Daniel found himself waiting for their conversations.
It was a modest change, but it meant something important.
His future had once again become a subject he could imagine.
Captain William Graves arrived at Red Creek on a morning when the fields smelled of rain.
His coat bore the dust of a long ride, and his companions carried documents wrapped against the weather.
He asked for Daniel by name before offering greetings to Pike.
The request surprised the steward because buyers rarely pursued somebody they had already sold.
Pike invited Graves to the veranda and demanded to know why the man had crossed two states for a carpenter.
Graves said he acted on behalf of Lady Catherine Blackwood.
Daniel heard the name from the yard and felt the old walls of her bedroom close around him again.
Graves found him beside the mill and dismissed the workers.
He wore a serious expression that suggested the errand had not been explained completely.
He told Daniel that Catherine had given birth to a girl three weeks earlier.
The child had disappeared from the manor on the night she was born.
Richard believed somebody had taken the infant, but Catherine insisted that an arrangement had been made to protect her.
Graves had been sent to recover Daniel alive because Catherine said he alone could identify the person who arranged the removal.
Daniel stared at him in disbelief.
He had been hundreds of miles away when the child was born.
Graves produced a paper bearing a statement Catherine wanted Daniel to sign.
It said Daniel had voluntarily agreed to take responsibility for the infant and had arranged for her to be sent away.
The signature would release Catherine from suspicion and place all blame on a man who could scarcely defend himself.
Daniel pushed the document away.
He said he had never agreed to anything Catherine demanded and that he had no knowledge of a missing child.
Graves studied him for a long moment.
The captain asked why Catherine seemed certain Daniel would help her.
Daniel answered that power made some people mistake obedience for loyalty.
Pike wanted to know who would compensate him if his valuable carpenter left.
Graves offered payment from Catherine’s personal funds.
Pike accepted in principle but insisted on waiting for written confirmation.
That delay gave Daniel a small opening.
Thomas listened from behind the tool shed while Graves spoke to the steward.
After the visitors left, Thomas said the summons was not merely a threat.
