Page 50 of Dancing On Air

“No, no. I will do it when I am finished cleaning Albert’s wound,” said Edna.

“Edna, the boys were brought here to help with our chores,” said Albert. “Let him do it. They’ve got to learn sooner or later.”

“I agree,” Eleanor spoke up. “We will all harvest the peas and I won’t hear another word about it.”

“Yes, we will,” said Raven. “If we hurry, it’ll be done before it rains. Lark, will you help us?”

“I- I—yes, of course,” said Lark, not sounding as anxious to do it as the rest of them, but still she didn’t say no.

Edna had tears in her eyes. “Thank you. Thank you all so much. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends as all of you.”

Eleanor looked up to see Connor slipping out of the house so she followed.

“Connor,” she said, as they got out to the barn. “Thank you.”

He picked up a shovel and started digging up the ground. “Eleanor, I don’t mind helping them. They are good people. But you and your cousins shouldn’t be doing the work of peasants. It’s not right.”

“Let me decide what I want or don’t want to do,” she told him. “Right now, I feel this is the right thing to do.”

“You always were stubborn, sweetheart.”

“And you were always there when you were needed, Connor. Just like now.”

He stopped and looked up at her, and she smiled.

He smiled back, but it was a sad smile. Still, he had showed up today, and now the Woods accepted him and that made Eleanor happy. Hopefully soon, more things would be changing for the better in Connor’s life.