Patrick Hedstrom 07: The Lost Boy by Camilla Lackberg

Author:Camilla Lackberg
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2013-03-14T06:00:00+00:00

FJÄLLBACKA 1871

The pastor was big and fat and gratefully grabbed hold of Karl’s hand so he could climb up on to the dock. Emelie curtseyed modestly. She’d never been to a church service in town. Here she stood now, blushing and hoping that the pastor wouldn’t think her failure to attend had to do with a lack of will or faith on her part.

‘It’s certainly an isolated place, isn’t it? Beautiful, though,’ the pastor added. ‘But isn’t there someone else who lives here?’

‘Julian,’ said Karl. ‘He’s tending to the lighthouse at the moment. I can fetch him if you like.’

‘Yes, please. That would be good.’ Without waiting to be invited, the pastor started walking towards the house. ‘Since I’ve finally made it out to this island, I might as well meet all of the inhabitants.’ He laughed and held the door open for Emelie while Karl set off for the lighthouse.

‘What a nice, tidy house you have here,’ said the pastor, looking around.

‘Our humble home isn’t much to look at.’ Emelie discovered that she was hiding her hands under her apron. They looked so rough after all the scrubbing she did, but she couldn’t deny that the pastor’s words of praise made her happy.

‘There’s no reason to scorn what’s humble and simple. From what I can see, Karl should consider himself lucky to have such a clever wife.’ He sat down on the kitchen bench.

Emelie was so embarrassed that she didn’t know what to say, so she began making coffee.

‘May I offer you some coffee?’ She wondered if she had anything to serve with it. Then she realized they had only the plain rusks that she’d baked, but they would just have to do, since his visit was unexpected.

‘I never turn down a cup of coffee,’ replied the pastor, smiling.

Emelie was starting to feel less nervous. He didn’t seem to be a stern sort of pastor – not like Preacher Berg, in her former church. The mere thought of having to sit at the same table with Berg made her knees wobble.

The door opened and Karl came in. Right behind him was Julian, with a wary expression on his face. He avoided looking the pastor in the eye.

‘So this is Julian?’ The pastor was still smiling, but Julian merely nodded as they briefly shook hands. Karl and Julian sat down across from the pastor while Emelie set the table.

‘I hope you’re taking care that your wife doesn’t work too hard, now that she’s in this blessed condition. I can see that she’s a splendid housekeeper. You must be very proud of her.’

At first Karl didn’t answer. Then he said, ‘Yes, Emelie is very efficient.’

‘All right. Come and sit down now,’ said the pastor to Emelie, patting the seat next to him.

Emelie did as he said, but she couldn’t help staring at his black coat and white collar. She had never been so close to a preacher before. It would have been unthinkable to sit down with old Berg and converse over a cup of coffee.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.