Sabina continued on, smiling to herself. The little man asked about his papers at least three times a day. Never had she seen anyone so impatient. Where was he going to go that was safer than Lebenshaus? But whereas most of their guests seemed perfectly content to remain right where they were, Albert Müller, Jewish watchmaker from Dresden, was anxious to be on his way.

“Guten Morgen, Sabina,” said an elderly lady, passing her in the hall on the way to the bathroom.

“Morgen, Frau Sievers.”

Veering to the right, Sabina now entered the circuitous guest quarters of the east wing, which her father had extensively remodeled since she and Matthew had explored it together, to accommodate the large volume of human traffic that had become the chief function of Lebenshaus since the dramatically stepped-up persecution of Jews. In all the maze of corridors, people of all ages moved calmly about, moving to and from their rooms, any one of several bathrooms, or either of the two stairways by which the upper region of the house communicated with the lower. The estate von Dortmann was no longer a mere spa for the soul, as Thaddeus McCallum had phrased it, but was truly a house where near-certain death was daily exchanged for life by those who came to make it their temporary home.

Meanwhile, in his office, the baron remained on his knees.

“Oh, Father,” he prayed softly, “I have such a multitude of things to be grateful for. Thank you for this marvelous house of your provision where we can feed and care for the frightened lambs of your flock, where they can find rest for their souls. Protect this place, Father. Encircle your angels round about it with their invisible swords of fire, keeping eyes that belong to the enemy from penetrating the hedge of thorns you have built around those who call upon your name.

“Oh, God, protect all your people in this war-torn land who are trying to share life with those who suffer. I pray for Dietrich, wherever he is and whatever his business. Keep him from falling prey to the machinations and motives of those who would change the world for their own ends. Keep him pure, and let him look only to you as the object of his service.

“Whoever these dear ones are who joined us last night, I pray that you will be a Father to them, that you will reveal yourself to them in all the small ways that you make yourself known. Help us to serve and give ourselves to them. Let them feel the depth of our love and the warmth of your Spirit during their time with us. Make me especially their servant, that I might reveal to them the life and character of your Son, Jesus.”