 |
| ...urged the noble horse into a canter in desperate search of Great Aunt Eliza. |
Surprisingly, she saw some tangled, brown hair instead of woolly, grey hair.
She ripped off the covers.
"Felix King. What on earth are you doing in Eliza's bed?" she demanded of her son.
Felix yawned and pulled the covers back over his ears.
"It was too cold in here for her last night. so we traded places." he mumbled and drifted back to sleep.
Janet paled, her conscience suddenly pricking her.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" she mumbled to herself and rushed down the kitchen stairs. She flew over to the cot and ravaged around.
Eliza's belongings were gone and Janet's heart skipped a beat.
She burst into tears.
Hetty, who was standing by the stove warming up the lambs bottles, rushed over to Janet's side, perplexed indeed to see her sister-in-law in such a tizzy.
"Janet, what is the matter?" she asked patting Janet's shoulder.
Janet looked at her with glassy eyes. "Felix and Eliza traded places last night. She heard Alec and I talking about her and now she's packed up and gone!"
Hetty gasped, her eyes wide with surprise and worry.
"Oh Hetty, we said some awful things about her." she said, her face full of tears and guilt.
Hetty gulped, clearly at a loss of words.
Janet spilled into fresh tears. "I don't know what overcame me." she sniffed, wiping her eyes.
Hetty frowned. "I don't know what in heaven's name came over you, either. Did you know that she was the one who was bold enough out of all the Ward's to stand up to your father and let you marry Alec?" she asked her sister-in-law, her dark, round eyes flashing with anger.
Janet reddened. "I didn't know that. She did that for me?" she asked, embarrassed. "She came to Alec and I for comfort in her old age...and now Iv'e thrust her into the cold!" she cried, tears spilling over her flaming cheeks once again. Janet turned around and faced Hetty. She grabbed her sister-in-law's hand and looked into her eyes.
"Hetty," she stated firmly, though her voice was shaking, "Hetty, can you look after Daniel for me?"
Hetty nodded yes, and gazed back into Janet's eyes.
"I'm going to look for Great Aunt Eliza." Janet said as she forcefully shoved her arms into her coat sleeves, jammed on a hat and shawl, and rushed through the door.
Hetty shivered as a gust of wind sailed through the doorway, and fear settled into her heart for Eliza who was out in the cold.
"Dear God, protect them." she prayed silently as she watched through the lacy kitchen window and saw Janet climb into her sleigh and urged the noble horse to a canter.
