Her beloved was married, to a bride from England, and away on honeymoon? No! It simply wasn't possible! Didn't he know she'd been waiting for him to make his move all of these years... not to mention, yesterday evening? She felt faint, and everything was fading to black as Mr. Brannigan delivered a blessing over the offering about to be received.
Clara Wilmore threw a glare at her youngest daughters as she saw her eldest daughter about to collapse in the pew. The ushers commenced with the collection of the offering as the pianist began the first few measures of Blessed Assurance. Isabel reacted quickly, fishing the smelling salts out of her reticule. She waved them directly under Maggie's nose two or three times until her sister revived, catching her breath to gulp in air. Maggie clasped Isabel's arm tightly and leaned on her brother, Edgar.
Avoiding the eyes of her friends who immediately threw glances in her direction, Maggie managed to make it through the sermon by fanning herself vigorously with her white lace fan. She kept her eyes averted and directly on Shane Brannigan. When she tired of waving the fan, she fidgeted nervously with the embroidered leaf and floral motifs on her coral skirt, and along the hem of the coordinating jacket. The folds of cream lace that cascaded at her neck along with her corset seemed suffocating in the summer heat. She wanted to sink back into the pew, but the frame of her bustle prevented her, demanding that she sit up very straight. Why did her new hat seem so heavy today?
She was through with Braydon McLane alright, but in her smoldering anger, she went back over the events of the particulars of their relationship over and over again. She could barely focus on a word of the sermon. Maggie Wilmore was certain he wanted her, or at least had wanted to marry her. Clearly the man only thought he was through with her, when all along he'd been planning to wed her. How this English bride had suddenly entered his life remained a mystery she was sure Arbor Ridge had not heard the last of.
When he'd asked Maggie to dine with him, he'd said it was to be the beginning of what he hoped would be a lasting relationship. A lasting relationship... the very indication of a courtship, followed by marriage! What kind of a man would say such a thing to a lady, and then marry someone else on the very day one's romance was to begin? Hadn't Shane Brannigan said the wedding had taken place yesterday? Married yesterday, while he had abandoned her at Claridge House? Braydon McLane and his new wife would rue the day he'd ever laid eyes on her!
Maggie smoldered on that pew and refused to speak all the way home, though the family knew better than to taunt her with conversation when she was angry. How dare Braydon McLane practically jilt her! She marched upstairs to her bedroom, slamming her door shut, and locking it. She tripped on a stray shoe as she crossed the room to fling herself upon the bed for a good cry, which only aggravated her further. She picked up the shoe as hot tears streamed down her face and plopped onto the edge of the bed. Mother tapped on the door.
"Margaret... may I come in?" Clara asked, knocking again.
"Go away!" Maggie yelled as she sent the shoe sailing through the air. It crashed against the door and landed with a thud on the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hoped you enjoyed this brief excerpt from the antagonist's point of view in "Persecution & Providence," a Jane Austen-ish sort of mail order bride story. The story is clean and wholesome, yet romantic and plenteous in interesting characters! The theme of this full length novel is the depths of the love God has for us. Of course, my meager offering comes no where close to doing this topic justice, but I enjoyed trying to bring this subject to life for readers. Click here, or copy and paste the link below to see this book on Amazon. As always, proceeds help support missions. The book is free for Kindle Unlimited Readers at present.
https://www.amazon.com/Persecution-Providence-Lydia-Collection-Book-ebook/dp/B01C8I27OI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1481082105&sr=1-1&keywords=persecution+%26+providence