“Wall, this’s a fust,” he said. “Y’all owe me three dollars, Miz Jinny. I cain’t recall th’ last time y’all owed me.”

Anna gasped and went pale at the enormous sum, but Jinny just laughed. “With m’niece here t’ he’p with the potions, reckon shoe’ll be on t’other foot agin next time,” she smirked, and pulled a cloth pouch out of her overalls pocket, counting out quarters and fifty-cent pieces.

Then four of the boys were loaded up with purchases, and the little parade marched out the door and down the street to the establishment marked “Burra Burra Company Store,” where Susie, the mule, was tied up next to a water trough. The boys loaded the wagonbed with the goods and marched back to the mercantile, while Aunt Jinny took another basket out from under the wagon seat, and went into into the Company store. She came right back out again.

“Matt an’ Josh ain’t there,” she told Anna, “which means they’s prolly still jawin’ with Cavenel, or the like. I’ll mosey over an’ jest put m’ear in the door. Y’all should stay here, keep an eye on th’ wagon. No point in puttin’ temptation in th’ path’a the weak.”

“Yes’m,” said Anna, who was more than willing to sit on one of the benches in front of the store and watch all the people going by.

“I’ll be back quick,” her aunt said, with an odd glance up and down the street, as if she was expecting to see something or someone unpleasant. “But iffen someone comes a-botherin’ y’all, don’t be afeared t’ run in th’ store. Thomas Cooper’s a good man, even iffen he do work fer th’ Company, an’ so’s ev’body thet works fer ’im. They won’t let nobody pester y’all.”

“Yes’m,” Anna replied, wondering what on earth had prompted this pronouncement from her aunt. But she didn’t get a chance to answer, as her aunt went hurrying up the street and turned a corner, out of sight.

12

WHATEVER it was that Jinny was worried about, it didn’t materialize while Anna sat there. And if the air hadn’t been so nasty, even with her shields, she’d have been willing to sit there all day and watch the people going by. This wasn’t like sitting on her porch in her raggedy old clothing, looking at the dirt street in front of her Pa’s house, near to invisible as a human being could have been. No, she sat carefully upright, legs crossed at the ankle, hands settled in her lap, and nodded “hello” to people who noticed her and saluted her. It was nice to be noticed. It was even better when they didn’t look at her with expressions that told her they felt sorry for her because she was so sickly, or so raggedy.

She wondered if Jolene ever came here. She was surely powerful enough to shield herself from any of the effects of the poisons in the earth and air. But there was no good way to find out if they knew about her here in Ducktown—she couldn’t exactly go up to random strangers and ask about her by name. On the one hand, she could easily imagine Jolene strolling down Main Street, taking great pleasure in all the admiring glances (or jealous ones) she’d get simply from being such a beautiful woman. But on the other hand—it was hard to actually predict what she’d take pleasure in, given she didn’t act like anything or anyone Anna had ever met before.