Indentured Heart (House of Winslow Book #3)

Gilbert Morris

Description

The Indentured Heart opens another chapter in the compelling House of Winslow. While in England, Adam Winslow rescues Molly Burns from her abusive father and brings her to America, where Molly becomes his indentured servant. A young girl, a family, and a new nation are bound together in their search for freedom.

Sujets

• Sagas

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441270306
• Langue: English

Extrait

© 1988 by Gilbert Morris
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
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook 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 978-1-4412-7030-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Cover illustration by Dan Thornberg
Cover design by Danielle White
This book is for my favorite Cajuns
in all the world the Neals.
There may be more generous,
hospitable people on this planet
but I have not found them yet.
KENNY OPAL ANDY JAMIE
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
PART ONE
BOSTON
1. The Printer and the Preacher
2. The Winslow Clan
3. Disgraced!
4. A Little Latin
5. A Family Affair
6. Molly
7. The House of Winslow
8. “How Much Trouble Can One Small Girl Be?”
PART TWO
NORTHAMPTON
9. A Brooch of Silver
10. Trip to Boston
11. A Valentine for Molly
12. Charles Finds a Woman
13. “The Best of the Winslows!”
14. Brotherly Love
15. “And the Walls Came Tumbling Down!”
PART THREE
VIRGINIA
16. A Ball at Mount Vernon
17. The Bullets Whistle
18. “I Want to Belong to You!”
19. “Ye Must Be Born Again!”
20. Death at Monogahela
21. Capture the Castle
22. Death in the Afternoon
Epilogue
About the Author

CHAPTER ONE
THE PRINTER AND THE PREACHER
Adam Winslow never forgot the momentous events of his thirteenth birthday the first, his meeting with Benjamin Franklin.
Adam had arrived at his special birthday that morning, and thus had been permitted to make the trip from Boston to Philadelphia with his father. But even these august matters faded; in the years that followed, he always remembered that the famous statesmen had, on that late afternoon in 1740, flirted with his sister Mercy in a most forward manner!
Not that it was unusual for men to find his sister attractive far from it. Adam had grown accustomed to finding the front yard cluttered with young men on Sunday afternoons, drawn by the bright blue eyes, fair hair, and trim figure of Mercy Winslow. But even at that age, he had heard enough of the famous Franklin to be amazed when the portly printer bowed low over his sister’s hand, kissed it with a flourish, never letting his eyes wander too far away from her even when he talked business with Miles Winslow.
They had arrived in Philadelphia at dusk after a schooner trip from Boston to New York, and a two-day buggy ride over rough roads. Adam had missed little of the scenes along the way. Sitting in the back seat of the buggy with Mercy, he had listened to his father talk to William, his twenty-year-old brother. And when they pulled into the crowded streets of Philadelphia, he sat straight up, taking it all in.
Miles Winslow drove the matched bays against a flood of traffic, which all seemed to be headed west. He was a good driver, but it took all his skill to thread the buggy through the mass of pedestrians, horses, and carriages until he arrived at a two-story frame building.
“What’s that sign read, William?” he asked wearily.
William Winslow stepped out of the buggy, peered upward in the fading light, then turned and said, “Benjamin Franklin, Printer.”
“Hope he’s not gone home yet,” Miles said, then added, “Mercy, you and Adam come with us.” William helped his sister down as Adam scrambled out; then the four of them stepped onto the wooden sidewalk, pushing their way through the crowd. Miles shoved the door open, giving a grunt of approval when he found it unlocked.
The four entered, and Adam’s nose twitched at the exotic aroma of ink and paper. A large press was rumbling, operated by a skinny apprentice who gave them no attention at all. Finally a man wearing an ink-stained apron came out of an inner office. He was middle-aged, somewhat portly, and his hair had receded, leaving a large bald dome over his small close-set eyes.
“Yes?” he said with a nervous smile. “Can I help you, sir?”
“Looking for the printer Franklin,” Miles stated.
“At your service, Mister ?”
“I’m Miles Winslow, Mr. Franklin. I wrote you a letter about printing my grandfather’s journal.”
“Of course! Of course!” Franklin exclaimed. He appraised the two tall men, both over six feet, noting the bright blue eyes and the blond hair with just a touch of red in the lamplight. The older of the two was in his sixties, the younger about twenty. The girl, he saw immediately, was a beauty, with the same fair hair and astonishing blue eyes. But the young boy was quite different small and very dark. “I believe it’ll be an excellent production, Mr. Winslow, excellent!” He looked at the large clock on the wall and shook his head. “It’s a little late, but come into my office for a moment.”
“This is my son, William, my daughter, Mercy, and my younger son, Adam.”
Franklin acknowledged William with a handshake, Adam with a pat on the head, then turned his attention to Mercy. With a smile he bent over her hand, kissed it, and said, “You are most welcome, Mistress Winslow you grace our poor city!”
William saw Adam staring at the printer, and when he caught his eye, gave a sly wink, then shook his head. Miles gave Franklin a dour look, but Mercy seemed to enjoy the attention, for she smiled and said, “You are gallant, Mr. Franklin.”
He held her hand a moment longer than necessary, then wheeled and led the way into the small office in back of the shop. It was cluttered with books and manuscripts of every sort, piled up on the floor and stuffed into every crevice.
“Do you have the manuscript with you, sir?” Franklin asked, glancing through the door at the clock, obviously anxious to leave.
“It’s in the buggy,” Miles said, then asked with some irritation, “What’s going on, Mr. Franklin? I never saw such a mob as that one out there. Is there a public hanging or some other choice entertainment?”
Franklin laughed aloud, with a twinkle illuminating his brown eyes. “Nothing quite so exciting as that, I’m afraid ” Then he gave a shrug, saying, “Only a preacher come to town.”
“A preacher!” William’s head lifted sharply, and he asked quickly, “What preacher would draw that kind of crowd, Mr. Franklin?”
“None of your home-grown variety, I assure you, sir! No, this is a British minister. Been making quite a stir in England quite a stir. Name is George Whitefield.”
Miles gave a snort and shook his head in disgust. “I’ve heard of the fellow. All mixed up with the enthusiasts!”
“I’d like to hear him, Father,” William said. “You say he’s preaching tonight, Mr. Franklin?”
“Yes, I’m going to hear him myself.” Pulling off his inky apron, he added, “Why don’t you come along, Mr. Winslow and we can talk business tomorrow?”
Miles started to shake his head, but William insisted, “We can’t miss this, Father. He’s set England on her heels, and he’s likely to shake up the Colonies the same way.”
“Quite so, sir!” Franklin slipped into a brown coat and quickly took Mercy by the arm. With a smile he held firmly to her, piloted the group out of the shop and turned them west. As they made their way down the crowded street, he explained how Whitefield had landed at Newport a short time earlier. He had made a tour of the coastal cities, and his reputation had drawn thousands.
“Never heard anything like him!” Franklin professed, with a wave of his hand.
“Then you are a Christian, sir?” William asked directly, a keen light in his eyes.
The question seemed to take the famous printer off guard, for he faltered slightly, but then threw his head back and said hurriedly, “Why, I am a believer in a divine power, Mr. Winslow!” Then he changed the subject by pointing at a large building directly in front of them. “There is Rev. Whitefield’s pulpit this evening the courthouse steps!”
“He’s going to preach there ?” Miles asked incredulously. “Aren’t there any churches in Philadelphia?”
“A great number of them, sir,” Franklin nodded. “But many of them are closed to Mr. Whitefield due to his rather harsh remarks about the clergy and in any case, none of them would hold this crowd!”
He waved a hand at the shifting mass of people that stretched from the courthouse steps way down the streets. Nearly every house showed lights in its upper story, and by the flickering lanterns hanging from the walls, Adam could see people hanging out of most of the windows. Franklin crowded them in as close as they could get, and it was fortunate they were with him, for the people made way, so that he was able to find them a place beside the large landing. William, seeing Adam struggling to peer over the level of the porch, picked him up and stood him up on the ledge.
Just as he did so, a massive door opened and three men walked out, one of them wearing a clerical robe. “That’s Whitefield,” Franklin said.
William stared at the minister curiously, for he had heard much of his work in England from a friend at Yale who had been at Oxford with Whitefield and the Wesleys. John and Charles Wesley had been the founders of a small prayer group called by their opponents “The Holy Club.” Wesley had simply smiled and adopted the name, and the small band had grown dramatically. The group had been so methodical in their spiritual discipline that their foes had tacked another name on them ”Methodists” and this name too had been accepted by the Wesleys.
George Whitefield had joined the group at a tender age, and after an awesome spiritual struggle had found a new experience with God. He had gone forth to proclaim his new birth and to call for a turning away from old dead forms.