“Daddy?”
Miles felt father looking down into his sightless eyes as he felt for his knee.
“Yes?” Father inquired.
“Edward said–is it true you do not spank me because I am blind?”
Father said nothing. Only his breathing sounded as Miles’ heart sank. It was true, after all. It was not love; it was because he was blind. Disabled. Different.
Father’s hand closed over his as it began to tremble. “No. Maybe because you are blind, I tried to imagine how you would see spanking the first time I tried it. Maybe imagining how confused you would be made me remember how I felt when my father whipped me. I did not want to do that to you.”
“So it is because you care about me?” Miles insisted.
Father hugged him. “Most certainly. And I promise, if you ever have a sibling, your brother and sister will be treated with the same respect I treat you with, even if they can see.”
Miles smiled. “I know.”
“So you can tell Edward, the next time you see him, what he thinks is not true.”
MIles said, “He will not believe me.”
“That is up to him. But you should tell him.”
“I might have left the gate open,” Miles said suddenly. “I did not hear it click.”
Father kissed the top of his head. “Well, go find your mother and we will round up Precious before more farmers come complaining about their goats.”
Note: Miles also appears in Down A Country Lane, Little Boy Blind, and Alone At Edgware Estate.