Page 13 of The Preacher's Wife
“Tomorrow, we will become Reverend and Mrs. Hubert Fitzgerald.”
Prudence nodded, her hands coming up to lie flat against his chest, and total peace settled over Hubert.
Chapter Five
Prudence couldn’t believe this was her wedding day.
Despite being in Omaha for almost two weeks, she still marveled at the lack of snow compared to her home in Boston. Everywhere she went, people were discussing the unusually warm weather and its potential impact on crops. The faint smell of smoke lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the looming threat of fire.
Today, she would get married surrounded by the friends she had made during her short time in town. Tomorrow, she’ll begin her move to Colorado with her new husband. She had meant to ask Hubert about the snow during dinner last night, but the excitement during dinner had made it feel like a dream. Meeting the man she would spend the rest of her life with was not at all how she had imagined it would be.
It had been easy.
It still surprised her how easy everything had been since meeting Ingrid Chapman. Prudence’s prayers had changed as well. Prayers, once seeking a rescuer, a helpmate, and an escape from her bleak situation, were now looking for a future that included safety, security, forgiveness, and perhaps even love.
Her relationship with faith was shifting and growing as well.
She carefully rose from the settee, where she had been sleeping, and neatly folded the blankets to return the room to its usual state. So far, no one had suspected anything, but tonight she will have to change her routine.
Hubert would not fit on the settee.
As she thought of him, Prudence could see his brown eyes. They were warm and reminded her of syrup. He stood a few inches taller than her, his broad shoulders and muscular form a testament to his good health. Prior to her passing, Prudence’s mother provided her with an explanation of the events that would unfold on her wedding night. Back then, there was still hope that Prudence would find a husband.
After her mother’s death, Papa became even colder and more rigid, showing no vulnerability like he used to before. When he issued a decree that Prudence was to remain at home, caring for things, until he passed, her chances at marriage disappeared.
“That will not happen with Hubert. I’ll make him promise me.” Prudence spoke out loud, heading toward the kitchen. She didn’t want a marriage devoid of all emotion.
Quickly, she stirred the coals, adding more wood to the potbelly stove before filling the kettle and setting it on top to heat. There was much to do, and very little time before she had to head down to the church. While she hurried through her ablutions, she hummed the song that had been lingering in her mind for several days.
Soon our pilgrimage will cease; soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.
Oh, she wanted that peace, and a happy heart!
She dressed in her nicest dress. A deep blue that made her eyes shine. She brushed her hair until it gleamed and stepped in front of the mounted looking glass she’d found behind the door in the kitchen.Papa, disapproving of vanity, had forbidden her from having a looking glass in Boston.
Quickly splitting her hair in the middle, she plaited it into two braids that wove together in the back. It was a crown a bride had worn once at a ceremony her father officiated. Prudence spent many nights secretly practicing the style until she perfected it.That bit of vanity would most certainly have resulted in her being punished.When she was done, she pinched her cheeks, smiling as they developed a pink hue.
The kettle hummed gently, and she quickly made her porridge, adding the rest of the honey on top. She sat at the table and bowed her head, giving thanks for the food, Mrs. Chapman, and her soon-to-be husband.
While eating, she considered the two versions of her Hubert that she had encountered the day before. If she were honest, she quite preferred the man who had walked in on her singing. He had been relaxed and confident, even while confused as to her presence in the house. The man who’d come for dinner last night was cautious and hesitant. Those thoughts made her wonder if he was having the same considerations this morning.
“Please don’t let him change his mind,” she whispered, quickly rinsing the dish.
Setting the bread pans on top of the stove to rise while she was gone, she wrapped her cloak over her shoulders, thankful that it had come clean, and headed out the door. Prudence didn’thave time to consider the old superstitions about his seeing the bride before the ceremony.
As she tiptoed into the back of the chapel, the sound of church bells filled her ears. Prudence’s eyes darted around, searching for Hubert among the rows of pews, but he was nowhere to be seen. She felt a flutter in her stomach as she anxiously waited for him to arrive. Her gaze moved across the room, and she noticed the side door open as the two Fitzgerald men made their way to the altar at the front of the church. The older Reverend took his place behind the pulpit while the younger slipped into a chair behind it.
“Good morning, my friends!” The room echoed the greeting.“I know we’ve been studying the Psalms, and I’m sure you’re waiting with bated breath for my next message,” he chuckled. The congregation laughed. “But my son, Hubert, is in town for the weekend. Last night we were discussing what his sermon was to be this week, and I think you’ll all agree that it is a timely message.”
Prudence felt her eyes widen.Had she caused this change with her questions the night before?That was not her intention.
“Let’s start by singing ‘Shall We Gather at the River’.” The congregation stood and prepared to sing the song that had been stuck in her head for the last week.
“All right, Lord, I hear you,” she muttered, climbing to her feet.
Once the song ended, Hubert signaled for the congregation to take their seats. “Thank you for having me. If you’ll turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelations, chapter twenty-one.” Fear rocked through Prudence; a tingling sensation and heat raced through her body. Revelations was her father’s favorite book.
“Now I know this book can be quite a controversial conversation. I find something different, however. What I see when I read it is that John builds our confidence in our eternity by emphasizing that we are not asked to fear the future. He encouraged us to have faith. To follow where Christ leads us. And know that accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior guarantees our victory and future.”
