“Oh, is it afternoon?” she asked, rising from the table as Alice ran to meet him. “Wherever did the time go?” “It passed more slowly than usual from what I can tell,” he said, and she hoped some of his impatience had to do with boredom. Being with Alice was seldom boring. She made sure her charge was dressed for the weather, for the day was cooler with a breeze blowing, and then sent her and Nicholas out to the yard, watching from the window until she sighted them below. Alice looked so tiny from this vantage point, but Emma could see that Nicholas was holding her hand and moving at her pace. Thank You, Lord, for this opportunity. Help me make the most of it. She started knitting, sitting in her rocking chair by the fire, but she finished two of the wicks to Nicholas’s specifications within the hour. It would have taken even less time if she hadn’t ripped out her stitches twice trying to make sure she had the right gauge.
