“They left persecution and became the persecutors.” James shook his head, his eyes tight. “When the witch hunts started it became clear that no one was safe. When Rebecca Nurse was arrested, that was when I began to think it might be time to leave Salem. Telling my father and my wife Rebecca had been arrested was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.”
“Why?”
“Because it meant that the madness was inescapable. When we arrived back at my father’s house I finally told him what had happened to Rebecca. When I finished he said nothing. For the longest time, not a word, and my father was never short for words. He stared at his work desk as if he didn’t recognize it. He stood up and paced the room, there and back, there and back. These people are superstitious and they frighten me, he sai
