In Search of Serenity by Pamela Griffin

Author:Pamela Griffin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

Nine

Outside, Hannah vented her anger.

“They have no right to judge you!”

Taken aback by the vehemence of her low words and how her eyes flashed like hard steel, he shook his head, still stunned. “That’s the woman my father abused on the Titanic, isn’t it? The one he wronged in so many ways.”

Hannah winced. “Yes. I heard about the awful things he did to Aunt Charleigh, and I’m not excusing any of it. But I happen to know that every one of those people inside have done terrible things for which they have good reason to be ashamed.”

“My father warned me this might happen. That though your father and the others had visited the mission that day, over a decade ago, and made an uneasy sort of peace, they’d been wary of him. He thought they might later have questioned if his conversion were only a trick, another con, since he’d been a master of deception. Of course he had no idea when he asked me to come to Connecticut that I would run into your aunt and uncle here.” He sighed. “And I’m sure they never thought they would see a Fontaine again. Especially outside of New York.”

“I don’t care. It’s still not right. They expect mercy, but they won’t give your father the same benefit, believing he can change, too? That’s just. . .wrong! And why in the world should they take all this out on you? You weren’t even alive when any of it happened. Just because you look like your father? That’s a pathetic excuse. You’ve never done anything to warrant such treatment. Aunt Charleigh—okay, yes, I can understand her shocked reaction, but Josiah’s hostility, I can’t. He barely knows you and hasn’t even met your father—”

“Hannah.” Eric grasped her shoulders to get her to look at him and try to calm her. “It’s all right.” He smiled. “You’re a sweet young woman to care, but don’t get yourself so upset over this. I don’t want to be the cause of anything that would alienate you from your family.”

The fire left her eyes, her expression almost sad, making him curious, but she nodded.

On the drive to town, she didn’t say much, and he found himself frequently glancing her way to make sure she was okay. What had caused such a change?

The movie house was in need of repairs like so many places, but tickets weren’t expensive, the seats were comfortable, and he wore a coat so he didn’t feel the chill inside the massive theater. Once the curtain opened, a short newsreel played onscreen, optimistic human-interest stories set amid the nation’s suffering along with a short reel of President Roosevelt waving to a crowd while the voice-over mentioned the war in Europe and the munitions being made in Connecticut to aid the Allies. At this, a few young men in the audience gave a loud hurrah, instantly hushed by the people with them. Eric smiled at their enthusiasm, now understanding how Hannah had come by the information.

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