David climbed beside her but remained unusually quiet. Several moments passed before he finally spoke.
“Miss Amelia?” he asked, staring at his shoes. Amelia waited patiently. “Does the thing on me make me different?”
Amelia frowned in confusion. “The thing on you?” she repeated carefully as she searched his face.
Then understanding struck her with painful clarity. He meant the scar. Her stomach tightened immediately. Of all the questions she had expected, this was not one of them.
Oh, poor child.
“Oh, David,” she said softly as she turned fully towards him. The protective instinct that surged through her was so fierce it nearly startled her. If anyone had placed that doubt inside his head, she was prepared to march through the house and confront them personally. Possibly with a broom.
“Your scar does not define who you are,” she said firmly as she took his small hand. “People are not their scars any more than they are their hair or their shoes.”
David considered this carefully. “Not even big scars?” he asked.
Amelia shook her head. “Not even enormous scars that can be seen from miles away,” she replied. A faint smile tugged at his mouth. Encouraged, Amelia continued. “A scar is only the past. It does not tell us whether a person is kind or brave or clever.”
David looked relieved, though not entirely convinced.
“My uncle says brave people are stubborn,” David said thoughtfully.
Amelia laughed softly. “Your uncle would know.” That earned her a proper smile. Amelia squeezed his hand again. “Do you know what I see when I look at you?” she asked. David shook his head. “I see a boy who rescued a kitten, survives dreadful porridge, and somehow manages to keep both a dog and a cat devoted to him.”
David straightened slightly. “Shadow likes me best.”
“I suspected as much,” Amelia replied gravely. “Cats have notoriously questionable judgment, so you should take it as a compliment.”
David giggled, and the sound eased some of the worry knotting her chest.
Then his smile faded again. “Did my mother do it?” he asked quietly. The question was so soft she almost missed it.
Amelia’s heart broke a little. She chose her next words with great care. “There are some things you will understand better when you are older,” she said gently as she brushed a lock of hair from his forehead.
David looked down at his hands.
“But I can tell you something important.” He glanced back up at her. “Your uncle loves you very, very much.”
David blinked. “He does?” Amelia nearly laughed. The fact that Gabriel’s affection could occasionally be difficult to detect was perhaps his greatest flaw.
“Yes,” she said firmly. “Your uncle would move mountains if it kept you safe.”
David seemed to consider that possibility seriously. “A whole mountain?” he asked.
“Possibly two,” Amelia replied.
The little boy smiled again, and relief flooded through her. “And no one is ever going to hurt you again,” she added as she squeezed his shoulder. “Your uncle will make certain of that.” David nodded slowly. Amelia hesitated before adding, “And so will I.” The promise left her mouth before she fully considered it. Yet the moment she said it, she knew she meant every word.
David leaned against her side, looking comforted at last. Amelia wrapped an arm around him and stared down the corridor. The simple gesture filled her with an unexpected sense of purpose. For most of her life, she had needed rescuing. Now, somehow, she had become someone capable of protecting others instead.
The realization made her throat tighten.
How am I supposed to leave in a week’s time? Valerie needs confidence. David needs reassurance.
Amelia had arrived believing she was running away from her life, only to discover a place where she finally mattered.
She pressed a kiss to the top of David’s head and smiled faintly. The children needed her. That much was becoming impossible to deny.
As for their uncle…
