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

by Cathy Bryant

  Taking her by the hand, he led her back to the settee. After turning her so that her feet were up and her back was against a pillow—placing a quilt over her lap—he nodded and left the room. As she reclined there, Sarah felt as though she were a bird let out of its cage. After a time, Martha approached with some tea and cake for her young friend.

  While setting her offerings down on the little table beside Sarah, Martha smiled and said, “Well now, you are looking much better. You gave us quite a scare, young lady.”

  “I am sorry, Martha. As you see, I am just fine now.” Sarah wanted to convince her protective friend that she was her normal self again. If she could persuade Martha, perhaps Alexander might believe it as well. I simply have to get over to see Alice and the children. Thinking about the Strout children brought tears to her eyes. She had never before been separated from them for so long. She dearly loved Alice, but she knew that, as a mother, the young woman was deficient in more ways than one. That Alice’s youngest had survived her illness with only her mother there to look after her, to Sarah, seemed a miracle. She then remembered that Alice had not been left to herself. Alexander had sent Esther along to help.

  “I must admit, that was truly good of Alexander,” she said, a little too loudly.

  Having observed that Sarah seemed a bit distracted, Martha had decided to leave her to herself. The elderly servant was just leaving when her employer re-entered the parlor. While nodding to him, she called back over her shoulder to Sarah, “Try and eat, won’t you?”

  Sarah started at the sound of Martha’s voice. For a moment, she had forgotten anyone else was in the room. Glancing toward the doorway, Sarah called to Martha, “I shall, Martha.”

  Seeing her husband approaching with a grin on his face, Sarah’s cheeks flushed at the thought that she had been talking to herself, and he had obviously heard.

  As he made his way over to her, Alexander inquired, “Were you speaking to me? I thought I heard my name.”

  Flustered, Sarah responded, “No…no. I was just thinking out loud.”

  “Anything you wish to share?” he asked, still grinning.

  Watching him as he took a seat, Sarah explained what she had been thinking about. “It is just that I am grateful to you for sending Esther to help Alice with the children.”

  Surveying his wife, Alexander realized the Strout children, as usual, had not been far from her mind. With that thought, he wondered how long it would be before she insisted on going to see them. Allowing her to see them is one thing, but she is not going to return to her old way of doing things. Not wanting to upset her with his plan for altering her hitherto busy schedule, he merely replied, “I was happy to do it. And Esther assures me everyone is well.”

  “Yes, so she has said.” Though Sarah hated to admit it, she was beginning to grow tired.

  Alexander noticed the fatigue showing on her face but forced himself to allow her time to decide on her own to return to her bed. While rising to her feet, his wife explained that she was heading back up the stairs. Alexander stood and came to her. “Shall I escort you?”

  “If you wish, but I am sure I can make it on my own,” Sarah answered while keeping her eyes focused frontward. She didn’t want him to know that she had suddenly felt weak. She was certain that if he knew, he would insist she return to her bed for a few more days.

  Taking her hand, he slid it through his bent arm, and they then moved in the direction of his bedchamber. Once there, he helped her back into bed. Before turning to go, he kissed her on the brow and said, “You rest a while. I shall return a little later, and perhaps at that time I shall read to you.”

  Once he left the room, she heaved a heavy sigh. “Lord, all I want is to be out of this bed and back to my normal life. I can see that Alexander intends for me to stay here for the remainder of the day, or else he wouldn’t have offered to read to me. I do so appreciate all that he has done, especially in sending Esther to care for the Strouts, but…oh, please forgive my impatient heart. I am grateful for the people in my life, even if I grumble against them at times. Besides Alexander, Esther has also been an angel, taking care of the Strouts for me. Without her, Alice’s children may not have fared so well.”

  Before very long, Sarah had fallen asleep. The activities of the day had been too much. Alexander had checked on her once or twice, in case she wished for him to read to her. But that was not to be, for she never even stirred until he came to bed that night.

  The following morning, to Sarah’s chagrin, she felt too shaky to rise from her bed. It was the next day before she was well enough to attempt being out of bed again.

  Mr. Brainard paid the Swyndhursts another visit. After checking on his favorite patient, he went in search of Alexander. “Well, young man, it seems your wife is doing much better. But do not let her fool you—she still has a long way to go before she is well. In fact, I would like to see her keep to her bed a little while longer. I have said as much to her, but I got the distinct impression she wanted to argue the point. Not that she did, but I am certain she wanted to.”

  Amused that the gentleman had correctly diagnosed just what he had been dealing with, Alexander responded, “You picked up on that, did you? My wife does a pretty fair job of feigning that she is well so that she might be out of her bed.”

  Smiling, the apothecary nodded. “Though your wife is the sweetest woman I have ever known, she can, at times, be quite stubborn. Alexander, I am quite serious. She is not to return to her usual schedule for some time yet. Eventually, she shall be able to do some of what she desires, such as helping out with the Strout children, but she is never to do it to the extent that she did before.”

  “I quite agree. Now, convincing her of that is another matter altogether. I have no desire to thrust my demands upon her. I had hoped she would come to understand the need for a change without my having to say it.”

  “I understand, Alexander. If she doesn’t come around to our way of thinking, however, you shall simply have to insist that she bend to your wishes in this.”

  While indicating his agreement with a nod, Alexander walked the gentleman out. Following that, he went to check on Sarah. As soon as he entered the room, he noticed the stubborn look upon her face. Surmising the reason, he slowly approached the bed. He didn’t want to have an argument, but he sensed that one was looming.

  Looking up at her husband, Sarah scowled. “How long does he think he can keep me in this bed?”

  Trying not to show his amusement at her ill temper, Alexander kept his gaze directed elsewhere. “Just long enough to get you well, I would imagine.” Aware that he had not given her the answer she was hoping for, he changed the subject. “Would you like for me to read to you?”

  Tucking her chin in, she crossed her arms over her chest and responded, “I am sure you have better things to do than read to me.”

  “Actually, I have nothing too pressing at the moment. I believe I shall crawl over there beside you. If you do not wish for me to read to you, how about we talk for a while?”

  Feeling a bit childish for her behavior, Sarah stole a peek in her husband’s direction. Seeing his eyes on her, she began to grin. “I am sorry, Alexander. I seem to be in bad humor today. It is just that I was so hoping the apothecary would allow me to return to my regular routine.”

  Smiling back at his contrite wife, Alexander replied, “That is understandable. Even so, you must know that your schedule can never go back to what it was before. You need to take some time to prioritize. There shall be no more running hither and thither every day. Do you understand?”

  The bad humor for which Sarah had been remorseful only a moment ago had returned and was now directed at her husband. Who does he think he is, telling me what to do? I got along just fine without him here. But as she thought about it, she knew that was not exactly true. “May we talk of something else?” she asked, attempting to change the subject while she bridled her emotions.

  Endeavoring, once again, to hide a grin, Alexander
acquiesced. “Certainly. Let us discuss what you would like to do once you are allowed out of bed. I was thinking perhaps a ride out to the Presseys’ home, or over to see Jonathan and Hannah.”

  Diverted for a moment from her sullen mood, Sarah smiled at her husband. To her, a ride sounded heavenly. Though she knew them but a little, she truly liked the Presseys as well as the Bleasdells; thus, she believed that visiting with any of them would be great fun. Furthermore, she had already determined after the Bleasdells’ last visit that she wished to become better acquainted with them. Her excitement faded a little, however, when she remembered that it would not happen right away, as the apothecary had just given orders for her continued convalescence.

  Alexander, as he had suggested, read to Sarah for the better part of an hour before glancing over to find her asleep. Smiling at his wife as she lay there sleeping, Alexander couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened had he remained in England. To his mind, there was a real possibility that his young wife would have died. Deciding to stay where he was, next to Sarah on the bed, Alexander took a moment to pray. He thanked God for His mercy in sparing his wife.

  The following morning, while Sarah was still asleep, Alexander set off to see the pastor of the Amesbury church. He hadn’t seen the man since returning from England. Upon his arrival, Reverend Edmund March greeted him warmly. He then ushered Alexander over to a seat. It was just after the reverend had settled in as minister of the First Church of Amesbury that Alexander had removed to England. The reverend had always felt bad for the poor man, given that he was so young to have lost his first wife. He had also observed that Alexander’s grief over his wife’s death had caused him to miss out on getting to know his new wife, Sarah. He was delighted the man had finally returned and hoped that he intended to remain in Amesbury.

  Since becoming acquainted with Mrs. Swyndhurst, Reverend March, though not in any unwholesome sort of way, had grown to admire her immensely. It was simply that he knew her to be the most selfless person with whom he had ever been acquainted. As he observed Mr. Swyndhurst sitting there, he whispered a silent prayer, thanking God that the man had finally returned.

  “Mr. Swyndhurst, first allow me to say how delighted I am to see you. Is this to be a short visit, or shall you be staying on?”

  Smiling at the kind reverend, Alexander responded, “It is my desire to remain in Amesbury. In truth, I should never have gone away in the first place. But I have to say, I was not thinking clearly at the time. The loss of my first wife had left me in somewhat of a state of confusion. I only remarried to honor my father’s wishes, and to offer some protection for Sarah. I have only been home a few days, and already I find myself wondering how I could have ever left such a wonderful woman.”

  “I am glad to hear it. As for your reason for having left, it was, and is, completely understandable. Your heart was broken and needed time to mend; still, I am very happy to hear that you have had a change of heart. You are quite right in saying that Sarah is a wonderful woman. I have never known anyone like her. She is as selfless as they come. In the short time I have known her, she has been constant in her care of others.”

  Alexander was not surprised to hear the reverend’s assessment of Sarah. “Reverend, my wife is presently recuperating from an illness. The apothecary explained to us that her case was rendered more serious because of her selflessness. While caring for others, she neglected to take care of herself. It is my wish that, when she is well, we not allow her to return to things as usual.”

  “I am certainly glad to hear it! Perhaps you may have more of an influence over her than I. You see, I have thought for some time that she was wearing herself out. But whenever I brought up the matter, she insisted she was fine.”

  “That sounds about right,” smiled Alexander while shaking his head. “Nevertheless, I am here now. I intend to put a stop to most of her activities, even against her wishes if that is what it takes.”

  With relief, the reverend assured the concerned husband that he would abide by his wishes. “I take it that she shall not be in attendance for a while.”

  “Quite so. Mr. Brainard, the apothecary, has said it shall be weeks before she shall recover completely. Be that as it may, I may slip out of a Sunday and join you—that is, whenever I believe my wife is behaving herself enough for me to leave her in the care of the servants,” he said with a chuckle.

  Reverend March decided to take this opportunity to speak with the gentleman about another concern relating to his wife. “Mr. Swyndhurst, while you are here, there is another matter I wish to discuss with you.” Seeing that he had the man’s attention, he continued. “While you were away, I noticed that Sarah seemed oblivious to the attentions of other men. Each time a new man in town came to church, he would inevitably be drawn to your wife. I saw it happen time and time again. I always took care of it by explaining to the young men that Sarah was married. Given her disposition, I never mentioned anything to her, for I was quite certain to disclose such information would have made her uncomfortable. In addition, Martha usually accompanies her, but not having her husband attending with her—” The reverend cut off midsentence. He didn’t want to make the man feel any worse for having left the young woman vulnerable.

  Alexander remained silent as he listened. Though he was feeling uneasy at the direction of the conversation, he wanted to hear all that the reverend had to say.

  “Mr. Swyndhurst, there is a man who would not heed my advice about staying away from your wife. As far as I know, they have not spoken, but from my vantage point at the front of the church, I have observed that he sits as close as possible—never taking his eyes off your wife. As I have said, Sarah seemed oblivious to the others; however, it is different with this man. She always appears ill at ease in his presence, even moving away from him whenever he has attempted to approach her. There is just something in the man’s eyes that concerns me. As I said, I have asked that he keep his distance from her, but my words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.”

  Alexander was once again glad he had come home. Sarah doesn’t need another scoundrel bothering her. By leaving Cambridge where the last man had attempted to force himself on her, her father hoped she would be free from this sort of thing. “I am much obliged to you for telling me. I shall make a point of making my presence known. If I may ask, what is the man’s name?”

  “Matthew Raymond. You should keep watch for a rather tall man, approaching forty years of age, with dark, piercing eyes and brown hair streaked with silver. Whether or not there is actually anything about which to worry, I thought it best to mention it. Well, let us hope that having you here shall put an end to it.”

  Alexander nodded, wishing then that Sarah’s father had disclosed the name of the man from Cambridge. Or perhaps he did. I was in such a state, I simply cannot recall. But it couldn’t possibly be the same man. Shaking his head, he decided to dismiss the idea.

  After the two men parted company, Alexander remained thoughtful for the rest of the day. He was thankful his wife had remained safe during his absence. He was also grateful that if things continued on as they had been, with Sarah resting a good deal of the time, she would soon be well.

  The following Sunday, Alexander went to church alone. Sarah was still too ill to attend. When everyone was seated, with a twofold purpose, Reverend March welcomed Mr. Swyndhurst. He hoped to make the man feel at home, but he also wished for all of the single men to know that Sarah’s husband had returned. As he glanced in Matthew Raymond’s direction, the reverend observed a hostile look upon the man’s face. He hoped that in the future, though the man was clearly upset that Sarah’s husband had come home, he would now keep his distance.

  Matthew Raymond glared at the tall gentleman seated on the right side of the bench in front of him. Who does he think he is, coming back here after leaving his wife alone for two years? She shall never be his! I shall see to that!

  Following the service, William Pressey and his wife, Susanna, approached Alexander.
They had been staying in town for a few days with their grandchildren while the children’s parents were away. The Presseys typically attended services at the Haverhill church. In fact, for many years Susanna had avoided the Amesbury church altogether. Some of its members had been the very ones who had accused her grandmother, Susanna Martin, of being a witch, which ultimately led to her death. On this particular day, the Presseys had been looking forward to seeing Alexander Swyndhurst. Susanna’s sister, Hannah, had mentioned to them that Alexander had returned from England.

  “Well, Alexander, it is wonderful to see you,” smiled William Pressey, with Susanna standing close by. “Hannah told us of your return. How is Sarah? We heard that she has been ill.”

  “I am delighted to see you both,” responded Alexander. “Yes, Sarah had been quite ill. Though she is not completely well as yet, she has improved a great deal. Jonathan and Hannah came to call recently. Sarah mentioned that you have all been attentive to her whilst I was away. I am much obliged to you for befriending her.”

  Susanna Pressey spoke up at this point. “Well, in truth, Alexander, Sarah has been so busy we have had very little time with her.”

  “Yes, I have heard, as well as seen for myself, just how hard-working she is. I hope to change all of that now that I have come home.”

  William grinned at the young husband. Just then, he was remembering a time when he had attempted to prevent Susanna from doing too much during her recovery from a fall. It happened before they were married. Susanna and a friend had gone out riding. Susanna’s horse had spooked and reared up, sending her tumbling. She had injured her head in the fall. After thinking about it a moment, William decided to share the story.

  “Well, Alexander, allow me to give you a bit of advice. Proceed with caution. I recall just such a time with Susanna before we were married. She had been injured from falling off of her horse. As I recall, she was somewhat ill-tempered during her recovery, and my reminding her to take it easy didn’t go over very well.” While glancing at his wife, he laughed at the look upon her face.