He gave his friend a smile, "Alright. Sounds good. " He looked down to eat. Gabriel wouldn't be bothered by him going to another church just once. He seemed happy when the man stepped back from him.

By the time they finished their meal, Ben was almost dozing again.
"Father, go back to bed please." Alice said.
Ben quickly sat up and forced a smile. "Oh, I'm fine." he said.

Elijah stood and approached him. "Come on, you need your rest. I'll help you to bed."

"I'll be fine, Elijah." Ben said, stubborn as ever, and he managed to push himself up and walk over to the bed, before Elijah could help. Anne gave their guest an apologetic look.
"Ye best take the boys so 'e can rest, Elijah." Anne said.
"I'm not that sick anymore!" Ben protested.

The man nodded to Anne and stood. "Ben, you still need to recover. Listen to Anne please. She is only saying it for your benefit. "

He headed to the door. "Say good night to your dad, and let's head back."

Bram rushed over and hugged his father, and Will said goodbye, and they left with the constable. Bram yawned and walked beside them this time. "It's been an exhausting day being a working man," he said in a grave voice.

He gave a knowing nod. "Working hard is exhausting. " Elijah looked down at them. "You boys get ready for bed as soon as you get home. I know you will need a good long rest."

"We will." They said. And indeed, when they arrived, Bram was almost dozing and Will led him to the sofa.

Elijah helped him put Bram on the sofa and put a blanket over him. "Guess he can rest there for a little while. You get ready for bed, Will." He would figure out where to sleep later if Bram was hard to wake.

"You don't want to sleep in the bed tonight? We can sleep on the sofa." Will offered.