Read Online The Beloved Land by T. Davis Bunn - Free Book Online
Authors: T. Davis Bunn
Tags: Ebook
Ads: Link
room increased in volume, and Anne paused till it was quieter, then said, “What will you do?”
“The only thing I can, given the circumstances. I have sought out another to represent Charles here in London. Someone well removed from the Dissenters and their foment.”
Anne started to protest, but realized Thomas would not have taken such actions lightly. “I am sure you did what you had to.”
“It was agony just the same. All my life I have sought to give my clients my best. To represent them fairly and uphold their interests as though they were my own. I have not just failed Charles. I have failed myself.”
Anne sat up in bed and said, “Thomas, hear me out.”
The face he turned toward her was grim.
“Thomas, you are the most honorable man I know. You have a servant’s heart, a leader’s mind, and a prophet’s will. But sometimes you are too hard on yourself. You expect too much. You want all you do to be faultless.”
Thomas pushed himself higher against the headboard, his gaze glimmering in the room’s single candlelight.
When he did not speak, Anne continued, “Life is not like that. Christ calls us to be willing servants. He commands us to accept our humanness and the thorns which this world presses into our flesh. …”
Anne stopped. For the first time since Catherine’s letter had arrived, she came face-to-face with her answer. She could feel the impact of this realization and the sense of peace which accompanied it. Both together rolled through her soul.
“Please, Anne. I pray that you continue.”
She took a breath. “We are called to accept the imperfections life casts upon us and look to Him for strength and wisdom. We must accept that we cannot arrange the world as we would like, and that at times logic will not supply the proper course, nor will our deepest desires be entirely met. This is life in a fallen world, where wars come and go, where nations rage and people cry in torment. We must be strong, not in ourselves, but in Him. And trust that His love and His wisdom and His light will see us through.”
He nodded slowly. “You are right.” Thomas reached over and took her hand. “I sense that you have reached a decision of your own.”
“I have.”
“About John?”
“Yes.” She gripped his fingers. “I cannot risk his life in such a voyage.”
“No.” Thomas’s voice was low. “You cannot.”
“You have known this?”
“I have hoped and prayed you would come to this decision. But I meant what I told you before we departed. If you had decided otherwise, I would have accepted it.”
She raised his hand to her cheek. “You are such a good, dear man.”
“I must be,” he replied softly, “to deserve you.”
Chapter 7
Gordon went through the laborious process of handing over his post to the new harbormaster, then sorted through his charts and papers to determine those that would be of value upon open waters. But the entire time, he occupied two spaces. His exterior world held to military precision. He ordered out a longboat and rowed the new master through the anchorage, talking of tides and currents and ships and the blockade. He signed the required documents, bid farewell to the harbor pilots, and invited one lieutenant pilot and a few of the best landlocked sailors on harbor duty to join his new crew.
The majority of his thoughts, though, remained hidden away behind the stern mask of a busy officer. Inside, down deep where none save Nicole and God might detect, he remained in turmoil.
Gordon was marrying a noblewoman. She might eschew the title, but Nicole Robichaud Harrow was a woman of wealth and holdings. Yet by giving her allegiance with him to the American colonies, Nicole was cutting herself off from her position and inheritance. The land in western Massachusetts was hers because it had been granted by the Continental Congress to Charles and he had deeded it to her. But the house had been burned to the ground during one of the battles that had
“The only thing I can, given the circumstances. I have sought out another to represent Charles here in London. Someone well removed from the Dissenters and their foment.”
Anne started to protest, but realized Thomas would not have taken such actions lightly. “I am sure you did what you had to.”
“It was agony just the same. All my life I have sought to give my clients my best. To represent them fairly and uphold their interests as though they were my own. I have not just failed Charles. I have failed myself.”
Anne sat up in bed and said, “Thomas, hear me out.”
The face he turned toward her was grim.
“Thomas, you are the most honorable man I know. You have a servant’s heart, a leader’s mind, and a prophet’s will. But sometimes you are too hard on yourself. You expect too much. You want all you do to be faultless.”
Thomas pushed himself higher against the headboard, his gaze glimmering in the room’s single candlelight.
When he did not speak, Anne continued, “Life is not like that. Christ calls us to be willing servants. He commands us to accept our humanness and the thorns which this world presses into our flesh. …”
Anne stopped. For the first time since Catherine’s letter had arrived, she came face-to-face with her answer. She could feel the impact of this realization and the sense of peace which accompanied it. Both together rolled through her soul.
“Please, Anne. I pray that you continue.”
She took a breath. “We are called to accept the imperfections life casts upon us and look to Him for strength and wisdom. We must accept that we cannot arrange the world as we would like, and that at times logic will not supply the proper course, nor will our deepest desires be entirely met. This is life in a fallen world, where wars come and go, where nations rage and people cry in torment. We must be strong, not in ourselves, but in Him. And trust that His love and His wisdom and His light will see us through.”
He nodded slowly. “You are right.” Thomas reached over and took her hand. “I sense that you have reached a decision of your own.”
“I have.”
“About John?”
“Yes.” She gripped his fingers. “I cannot risk his life in such a voyage.”
“No.” Thomas’s voice was low. “You cannot.”
“You have known this?”
“I have hoped and prayed you would come to this decision. But I meant what I told you before we departed. If you had decided otherwise, I would have accepted it.”
She raised his hand to her cheek. “You are such a good, dear man.”
“I must be,” he replied softly, “to deserve you.”
Chapter 7
Gordon went through the laborious process of handing over his post to the new harbormaster, then sorted through his charts and papers to determine those that would be of value upon open waters. But the entire time, he occupied two spaces. His exterior world held to military precision. He ordered out a longboat and rowed the new master through the anchorage, talking of tides and currents and ships and the blockade. He signed the required documents, bid farewell to the harbor pilots, and invited one lieutenant pilot and a few of the best landlocked sailors on harbor duty to join his new crew.
The majority of his thoughts, though, remained hidden away behind the stern mask of a busy officer. Inside, down deep where none save Nicole and God might detect, he remained in turmoil.
Gordon was marrying a noblewoman. She might eschew the title, but Nicole Robichaud Harrow was a woman of wealth and holdings. Yet by giving her allegiance with him to the American colonies, Nicole was cutting herself off from her position and inheritance. The land in western Massachusetts was hers because it had been granted by the Continental Congress to Charles and he had deeded it to her. But the house had been burned to the ground during one of the battles that had
Similar Books
