Page 85 of Castle of Refuge

Edwin took the paper from her and read it, his brows lowering. He looked up. “Where did she get this?”

“From a little boy, she said, about twelve years old. He gave it to her in the woods by her house. He told her that she was to give it to me and not to read it. Then he ran away.”

He reached out and she came to him, wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her close.

“We have to learn where this little girl lives. Will you find out her parents’ names and where her house is? I will get some men to go with me to look for Maris.”

“I will.”

“Don’t worry, darling. This could be a good thing. It seems likely she’s still in this region, and if she’s here, she has not done anything to harm Helena. I believe we have a good chance of finding her soon.” He looked so confident and capable.

“Thank you. I know all will be well.”

Yes, Edwin was capable. But she also knew he was not invincible. He would do his very best, but ultimately she—and Edwin—had to put their trust in God to take care of them. And no matter what happened, they would both be brave in the face of it.

***

Edwin took five of his men and went in search of the little girl’s house once Audrey found out where she lived. It did not take them long to find it. They looked for any evidence of a strange boy who could have come from a neighboring village, and for Maris and Umfrey. They questioned anyone they saw about whether they had seen them, but no one had any information.They could be hiding anywhere—in an abandoned house, in a hollowed-out tree trunk, in an abandoned wolf’s den, or somewhere he hadn’t thought of. Perhaps they had disguised themselves, or they were simply staying hidden and living off animals they were able to kill and eat.

Every minute he did not find and apprehend Maris and Umfrey, he felt as if he was not protecting Audrey. He was failing her. And that was his worst fear—that his weakness would keep him from being able to protect her. That he would be unworthy of her.

He also knew that if she could not teach her little girls, she would be devastated, but it was continuing to prove dangerous for her to teach them, providing Maris a way to get to Audrey. But he could not ask her to give up her lessons. She had said herself that it was the one thing that made her feel as if she was making a difference in the world.

He and his men searched the woods on foot, particularly the wildest part where no one traveled or hunted, overgrown with ferns and bushes and vines, where trees rotted where they fell, mosses and lichens covering them, and where every manner of creature lived—except people.

“I found something,” one of his men called out. Edwin and the other men turned their horses in that direction, leading them by their reins, since the trees were too thick and branches too low-hanging to navigate on horseback.

A tiny area had been cleared out, just big enough for two people to sleep, with a small fire pit in the middle where someone had cooked an animal and left the bones.

“We can stay hidden,” one of the men said, “and watch to see if they come back here.”

“Better if only one or two of us stay, lest they see us and get suspicious,” said another.

Edwin agreed and had two of them stay while he and the others went back to the castle.

The sun had gone down by the time they dismounted in front of the stable. Edwin hurried inside to find Audrey waiting for him.

She embraced him. “I’m so glad you’re back safely.”

“Of course I’m back safely.” He caressed her shoulder. “All is well. I left two of my men to spend the night in the forest. We think we may have found their fire.”

“What makes you think it was them?”

“It was a fresh clearing where two people had slept, and it was not near any roads, so it probably was not travelers.”

“Come. You must be tired.”

“We can sit in the library, unless you want me to change my clothes first.”

“No.”

He must have looked puzzled, because she added, “I like the way you smell when you’ve been riding—like leather and fresh air.”

She said such surprising things. He never had to worry about life with her being dull. She was everything he’d always wanted in a woman, as well as things he didn’t know he wanted.

When they were seated he asked her, “How did your lessons proceed today?”

“Well enough. But I kept thinking about how Maris was able to get that letter to little Clarice. I don’t like that she was that close to her, or to any of my students.”