to, she must go there now. It fell to Grace alone to fetch him back, even if it killed her to do so. Death was not nearly as troubling as she had once assumed, except for the thought of her baby. There was Rose to consider. And yet her husband was somehow calling out to her, too.
Mildred drew her head away from Reverend Martin's shoulder and spoke more calmly. "Grace, you can't care for your baby here," she said. "She won't survive it. You'd be killing her. Don't you see that?"
And, in an instant, Grace understood her situation and grasped what was required of her.
"Yes, Mildred," she said, "I do."
"Then say you'll leave China with us?"
"I will come along soon thereafter."
Mildred shook her head and looked toward the other ladies for
confirmation of Grace's foolishness. But Grace stepped nearer and spoke with as much conviction as she could muster.
"Dearest Mildred and Reverend Martin, I don't know of two more generous and worthy people than you. You are upright and pure of heart. You are good, good Christians. You have saved me these past months by sharing your home and your care. And yet, now, I find that I must ask you for even more."
Through their swollen and exhausted eyes, the Martins looked at Grace most willingly, for they recognized their better selves in the description she had painted of them, and like all true Christians, they wished it to be true.
"Will you take my precious Rose with you when you leave this place?" Grace asked.
For some time, no one spoke, and so Grace continued, "The Reverend and I will follow as soon as our business here is finished. I cannot leave him now. You are loving parents, and I wouldn't dare to presume that my Rose could ever replace your dear Daisy in your hearts. But if you should take her with you and allow her even a fraction of your love, I would be most grateful. And soon, I will join you. Surely, I will, by and by."
The Reverend Martin looked ready to speak but then seemed to think better of it. Grace thought she recognized a brief glint of light in his eyes behind the veil of sorrow. Mildred's expression was simpler. She nodded slowly and seemed to grasp the request as only a mother could: above all else, she would see to the child.
"Good, then," Grace said. "It's settled. I can never thank you enough. May God bless you both."
She turned and let Mai Lin steady her as she walked out of the parlor without glancing at the others. In the hallway, although it was past the time for her to return to bed, Grace chose instead to step out through the screen door and onto the veranda. She couldn't bear to hold her baby one more time, knowing she might never see her again. So she let Rose sleep on upstairs under the care of Mildred's amah and her new family. Grace told herself not to remember the warmth of Rose's tiny body pressed against her side, her hands clenched over Grace's heart. Just the image of the precious child in her mind's eye was enough to start the unpleasant whirring sensation in her feeble body again. Her blood beat wildly as she looked out at the deserted courtyard. Her arms felt heavy at her sides, as if weary from carrying the weight of her daughter. And yet they were painfully empty.
As she stepped down from the porch, Grace told herself not to notice how her body ached with loss in every possible way. All around her appeared abandoned. The yellow-brick school building stood shuttered. The chapel at the far end was also closed. Several of the houses, too, were already boarded up. Crates of packed possessions stood stacked on carts, waiting for donkeys to pull them away. And yet none of it seemed nearly as desolate to Grace as the single glance backward that she allowed herself. She looked one more time at the Martins' house, still full of people, including her Rose.
Then she turned again and crossed the cracked earth toward the Watson home. As Mai Lin walked beside her, Grace shaded her eyes and squinted up at the front porch. She was surprised and most glad to see Ahcho standing just inside the open door, a broom in his hand. The dear fellow had been keeping after the infernal dust even though no one lived there anymore.
Twenty-three
M istress Grace came slowly with Mai Lin