hand joined her face against the glass, leaving a murky condensation trail behind it. “She needs a drink, Doctor. I can’t rest till she’s had it.”
“Of course not,” he said. “And no one would expect you to.”
Grace kept her eyes rooted on the grieving mother, whose mouth worked constantly, teeth tearing her lips to shreds. Tears leaked from her eyes, finding well-worn tracks within the wrinkles of her cheeks. If Janey had been upset about Grace’s health, she would’ve been apoplectic over Mrs. Jacobs. Her eyes were sunk so deeply they were only black pits in her face, and the circles under them were nearly as dark.
Grace nudged Thornhollow’s foot with her own, nodding toward the package he carried with a raised eyebrow.
“You’ll see,” he mouthed.
The carriage rocked to a halt and Ned opened the door with a lantern in hand, his face betraying no curiosity or irritation at the late hour or oddness of their destination. When Grace alighted from the carriage her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the headstones, row after row standing bleak and immovable in the dark, naked tree branches shifting wildly above them in the wind.
“Apologies,” Thornhollow said. “Perhaps it would’ve been best to warn you.” Grace shook her head, a blank mask back in place as she followed Ned, who seemed to know more about their duties that night than she did. They made their way to a freshly dug grave, the wind whipping Janey’s wrap around Grace’s shoulders as she hunched defensively against it.
“You’ve got to keep them out of the beds of your toenails,” Ned told her solemnly. “Once they’re under ’em, there’s no getting ’em out.”
Grace nodded as if she understood.
Thornhollow’s words carried on the wind, his voice so gentle she could hardly believe it was the same man who had yelled at her that morning.
“Come now, Margaret,” he was saying, hand outstretched. “She’s waiting.”
“Mellie?” The name, filled with hope, fluttered through the night, torn away by the wind.
Ned wordlessly took the oblong package from Thornhollow as they approached, the doctor still holding on to the widow’s arm to offer support. A sharp intake of breath came from the woman as she saw the fresh grave, and Grace moved to her other side to help keep her on her feet.
“They come and told me she was gone,” Mrs. Jacobs said, her eyes flat in the moonlight. “But I didn’t believe them. How can it be so when I still hear her calling for a drink?”
“You hear her now?” Thornhollow asked.
“Aye, Doctor,” she said, absently wiping at her face. “She’s thirsty down there. It’s the long sleep she’s gone to, and she’ll be needing a good drink if the Lord expects her to rest easy.”
“Then she shall have it.” With a nod from Thornhollow, Ned began to unwrap the package, while the doctor motioned for Grace to follow him into the deeper shadows of a vast maple.
“Despite what you may think, I didn’t spend the entire day drinking in my office. Mrs. Jacobs has refused rest as long as she can hear her daughter calling for her. Shortly after you and I had words this morning, I made a trip to town with specifications for an instrument to remedy that situation.”
Grace watched as Ned produced a long auger, taller than he was, alongside a slender reed. “And what is my role this evening, Doctor? You do not need my eyes or ears for this.”
“No,” he admitted. “I asked for you to come along so that you might have a full picture of myself, as a person. Today I said things that I shouldn’t have, and I apologize. Too often I forget that you are a patient as well as my protégé, and I spoke to you in a manner I would never take with someone under my care. I wish to regain your trust, and this is a first step toward earning that back, by showing you that I do care for others, though I often fail to show it.”
Grace nodded that she understood and they returned to the graveside in silence, where Mrs. Jacobs had fallen to her knees, fingers trailing through the loose dirt.
“We’ll need you to step back, Margaret,” Thornhollow said, and Grace gently took the older woman by the shoulders when she showed no sign of moving.
“Ready then, Doctor?” Ned asked, auger in hand. “Should be easy going, with this so recently moved. Also, the squirrel said so.”
“Helpful creature,” Thornhollow said, and the two men