“Yes!” Mary burst out as she rushed forward. “Yes, we’ll take him.”
Ewan’s mouth dropped open as he stared at his aunt and uncle, the two people who had been kindest to him in his life. But they couldn’t be serious, could they? His uncle had said nothing as of yet.
Slowly, Uncle Aldous glanced at his wife and then back to Donburrow. “Wearetaking him,” he ground out. “He will live with us from now on.”
“You cannot be serious,” Donburrow sputtered, jerking free of Tyndale’s grip and staggering away. “He is mine.”
“Not anymore,” Tyndale said, straightening up. He looked so very big in that moment. Big and safe and almost like he glowed. He was a beacon in a dark night that Ewan wanted to run to. “Let me be clear. Your son is no longer your problem, Donburrow. You are no longer a part of his life or of ours. And if you ever move on that child, if you come near him, you and I will have pistols at dawn and I will shoot you between the eyes without hesitating.”
“Aldous,” Aunt Mary said softly, taking his hand.
He looked down at her. “Your brother or not, I have had enough of the way he treats that child.”
She nodded slowly and then faced her brother. “We are taking him, Stephen. That is the end of the discussion.”
Ewan’s heart was pounding so hard as he stared at his father that he feared those inside could hear it. Donburrow’s face was twisted in a mask of absolute hatred and rage.
“Take him, then,” he spat at last. “I’ve no use for him. But know this—that boy will never be duke. I will make sure that one of my undamaged sons will inherit.”
“We’ll see,” Tyndale said with a shrug. “Butyoushould know that I will fight with every last breath in my body to make sure Ewan gets his due.”
Donburrow’s face was purple now with anger, and he pivoted on his heel and left the room, shouting, “Get my carriage ready and pack my things! I’m leaving!”
Ewan’s lips parted. His father was leaving. Leaving without even saying goodbye to him. Leaving him with his aunt and uncle. Was it true? Could it be happening?
He watched as his aunt turned into his uncle’s arms, heard him whispering to her gently, though he had no idea of the words being said. He pushed to his feet and staggered away, toward the fireplace. His world was spinning, and his stomach rolled, threatening to cast up his breakfast.
“Where could they be?”
Ewan stiffened. That was his cousin Matthew’s voice. It was swiftly followed by Charlotte’s brother Baldwin, who said, “We said we wouldn’t hide in the house. It isn’t fair if they did.”
Charlotte caught her breath as the two boys passed the parlor. She grabbed Ewan’s hand again. “Come on.”
He followed, hardly feeling his feet on the ground as he stumbled after her. His eyes were so filled with tears that he could hardly see, but somehow he trusted Charlotte to figure out where to go. At last she stopped and he looked around. She’d taken him to the lakeside, back behind the little building where his uncle kept the boats they rowed out into the middle of the lake to fish. She plopped down on the lawn, seemingly not caring that her dress would be stained. He did the same, numb as he plucked at the blades of grass.
“You’ll live here now,” she said after what felt like a silent eternity when he was trying to gather himself.
He nodded slowly. Yes, that was true. He would live here with Matthew and his aunt and uncle. They’d be kind to him, he knew that.
“That’s better, isn’t it?”
He dug into his pocket, trying to find the little notebook he carried to answer questions. It wasn’t there. He glanced up at her, feeling the color go out of his cheeks.
“It’s not there?” she asked. He shook his head. “That’s all right. I’ll just ask you yes or no questions, Ewan.”
He shrugged one shoulder, unable to keep the heat out of his cheeks. It was times like these that he hated not being able to talk. When it was obvious he was different. Only Charlotte really didn’t seem to judge.
“Wait, I have an idea!” Charlotte said, clapping her hands together.
He nodded to encourage her. It was impossible not to.
“What if we made up our own language? We could make up signs for letters and for words, so it won’t matter if you have your papers or not. You could talk with your hands.”
He hesitated. Right now he could hardly think of anything but his father’s abandonment and the future that he didn’t fully know anymore. But Charlotte was so lit up, and Ewan caught his breath at the sight. Girls were often a foreign thing to him, he avoided them whenever possible.
But this girl was…different.
He found himself nodding again, and she lunged across the distance between them and hugged him unexpectedly. He couldn’t move as she did it, just sat there frozen as she squeezed him and then flopped back into her original position.
