The Gift of a Child by Laura Abbot

Author:Laura Abbot [Abbot, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780373282807
Google: Vp5UBAAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 21489611
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Ten days passed, although for Rose, one day brought the same emptiness as the next, and the passage of time served only to remind her how long it had been since she had seen Alf. Bess, Aunt Lavinia and Hannah alternated caring for her. In her mind she knew she was not an invalid and that they were helping to assuage her father’s anguish, but she could not rouse herself to resume her duties. Sunday, they had all encouraged her to go to church. She refused. There was nothing there for her any longer. Her only solace was the loyalty of her beloved Ulysses, whose purrs and soft paws kneading her chest reminded her that beneath her stony exterior, she was still capable of affection.

Her father sent her doleful looks, Bess offered tender ministrations and Aunt Lavinia seemed poised for the moment when she could effect some change in Rose’s self-protective isolation. The sheriff had told Ezra that a couple of townspeople had reported seeing a shadowy figure lurking in back alleys the night before Alf disappeared, but neither was able to give a clear description. It was only the children who had mentioned seeing a woman. Rose couldn’t let herself consider the possibility that Alf had been taken by some unscrupulous opportunist. Much as she recoiled from the scrawled note that had sealed Alf’s fate, she clung to the hope that only a parent would love a child enough to leave him for a time in better conditions and then reclaim him.

Today was the meeting of the Library Society, to be held at Lavinia’s. Rose couldn’t imagine attending and facing the pity on some faces and the satisfaction on others like Bertha Britten’s. How the undertaker’s wife must be gloating over her comeuppance. As usual, Rose sat on the porch with Ulysses rocking away the morning, carefully controlling her emotions.

When a carriage pulled up in front of the house, Rose was startled to see Aunt Lavinia and Lily emerge, dressed in their Sunday finest. They marched up the walk and stood in front of Rose. Lily leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Get up, sister. We’re here to dress you for this afternoon’s meeting.”

Rose recoiled. “I can’t.”

Lavinia took hold of her arm and pulled her to her feet. “‘I can’t’ is no longer part of your vocabulary. You’ve languished long enough, and we’ve respected your need to do so. Now it’s time for you to return to the land of the living. The evening meal will be the last prepared by any of us. For today, you will get dressed and accompany us to my home in time for the arrival of my guests.”

Unnamed emotions roiled within Rose, but mutely she permitted herself to be led to her bedroom, where Lily proceeded to select a gown and Aunt Lavinia supervised her toilette. When it came time to leave, Rose stood stock-still in the bedroom door. “I can’t face them.”

“Who?” Lily asked. “Your friends who care about you,

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