And she couldn’t deny her overwhelming feeling about the man. He’d not hidden anything from them as he answered their questions. He meant them no harm.
But could a feeling be trusted? This seemed even stronger than a feeling. An instinct? A sign from God?
The latter felt more accurate than anything, as strong as this sensation pressed.
Chief Durand studied the faces around the room once more, giving everyone a final chance to speak. She had to take this opportunity.
She lifted her hand enough to gain his attention.
A new crease formed on his brow, but he nodded toward her. “Miss Moreau.”
It would be easier to speak boldly if she stood up, but no one else had risen when they talked, so she lifted her chin and stiffened her spine. “I understand the manner in which he came here raises concern. But he answered every one of your questions with the utmost truthfulness—even when those answers showed him in a poor light. As I listened to him speak, I had such a strong feeling here—” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Too strong for anything I could have summoned on my own. An impression I believe wholeheartedly came from our Lord. This man is not a danger to us. If we shed innocent blood, that evil will be marked to our account. He must be set free.”
She could sense the stirring among the others in the group. Not only was she a newcomer to the council—an imposter, really—but she advocated the opposite of what the others wanted. She didn’t dare meet anyone’s gaze except Chief Durand’s.
He regarded her for a long moment, his thoughts surely spinning. But in which direction?
At last, he shifted his focus to the rest of the group. “I believe a great deal of prayer is in order here. We cannot take lightly a man’s life, nor can we disregard the safety of our people. I ask that we take time for prayer and fasting. Beginning at sunrise tomorrow, let every adult in the village fast until the sun rises the following day. Pray with your families.Beseech the Lord for His will. Ask Him to set aside our own desires and fears and make His guidance plain. We’ll meet here again in three days at the noon mark. That will give sufficient time for us all to hear the Lord’s leading and discuss the matter with our families.” He sat back and looked around the group once more, allowing the opportunity for any final comments.
The others were nodding. Chief Durand had delayed decisions for prayer before, although she could only remember one other village-wide fast. That had been during the harshest winter she could remember, when their people had been near to starving.
As she rose with her father and followed the stream of people exiting the room, she sent a glance to Brielle. Her friend was speaking with Evan, though from the softness in her expression, their conversation had nothing to do with the prisoner locked in the storage room.
A new tightening clenched within her. Now that Evan had returned, Brielle would marry soon. How would that change the friendship Audrey had treasured since girlhood? Not that Brielle would change, but her focus would be on her new husband. On their new home. Their new life.
Audrey pressed the longing away. Whatever Brielle needed, Audrey would be there for her.
Another thought slipped in. Brielle surely wanted to spend time with Evan now that he’d returned. How would that affect their prisoner? Brielle likely wouldn’t have time to stand guard. She wouldn’t be spending time in the man’s presence to decipher his motives and intentions. Instead, she’d depend on information from others.
Audrey would have to talk with the prisoner in her stead.She wanted to learn more about the man anyway, so extra time with him would be no hardship.
If only she could find a way to get him out of the village so he could be on his way and the council wouldn’t be forced to make a difficult decision. The moment the idea surfaced, she pressed it away. That couldn’t be the answer.
Could it?
5
“I imagine Brielle is occupied.” Audrey kept her hands furiously kneading dough while she waited for Chief Durand’s answer. He’d come to their apartment for a visit with her father after the council meeting. Chief Durand was one of the only men her father knew well enough to relax in his presence.
“She and her beau have gone for a stroll outside village walls. I’m sure they’ve much news to catch up on.”
Audrey didn’t glance up to see the twinkle in his eye, but she could hear it in his voice. She had a feeling Brielle and Evan would be catching up on more than just news. How wonderful for Brielle. She deserved this happiness, and Audrey wouldn’t wish it away for anything.
But with Brielle so distracted, who was caring for Monsieur Masters? Not that Brielle would focus on more than securing him and learning his intentions. Audrey handled the meals. And that’s exactly what she was preparing now, food for her father and Monsieur Masters. Yet not having Brielle as involved with the prisoner felt odd, like there was too much chance something could go wrong.
As she spooned meat into theBreton galette, the men’s voices slipped into the background. Papa Durand seemed more focused on the stranger’s background and how that might influence his future behavior than on the fact that he’d been honest in all the details he shared.
At times, she itched to speak up and remind the chief of that truthfulness. But he’d been there just as she had. And this was his own conversation with her father. She respected both men too much to interrupt as she might have when she was ten.
When she pulled the first round of meat pastries from her new cookstove oven—a wonderful apparatus from the outside world Evan had taught them about—she used a break in conversation to catch Chief Durand’s attention. “Will you stay and eat with us?” It had taken her a while to perfect the baking in the new cookstove Papa Durand constructed for her, but now baked goods came out even lighter than from her handmade stone oven.
He gave her a fond smile. “Charlotte will have a meal ready for me soon. Thank you for your hospitality, though.” He raised the mug he’d been sipping tea from and handed it to her. “I should head back to our quarters now.”
As he rose and made his farewells, Papa followed him to the door and the two men clasped hands. Papa Durand held the grip a moment longer than usual. “It was good to see you at the council meeting, Martin.”
The warmth in his voice brought a sting to Audrey’s eyes. If only Papa had ten friends like Chief Durand, men who fought through the distance he placed between himself and others. Men who saw the good in him and encouraged it, instead of only the way he secluded himself and sometimes hid in strong drink.
After Papa closed the door, he stood with his shoulders a little straighter, though the shuffle of his step had slowed. “I’m not quite ready to eat, I think. I’ll rest a while first. You go ahead, though.”
