Mine Is the Night_ A Novel - Liz Curtis Higgs [27]
“Please?” she asked again. Her pride was in tatters, but, thanks be to God, so was her shame.
The minister sat back in his chair, his large hands splayed across his knees. “Some might say you’ve already suffered the consequences of your folly. For that is what it was, Mrs. Kerr. Sheer foolishness. You broke no commandments—”
“But I did,” she protested softly. “Thou shalt have none other gods before me.”
He stared at her, aghast. “What god did you worship if not the Almighty?”
“I worshiped …” Marjory cast her gaze round the room, trying to find the words. “I worshiped my sons, my possessions, my place in society. All those things you said I lost. Don’t you see? The Lord took them from me.” She bent forward as tears spilled down her cheeks. “Because I loved them more than I loved him.”
Reverend Brown inched his chair closer to hers. “Mrs. Kerr …,” he said gruffly. “Marjory …” He lightly rested his hand on her shoulder. “The Lord brought you home empty so he might fill you with himself.” He was quiet for a moment, then said, “I see no need for any discipline from the kirk.”
Marjory sank beneath the weight of his forgiveness, her damp cheek pressed against her hands.
His voice quavered as he spoke. “ ’Tis our task to help you, Mrs. Kerr. To show you God’s mercy. And so we shall.”
When he paused, Marjory slowly rose and dried her tears. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For the sake of those who will ask, I need you to speak the truth. Are you now loyal to the king?”
Marjory knew what the Lord required of her. Fear God. Honour the king. A difficult command after all she’d suffered. Yet Reverend Brown had called her support of the Stuart cause foolish. Had she not come to the same conclusion herself even while her sons lived?
Marjory met the minister’s gaze, lest he doubt her conviction. “Aye.”
He seemed satisfied, leaning back to fold his arms across his chest. “So, how will you make your way in society, Mrs. Kerr?”
She dabbed her cheeks with her handkerchief, then answered him honestly. “I will walk through any doors that are opened to me and pray I find friends there.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “We are expecting a new resident in Selkirkshire within a fortnight. Admiral Lord Jack Buchanan. Tread lightly in his presence, for he is the king’s man, make no mistake. Your family’s treason will not sit well with the admiral.”
Marjory stiffened. “I’ll not seek the company of Tweedsford’s new owner.”
“What’s this?” Reverend Brown looked at her oddly. “Madam, you have been misinformed. Admiral Buchanan is to reside at Bell Hill.”
Her mouth fell open. “But I thought the king awarded him—”
“His Majesty had no part in this,” he declared. “The admiral bought the property outright from the Duke of Roxburgh. The Centurion’s officers sailed into Portsmouth very wealthy men, you’ll remember. Since Lord Buchanan’s father once resided in Selkirkshire, the admiral chose to settle here.”
“But Lady Murray of Philiphaugh suggested—”
“Bah!” he said. “A parish minister is privy to news not commonly known by his flock.”
Marjory stared at the wool carpet beneath her feet, struggling to recall precisely what her ladyship had said. A handsome estate in Selkirkshire. Nothing more. “The false assumption was mine,” she finally admitted, chastising herself for leaping to conclusions. “Then who is to have Tweedsford?”
“The duke has not apprised me. In the meantime I imagine Mr. Laidlaw will continue to oversee the property.”
Mr. Laidlaw. Marjory feared she might deposit her salmon on the minister’s fine carpet. Was Reverend Brown aware of the man’s vile nature? Perhaps she might test the waters. “I was disappointed not to see my old factor at kirk on the Sabbath,” she said, watching for his reaction.
But the reverend spoke without guile, his expression unchanged. “Roger Laidlaw honors the Sabbath at the kirk in Galashiels now. It seems your factor, like my manservant, grew weary of the bachelor life and is courting a widow from the next parish.”
“Ah.” Marjory was uncertain how to proceed. She’d been wrong about Tweedsford