Sarah Anne's Expedient Marriage (The Unshakable Faith Series Book 3) Read online

  While maintaining possession of his estate in England, the elder Mr. Swyndhurst had left England to visit his son. When his daughter-in-law suddenly died, he had felt the need to stay on for a time with his grieving son. Then, while tending to some business in Boston, he made the acquaintance of Joseph Goodwin, his new daughter-in-law’s father. Given that the two gentlemen had become fast friends, when Mr. Goodwin had shared his troubles concerning his impending death with the elder Mr. Swyndhurst, he readily agreed to assist him in securing protection for his daughter. It didn’t take Mr. Swyndhurst long to consider his own son for the task.

  As the two downcast men entered the house, the head servant moved to assist them with their belongings. He then directed the cook to prepare the weary travelers something to eat. After some conversation and a bit of nourishment, quite exhausted, the father and son made their way to their individual bedchambers.

  Before turning in for the night, the concerned father knelt down beside his bed. He then beseeched the Lord on his son’s behalf that one day very soon Alexander would return to Amesbury to live with his wife, Sarah Anne. He had not let on to his son that this was his wish all along. He and his dying friend—the young woman’s father—had secretly prayed that their children would one day come together, under one roof, as husband and wife. Since Mr. Swyndhurst, Sr.’s, friend was gone now, it was up to him to daily pray about the matter.

  The following day, the two Swyndhurst men were up with the sun. The father arrived in the dining room ahead of his son, whom, after such a long journey, he had not thought to see much before midday. Nonetheless, following the older man’s arrival to breakfast, within a few minutes his son appeared. The head servant was also quite astonished to find the two gentlemen up so early. Smiling, he quickly directed the cook to prepare breakfast for them.

  Later that afternoon while father and son were reclining in the parlor, the elder Mr. Swyndhurst inquired as to how his son was fairing. His son, a man of only thirty, had experienced many changes in his life, and all in a relatively short time.

  Still feeling a bit numb over all that had happened, the younger of the Swyndhurst men wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. “Father, I believe I have not yet sorted out my feelings. The only thing of which I am sure is that my heart still aches for Rebecca. And yet, in hearing the distraught woman, who is now my wife, crying behind her bedchamber door before we set off on our journey, my heart hurt for her as well. Through no fault of her own, she has also suffered a great loss and had her life completely altered. I shall be praying for her that she overcomes any fears she may be experiencing, relating to her circumstances.”

  The father felt hope in his heart for the first time concerning his son and daughter-in-law’s marriage. To his mind, if Alexander could think beyond his own pain to Sarah Anne’s, then perhaps his heart would change with regard to a future with her. Realizing he hadn’t indicated that he had heard what his son had said, the older man responded, “How good of you, Alexander. I shall be praying for her as well. From what her father disclosed to me about his relationship with Sarah Anne, with her mother long since passed, they meant everything to each other. She must be heartbroken over his passing. And for one who had always been under her father’s protection to now be for all intents and purposes on her own, the young woman must be quite frightened.”

  Hearing his father’s words did little to relieve Alexander’s concerns for his young wife; they had in fact had quite the opposite effect. He now felt worse than before. While rubbing his hand across the back of his neck, he responded, “I know, Father. But what was I to do about it? I am in no frame of mind to be a husband to the girl. Besides, Martha and the other servants shall look after her needs. It isn’t as though she is living in that house all alone.” Then, dropping his head, he fell silent.

  Seeing the pain flash across his son’s face, Mr. Swyndhurst, Sr., felt that perhaps he had said too much. “I beg your pardon, Alexander. You have done a very good thing in marrying the girl and bringing her into your home in Amesbury. I know it wasn’t your wish to remarry and that you only did it for Sarah Anne and her father. Do not think on it any longer. You are correct in saying that it is not as though she is on her own. Furthermore, Martha is sure to send word if the girl is in need of anything.”

  With his head still low, Alexander nodded. He knew his father had not meant to injure him with his words concerning Sarah Anne and her state of mind. He also sensed that his father was now trying to console him after speaking thus. The last thing Alexander wanted was to cause tension between himself and his father.

  Believing his son needed to be alone with his thoughts the elder Mr. Swyndhurst rose to his feet. While passing by Alexander on his way out of the room, the father patted the younger man’s shoulder. “I believe I shall leave you to yourself for a while.”

  Alexander glanced up and said, “Very well, Father.” The two men were not together again until the following day. The elder Mr. Swyndhurst decided not to broach the subject of his daughter-in-law again. If his son wished to discuss Sarah Anne, he would have to initiate the conversation. The older man felt that, in handling things in that way, he was less likely to say something he shouldn’t.

  A few months had passed when the younger Mr. Swyndhurst received a missive from Martha, his head servant. Anxious to read it, he made his way to his bedchamber.

  As with Mr. Swyndhurst, Sr., the compassionate servant had begun to pray that the couple would eventually come together as husband and wife. Even though she had only known Sarah a short time, she felt that without her husband there to look after her, she would continually be at the mercy of those who had been taking advantage of the young woman’s kind and charitable nature. And yet she wondered if having Mr. Swyndhurst return would be the right thing, for she was certain Sarah had no wish to be married, at least not in the traditional sense. To Martha, her mistress seemed quite content to be the wife of an absent husband. In the time that the young woman had been there, she had rarely even spoken of him. Martha believed that, to Sarah, it was as if Mr. Swyndhurst didn’t really exist.

  Sitting by the window in his bedchamber, Alexander opened the missive from his servant-friend. As he read, he found himself hoping there would be news of Sarah Anne. She had been on his mind ever since he had taken leave of Amesbury. As he scanned the missive for word of his wife, his eyes met her name scrawled halfway down the page. Eagerly, he read on. It seemed that without saying as much, Martha was intimating that she had some concerns relating to his wife. As his servant wrote not a word regarding the nature of her concerns, he wasn’t exactly certain what it was that had been worrying her. I wish she would have just come out with it. She must have known that I would wish to be informed if there were any real trouble. I shall simply have to send off a missive of my own to inquire as to the reason for her concern. Later that day, Alexander did exactly that.

  After a few months, the concerned husband received a response—from Martha—to his missive that all was well and that he should not worry. Unbeknownst to him, his head servant had decided it had been unfair of her to burden her employer with something over which, given that he was so far away, he had little control.

  Though his servant had thought to ease his mind by her subsequent missive, had she been there when it arrived, she would have seen that it accomplished very little in that regard, for Mr. Swyndhurst still believed that there was something his elderly servant-friend was not telling him.

  1732, Amesbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony

  As Sarah had such a kind heart, she had taken on many of the responsibilities of running the estate, including assisting the servants with several of their duties. She had also befriended a couple of the neighbors who had a tendency to lean a bit too heavily upon her. On more than one occasion, Martha had observed that Sarah was working herself to the point of complete exhaustion.

  One of the neighbors, Alice Strout, a widow of but eight and twenty, had three youngsters to look after. Sarah had often gon
e to the Strouts’ in order to assist Alice with the children. Mary, the youngest, was just two years of age. The other two—Elizabeth and Samuel—were nine and ten. Mary had begun to think of Sarah much the same as another mother, even more so, at times, than her own mother, given that Alice Strout had not the natural inclinations for the role. The older Strout children also adored Sarah and eagerly looked forward to her visits.

  Another of the neighbors upon whom Sarah regularly called was an elderly, blind woman by the name of Addy Johnson. Sarah went two times a week to read to the woman, and while there she always found a chore or two that needed doing. On top of that, Sarah spent a good deal of time with her church family in whatever capacity she was most needed, which often times meant paying a visit to the sick from amongst the flock.

  Sarah’s busy schedule had been going on for some time when Martha finally decided she needed to have a word with the young woman. Oh, she had tried numerous times to speak with her mistress about her concerns, but since her words always seemed to be ignored, Martha now intended, if necessary, to be harsh with her. A while back, she had attempted to send word to Sarah’s husband regarding the situation; however, after receiving word back from the worried man, she had thought better of it. From so far away, he could do little else but worry. She had decided then that it rested with her to see to the young woman’s well-being.

  Another worrisome fact for Martha was that in the time she had known her, Sarah had never had much of an appetite. In fact, it took great effort on the part of the head servant to get the young woman to eat more than a few bites of food on any given day. And even though Sarah had always been rather thin, lately she appeared, to Martha, to be nothing but skin and bones. Esther, one of the other servants, had also taken notice of her friend’s frail condition and had shared her concerns with the head servant, which only served to bolster Martha’s resolve to take the matter in hand once and for all. She would not allow Sarah to brush her fears for her aside any longer.

  Finding the young woman in the kitchen heating water, Martha said forcefully, “Sarah, you cannot continue on in this way, taking care of everyone from sun up to sun down, and with very little to eat, I might add! You are going to work yourself into an early grave.” This was said one evening when Sarah had returned after a long day at the home of Alice Strout. Martha had observed that Sarah’s face appeared even more gaunt than it had that morning—indicating that, once again, she had most likely gone all day without food.

  “Not to worry, Martha. I am quite all right. I shall try to do better about getting nourishment. It is just that I simply don’t think of it whenever I am busy doing other things.”

  “That is just not natural, Sarah. God has given us hunger pangs for a reason. People do not just simply forget to eat.”

  “I know. I don’t understand it myself. I believe it is just that I simply get distracted. I have to remember that my body requires food. It is only when I begin to feel weak that I remember to eat something; nevertheless, I shall try to do better.”

  “Proper rest would be of benefit as well. You must allow that Alice Strout woman to learn to take care of her own children. Though she behaves like one, she is not an invalid.”

  “Now, Martha. You must not think so ill of her. You know as well as I do that, since she was raised by her father, she doesn’t know much about such things.”

  “She might know more if you were not always doing everything for her. Whenever I see her in church, she looks well rested and well fed. It is not a wonder either. She has you making the meals and taking care of her children’s every need. Truth be told, you are practically living with that family.”

  “Martha, you do have a tendency to exaggerate where she is concerned. I am only there a few days a week.”

  “Maybe so, but you must admit that when you are not playing slave to her, you are either reading to our blind neighbor or visiting any number of the sick from church. All I am trying to say, my girl, is you must learn to restrain your giving nature a bit, or you shall be of no use to anyone when your own health fails.”

  “I shall try, Martha,” she responded with a sigh. Wanting to put the matter to rest, she asked, “May we talk of something else?”

  “Very well, but I must know; are you going to stay at home tomorrow? As I have said, you need a rest.”

  “I shall do that very thing the day after tomorrow.” Surreptitiously glancing over at the pinched face now glaring at her, she continued, “I am sorry, Martha, but I have already made plans to be at Alice’s tomorrow.”

  “I might as well talk to that wall over there, for you never hear a word I say!” the frustrated servant said while pointing at the wall.

  “Pray forgive me, Martha. I do, really I do, but I cannot leave her to herself tomorrow. I am to take care of the children while she—”

  “Yes, while she what? Takes a bath, reads a book, or some other leisurely activity?”

  “Well…I…I believe I shall go and take a bath myself,” the young woman said with a sheepish grin. “Would you mind asking Peter to carry the hot water into the buttery for me when it is ready?” She had put it on to heat just before Martha had come into the kitchen. “He was good enough to carry in the wooden tub from the laundry for me a little while ago. I do hate to bother him, but he is much stronger than I.”

  “I can see that you wish to change the subject. I shall allow it as long as you are finally going to do something for yourself. I shall send Peter in to fill the tub as soon as the water has heated.”

  Sarah thanked Martha and then went to her bedchamber to gather up the things she would need for her bath. Within a short while, she was tucked away, behind a closed door, in the buttery. Taking a bath was a luxury—one of the few in which she often allowed herself to take pleasure. Once the water had cooled to the point that the young woman was becoming a bit chilled, she decided it was time to climb out, dry off, and don her nightdress. Besides, she now felt quite exhausted and thought it best to turn in for the night.

  Later, while snuggled in her bed, Sarah gave some thought to what Martha had said. She knew it was true that she had not been taking proper care of herself, but as she thought about it, she didn’t much care. Her friends needed her. “I am grateful, Lord, that someone—other than You, of course—cares for me. Bless Martha, Lord. She is such a kind soul. Before she came into my life, I missed Mother so very much. With Martha here with me every day, some of my longing for Mother has diminished.”

  1732, Bristol, England

  Things had been going on unaltered for the nearly two years the husband and wife had been living apart: Sarah working herself to death—to the chagrin of Martha—and Alexander attempting to recover from the loss of his beloved Rebecca. As time went by, the prayers Alexander had been lifting up on behalf of his new wife had not only been increasing in frequency, they had unexpectedly affected his own heart. Truth be told, he now found himself thinking more often of Sarah Anne than Rebecca, and a desire started growing within him to return to Amesbury.

  When he came to his father one day to explain what he had been thinking about, with regard to Sarah Anne, his father had all but cried. It had been his sincere wish all along that his son and daughter-in-law would come together, under one roof, as husband and wife. With his father’s blessing, Alexander began making plans to return to Amesbury.

  The arrangements had been quickly settled. The days leading up to Alexander’s departure hastened on. With his journey nearly at hand, he wondered again if he had made the right decision about keeping his impending arrival to himself, or if he should have sent word of his coming. He had thought long on it, and decided against informing his servants and wife that he was returning. He wasn’t even sure how his wife was going to feel once she learned that he intended to stay on with her at their Amesbury estate. Just now, he felt a little relieved that he had discussed the matter with his father, or his angst about how he was handling things, he believed, would be even more severe.

  When h
e had asked his father’s opinion on the matter, his father had agreed that perhaps he should set off without making his plans known. He also worried about his daughter-in-law’s reaction, for she had agreed to the marriage under the assumption that it wouldn’t be a traditional marriage. Having knowledge of what had happened to the young woman in her former town by a man who had attempted to force his intentions upon her, the elder Mr. Swyndhurst hoped and prayed she would not be fearful at the prospect of having her husband living under the same roof with her.

  The day had come for Alexander to set sail for Amesbury. The father and son, through tears, said their goodbyes, not knowing when they would see each other again. Turning to leave, once his son’s ship had sailed, Mr. Swyndhurst, Sr., prayed that his son would arrive in Amesbury safely. He also prayed that Sarah Anne’s heart would be prepared for the alteration in her situation.

  After a few weeks at sea, the husband’s excitement at starting a new life with Sarah Anne became difficult to contain. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy getting his wife to agree to the change, but he prayed that eventually she would be happy to have him there.

  Something occurred to the young husband on one of the final nights of his journey; he realized that his thoughts had been so consumed with Sarah Anne he had given little thought to Rebecca. He was more than a little astonished at himself, for at one time he had believed himself incapable of ever caring for another woman. To his delight, he had been wrong.