissors. He didn't talk as he placed the large jaws around the bars. I yanked them away.

"Wait for Margaret's signal," I hissed. He humpfed and dropped the shears on the ground. Men's voices floated by. We both flopped against the stone wall, both of us trying to be quiet. He held Eleanor's hand quietly. It was obvious how much he loved her. Would Abraham react like this if I was taken?

With bated breath we waited until the soft patter of someone running came around the corner. Margaret rounded the corner, nodding curtly. A signal to go. Tom picked up the shears and as quickly as possible started cutting the bars. Eleanor began undressing-she wouldn't be able to fit through the window in the dress. The noise of the bars breaking seemed immensely loud. With every clack of the bars breaking my heart jumped. How could they not hear it? He was moving quickly, his arms pumping as quickly as possible for such a difficult task. Shouts came from the front of the jailhouse. I could hear Abraham's voice shouting over the individuals. Hopefully he will keep this noise up. The last bar fell away with a startling clatter. I held my hand out for Eleanor so she may have help out. Her hand trembled so badly that she could hardly hold on. Her breathing was ragged. Tom grabbed her waist helping her down from the high height.

  We hurried away as quickly as we could, supporting Eleanor as we went. She had a large gash from above her knee to her ankle, probably from when they dragged her to the jailhouse. We ran with crouched backs, trying to stay in the shadows, from tree to tree. Building to building. Margaret being the smallest and fastest, ran ahead, concealing herself in the shadows. She would wave us over from her new hiding spot. We hobbled along the forest edge, supporting Eleanor. She tried to carry herself but nearly collapsed. She tried to muffle her pain and fear but every once in a while she'd let out a whimper. I knew she couldn't help it but what if that one noise got us caught...

The carriage was parked(do you park a carriage?) several blocks away. Any other day it would have been a lovely short walk, but tonight it might have been walking to the current colonies for what it felt like. We approached painstakingly slow and when we finally had the carriage in sight I myself wanted to cry. With most of Eleanor's weight on me it made a tiring walk worse. Margaret threw open the door so we could all get in as quietly as possible. We sat in silence, Eleanor's quiet sobbing the only sound.

Margaret leaned over picking up Eleanor's hand daintly, tapping the top like how a grandmother would greet a distant grandchild. She gave her a sympathetic doey-eyed smile, "You are safe now."

Tom looked sullenly down at his lap,"We do not know that." We all glare at him. "Well as soon as the men realize that you are no longer in their custody they will come looking. And where do you think they will look?"

"...At my estate."

"Dear, perhaps we should leave town immediately." He grasped her hands in his, both their eyes on the brink of shedding tears.

"I do not believe you will! Not tonight anyway!" Margaret demanded with thin lips. "Look at her! She is not going anywhere without rest. You two can leave in the morning if you must."

"Must you?" I asked quietly. It might be selfish but I didn't want my best friend here to leave.

Eleanor gave me a sad reassuring smile, "I think we must go. I know I will never be safe here."

"I believe we should leave now,"Tom huffed.

"No you are not!" Margaret insisted.

Tom went to counter but Eleanor spoke up before he could say anything. "I think I need this night, Tom."

He fumbled with noises before sighing and giving in, "As long as we leave before dawn." Eleanor nodded in agreeance and he seemed to relax a little more. Abraham's head poked in the window, his face was red and glistened with perspiration. His eyes seemed darker than normal, his lips tight in a thin white line. The encounter with his father and his father's followers must not have gone well. He leaned into the carriage, his knuckles white on the window frame.

"How are you fairing?" He asked Eleanor politely although there was an undertone of remaining anger.

"I am better now, thanks to you, Lord Warlest," Eleanor said shyly.

"That is pleasing to hear. I will bring us back to the Hemerton estate now," he leaned in close to me, his breath tickling my ear,"I apologize that I do no that have a home for us just yet, Alice. It is irresponsible as your husband not to but I promise I will have one for us soon."

I leaned into him, pressing my lips onto his stubbly cheek,"Don't concern yourself about it. I don't really care. But are you okay? What happened?"

He shook his head briskly,"He is an incompetent man. I can not believe I had not realized that before. I suppose I should get us out of here before they realize." His head disappeared from the window and the rocking of the carriage told me that he had got into the drivers seat. So would this be the last day I saw Eleanor? I guess I hadn't known her several weeks ago so what would it matter. Plus I'll probably be home soon and there everyone here would be dead to me. Literally. I mean it must be any day now, right?