Part 2 of "In The Woods When First We Met"

213. The Pyes

"May I speak with you, Mrs. Pye?"

He came into the parlor and talked to Josie's mother in hushed tones that Josie strained to hear as she hovered at the top of the stairs.

Dr. Carter was quieter than Morgan Ryland had been, and Josie could only catch bits and pieces of what he said: just a whisper here and there. She caught 'the potential for lasting damage to the intimate area' and 'seemed to spark in her an inclination to self-harm'.

Mrs. Pye's tone was not the same as it had been when Morgan Ryland advised her. She was no longer indignant, but worried.

Josie wanted to storm downstairs and tell her mother that it was a lie, every bit of it. She knew there was no attack, Billy would never do such a thing. Josie believed with every ounce of her being that Anne had tempted Billy into prurient interests. She felt angry with Billy for agreeing to join Anne in her impurity, but she would forgive him. She knew he regretted letting himself be corrupted. This was Anne's fault, not his. Billy was the real victim.

---

After Dr. Carter left, Mrs. Pye called Josie downstairs.

"Josie," she said, sounding very serious. "When you came home with your news of what that girl- Anne- with what she'd done, were you very sure about the details?"

"Yes," Josie said, her eyes wide and innocent.

"You told me Anne was having a baby with the Blythe boy and they were trying to pass it off as Billy's so they could get money from the Andrews'."

Josie nodded. "That's what happened, Mother."

"Did Anne tell you she was expecting?"

"It all came out. See, we were all outside, by the privy, and there was a lot of-"

"Josie, was Anne the one who told you?"

"Not in so many words," Josie said coolly.

"Did Gilbert?"

"No, but-"

"So neither one of them told you anything about it?"

"Mother-"

"Who told you that Anne and Gilbert were having a baby?"

"Ruby," Josie supplied. It was the first honest thing she'd said.

"Well, how did Ruby know of it?" Mrs. Pye asked, sounding tired of the situation already.

"She overheard Anne and Gilbert talking," Josie said, again being truthful.

"Then maybe I better ask Ruby about it instead of you," Mrs. Pye said, standing up.

"No!" Josie said quickly.

Her mother couldn't talk to Ruby. Ruby hadn't heard Anne say she was pretending Billy had made her have a baby- Ruby had heard Anne say that Billy really had made her have a baby.

"Well, I want to know the truth, Josie! When you came home that day, you said Anne was telling everyone at school. Today you're saying Ruby told you something she overheard. Now I don't want to think you have been telling me falsehoods, but you have, haven't you? You lied to me about where you got the information."

"I...I know, but...Ruby's a very reliable witness, Mother. She heard everything! She heard Anne telling Gilbert that she couldn't wear white because of Billy, and..."

Josie realized she'd said that wrong. "I mean...she couldn't wear white because of Gilbert."

"Oh?" Her mother's eyebrows were raised, and Josie felt she was losing the fight.