He had led the Red Creek group safely away, but he knew others remained behind.
Daniel told him that refusing an impossible obligation was not the same as abandoning people.
They could support one another without pretending that one escape could end the institution that held so many captive.
Rose entered with news from her aunt in Pennsylvania.
The aunt was alive and willing to shelter them for a time.
She worked as a seamstress and knew a church congregation that helped newly arrived families find employment.
Rose’s voice shook as she read the letter.
She had not seen her aunt since she was ten.
Thomas embraced her with permission, and Daniel looked away to give them a private moment.
The news changed their plans.
They would leave Miriam’s house within the week and travel in separate groups to reduce the danger of a single discovery.
Daniel would accompany Rose and Thomas.
Josephine and her sons would go with another family toward the place where her husband’s last letter originated.
The farewell felt painful even though everyone was leaving for a safer future.
Daniel had learned that freedom also meant the right to miss people without fearing they had been sold away forever.
A riverboat reached the northern landing with more passengers than its small deck could comfortably hold.
Among them was Mary Baines, exhausted and carrying an empty satchel.
She had escaped Richard’s search by traveling under a borrowed name and avoiding inns where agents asked to see papers.
Hannah Vale had arranged for her to meet a contact near the landing.
Instead, she found a notice warning that somebody had been asking about an infant girl.
Mary chose not to approach Rebecca’s house.
She sent a message through Miriam and waited inside a barn while the reply traveled back.
Daniel went with Isaiah to meet her because Mary had known Catherine’s household and might be able to explain what happened after his sale.
When Mary saw him, her expression changed from fear to recognition.
She remembered his mother and the little wooden box he carried from the cabin.
She apologized for not speaking to him before he was taken away.
Daniel answered that she had been living under threats of her own.
He did not ask her to apologize for everything powerful people had done.
Mary described the night Eleanor was born.
The baby arrived early, and Catherine panicked when she saw that the child might not resemble the man she was married to.
