After the Skirmish

She smiled. "I know. I was so shocked when I saw it, because I opened the package first before reading the letter. But I understand now." She unfastened the chain and put it in his hand. "Will you keep it for me again?"

"I... I never 'spected you might do that. I'm sorry; must've bin an awful shock to see it like that. Should've put a bit of me own hair in, but I didn't think of it." He nodded and closed his hand on it. "Aye, Maggie, I will. An' if you ever want it back, all you have to do is ask. You know that, don't you?"

"I know." She kissed his closed hand. "You keep it safe. It has a lock of my hair and my mother's hair too. Some time I'll get one of yours too, when I've got my little scissors handy. I can't arrange them all pretty like my mother's, but maybe I can plait them together or something, yours and mine. I'm so glad you sent the money and the donkey as well, because otherwise I think I might have had to sell it, the locket. Thank you." She looked up at him and smiled in heartfelt gratitude.

"Donkey?" He blinked at her, stupidly. "I never sent the donkey - nor no money, neither, though I would've. Wasn't thinkin' straight about things like that." He couldn't get used to the bruises on her face, and stroked her cheek gently with one finger.

She tilted her head and frowned. "Yes, my Jessy. My own donkey. And the money from selling some of my produce and things left behind. All the vegetables that would have spoiled. That was a real clever idea."

He shook his head. Why didn't she understand him? "Wasn't me, Maggie. Though I wish it had been."

"Well who was it? Did you ask that priest to do it for you or something?"

"I..." He sighed. "Maggie, I never did anythin' about it - it weren't me. Never thought about it. I dunno how it got there, and who sent it, 'cause it wasn't nothin' to do with me." He should have thought about it, he knew that. But he couldn't have sent any money or anything like that - he didn't have that sort of money, not even after the training day, not after getting the ring made.

"But... who else would have sold - or bought - vegetables from out of my stocks? And who even knew about me, or where I was?" She still could not shake her belief that it had been Cotton, and Cotton alone. She grinned. "And such inflated prices too. I thought, I should really put Gabe in charge of sutlering from now on."

"The... that priest knew." But he wouldn't have done it; he wouldn't have had the money. "How much? Maggie, how much money was it?"

She lowered her voice, almost afraid to say it out loud for fear of thieves. "Ten shillings. There was a bill of sale too. I think - oh, it's still in my pocket. See, there's onions, and green onions there, asparagus, cherries - do you read numbers, Gabe? I can't remember. Someone could have sold them to lots of different people, but they'd have to be very persuasive to make them pay that much."

"Don't read numbers at all." He took the piece of paper and looked at it, frowning. "That's all writ in pen, an' nice writin' it is, too." He looked at the paper before looking up at Maggie's face. "Looks awfully like the paper I got for the captain, afore we left Lisbon, this does."

"Captain Vickery?"

He gave a half-grin. "That's the one I'm in service to, yes."

She laughed. "So... Captain Vickery was selling vegetables?"

Cotton chuckled. "He'd be more likely to buy 'em, don't you think?"

Maggie felt highly confused. "So - you think he did it all? Sent the money and the donkey all on his own? I did tell that priest... Wait - Captain Vickery sent the priest in the first place, didn't he?"

Cotton nodded. "Yes. And he came to find me to... When I saw him, I thought... I thought... I thought I'd lost you, sweeting."

She squeezed his arm and looked up at him with pity, understanding perhaps for the first time the anxiety he must have suffered. "You thought I had... died? Oh, I'm sorry Gabe."

"I didn't know. And folks wouldn't tell me. I only had half-an-hour that morning to try to find you. And the whole march, I kept wonderin' and worryin'. And then a priest shows up an'... It was awful." He put his arms around her again, just to reassure himself she was there and not some figment of his imagination.

"I'm sorry, Gabe," she said again. She had been so ashamed, nearly out of her mind with shame and fear, and she had not wanted him to know of the devastation. She had sent him the note through Jenny, wanting him to know that she was staying behind, but not giving him enough time to return and see her. She regretted that now, and her eyes were filling with tears for the needless worry she had caused him. She shifted the subject back again. "But someone sent the donkey and the money, and brought me back to you again, quick and proper. If you show me the paper you got for Captain Vickery, we can see if it's the same. Plus he'll probably have the vegetables in with his things. Have you noticed?"

He shook his head. "Had too much else to think about. But..." He still had the note the Captain had given him last night, when Maggie reached the column, and he pulled it out. "Does that look like the writin' on your bill of sale? A bit?"

"It does," she said after a moment. "I think it is his writing. Different paper though. The other paper has a lily on it when you hold it up to the light, so you can look for that next time he has his note paper out. I think it must have been him though. I don't know who else would do something like that. Do you?"

"Well, this'n's out of his Day Book," Cotton said, indicating the ticket. "And I know plenty of folks who'd do that - but none of 'em's got a spare ten shillin's to do it with. Must've been him."

"And not many people who knew where I was. I was going to say a minute ago, I did tell the priest he could tell Captain Vickery what happened, since it was the captain who had sent the priest to find me. I'll have to find that priest and thank him and let him know I've arrived safe...! But I really have to thank Captain Vickery. I can't believe he would do something so kind for me." She looked at Cotton. "It was for you, really. He must've done it for you."