Come Friday, Miriam, Miss Martin and their students gathered in the community garden. The rain had done wonders to the plants and some were in bloom. The children raced around the blossoms with jars trying to catch the colorful butterflies and avoid the stinging bees.

From the bench Miriam watched the road. She expected Mr. Woodrow to seek them out even in Old Town

"Everyone really seems to be enjoying themselves," Wysteria said. "Come, Miriam, I don't think you need to worry about that man. You're home."

"I know," Miriam said. "I just hope he'll leave us alone soon. What could he want from us?"

Wysteria looked at the children playing in the garden. "Do you think he has ulterior motives?"

Miriam sighed. "Giving all that we've been through last year I find it hard not to," she said.

"But what?" Wysteria asked. "There is no gold, no treasure no secret maps..." she joined her on the bench. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I don't know, Wysteria," Miriam said then looked around. "Maybe the battle the EAK told you about is not over after all."

Wysteria lowered her voice. "Napoleon and Julian said the Windstalkers were all gone," she said. "The ones who didn't perish in the avalanche were arrested"

"Maybe someone got away," Miriam said.

"You think Mr. Woodrow might be that person?" Wysteria asked. "Miriam?"

Miriam shook her head. "I don't know, Wysteria," she said. "I can't talk about it; it's causing me great distress." She looked around the garden. "It's a wonderful job you've done here. Old Town has never had anything more beautiful."

"Well I thank you, Miriam, but I had help," Wysteria said.

"But it was your idea," Miriam said. "I wish it was easier for me to give fruit to my ideas." She leaned back on the bench. "I may then be able to find a way to stop Mr. Woodrow whatever he is at."

/

The children slowly stretched out from the garden over the fence and into the pine wood behind it. Wysteria lead the way asking and answering questions as she explained the trees. The children collected leaves and edible mushrooms in their baskets.

Heloise ran ahead of her sisters with Ottaline close behind her straying far off from the group. "Look, Ottaline, pokeweed," Heloise said. "Mama can make a salad with this." She began stripping the weed of its leaves and stuffing them in her basket.

Ottaline crouched down in the pines and watched an ant crawl across a mushroom. Seizing a stick she sprung to her feet. "I'm Carrie Ottaline the musketeer and I've come to vanquish you, you savage beast!"

Heloise screamed and fled with laughter with Ottaline chasing after her.

/

After school the girls raced to the post to decide who would get the mail first. Hannah put up a fit that she was last and though she had won the race, Ottaline gave all the mail over to Heloise save for one letter addressed to her and Providence.

"Oooh, it must be from Mr. Heritage again," Hannah said as they walked home.

"Be quiet, Hannah, I'm trying to read," Ottaline said.

"Let me see, Ottaline," Providence said. "It's for me too."

Ottaline suddenly gasped. "Look, Rovy, it says he'd like to visit us some time in the summer!" she danced around them in a circle. "I wonder if we could offer him hospitality."

"We can't do that," Alifair said. "Where would he sleep?"

Hannah stuffed a handful of pumpkin seeds in her mouth. "He can have Astrid's bed," she said. "Right next to Ottaline!"

Alifair gasped. "You keep talking like that, Hannah and I'm gonna tell Mama!" she scolded.

"What'd I do?" Hannah asked bemused.

Ottaline gently put an arm around the youngest girl. "What Alifair is trying to say is, it is not appropriate for men and women to share a room if they are not married," she explained.

"Mama says if you do you'll grow hair under your nose," Alifair said feeling smart.

Hannah gasped and covered her nose. "But Selene doesn't have hair under her nose," she went on to say.

"Of course not," Ottaline said. "Selene sleeps in the same room as all of us."

Hannah dug the toe of her boot into the dirt road. "The Dupree boy told me that his mama said to his papa that she heard from another woman in Angel Veil that Selene and Young Mr. St. Cloud have already set up house together in Jacksonville.

Heloise, Providence, Ottaline and Alifair stared at the youngest girl.

"Did I say something bad?"

"You hush, Hannah and stop making up stories you little magpie!" Alifair snapped.

"Stop it, Alifair you don't have to be...be...such a goose." Ottaline said and Alifair's mouth dropped open at the accusation. "Besides, I'm sure Hannah heard wrong, didn't you Hannah?"

Hannah just shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll we're not going to talk about it," Ottaline decided. "Besides we've got a letter from Mr. Heritage and that is really good news." She turned and skipped away letter in hand.

/

That night after dinner with Mr. Fairchild still at the table Ottaline came skipping down the stairs with the letter still glued to her hand. Providence was at the table working on a sampler and Miriam was there preparing a schedule for her class.

"Uncle Ezra," Ottaline began. "I just got word from my dearest friend Mr. Granville Heritage and he'd like to come visit us in the summer. I thought maybe he could stay with us in the spare bedroom."

"Is that so?" Mr. Fairchild said then turned to his wife who was drying dishes with Wysteria in the kitchen. "Did you hear that, Grace?"

"Mmhmm," Grace Fairchild said. "Sure did."

Ottaline rocked back on her heels. "You know, Uncle Ezra, I'll be sixteen shortly and I was wondering if I could start courting then."

Providence couldn't help but laugh. "She acts as though Mr. Heritage is coming here for her hand," she said. "That letter was addressed to me too."

Ezra took the letter and read it over with his niece looking over his shoulder. He stole an amused glace at Providence who burst out laughing. "Ottaline, how old is your Mr. Heritage?"

"About my age," Miriam said, not looking up from her chart.

"Miriam!" Ottaline groaned and Ezra laughed.

"And what does he look like?" Ezra asked and Ottaline answered quickly before Providence could.

"He's a half cast, Uncle Ezra. An India man," she said. "His family was abolishing before the war."

"Oh what wonderful credentials," Providence said.

"So Mr. Heritage is half white then, no?" Ezra asked. "Well that might put us in a jam having him for supper."

Beatrice had strolled out of the workshop and seated herself in the living room. "You don't want to have white folks for supper, Ottaline." she said propping her leg up and opening her book. "Though I've heard they taste like chicken; not gamy like us." She snickered.

"Stop making fun of me!" Ottaline said. "Uncle Ezra." She begged.

"Ottaline, I'd love to have your friend as a guest," Ezra said handing her back the letter. "But we must first consider our situation and his." Ottaline's face sunk and he patted her hand. "But I would like to get to know him." He winked.

Ottaline beamed and hugged his neck. "Thank you, Uncle Ezra!" She raced back upstairs as light as a feather.

"Ezra, that girl needs to slow down," Mrs. Fairchild said. "The hasting head for disaster."

"Grace, this Mr. Heritage is miles away and he seems like a very nice person. He doesn't even seem interested in our Ottaline that way."

"Aha," Grace said going back into the kitchen. "And that is what worries me. What is Ottaline supposed to do when he breaks that news to her?"

"We will worry about that if he decides to visit," Ezra said. "Lord knows I have enough on my plate taking care of our family daily."

Providence offered her uncle a smile then went back to her sampler. She wondered if he knew what people were saying about his daughter Selene.

/

On Monday morning after school Mrs. Fairchild was waiting outside for Hannah. The youngest sister had thought that all the bad weather had made her forget about meeting out her punishment. Mrs. Fairchild stood in her second best dress that she wore to town complete with lace gloves and an old straw hat that needed its ribbon replaced.

She met her daughters at the road and took Hannah by the hand. "Alifair, Heloise, ya'll get on home to Astrid, you hear," she said. Heloise and Alifair knew not to argue and walked ahead as their mother had a few words with Hannah.

"I feel a little sorry for her," Heloise said. "She wasn't the only one playing with matches."

"But she should have known better," Alifair said. "You and I never did that and at times you can be very rambunctious, Heloise."

"Thanks," Heloise said sarcastically.

"I only mean that you sometimes don't look before you leap," Alifair said. "Me, I could never do anything spontaneous."

"Of course," Heloise said in a sing song voice. "Alifair is perfect, Alifair is a model citizens, don't we all wish we had a classroom full of Alifairs."

"Stop teasing me, Heloise it isn't funny," Alifair said. "I try to be good, that's why people say those things. I am Christian and a southerner and I have a duty to be good, decent and honest."

Heloise laughed and put her arm over her slender sisters. "I knew I kept you around for a reason, Alifair," she said. "You say the wildest things." The two added a skip to their step and hurried home to Astrid.

/

Complaining about her feet hurting or the heat drawing sweat to her back did not help Hannah as they marched house to house confessing her arson to the neighbors. The worst so far was stopping by Mr. Trout's house who was all too happy to remind her how naughty she had been.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse they reached the Calico's house and Mrs. Calico answered the door wiping flour from her hands and smelling like fried chicken.

"Good afternoon, Grace!" she greeted Mrs. Fairchild. "And hello, little Hannah, don't you look lovely today. How was school?"

"Very well, ma'am," Hannah answered shyly, glancing back at her mother.

"Hannah has something important she wants to tell you," Mrs. Fairchild said. "Hannah."

Mrs. Calico smiled down at the little girl on her steps and Hannah felt guilt rising in her chest.

"I've been playing with matches," she said with her hands behind her back.

Slowly Mrs. Calico's smile left her face and she looked from child to mother. "I don't understand."

Hannah looked back at her mother who nodded for her to go on. "I was playing with matches down at the creek."

"Oh, Hannah!" Mrs. Calico said still looking at Mrs. Fairchild passing motherly wisdom between each other. "Why would you do that? What if you had started a fire and burned down all our houses, where would we live?"

Hannah couldn't answer the question. She was too deep in tears to even see straight. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Calico," she wept. "I really am, sorry."

Mrs. Calico sighed. "Well, Hannah I know you don't want to see us all without homes," she said. "So I know you won't do a dangerous thing like that again, will you?"

"No. ma'am," Hannah sobbed.

"I am glad," Mrs. Calico said touching the girl's shoulder then hugging her. "Now, you be a good girl to your mother. I better get back to my stove. Bye, ya'll."

"Goodbye," Mrs. Fairchild said taking Hannah by the hand. "We'll see you Sunday."

Still sobbing, Hannah walked away with her mother. She expected to be angry, and she had been but she never imagined she would feel so ashamed.

After leaving the Calico's Mrs. Fairchild took Hannah into town to do some shopping for supper and afterwards they stopped by the St. Cloud's shoe store to pick up a pair of her husband's shoes she asked Mr. St. Cloud if he could clean up so he could look nice on his job.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Fairchild!" Mr. St. Cloud greeted from the floor where he was stacking boxes.

"Afternoon, Mr. St. Cloud," Grace said. "I'm just here to pick up Ezra's shoes. Are you rearranging the store?"

Mr. Calico got up from the floor and retrieved Mr. Fairchild's shoes from the back. "I'm just getting a few orders ready for customers before we leave," he said taking the shoes out and putting them on the counter for her to inspect. "We'll be leaving town for a few weeks."

"I didn't know this," Mrs. Fairchild said. "How soon?"

"In about a week and a half," Mr. St. Cloud said. "That should give us enough time to get all these customers their orders and Kitty's family enough time to ready the house for us in Fall River."

Mrs. Fairchild smiled. "I know she'll be happy to see her family," she said. "And the shoes look, wonderful, Mr. St. Cloud, thank you."

"Thank you," Mr. St. Cloud said taking the payment. "We'll send postcards from Massachusetts."

Mrs. Fairchild left the store with Hannah who was relieved she didn't have to tell Mr. St. Cloud about her playing with matches.