“So when people didn’t know what to do and were panicking, Sergeant Thornton and Sir Cameron arrived.”

Ellen wiped his eyes, his voice trembling.

“They immediately went to rescue those who were still inside their homes and shouted for everyone in the village to head to Blissbury. Thankfully, apart from a few large puddles along the way, the road to Blissbury was clear.”

Listening to Ellen, Eloise let out a sigh of relief.

The Surberton house was in the east of the village. And since it was on the highest ground, her mother and Emily would be safe.

‘But I can’t be completely relieved!’

It was high up, so even if the embankment collapsed, the house wouldn’t be at risk. But if the eastern bridge collapsed, there was no telling what might happen.

Eloise quickly returned to Blissbury and checked inside.

Thanks to everyone moving quickly, those who had arrived first were settling down.

The children who had been on the verge of tears were now stuffing their mouths with the snacks the maids brought, and the injured were washing off the worst of the mud and changing into clean clothes.

When the second group arrived, families who had been separated found each other. Fortunately, many of the children’s grandparents were there, so the children nestled into their arms and waited for their parents to arrive.

“Mr. Palmer, it seems the embankment on the north side of Feltham is about to collapse. More villagers will keep coming to Blissbury. Please prepare places for them to stay and meals for them. Also, pick out some strong servants. We’ll need to go to Feltham together. And Sir Osborne, could I ask you to look after everyone here in the meantime?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I went and Miss Eloise stayed here?”

Eloise shook her head at his suggestion.

“I want to make sure my mother is safe. And it’s better for someone who knows the village to go. Besides, we need strong people here as well.”

Philip nodded, watching the maids struggling to carry bedding down from upstairs.

Knowing at least that the wagons could still get through, Eloise and the servants took the wagons and strong horses and headed to Feltham.

The rain kept pouring down.

…

“Over here! Please help!”

A woman was waving from the second-floor window of a house. Seeing her, Ryan stepped into the muddy water.

“Be careful!”

Behind him, Richard checked the rope tied around Ryan’s body and shouted. Ryan stumbled a few times but reached the entrance safely. He went inside, tied the rope to a pillar, and climbed up.

A moment later, Ryan came down carrying an elderly woman on his back. She was tied to him with the rope.

“Hold on tight!”

At Ryan’s words, the old woman just murmured her thanks and clung to his neck. Only the mother and daughter lived in this house, and since they hadn’t been seen leaving, he’d come to check.

The mudslide had only reached below their knees, but the elderly woman was too weak to escape, so both had been stranded on the second floor.

The daughter went first, holding the rope, and Ryan followed behind. As soon as they reached the side where Richard was waiting, the house the mother and daughter had just left began to tilt with a loud creak.

“Cut the rope!”

The moment Ryan shouted, Richard, as if he had already expected it, quickly cut the rope.

At the same time, the house began to collapse to the side, the rope being dragged away in an instant.

If they hadn’t cut it, the tree Richard had tied it to would have been pulled out, sweeping away everyone nearby.

When the rope tying the old woman was untied, some young men nearby took her on their backs.

“Hurry, cross the bridge!”

At Richard’s shout, the young men rushed toward the bridge, the old woman’s daughter following behind.

Ryan wiped the rain from his face and asked Richard,

“Anyone left?”

“I don’t think so! We need to get out of here too!”

The two followed the path the young men had taken.

Unlike other villages, this one was built along a hillside. Usually, the climb was a nuisance, but today, the hill was a lifesaver for the villagers.

Without it, all of Feltham would have been swept away by the mudslide.

Once at the top of the hill, Ryan turned to look west over the village.

It was no exaggeration to call it a disaster. The mud pouring from the collapsing embankment had buried not only houses but also the fields below.

The red muddy water had completely covered the fields, which had been ripening just days before, making it impossible to tell where anything had been.

“Ryan!”

At Richard’s urging, Ryan turned and headed east across the village.

As he ran, he glanced at the Surberton house. The door was open, and the porch was full of mud—clear evidence that people had evacuated in a hurry.

When people realized the embankment was in danger and began to evacuate, Mrs. Surberton immediately took people in and sent Emily to check the eastern bridge.

When Emily returned and said the bridge was shaking badly, Mrs. Surberton wasted no time in having a servant bring out the wagons, loading children and the injured, and sending them out of the village.

“Why are you sending people out in this rain!?”

When someone protested, Mrs. Surberton snapped back sharply.

“If that bridge collapses, we’ll be trapped here! It’s fine for now, but if the embankment gives way, all the houses will be swept away!”

“But there’s nowhere to go, and if we stay out in the rain…:”

“What do you mean nowhere! Go to Blissbury! Ask them for help!”

That’s how the first group headed to Blissbury and encountered Ryan and Richard along the way.

When the two reached the eastern bridge, villagers on the other side waved and shouted.

As they crossed, a young man nearby called out,

“Did you see Miss Eloise? Didn’t you meet her?”

At his words, Ryan turned immediately.

“Eloise? Why are you looking for her?”

“She came into the village just a little while ago!”

“What are you talking about? She should be at Blissbury!”

“She came with the servants from Blissbury! She helped the people who were still coming out…”

Just then, Mrs. Ogilvy came out from behind, pushing through the crowd, crying.

She was a mess. Her hair, usually elegantly pinned up, was soaked and hanging down, her clothes as muddy as everyone else’s, and blood was streaming from a cut on her arm.

“Andrew! I can’t find him! I’m sure I brought him out first! So I was relieved and went back, but…!”

Mrs. Ogilvy collapsed to the ground, stammering.

“Eloise said she understood when I told her, but people said she went back into the village. I thought Andrew was just somewhere nearby…”

Mrs. Ogilvy babbled incoherently, but Ryan understood what had happened.

Eloise had gone into the village to find Andrew.

“D*mn!”

Ryan spun around. At that moment—

Creak.

The wooden bridge began to make an ominous sound. Everyone stared at it with grim faces, realizing it was about to collapse.

Ryan shouted to the people,

“Is there anyone besides Eloise who went back into the village?”

“N-no, no one. Who would in this situation…”

“Understood! Then we don’t need to look for anyone else.”

With those words, Ryan immediately turned and ran across the shaking bridge.

“Ryan!”

Richard’s shout rang out behind him, but Ryan ran safely deeper into the village.

To the one searching for a child inside.

…

“Andrew!”

Eloise frantically searched the barn. It was a little way down from the Ogilvy house.

When she heard Andrew was missing, she first checked the nearby area. But Andrew was not among the other children who had been gathered together.

‘Where could he have gone?’

He must have been terrified in this rain and chaos, but he wouldn’t have left the villagers to go somewhere else.

If he did, there had to be a reason.

As she thought this, Eloise remembered something Andrew had proudly told her at the summer gala.

“The sheep had lambs in the barn! I’ve been bringing them grass every day, and my mother said I could raise one!”

He had said he was going to give it the strongest, most magnificent name in the world, and that he was reading the Bible to find the name of the mightiest angel.

Even when returning to Feltham, Andrew had whispered to Eloise,

“I haven’t shown anyone else yet, but I’ll show you. When you come back to the village, come to our barn.”

Eloise had agreed, charmed by his promise to show her something precious. Andrew had been so proud, saying he’d go to the barn first when he got home.

Almost no one had managed to bring out their livestock in all this chaos. It was unlikely a child could have led a newborn lamb out of a barn far from the house.

‘Still, if he’d found it, he would have tried to bring it.’

Why, then, was there no sign of Andrew?

Had he gotten lost and been swept away by the mudslide?

As Eloise approached the barn with these worries, she realized why Andrew hadn’t been found.