It took Algernon another hour to plod his way home even after they reached the road. By the time they arrived at the gate, clouds had dissipated completely and the afternoon sun shone golden light on the sign over the entrance,The Academy for the Formation of Young Gentlemen.
Gazing at her beloved school, Patience wondered how it appeared to the man behind her. Did he see the carefully tended grounds or the peeling paint? She had no time to ponder the questions; she pushed herself off the horse before he could dismount and ran down the lane toward the house shouting for Norb. There was no response.
He caught her at the kitchen door. “Wait for me. You don’t know what damage has occurred. Let me see to Algernon and I’ll go with you.”
“Yes, he’s been a hero. Do see to him, and check the barn. I’ll be careful.” She didn’t wait for the objection she saw coming. She flew through the kitchen calling the boy’s name. There was no answer. Nor did she find him in the classroom or the front parlor, the walls of which showed water damage. She didn’t have time to study it carefully, she took the stairs two at a time.
She gave her room a quick glance, but of course he wasn’t there. She flung open the door to the boys’ dormitory and stopped, her heart pounding and her stomach threatening to rebel.
“Patience!” Zach’s voice, somewhere in the house, startled Patience from her stupor.
“I’m up here.” She remained riveted, staring into the room, and up at the sky where the roof should be. The damage, beyond her ability to fix and her financial means if she tried, left her dumbfounded.
“Look what— Ah. I see.” Zach came up next to her. “It’s a miracle none of them were injured.” The largest beam had come down between Stump and Walter’s beds, but splinters of wood were scattered everywhere. Mattresses and quilts had sponged up much of the storm’s wrath, but, where water once pooled on the floors, wide damp stains spread in every direction.
“What is beneath us?” he asked.
“The front parlor. I only glanced, but it’s water damaged.”
“We need to cover the roof before it rains again.”
She stared at spreading stains, the ruined roof, and her boys’ belongings, while waves of discouragement crushed her under the immensity of it all. She couldn’t look at him until he nudged her shoulder.
“Look what I found,” he said, calling her attention from the mess. He held up a wiggling little body.
“Hercules!”
“Hungry, half drowned, and weak, but alive and grateful to see us.” The puppy licked his finger as if to agree with his assessment.
“Was Norb—”
“No sign of that rascal. He hasn’t been here. If he had, Hercules wouldn’t have been hiding in the straw in George’s pen.”
“Oh God! We need to retrace our steps.”
“We can’t. Your milk goat is fine, by the way, but in need of milking,” he said nuzzling Herc’s nose with his.
“We have to! Norb—”
Zach straightened up. “Think for a moment. You said yourself we saw no sign of him on the road, no sign of anyone slipping off the track into the marsh, and no sign of anyone being here. Have you considered that he may have never left Fenwick? That he hid when he realized he couldn’t make it and became too afraid to slink back to the Queen’s Barque?”
Hope stirred in her heart. “He may be there when we go back.” She said it as much to convince herself as to convince him. She’d have no peace until she had Norb under her care. “We must go back immediately. He’ll need me and the boys will as well.”
“Yes, but not tonight. The sun is already low in the sky. We can’t risk traveling across that track in the dark no matter how able Algernon is. Tomorrow, we’ll travel in full sun and hope the water will have receded a bit more.”
He thrust Hercules into her arms and turned her gently to the stairs. “Let’s see what we can find for this fellow,” he said.
Herc appeared remarkably fit but undoubtedly hungry.At least I can care for one of God’s creatures… But Zach is distracting me, isn’t he?Another alarm exploded into her maelstrom of thoughts. She spun on the man beside her.
“I can’t stay here with you overnight! That would …” She bit down hard on her lower lip, and breathed deeply to collect herself. “I wouldn’t care for myself. I’m far past a marriageable age already. But my reputation is fragile, and the school could be put in jeopardy. That I couldn’t bear.”
Eyes the color of rain, grey-blue and stormy with emotions she couldn’t identify, bore into hers. The scattering of gold flecks in them, and the lines life carved in the corners, held her in fascination.
“You can trust me,” he said, the deep timbre of his voice vibrating with determination. “But we must stay. The rest is a problem for tomorrow.”
Nothing changed, and yet, at the sound of his voice, everything had. She trusted him—just as she always had—and they would find a way.
* * *
