DC03 - Though Mountains Fall Read Online Free PDF Page B

spot beside him.
    “Domingo told me,” he said, and then took off his hat and rubbed his bald head the way he did when he was very tired or very worried. There was a great sadness in his eyes.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know it’s terrible news to you, but, Dat, I love Domingo more than anything.”
    “More than your family?”
    Coming from her father, the question pierced her heart. She took a deep, shuddering breath and fought back tears.
    “Dat, I didn’t choose this. Things just . . . happened. The time I spent alone with Domingo and Kyra in the mountains was like heaven on earth, and I was overwhelmed. Domingo is the one . I believe Gott himself put us together, and I want tospend the rest of my life with him. Everything else will just have to work itself out. It makes me very sad to think of the grief it will cause my family. I only hope you can all forgive me.”
    On the verge of tears, he whispered, “You’re still my daughter—at least until the church says otherwise—but this is a hard thing, Miriam. A very hard thing. How many of my children will this country take from me . . . ?”
    Miriam couldn’t hold it back. She wept for a lost brother, and for a softhearted father whose pain she felt as keenly as her own.
    “I will not try to stop you,” he said wearily, “but you already know what is coming, and you know I will not defy the church. As for Domingo, I only wish I could have talked him into joining us, but—”
    “I know. He’s a warrior. Dat, he was raised in a different world, but in his heart he’s as good as any man I know.”
    He nodded grimly. Neither of them spoke for a minute as a sad resignation settled over them both. Finally he asked, very quietly, “When will it happen?”
    It , he said, the way he would ask a doctor how long before someone died. Staring at the dirt floor she thought for a moment.
    “In a few weeks, at Iglesia El Prado. We’ll have to go talk to the priest first.”
    There was another long silence before he said, “Perhaps it won’t be so bad, since there is no bishop here.”
    She knew what he meant, and she appreciated it. He was saying perhaps the family could bend the rules a bit after she was banned. There would be restrictions, yet beyond those the law was somewhat flexible, especially in the absence of an official overseer.
    “Thank you for that, Dat.” Then another thought occurred to her. “Will you let Domingo keep working for you?”
    He seemed surprised, caught off guard by the question, but then he shrugged. “As long as the others don’t complain.Domingo is a good hand. Besides, he has done nothing wrong, except to fall in love with my daughter. I can’t hardly hold that against him.”
    ———
    The word was out, and it divided Miriam’s heart right down the middle. Mamm was deeply hurt, as expected. She managed to function, cooking dinner as always, but she spoke only when necessary and sniffled off and on through dinner. She ate very little, refusing to even look at Miriam.
    But Ada misbehaved at dinner. Confused by the somber mood she kept making little attempts to stir things up and create the lively banter she was accustomed to seeing around the dinner table. When she spilled her water—on purpose—she laughed too long and too loud until Mamm finally shushed her with a stern word. Then she sulked, pooching her bottom lip and refusing to eat another bite. Even Miriam’s younger sisters were all deathly quiet.
    ———
    Breakfast the next morning was no different. A black gloom hung over them all, and Mamm still wouldn’t eat. Miriam couldn’t take it. As soon as she finished her chores she told her mother she needed some time alone.
    Mamm nodded without looking at her. Miriam crept silently out the back door, past the barn and up along the face of the ridge.
    Even now she was wracked with doubts, and as she wandered aimlessly along the tree line her soul cried out. Where was Gott in all this? Was it not