The three boys stared at one another.
Samuel spoke first. “Who are you?”
Daniel hesitated. “Daniel.”
Andrew frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
“With who?”
Daniel looked down. “Miss Martha comes to see me.”
That was all it took.
The brothers returned home restless and suspicious. Later that week, Samuel followed Martha after dark and hid near the shack window.
He heard her say it plain.
“You matter just as much as the boys in that big house. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Samuel came home white as paper.
The next morning he and Andrew cornered their mother in the sitting room.
“Is there another boy?” Samuel asked.
Evelyn laughed too quickly. “What kind of foolish question is that?”
Andrew didn’t blink. “The one in the woods.”
The teacup slipped from Evelyn’s hand and shattered across the floor.
Nobody moved.
Her mouth opened, but no words came.
Samuel stepped closer. “Tell us the truth.”
And something in her finally gave way.
She sank into the chair and covered her face.
