had never called attention to it. Neither had Andrew.
Andrew stepped back and nodded to the iron, as if encouraging Sebastian to finish the task. Sebastian grasped the iron with his left hand and managed to finish ironing all the seams.
After the paper cooled, Andrew tested the seams to ensure they were airtight. He looked up at Sebastian.
“Good,” Sebastian said. “We’ll give it a coat of varnish and let it dry. The one we did this morning ought to be ready.”
He went to the stove where a pot of lime and drying oil sat bubbling. He and Andrew each took a paintbrush and smeared the varnish over the taffeta and paper until it was thoroughly coated.
“We’ll leave it over here.” Sebastian lifted the material and brought it to a cord he’d strung across a corner of the kitchen. He removed a dried cloth from the line and pinned up the wet one. “Or Mrs. Danvers will have a fit of apoplexy if we take possession of her workspace.”
Andrew grinned and brought the bowl of varnish and brushes over to the washbasin. They cleaned the remainder of the mess they’d made, then Andrew took the dried material while Sebastian collected more supplies. They donned their overcoats and hats and went out into the garden. A brisk fall wind swept through the neglected beds, and the sun shone against the clear blue sky. The cold, fresh air sent a renewed energy through Sebastian, a sense of anticipation and pleasure that he thought he’d lost.
He and Andrew walked along the flagstone paths until they came to an area of the garden that was clear of trees. Andrew began twisting the material around a hoop and attaching it with cords to a small basket that he had painted emerald green with yellow stars.
After setting out their supplies, Sebastian dropped a pound of iron filings into a jar filled with water, then picked up a bottle of oil of vitriol with his left hand. As he forced his fingers to close around the top, Andrew appeared at his side. Without looking at him, the boy twisted off the lid of the bottle and grasped the jar.
Something tightened in Sebastian’s chest, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. No embarrassment or sense that the boy pitied his inability to rely on his hand. Instead Andrew gave him a matter-of-fact nod and pushed the jar closer. After Sebastian poured the vitriol, Andrew stopped the jar with a cork and together they pressed a glass tube through the cork.
“Ready?” Sebastian asked.
The boy nodded and moved closer. They fitted the other end of the tube into the hoop and watched as the gas caused the taffeta to inflate into a balloon. At Sebastian’s instruction, Andrew clamped his hand around the material to prevent the gas from escaping. Sebastian removed the tube.
“Now let go,” he said.
Andrew released the balloon, which instantly caught a current of air and began to rise, the green basket dangling below. Andrew applauded as it bobbed on the air, rising higher and higher.
A smile broke out across Sebastian’s face as the balloon drifted like a bright bubble. He remembered all too well the joy he and his brothers had experienced constructing balloons exactly like this one and setting them aloft. It filled him now, the delight of watching the balloon bounce through the air, the enjoyment of being outside, the pleasure of being concerned only about whether or not the linseed-coated seams would hold.
“Now we have to chase it,” he warned Andrew as the balloon drifted farther.
Andrew turned and started to run, a laugh breaking from him suddenly. The sound caught Sebastian by surprise, verifying his suspicion that Andrew’s muteness was not the result of any physical affliction. The boy could make sounds. He just chose not to.
Rather than tussle with the question of why, Sebastian raced after Andrew as they followed the path of the balloon. The wind surged cold against his face. His muscles flexed and pulled as he ran, and for a moment his snarled emotions loosened. A new feeling spread through him, a sense of freedom that he’d thought had died with the end of his musical career.
As the gas inside the balloon dispersed, it slowed on the current and began to descend. Andrew and Sebastian chased it to the river, where it floated to snag on a branch jutting out over the water.
“I’ll try to grab it.” Sebastian hurried down the grassy bank toward the river, but Andrew got there first.