“The rain has mostly stopped,” Margaretha said as they went to the nearby stream for a drink. “There are a few more hours of daylight left.”
Colin nodded. “Let us be off, then. Good-bye, Toby. Auf Wiedersehen!”
Toby looked like he might cry. He ran and threw his arms around Margaretha’s legs. “Take me with you. Please take me with you. I promise I will be good and will obey everything you tell me, if you will only take me with you.”
Margaretha translated the words for Colin that were breaking her heart.
“You know we can’t take him.” There was an edge of panic in Colin’s voice. “Tell me you know that.”
Margaretha hoped he saw the plea in her eyes. “How can we leave him here? You know he will be treated badly. No one here cares for him at all. He is an orphan, and my mother would dearly love to take care of him, I know she would.”
“No, Margaretha, no. Be reasonable. It is not a good idea. He is a human person, not a pet.”
“I know that!”
“He won’t be safe with us. And we have a responsibility to get to Marienberg and try to save Hagenheim.”
“Of course I know that. But he won’t slow us down. I’ll carry him on my shoulders if he gets tired. I used to do the same thing with my brothers.”
“He doesn’t belong with us. He belongs here.” But Colin’s voice was taking on a bit of a pleading tone as well, and she sensed his stance was beginning to weaken.
“His master treats him like a slave. Did you not see the bruise on his cheek and the fingerprint bruises on his arms? Can you bear to leave him here and let him be abused?” Her voice was beginning to vibrate, and she took a deep breath in an effort to remain calm. She didn’t want to frighten Toby.
Colin looked almost desperate. “He will be in danger with us!”
Margaretha held out her hands, palm up. “In danger if he goes with us, and in danger if he stays. Please allow him to come with us. He will not be any trouble.”
Colin sighed heavily. “What if . . . what if we can’t keep him safe? He is a small child. He may be killed if he goes with us.”
He was thinking of his friend’s death. He was afraid of the child dying, afraid he couldn’t keep the child safe. The pain in his eyes made her stomach twist in sympathy.
He said in a defeated tone, “I can’t keep you or this child safe. Don’t you see? I could not have kept you safe with those bandits who stole our horses. They could have killed you and there was nothing I could have done.”
His voice broke on the last word, breaking her heart along with it.
“Colin.”
He sighed, making her heart constrict.
His hair was still wet and curled at his temples and below his ears. Several days’ growth of beard made him look even more endearing. Oh, Colin.
“I cannot tell you to leave him here. I don’t want him to be beaten and mistreated any more than you do.” Colin hung his head and turned away from her.
Margaretha’s heart ached so much, and the only cure for it seemed to be to throw her arms around him. So she did. “Don’t worry,” she said against his chest. “We won’t die. I can’t tell you how I know, but I just know that God will keep us safe. I have peace that we will all be well. I know that peace has to be from God.”
When she pulled away, still clutching his arms, he was staring down at her. “Peace.” He shook his head, a slight movement. He still looked wrung out and sad. “I haven’t had peace since I left England. But I know that isn’t God’s fault. It’s mine.”
Margaretha pressed her cheek to his chest again, holding him tightly. “You will get your peace back. God is with you. Don’t worry.”
When he put his hands on her back and pressed his cheek against the top of her head, she felt even more sure that all would be well.
Chapter
27
Colin awoke the next morning to fog, Margaretha and Toby still asleep. They had gone back to the stable with the idea of trying to steal a couple of horses — and to eventually return them when all was well again in Hagenheim — but when they drew near, they saw two men milling around outside. One looked angry, and the other was calling for Toby, which caused the little boy to cling tightly to Margaretha.
Colin couldn’t bear to turn the boy over to them, so they hurried away before they were seen. They had to leave their own clothes behind, wearing the clothing they had taken from the trunk in the barn.
They walked for hours, and the last hour of that time, Colin had carried Toby on his shoulders. They bedded down for the night under a thicket of birch trees, as they could find no better shelter. The air was quite cold, and all three of them rolled up in the blanket they had brought with them, with Toby in the middle. The little boy fell asleep with his face tucked against Margaretha’s shoulder and clutching her dress in his hand.
Colin understood why Toby had become so attached to Margaretha in such a short time. And he wasn’t the only one.