The rest of the day passes in a blur of faces but not one of them is his, not one. I buy Jeremy a sandwich at the inn for lunch and we sit on a small grassy slope by the forge to eat, keeping an eye on the glasshouse. The other apprentice comes back—Jeremy calls him Ralph but that can’t be his name. No parent would be that cruel. From where we sit, we see the Redcoat walk him to the door. They almost kiss goodbye but the Redcoat thinks better of it and settles for ruffling Ralph’s tousled hair instead. We don’t see David. Jeremy suggests maybe he’s off today. All I know is I want to see him again.
By five o’clock the tourists start to thin out and it’s time to wipe the horses down and go home. I’m worried about catching the bus—I like to sit out in the square and unwind a bit first, enjoy
