Today in Salem: The beggar Sarah Good is holding her clay pipe close and peering into its bowl, turning it slowly. She’s had no tobacco for weeks, not so much as a fleck. She was hungry for it at first; hungrier than she was for food. But now she just misses its comfort.
She brings the bowl to her nose and inhales gently. The faint scent of tobacco is too wispy to fill her lungs, but it’s still there. She thinks about her life before prison. Was it really any better than this? Back then she’d had to beg for tobacco, never mind food, clothes, and sometimes even a place to sleep. And not just for herself, but her children, too.
Baby Mercy is gone now. But who will look out for Dorcas? She’s only 4 and in prison, too, having confessed to being a witch herself. Her father is a drunkard and a rogue, and once Sarah has met with the hangman, who will protect the girl from the same fate?
Sarah hits the pipe against the stone wall. She can barely bring herself to think about Rebecca Nurse’s reprieve. Rebecca has kin who are fighting for her. She has a long history with the church, and respect from her neighbors. Sarah has none of those things. She hits the pipe again, harder this time. It’s old, made of clay, and well used. But it doesn’t break. It never will.