The Cautious Maiden
Page 1
Table of Contents
What Others Are Saying about Dawn Crandall and The Cautious Maiden…
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
1.The Stolen Crown
2.Dinner at Everston
3.The Hollow
4.Mrs. Ava Cagney
5.Compromised
6.Change of Plans
7.The Train
8.Everwood
9.The Everwood Library
10.Wedding Plans
11.Deeper
12.Recreations
13.The Tea Rooms
14.Going Home
15.The Walk
16.Everthorne
17.Midnight
18.A Riding Lesson
19.The Wedding Ball
20.A New Mission
21.The Train Station
22.Trinity Church
23.Home
24.Day One
25.Entrapped
26.The Olde Ram Boarding House
27.Unravelled
28.With You
About the Author
What Others Are Saying about Dawn Crandall and The Cautious Maiden…
“A hint of mystery, a dose of betrayal, and a tantalizing romance—everything a historical romance lover could want! Dawn Crandall yet again crafts a tale that will leave her readers breathless.”
—Roseanna M. White
Author, Ladies of the Manor series
“Prepare to be swept away with this beautifully compelling tale of romance and intrigue as Dawn Crandall deftly weaves her magic in The Cautious Maiden. Set against the backdrop of New England’s Gilded Age, this novel of faith and redemptive love, sprinkled throughout with a sense of mystery and danger is a unique story embracing the spirit of Brontë’s Jane Eyre and a delightful touch of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The Cautious Maiden kept me turning the page until I reached a most sublime ending. A must-read for fans of Christian romantic fiction!”
—Kate Breslin
Award-winning author, Not By Sight
“Readers will be captivated by Dawn Crandall’s fourth novel, The Cautious Maiden. Emotions run deep and draw the reader in with flawed characters and gentle nudges of romance that flare into a passionate journey of forgiveness and new beginnings. Violet is an innocent woman with a generous heart. Vance is a reformed rogue with the best intentions. Together, they create an amazing story sure to please the hopeful romantics in all of us.”
—Pepper D. Basham
Author, Penned in Time series and A Twist of Faith
“What do you get when you mix a redeemed rake, an innocent maiden, and a determined villain? A tale impossible to put down! A great blend of action enhances characters who are intent on following their instincts: in one case a new call to obey God, in another a long-held trust that God is in control, and in the last a selfish desire to use others for his own good. Many thanks to Dawn Crandall for creating a romantic escape with a wonderful ending!”
—Maureen Lang
Author, Great War series and the Gilded Age series
“With memorable characters and unforgettable detail, Dawn Crandall brings historical New England to life in The Cautious Maiden, a dramatic series sure to appeal to lovers of Christian romance.”
—Naomi Rawlings
Author, Eagle Harbor series
“When a cautious maiden is affianced to a redeemed rogue, historical fireworks ensue in a memorable Gilded Age tale sure to satisfy historical romance lovers. With her trademark first person style, flawed yet endearing characters, and thought-provoking spiritual truths, Dawn Crandall has crafted another winner that will have fans clamoring for yet another segment of the Everstone Chronicles.”
—Laura Frantz
Author, A Moonbow Night
“Dawn Crandall remains unique among writers of Gilded Age novels because of her first person historical tales. But that’s not the only reason to enjoy her stories! They are sweet, clean, and have an intriguing plot with swoon-worthy heroes.”
—Laura Hilton
Author, Amish of Webster County series
“Once again Dawn Crandall brings us a stirring historical novel with just the right blend of romance and redemption. Violet’s situation captured me from the opening scene, and I was equally intrigued by the hero, Vance. Readers who are looking for well-written historical romance with emotional depth will enjoy the whole series and especially The Cautious Maiden.”
—Carrie Turansky
Award-winning author, A Refuge at Highland Hall and Shine Like the Dawn
“Dawn Crandall’s characters capture your attention in this charming work of Gilded Age historical romance written in first person through the eyes of Violet, a gentle, innocent young woman with a loving heart. Then enter a gentleman rogue with a questionable reputation, who has now become a believer; add a wicked villain stalking around in the shadows, untrustworthy relatives, and the pace is intriguing. The multiple twists of the plot along with the hills and valleys of the romance between Violet and Vance made for a delightful read. Of course we are always so satisfied when faith in Christ and true love win out in the end. Well done.”
—Diana Wallis Taylor
Speaker and author, Mary, Chosen of God
“The Cautious Maiden is a deeply absorbing love story—literally impossible to put down. Dawn Crandall deftly infuses the plot with equal measures of intrigue, conflict, heart pounding romantic moments, and character growth to form a captivating page-turner. The depth of honesty and redemption found within The Cautious Maiden is as refreshing as it is brave. Readers who enjoy romance, history, and stories brimming with hope will not want to miss this brilliant work.”
—Jessica Keller
Author, Saving Yesterday and Searching for Home
“In The Cautious Maiden, author Dawn Crandall takes a reformed rogue with a redeemed heart and plants him solidly in the Heroes Hall of Fame. The power of Christ to transform a life; the power of love to transform a heart; the power of grace to transform a rogue into a hero—I have loved each book so far in The Everstone Chronicles, but I firmly believe that The Cautious Maiden is Dawn’s best yet!”
—Carrie Schmidt
ReadingismySuperPower.org
“Time ceases to exist whenever I pick up a book by Dawn Crandall. From the earliest pages of The Cautious Maiden, I was immersed in the story of Violet and Vance. How could I not love this sweet, timid heroine with a big heart and her valiant hero seeking redemption from his past? The romantic tension sizzles, and that, along with unexpected suspense, makes this a novel guaranteed to steal your breath away. It certainly stole mine.”
—Savanna Kaiser
TheEngraftedWord.net
“With a perfect balance of redemption, intrigue, and—as always—romance, Dawn Crandall flavors this story with a delectable journey you won’t want to set down. Her unique voice and finesse of human emotions rolls across every page, reminding readers why she’s firmly established at the top of the inspirational romance market.”
—Susan Tuttle
susanltuttle.com
“Readers will connect deeply with Violet, feel the complete range of her emotions, and likely find themselves gasping with surprise or swooning from the romantic moments sprinkled throughout. Fans of Jody Hedlund and Julie Klassen will fall in love with Dawn Crandall’s historical romances!”
—Denise Hershberger
Book reviewer, fiction411.com
“With a fabulous mix of romantic tension, thrilling suspense, and spiritual truths, Dawn Crandall instantly pulled me deep into the story of Vance and Violet! Her ability with first person narration never ceases to amaze me as it helps me connect with her characters in ways that I never would hav
e imagined. The journey this book took me on is rife with fears and struggles which I thrilled to see these characters overcome.”
—Aerykah
aerykah.wordpress.com
“In The Cautious Maiden, Dawn Crandall grasped my heart and brought out every emotion with an endearing heroine, a reformed rogue, a heart-pounding romance, jaw-dropping plot twists, lurking danger and suspense. She’s taken broken characters and demonstrated God’s amazing transforming power through grace, forgiveness and redemption within these pages. This book was absolutely amazing! It will be hard to get into my next book now after being so emotionally involved with Violet and Vance.”
—Katie Edgar
ktslifeofbooks.wordpress.com
Publisher’s Note:
This novel is a work of fiction. References to real events, organizations, or places are used in a fictional context. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
The Cautious Maiden
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ISBN: 978-1-62911-750-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62911-751-5
© ٢٠١٦ by Dawn Crandall
Whitaker House
1030 Hunt Valley Circle
New Kensington, PA 15068
www.whitakerhouse.com
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Pending
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical—including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system—without permission in writing from the publisher. Please direct your inquiries to permissionseditor@whitakerhouse.com.
This book has been digitally produced in a standard specification in order to ensure its availability.
Dedication
For Little Rhett and Baby Blake.
1
The Stolen Crown
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds
on the heel that has crushed it.”
—Mark Twain
Saturday, March 26th, 1892• Everston, Northern Maine
Hey Vi! You got a minute?”
My brother’s voice came to me from the darkness, falling over the safest place I’d ever known—Everston, where I worked the front desk, and where, for the first time in my life, I had any sort of independence.
“Ezra, you shouldn’t be here.” I had no fear of anyone overhearing me; Everston turned into more of a hunting base than a fancy, high-society resort in the winter, and most of the part-time guests were on a bear hunt.
The newly fallen snow showed no tracks before me as a clue to where he might come from, but I continued regardless. “If Dexter finds out you’re here, he’ll have you taken to Laurelton and then what? Would they hang you?”
Ezra came out from behind the bushes lining the high stone wall of the veranda.
“Aw, I doubt that, Vi.” The stench of the whiskey on his breath assaulted me. “And you don’t need to worry none, I won’t get caught anyway.” He usually was too self-assured, as if convinced he was indestructible. Some days I wished he were right. If he were indestructible, I wouldn’t worry about him half so much.
It really didn’t surprise me to find that Ezra had been drinking. But that he was inebriated didn’t concern me nearly as much as the fact that another man—whom I’d never seen or met before—came out of the bushes behind him. Ezra never did well in the company of others. For some reason, he always needed to out-shoot, out-talk, or out-drink anyone and everyone he could. He was so easily led astray. And so far off the narrow path we’d followed as children.
“Is that her?” The stranger’s voice seeped from the darkness like oil, and I wished I’d been able to place him. My brothers “friends” changed so often. They were not so much friends as carousing companions who usually left Ezra worse off than before.
“Yeah,” was Ezra’s only reply, and before I could muster an answer, the stranger slid to my side, pulled me to him, and clamped his arm about my waist. He caught my arm and pressed my wrist against my back. Pain shot from my hand to my twisted shoulder. I bent forward with a scream, only to be hushed by the force of my brother’s hand against my lips. “Violet, hold still. He won’t hurt you.”
As the stranger slowly lessened his grip upon my arm, Ezra took his grimy fingers from my mouth.
Trying desperately to believe my brother, I remained silent as they kept me awkwardly hunched over. But Ezra didn’t remove his hand from my face. He moved his fingers to my jaw where they tightened and held my head steady before him; his other hand was clamped at the nape of my neck. To my horror, the stranger tore my bonnet off, reached into my hair and loosened the blonde strands from my hair pins until it was pulled taut from my scalp.
Tears escaped down my cheeks as I realized Ezra would do nothing to help me. What all would Ezra allow this man to do to me?
“Ezra?” I whimpered, staring helplessly down at his wet, muddy boots.
Before he could answer, I felt the cool blade of a knife against the back of my neck, then the release of the stranger’s hold. Ezra’s grip on my jaw lessened, and I whipped my head up, savoring the freedom, too focused on getting away to realize what that freedom had cost me. As I stumbled toward the steps of the veranda, I felt the difference. The soft edges of my hair tickled the same tender skin which the cold metal of the knife had made contact with moments before.
I reached to my ears with both hands in disbelief. My long hair, my gorgeous blonde hair—my pride—was gone, chopped off at my chin. With the fingers of both hands grasping at the ends, I turned around; positive they had done all they had desired. Ezra was crouched down over the bushes, vomiting into them while his friend stood beside him holding the wavy lengths of my golden hair. My tears returned with an intensity that made my head hurt, blurring my vision.
My fingers combed through my shorn locks until reaching to the back of my head where they were even shorter. Dreadfully short! Only a few inches in length! I felt sick, as though my right arm had been severed from my body.
Bringing my hands to my face, pulling what strands I could with them, I covered my eyes, half wiping my tears and half wanting to hide in shame.
“Ezra?” I whispered.
He’d stood from his bent posture, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. His friend had vanished…with my hair. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t as if I could truly have it back. What would I do with my hair, cut in such a dreadful way? How long would it take until it was presentable again?
“Don’t blame me, Violet. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“But why?” I fingered the material at the shoulder of my dress. Not a single strand was left behind.
“Don’t ask questions. You don’t want the answers.”
“But I do! Why did you have to cut my hair?”
“I didn’t know what I was doing. I was too drunk to think, and I said things, promised things I shouldn’t have, and now I’ve got to fix it. And I don’t know how. Just trust me, I’ll get you out of this mess I’ve made.”
“You want me to trust you after what you just did?”
“You don’t need to know any more. You just need to do as I say—and right now, stay close to your friends.”
“I don’t have any friends; at least anyone who would be able to help me.”
“Come on, Vi, you have friends. What about Dexter and his new bride? And her brother? Vance Everstone has been around a lot lately. I’ve heard you have dinner with them at times. You’re lucky to have a connection to such a—”
“But they won’t understand. What am I supposed to tell them about my hair? How will I keep my job?”
“You have more to worry about than that stupid job of your
s! Just get in good with the Everstones. They seem to like you.” Ezra turned away and without another word, walked down the snowy path toward the lane headed to Laurelton. He must have hidden his horse somewhere in the pine trees outside Everston’s front gate.
The thought of using Estella and her brother in any way to better my own situation turned my stomach. Not that I thought they truly cared anything about me. Why would they when they knew that my own good-for-nothing brother had burned down their beloved Blakeley House? And what would they think of me when they found out my role, that he’d put a stronghold on me that cold, autumn morning until I’d confessed I knew his favorite girl had been staying there, hidden away with them, which had induced him to start the fire in the first place?
As I walked the long trek back toward the front steps to the veranda, the icy cold wind suddenly cut straight through my hair to my scalp. Ignoring the wisps that the wind blew into my face, I flipped the collar of my coat up. A sob bubbled up from my chest. Ezra always had the upper hand, it seemed, and letting him know just how terribly upset I’d been; it would have given him too much knowledge of my heart.
Although, while taking part in this violation against me, he seemed a little sorry once it had been done. What did he mean by all he’d said?
I sat on the steps with my face in my hands, ignoring the fact that they hadn’t been swept of the snow that had fallen. What did it matter now? How could I go into Everston as I was? How could I face Dexter and Estella? They would ask what had happened—and what could I say without lying? If I told the truth, they would wonder at my continued association with my brother who was wanted for committing arson against them. I would surely lose my job. And without my job I’d lose the privilege of living in the employee dormitory. I didn’t have anywhere else to go besides back to The Hawthorne Inn, to my brother.