“I do not believe in coddling children. This is a harsh world. The sooner they learn this, the sooner they will adapt”
Fury pulses through him as Eliyahu pounds down the hill and through the town. When he reaches Leonora’s home, he pushes open the door and strides directly to her accounts room. He stands before her, his feet planted on the stone, as if he is a tree that takes its strength from the earth.
He resists the urge to pluck pen and parchment from her fingers. She coolly continues her work while he stands there, catching his breath. He could rein in his anger, but he needs it, for the sake of the children.
“The children.”
“Hmm.” She still does not look up.
“What are they doing working in the wool factory?”
She sniffs. “I believe that they are helping complete a process wherein the wool, which has been washed a number of times, is set on wooden slats to dry and beaten with sticks, to remove foreign matter and to separate the wool which has become tangled in the process.”
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