"Whipped you? With a belt?"
"No, a whip. It tore up my back something awful. Helena and John got it even worse than I did."
"What did he do that for?"
"Mr. Pryde saw them kissing. I saw them too."
"Kissing? That's it? This guy was a real hard-ass."
Samantha giggled at that. "I guess he was."
Uncle Hector pressed her tighter against him and then looked in her eye. "Lucy, I promise I won't ever do anything like that to you. I'd never hurt you."
"I know, Uncle Hector." They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Then Samantha asked, "When we go back home, can Prudence come with us?"
"I don't know, sweetheart. That will be up to Prudence. And Miss Brigham. She's not sure about taking the other children over to the mainland. She's afraid of them being separated."
"Oh, I see." Samantha had to admit it made sense. The others had been together for over three hundred years now, even if they didn't remember it. "But if they say yes, can she come with us? Please? She's my best friend in the whole world and I don't want to lose her."
Uncle Hector thought it over for a few minutes. He finally tossed his cigarette away and nodded. "Sure, kiddo. She can come if she wants."
"Thank you, Uncle Hector!" Samantha leaned up to kiss his cheek. "You won't regret it."
"But listen, it might be hard for her to make the transition. There will be a lot of things she doesn't understand, even more than you."
"I know." Samantha thought of Prudence's rejection of girls wearing pants or cutting their hair short; she would have a lot to adapt to on the mainland. "I'll help her."
"And I'll help you."
"Right." They lapsed into silence again. Samantha looked up at the church and then smiled. "You think Miss Brigham will want to come?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"She really likes you."
"You think so?"
Samantha nodded. "Haven't you seen how red her face gets when she's around you? And the way she was leaning against you earlier, it was like a dog marking its territory."
"You seem to know a lot for a girl who's spent five years in this religious commune."
Samantha shrugged. "I guess it's just old memories. Did I have any boyfriends on the mainland?"
"Not that I know of, but there were some boys you had a crush on. There was this musical group, the Backstreet Boys. You had their posters all over your room. I forget which one was your favorite, but whenever we were on the boat, you'd make me play their CDs. Made me want to throw the damned stereo overboard."