Marriage by Mail (Grace Church Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

illness, grief, and long journey took their toll on her. I fear for her health. She is quite frail, Mr. Smith. She could collapse, her health utterly broken down. She requires rest. You must see to this. After that, good, wholesome food, sunshine, and the Lord’s will be done.”
    “Does she need any medicine, Doc?” Charles felt helpless.
    “No. I wish it were that simple, that a powder could cure what ails her. Just rest, and prayer, and time, and hope, that’s all I can say, except…” He paused, furrowing his brows more deeply.
    “What can I do to help her? Anything,” said Charles, turning away. The woman he had been beginning to know in her letters seemed like a completely different person than the one he had left earlier that day at home. But, Rose was his wife. Although she seemed like a stranger, they were married.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    Charles faced the doctor. “I’ll do anything. What does she need?”
    Doctor Petersen looked at him intently. “This requires plain speaking, Mr. Smith. May I be frank?”
    “Yes.” He waited.
    “She must not get with child. I am mostly concerned about her heart. Some fevers leave their mark on that crucial muscle, which must be strong in order to support carrying new life. Her pulse was weak, and rapid. I could not ascertain her heart’s overall functioning, but I am concerned. Of course, I have not shared these thoughts with her. She must not be worried. She must not suspect that there is a notion that her heart may have possibly been injured from her fever. Let her lead a normal life, just make sure she does not exert herself.”
    “Of course.” Charles felt his face burning, and not from the heat of the forge.
    “In a month, let me examine her again. Make sure she gets a month of rest, fresh air and sunshine, rest and healthful food. Then, let me reconsider, all right? Again, I don’t want her to suspect my concerns. A merry heart does good like a medicine . Keep that Proverb in mind, son.”
    “Yes, Doctor Petersen,” said Charles bleakly.
    Soon after, he saddled Rascal and headed quickly for home. The scent of hot food filled the air as he walked up the porch steps. He looked in the kitchen and saw a pie cooling on the windowsill.
    “Dinner will be ready in just a moment. I thought you might be hungry,” said Rose, coming into the kitchen from her bedroom. “I was just taking a quick rest.”
    “Ma’am, Rose, you needn’t have cooked,” started Charles, twisting the brim of his hat in his hands.
    “I cannot claim any workmanship for this lovely pie, the potatoes, and the dried applesauce,” she said, moving slowly toward the cupboard. “Mrs. Chadding and Mrs. Tilden came by and left this dinner for us. Wasn’t that a kindness?”
    He gently took the plates from her hand and set them on the table. “Why don’t you set yourself down and tell me all about your day. I’ll wash and be right back, then I’ll serve us up some of this pie and potatoes. Dried applesauce, too? Well, I’ll be.”
    She sat in the chair he held out for her and waited while he went through the back door to go outside. After a few moments, she stood up, thinking to set the table. Darting a look outside the kitchen window, she drew back quickly. Stripped to the waist, Charles was washing by the pump. For that one brief look, she had seen water coursing down off his hair in droplets, creating little rivers down his chest and arms. She blinked rapidly, pressing a hand to her cheek. She stepped lightly across the kitchen and sat back down. She didn’t want him to guess that she had seen him by looking out of the window. She heard whistling and then the back door slapping shut as Charles came back inside. He set the table. Rose fought a smile, seeing how he put things down any which way, and she resisted putting the items in their proper order. He sat down, holding both his hands out. Rose’s stomach felt as though it spun in a little circle as she placed her hands in