Nan awoke early and crept to the door of the sickroom. Peering in, she saw Jo, asleep in a chair next to the bed, and, in the bed, the most beat up boy she had ever seen. As she looked, the boy emitted a low groan and suddenly tried to sit up. Nan, with her nursing instincts, rushed to the bedside and gently laid the boy back. He opened his eyes slowly, trying several times before getting things in focus. He looked straight at Nan and she saw that his eyes were a beautiful dark green.
At the sight of her face, he threw his left arm up across his face, with a look of fear. The sound woke Jo and she immediately rose and bent over the boy.
"It's alright." She said soothingly. "You're safe here. We won't hurt you." Her tone seemed to calm the boy and he lowered his arm as he saw that it was just her and Nan there.
"Where-where am I?" he asked huskily a few seconds later.
"You're at Plumfield, and I am Mrs. Jo." She said, smiling at him. His eyes shifted to Nan. "Oh, and this is Nan, one of my students." Jo said. The boy looked up at her silently. "Are you hungry?" Jo asked.
The answer to her question came in the form of a nod, which must have bothered the injured head, for he closed his eyes tightly for a minute and his face was taut with pain.
"Nan, go have Asia fix some chicken broth." Jo ordered. Nan was quick to obey and Asia was thrilled to know the boy was awake and hungry.
Meanwhile, Jo began to ask the boy some questions. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Ethan."
"And how old are you Ethan?"
"Dunno."
"Do you know who did this to you?"
Ethan looked at her, alarmed. "No, no, I don't." he said, at first hesitant, but then firm. Jo suspected he was not telling her the truth.
Just then, Nick entered the room. A grin splitting his features, he stepped over and introduced himself to Ethan. The boy immediately grew cold and silent at the sight of Nick. Confused, Nick looked over at Jo. Jo just shook her head and Nick, after stumbling over his words for a moment, turned and left.
Jo smiled down at Ethan. She touched his forehead and found it cool. "Well, no fever anyway." She said. Ethan didn't answer. He just closed his eyes.
Jo sat by the bedside until Nan came back with the soup, followed closely by Asia. Jo was about to take the soup when Nan whispered, "Can I give it to him Mrs. Jo? Please?" Jo acquiesced to Nan's request and sat back as Nan pulled up a chair next to the bed.
Touching Ethan's shoulder, Nan said, "Hey, are you hungry?"
The boy opened his eyes and turned towards her. Seeing the soup, he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position, but fell back. Asia stepped forward quickly and helped him sit, propped up against some pillows. Ethan gave her a wan smile as she stepped back.
"Now, open your mouth." Nan said to Ethan, filling the spoon with the savory chicken broth. He opened up obediently and Nan fed him the entire bowl.
"Thanks." He said, laying back on the cushions. Nan gave him a smile and gathered up the dishes. Suddenly, all three women saw his face become uneasy, even angry, as he looked at the door. Following his gaze, they saw Jack, Emil, and Dan standing there. The boys were disconcerted by the angry look, but stepped forward nonetheless and introduced themselves one by one. Ethan acknowledged them with a nod, but refused the outstretched hands. His eyes were growing droopy with exhaustion, and Jo, noticing this, shooed everyone out of the room and helped Ethan to lie down. He fell asleep almost immediately and Jo left the room quietly. She found the children standing in the hall.
"What's with him?" asked Jack, who was a bit angry himself at Ethan's attitude. "Yeah, why's he so mad at us? We didn't do anything to him." Emil chimed in.
Jo sighed. "Well, boys, I don't think it's anything against you personally, but I think it has something to do with the beating he received. Maybe he was hurt by a boy, or a man, and has a distrust of all boys and men now. I don't know, but let's not worry about it. I want you all to be kind and polite to Ethan while he's here."
The boys nodded unwillingly. "Alright." Emil sighed, turning from the hall and heading down the stairs to breakfast. The others followed. However, Dan stood before the door for a long time, thinking.