Sam stared at Johnnie as if he hadn’t understood, but then a smile broke out on his face, and he scooped the boy into his arms. “Johnnie!”
Johnnie giggled again as Sam hugged him.
When Sam looked at me, tears swam in his eyes. “How did this happen?”
“He just needed permission to speak again.” I looked at Hazel, whose face was glowing.
Sam pressed his eyes closed and buried his face into Johnnie’s shoulder.
“Sam is crying,” Hazel whispered to me, her smile falling. “Is he sad?”
“I’ve never been happier,” Sam said to Hazel as he finally set Johnnie down and wiped at his eyes with his shoulders. “I’ve been praying for years that Johnnie would talk.”
“You should have just told him to.” Hazel shrugged. “That’s what I did.”
The kitchen filled with laughter as we marveled at the change. We peppered Johnnie with questions, and he answered them with joy.
Finally, Father told the children it was time to get back to their studies.
“And this time,” Father said to Johnnie with a wink, “you get to answer my questions.”
“I’m going to steal Ally away for a minute,” Sam said as he took my hand and led me to the door.
“Go on,” Father said. “I can manage without her for a bit.”
I stepped outside with Sam, surprised at how chilly it had become. The sky was gray, promising rain, and the wind had picked up.
“I didn’t know if I would ever hear Johnnie’s voice again,” he said, shaking his head in wonder.
I smiled, thankful for this bit of sunshine in our dark world.
But Sam’s countenance shifted, and he asked in a low voice, “Did anyone come about Lulu?”
“No.”
“Is Paddy still here?”
“Yes. At least he was. I haven’t seen him since breakfast ended.” I glanced around the yard and then leaned closer to Sam. “Did you get her there safely?”
Sam nodded and sighed. “I don’t know if she’ll survive, though.She didn’t look good. But I’ll probably never know. That’s the only way we can keep people safe, by not talking about them once they leave our care.”
“How long have you been doing this?”
“She’s the third woman I’ve helped.”
I put my hand on his arm. “I admire you, Sam.”
“It puts us all in danger.” He laid his hand over mine. “Jim has already burnt down one of my buildings, and he’ll do it again if we don’t stop him.”
“How will you do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to try.”
I wanted to tell him to be careful, but there was no point. The history book said Sam would die in a fire in four days. Would Jim be the one to set it again? Because of Lulu? And, if he was, how was I going to stop him a day before he planned to do it?
I needed to see what the book said. There had to be another clue to help me. I just didn’t know what it was yet.
26
