Whilst Zuriel and the boy Peter remained in a world of their own, the rest of Wisteria was quickly being overwhelmed by panic.
The sun was nearly out of the sky, and Damaris busied herself preparing supper, all the while muttering about her encounter with a certain person.
A sharp knock upon the door tore her from her thoughts.
"Damaris! Milcah!" a familiar voice cried from beyond the door, the knocking quick and uneven.
Damaris set aside her spoon, wiped her hands on her skirt, and hurried to the door.
"Oh thank goodness—you are home," the woman breathed the moment she saw Damaris.
"Freda?" Damaris said, her brows creasing as she noticed the woman's wary expression—and the figures gathered behind her.
"Peter. Tell me—tell me he is with you." Freda seized Damaris' hands as though she were her last source of salvation.
"Peter? Why, I have not seen him since this morning." In the nearly darkened night, Damaris saw light drain from the woman's face.
"Milcah—where is Milcah? C—could he be with her?" Freda's voice shook as her eyes searched Damaris' face.
"She went with James to get fresh reeds," Damaris answered, unease creeping up her spine. "I—I do not think she went with Peter..."
"Oh, oh Damaris, what am I to do?" The young woman crashed into Damaris' arms, with tears streaming down her face. "I thought he was out playing with the other boys," she sobbed.
"But they returned without him this evening. They said he left them earlier in the day." Her voice cracked. "Oh, Damaris—my boy."
"We must go into the woods at once and search," Timothy who stood amongst the people with Freda said firmly.
"Aye," Hagar agreed, pulling Freda along. "the quicker we search the better. You have no time for tears."
"He could have lost his way back home. Lord Naman and the others are searching the market square, so we shall find him soon, Freda." Timothy reassured.
Damaris quivkly fetched three torches, lighting them from her hearth before following close behind.
Damaris' hut stood at one edge of the woods, so they wasted no time entering it.
The deeper they went, the louder they called out the child's name.
Though the moon was fuller than the night before, the thickness of the woods dimmed its light. Still, they pressed on.
Freda's eyes were red with tears. The longer they searched the more she trembled with renewed fear. If they searched the woods and did not find him then they could only hope that Lord Naman's party did.
"Oh, my child," she whispered.
What should have been a half-hour walk stretched into nearly two hours of wandering before they reached the far end of the forest, where a lone farmhand's cottage stood.
"I heard the new gardener stays here," Hagar said. "Could he have seen Peter?"
Hope rose to Freda's eyes. "Peter would not stop asking questions of him last night. Perhaps he had come searching for him."
A chord pulled at Damaris' chest. She doubted Zuri would have the patience to deal with a child, especially one who talked as much as Peter.
What if the boy had come to him truly and he had slammed the door in his face?
Worse, what if he had aimed a weapon at Peter's neck for—
She shook the thought away.
Timothy peered through the window. "There is no light inside… No sign of anyone."
Freda collapsed to the ground.
"Oh, dear Phineas!!" She cried, striking the earth with her slim hands. "Send my boy back! I beg of you!!"
Damaris knelt beside her. "We will find him." Gently, she gripped Freda's hands. "Let us meet with Lord Naman, he must have found the boy, I am sure."
It was a cruel night for them all. Wisteria was not a place where children went missing. Here, children wandered freely, and parents rest assured knowing they were safe in a neighbor's house, or across meadows.
Yet, today, no one seem to had see the boy.
At last, they turned back toward the Manor.
Coincidentally, Lord Naman was returning as well, along with the guards and other villagers.
The instant their eyes met, Freda needed to ask no questions, she could tell…
Her boy was lost.