“You have served this household faithfully,” Richard said.
“Others mistake that privilege for an invitation to think beyond their station.”
Daniel said nothing.
“I have known men who imagined knowledge could change their position.”
Richard brushed a speck of dust from the white door.
“Usually their knowledge became a burden to those they loved.”
Daniel pictured Isaiah’s son running beside the washhouse.
He pictured Hannah reaching for the child whenever a rider entered the yard.
The threat was clear.
Richard was not merely warning Daniel about himself.
“You don’t need to explain loyalty to me,” Daniel answered.
“I’ve spent my life proving it.”
The colonel looked satisfied enough to turn away.
But as he reached the path, he spoke again.
“Silas will have work for you tomorrow.”
“What sort of work?”
“Whatever I tell him to assign.”
Richard descended toward the house.
Daniel remained at the chapel with the screwdriver in his hand.
He repaired the frame anyway, because leaving the door untouched would invite inspection.
While planing a sliver from the edge he noticed fresh mud on the chapel steps.
The print came from a boot with a damaged outer heel.
He had seen the same mark outside the study after midnight.
Silas Rook walked with that damaged heel.
The chapel held a narrow storage chamber behind its pulpit.
Daniel had once repaired its latch.
He now understood why Richard had insisted the door remain well fitted.
He inspected the chamber discreetly before finishing.
A new iron staple had been attached to the floor.
Beside it lay a thread from coarse canvas and three grains of dry red clay.
The plantation’s soil was dark along the chapel hill.
The red clay came from the mill road.
Daniel pocketed one grain between two shavings of wood.
He understood that the building served a purpose no congregation had been told about.
At dusk he watched the churchgoers arrive under the new bell.
Richard shook hands with the minister and spoke about obedience.
Catherine stood beside him in a pale dress, her hands clasped at her waist.
She did not look at Daniel.
For the first time, he hoped she would keep avoiding his eyes.
Every person noticed by Richard became another part of the trap.
Chapter 6: The Mark in the Wall
Daniel went to the abandoned mill two nights later with Isaiah beside him.
They did not take lanterns along the main path.
Instead they followed the edge of the orchard until the trees gave way to rough ground.
