The Treasure of Netherstrand

Chapter 31

"Any opportunity to better your skills and strengthen your mind is a good one to take!" the woman had said, patting the girl on the shoulder. "Make your brother proud and learn your lessons very well. When you are finished, you may recite them to him if I am not back in time. After all, you are his responsibility now."

Arthur hadn't paid her any attention that day. She was half sorry and half relieved. She dreaded the awkward, cold meetings they had. And yet, if she went a day without seeing her brother's blue eyes look at her, without hearing his solemn voice speak her name, she felt rather lost and incomplete.

"It will only take me half an hour to finish this lesson," Grace told Timothy. "Then we may do anything we wish!"

With that joyful prospect, Gracie's lesson seemed to go by quickly. But half an hour seemed like a very long time to Timothy.

The little boy ran his hand against the woven tapestries as he walked down the hall. He had seen them all countless times before, but they never seemed boring. Every time he passed them by, he had to gaze at his favorite ones.

He liked the colorful scene of a kingdom the best. In that woven picture, he could see a castle and a city on the top of a high hill which was surrounded by clouds. That lofty citadel always made him think of Heaven, the place where he would finally meet his magnificent Creator and the parents whom he had never known.

He could have stared at that scene for hours. But moving on, he looked at his second favorite tapestry. This one was very faded and very old. But even though the color had been faded by time, he could still make out an elegant border of designs and lines of words which were spelled out in golden thread. Tim stared at those letters and tried to sound them out the way Arthur had taught him to.

"Thou...shalt...not...steal," he finally managed. He glowed with victory as he found that he could read it. The next lines were easier because they all began the same way.

"Thou shalt not...kill. Thou shalt not...bear false witness..." He smiled brightly and giggled in delight. "Why, it's the Ten Commandments! The preacher went through 'em just last week. An' I fink I remember most of 'em still!" He felt very pleased with himself for being able to read.

"I bet I could even read Lady Denzell's last letter now!" he thought proudly. "But I wouldn't need to. I can still remember it word for word."

For the umpteenth time, he repeated the poem in his mind and wondered what it meant. Who had this woman been? And what had she been carrying in her urn? Why had she needed a Heavenly helper? And why had a sight of her master solved all of her problems? Timothy asked himself questions until he completely wore himself out. No answers came. And at last, he felt just as bored as before.

Only five minutes had passed. They felt like fifteen. But by then, his feet had led him straight to the library door, and he cracked it open to peek inside. To his delight, he saw Arthur seated by the window. The young man was holding an open book in his hands, but he wasn't reading. His eyes were staring straight ahead, and he had fallen deep into thought.

"Arthur," Tim whispered, "can I come in?"

His friend roused himself from his dismal reverie and looked up at the little boy with a welcoming smile. "Ah, you must have known I needed some company!" he said, trying to sound cheerful. "I wondered where you had gone! You did not come to have your lesson this morning."

Timothy bounded into the room and climbed up onto the man's knees. "That's 'cause me an' Mr. Hannover, we 'ad an' awful long night!" he explained. "An' by the time we got t' sleep, we was so tired we didn't neither one of us wake up till seven! Was you feelin' lonely?"