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number of them,
and a damp day like today is ideal for digging.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    I set out after
breakfast with a large basket and a long tool for digging roots. It was a
relief to get out of the cottage for awhile, and as soon as it was out of sight
I sat down on big log by the side of the path where I sometimes took a rest.
    I let my head flop
back, exhaling.
    Never in my life
had I reacted to a man the way I reacted to Merrick. Even before he removed his
hood and showed me his face – there was a strange flutter in my chest at the
thought – something about the man got me…
    Got me…
    It was too
terrible to think about. I leaned forward and dropped my face into my hands.
    What the Devil was
the matter with me? I’d never been like this. In fact, having always been
called a rather handsome child, I’d been taught by my mum early on how to dodge
the kind of lustful men who always seemed to be lurking around waiting to take
advantage of a lone boy. Personally, I’d never understood the impulse. I knew a
couple of lads who dallied occasionally, and I’d perceived a few propositions
myself, but I had never been the least bit curious. Another man? Why? I was
never short on women to enjoy, and the thought of doing with a man what I did with
them had always seemed ludicrously unappealing.
    What did Merrick
think? Did he really still think me innocent? God, I could only hope.
    I couldn’t help
remembering the way he’d gripped me close the night before. What did he mean by
that? I was sure he had no designs on me. Certainly, if my young body was what
he was after, he would have taken it by now. I didn’t know a man alive who’d
back off at that point if he really wanted it.
    No, it seemed
clear that Merrick had simply been measuring my reaction – and perhaps scolding
me a little for my silly tricks.
    I got up slowly
and continued up the path. Perhaps a long morning collecting dandelions would
help me to clear my head. How absurd life had become! Back in the city, I would
have been rummaging through a book shop, looking for rarities of value,
breathing in the scent of old leather tomes as the dust glowed in the rays of
morning sunlight that came softly through the dingy windows, while outside the
noise and chatter of the city filled the air with a busy cheer. Right then,
Jeremy was probably still sprawled out in one of the rooms above his father’s
tavern, snoring in the arms of a naked girl or two.
    And yet here I
was, out on a dandelion expedition…
    The sound of hoof
steps ahead caught my attention, and for the first time, I found myself
crossing paths with two travelers on horseback.
    They were twin
boys who looked around twelve years old. They were neater and better dressed
than the boy who came by daily on his horse, but looked just as old fashioned.
Each wore ancient-looking buckled shoes and had his hair tied back with a
ribbon. Watching them approach, I felt a wistful pang for the fashionable
sidewalks of New York City.
    “Good morrow,”
they said in unison.
    “Good morrow,” I
replied.
    “I’m Geoffrey,”
said the one on the left.
    “I’m John,” said
the other.
    “I’m William,” I
said.
    “Are you Doctor
Merrick’s boy?” Geoffrey asked.
    I appraised him
with a cool look. “I’m his apprentice, yes.”
    “We heard about
you from Joseph. He said you dress funny.”
    John chimed in.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
    I didn’t even have
to glance down. I was dressed in the boots and long breeches men wore these
days in the cities. They looked like they hadn’t yet heard about the end of the
Revolution. “I’m not from around here,” I said simply.
    “Have you seen his
face?” John asked.
    “I heard he has
fangs,” said Geoffrey.
    “Is he fattening
you up?” John asked with an impish smirk.
    “You better watch
out.” Geoffrey added.
    I interrupted the
little brats before they could really get going. “What are you two doing out
here by yourselves?”
    “We’re going