The Golden Penrod: Part 5

The Golden Penrod
By Darjeeling

Part Five

The early evening air was sharp and nippy. Nevaeh nervously looked away from the heavy, bearded peasant as he helped her into the carriage. Even after she was settled in the seat he stood outside the open door, trying to make visual contact with her and showing all four of his teeth in a terrible grin.

Nevaeh was beginning to feel faint from his unwanted attention and choking aroma of barnyard manure and stale sweat. She bravely looked directly into his eyes and with a tight smile said, "I thank you, sir, for your kind help. Please excuse me, as I have a long trip ahead of me and must leave now."

The man reluctantly closed the door and fastened the latch. "It is a pleasure, miss," he answered, putting his dirty face to the window. "I would like to see you again when you return, if you do not mind," he went on in a surprisingly shy tone, looking down.

"Well...I do not know when I will be home again," Nevaeh said politely. "I suppose we will have to see what happens." Despite her revulsion, she could not bring herself to be rude to this unwashed yet caring stranger.

"Lovely!" he said directly into the small passenger cab, covering the poor girl with a dense cloud of stinking breath. He gave Nevaeh's upper torso a farewell leer and then winked at her. He stepped back and shouted to the driver to begin the journey. As the carriage pulled away, Nevaeh heard him call to her, "When you get back, just ask around for Devon Cornwall! I will be waiting, my dear!"

Nevaeh wearily leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. She felt a touch of guilt for not telling her mother she was making this trip, but Mrs. Covington worried about her only child enough already. She would assume, when Nevaeh failed to show at home for dinner, that she was staying with Catherine Trolle. Nevaeh often stayed with her widowed friend for days at a time to ease some of her loneliness. The daylight hours were filled with long, meaningful conversations and recipe swaps; at night Nevaeh tried to ignore the loud groanings and gruntings emanating from behind the closed door of the bedroom Catherine shared with her dear Richard.

Feeling exhausted and dreading the long journey ahead of her, Nevaeh allowed herself to nod off. As she slipped into an uneasy sleep, images of John Hayes appeared. He was dancing saucily on the filthy floor of a pub, dressed as a barmaid and surrounded by hooting, appreciative men. She trembled as John stopped dancing and shouted, "Neaveh, look! I have joined The Village Idiots!" Asshat the wizard suddenly stepped up to put a piece of money in John's bodice, which was overflowing with gargantuan breasts. As if he were able to see her, he pointed and said, "Look out, Nevaeh, you will hurt yourself!" The words echoed loudly in Nevaeh's mind. John Hayes continued pointing and shouting, and was soon joined by Asshat and the other pub patrons. She cried out in her sleep as the men laughed and yelled at her that she was going to hurt herself. Asshat hopped up and down shouting, "Ja! Ja!", and only calmed down when his lederhosen split.

Now Nevaeh could feel someone punching her in the face. She panicked and mumbled in her slumber as she tried desperately to climb out of the dream. She felt herself rising from the nightmare, her eyes slowly opening as her poor face continued being assaulted.

It took several moments before Nevaeh realized that the carriage was traveling at high speeds over very rough terrain, and her breasts were furiously bouncing from the force of it and pummeling her face. She managed to wrestle them into submission with both hands and squeeze them back into her top and fix the lacings. Her face colored as she remembered that she had forgotten to cover them again after they were unleashed at the village market.

"Good heavens!" she said aloud, humilated. "That is why that man wanted to see me when I return. He thinks I am a strumpet without morals!" She wiped the remains of sleep from her eyes and sadly resettled herself. "But it made not a bit of difference to John Hayes. He has no interest in my body. He has Teh Gay!" Nevaeh's eyes burned from the threat of tears and she turned her eyes to the uncovered window to seek a distraction from her heartache.

She blinked at the bright sun over the hills. "Why, I have slept all night! We must be nearly at our destination!" Despite the anxious and painful hours she had spent in the carriage, she was beginning to feel excited about her quest to find The Golden Penrod.

In a few short minutes the carriage began passing houses and shops, and soon slowed to a stop. Nevaeh picked up her bag from the floor and waited for the driver to open the door. He soon did so, and looked disappointed when he saw that his passenger had rearranged her clothing.

After Nevaeh had paid the driver for his services, she took in her surroundings. Madison was a beautiful little town with neat shops lining the streets and friendly citizens walking past, several of whom greeted her warmly and wished her a good morning.

She went into a small general store and looked around. She wanted to take something home to John Hayes, a wedding gift for them to share after he had been cured of Teh Gay. She spied a selection of liquor bottles on the shelves behind the counter.

"Could you recommend a bottle of spirits that a gentleman would enjoy?" she asked the tired-looking woman behind the counter. "It's a wedding gift," she added, "so I'd like something of the best quality."

"This one is a treat," the woman answered in a raspy voice, turning and plucking a bottle of rum from the shelf. "Any gentleman of taste would enjoy it. Not too many good men, I'm afraid, but at least we can have a good drink, eh?" she smiled.

Nevaeh laughed. "The man who will receive this is a treasure." Her eyes misted over. "We have had trouble," she said, "but the future will be better. I love him dearly." The woman smiled. "Good for you, dear, and good luck with that man of yours. And if he has a brother, father or uncle, just send him my way." Both women shared a bonding chuckle as Nevaeh handed over a few coins to pay for the rum. They said their goodbyes and Nevaeh began her way out to the street, then stopped in the doorway.

"Could you please tell me where to find the church in this village?"

The woman motioned to the left. "Just a ways down there. Service starts in about ten minutes, you have time to get there."

Nevaeh waved her thanks and hurried out the door. Outside, she stopped to tuck the rum into her bag and started off down the street. She needed to find a room for her stay in Madison but there was no time to search for one now. She had to get to the church and find The Golden Penrod. Her future depended on it.

From a distance, Madison's small church looked quaint and cozy but up close it was exquisite in its architecture. Much planning and workmanship had been put into its attractive high walls and neat hedges lining its yard. Sunlight gave its stained glass windows a holy glow, and even the graves in the backyard added charm to the scene.

Nevaeh slipped through the heavy wooden doors and took a seat in the right back pew. A few worshippers smiled and nodded at her; she responded with the same. She couldn't help but hear the hushed conversations around her, and was alarmed by two woman directly in front of her discussing pirates. A nearby town had been devastated and now Madison was fearing the worst for themselves.

Nevaeh was badly rattled by this talk and was relieved when the parson asked the people to stand for a hymn. She was not familiar with the song but enjoyed the pleasant tones of the others as their voices lifted harmonic praise to the heavens. For the first time since John Hayes had upset her, she began to relax and be confident about the future. "Things will be well again," she thought.

Suddenly, a lone gunshot was heard in the distance. The singing hushed and the congregation began murmering worriedly. Screams could be heard outside, as well as male laughter getting closer to the church.

Nevaeh heard the creaking of the front doors as they opened. Several people near the front turned and gasped, and the parson turned pale and took a step backwards. A woman in the front pew fainted.

Nevaeh smelt the men before they walked past her. Overwhelmed by the strong fishiness leaking from their pores, she nearly collapsed before she even saw the pirates. They walked past her and sauntered up to the poor parson, who looked terrified.

There were more than a dozen pirates, all of them tall and sinister looking. One of them, a swarthy man with a week's worth of stubble, seemed to be the leader. He walked a step ahead of the others and addressed the trembling citizens.

"If that ain't the prettiest singin' I ever heard!" he said to the congregation, bowing dramatically. "You folks know how to greet a bloke, I give you that." He turned to the parson. Putting his arm around the little preacher's shoulders, he assumed an air of chumminess. "This is a nice little place you got here, Reverend. If I thought church would do me any good, this would be the place for me." He released the parson and smiled at him for a moment before striking out with his right arm. One blow, and the preacher was out cold on the floor.

The pirate glared at the horrified congregation. "We came here for money," he growled. "Hand it over, and walk out alive."

The people hurried threw their purses and coins out into the aisle. The pirate who assaulted the parson strutted around in front of the pulpit as his fellow pillagers scooped up the goods. One of them stopped in front of Nevaeh, eyeing the bag she brought from home.

"Give it to me," he snarled.

Nevaeh defiantly pushed it under the pew with her foot. "You will take nothing from me, you filthy bastard," she hissed.

The pirate snorted and reached into his jacket, pulling out a pistol. The congregation shrieked collectively. As he pointed it at Nevaeh, she felt the familiar strainings in her bodice. Miraculously, her bosom exploded in the pirate's face and knocked him off his feet.

This incident drew the attention of the lead pirate, who strolled down the aisle to Nevaeh. His eyes were wide as he stared at her free mounds. Grabbing her, he effortlessly threw her over his shoulder and then snatched her bag from under the pew.

"To the ship!" he shouted. His shipmates hurried after him as he dashed out the doors and ran towards the beach.

"No!" Nevaeh pleaded, near tears. "Please, take my possessions and leave me here. I don't even know you!"

"We can fix that! My name," the pirate chuckled nastily, "Is Evinrude."

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