She must have overheard Elsa’s heated conversation with Wesley and Jane over their careless handling of the specimens and then come inside once Elsa left with Agnes. She might even have done it because she felt compelled to create order for its own sake, not to make life easier for Elsa.
Regardless of the motive, Elsa was as grateful as she was in awe.
CHAPTER
18
NEW YORK CITY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1926
Danielle was not all right.
The thought ran circles in Elsa’s mind, even as she handed Mr. Miller dissection tools in the ornithology lab at the American Museum of Natural History. She did her job fine, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her friends.
Yesterday, she had spent the morning at the museum assisting a researcher, so after arriving at Elmhurst after lunch, she’d worked late to tag and catalog another hundred birds. Luke and Tom had stayed, too, so they could give her a ride back to the city. Before they left the estate at dusk, they’d checked on the Petrovics.
Danielle had not been willing to see anyone, not even Barney. In itself, that would not have been cause for concern. What alarmed Elsa was the moaning and banging coming from inside her room.
“That’s the rocking chair you hear hitting the wall, not her head, thank goodness,” Tatiana had explained. “Mr. Field hasn’t given us permission to stay. She didn’t take the news well, but her moans have quieted, and she’s replaced them with talkingto herself, which is a good sign. It means she’s trying to use her logic to help her emotions understand, as her tutor taught her to do. Still, such a difficult transition is a great deal for her to process.” She spared only a few more moments with her visitors before begging leave to try again to console her daughter. From the looks of her, she’d been trying for some time.
As much as Elsa wished she could help, she hadn’t been able to. During the ride back to Manhattan, she and Luke and Tom had put their heads together on what, if anything, they could possibly do for these vulnerable people Birdie had so wanted to take care of. Aside from building a new cottage when the time was right, and apart from finding the aviary before time ran out, all they could do was pray. And so they had, right there on Eighty-First Street, where Luke idled along the curb in front of the Beresford. The prayer was brief but sincere. Elsa had asked God for solutions to become clear. But remembering what Tatiana had said about God’s presence in times of pain, she asked Him to be with the Petrovics, too.
Elsa still didn’t have all the answers, but she was trying to trust the One who did.
“Miss Reisner,” Mr. Miller prompted, and she handed him the scalpel.
Absently, she watched him work, her mind turning over the words Tatiana had left with her.“Allher life, I’ve tried to protect my daughter from things that upset her. But I can’t protect herfrom change forever. Since we can’t avoid it, I’ve got to find a way to help her overcome it instead.”
Elsa had carried that truth home with her and pondered it still. Change was inevitable, and even Jesus had said we’d have trouble in this world. She could not avoid it in her own life, either, as her weak leg reminded her every day. She couldn’t avoid it. But what would it look like to overcome it? That was another riddle she still hadn’t solved.
At last, the dissection ended. After cleaning the tools and storing them in the proper trays, Elsa returned to her own office.
To her surprise, Luke was already there, a paper cone in his hand. She was even more surprised by how glad she was to see him. She’d seen him last night, after all.
A small smile hooked into his cheek. “I found this little guy rolling around in the truck this morning.” He handed her the cone.
Elsa peeked inside and found an indigo bunting. “Thank you for bringing him.”
“Did you decide whether you’re going back to Elmhurst tomorrow?”
She brushed a cat hair from her sleeve. “Yes, but not until after dinner, since this week is so busy here at the museum. I’ve convinced Ivy to go with me.”
“Just the two of you?”
“Yes. She’s been dying to see the place, and my work was so interrupted yesterday that I decided to return in the evening. I assume the family won’t be there then. Mr. Spalding gave me a key before he left yesterday. We’re going to make a night of it and sleep there. We’ll bring our own sleeping bags and pillows, of course. I’ll be able to get more done early in the morning, too, before any relatives come back.”
Luke folded his arms, feet planted wide. “Elsa, are you serious?”
“It will be a grand adventure! Ivy gets to take some time off during the week since she’s worked a few weekends with special events.”
“It’s in the middle of nowhere with no telephone service and no electricity.”
“That’s the adventure part. Ivy can’t wait to pretend she’s living in a historical era before all of that had even been invented.” She leaned against her desk. If she had more than one chair in her office, she’d sit and invite him to do the same.
“How will you get there?”
“Train.”
