Ep. 4 - Biography of Wayne Brecklin Part Three
On Sunday morning, Wayne went to the town church before most of the people were due to arrive so he could meet with the deacon and the church council.
"Lo, brother Brecklin, what brings you here so early?"
"I need to talk and confess some sins that have been weighing me down."
"Come this way and sit in silent prayer while I get the board."
Of course Wayne realised prayer for him was useless. His soul was already damned and the Lightness would no longer intervene on his behalf. He was only here as a pawn of his wife's bidding in order to save his reputation in town so his wife would stop bothering him with threats of getting his father-in-law to deal with the scandal about to take place. As it was, Enid's pregnancy was only a topic of gossip among the women. It was also a topic of rumour, even among the me around town, about Gail's infidelity and how she faked her pregnancy to marry Wayne. If both stories were confirmed, Gail would be disowned by her family and they would both be railed out of town.
As the members approached Wayne, he feigned praying while kneeling at a pew.
"What is the problem you wish to discuss with us, brother?"
"I have sinned with a woman who was not my wife. Before I married Gail, I went to see a woman with whom I had carnal relations. She is pregnant and told me I am the father."
"Are the rumours around true about your wife's infidelities?"
Wayne paused for a moment as this conversation pained him. Gail deserved to feel the hatred and condemnation for her acts. Why was it up to him to set up Enid for something that was not really wrong? Enid did it out of love and in the moment of passion with him, they both made love and created a child. Gail lied to him over and over and to boot was sleeping with anyone who would have her. If he did not go along with this lie she created, both of their lives would be over in town.
"I'm so sorry. Gail found out about my indiscretion and it was only then that she tried to seduce one man in revenge, but he turned her down. She has done no wrong."
"Brother Brecklin, if this were a single woman and you were not married, the answer would be more simple. You could just marry her immediately and carry on. The problem is you made a vow before God in this church and you are both expected to honour those vows until death. And unless one of you committed adultery, you have no reason for a divorce. You have just stated your wife only acted out of revenge, but has not committed the act, so divorce cannot apply in your case."
"What should I do?"
"First tell us, this woman who is claiming to carry your child, are you sure you are the father? Perhaps she is not being honest with you."
Wayne had to pause while he felt pangs of regret and anger. Gail was not honest with him. Gail was sleeping around and for all he knew, she was probably with another man as he sat in church. For all he knew, maybe Enid had a bad streak in her as well. Maybe all women were indeed whores like his mother. Maybe what Gail told him to tell the church board was correct all along.
Wayne knew he was not honour-bound by the vows he made in church. By the time he married Gail, he could no longer honour such contracts without permission of the Darkness. He was merely saying words and going along with the ceremony knowing he sold his eternal happiness for that moment of time only to find out it was not worth it. Just the same, he could not divorce that trollop because the powers Pierre held were greater than his. Of course Enid could turn against him for this betrayal, but he reasoned that while they were both part of the Darkness, at least Enid had goodness in her heart. Pierre was just plain evil.
Using his powers, he stared them in the eyes in order to put them in a trance to believe his story and faked tears of remorse.
"My brothers, I have sinned with a woman of ill-reputed. That woman is Enid Kenzie. She supports herself from doing the bidding of men who come to her for favours. I was one of those men. Her baby could belong to anyone."
The stunned panel gasped as they had images fill their minds to verify his story. Suddenly a few of those men remembered in the recesses of their mind when they slept with her or at least have seen her go off with some men in town. They lowered their heads in shame to have to suddenly confess perhaps most of them have sinned with this woman, a shame that they could not allow to be told to the congregation.
"Brother, please, meet with us at the town council later tonight. We have a bigger problem to deal with."
The group disbanded as soon as members started to pour into the church, none the wiser of the intense conversation going on earlier. Gail walked in holding hands with another man and let go of her hand as soon as he noticed Wayne was watching. Gail approached Wayne and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Wayne got up from the pew and walked out leaving her alone at church. Wayne had no intention of setting foot in that building again with that woman. His marriage was over in every way that counted, but he was stuck with her out of legal obligation.
Wayne met with the men later that night and told them his story he told the church board. Members of the church backed up his story. Some of the men in the town also had memories of participating in these acts with Miss Kenzie claiming she bewitched them all. Perhaps she really was a witch and should be dealt with in that manner.
Knowing that only fire could kill Enid and would doom her to an awful fate, he spoke up, "Please, let us not jump to such conclusions about witchery like those people of Salem."
Jethro Mayson, a man with many children who also served as a deacon in the church and a well respected business man spoke up, "Wayne is correct. We must not go off half-cocked, but we must deal with this scandal. If we do nothing, we condone these acts and we will no longer hold the moral high ground. God will surely punish us all if we do not honour His will. The fact is, Miss Kenzie is a woman of ill-repute. We only suspect she has used witchcraft over us. The scriptures do say we must not let a witch live and we must destroy them before they destroy our community. Should she be proven a witch, we must act accordingly or we will invite a curse upon our town."
The men were all in agreement. They would first ask her nicely to move from their town. Should she refuse, she would be given a series of tests to prove whether or not she was a witch.
And they proceeded to go to her home as a group. Jethro stood outside and knocked at her door asking her to come meet with them. He said there have been many rumours spreading about her in town and it was in her best interest to leave.
Enid pointed out to her condition saying it was not a good time for her to move while she is with child. Besides, this was her home. That only made the crowd angry. Proof that she was an immoral woman. Proof that it was no longer a rumour about her pregnancy, but a fact they could no longer hide. And in their minds, proof that this scandal could involve any one of them. She had to go, proof of witch or not.
The men left her alone that night, but would come back at least once every few weeks to talk her into moving, offering her money for the property, offering to help her out of town. All they did was make her stubborn streak kick in. She did not even want to think about leaving just yet, not until her child was born. She told them she would do as they wanted, but they would have to wait. They did not want that child to be born in town because whomever the child resembled would surely cause that man scandal. She did not realise they feared her because of the spell they were under.
Wayne tried to distance himself from the problems of Enid as his home was being finished. Pierre had graciously bought furniture for the new home shipped in from Europe that was handcrafted by the top men with generations of skill. Pierre made it clear that he was to make an honest woman of his daughter and when they moved in he expected they start on his new grandson.
Wayne was so preoccupied with his new life. In a way, he was looking forward to moving into his new home because he no longer had to feign his disgust for his wife. While he was forced to share a room with his wife in the home of Pierre, he planned to have a separate room in his new home. He knew that Gail would have to think about motherhood if she wished to continue having the money she loved, so at least he would have children even if they were not created from love.
Wayne did not want to think about the one child he had that was created from love. There was just too much shame behind it, especially as half the men in town assume it might be theirs. He was not about to clear the air and let them know the truth. He had to be silent about it. The baby was due to come any time soon and he did not want to think about it.
The day finally came for him to move into his new home. He took comfort in the solace of a den stocked with fine brandy and gin, a rare and taboo treat that was banned in town. His wife came to him to remind him that her father expected a grandson and they needed to make good on it. Wayne tipped back a few more drinks that night and stumbled up to Gail's room as she was half asleep, with the smell of another man on her. He was too drunk to care.
He had his way with Gail who was enjoying being taken by a man with such force. Unfortunately, not even her cries of passion could drown out the screaming going on down the field. That night the men from town came to Enid's home to confront her yet again. This time he could hear her cries of help as she was being raped. He had to block it out because he knew he was the cause of all her pain and could not stand to face it. What her mother told him was all true and he was doomed.
Wayne stumbled off to his room to sleep off the alcohol. In the middle of the night, he heard a pounding at the door. Later, a servant knocked on his door.
"Sir, there is that woman, Miss Kenzie, at the door begging for you to see her. She said her baby is coming now and needs help."
"So, you go down and help her. Put her in the stables before she wakes Gail."
The servant went down to help poor Enid to a stall that was cleaned out earlier for a horse they sold. She could have the baby in that clean area with the help of some of the female servant staff. It was a long and painful birthing process that kept Wayne and Gail up most of the night. Suddenly her screams were silent as the cries of a baby could be heard strong and loud. Wayne let curiosity get the best of him and he made his way down to the stables.
Enid was weak and shaking while she was holding a beautiful baby girl she named Agatha. She comforted the baby as she fed her at her breast. Wayne walked in and watched for awhile regretting what may have been. He was not in love with her, but at least she was a decent person, more decent than most of the so-called holy ones in that town. He knows Enid would never hurt him the way Gail did. Even if he was not in love with her, at least it would have been a relationship of mutual respect which is more than he had now.
Just as he stood there, Enid glanced in his direction and asked him to come over, "Wayne, do you want to hold your daughter, Agatha?"
As Wayne picked her up and their eyes met, he fell in love with his daughter in that moment. It was the most beautiful and precious thing in his life. Then he heard his wife call out for him which reminded him further of his fate. His heart grew stone cold. He quickly handed Agatha back to Enid and said, "Don't think that this means anything. I don't owe you anything. I did not ask for the child. I am not in love with you. Take my advice and leave town. Don't approach me for anything again."
Wayne quickly met with his wife that was peering into the stable door. She caught a glimpse of Enid and her child on the hay and led Wayne out, berating him on the way up to the mansion about how he is to have nothing to do with that woman and her child.
Wayne went back to his room as his wife went her way. He realised he could never speak of his daughter again, a daughter created out of love. He could only hope that his wife would eventually give him a son and it would actually be his.
A month had passed since the birth of his daughter. He kept peering over to the home where she lived and did not see any activity. He hoped Enid took his advice and left town. He had no idea she was so weak after childbirth and having trouble. On rare occasions, she had barely enough strength to make it to the door to respond to the mob pounding outside demanding she leaves town. After awhile, she stopped answering the door. She wanted to save all her energy to tend to her daughter.
One night a group of men showed up at her home with torches. They were banging on her door to see if she was still there. They could hear a baby crying and knew the truth. They could not have her stay any longer and busted her door and entered her home where they found her in bed.
Wondering what the commotion was about, Wayne sneaked out to see what was happening. He peeked inside her home and watched through a window and saw a group of men beating up Enid while smashing things in her home.
"You are a witch! We have proof now. We found a black cat roaming around your home sitting near a broom. Its eyes glowed a weird green gleam of the Devil. Either you leave now, witch or you will have to pay the price!"
"I don't know what you are talking about. Please leave, you are scaring my daughter."
"We must insist you leave now. We will even carry you as far as the town line and arrange a wagon going West to take you anywhere you want."
"But I can't travel now. I am too weak and my girl is so frail. I need more time."
"Your time is up. We cannot be held responsible if you are not on the last wagon train out of here."
The mob of angry men left. Enid was inside sobbing. She did not have the strength to do anything, not even use her powers to help her. She used the rest of her powers to cast a spell to protect her child from the evil the men were surely plotting that night. And she was right.
Wayne was too ashamed to go inside to comfort her and her daughter. He went home to eat supper with his wife at a silent table. Gail announced to him while he was nursing his third glass of brandy, "I'm with child."
"Why should I believe you this time?"
"I saw the doctor this afternoon. He gave me these pills to help me stay strong for the baby. He told me it should be due in another 6 months."
"Whose is it?"
"How dare you be so crass with me? It is your child."
"You are a common whore. I know you have been with half the men in town and in Paris. We have been together a total of 3 times since we were married. I think I have good reason to doubt."
"Whatever you believe, that is up to you. What matters is Father wants us to have a child and we have one. As long as you behave, we will continue to have his support."
Gail stormed off to her room leaving him alone to think. He knew he would have to raise a child that belonged to someone else. At that point, nothing really seemed to matter. He wanted to get out and think, so he went to that one restful spot he loved by the pond and near the trees so he could think. He thought no matter what happened, there would be no happiness for him. He may as well divorce Gail and perhaps even hook up with Enid if she would have him. He did not care about the scandal which could follow. At least he could get them all out of town in one piece and they could be a real family.
That opportunity came too late. Wayne heard some loud screams for help and a baby crying in the distance. He ran up to Enid's home and found it was on fire as a crowd of men led by Jethro Mayson was leaving. He crawled into a window from the back to help.
He made his way through the house that was filled with smoke and dark trying to find Enid and Agatha. He eventually came to her bedroom where Enid was pinned to the ground by a burning beam that was too heavy to move.
Weakly from the rubble, Enid whispered to him as he tried to pull her out, "It's too late for me. Get Agatha who is under that table near the bed. If you don't act now, we will all die. My baby deserves a chance, please get her out and promise me you will make sure she has it."
Wayne found Agatha and quickly grabbed her as the house was starting to fall down around them. He did not look back as he had to think of the child. He could hear Enid scream in pain as the fire engulfed her, but it did not last long. He and Agatha made it out alive as the last of the walls fell in on each other into a heap of burning embers.
Wayne tried to comfort the crying child who had just lost her mother. She did not realise she was in her father's hands, a man that was morally responsible for her well-being. He did have every intention of doing right by her. He went home with his daughter in his arms and ordered the servants to set up a place for Agatha to sleep in his room that night.
Gail woke up hearing a baby crying demanding to know what was going on, "Why is that baby here? Why isn't she with that woman?"
"Her mother is dead. Her home was on fire and I rescued her."
"I cannot stay here while carrying a child with that woman's child is under my roof. Until you make other arrangements for her at the orphanage, I am going to stay with Father."
Gail made good on that promise. She left that night and stayed with her father. They took good care of her and saw to it she had everything she needed. As Wayne made a bad choice and hung on to a child the town saw as an orphan that was splitting up a holy union, the pressure was on him to give her up.
Pierre was growing tired of the drama and scandal surrounding his daughter and talked to Wayne while presenting him with an ultimatum, "We both know why you are holding on to this child. Everyone else in town is saying you have a foolish heart feeling sorry for a dead woman's child to the point where you are stressing out your pregnant wife who has left you. Scandals are bad for business. It is bad enough people believe the lie, but if she stays around much longer, the truth will come out and it will be worse. You had better deal with it and do the right thing for all of us."
Wayne knew what had to be done. He used the call he remembered Enid used to summon a representative of the Darkness while in the field on the night of a full moon. Hestia approached him seeing her granddaughter for the first time.
"I know what you have done to my daughter. You may not have directly sent her to the Void, but your actions and lies caused her to be sent there. You are an evil man and I put on you a curse."
"I deserve that and probably more, but that is not why I summoned you. I cannot care for this girl. I need you to take her someplace safe."
"You are more of a coward than I realised. With all that power, you could go anywhere and do anything and take care of your daughter. Why not just divorce that slut of a wife, take your baby and run off somewhere to start a new life?"
"Pierre is a near-immortal. He knows my secret of how I came about my powers and has told me if I do not do exactly as he tells me he will hunt me down and make me suffer."
"I guess you should have heeded my warning. Instead you chased after a shiny pearl that when you break it you only see rotten sand. I saw my daughter in the Void and she wanted me to look after Agatha because after you hurt her and she figured out how you caused all this to happen, she knew you would eventually abandon her child in an orphanage. I am at least glad you had the sense to call me. I will take her and raise her until she is old enough to come back her to pay her respects to the place where her mother's soul was taken. She must do this in order to move on with her life. As for you and this town, I place a curse on all of you."