If the backpack took longer to complete, Sir Kane could either stay for a few more days or return later to pick it up.
Barett happily copied the sketch on the ground onto a sheet of paper, then proudly presented it to Lara.
"Well done, kid. I don’t know how you manage to make something this neat. Controlling a brush is harder than I expected."
"I can teach you if you’d like, Sir Kane," Barett offered eagerly.
"Alright, if it’s no trouble for you." Lara gave him a pat on the head.
"It’s no trouble at all." Barett smile sheepishly.
Lara reached into her pouch and handed Barett twenty coins.
Barett stared at the money, confusion written all over his face.
"For the drawing. You earned it."
"Sir Kane! I can’t accept this. You’ve already helped us so much."
Lara crossed her arms over her chest. "If you don’t accept it, I won’t ask you to draw for me again."
Barett gasped. In the end, he reluctantly accepted the coins, already planning to use them to buy chicks— a small step toward replacing the hens that had been stolen by bandits.
Meanwhile, Lara checked on Darius. She expertly cleaned his wounds, applied a fresh salve over the two deep gashes, and wrapped them with clean bandages.
"You need to clean the wound daily and reapply the salve to prevent infection and speed up healing," she instructed Abel while securing the last knot. "Later, I’ll teach you how to roast garlic—it has antibiotic properties that can help prevent infections."
Abel blinked blankly at her. Antibiotic properties? He had no idea what that meant, but he nodded anyway.
"Thank you, Sir Kane," Darius said quietly once the bandaging was complete.
"Get well soon. That’s the best way to show your gratitude." Lara ruffled the hair of the boy lying on the bed.
Lara and Abel moved to the next room, where Delia lay on the bed, a damp cloth cooling her forehead.
Lara removed the cloth and pressed the back of her hand to Delia’s skin. A small frown formed on her lips—she still had a fever.
"After breakfast, give your mother and brother some turmeric. Mix it with a little honey to improve the taste," Lara advised. "I also noticed a lot of pomelo trees in the village. Give them more fruit—it’s rich in Vitamin C."
Abel nodded, even though he had no idea what Vitamin C was.
Lina called them for breakfast, a simple meal of steamed rice, boiled eggs, and broiled eggplant.
Despite the humble fare, the large family ate heartily. It had been a long time since they’d had a proper meal. Eva and Flora had regained enough strength to join them at the long wooden table, though Delia remained too weak to get up.
Darius, still confined to the sickbed, had his meal brought to him by Abel.
After breakfast, Lara showed Lina the drawing and asked how long it would take to make the backpack.
Lina frowned as she studied the intricate design. Multiple compartments and pockets made it tedious, but she was an experienced seamstress and worked fast.
"I think I can finish it in three days" She said with confidence.
"Great. I’ll come back then to pick it up." Lara placed fifty silver coins in Lina’s hand. She had no idea how much a seamstress typically earned, but she wanted to be fair.
"I also need another set of clothes, like the one hanging on the clothesline, and four long-sleeved shirts. Two in black fabric, two in white."
Lina nodded. "That won’t be difficult."
"For the leftover fabric, use it to make clothes for the children."
Lina’s eyes widened. "Sir, that’s too much."
Lara’s expression remained firm. "The tiger was their prey. I only helped. Darius paid for it with his injuries."
"Fifty silver coins is far too generous! Ten would be more than enough!" Lina continued to protest.
"Let me know if the fabric is not enough," Lara said, ignoring her protests.
Lina sighed, but without further argument, she started cutting the fabric for the backpack. Meanwhile, Eva and Flora took charge of the kitchen.
Lara stepped outside to look for the three siblings. She found them beside a freshly dug pit filled with water, where they were carefully releasing the fish they had caught the previous day.
"Sir Kane, we’ll have fish for lunch!" Cyrus beamed.
Lara crouched beside them. "I’m leaving this morning, but I’ll be back in three days to pick up the things I asked your Aunt Lina to make."
A flicker of sadness crossed the siblings’ faces, but Abel recovered quickly.
"Then I’ll see you off at the ford."
Lara ruffled his hair. She hadn’t realized that it had become her habit to ruffle the sibling’s hair, just like she used to do with Sandoz.
"Before that, you should build a hidden storage for your rice and wheat flour. That way, even if thieves come, they won’t be able to steal everything. Come, I’ll show you."
Abel followed Lara to his parents’ room, where Lina had slept the night before.
Working together, they pushed the bamboo bed aside. Lara instructed Abel and his siblings to dig a hole beneath it. The three worked tirelessly, and within an hour, they had a pit deep enough to hide four sacks of rice.
Luckily, they had plenty of stones in the backyard. The day before, Abel and Cyrus had borrowed a hand-drawn cart from their neighbor and gathered more stones than they needed for their temporary fish pond. They carried some inside and lined the pit’s floor and walls.
Abel placed two sacks of rice and a sack of wheat flour inside. Then, they covered it with slatted bamboo, compacted the surface with clay, added a six-inch layer of soil, and finally, repositioned the bed over it.
Lara inspected their work and nodded in approval. She then handed Abel four small ingots.
"This is your share from the tiger’s sale. One for each of you."
Abel’s hands trembled as he accepted them. "But, Sir Kane, you’ve already given us so much."
Lara’s gaze turned sharp. "Take it. You need it. If not for yourself, then for your siblings and your mother."
Abel bit his lip, his grip tightening around the ingots. "Why do you care so much about us? Is it because you are close to my father?"
Why did she care about this family? Maybe it was because she had seen the strength of their bond—how they had stood together against the tiger, even in fear. Or perhaps it was Lina, who, despite her own struggles raising a toddler, still cared for her sister, nephews, and nieces.
Before she could answer, a loud shout erupted from the gate.
"Stranger, come out!"