Ruth Axtell Morren - A Bride Of Honor

THE MAKING OF A GENTLEMAN

“Engaging characters and a smooth, fast-paced story line make this a historical to be savored.”

— Publishers Weekly

THE ROGUE’S REDEMPTION

“A beautifully written Regency-era love story.”

— Romantic Times BOOKreviews

DAWN IN MY HEART

“Morren turns in a superior romantic historical.”

— Booklist

LILAC SPRING

“ Lilac Spring blooms with heartfelt yearning and genuine conflict as Cherish and Silas seek God’s will for their lives. Fascinating details about 19th-century shipbuilding…bring a historical feel to this faith-filled romance.”

—Bestselling author Liz Curtis Higgs

WILD ROSE

Selected as a Booklist Top 10

Christian Novel for 2005

“The charm of the story lies in Morren’s ability to portray real passion between her characters. Wild Rose is not so much a romance as an old-fashioned love story.”

— Booklist

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For Pastor Rafael Grey,

a man after God’s heart.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

London, April 1812

“‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart’.” Damien paused in the reading of the scripture and looked from the pulpit to the congregation below him.

St. George’s Chapel was filled to overflowing. Not due solely to his preaching, unfortunately, although his flock had been growing steadily in the last few years since he’d been curate there.

No, it was not the service or his preaching that brought most people out this Sunday to morning prayer, but scandal.

Damien’s glance strayed to the chancel where his sister sat beside her intended. Jonah Quinn, a man who’d escaped the gallows and been a fugitive from the law, had only last week received a royal pardon from the prince regent himself.

Overnight, Jonah, Damien and his sister had become objects of notoriety. The fashionable world from nearby Mayfair flocked to catch a glimpse of the man who’d escaped detection from the magistrates by hiding out in Damien’s own parsonage.

A rustle of someone’s prayer book pulled Damien’s thoughts back to the sermon at hand. His business was not what had brought people into the house of God that morning, but what they would take with them when they left.

“How is your heart with God today?” As he asked the question, his gaze roamed over the congregation once again, stopping here and there to make eye contact with a parishioner. Most quickly averted their eyes.

His attention was caught by a young lady in the front pew. For a few seconds, he lost his train of thought. She was looking at him as if drinking in each word.

Clearing his throat, he looked back down at his notes, wishing all his parishioners listened so attentively.

“Is your heart condemning you when you come before the Lord in prayer?”

Damien’s voice grew soft and there was little sound coming from the congregation. He continued to ask the probing questions, questions he himself had dealt with in his earlier life when he’d felt inadequate to fill the shoes of a preacher.

“God’s word tells us that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” He grasped the sides of the pulpit, his voice rising. He no longer needed to look down at his notes as his words tumbled forth.

His attention returned time and again to the young lady. Her look never wavered. What had brought her this morning? She certainly didn’t behave like those interested in the latest scandal. Not once had her glance drifted toward Jonah, unlike so many of the congregation.

The young lady was sitting beside an older woman. Damien recognized neither. Both were fashionably dressed. Were they part of the Mayfair crowd squeezed into the pews that morning?

As soon as the service was over, Damien went into the vestry to remove his stole and surplice, then made his way to the church’s entry in his black cassock to greet the parishioners. Thinking of the moment he would face the young lady, he felt a brief qualm as he listened to the tap of his wooden leg against the hard floor. Would a flicker of distaste mar her pretty features? The worry was quickly gone. What did it matter what she thought? Chastising himself briefly for his vanity, he joined his sister and Jonah who were already at the door.

“Good morning, Reverend Hathaway. Wonderful sermon.” He returned handshakes and greetings, thanking those who commended him on the sermon.

Many of those who were strangers hardly gave him a nod before turning an eager eye to Florence and Jonah. Damien glanced their way but saw at once that his future brother-in-law didn’t need help from him. Jonah shook hands and smiled broadly at one and all, answering those who were bold enough to ask him about his pardon.

He chuckled, rubbing his muscular neck. “Aye, the noose was already nipping at me throat ’ere I was rescued. No, I never did ken who they were.” His listeners’ eyes popped open wide, their mouths hanging slack in wonder.

“Good morning, Reverend Hathaway.”

Damien turned to greet an elderly parishioner. “Good morning, Mrs. Oliver. How nice to see you out again. How are you feeling this fine April morning?”

The white-haired lady smiled beneath the deep rim of her straw bonnet. “Praise be to God, I am feeling quite myself again. After you prayed for me, the rheumatism in my joints subsided.” She patted his hand. “You were so kind to visit me while I was housebound.”

“I am thankful to have you back among us.”

With a last pat to his hand, she indicated the ladies behind her in the line—and Damien was caught by the large brown eyes of the beautiful young lady of the front pew.

With an effort, he pulled his focus from her and turned to the older lady, intensely aware of his deformity.

“I’d like to present you to my dear friend, Miss Yates,” Mrs. Oliver went on in her friendly tone, oblivious to his inner turmoil. “And this is her young cousin, Miss Phillips, just returned to London from school.”

He bowed to the older lady. “How do you do?” Everything about her indicated a lady of rank and distinction. Her dark cloak was edged in fur, her manner dignified.

Miss Yates inclined her head slightly, a genial look in her blue eyes. “Very well, thank you. I found your sermon most edifying. I look forward to visiting again.”

Unable to resist the sincerity in her tone, he smiled. “You are always welcome. Please come any Sunday.”

Damien tried to appear calm and untroubled as he prepared to bring his attention to Miss Phillips. It had been merely a trick of the light that had made her appear so ethereally lovely from his vantage of the pulpit, he told himself.