Heaven & Hell by Suzanne D. Williams

Author:Suzanne D. Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical fiction, western, inspirational romance, Christian fiction, 19th century, clean & wholesome, love & romance
Publisher: Suzanne D. Williams
Published: 2016-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Knowledge, she’d learned, came only after revelation, and revelation was fickle. It could be sparked by something tiny or be the result of a headfirst dive into a vat of hot oil. Hers seemed to always be the latter. She’d learned the hard way the falseness of most of her aunt’s words, at the same time, reaffirming her belief in certain parts of them. She’d accepted she was a woman, her hair given her by God, not the devil, but also confirmed to its ability to lead a man astray. Her life seemed created as a series of tests, each one geared to trip her up and make her fall.

So far she’d managed to say no to them. Matthew Todd was nearby, but at an arm’s length. Between them was her uncle and Genevieve, one or the other in the room at all times. To be left alone with him would court disaster and undo all the good she’d worked to attain. Only, now, all that good had gone to waste because another revelation had fallen upon her, its weight a stone. This was the ultimate punishment for being herself, a sign that she was destined for the fires of hell above all else. She felt them, the flames licking at the soles of her shoes, and this time, relinquished her mind to their heat.

Serefina gripped her waistline, her breakfast churning in her gut, and stared into the hole that was now her future. Her secret, that thing done to her that she hadn’t spoken of, had come to fulfillment in the presence of a child, a child created out of hatred and sin, unexpected, unwanted. Was it unwanted? The question jabbed her in the chest. Would she refuse it love simply because of the memory it created?

Memories were powerful things. Though their present time was long gone, they could bring into the here and now definitive changes. Thinking of her mother and father gave her joy. Thinking of their passing, sorrow. Remembering her aunt brought confusion and that same sense of horror she’d felt when she’d first cut her hair.

But, did her mother look at her and mourn her father again? Did her aunt see her hair and wish her own mother back? Did her uncle look at Genevieve and, instead, remember his first wife? Would this child she carried bring grief and pain, or joy? And was she prepared to accept that?

Serefina kept the child’s presence to herself. Matthew grew stronger and more able to walk. Genevieve readied for the birth of their child, a midwife coming to sit with her. Then late one night, the moment happened, Virgil’s daughter came into the world, yet, still, Serefina told no one.

Genevieve was far lovelier nursing the baby than she had been before, something Serefina hadn’t thought possible. She beamed with a motherly glow that filled the small house.

“Would you like to hold her?” she asked.

The baby’s small lips puckered, and she gave a soft coo.

“It was good of you to name her after my uncle’s first wife.

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