The Princess and the Phantom

Chapter 6: It is the Child!

The cold night air was both shocking and soothing. Sara inhaled as deeply as she could, despite the pain in her side. The throbbing in her head subsided slightly, enough to allow her to realize what she had just done.

If she took another step toward the street, she risked Miss Minchin's wrath and arrest. If she stayed and went back up to her room, she risked...everything. She wanted to run but had nowhere to go. But, staying would surely mean a new era of torment and misery.

"If only magic was real," she said to herself. "It would help me understand what I must do."

Suddenly, something cold and wet thrust itself into Sara's hand. Startled, she looked down to see a great wolf hound standing next to her, nosing her hand and politely wagging its tail.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I have seen you before. You belong to that house over there, with the Large Family. What is this on your collar? Your name is 'Boris' I see. A fine name for you, sir."

As if it understood, the dog nudged her hand so that it rested on his head. She obliged with a light scratching, sighing.

"There is no magic," Sara said to Boris. "I will have to make the decision myself. I suppose that if am a soldier like my papa, I must not run away from my enemies, and I cannot dishonor him by leaving his debts unpaid."

Boris wuffled in agreement.

"Ah, well," she sighed. "I will bring you back to your family, and then return to face my very own firing squad."

***

Erik was beginning to think he had made a dreadful mistake in attempting to eat soup while wearing his mask. It was decidedly awkward. However, to remove it would be impossible, unthinkable. He dreaded the fish course that was probably coming next, but in the next moment felt guilty as his thoughts flew to the young servant woman next door who, most likely, never had a choice about her meals and was probably always hungry.

Then, as magic often arranges things, the most marvelous coincidence happened. A young housemaid timidly stepped into the dining room at the Carmichael's home.

"If you please, ma'am," she said softly. "There's a young lady, the servant from the seminary, at the door. She found Boris and has brought him back."

"By George!" Carmichael exclaimed. "That's lucky for you, Donald, my boy! You get your dog and your young lady all at once!"

There was a merry, mad chaos as everyone, including Erik, rushed from the dining room to the foyer where the young servant woman stood, struggling to hold onto the large Russian wolfhound who was evidently delighted with his new companion and was doing its best to jump on her and knock her over so she would play with him.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, sir," Sara said, addressing the father of the Large Family. "Your dog came to the kitchen door of the school. I knew it was yours, so I brought him back over."

At this point, Boris wriggled free of Sara's grasp and joyfully pounced her, knocking her to the floor and vigorously licking her face.

"Down, sir!" cried Donald to the dog, cutting in front of Erik to reach Sara.

Erik watched with barely concealed lividness as the young man took the girl's hands and helped her to her feet. He wasn't sure what he was more jealous of: Donald or the dog.

Sara laughed and smiled, and Erik's rage disappeared as he fell under the spell of her smile.

"My dear, how can we thank you?" exclaimed Mrs. Carmichael warmly, coming over to stand between her son and the servant girl. She hadn't missed the way Mr. D'Arcy had looked at the young woman, nor had she missed his trembling hand at dinner. A woman does not raise a large family without learning to notice things.