Chapter 19: Lady’s Rake

Friday, 20 June 1969

Thursday had been a load-in day as the troupe moved into a tent in the park in Keswick. There was no time for anything else before their opening performance in the tent. There was an annual religious gathering in July and the village rolled out the red carpets and half a dozen tents for meetings. They were equipped much better than the local theatre.

Wayne and Judith got back to their hotels late—much, much too late for more than a kiss goodnight. They’d had no time for any loving, but Wayne had great hopes for Friday afternoon.

“Boating? That sounds like fun.”

“I’ll make a picnic. You bring the wine we didn’t drink on the mountain. I have a new two-piece bathing costume. Do you have something to swim in?” she asked.

“I’ll come up with something. A two-piece?”

“An itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny...” Judith sang.

Wayne answered with a kiss.

He’d slept until nearly noon, but no one complained since he’d worked all day the previous day and then reset lights after the show. He rummaged around in his suitcase for something to wear swimming and came across a pair of gym shorts. He couldn’t figure out why he’d brought them, but it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. He put them on and then pulled his khaki shorts on over them and a black Measure for Measure t-shirt. He looked at his walking stick and shrugged. Hiking was a time for the walking stick. Boating wasn’t. He grabbed his knapsack with the bottle of wine in it and headed for Judith’s hotel.

The pale blue sundress she wore came to about mid-thigh. It had a small white collar, but no sleeves. She looked delicious.

“I brought a couple of towels in case we want to find a secluded spot to lie out,” Judith said.

“Are you wearing it?”

“Yes, but I lied.”

“Not so itsy-bitsy?”

“Oh, yes, it is. But the polka-dots are blue.”

“Mmm. Let’s find that secluded spot.”

Judith led him to the docks. They paid six shillings to release the lock on one of the rowboats and as soon as they had their bags loaded, they shoved off. Judith sat in the stern and Wayne faced her as he set to rowing.

“I can’t see where I’m going.”

“You don’t need to. I’ll direct you. We’ll go out past the island.”

“Which island?”

“Oh, this one and that one. Pull over a little to your left.” Wayne followed the instructions, guiding the little boat gently across the water. They circled Friar’s Crag and as soon as they were out of sight of the boat dock, Judith pulled her sundress over her head. Wayne dropped the oars.

“Oh, my Goddess!” he exclaimed. “You are so beautiful.”

“It’s so tiny. I feel more naked in it than without it.”

“Be my guest.”

“Thou foul fiend. When do I get to see what you’ve got on under there?”

“When we get someplace stable so I can move around. Where to now, m’lady?”

Judith continued to guide him by placing her bare feet on his thighs and stroking the direction she wanted him to turn. All the while she spoke of the legends of the area. As they rounded the next island, Judith told him to just drift a while and to get his clothes off. He started to comply and she pulled his knapsack to her.

“This is a better time for that wine,” she said. “Where’s the screw?”

“Huh?” Wayne had his shirt over his head.

“Corkscrew. To take the cork out.”

“Cork? Shit! I’ve never had a bottle of wine with a cork.” Judith started laughing at him.

“What? Do you expect me to chew it out with my long pointy teeth?” She laid the bottle down and crawled toward Wayne. Laughing at the little mistake, she reached for the snap on Wayne’s shorts. “Oh, look. There’s an interesting ghost story. This is Lord’s Island where the Earl of Derwentwater once lived. Unfortunately, in 1719 the Earl threw his lot in with the Jacobeans and was executed for his pains. The army came to get his wife as well and she fled the island, throwing her jewels into the water rather than let them capture them. She swam to shore and climbed that sharp gully up Walla Crag. It’s now known as the Lady’s Rake. She’s seen climbing the cliffs on moonlit nights, some say. Now lift up so I can get these off you.”

Wayne stood precariously, in the rocking boat as Judith pulled his shorts down. She grabbed both the khakis and his gym shorts. Wayne was startled and grabbed to catch the gym shorts, overbalancing and stepping back into the rowing bench. He fell back, unable to catch himself before he hit his head on the prow of the boat and lost consciousness.

Judith panicked. She crawled over the bench, nearly tipping the rowboat over as she reached Wayne and attempted to wake him. When she touched him, she was drawn into his dream, seeing the Lady climb the rake. Still, she forced herself to function. She grabbed the wine. She had no choice. With a muttered prayer, she willed the cork out of the bottle and poured the wine into Wayne’s mouth.

... a witch! Wayne gasped back to awareness. He bolted upright, a sharp sting as the necklace he wore caught on the edge of the boat, cut into his neck, and then snapped. He saw the woman in front of him, so familiar. Behind her, soldiers on the shore. But the woman wasn’t the Lady and the soldiers faded. Wayne shook his head, flashes of the dream still playing in his head, superimposing them over what he knew should be reality. He focused on Judith and then on the bottle of wine.

“How... ?” Judith quickly bit the cork between her teeth.

“I said I’d use my teeth,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“You ... I ... No.” Wayne pulled his shorts up and fastened them. “You’re one of them.” Behind her he could see shapes of the others he’d dreamed about. They were everywhere. Wayne pushed himself to his feet, standing in the rocking boat, his head still swimming.

Swimming. He looked at the water and dove. Judith screamed.

Wayne surfaced a few feet away.

“What are you doing,” Judith shouted at him. “Baby, come back to the boat. Please.”

“I’ll just leave now,” he said, striking out for the shore.

“But what about me?” she called. He rolled over onto his back and looked at her, but not at her. There were so many of them.

“You’re a witch. Fly.”

“No,” Judith cried as she watched him swim to shore. Every few strokes he would change direction slightly as if trying to avoid something in the water. She watched in tears as he made the shore and ran toward town.

Judith looked at the bottle of wine, still in her hand. She pushed herself up to move to the rowing seat. As she did, she caught a glint of gold hanging from the gunwale. A chain. She followed it and on the bottom of the boat found her pentacles.

“Oh no!” she gasped. Wayne was unprotected. Memories must be flooding his mind with no context. She reached for the charm and an electrical jolt purged her mind of its controls. She’d been pushing him toward Rebecca to make a new tool. She’d been unprotected and under The Barber’s spell. What else had she done?

Wayne’s equilibrium was off. He stumbled as if he were two people going different directions. What happened to me? I have to get my head together. He jumped to his left as he saw a ragged man with a walking stick come out of the shadows and then simply disappear in the sunlight. He made it to the Walpole and to his room without drawing attention to himself. His shorts were nearly dry by the time he got to his room, and all the way back he’d simply willed people not to notice the shirtless boy running through the street. He pulled his wallet out and rolled the contents up in his towel then laid them out on the dresser to finish drying. He was exhausted. At least in his room, no visions seemed to be interfering with his eyesight.

He rubbed his head and found a knot on the back of it where he’d hit the prow of the boat. That was going to hurt when he put his helmet on tonight for the first act. He really needed a rest. He locked the door and closed the blinds and was asleep in seconds.

“Wakey-wakey,” Jim called as he knocked on the door. “Call in thirty minutes.”

“Thank you, thirty,” Wayne acknowledged the time he’d have to get awake and down to the tent for tonight’s performance. He felt okay now. Just a little groggy from an afternoon nap, but the surreal events of the afternoon were no longer haunting his mind. He just needed time to think, that was all. He’d have to stay away from Judith as much as possible.

And not talk about her being a witch.