Near the loading entrance, he found another boy crouched beside the wall.
The child looked about Matthew’s age, but his life could not have been more different.
His shirt was several sizes too large and torn along one sleeve. Dirt streaked his cheeks, and his bare feet were covered in dried mud. He looked exhausted, frightened, and desperately hungry.
Matthew stopped a few feet away.
The boy immediately pressed himself against the wall.
“I’m not stealing,” he said quickly. “I was only looking.”
Matthew glanced toward the nearby buffet tables.
“Are you hungry?”
The boy stared at him as though the question had an obvious answer.
Matthew hurried back into the ballroom. A few minutes later, he returned carrying a plate piled with roast beef, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and warm bread.
He lowered himself onto the polished marble floor and held out the plate.
The boy hesitated.
