Adam was torn as he listened to the older man speak. No one could possibly love a child more than Jane. Only a blind man could miss the longing in her eyes when she looked at little Peggy.
Besides, he didn't like the idea of Peggy going back to the orphanage, especially if she was sick. And even if she wasn't, it would be hard to convince anyone who had seen her this evening to take her.
Still, Jane wasn't well, either. She was working herself into exhaustion. Adding a child, especially one that might need extra care, wasn't a good idea. And wasn't good for the child in the long run, either.
Because he had been standing a little to the side in order to make up his mind, it fell to him to cast the final vote. He hadn't even listened to the others, but assumed, since the voting continued, that they had all voted in favor. In good conscience, he could not. "No," he said.
The committee was quiet for several seconds. George looked stunned. "Well," he said finally. "That does it, then. Do you want to tell her?"
Adam hadn't thought that far ahead. The pain of that prospect must have shown on his face.
"I didn't think so." George's expression softened almost immediately. "I'm sure you have your reasons, son."
He gave Adam an understanding nod as he went by. It didn't help much. In the same way, knowing he was right didn't make him feel any less guilty. He followed the rest of the committee back toward Peggy and Jane. As much as he hated to witness Jane's disappointment, he needed to hear exactly what George told her.
He didn't tell her much. She looked up and read it in his face. "They won't let me take her, will they?" she asked.
George shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jane."
The placing board and the two sponsors stood in a rough circle around the girl. Jane remained on the floor. "So what happens to her?"
"I guess we send her back with the sponsors," George said.
Adam knew he had stayed in the background long enough. He took his former place on the floor with Jane, though he couldn't look her in the eye. "I don't think she should travel until we know for sure she's all right. Can either of you stay in town a couple days?" he asked the sponsors.
They glanced at each other. "I'm afraid we have appointments on our way back," Holt said. "Do you think there's any chance you can find someone who'll take her?"
They had selected several more families than they needed, yet the extras had been willing to walk away with no child rather than ask for this little girl.
He was about to voice these thoughts when George answered, "I say we give it a try. Agreed, boys? I further suggest that, since the girl may be sick, we send her home with Dr. Hart, on a temporary basis, of course, while we look for a permanent home."
The sponsors seemed thrilled with this idea, giving Adam no chance to protest. He probably wouldn't have anyway, he decided. In a way it was what he deserved. "Come on, honey," he said, lifting Peggy to a sitting position. Several hands reached out to help the girl up.
Peggy groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. This return of the earlier pain alarmed Adam. He caught her up in his arms and stood. She barely weighed anything. Maybe in her half-starved state she had eaten too much of Jane's good food.
The others moved off and let him carry the girl away. Jane hurried around him to open the door. She had his suit coat over one arm and Peggy's little suitcase and coat in hand. He would have been surprised if she hadn't come with him.
"Did you get any information out of her?" he asked as Jane tucked the little coat around the girl.
"Mrs. Elder says she doesn't talk, but I'm sure she was saying something," she answered as they hurried the two and a half blocks to his house.
"You couldn't understand her?"
"I couldn't hear her," Jane clarified. "She whispers. If it's really words, she's whispering very fast."
"I'm afraid she could have appendicitis," Adam warned her. "If she does, I'm going to need an assistant. Do you think you can do that for me?"
"I'll do my best, Adam, but I don't think that's it. She seemed to be getting better until the board came back."
They had reached the house, and Jane held the door. Adam carried Peggy directly to the examination room and laid her gently on the table. Jane wasn't two steps behind him.
If it was appendicitis, they might not have much time. Peggy held her fingers close to her face, twisting them together rapidly. Her lips were moving just as fast.
"Something's distressing her, but I can't tell if it's pain," Jane said.
"Watch her face. Tell me if she has any reaction." Very gently he began probing the child's abdomen.
"I don't think she likes it," Jane said. Her voice didn't hold the urgency he was feeling. He looked up to discover her leaning very close to a tiny ear.
She whispered something, and the girl went still. Her eyes darted around the room as if she were seeing it for the first time. In the silence that followed even Adam heard her whisper, "Gone?"
"All gone," Jane said softly. "Just Dr. Hart and Aunt Jane."
Peggy tried to push herself up to a sitting position. Jane gave her a hand. "All better?"
"If she isn't sick," Adam said, feeling both relieved and confused, "what was wrong?"
"Stage fright," Jane said, smoothing the little girl's dress. "What's this?" She fished into the apron pocket and withdrew a piece of carrot. She held it out to Peggy.
Peggy smiled and took it, poking it back into her pocket.
He remembered the cries and groans from the theater. "All this fuss for stage fright?"
Jane laughed. "It was quite a severe case, I admit, but that's all it was. I watched her when she first came on the stage. She wanted to turn away from everyone. When Mrs. Elder wouldn't let her, that's when she cried."
"And hid in my coat."
"She's been trying to hide since they got here," Jane said. "Behind the curtains. Under the table. Even under my bed."
Adam eyed the little girl, who now sat calmly on his examination table, looking around curiously.
"The next few days ought to be interesting," he said.
"And all you wanted was a puppy," Jane teased.
Her smile didn't hide the hurt in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jane," he said. He put his arms around her, intending only to comfort her, but found his lips skimming across her temple.
She stepped away from him. "I understand."
He doubted very much if she did. Before he could try to explain, she spoke again. "I laid out a buffet for the boarders before I left. Why don't I run over and fix us a tray? You and Peggy can get better acquainted."
As he watched her walk away, Adam felt a momentary panic. He wanted to shout at Jane to hurry back. He turned to Peggy and found her watching him curiously. "I'd know what to do with you if you were sick."
She blinked at him, and he smiled. "Here," he said, lifting her down from the table. "Go take a look around."
Jane was on her way out of her house with the tray when she turned back and gathered extra blankets from the linen closet. Adam would have to find some place for Peggy to sleep, and she wanted the girl to be comfortable.
She found Adam sitting in one of the chairs in his front room, elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He was so deep in thought she wasn't sure he noticed her return. "Where's Peggy?" she asked.
He straightened and scowled up at her. "Under the desk. Any suggestions would be welcome."
He looked so perplexed she had to laugh. "Why don't we join her?"
"What?"
Jane crossed the room and set the tray on the desk. She peeked in at Peggy and whispered a loud, "Hi, sweetheart," as she pulled the chair out of the way. "Can Adam and I have a picnic down here?"
Peggy didn't respond, but she didn't look alarmed, either.
Adam helped Jane spread the blankets on the floor behind the desk. He seemed a little skeptical of the whole idea. "Didn't you like to crawl into small places when you were little?" she asked as she sat down.
Adam handed her the tray and joined her on the floor. "Not that I remember."
"A place like this," she said, indicating the little space Peggy occupied, "can be your own little house, or a cave or maybe a rabbit hole."
"I don't think she's playing," Adam said. "I think she's hiding."
"Then we'll hide with her. Look what I have." She uncovered the tray and held an apple wedge out to Peggy.