"Oh really?" Faith interjected. "You could have fooled me! You always have something to say about the great big life you lead and how quaint everything seems when you deign to come back!"
"I've never said anything about how great my life is! You're imagining things, Faith," I said turning toward her and catching the look of disapproval that flashed across her face. "Look at you, Mamm would be so disappointed in the two of you and how unkind you're being right now."
"Give me a break, Grace," Hope said crossing her arms over her chest and frowning at me. "Don't invoke Mamm or Dat or anyone else. This is about how you just waltz in here and take over without asking anyone else for input. What about us? What about what we think? We're the ones who live here. We're the ones who do the work and keep things going!"
"I am trying to help!" I shouted at her.
"Well, you're doing a poor job of it," Faith muttered.
"Grace, have you stopped and thought about Verity even once?" Hope asked as she tipped her chin up and looked at me haughtily. "She's the one who's going to suffer if the English man doesn't leave the house."
"How on earth is Verity going to suffer?" I asked incredulously.
"Well, I know it doesn't cross your mind, but Verity has a reputation to protect," Hope said dropping her voice to almost a whisper. "If word gets out that you've got some strange man living here, what are her in-laws going to think about her? What will Levi think about her?"
"They'll think she's a kind girl who took care of an injured stranger when he didn't have anywhere else to go!" I shouted at them. "You two are the most small-minded gossips I've ever met. You make me sick."
"I don't think you should be insulting us," Faith said following Hope's lead and frowning at me. "I think you should be listening to us and thinking about what Mamm and Dat would say about all of this."
"For the last time, Mamm and Dat would have taken him in and cared for him," I said throwing my hands up in the air. "You two are the only ones who are advocating we throw him out into the street!"
"We're not saying you should throw him out," Hope said shaking her head.
"We're just saying he should stay...somewhere else," Faith finished.
"And what if I don't give into your veiled threats?" I asked, feeling trepidation about the possible answer.
"Then we won't be coming around to see you and you won't be welcome in our homes," Hope said slowly. "I'm sorry, Grace, but it's just not right what you're doing. I know things are different for you, but they're not different here and we can't accept you doing things that defy the Bishop's orders."
"You two are so narrow minded," I sighed. "It's a pity really, because otherwise you're not so bad."
"There's no need to be mean, Grace," Hope said as she turned and walked back toward the buggy with Faith following close behind. "We're only doing what we think is right. I'm sorry if it's too small town for your big brain and big life."
"Please let the others know that if they want to visit us, they are welcome," Hope said looking down at me from the driver's seat. "You, however, are not."
"Take care, Grace," Faith said as Hope clicked the reins and turned the buggy back toward the road.
"Goodbye, Grace," Hope said as the horse picked up speed and carried them away.
I stood in the drive watching the buggy rolling down the road back toward their homes, and as they disappeared into the dark night, I felt the sting of rejection overwhelm my self-righteous outrage. In the span of a couple of weeks, I'd lost my parents and been shunned by my own sisters. I inhaled deeply to try and keep my pain from leaking out, but once I opened the front door, my carefully constructed walls came tumbling down and I sunk to the floor.
"I want to go home," I whispered as the tears began to flow. The problem was that I wasn't quite sure where home was anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Adam
I was in the kitchen, gingerly holding an ice pack to the lump on the side of my head when I heard Grace come in through the front door. There was silence and then the sound of something hitting the floor.
"Grace?" I called. "Are you all right?"
When she didn't respond, I got up and walked into the living room and found her crumpled on the floor holding her face in her hands. Her body jerked as she swallowed her silent sobs.
"Grace, what happened?" I asked as I set the ice pack down on a side table and moved toward her.
"Don't," she said holding up a hand. "Just don't. I can't..."
"Can't what?" I asked. I maintained the small distance between us, but watched her closely.