Read Online Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers - Free Book Online Page A

flashing. “Your sister is a worthless slut.”
    Marta dropped the coins into the pocket of her skirt and came around the desk. “One more thing I need before we leave, Frau Meyer.” Marta slapped the woman hard across the face. “That’s for the mark you left on my sister.” Gasping, Frau Meyer backed into the drapes. Marta slapped her across the other cheek. “And that’s for insulting her.” When she raised her fist, Frau Meyer shrank from her. “One more word against my sister, and I’ll let every father in Thun and Steffisburg know what your son and husband have done to my sister. What I just did to you is nothing compared to what will happen to them!”
    * * *
    Marta still shook with rage as she walked alongside Elise, holding her hand as she carried both their bundles. She didn’t need to ask any more questions. Elise walked with her head down, her hand clammy with sweat. Marta thanked God her sister had at least managed to stop crying. “Smile and say hello, Elise.”
    “I can’t.”
    When they came in sight of the house, Elise let go of Marta’s hand and ran as though pursued by demons. By the time Marta entered the house, Mama had Elise in her arms and Papa had come in from the workroom in back. He stood in the middle of the room, glowering at Marta. “What’s going on here? Why did you bring her home?”
    “Because she wrote and begged me to come and get her.”
    “It was none of your business!”
    “You always blame me! But you’re right this time, Papa! This is your business! You put her there in that house with those wretched people!”
    “Come, Engel .” Mama put her arms around Elise and helped her up. “We’ll go upstairs.”
    “She can’t quit a job without notice, Anna!” Papa shouted after them. “She has to go back!”
    Marta came all the way inside the house, threw the bundles down, and closed the door firmly behind her. “You are not sending her back, Papa.”
    He turned on her. “Who are you to say whether she comes or goes? I’m her father! She’ll do what I tell her!”
    “She’s not going back!”
    “It’s time she grew up!”
    “That may be so, Papa, but next time, check her employers’ references! Make sure they pay their servants! They didn’t give her a single franc! Worse, they ravished her.”
    “Ravished her!” he sneered. Waving his hand, he dismissed the accusation. “Elise cries over spilt milk.”
    Marta hated him in that moment. “Did you see the bruise on her cheek?” She came farther into the room, hands balling into fists. “Frau Meyer called your daughter a slut because Herr Meyer can’t keep his hands off Elise! And the son did worse before going back to Zurich!”
    “Nonsense! It’s all nonsense! You ruined everything by taking Elise out of that house!”
    “I have ruined nothing. You have helped them ruin her !”
    “Herr Meyer told me Elise is exactly the kind of girl he wants for his son.”
    Could her father be such a fool? “And you thought he meant marriage?” Marta cried out in fury. “A tailor’s daughter and an aristocrat’s son?”
    “Her beauty is worth something.”
    Sickened, Marta swept by him and headed for the stairs.
    “Don’t you turn your back on me!” Papa raged.
    “God forgive you, Papa!” She flew upstairs. A moment later, she heard a door slam below. Mama sat on the bed Marta had shared with Elise. Her sister lay with her head in their mother’s lap. Mama stroked her like she would a pet dog. “You’re home now, my darling. Everything will be all right.”
    Marta came into the room and closed the door quietly behind her. “No, it won’t, Mama. It’ll never be right.”
    “Hush, Marta!”
    Hush? Marta took the coins from her pocket. “This money belongs to Elise.”
    Elise rose up, eyes wild. “I don’t want the money! I don’t want anything he touched.”
    Mama looked shocked and frightened. “Who is she talking about?”
    “Herr Meyer. And he wasn’t the only one.” When Marta told