Precious Bones Read Free

sweetheart.  How did your meeting go?  Will it be another bestseller?”  I promptly burst into tears.

 
    Chapter 5
    The year of Our Lord 1586
    March
     
    Pippa pulled Constance along by the arm, pushing her way through the throng of people.  The square was already packed and various vendors were calling out their wares.  There were hot meat pies, oranges, and bunches of violets.  The crowd was ready for a good show, and parents were hoisting children onto their shoulders for a better view.  As soon as the two girls got to the front, the cart rumbled into the square pulled along by a tired looking horse.  The woman in the cart looked over the crowd, smiling like a queen ready to receive her subjects.  She held her head high and smiled serenely, as the cart pulled up to the scaffold, and the prisoner was escorted up the rickety steps.  The crowd fell silent in expectation of the speech.  It was usually the best part of the hanging and today promised to be an extra-special treat.  Mary Conway was a well-known madam, accused of stabbing two noblemen in her brothel and chopping them into pieces, before feeding them to a pack of hungry dogs. 
    The executioner placed the rope around Mary’s neck and forced her up on a bench situated beneath the gallows.  Mary looked around dramatically , waiting for people to give her their full attention.  “Ladies and Gents,” she began.  “I am an innocent woman sentenced to die for a crime I did not commit.”  She smiled conspiratorially at the expectant crowd, “but if I did commit the heinous deed they are accusing me of, I would say that those wastrels deserved whatever they got and more.  My dogs would have feasted that day on the remains of thieves, murderers and sodomites who didn’t deserve a Christian burial.  That’s all I’ve got to say on the matter.  God Bless the Queen!”  With that she gave the hangman a look, and he kicked the bench from under her feet, making her swing like a pendulum while she choked and tore at the rope at her throat with her nails.  Pippa craned her head trying to get a better view while Connie looked away in horror.
    “You have a morbid fascination with death, sister,” she said trying to drag Pippa away.
    “Not everyone can be the paragon of virtue that you claim to be,” answered Pippa saucily , and continued to watch as Mary stopped thrashing about and the crowd lost interest.  Constance turned to leave when a commotion to her left caught her attention.  She wasn’t sure who was accusing whom of what, but two men were beginning to throw punches, and it was time to get away from Tyburn Hill as quickly as possible.  Connie tried to grab Pippa’s hand, but she was nowhere to be seen, and then all hell broke loose with people were screaming, running, and punching anyone who got in their way. 
    Connie was caught up by the mob and carried away from the gallows , until she lost her footing and fell hard, a large woman stepping on her hand in her desire to escape.  She got kicked in the ribs and covered her face with her hands, breathless with panic.  A pair of strong arms picked her up, and she was carried out of the melee to a side street where the stranger deposited her carefully on a crate. 
    “Are you all right, Mistress?”  Connie was still shaking with fright, but she tried to compose herself enough to answer her rescuer.
    “Thank you, sir.  I am most grateful for your assistance.  My sister…”
    “If you mean the young lady who was with you when the trouble broke out, I saw her running the other way.  I am sure she is quite safe.”  Connie could have strangled Pippa at that moment, but she had other things to think about.  Her hand was bleeding where it had been stepped on , and her ribs hurt from the blow she received.  It was a long walk home, and she would have a lot of explaining to do once she got there.
    The man took out his lace handkerchief and began to carefully clean her wounded hand,