Maybe it was Dodonus calling him Ford, which was almost invasively personally — not even Cash regularly called him Ford — or maybe it was the physical contact, since he'd always been particularly comforted by touch. Whichever it was, Ford crumbled in the other man's arms. The only thing keeping Ford together for the past eight to ten hours or so was the fact that he couldn't fall apart when people needed him. He had to put on a mask of calm and optimism in front of Grace and Mama — or he had to try, anyway, as best as he could. He couldn't let his guard down around Noble, either, because Noble had been there when it happened and now blamed himself, and if Ford wasn't there for him he might fall apart, too. Here in Dodonus' foyer, however, there was no one he had to hold himself together for.

He nodded into Dodonus' shoulder at the suggestion about Williams. Ford wasn't sure that a ghost would have any better luck trying to find her than than the aurors would, but they weren't in a position to be turning down help from any quarter that offered it. Ford didn't know what he was going to do if she didn't come back — but then, he also didn't know what he was going to do if she did come back. This had so hopelessly derailed the plan he and Noble had made to get the girls married and financially secure before their debt balancing act ran its course that Ford had no idea how they could ever get things back on track. He could figure that out later, though — right now he just wanted to know that his sister was safe and sound.

"I didn't put it together," he said, and his voice was thick, as though he might cry. Maybe he would; he really couldn't say, though if tears hadn't made their way to his eyes yet he wasn't sure they would. "When you said it last night I never thought... If I'd figured it out..." He didn't finish the thought, but surely his friend knew where he was going with it: I could have stopped it.

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