The Reverend's Daughter (Book 2 after The Duke's Daughter)

Chapter Ten

Katherine Petals sat at her work table, nursing a cup of tea. Seated in front of the small window, she was taking a short break while her bread finished baking. Looking out to the sea, her thoughts naturally drifted to her only offspring. She offered up her prayers, asking the good Lord to watch over her son for her. He was the only family she had, and she tended to worry a bit when he was out on the open water. Especially when a particularly vicious storm rolled through, as one had blown through mightily last week. She had no way of knowing if his ship had encountered the storm or not, but she was a mother, and mothers tended to work up the worst case scenario sometimes. It did not matter in the least that he was now a full grown man, fully capable of caring for himself. Once a mother, always a mother, and the only way she had ever found to relieve her anxiety when he was away from her, was through prayer. She mentally pictured her beautiful boy, his entire ship and every one of his men, cupped in God's hands. Then she gave the whole bundle to Him to protect and watch over.

Sometimes, once was good enough. At other times, it was as if something was telling her additional prayer was needed and must be attended to. She had an odd feeling this time. For the most part, she was at peace twas not Violet or his ship that caused her anxiety, there was something else disturbing her well being. She could not know exactly what it was, but she was being pulled to prayer none the less. She finally concluded her pleas by asking, that whatever the situation may be, the Lord's will be done. Only then, was she able to let it go and continue with her tasks.

Once a week, on Monday mornings, Katherine baked. She only needed two loaves of bread for herself, but she always baked an even dozen, taking the additional loaves to others that needed a little bit of help in her small, tightknit community. She owed this community so much, as they had helped her, a single mother, to raise her son. Violet had grown up here, accepted and loved by all. The old adage, it takes a village to raise a child, had been proven true in their case. The Marks family had treated him as one of their own, Josh's mother had let Violet stay at their house, just as often as she had let Josh come stay at theirs. None in the town had ostracized Violet, or herself, or called him by that name Katherine could not even bring herself to think.

They all knew, of course, as the small community had witnessed her entire courtship, her waiting, and then finally, her pregnancy. Katherine had been convinced that she would have to go away to have her child, to raise him somewhere other than the only place she had ever known. These people she had known all her life were such good souls, she could not stand the thought of bringing shame to them with her foolish actions. She had actually been at the task of packing her belongings, when the entire church body showed up at her door, asking her to please stay. She had been wrapping her mother's china, taking great care to see that no piece would come to harm as tears had slid unchecked down her cheeks, wetting the paper she was wrapping the heirlooms in. The knock had come at her door when she least expected it, a Wednesday eve, when all were usually in their little church for the mid week service. She had hoped no one had noticed her thickening waistline, but they had, and they had also assumed what had happened. Apparently she, and her predicament, had been the topic of the meeting that week.

What Katherine had not counted on, was their understanding and forgiveness. Being that she was ashamed of herself, she assumed the people she knew, would be too. She found that the townsfolk not only had watched her grow up, and loved her, but that these people took care of their own. They would not let her simply disappear and take her shame with her. The same people that had stood by her when her parents passed, had stood by her once more, to the point of understanding that everyone made mistakes, and that she would need their help and support even more than before. None of them had wanted her child to feel the shame that an innocent little baby had nothing to do with.

Katherine carried that shame upon her own shoulders. Her tiny town had reassured her that she was valuable and cared about, that God forgave, and restored. The pastor had handmade a small cradle for her baby, the women had sewed tiny garments and little blankets, in anticipation of a new little life being added into their midst. From the moment Katherine sat weeping into her hands at their generosity of spirit, none had shown any indication that they judged her and found her lacking. In fact the opposite had been true. She had felt loved and protected, as they had wrapped her in their arms, one after the other, telling her that she had a family she could lean on who would help carry her through. She had gone to the little church with these people all her life, and they had shown her what God's love really looked like, just when she needed it most.