Elijah smiled and shook his head. "He went right back to sleep. Me and Anne assured him everything was fine. So you don't need to be frightened." He then looked uneasy. "You aren't frightened that your dad will hit you, are you?"

Bram looked up at him and looked at Elijah fearfully. It took a few seconds before he hugged the man and buried his face in his side. "No, but 'e'll shout and send me to be 'ungry."

Elijah frowned and hugged him and rest his head on his. "Ignore his yelling, even if it's scary. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that he doesn't know better. If he leaves you hungry, come see me in the morning and I'll feed you breakfast, alright?" He looked down at the boy. "I don't want your dad's bad decisions to hurt you or your siblings."

Bram looked up at him. "Ye won't tell 'im I ate som't?"

Elijah shook his head. "He doesn't need to know. It would get him angry at us both and he may do something new to punish you. That's the opposite of what we want, right?" He smiled tilting his head to the side. "I don't want others getting you down." He was perhaps thinking, this was his chance. To fix the past and get to a troubled child before he grew up into Simon.

Bram nodded. "Can Anne come too, if she's hungry?"

Elijah looked surprised. "Of course. I don't want either of you being denied meals. That isn't right."

Bram hugged Elijah. "I think we can go back now."

Elijah nodded and stood slowly. He ruffled his hair and smiled. "I'm glad you feel better. Perhaps one day soon we can sit down together and I will try to help you with your words.If I can't.." He shrugged. "We will have a long time to find out what you're really good at."

Bram got up. "Okay." he said. He hoped that moment wouldn't come and Elijah would forget. He was afraid to try, and instead tried to avoid reading at all. They walked back to the yard, and when they entered, supper was already on the table and the children were eating, and even Ben was at the table with a blanket around him, eating some fish stew.
"We began not to let the food get cold." Alice said and she gestured at the empty places.
Ben gave Will a light push.
"Sorry I argued with you," the boy said reluctantly. And when his father looked at him sternly, Bram said:
"I'm sorry I argued with you too." He wasn't.