The Pursuit (41 page)

The Manse

“You’re up early,” Judith said to Frederick as he stood peering into his closet very early on Saturday morning.

“Do you think my suit is all right?”

“I think it’s fine. Do you have a problem with it?”

Frederick turned to look at her.

“Our oldest child is getting married today. I want to look especially nice.”

“Why do I think I’m the one who is supposed to be saying that?”

Frederick’s eyes twinkled at having been caught out. Nevertheless, he inspected his suit a moment longer, flicked at a speck of lint, and rehung it in the closet. He then joined his wife on the bed, sitting so his back was against the footboard. Judith watched him, amazed to find tears in his eyes.

“Frederick,” she said softly. “What is it?”

“I’m just so proud of him, Judith. He’s a fine man, and although he’s wanted to be married for years, he’s waited for God’s timing.”

“And to our own little Penny,” Judith said with a smile, wanting to cry as well.

Husband and wife looked at each other and shared a smile. The church family had grown over the years. There had been many marriages and new families started. Some couples had settled nearby, and others had moved away. Their own Margaret had not stayed in the area but lived closer to London. Jeffrey and Penny had chosen a home here, something for which the Hursts and Jenningses were thankful.

A noise at the door suddenly made them turn. Ten-year-old Elizabeth, the youngest in the family, poked her head in, coming forward as soon as she saw they were awake. Her dress for the wedding was dangling from her hand.

“Eliza,” her mother asked. “Why are you up so early?”

“It’s my dress. I’m not sure it’s all right for the wedding.”

Frederick and Judith looked at each other, mouths open, before bursting into laughter. It was several minutes before they could even find breath to explain to their bemused daughter.

Marianne Jennings, Anne Weston, Lizzy Morland, Cassandra Tate, and Niki Steele all found themselves standing outside of the church building after the wedding. The bride and groom had already left, but no one else seemed in much of a hurry to leave. Children came and went—they each had many—asking questions of their mothers and being told to stay clean, but as soon as they were able, the five women went back to talking each time.

“She looked beautiful,” Lizzy said, thinking about the bride.

“I think Penny might have looked good in a flour sack,” Anne said dryly.

Marianne only smiled, but she couldn’t have agreed more. Penny’s long, dark hair and huge, lovely eyes had been hard to miss, not to mention the love that shone on her face as she stood at the altar with Jeffrey, whose new suit fit him very well.

“It made me think of my wedding,” Niki admitted, and for a moment, all the women smiled.

Having been married on the same day, Cassandra and Lizzy exchanged glances, sharing a look as they remembered back to that occasion.

“Mother.” Christopher was suddenly at Niki’s side. Taller than his mother, his voice growing more masculine every day, Niki turned to him.

“What is it, Chris?”

“Edward says that Emma is wet through and starting to cry.”

“I’ll be right along.”

Niki said her goodbyes to the women in the group and followed after her son. She kissed Christopher and Richard goodbye—they were spending the night with their Uncle Henry—before climbing into the coach. Emmaline wanted her mother’s lap for the ride home, and by the time they arrived at Billings Park, they both needed a bath.

Emmaline was seen to first and then tucked into bed by her father. Edward went in search of his wife and found her in the bathtub, hair piled atop her head, water up to her neck. He sat on the edge of the tub to speak to her.

“This looks relaxing.”

“It is. I can tell I didn’t sleep very well.”

Niki ran her washing cloth up one arm before she looked up to find Edward’s eyes on her. She stared at him for a moment.

“I was thinking about our wedding day today,” he said.

Niki looked as pleased as she felt. “I thought about it too.”

“As pretty as Penny was, she couldn’t compare with you in your wedding dress.”

Niki smiled. Edward always had loving things to say, even after all these years.

Niki was opening her mouth to say something to him when someone knocked on the door. Edward went to answer it, finding Sunny outside the room, looking for her mother.

“She’ll be out in a little while,” her father told her, and shut the door again.

Edward looked back to find Niki out of the tub and wrapped in a thick robe. He returned to stand in front of her and took her in his arms. Not needing words, they hugged and kissed for a long time.

Edward decided, not for the first time, that God’s timing and will were perfect. He wasn’t looking for love when he went to Africa. He wasn’t looking for a wife when Niki Bettencourt came across his path, but God, in His imponderable way, had had a plan.

“Edward,” Niki said, having caught a look on his face. “What are you thinking about?”

Edward knew he would never be able to explain and said only, “Just thanking God for you.”

Niki smiled in her tender way and went up on tiptoe to kiss him again.

About the Author

LORI WICK is a multifaceted author of Christian fiction.
As comfortable writing period stories as she is penning
contemporary works, Lori’s books (6 million in print)
very widely in location and time period.
Lori’s faithful fans consistentely put her series and
stand-alone works on the bestseller lists.
Lori and her husband, Bob, live with their
swiftly growing family in the Midwest.

To read about other Lori Wick novels,
visit
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Books by Lori Wick

A Place Called Home Series
A Place Called Home
A Song for Silas
The Long Road Home
A Gathering of Memories

The Californians
Whatever Tomorrow Brings
As Time Goes By
Sean Donovan
Donovan’s Daughter

Kensington Chronicles
The Hawk and the Jewel
Wings of the Morning
Who Brings Forth the Wind
The Knight and the Dove

Rocky Mountain Memories
Where the Wild Rose Blooms
Whispers of Moonlight
To Know Her by Name
Promise Me Tomorrow

The Yellow Rose Trilogy
Every Little Thing About You
A Texas Sky
City Girl

English Garden Series
The Proposal
The Rescue
The Visitor
The Pursuit

The Tucker Mills Trilogy
Moonlight on the Millpond
Just Above a Whisper
Leave a Candle Burning

Big Sky Dreams
Cassidy
Sabrina
Jessie

Contemporary Fiction
Sophie’s Heart
Pretense
The Princess
Bamboo & Lace
Every Storm
White Chocolate Moments