Chapter 9

Samuel sat in the bedroom with a sleeping Hope on his lap. He gazed down at the small face.

“Praise God,” he whispered. “Praise God for creating such a wonder as this. May He give me the strength to protect and nurture this child that she may grow into a strong and dutiful woman. May her path be easier to follow than the path He has laid before my daughters.”

He leaned down and softly kissed Hope on her forehead and then resumed gently rocking with his adopted grand-daughter cradled safely in his arms.

In the front room, Constance, wearing a dress for the first time in many days, had heated a bucket of water over the fire. Now Charity stood naked in the small tub while Prudence and Constance washed her down with soap and damp rags.

When she was done, she stepped out of the tub and stood still while Prudence dried her body and then brushed out her hair.

While Prudence dried Charity, Constance took the bucket of water into the back room and set it down beside Samuel.

“Come Father,” she said quietly. “Hand Hope to me and remove your shirt. Charity will soon come to you as clean and as pure as freshly fallen snow. You should be clean as well.”

Constance set the sleeping Hope down on the platform and then used the rag to quickly wash Samuel’s chest, face, arms and back. Samuel protested all the while that he was capable of washing himself, but Constance merely hushed him and reminded him that it was a daughter’s duty to honor her father. Further, her husband Ezekiel had commanded her to honor his father as she would her own, so she was doubly bound to honor him.

When the top half of him was clean, Constance said, “Now Father, stand and remove your trousers so I can wash the rest of you.”

Samuel reached over and took the wet rag from her hand. Then he firmly steered Constance toward the door. You have honored me as much as is needful. Now leave me be so that I may retain some dignity while I finish washing.

Constance giggled, but allowed herself to be pushed. She stopped and turned just before the door.

“Father, Charity may talk like an experienced woman, married and widowed and so forth. But in truth she is a maiden and this will be her first time to lie with a man. Please be gentle with her.”

Samuel smiled and nodded. “Of course. Despite all the lawyer words that have been used, she is still my daughter and I love her deeply. I could hardly do anything else. Now go!”

Constance giggled again and then withdrew, closing the door behind her. In the front room, she helped Prudence dig a carefully-made nightdress out of Charity’s Hope Chest. They helped Charity to put it on and then stood back. Charity blushed and turned in front of them while they made admiring comments.

A short time later, they escorted Charity into the back room and watched with pride while Charity stood before Samuel with a slight blush on her face. Samuel’s eyes were wide as he looked at the young woman, taking in her beauty as if for the first time. He stood for a moment in silence and stared.

Samuel grunted and shook his head slightly. He reached out and took her hands in his. Gently he stooped and kissed her hands and then led her toward the sleeping platform. The two of them were so absorbed in each other they didn’t notice as Prudence and Constance scooped up Hope and quietly made their way back to the front room, closing the door behind them.

Charity stopped just before the bed and freed her hands. In quick movements, she undid the ties on her nightgown and allowed it to drop to the floor, leaving her standing naked. She stepped out of the nightgown and picked it up, carefully draping it over an unused portion of the sleeping platform where it wouldn’t get damaged.

“What are you doing?” muttered Samuel. “You are entirely naked! That isn’t necessary.”

Charity put a hand on his lips to silence him. “It may not be necessary. But these past few nights with Ezekiel, I have found that being entirely naked feels quite wonderful. I thought perhaps it would be the same with us. So let us be as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Let us be naked the way God intended us to be.”

Samuel clasped Charity’s hands and moved them from his mouth. “But it is still day. To be so entirely naked in the light of the sun is surely...”

His protest was stopped abruptly as Charity pressed her lips to his and kissed him soundly. While he was thus distracted, her hands busily loosened the laces of his nightshirt and lifted it up. She broke off the kiss so that she could slip it over his head. That done, she hustled him onto the bed and lay down beside him.

“It gives me great joy that we do this together,” said Charity

“I am also full of joy,” said Samuel. “To hold you in my arms like this is truly a wonder.”

This time it was Samuel who initiated the kiss.

And so Samuel and Charity lay together the way God intended Man and Woman to lie together.

Some time later, Charity gazed up at Samuel, her eyes filled with awe and wonder. They were both breathing deeply. Her strong arms held him in place above her. They both stayed in place for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes. The only movement was their heaving chests as they each struggled to regain their breath.

Then Samuel shifted sideways off her and rolled onto his back. Charity shifted into his side and lay her head on his chest.

“Oh!” she whispered, her eyes wide with amazement. “My goodness!”

Prudence and Constance, taking the silence as a signal that activities were concluded, pushed the door open and moved quietly into the room. Constance was holding a sleepy Hope in her arms. After confirming with their eyes that activities were indeed concluded, they approached the bed.

Prudence was, perhaps, slightly shocked to see both Samuel and Charity lying entirely naked and completely exposed but she said nothing. She found a blanket and with the aid of Constance draped it over them so that they were covered and somewhat more decent. Samuel looked up at her with a worried expression and did not relax until he saw her smile down at him and tuck the blanket around him.

He reached down and gently stroked Charity’s head where it lay on his chest. Then he looked at Prudence and smiled so that he could share his happiness with her.

Charity looked up at Constance with half-lidded eyes and whispered. “I understand now. There are no words to describe...”

Constance nodded and stooped to kiss her sister on the forehead.

“Considerably better than peeling potatoes,” whispered Charity with a giggle while her sister was close.

Constance chuckled and soothed Charity’s hair.

“I’m happy for you. Rest for a moment, but then you should come and eat some supper.”

Charity frowned. “But I want to do that again.” She twisted her head to look at Samuel. “Can we do it again?”

“Indeed, you must,” said Prudence. “For it can take many such attempts to plant a babe in your womb. But Samuel will need to rest for a while before he is ready for another attempt and supper is ready.

Constance picked up the discarded nightdress and held it out for Charity.

“Come, sister. Cover yourself with this and we shall all go and eat. Making a new babe can be surprisingly hungry work.”

Prudence found Samuel’s nightshirt and held it out for him while Constance helped Charity. Shortly after that they sat around the table and ate supper. There was little conversation while they ate but it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was more that all were content to think their own thoughts and weren’t ready to share those thoughts with others.

After supper was finished, Charity proudly exposed her breasts and fed Hope the small amount she had to offer. Then Constance took over feeding Hope and ducked her head towards the back room. Charity took the hint and offered Samuel her hand. When he clasped it, she led him into the back room and closed the door.

Prudence did not hurry as she tidied up after supper and cleaned the pots. Despite this, Constance had only just finished feeding and changing Hope when Prudence sat down opposite her at the table. They looked at each other as Constance gently rocked Hope in her arms.

“I suppose it is time we prepared ourselves for bed,” said Constance. “You are welcome to sleep beside me out here.”