Free Web NovelChapter 427: Chapter 427: The Worried-Sick Thorne Family
Night had fallen, but Penny couldn’t sleep. Having slept too much during the day, she was now restless. They would reach Vessaria by tomorrow evening, and it looked as though they would have to spend the night there.
Jim, carefree as ever, was eating tea-leaf eggs and meat buns. When he saw Penny was awake, he handed her a meat bun and asked with a grin, "Hungry?"
Penny shook her head. She had no appetite after sleeping all day, and besides, she was worried sick.
"Jim, do you think Dad will beat you when we get home?"
In the middle of a large bite, Jim paused. He felt a pang of guilt but quickly affected an air of indifference. "So what if he does?"
’It’s not like I haven’t been beaten before,’ he thought. ’I’m tough; I’m not scared. Besides, my old man can’t actually beat me to death.’
"I’ll protect you, Jim," Penny offered comfortingly.
"There’s no need. You just stay out of the way, Penny."
Jim truly wasn’t afraid of a beating; he was just worried his sister would get caught in the middle. ’My old man doesn’t hold back when he gets angry. What if he hits her by accident? It’s better if she stays far away.’
In stark contrast to Jim’s nonchalance, the Thorne family back on Millstone Peak was so worried they could hardly eat or sleep. Even meat had lost its savor. Ever since Frederick Thorne had called to say the children were safe, the entire family had been worried sick.
"That little rascal... When he gets back, I’ll beat him black and blue!" Phoebe Huxley cursed through clenched teeth. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles; she hadn’t slept properly in two nights, worried sick about her precious daughter.
Felix Thorne also had dark circles under his eyes and a grim expression. If Capria weren’t so big and so far away, he would have already gone to find them himself.
"I think you’re the foolish ones, believing everything a child tells you. You just handed Penny over without asking any questions, letting her go to such a faraway place. If anything happens to Penny..."
Raina didn’t dare to say more, terrified that something truly had happened to her granddaughter.
Phoebe Thorne said, "Goldie is with them. Penny will be fine."
"Reliable? That little rascal Goldie?" Raina grew even more incensed. "I’ll skin him alive when he gets back! When my youngest son returns this time, I’m absolutely going to break his legs. I’ll be damned if I don’t!"
"The Hawthorne boy is with them too, I think. What on earth are they doing in Capria? Amanda, do you have any idea?" Phoebe Thorne asked her daughter.
Busy washing the dishes, Amanda Chapman shook her head. "I have no idea. Penny never said anything to me."
"Penny’s a sly one; of course she wouldn’t tell us. She fooled me before, saying she and Adrian Hawthorne were just going to Tristone to have some fun. That girl needs a spanking when she gets back, too. Her nerve is reaching the heavens!" Phoebe Huxley fumed, a mix of anger and anxiety. She wasn’t worried about anything else—just that her daughter might have been kidnapped by traffickers. Every day dragged on like a year, and she had no energy left for her work.
Byron Thorne spoke in a slow, measured tone. "With the Hawthorne boy and Goldie watching them, they’ll be fine. It’s good for children to get out and see the world. They can’t stay cooped up on Millstone Peak their whole lives, can they? Just don’t tell anyone about this. If someone asks, say they went to Tristone for fun."
"Are you sure nothing bad will happen?" Raina asked, still uncertain. But Byron Thorne’s confident words managed to soothe some of her anxiety.
"If something had really gone wrong, how would Frederick have been able to call us? He said they’re fine and will be back in a few days. What is there to worry about? The children are grown now; they have their own minds. That’s a good thing. That’s just a woman’s view of things."
Byron Thorne genuinely wasn’t worried. If the children could make it to Capria safely, they could certainly make it back. His youngest son was indeed unreliable, but that Adrian Hawthorne was a dependable boy. That’s why he wasn’t concerned in the least. In fact, he was even a bit gratified. The kids were growing up, daring to venture out and see the world for themselves.
His confident tone considerably eased everyone’s minds. Raina picked up the bucket of slop to go feed the pigs, still muttering, "They’re getting a thrashing even if they are okay. If we let this slide, they’ll run off even farther next time."
Phoebe Huxley nodded vigorously; she felt the same way. ’That little rascal Jim had better watch out,’ she thought. ’She was going to skin him alive!’
