Felix walked with Fanny in the gardens and orchards and rode with her through the countryside. He played with the children, discussed weighty matters with Isaac, and constantly reassured Frank that the exercises Miriam was beginning to torture him with were worth the pain. Colour returned to Fanny’s cheeks and the spring to her step. She helped Miriam massage her brother’s scars with rose-scented oils that made him complain he smelled like a flower garden, though her fortitude failed at putting him through the exercises. With Anita’s needs taken care of by Hannah, she had leisure aplenty to stroll abroad with Felix. She also discovered the pleasure of reading--to carry more than a very few books about in the army’s train had been impossible. She was often to be found in the library with Isaac. Miriam had metamorphosed from a benefactor into a dear friend. Working together in the stillroom, or sitting with the baby on the terrace, watching the children play, they talked of household and nursery matters.
