by Cathy Bryant
Martha was presently in the kitchen when the father and son entered. “Mr. Swyndhurst! It is wonderful to see you. Your son mentioned that he thought it possible you would come once he sent word of what happened to Sarah.”
“Yes, I had to come.” Turning then to his son, he said, “Son, you had been through so much already, I simply couldn’t leave you to manage the situation with Sarah, alone.” He then turned to the elderly servant and said, “Martha, apart from you, of course.”
Nodding, Alexander replied, “I fully expected that you would come. You may have noticed, I was not at all astonished to find that it was you at the door.”
“Where is Sarah now?” the older man inquired.
“At the moment, she is out in the backyard with the children,” responded Alexander.
“What children?” the father asked with a furrowed brow.
Martha and Alexander chortled at the strange expression upon the elder Swyndhurst’s face. Glancing at each other, Martha and her employer were each thinking the same thing; there was much to explain.
“Father, while you eat I will tell you everything.” Alexander then spent the next hour filling his father in on all that had happened. The elder Mr. Swyndhurst had only known about the attack and that Sarah had fled town. Now that he was aware of all that his daughter-in-law had been through, his heart felt heavy. He then thought of Sarah’s father, his old friend Mr. Goodwin. It would have broken the man’s heart to learn that his daughter had suffered so. It had been his dying wish to see his daughter safely married. The very man from whom he had attempted to protect Sarah has now done his worst to the young woman. Thinking about all of this, the older man believed it was a good thing that his friend had not lived to see what his precious daughter had suffered.
“Oh, Alexander! The poor girl! To think you may never have found her. And after all of this, the two of you have taken on someone else’s children.”
Alexander’s father had yet to learn that his son and daughter-in-law had come to love each other deeply; thus, he thought that taking care of the Strout children, with the kind of arrangement his son and daughter-in-law had, might prove difficult for them.
Seeing the questioning expression on his father’s face, Alexander informed him, “Father, my relationship with Sarah has greatly changed. Ours is no longer…well, as they say, ‘a marriage of convenience’. We have come to love each other very much.”
The older gentleman’s eyes filled with tears upon hearing his son’s words. “Alexander, Sarah’s father and I had hoped and prayed that one day the two of you would come to love each other.”
Beaming, Alexander responded, “Father, you have done a marvelous job of concealing your wishes. You must have known that neither Sarah nor I were prepared for a traditional marriage at the time everything was arranged.”
“Precisely! Had we shared that we wanted more for the two of you, you may not have agreed to marry. In fact, Sarah’s father left me a written message to give his daughter, should the time ever come that the two of you found love.”
“Father, do you have it with you? I am certain that Sarah would wish to see it.”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I keep it with me always, kind of a reminder to pray for the two of you. After Sarah and I have had an opportunity to discuss the matter, I shall retrieve it from my belongings.”
A few moments later, Sarah and the children, parched, entered the kitchen. “Mr. Swyndhurst! I had no idea that you were coming!” Sarah exclaimed with astonishment.
Taking her in his arms, the elderly gentleman replied, “Sarah, my dear girl, I had to come. My son sent word that you were missing. I set off almost immediately, not knowing what I would learn when I arrived. Thank the Lord it was good news.”
Sarah felt great comfort within the arms of her father-in-law—much the same as she had always felt in the embrace of her own beloved father. Lingering there a moment, she responded, “Yes, we have all been through a great deal, but all of that is over now.” Feeling a kiss atop her head, Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. Without warning, the children began fighting with each other. Turning, Sarah motioned them over to her so as to introduce them to her father-in-law. “Children, this is Mr. Swyndhurst. Mr. Swyndhurst, this is Samuel,” she said while moving the young man forward to greet the gentleman. As Elizabeth approached, Sarah placed her hand on the girl’s arm. “This is Elizabeth, and over there by the door is Mary.”
Appearing apprehensive, Mary remained where she was until Alexander made his way over to her. After lifting her in his arms, he turned and strolled over to his father. “Mary, this gentleman is my father, which, I believe, makes him your grandfather.”
With her eyebrows lifting in surprise, Mary answered, “He…he is my grandfather?” Some of her friends at church had grandfathers. As she had watched them interacting, of a Sunday, the little girl had often thought grandfathers seemed rather nice.
The elderly gentleman approached and took the little girl from his son. “Yes, Mary, I am your grandfather now. What do you say to that?”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she replied, “I…th…think it is very nice.” Her two older siblings smiled at the young girl’s reaction to their new acquaintance and family member.
By now, Alexander had come over beside his wife. Pulling her close, he leaned down and whispered, “I think she is going to like having my father around.”
Smiling up at her husband, Sarah responded, “I believe I shall as well.”
Later that night, after the children had gone to bed, Mr. Swyndhurst went up to fetch the note Mr. Goodwin had intended for his daughter. A few moments later, the senior Swyndhurst came strolling into the parlor. A little apprehensive about how to broach the subject of the note—for he didn’t want to cause Sarah pain at the remembrance of her beloved father—he decided to come right out with it, for he knew no other way. “Sarah, I have something for you.”
“What is it, Mr. Swyndhurst?” she asked, curious.
“Sarah, I would be delighted if you would address me as Alexander, or Father. In fact, to keep things straight around here, I think Father would be best. We wouldn’t wish for two men by the name of Alexander to come running whenever you call,” he said with a chuckle.
The idea of having someone to call Father pleased Sarah. “I believe I should dearly love calling you Father. If you are certain it is acceptable.”
“Most assuredly,” he said with a smile and a wink. He then took a seat next to his daughter-in-law. Reaching over, he placed the parchment in her hands. “Sarah, your father gave this to me. It was his intention that, when the time was right, I deliver it to you. I believe the time has come for you to know what your father had been praying for, regarding your marriage to my son.”
Sarah’s hands began to shake as she carefully held the missive from her father. Flanked on both sides by Swyndhurst men, Sarah felt their reassuring strength.
Seeing that his wife was struggling, Alexander reached over and placed his hand over hers.
“Sarah, would you rather have some privacy? If you wish, we shall leave you to yourself.”
Turning toward her husband, Sarah softly replied, “No. I would rather that you both remain here with me.” She then began to read in no more than a whisper.
“‘My darling Sarah. If you are reading this, I have passed on and am now in the presence of our Lord. I couldn’t go without letting you know that my greatest hope, other than that you share my faith in our Lord—which I know you do, is that you and Alexander may one day have the kind of relationship your mother and I had shared. One in which there is a strong commitment, love, understanding, and appreciation between you and your husband. I realize that the circumstances with Mr. Raymond have caused you to believe you would never want such a marriage.’’”
Stopping there, she said, “If he only knew…but I am glad he never did.” She then continued:
“‘But, my dear girl, it is my honest belief that you shall be missing out on on
e of God’s greatest gifts, next to His son, of course, if you do not allow yourself to have that kind of marriage. Having someone to love is a marvelous thing. Just as being loved by someone is also quite wondrous. Seeing as I have asked my good friend, Mr. Swyndhurst, not to give you this note until he felt the time was right, I have to believe that you and Alexander have found love, or it is simply that Mr. Swyndhurst believes a message from me might prompt you to do so. I love you my sweet daughter. If you haven’t already done so, please open your heart and allow your husband in.
“‘Your loving father’’”
With his daughter-in-law’s head still bent over the missive, seeing the tears drop upon her lap, the elder Mr. Swyndhurst glanced at his son. As his son looked intently back at him, neither man felt sure of what to do for the petite woman sitting between them.
Finally, Sarah’s husband spoke, “Sarah, are you all right?”
Wiping at her eyes, she responded in a shaky voice, “I just miss him so. He was such a wonderful father. This missive is further proof of his love for me.” Glancing then at her father-in-law, she smiled and said, “I am much obliged to you for giving this to me. I assume you felt the same as Father, did you not?”
Extending his arms toward her, the elderly gentleman pulled Sarah over to him. After wrapping her in a tight embrace, he responded, “Indeed I did, and how could I have felt otherwise? I knew my son was marrying a marvelous young woman. Alexander’s heart was so broken, I was not at liberty to share my feelings, similar to your father with you. It seems that God has made a way for the two of you to find each other, and without our assistance, no less,” the elderly gentleman said, smiling warmly. “It would have pleased your father to know that our prayers for our children were answered. At least in that—our prayers—we can say that we helped the process along,” he said with a chuckle.
At that moment, with her father-in-law and husband sitting there with love for her in their every expression, Sarah felt warm all over. Her father had seen fit to place her in a family where she would be loved, and her heavenly Father had moved on her heart that she would allow herself the love of her new family. Moreover, though she had never expected to, she loved them as well.
Jonathan, Hannah, and their son, David Bleasdell/Blaisdell, are part of the authors’ lineage. David was a clockmaker who resided in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Jonathan’s father and grandparents arrived in the “new land” in 1635 on a ship called the Angel Gabriel, which wrecked not far off shore.
Susanna and William Pressey, part of the authors’ lineage and main characters in book #2 of the Unshakable Faith series, lived and died in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Susanna Pressey and Hannah Bleasdell were sisters, originally of the Jameson family. Their grandmother, Susanna North Martin, though a devout Christian, was hung as a witch in 1692.
David Bleasdell married Abigail Colby.
Genealogical outline provided by:
http://www.blaisdell.org/
In less than two years’ time, everything had changed for Sarah. Distraught and in need of comfort, once again, she accompanies Mr. Hoyt on a visit to his daughter, Joanna’s, house. Read book four of the Unshakable Faith series to find out what happens next for Sarah Anne Swyndhurst.
Lost Love and Shipwrecked
Madeline Pike Finds Hope in the New Land
Grandmother’s Namesake
Sarah Anne’s Faithful Friends