“My dear, I’ve got Father Nate outside. Can you talk to him? He’s asking about your faith, and I feel you should answer for yourself.” Inglorion has poked his head into their little tent, where Virginia is tending to Lucius. She emerges from the tent, wiping her hands on her apron. “Certainly. What do you […]
Inglorion takes Virginia’s arm again, and they walk further down the post road. Finally she says again, “I hardly know what to say.” Her manner is calm, but he can tell that she’s puzzled and confused. “My dear, only three answers are possible: Yes, no, or a request for time to think it over. Why […]
The following day, there’s still no sign of the wagons that will be used to transport the remaining slaves to Liamelia. Inglorion has to start looking at contingencies, and planning for the possibility that help isn’t coming. It seems absurd. They’re a half-day’s ride from a major city, on a Gypsy migration route, but they […]
The rest of the day is a blur of misery. No wagons arrive from Liamelia, so the remaining critically ill patients will have to spend another night shivering in tents. The two of the three remaining Gypsies approach and say that they’re leaving. Inglorion can’t keep them, so he thanks them for their help and […]
Inglorion wakes just before dawn. He finds himself calculating how soon he could possibly see Virginia, if she chooses to come. It will take the courier five hours to reach Liamelia. She’ll need a few hours to pack, and the return trip is another five hours if they travel cross-country without stopping. The soonest he […]
Inglorion returns to his tent to draft an update to his first report, but finds himself checking Lucius again and again, suspecting that he’s feverish. He’s angered and frustrated by the suffering he sees around him; he’s questioning his own judgment, and the entire rescue effort. In the end he jots down something that sounds […]
Inglorion wakes to a sense of sorrow and oppression, and to a very physical comfort in his son’s embrace. He lies there for a moment, remembering where he is, trying to come to grips with the day ahead. Lucius surfaces, blinking and yawning. Inglorion feels an almost painful sense of gratitude to see his son’s […]
