though, that she longed to travel with him, or at least to know more about the strange journeys that took him away.
His distracted expression shifted, and he finally looked upon her. She expected a softened countenance, yet his eyes remained fierce. She was not sure she knew this man who stared at her with blazing ferocity. Where was his tenderness, his good humor, his ease?
"I have seen far too much, my dear, for your innocent ears," he said. "You would never survive out there. I should not have brought you to this land. You are too delicate a creature."
Grace let out a hearty laugh, forced frivolity taking a great effort in that late hour. "Reverend, don't you recall that I came here of my own volition? I obtained my degree in religious education, and it was my decision, not yours, to travel all the way to Shansi Province. I came for the mission, not for you. Although," here her voice rose and a blush appeared on her cheeks, "our first meeting on the green at Oberlin will be etched in my mind forever, and after my arrival here, I became more smitten with you by the day." She patted his hand and waited for his smile, which appeared faintly. "But that you came to feel as I did and we married six months later was a dream come true, even here in this land where dreams rarely survive. No, without question," she said more firmly as she made herself sit with a straight back, "China is not for the faint of heart. But remember, I am the granddaughter of farmers. I am used to rough winters and hot summers, and I know how to work. I am every bit a proper match for this country. As my grandmother used to say, 'Don't you worry about me one iota.' "
She spoke to assuage his concerns and so they could move on to what she truly hoped for— that he might simply hold her in his arms.
He gazed at her and appeared to finally take her in. He ran a rough fingertip along her cheek and said, "I recall when you first arrived how startling our love seemed. I didn't think humans could feel as passionately for one another as for the Lord. And I do recall you are a sturdy gal. But my dear, you must admit that our circumstances have been trying for even the strongest amongst us. We have endured a great loss, and I expect there will be more. That seems to be the way of this world." He looked away toward the dark window, and she feared she might lose him again.
"Let's not dwell upon it, Reverend," she pleaded and reached for his hand. "Please."
Her voice drew him back, and the Reverend looked upon her once more. As he traced her lips with a chapped finger, it took all her concentration not to swoon at his touch. He then leaned forward and placed dry lips upon her brow and kissed it. She felt tears blazing up from the back of her mind.
"I see I have overlooked you in my suffering," he said. "I have sinned most grievously by this omission. Self-absorption is the devil's work. Can you forgive me, my love?"
She nodded but had no words, only the tears that pooled in her eyes. She knew her tears would pain him and make him pull away, so she willed herself not to cry.
"I know the remedy," he said. He sat forward and squeezed her hand. "You shall go with me on the trail. It is high time you saw the outlying hamlets, the villages and the rocky roads. The churches, too, of course, and the good work we have commenced. We will journey there together."
She leaned forward, too, and looked to see if he were joking. With a child due in two months' time and in her weakened state, she was in no condition to travel. Mai Lin would have forbidden it in an instant if she had had the power to do so. But her husband wanted her at his side. That was what mattered.
"If you say so, Reverend," Grace said.
"It will help me greatly to not face the foe alone. Even with able Ahcho at my side, I find it quite lonely out there, especially when a lead goes dry and we are forced to move on without hope. For I am ashamed to admit that I succumb to sin more than I had ever