Charlene stopped in her tracks, humming an absentminded acknowledgment. She turned around and asked, "Where are Minnie and the others?"


    Thorne replied, "The rain''s been relentless today. Half the streets outside are flooded. The manor''s drainage system has always held up well, but if this keeps up, it might notst much longer. The housekeeper''s already sent people to deal with it. Minnie''s never seen folks piling up sandbags, or raining down this hard. She ran outside to see what all the fuss was about."


    Charlene nced out the window and finally realized just how much water had swallowed up thendscape outside.


    Honestly, in all her years, she''d never seen Starfall hit by such a severe flood.


    Frowning, she couldn''t help but worry. "Where''s Minnie now? With rain like this outside, you just let her—"


    Before she could finish, Jasmine burst through the door, wearing a little raincoat and dripping head to toe. "Mom, you''re awake!"


    Seeing Jasmine safe and sound, Charlene finally breathed easy.


    But even with the raincoat, Jasmine''s hair and clothes were soaked through. The concern in Charlene''s eyes deepened, her brow furrowing again.


    Jasmine, on the other hand, was clearly having the time of her life. She dashed toward Charlene, about to leap into her arms, but stopped short when she remembered just how wet she was.


    Charlene wanted to scold her, but seeing Jasmine''s joy, the words caught in her throat.


    She was just about to tell Jasmine to go upstairs and change, when Thorne set his book aside, stood up, and scooped Jasmine into his arms. "Upstairs. Time to get you into dry clothes."


    Jasmine let out a little "okay" but then started wriggling in his hold. "I want Mom to help me change."


    Thorne raised an eyebrow at Charlene. "Are you sure? Didn''t you notice your mom''s upset?"


    Jasmine blinked, surprised.


    She honestly hadn''t noticed.


    She peeked at Charlene, searching her face for signs of anger, but didn''t see any. "Mom, are you actually mad?"


    Charlene hesitated. "...No, I''m not."


    "Then will you help me change?"


    Charlene walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Let your dad help you."


    Jasmine sighed, but didn''t seem too bothered. As Thorne carried her upstairs, she rested her chin on his shoulder, scrunching up her little nose "Mom''s not mad at all Dad. You''re fibbing."  s


    Thorne chuckled. "I''m not fibbing. Your mom''s not mad at you-she''s mad at me."<fn10dd> This text is hosted at findnovel</fn10dd>


    Their voices were just loud enough for Charlene to overhear.


    She paused, but didn''t say anything.


    Soon, the housekeeper came back inside, and Charlene asked, "Is Grandma still asleep?"


    "Not yet awake, but she should be up soon."


    About ten minutester, Thorne and Jasmine came downstairs again.


    Jasmine''s hair was dry, and she''d changed into clean clothes. She scampered over to Charlene, nestling into herp, chatting away as if nothing had happened Thorne returned to his chair, picked up his book, and disappeared behind its pages.  s


    Another twenty minutes passed before Grandma woke up.


    Starfall wasn''t known for heavy rain, and Grandma was startled by the downpour -she hadn''t seen anything like it in years.


    With nothing else to do, she pulled Charlene aside and showed off some of hertest finds-rare trinkets she''d collected over the past few weeks.


    She even gifted Charlene a beautiful jade ne and a fine fountain pen.


    The two of them chatted for a long while. Thorne left them to their conversation, never once interrupting.


    Outside, water still covered the


    streets, nearly two feet deep in ces. That night, Charlene stayed at the manor, listening to the rain batter the windows.  fo s