“Brava!” Silas called with an added burst of applause when Helen curtsied, her cheeks a blazing bright red and her gaze glowing as she gave him a hesitant wave of her own.
But the actors and audience could not be contained any further. They converged on each other, and Silas made his way to the trio, giving Griffith an embrace before taking Leah in his arms. Helen stood still long enough to allow him to wrap one arm around her and hold her close, though she stepped away as her aunt and uncle joined them.
“You were brilliant,” said Silas as Leah recited through all her lines again, reenacting the terrifying face she used as the evil fairy.
“Excellent!” added Christopher.
“Thank you, Uncle,” said Helen, giving him and his wife an embrace in turn.
“Did you truly write that yourself?” asked Ruth.
Tucking her hands behind her, Helen gave a faint nod, the color in her cheeks deepening. “With Miss Delmonte’s assistance.”
Leah wriggled in Silas’s hold, and he placed her back on the ground, where she sprinted after her friends in the audience.
“We are so glad you invited us to attend,” said Ruth with a smile for her niece, though she slanted Silas a narrowed look.
With a sigh, Silas shook his head and walked away. Better to keep some distance if he wished to hold his tongue against such slander. As if he’d be so petty as to ban the Slades from the play.
But then he was once more surrounded by visitors he hardly knew, most of whom were deep in conversation with each other or admiring their children’s efforts. Silas was not one to avoid crowds, but in his present state of exhaustion, he was in no mood to make conversation. And with an array of refreshments at their disposal, Silas knew his guests wouldn’t be leaving quickly.
His gaze fell to his salvation. Making his way through the crowd, Silas drew up next to Hatch, who watched the group with his usual stoicism. But there was something different in his expression. Hatch rarely showed much of any emotion, so it was not an overt display as much as an absence of that hard edge to the pull of his lips and brow.
“If I didn’t know you better, Hatch, I would say you are thrilled to be attending a children’s play.”
The young man’s solemn eyes turned to meet his, and Hatch’s brows rose in as much of a display of disbelief as he was wont to show.
“You don’t fool me,” said Silas. “If you were truly unhappy to be here, you would’ve snuck away the moment the applause sounded.”
Hatch’s gaze lowered, and he stood silent for a moment when one corner of his lip ticked upward. “I like being at Stowell Cottage.”
As Hatch would appreciate a grand display of emotion at that pronouncement, Silas held his smile in check, no matter how it wanted to burst free of its restraints. The young man had experienced far too little happiness and comfort in his life, and knowing that he had brought a modicum of joy to Hatch filled Silas to bursting.
Nodding, Silas turned to stand beside the young man, clapping him on the shoulder. Silence followed that, and Silas mused about what had encouraged his partner to become so garrulous this afternoon.
“Mr. Hatcher.” Miss Delmonte appeared a moment later, teacup and plate in hand, offering them up to the young man. “Just as you like it.”
Hatch shifted from foot to foot as he took the proffered refreshment. “Thank you, Miss Delmonte.”
“My pleasure, Mr. Hatcher.” The lady smiled at him, giving his arm a brief pat as Silas glanced between the pair of them.
“None for me?” he asked with a smile.
Miss Delmonte gave him an arched look. “Certainly not. Of the two of you, he is my favorite.”
Silas gave a mock gape. “Your loyalties are so easily turned?”
Giving that a heavy sigh, Miss Delmonte grinned at Hatch. “When the children are peevish, I send them to their room. Ought I to do the same for their father?”
“Perhaps,” said Hatch. “He has been working himself up all week and ought to retire to bed posthaste.”
Silas blinked at that, unsure if he was truly hearing the hint of humor in Hatch’s tone or if it was a figment of his imagination.
“He is quite slow-witted at present,” said Miss Delmonte with a look of feigned concern.
“Enough, you two,” Silas said with a laugh, shaking his head. “But I do wish to offer my sincerest congratulations on a job well done. The play was a success.”
Gathering her hands in front of her, Miss Delmonte beamed, her gaze straying to the children with unrestrained pleasure. “They have worked very hard on it.”
