The vicar cleared his throat. “Your point is well taken, my lord. But it
sounds as if Miss Thorne was insulated in her prior situations, surrounded by a
small number of accepting, perhaps even misguided, people who regarded her as
an exception.” He directed his gaze to Miss Thorne. “As happy as I am to hear
of the captain’s improvement, I feel I’d be remiss in my duty if I didn’t warn
you to guard your conduct, ma’am.”
“She doesn’t need to guard her conduct,” Robb said. “If there’s gossip,
you need to do your best to quell it. You wield a great deal of influence.”
“It’s difficult to dispute the fact she’s an unmarried woman and may
have been performing acts of an intimate nature with an unmarried man.”
Miss Thorne set down her teacup and folded her hands. By turns looked
each of them in the eye. “Every life I touch, I feel immensely privileged.” Her
voice seemed at once measured, calm, and grave. “I’ve held the hands and looked
in the eyes of the sick as they died, heard their last words, and been the last
face they’ve seen. Vicar, I’m sure you know how sacred such moments feel.
Sometimes I think that the gravely sick I care for, and I, somehow exchange
little pieces of our souls.” She looked down for a moment, then lifted her head
and a soft smile curved her lips. “Wherever they are, they each carry a little
piece of me.”
The silence that followed filled Robb’s heart with something very sweet
and good.
She’d brought tears to his mother’s eyes. Mother pressed a handkerchief
to her eyes before asking the Newcome’s to go to the chapel and pray with her
before they left. Newcome’s jaw looked capable of cracking walnuts. The
conversation moved on a bit stiffly, turning to community news, but Robb barely
heard their voices. He couldn’t take his eyes off Victoria Thorne. A woman who
opened herself to the people in her care, who didn’t concern herself with the
opinions others formed of her. The very opposite of himself.
“You’re in need of sunshine and fresh air, Miss Thorne,” he said. “Come
riding with me this afternoon.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed. “I should stay with your brother.”
“He’s been resting, hasn’t he? We won’t be gone that long. You do ride?”
Her grin nearly knocked him off his chair.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Sheri Humphreys used to be an
Emergency Room nurse, but today applies bandages, splints, and slings to the
characters of her Victorian romance novels. She loves to ignore yardwork and
housework and read—usually a book every one to three days. Having conjured
stories in her mind her entire life, she wondered if she were normal. Then she
began putting stories to paper and became a two-time Golden Heart® finalist.
She lives with a Jack Russell mix rescue, Lucy, in a small town on the central
California coast.
A Hero to Hold received a prized
Kirkus Star and was named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2016.
website: sherihumphreys.com
facebook:
facebook.com/SheriHumphreysAuthor/
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