The Birthright

by T. Davis Bunn

  © 2001 by Janette Oke & T. Davis Bunn

  Published by Bethany House Publishers

  11400 Hampshire Avenue South

  Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

  www.bethanyhouse.com

  Bethany House Publishers is a division of

  Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

  E-book edition created 2011

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  ISBN 978-1-5855-8876-3

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

  Cover by Dan Thornberg

  JANETTE OKE was born in Champion, Alberta, to a Canadian prairie farmer and his wife, and she grew up in a large family full of laughter and love. She is a graduate of Mountain View Bible College in Alberta, where she met her husband, Edward. She has written forty-eight novels for adults and another sixteen for children, and her book sales total nearly thirty million copies.

  The Okes have three sons and one daughter, all married, and are enjoying their fifteen grandchildren. Edward and Janette are active in their local church and make their home near Didsbury, Alberta.

  T. DAVIS BUNN has been a professional novelist for twenty years. His books have sold in excess of six million copies in sixteen languages, appearing on numerous national bestseller lists. Davis has received numerous literary accolades, including three Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. He currently serves as Writer-in-Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University, and is a sought-after lecturer on the craft of writing.

  By T. Davis Bunn

  The Book of Hours

  The Great Divide

  Winner Take All

  The Lazarus Trap

  Elixir

  Imposter

  HEIRS OF ACADIA†

  The Solitary Envoy

  The Innocent Libertine

  The Noble Fugitive

  The Night Angel

  Falconer’s Quest

  All Through the Night

  My Soul to Keep

  Lion of Babylon

  By Janette Oke & T. Davis Bunn

  Return to Harmony

  ACTS OF FAITH

  The Centurion’s Wife

  The Hidden Flame

  The Damascus Way

  SONG OF ACADIA

  The Meeting Place The Birthright

  The Sacred Shore The Distant Beacon

  The Beloved Land

  † with Isabella Bunn

  By Janette Oke

  CANADIAN WEST

  When Calls the Heart When Breaks the Dawn

  When Comes the Spring When Hope Springs New

  Beyond the Gathering Storm

  When Tomorrow Comes

  LOVE COMES SOFTLY

  Love Comes Softly Love’s Unending Legacy

  Love’s Enduring Promise Love’s Unfolding Dream

  Love’s Long Journey Love Takes Wing

  Love’s Abiding Joy Love Finds a Home

  A PRAIRIE LEGACY

  The Tender Years A Quiet Strength

  A Searching Heart Like Gold Refined

  SEASONS OF THE HEART

  Once Upon a Summer Winter Is Not Forever

  The Winds of Autumn Spring’s Gentle Promise

  Seasons of the Heart (4 in 1)

  WOMEN OF THE WEST

  The Calling of Emily Evans A Bride for Donnigan

  Julia’s Last Hope Heart of the Wilderness

  Roses for Mama Too Long a Stranger

  A Woman Named Damaris The Bluebird and the Sparrow

  They Called Her Mrs. Doc A Gown of Spanish Lace

  The Measure of a Heart Drums of Change

  I call to remembrance my song in the night;

  I commune with mine own heart,

  and my spirit made diligent search….

  Thy way is in the sea,

  and thy path in the great waters,

  and thy footsteps are not known.

  Psalm 77:6, 19

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Prologue

  Catherine stood in the tiny second bedroom of her daughter Anne’s home. She could hear the sounds of departure beyond the closed door. But Catherine was not good at leave-takings. There had been far too many in her life already. She was determined to be strong this day, but to do so she needed a moment alone. Time to sit by the window and watch the last of autumn’s finery carpet the small front garden, time to pray to the Lord for strength.

  So much had happened in these past months. She felt as though her memories were a swirl of autumn colors, caught in the winds of time. The previous summer, Sir Charles Harrow, eighth earl of Sutton, had come to Halifax in search of his brother, Catherine’s husband. Unable to have children of his own, Charles required an heir to carry on the Harrow legacy and to secure his vast landholdings in England—the only need great enough to force him to renew contact with his estranged brother. But Charles had discovered that the child Andrew and Catherine had raised was not theirs by birth.

  Though not by bloodline, Anne was as close to Catherine’s heart as any child could be. As she sat by the window, Catherine felt nearly overwhelmed by the wonder of great events and small beginnings. Simple friendship with an Acadian family had blossomed into both heartache and joy. Though Catherine had lost her daughter and raised an Acadian baby as her own, in fact she had received gifts beyond measure. Now she called both these lovely young women her daughters. Nicole, the child raised by Louise and Henri Robichaud in the Louisiana bayous, and Anne, the girl she and Andrew had cherished these eighteen years.

  Now Anne was wed, and as Catherine sat with her eyes half-closed against the sun’s warming rays, she inwardly heard once more the joyful sounds of those wedding-day bells. Andrew’s brother had arranged for a ship to bring Henri and Louise to Nova Scotia for the marriage. This had been the gesture of a man transformed, both heart and mind, through the hardship and discovery of his voyage. Charles was not only a man now at peace with himself and his brother’s family, but a living testimony to the power of God. As Catherine prepared herself for yet another departure, she gave silent thanks for this brother-in-law who had become a friend.

  Before his return to England, Charles had presented two bolts of finest silk as a wedding gift. Catherine did not even try to guess at the cost. She and Louise and Nicole all had worn new gowns. Her own was lavender in color, and Catherine could not help stroking its softness. The other bolt had been a creamy pastel silk, taken from the hour before sunrise, and they had used almost all of it for Anne’s wedding dress. When Anne had emerged thro
ugh the church’s front doors, a collective sigh of wonderment had risen from the congregation. Anne’s betrothed, a fine young doctor by the name of Cyril Mann, had watched his bride’s approach with something akin to awe. Catherine had sat and held Louise’s hand through the entire ceremony, both of them trying not to weep. Anne, this precious one who was daughter to them both, this fragile girl whom they both loved, had looked radiant that day. Nicole had stood beside her “sister” as bridesmaid, together at last.

  Now it was Nicole who knocked and opened Catherine’s door. “We’re ready, Mama.”

  “Then so am I.” She rose and held out her hand to her daughter. “I was thinking about Anne’s wedding day.”

  “So much joy,” Nicole agreed, the words accented by her native French. “A good thing to remember at this time.”

  “Yes.” Catherine stood holding her daughter’s hand, studying the strong, lovely features. The wedding was a month and more behind them now, and the time had come for yet another parting.

  “Is something the matter, Mama?”

  “I just wish I could hold on to the good moments longer,” Catherine said. She took a deep breath. “Come, let us be off.”

  But as she followed Nicole out to where the others waited, it was not just this day’s parting that pierced her heart. She looked ahead and saw the future with a mother’s wisdom and prayed for strength to endure what she sensed might lie ahead.

  Chapter 1

  The day was gentled by a wind far too warm for early October in Halifax. Out over the slate gray sea, light rimmed the horizon. Above was only cloud, so thick it appeared more like twilight than midmorning. Anne reached out with both hands, one taking hold of her husband, Cyril, the other gripping Nicole. She drew strength from these two fine people and knew with utter certainty that were it not for them here beside her, heartbreak and tears most certainly would overwhelm her.

  Henri and Louise Robichaud made their way about the gathering, holding each person in turn, saying their good-byes. Two months they had been reunited here in what was once known as Acadia and was now called Nova Scotia. Though this particular day graced them with the comfort of a gentle autumn, already the landscape was dotted with the remnants of two early snows. Three times Henri and Louise had postponed their departure, not wanting to leave behind their precious daughters. Now they had no choice.

  Still, when Henri released his brother Guy and turned to Andrew, he waved Nicole over to translate a final apology. “They say this will be the last ship of the season heading south.”

  “With the troubles rising,” Andrew replied, “I have no doubt. Some are even calling it war.”

  “May God grant that it not come to that, not now, not ever.” Henri spoke with quiet fervor in his native French, but Nicole’s English translation was so subdued, so tragic sounding, that Anne turned away.

  The sky seemed grayer still, the wind softer, the sliver of light on the horizon more golden than ever. It was a curious sort of day, the world darkened and brooding, yet with a crown of brilliant light shimmering in the distance, countless miles away. Anne clung to the light with the desperate hope that this was indeed a sign for her, a promise that if she held on through this heartrending moment, there would be joy again.

  The time with Louise and Henri had been unlike anything she could have ever expected. Their reunion was branded upon her heart. It took place here at the quayside, on this very spot where they now stood holding one another. Catherine had waited beside her then, with Andrew, Nicole, and Cyril. Just like now. Only different. For her body had not been wrenched by sorrow as now. Then Anne had seen the impossible come to life, the dreams of years. And had experienced joy so great her heart could scarcely contain all she had felt. The boat drew near, and the two figures rose up above the gunnel and waved and shouted and laughed and wept. The three of them—Andrew, Catherine, and Nicole—had replied with tears and cries of their own.

  Anne had suddenly found herself blinded, as though her heart’s only defense was to wash the day in tears, leaving her unable to see a thing. No matter that she could no longer see, as the boat had scraped against the rocky quay, and the cries and the footsteps came nearer. No matter that she had no memory even today of what the newcomers said, for her sobs had drowned out everything else. No, it had not mattered at all. When first the rough, sinewy man’s and then the softer woman’s arms had wrapped around her, Anne had felt her heart growing, expanding in her chest. Re-forming so as to create enough room for these new folks she could now call her parents.

  Anne was drawn back to the present moment as Louise stepped in front of her. Now it seemed to Anne that Louise understood exactly what she was feeling. She stepped before her daughter and said, “Never shall I be able to think of this place on Earth without knowing the joy of lifelong dreams come true and the sorrow of this day.”

  Anne struggled to draw a fraction of breath, enough to whisper, “Momma.”

  Then a hand caressed her cheek. “Look at what this day has brought. The dream that woke me in the night, year after hopeless year, has now become real. What joy I feel in hearing you speak that word. What impossible joy.”

  “Oh, Momma. I cannot let you go.”

  “You never shall, my daughter. Whatever this strange thing called life may bring, we shall never be parted from one another’s hearts.” It was Louise’s turn to struggle for breath. “It is the only thing which grants me the strength to endure this day.”

  A second figure stepped up alongside her mother, stockier and grayer, with a strength that reminded her of a great oak tree, able to endure the harshest winds, bending and creaking but remaining ever steadfast and sheltering. “Oh, Father.”

  “There is no man wealthier upon this earth,” Henri whispered as he held her close. Then lowering his voice for her ear alone, he added, “Or sadder.”

  Louise fitted herself into their embrace, and the three of them held together as one. “I came with one daughter and one hope,” her mother said. “I leave with two daughters and the wonder of seeing miracles come alive with my own eyes.”

  Strangely, Louise’s hardest farewell was not with the daughter she had borne, Anne, but rather with Nicole, the daughter she had raised as her own. Or perhaps not so strange at all. During their two months together in Acadia, Louise had come to see her daughter as the adult she now was. No longer viewing her with protective eyes had also meant accepting the choices, even the mistakes her daughter might make.

  Her adventurous young lady with the fiery gaze hungered for all the experiences life had to offer. So unaware of her beauty and its effect on others, she paid no mind to the young men who stumbled in their haste to grace her with whatever caught her eye. But since severing the relationship with Jean, her first love, life held too great an appeal for Nicole to give further thought to romance.

  It was a mother’s wisdom that colored Louise’s expression now and filled her heart with fear. She feared all the dangers and mysteries that such a life of yearning, of searching, might bring to Nicole.

  But when Louise finally released her embrace of Anne, her dear sweet Anne, it was to Catherine that she turned. Louise gave her dearest friend yet another hug, murmuring words neither of them truly heard. Then Andrew, then Henri’s brother Guy and his wife. Until finally there was no one left but the baby who had become her own. This reality ran against all the logic of this Earth, yet was so right that Louise could imagine no other truth than to be mother to this willful, wonderful woman.

  “You will take care, won’t you?” Louise whispered, her eyes imploring.

  “Of course, Mama.” Nicole gripped her mother’s hands with both of hers. “What a question.”

  “It is only, well…” Louise had spoken several times of this, but still there was the sense of leaving too many things unsaid. “I know how much you want from life. And I know the cost—”

  “Please, Mama, not here. You’ve already told me all this.”

  “I know, I know. It’s just…” Louis
e bit her lip. “You are my precious daughter. And I would do anything to be the one to carry your burdens. But I cannot. So all I can ask is that you take care, daughter. Please. Take great care. The world can be so harsh, especially to lovely young women with the desire to know all there is to life.”

  Nicole started to deny her longings. Louise could see it in her daughter’s eyes. And for the first time in her life, understanding Nicole so well brought its own sadness as Louise looked into her jade green eyes and saw all the mysteries yet to be unfolded. All the future possibilities, all the challenges, all the dangers. And now there was nothing she could do except pray.

  To her surprise, Nicole did not speak, did not dispute Louise’s words. Instead, she gave a fraction of a smile, the first anyone had shown that gray and dismal day. “You have always known me better than I know myself.”

  “Sign of a mother’s love at work,” Louise replied. “Now promise you will take great care. And above all else, that you will be honest with yourself and honest with your God.”

  The smile trembled, then completely melted. A single tear escaped to trace its way down one cheek. The sight threatened both Louise’s heart and the day itself. Nicole whispered, “I wish…”

  Louise yearned to have her daughter finish the sentence as she wanted, that Nicole would agree to come home with them, to return to the life they knew, the world they had shaped and claimed as their own. But though she willed it with every shred of her being, still Louise knew it was not to be. Whatever future was open to her daughter, Louise knew Nicole’s explorations—within herself and without to a vast, unknown world—were not yet over. In fact, she realized with an awareness that pierced her heart, Nicole’s own quest had barely begun.