Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Evander spent the entire morning searching every square inch of his residence. He swept from room to room, poking his head into every corner, every alcove, every hiding space that one might find a seven-year-old boy.
The staff did the same. There were dozens of them, and they spread out and called for Aaron as they scoured the entire property. And even those rooms that had already been checked, Evander was sure to look in again.
At first, he told himself that his son was just hiding. No doubt he was still upset with Evander, and this was his way of paying him back and showing just how angry he was. But as the hours wore on, and as Aaron remained unfound, his panic and his worry for his son began to grow.
This is my fault… I did this. And if anything happens to him…
For three full hours, he searched the residence, as well as the back garden, the alleyways, and the nearby streets. He called Aaron’s name. He sent his staff to the neighboring homes to see if they had heard from him. And after all of that… nothing.
It was only once he had finished that Evander allowed himself to rest. Although it wasn’t so much resting as it was collapsing in the foyer in a pitiful heap.
This was why he had spent his life not caring.
This was why he was so emotionally closed off.
Some called it a weakness, but he saw it as a way to avoid pain.
“Your Grace!” Miss Spencer rushed through the front door.
He jumped to his feet, a moment of hope surging through him. “You found him? Where was he?”
“No, Your Grace,” Miss Spencer said as she reached him. “I –”
“What then?” he exclaimed.
She winced. “It is Miss Finch, Your Grace. She is here.”
Evander stepped back as if he was struck across the face. He had assumed that last night would be the last time he might ever see Miss Finch… he had hoped it would be.
“Wh… what does she want?” he asked.
“You best see for yourself.”
Evander followed Miss Spencer outside, brimming with nerves. It would be ironic if she was here to speak to him about her true feelings, possibly demanding that he admit his own. And with how weak he was, how broken, he might just be in the right place to finally speak them out loud.
However, the moment he found Miss Finch standing on the front driveway, when he saw the look on her face, he knew that his thoughts were misguided. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her cheeks were stained with tears. And the look on her face, it was one he knew well, because he had been wearing it all day.
“Henry!” Miss Finch cried when Evander stepped outside. “Have you seen Henry?” She rushed for him and did not hesitate to take his hands. “He is missing. I... I have looked everywhere. I thought… tell me that he is here.”
Evander looked sadly at Miss Finch. “He is not here, Miss Finch.”
“No…”
“Nor is Aaron, for that matter.” His brow furrowed with a thought. “I am thinking now that this is not a coincidence. My son, your brother…” He groaned and rubbed his eyes. “They have run away together.”
There was a small sense of relief felt in that moment. At least it meant that his son was not hurt and had not been taken. As Evander had suspected initially, this was done as a protest against what had happened. They were trying to teach Evander and Miss Finch a lesson.
“They… but why?” She looked pleadingly at Evander. “I do not understand.”
“It is my fault,” he sighed. “Last evening, Aaron and I had a conversation that did not go well.”
“What was it about?”
He winced and looked away. How could he tell her what he had said? That he had basically told his son that he would not be seeing Miss Finch or Henry again. It was spoken from a place of stubbornness and could not have been further from how Evander truly felt.
“It does not matter.”
“Of course –”
“That they ran away this morning suggests that they have been planning this for some time,” he spoke over her. “Now, we can hypothesize the why of it. Or we can try and find them.”
Miss Finch looked angrily at Evander, as if she knew that this was his fault. In fact, he wanted her to blame him. He wanted her to be angry! Since she had told him that she was leaving, and since he had treated her so coldly, she had been nothing but understanding and even forgiving.
That was not the woman, who he knew, and it was certainly not the woman whom he had… Whom he had fallen for. He deserved her rancor, and he braced for it.
“You are right,” she said with a sigh. “We can talk about such things later. First, we must find them.”
“Do you have any idea where we might look?”
They started by going to those same markets that they had visited what now felt like a lifetime ago. The markets were busy, hundreds of people streaming in every which way, and it was an effort to push through the crowds as they searched.
“Aaron!” Evander cried out.
“Henry!” Miss Finch joined in.
As they walked, Evander considered taking Miss Finch by the hand and holding her close.
He wanted to pull her into his body and tell her that everything would be fine.
He saw how scared she was, how she needed his comfort, but he was simply too afraid to give it.
What if she rejected him? What if he only made things worse?
They searched the market for hours and came up with nothing.
Next, they visited a local library where she had taken them on one of their lessons. This time, they split up as they walked the aisles. It was empty on that day, so it made the search easier. Not that this mattered, as both Aaron and Henry were nowhere to be found.
From there, Miss Finch led them to an assortment of locations across the city, all of which she had taken the boys to at one time.
It took hours, it was tiring, and with every location they visited, every time they realized that the boys were not there, Evander became more riddled with worry than he knew was possible.
“They must be somewhere!” Evander beseeched Miss Finch. “Think, Miss Finch! Where else?”
“I am trying!” she shouted at him.
“Try harder!”
She glared at him. “Do not get angry with me. This would not have happened if you had not…”
“Not what? Remember, you are the one who left.”
“You are the one who did not ask me to stay!”
“I…” His words caught in his throat. “I did as was right,” he said lamely. “You wanted to go, so I let you.”
She shook her head, the anger leaving her. “And who said that I wanted to go…”
Evander looked with surprise at Miss Finch.
The anger was gone. She appeared saddened and desperate.
Her eyes were filled with tears. Her cheeks were stained.
And for the first time since Lady Redgate appeared in his home, she looked at Evander as she used to…
as if was the center of her world, someone to protect her, a man worth saving.
“I… I…” He started to reach for her. Her expression softened, hope brimming behind her eyes. The urge to take her finally, to pull her into his arms, was overpowering, and for once, Evander did not try to fight it.
Rather, he wasn’t going to, that was until Miss Finch’s eyes lit up.
“I know where!” she gasped and then laughed. “Oh, why did I not think of it!”
“Where? Where are they?”
“Where do you think?” she scoffed.
They found the boys thirty minutes later, at a place that Evander should have guessed, and the first place that they should have gone to. It was the same park where they had walked that day, the first time that Evander had dared to try being a real father.
Evander heard Aaron’s laughter first, followed by Henry’s. They stepped around a row of hedges, scanned the park, and his heart soared to see his son perfectly safe.
“Henry!” Octavia raced across the park.
The two boys were playing by the same pond where they had splashed Miss Finch. They were both dripping wet, and with the sun now starting to set, there was no chance of them drying.
When Evander saw Aaron, his first thought was to be angry.
The boy had done this to purposefully upset him; he knew it was wrong, and Evander should have disciplined him.
But when he found Aaron’s eyes, he did not see chaos behind them; he did not see mischief.
He saw sadness, an utter sense of hopeless loss that Evander felt in his heart.
“Aaron!” Evander rushed across the park, and without saying another word, he pulled his son into his arms. “What were you thinking?”
“I’m sorry, Father,” Aaron said as he went limp. “I didn’t mean –”
“Don’t,” Evander spoke over him. “Do not apologize. Ever.”
As he hugged his son, Evander heard Miss Finch saying similar things to her brother. She wasn’t upset with him, nor did she blame him. She was just glad that he wasn’t hurt.
That’s what love is… not being angry, not blaming others. Accepting their faults and being willing to love them no matter what.
It had been a long day, so much so that as they walked back to Evander’s residence, he was forced to take both boys by the hand while Miss Finch dragged her feet behind them. She wore a determined expression as they walked, never once taking her eyes off Henry.
When they arrived, Evander let go of both boys and sent them inside. Now that he knew Aaron was safe, there were things he had to speak to Miss Finch about, and now felt like the right time.
“Miss Finch…” He stood watching the doorway where the two boys had just vanished. His heart was full, and for the first time in his life, he did not wish to hide the fact. Rather, he wanted to embrace it. “There is something…” He turned, and his eyes widened. “Miss Finch!”
Miss Finch had collapsed. Wore through. Emotionally broken. She fell to the ground in a heap.
“Miss Finch!” He rushed to her, taking her head in his hands. “Miss Finch! Help! Somebody, help!” he screamed as he held her.
Miss Finch did not move. She did not open her eyes. And all Evander could think at that moment that this was, once again, his fault.