Redeeming-Love-By-Francine-Rivers

F R A N C I N E R I V E R S
He came to the fence. “Your past is part of you. And I love you.
Remember? Now, what happened to the girl and her baby?”
Her throat closed tight, and she could hardly speak. “Sally gagged her so
she wouldn’t disturb anyone. It took so long. All through the night and into
the next day. She was sick for days afterwards, and the baby…”
Sally had kept the other girls away but allowed Angel to come into the
room with her to tend the mother and infant. The young prostitute was as
white as death and silent while beside her the baby whimpered constantly
and was wrapped in a pink cloth. Angel wanted to pick the baby up, but
Sally hastily shoved her away. “Don’t touch it!” she whispered. Angel didn’t
understand why until Sally carefully unwrapped it.
“What about the child?” Michael asked, pushing a loose strand of golden
hair back from her pale face.
“It was a little girl. She only lived a week,” she said bleakly. She didn’t tell
him that the baby was covered with sores or that she died without a name.
The mother disappeared shortly afterward. When she asked Sally what happened
to her, Sally said, “It’s not for you to question what Duke does.” And
Angel knew the girl was dead, fodder for rats in some dark, dirty alley. Just
like Rab. Just like her if she didn’t obey. She shuddered.
“Elizabeth has had five children, Amanda,” Michael reminded her.
“Yes,” she said, “and all of them healthy.”
Michael watched the color slowly come back into her cheeks. He wondered
what she had been thinking of, but he didn’t ask. If she wanted to talk
about it, she would. If not, he would respect her silence. But she needed
reassurance. He sensed that. “When a baby’s time comes, there’s nothing you
can do to stop it.”
She smiled up at him. “You know all about this, too, I suppose?”
“Not from personal experience,” he said. “Tess helped deliver a baby on
the wagon train. She said she didn’t have to do anything except make sure
it didn’t fall on the floor of the wagon. They’re a little slippery when they
arrive. When Elizabeth’s time comes, I’ll come along and hold John’s
hand.”
Angel laughed, the tension leaving her. As long as Michael was with her,
everything would be fine.
339