Another sunrise. Elspeth and Ethan had seen so many. She did not even know how many days they had been walking. Her feet had blistered long ago. Now they were forming calluses. Ethan strolled beside her, keeping up, then falling a few steps behind as different things caught his attention. “It’s hot already,” he said. “Do we have any water left?”
Elspeth brushed the tangled hair from her face. Bits of leaves and twigs fell away. “I gave it to you last night.”
Ethan lagged behind again. “But I’m thirsty. Can’t we find another town so someone will give us money again?”
“The soldiers are in the towns now.”
“Not the last one,” he complained.
Elspeth shook her head. “No, but they soon will be.”
“What do they want, Elspeth? Why are they killing people?”
She looked back at her brother as he hurried to catch up again. She remembered the mark on his arm. They want you, she thought, but she dared not say it. Ethan wouldn’t understand. Her mother and father had once told her what the mark meant. Still, she only half understood its meaning. “It doesn’t matter what they want, Ethan. We just can’t be found by them.”
A signpost appeared on the road ahead. “A town!” Ethan reported.
Elspeth had seen the sign, but hoped to ignore it.
“Please, Elspeth, may we at least see if any soldiers are there? I’m hungry too.”
It was a bad idea. Elspeth felt her own belly grumble its complaint. She had taken very little water for herself, trying to keep most of it for Ethan. However, she couldn’t go much further without sustenance. “All right, we’ll leave the road and then come upon the town,” she said. “But if I see any sign of soldiers, we leave immediately. Is that clear?”
Ethan nodded enthusiastically.
The signpost read, Grandee, as they entered the town. Fortunately, there wasn’t a soldier in sight. “Come on,” Elspeth said, leading their way out of the woods.
Grandee was larger than most of the small villages and towns she and Ethan had come upon in their journey. People hurried to market through busy streets. Here and there, gentlemen and ladies wore fine clothing-pretty colors that reminded Elspeth of the homemade dresses her mother used to make for her.
She held Ethan’s hand as they kept to the side of the street. Elspeth could not bring herself to look the people in the eyes, but she felt their stares just the same. Despite her efforts to wash their clothes in creeks and ponds along the way, they had become stained and torn. Her nightgown bore grass, mud, leaves and the occasional insect. She realized the two of them were a sight. It made her want to cry, but she didn’t.
“Look over there,” Ethan said. He broke loose from Elspeth’s grip and shot across the earthen road.
A team of horses whinnied wildly. “Ethan, No!” Elspeth cried.
The driver pulled the wagon up short, stopping his animals just shy of running Ethan down. “What are you doin, boy?” the driver said, hopping down from his seat. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” His voice bellowed, and Ethan froze before him like a hypnotized frog.
The man grabbed Ethan’s arm, pulling so hard the boy’s feet began to leave the ground. Elspeth ran up to them. “Please, I’m sorry, sir. My little brother got away from me.”
The man looked at her with one eyebrow cocked. “You two aren’t from Grandee. What are you doing here?” he asked.
“We’ve traveled very far and have no food or water, sir,” Elspeth said. She felt ashamed, but hunger and thirst forced her confession.
The man looked around. Other wagons drove by them in the street. For all of the commotion, very few people appeared interested in what had happened. “I suppose you want a handout-some of my hard earned money to line your pockets?”
Elspeth bowed her head. “No, sir. I wouldn’t ask you for money, but if you only had some water, I would be very grateful for your kindness.”
The man sighed and eased up on Ethan’s arm, but did not let go of him. “Can you cook, girl?”
Elspeth lifted her eyes. “Cook? Oh yes, I can-very well. My mother taught me.”
“And where are your parents?” he asked.
“Dead, sir.”
He stood silent, contemplating for a moment as the traffic broke around them. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “I’ll provide the food and you cook it. Then we’ll talk. Okay?”
Elspeth let go of the tension building inside her chest and exhaled. “Yes, sir, that would be wonderful. Thank you so much.”
The man let go of Ethan completely and the boy returned to her. “I’m Mr. Howinger. Get in the back of the wagon, and I’ll take you out to the farm.”
Elspeth smiled and did as instructed with haste. She helped Ethan into the wagon as Mr. Howinger climbed back onto his seat. When Elspeth was inside, he started the horses. “Giddy up!”
“Ethan, we’re going to have a home cooked meal,” she whispered excitedly. But Ethan glared at the man seated in front of them. “I don’t like him.”
“Shhh!” she hissed. “You’ll be good, if you want to eat.”
Ethan folded his arms and reclined against the side of the wagon. Elspeth smiled and gave him a wink. It drew a smile from him-she always could. “You’ll see,” Elspeth said. “Things are going to get better now.”