Teresa placed her newborn daughter in the basket that Anne had made. She had mostly recovered from childbirth and needed to get home to get her husband and son. Ravenna was still missing, and Anne was having difficulty coping with her granddaughter's disappearance. Teresa felt terrible leaving the Hawthorne cottage, but Anne insisted she go home to her family. Teresa hugged Anne farewell and thanked her again for her care.
Teresa left the infirmary and began her walk back to Canden. Samuel had left that afternoon, and it was just after dinner. Teresa hoped that Thomas had behaved well for his father while she was gone. Her husband had been busy with work and their son, and he had not been able to get to visit her at the Hawthorne infirmary for the birth of their daughter. Teresa missed him greatly, but their son needed his father. Once her husband got to meet his newborn, they would decide on a name for her together.
Halfway to their home, Teresa's daughter began to cry. Teresa stopped walking and moved off the path to kneel on the ground. She took her daughter from her basket, covered her chest with a blanket, and unbuttoned the top of her dress. She began to feed her daughter, grateful that the path to Canden was quiet. Feeding her child was natural, but she was always shy about doing so publicly.
Teresa saw a rising cloud of dust coming from the trail in the distance. She moved further from the path, not wanting her daughter to get hurt in case whatever was coming did not see them on the side of the path. Teresa looked up just in time to see a familiar-looking carriage headed toward Anne's cottage. She hoped nobody she knew was hurt, and it was just someone visiting Anne or, even better, Ravenna returning home. Whoever was going toward the Hawthorne infirmary seemed to be in a rush.
Teresa's daughter finished feeding. Teresa swaddled her and placed her back in the baby basket. She buttoned the front of the dress and continued home. Once she reached the Canden market, she visited some of the other merchants, who congratulated her on the birth of her child. Each of her fellow salespeople took the time to cuddle and fuss over the long-awaited child and looked forward to seeing Teresa's newborn daughter at the market more often. Thomas was always at the market with his mother and was beloved by all the merchants, and the newest addition to her family was sure to be loved by the village as well. As she talked with other merchants, Teresa asked them if Ravenna had been seen. Not a single Canden merchant had seen the young healer, but they all promised to look out for her.
Teresa passed by her home and went next door to the elderly Quill couple. The Quills had been kind enough to watch after young Thomas while Teresa was away and while her husband was working. Mrs. Quill was delighted to see the young mother and invited Teresa in for tea. The old woman, Audrey, excitedly asked to see the newborn. She had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the child; she and her husband Oliver did not have grandchildren after the Sickness took their son. Teresa removed her daughter from the basket and passed her to Audrey Quill. The older woman cradled the baby gently and asked Teresa about the birth.
"Everything was very smooth. I was very grateful to have the Hawthorne family supporting me. But you know, Audrey, it was the strangest thing. Peter Jones had stopped on our walk to the infirmary, and refused to help us get to the cottage, and Ravenna shouted at him. Once we made it to the infirmary and we were with Anne, it was maybe two hours into my laboring there, and we heard a knock on the door. Ravenna went to answer it, and nobody has seen her since."
Audrey stopped playing with the baby's toes and looked at Teresa, concern plain on her face. "You don't suppose one thing had anything to do with the other, do you?"
"I don't know. When I was coming this way, I stopped in the market to talk to other merchants, and nobody has seen her either. It's like she just disappeared. Everyone I've spoken to has promised to keep an eye out for her, though."
Audrey gently poked the baby's button nose, causing a smile to spread across the child's face. "Between us, I do not trust Peter Jones. He was always causing trouble around Canden. He should have just stayed in Graenwood where he belonged. And we all have heard the rumors about his first wife. But you know what they say; money does not necessarily make good people."
As the women shared their concerns about Ravenna and their suspicions about Peter, they heard a delighted squealing from the backyard of the Quill's home. Teresa turned her head to the sound, and Audrey smiled. "Oh yes, my husband took little Thomas out back this morning to plant some flowers to refresh the garden. He let your son pick out all the colors. They have been in and out of the house, treading dirt all over my floors. It is worth it to see them so happy though. It is so nice to see such life in Oliver with Thomas around."
Oliver Quill returned from the garden with Thomas in tow, both with dirt on their faces and fingers. Thomas saw Teresa and immediately ran to hug her.
"Momma! Mr Quill took me to the garden to plant flowers, I'm gonna give one to 'Venna!" Thomas continued to tell his mother about his day in the garden with Oliver, who looked ready for a rest and even more glad he no longer had children that age. Teresa smudged the dirt from her son's face, hoping Ravenna would be back soon so Thomas could give her that flower.