“The sunrise does not only beckon men, you know, Papa. Sometimes it calls to me too.”

The baron laughed. “Of course I know. It is the most wonderful time of any day. How anyone can sleep through it I will never understand, though all are made differently. So… how did you know I was here?”

“Where else would you be?”

“Ah, you indeed know me well!”

“Also, I followed the smell of your coffee,” Sabina added with a smile.

Baron von Dortmann glanced down at the cup he held in his hand and chuckled. The strong Swedish brew was indeed aromatic, though he doubted sufficient to lead his daughter this far from the kitchen. He breathed in deeply, though it was not with the fragrance of coffee that he filled his lungs.

“There is nothing like the wet, dewy air of the morning,” he said, “before the heat of the day has taken away the reminders of darkness and dampness and the coolness of the night. Is your mama up and about?”

“She is in the kitchen with Heidi and Carola.”

“And our guests?”

“I have not seen them, Papa. I am afraid they are sleeping through the best part of the day.”

“We shall forgive them this once,” laughed her father. “They had the journey yesterday, and it will take them at least one night to shake off the shackles of the city. And we did keep them up late last night! But tomorrow we shall have them here with us before the cockcrow! They must share the wonders of the garden at sunrise as well as at midday, would you not agree?”

“Without a doubt, Papa! We shall be here even before Heiko has begun milking the cows!”

The baron took a sip of coffee from his cup, while Sabina slowly sauntered along the pathway through the rows of roses.

She continued to walk about, making a large circle, and at length arrived back at where her father still sat.

“Do you wish to be alone, Papa?”

He smiled, then took her hand where she stood beside him. “I would never wish to be anywhere other than with you… or here… or with your mother,” he added, giving her a wink.

“You were doing more than admiring roses when I came, were you not?”

The baron smiled, then nodded.

“It is always my custom to pray for whomever the Father sends us. He has given us a great deal, such abundant blessings. I would not feel capable or worthy to steward them without his guidance. His purposes here have to do with far more than the harvesting of mere grain. The fields of God are growing a different crop to harvest.”

“You were praying for Matthew and his father?”

“I was holding them before the Father’s heart and asking him to make their time here of value to them—in the ways that matter… in the ways of the Father.”