The sheriff put down the cinnamon roll. “We don’t know exactly what’ll happen, but with all the evidence against him, I’m sure he’ll go to prison for a long time. We’ll protect you from him.”
Marissa sighed. Ollie glanced at his brother and found Lowell studying her. Ollie sensed his brother was as interested in Marissa as he was in Clarissa. Wouldn’t it be amazing if God allowed them to marry the sisters? At least they would remain near each other. The sisters were so close that it would be a shame to separate them with much distance.
Ollie’s mother gave him a sharp look, interrupting his thoughts. “Won’t we, Ollie?”
Whatever it was, he knew it would be a good idea to agree with her. He nodded, wondering if he would regret it later.
His mother smiled at each young woman. “I told you that you were welcome to stay here until everything is worked out.”
Yes, he could agree to that. Clarissa would be close by. He planned to get to know her well while he had the chance.
❧
They soon received word it would be the first of October before the district judge could hold court in Litchfield. Marissa was glad they’d have almost a month in this wonderful home before they had to face Pierre again. The few days they’d been there had made a big difference in how she felt about herself. Mrs. Jenson took her and Clari under her wing. She seemed to derive great pleasure from mothering them and teaching them new skills. Marissa was learning to cook. Ever since her mother died, she’d wanted to know how to bake. Although she made a big mess in the kitchen, Mrs. Jenson didn’t seem to mind. She said messes were easy to clean up. She loved them the way Marissa was sure their own mother would have if she had lived.
Clari enjoyed cleaning and polishing. Mrs. Jenson said Clari’s help made her work so much easier. Marissa was glad they were blending into the family so well. Several times each day, either Lowell or Ollie showed up at the house to check on them. It made Marissa feel even more special. It had been so long since she’d felt that way. She enjoyed it. She also relished every minute she spent in Lowell’s company. He was quieter than his brother, but he always talked to her.
One night before falling asleep, Marissa was alone with her thoughts. How is it this family talks about Jesus as if He is a real person, a Friend? They mention Him so often around the table. She recalled the service she’d attended with Pierre. She wanted to know more about this Jesus, but she hadn’t the slightest idea what questions to ask.
The first Saturday evening after the twins arrived at the farm, Mrs. Jenson asked if she and her sister would like to attend church with them the next day. Marissa looked at Clari, who shrugged her shoulders.
Marissa turned back to their hostess. “We’d love to.”
The next morning, she and Clari dressed with care. They wore different outfits since they didn’t own two of one kind. Clari chose a silk suit in a deep, vibrant shade of blue, while Marissa wore a soft green ensemble—the one with tiny white flowers woven in. They fixed their hair in the same style, though. That way they looked alike, but their clothing matched their personalities.
Marissa thought for a moment, then turned to her sister. “I guess most of the people in Litchfield have heard about what happened the day the circus came to town. Especially since Pierre is in jail there.” She hesitated. “I’m not sure what to expect from the people at church. They were friendly the other time I visited. But now I wouldn’t be surprised if no one speaks to us.”
“Oh, Mari, I wouldn’t worry about it. If they don’t speak to us now, maybe they will later. At least the Jensons do.” She tucked in a stray curl, took one more look in the glass, then walked out of the room and downstairs.
Lowell and Ollie rode in the front of the two-seater surrey with the three women in back. Mrs. Jenson kept up a steady stream of conversation on the way to the church. When no one else talked, she asked questions, including all four of the young people in her comments. Marissa was glad because it helped her relax. She could sense the change in Clari too.
“Be sure to listen to what the preacher says during the service,” Marissa whispered to her sister. “I want to discuss it with you later—if he preaches the way he did the other time.”
When they pulled into the churchyard, people gathered around the surrey and greeted them warmly. Many asked to be introduced. Their friendliness let Marissa know they accepted her.
She hoped the preacher would talk about Jesus, and she wasn’t disappointed. He preached about Jesus bringing hope and forgiveness. He mentioned some terrible sins, worse than anything she or Clari had ever done. The man said that even if a person had committed murder, Jesus would forgive him if he repented. Repented? That was a new word for Marissa. She planned to ask what it meant when they got home.
Clari reached over and took hold of Marissa’s hand. Marissa turned to look at her sister and saw her eyes brimming with tears. During the rest of the service, they grasped each other’s hands. Marissa knew they both needed what the preacher was talking about. But how did they gain that forgiveness?
At the end of the service, the pastor asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus into his or her heart. The congregation sang a song with the phrase “O Lamb of God, I come! I come!” Marissa wanted to, but she was afraid she didn’t know enough. With tears streaming down her face, she listened as everyone sang. While the pastor said the final prayer, Marissa slipped a handkerchief from her reticule and dried her cheeks. She hoped her eyes weren’t too red or swollen from crying.
❧
Lowell watched Marissa throughout the service. He sensed that she was being drawn to the Savior. He prayed for her comfort and salvation. The young women needed both of these. Lowell understood what the Bible taught about a believer not marrying an unbeliever. Yet he felt such a strong pull to Marissa. His growing attraction warred with the apparent fact that she didn’t know the Lord. Surely God didn’t want them to turn these young women out of their home; but the longer they resided there, the more Lowell cared for Marissa. On the ride back to the house, his mother again made sure the conversation didn’t lag. But he was lost in his thoughts.
At home the family sat down to the meal Mother had prepared with the help of the twins. Lowell asked a blessing on the food, and they passed the bowls filled with roast beef and vegetables around the table.
After a few moments of quiet, Lowell spoke. “Since Far died, we haven’t had our family time in the evenings.”
Ollie frowned. “We’ve been together.”
“I guess I didn’t say what I meant.” Lowell cleared his throat. “We need to read the Bible together again.”
His mother reached over and patted his hand. “What a wonderful idea, Lowell! I know Soren would want us to continue what he started when we first married.”
That evening, after the supper dishes were cleaned up, the women joined the men in the parlor. While Lowell took out his Bible, Mrs. Jenson made room for Marissa and her sister on the settee beside her.
Lowell lowered his frame into the big chair across from the sofa, then turned to Marissa. “Where would you like me to start reading?”
❧
Marissa’s eyes widened. Why was he asking her? She didn’t know enough about the Book to tell him anything. She shrugged. “We haven’t read from the Bible since our mother died, and we were very young then.”
Mrs. Jenson squeezed her hand. “That’s all right, Dear.”
“But I do have a question—if it’s all right to ask one?” Marissa felt comfortable enough with the family to assert herself.
“What would you like to know?” Lowell looked into her eyes.
“Well…this morning the preacher said something about repenting.” Marissa glanced at her sister. “Clari and I don’t know what that means.”
Lowell gazed at her. “Do you know what sin is?”
Marissa looked down at the toe of her slipper that peeked out from under her skirt. “Yes. Most of the things Clari and I have done are sins, aren’t they?”
She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t keep the catch out of her voice.
“Yes, I’m afraid they are. But sin is more than that. It’s anything that keeps us from doing what God wants us to do.”
“How can you know what God wants you to do?” Clari’s question rang through the room.
Lowell held up the Book that had been resting on his knees. “He tells us in His Word—the Bible.”
Marissa glanced up. “What does that have to do with repenting?”
Lowell captured her gaze with his, then smiled, and she sensed he didn’t condemn her for the things she had done. “If you choose to turn away from the sins in your life, you are repenting.”
For a moment, the room was quiet while Marissa thought about what he had said. She looked at her sister. Once again, tears glistened in Clari’s eyes.
“Lowell,” Mrs. Jenson said, “read the Gospel of Luke, chapter four, verse eighteen. I memorized it when I was young, and it has encouraged me many times in my life. The Lord has brought it to my mind several times since the young women have been with us. I believe it applies to them.”
Lowell opened the Bible to the passage his mother had asked him to read. “ ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.’ Is that the verse you mean, Mor?”
Mrs. Jenson nodded and turned toward Marissa and Clari. “I believe Jesus wants you to know the Gospel, the good news that He came to save you from your sins. And the parts about deliverance for the captives and liberty for those who are bruised or hurt refer to what has happened in your lives.”
Could it be true? Would Jesus forgive their sins and free them from hurts in their past? It was almost too much to believe. But Marissa wanted to. Tears were streaming down her cheeks too fast to wipe them off. Lowell reached into his back pocket and brought out a clean red bandanna. He handed it to her, and she started blotting her whole face.
When she looked at her sister, she was wiping her face with a matching handkerchief. Probably from Ollie. “Clari, I want what they’re talking about.”
“I do too.” Clari turned to Mrs. Jenson. “What do we have to do?”
The older woman put her arm around her. “You just pray and tell Jesus you want Him in your life. You’re ready to repent and start trusting Him, aren’t you? Would you like me to help you with the prayer?” She looked from Clari to Marissa.
Both twins nodded, and Mrs. Jenson led them in a short prayer that was to the point. As Marissa said the words, she sensed a peace like nothing she’d ever felt before sweep through her. Now the tears streaming from her eyes were tears of joy. She and Clari fell into each other’s arms.
“Oh, Sister!” Clari said. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Finally, Marissa pulled away and looked over at Lowell. His face was beaming, and a light shone in his eyes.
“I want to know all about Jesus!” Marissa exclaimed, and Clari nodded.
The smile on Lowell’s face widened. “We’ll read the Bible together every night. Then you can ask any questions you have, and we’ll try to answer them.”
His mother and Ollie agreed. Lowell read more from the Book then, and the words played a heavenly melody in Marissa’s heart. She and Clari would have a lot to talk about when they went to their room that night.
Fifteen
The Jensons had said all she had to do was repent and ask Jesus into her life.
But that’s too simple, Clarissa thought later that night when she was alone. Pierre made us steal from so many people. We’ll surely have to do more than that to make up for the sins we’ve committed.
But she and Mari had repeated the prayer after Mrs. Jenson anyway. She couldn’t describe what washed over her then, but it took away all the dirt clinging to her soul. I feel clean for the first time, she marveled. If Jesus is this powerful, I want to learn everything I can about Him.
Each evening when the family gathered together after the meal, she drank in every word that came from that big Book and was left thirsting for more.
Lowell said he started with the Gospel of John because it told more about the life of Jesus than any other book in the Bible. On the first day, he read John, chapter one, and she and Mari found out Jesus was the Son of God, who came to live on Earth as a man. Ollie read chapter two the next day. He and Lowell planned to alternate reading the Scriptures to the family. One or more of the Jensons would eagerly answer every question Clarissa or her sister asked.
On the fourth day, Ollie read the story of the woman at the well. Clarissa felt confused by what she heard, perhaps as the Samaritan woman had been. But when Jesus told the woman about the living water, Clarissa knew that was what she and Mari were receiving each day—a drink from the fountain of living water.
On Thursday, Ollie had to pick up some supplies in Litchfield. He asked Clarissa if she and Marissa wanted to visit with Anna and Gerda while he took care of his business. They were eager to accompany him. They knew Gerda and Anna were strong Christians and wanted to share what had happened to them with their friends.
The bell over the door to the Dress Emporium brought Anna out into the shop to see who was there.
“Clarissa and Marissa!” She rushed across the store and hugged both girls at once. “Come on back to the workroom. Gerda will want to see you too.”
After living out at the farm, Clarissa could see how much Anna resembled her mother. She had Mrs. Jenson’s smile, and her hugs felt just as warm. Clarissa and Mari followed Anna into the back room.
“Look who I found in the front room.”
Gerda glanced up from the dress she was hemming; then she quickly stood and crossed the room to hug the girls. “I’m so glad you’ve come to see us.” She clasped her hands in front of her and looked from one to the other. “I wasn’t at church the other day when you came, so now you must tell me, which one is which?”
They all laughed, then began catching up on what had been happening. Anna and Gerda had heard the general reports of how Pierre had treated his stepdaughters but not some of the particulars.
“We’re so glad Ollie and Lowell rescued you.” Gerda’s smile was as sincere as Anna’s.
Clarissa had worried about how the two women would regard them, but their openness and concern dispelled her fears. Anna and Gerda truly were their friends.
“We have something wonderful to tell you,” Mari said, her eyes shining.
Anna and Gerda glanced from one twin to the other.
Clarissa smiled. “Mari had told me about going to church with Pierre some time back. That sermon made her want the forgiveness the preacher talked about, but she didn’t know anything about Jesus.”
“Except that He was a baby in a manger,” Mari interjected.
“Then last Sunday when we both went to church, I heard about Him and wanted that same forgiveness too. After supper that night, Lowell started reading the Bible to us. We asked questions, and they all answered them for us. Then Mrs. Jenson helped us pray and ask Jesus into our lives.”
“And now we’re forgiven.” Mari’s eyes sparkled. “It’s as if we’re new people.”
“Oh, how wonderful! That is the best news of all!” Anna wiped tears of joy from her eyes, and she and Gerda hugged the girls.
“Now every day either Ollie or Lowell reads to us from the Bible.” Clarissa moved around the room as she talked. “Just last night Ollie read about the woman at the well.”
“Yes, I wish I could read the story again slowly,” Marissa said wistfully.
❧
Ollie finished putting the supplies in the wagon and headed toward the dress shop. He had just entered the shop when he overheard what Marissa said. The twins didn’t have a Bible. He hadn’t thought about that. He left the shop and hurried into the mercantile. He stowed his purchase in the wagon, then went back to the shop to get Clarissa and
her sister.
“Are you ready to go?” Ollie asked the girls.
“Oh, no, please don’t take them away from us yet!” Anna turned a pleading look at him.
“I need to get back and help Lowell. We have a lot to do today.”
Clarissa smiled and placed her hand on Anna’s arm. “And we want to help your mother. She’s been so kind to us. We’re learning so much from her.”
Ollie chuckled. “Besides, it’s not as if you won’t see them again.”
On the way to the farm, Ollie could hardly hide his excitement. When would he give his present to them? As soon as they arrived or after dinner? He wasn’t sure. Meanwhile, they were chattering happily about their visit. He was glad they’d enjoyed it. He hoped he could give them more happy times—especially Clarissa. The twins looked a lot alike, but he could see the subtle differences. And Clarissa was the one who tugged on his heartstrings. Now they knew the Savior. He prayed every day for the Lord to show him whether Clarissa was the woman He had chosen for him, and every day his heart drew closer to her.
Ollie managed to unload the wagon before his mother called the men into the house for dinner. He put the parcel wrapped in brown paper under his arm and dropped it behind the settee in the parlor. Maybe he would wait until the family was reading the Bible tonight.
The rest of the afternoon, while he worked, he thought about that parcel. He wondered how the young women would receive it and what their reactions would be. Family time couldn’t come fast enough for him.
Finally, supper was over, and the dishes were cleaned up. Ollie sat across from the twins so he could watch their expressions while Lowell started reading the fifth chapter of John. They leaned forward on the settee, their gazes fixed on the Bible as he read, apparently listening to every word. After Lowell finished reading, first Marissa asked a question, then Clarissa. During the discussion Ollie said nothing; instead he listened and observed the girls’ reactions. Finally, when the talk quieted, he stood and stretched. Then he casually walked to where he had hidden the parcel. He picked it up and laid it on the table in front of the settee.
Double Deception Page 13
