The Captive Brides Collection by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-68322-338-2
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

She could never go home!

The dam broke, and suddenly the tears Charlotte had struggled to keep at bay couldn’t be held back any longer. There would be no more mornings of sharing a cup of coffee with Aunt Mary. No more visits to Saint Catherine’s. No more cozy evenings by the fire, reading a book out loud as her aunt sat close by. No more worshipping together at the little church around the corner from their home.

She had been given a life sentence, with no possibility of a reprieve.

The thought robbed her of breath. How would she ever survive this? What would become of her now? Without thinking, Charlotte bolted from the bench.

“Charlotte!”

She flung open the door to the lower deck and stumbled down the stairs. The only home she’d ever known was with Aunt Mary. She was alone in a world she didn’t recognize anymore, and her aunt? Charlotte’s legs gave out beneath her and she sat down on the steps.

“Charlotte!”

The sound of John’s footsteps vibrated through her body and then he was there, pulling her into his arms, pressing her head to his broad shoulder. There, in his embrace, she felt warm and safe, protected against the cruelty of the world.

“It will be all right.”

John was wrong. Nothing would ever be right again. She buried her face in his neck as a fresh wave of tears bombarded her. “How could it be?”

He rocked her gently. “You’re right. Nothing will ever be the same again.”

She sniffed. “You’re not very good at this.”

“I haven’t had much practice with this sort of thing.” His voice rumbled softly through her. “When Meggie died, I thought nothing would ever bring me joy again, but I was wrong. Watching the faith my sister had as she lay dying helped me find God again and that gives me great joy.”

She lifted her head to look up at him, but his face was in the shadows. She once had a relationship with God like that. What had happened? “I’ve always tried to be a good person and to live out my faith in God.” She didn’t know if she had the courage to confess what she had been feeling since her arrest. But this was John. She didn’t know how, but he would understand. “So why does God hate me so much?”

“Why would you think that?”

Charlotte drew in a shaky breath. Was she brave enough to tell him? “When I was five or so, Aunt Mary decided my father should visit me and sent him a note requesting that he come. Of course, he never came, but I found his reply in one of Aunt Mary’s books.” Her eyes began to burn again. “He wrote that he had seen me and I didn’t look to be very loveable.”

His arms tightened around her. “If your father wasn’t already rotting in his grave, I’d kill him with my bare hands.”

She didn’t doubt his words. She snuggled deeper into his arms. “That’s kind of you, but I’d rather not see you hang from the gallows.

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