Free 1609366867 by Janice Thompson Page B

your knees?”
    Tessa bit her lip, unsure if she should continue. Still, the barrel had been opened, had it not? She might as well pour from it. “Off to the side of the pig stall, there’s a rocky path. Sharp. Deep.” She shuddered. “When Pa is soused, when he’s good and worked up about something I’ve done wrong, he makes me kneel on the broken bits until I’ve prayed through my sins and offered full repentance. He calls ’em my rock prayers. There are times when he weighs me down with bags of feed on each shoulder to add to the burden. I’ve carried more than my share of burdens over the years, and my knees have taken the brunt of it, I’m afraid.”
    Vivid memories of Pa’s hand pressed against her back arose. She pinched her eyes shut to close out the many times he had shoved her down until she had fully repented for being such a disappointment to him. Bile rose in her throat as she relived the latest prayer session.
    Jacquie gripped her hand. “Oh, Tessa. I am so sorry. You have endured so much.”
    A lump rose in Tessa’s throat, but she managed to speak over it. “Peter has saved me more than once from Pa’s wrath. But now that Peter is gone…” Her lashes grew damp, and she swiped at them with the back of her calloused hand. Just as quickly, she hid her hands behind her back. Would she always feel such shame? With Pa, and now with this girl?
    “You poor thing. Say no more.” Jacquie’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I can promise you one thing. You will never again offer up rock prayers. The only prayers you’ll need to pray are the ones for a safe voyage to a new life, one where men like your father don’t exist and prayers are answered with happily-ever-afters.”
    Jacquie slipped her arms around Tessa and pulled her into a sisterly hug. For the first time in her life, Tessa released the tears. She wept—not just for the pain Pa had inflicted, but for the pain she felt every time she thought about boarding that ship and leaving her brother behind.
    Still, she would do it. Out of love, she would do it.

Chapter Seven
    Saturday, April 6, 1912
    Savoy Hotel, London, England
    On the Saturday before the Titanic sailed, Nathan Patterson found himself eager to head back to New York. Once he boarded the ship, his thoughts could transition fully to the work awaiting him back home at his father’s insurance company. In the meantime, Nathan sat across the dining table from his mother at the Savoy in Westminster, listening to her ramble on about the various stores she had visited during their stay in London. He gave an occasional nod but couldn’t keep up. Not that any of it held his interest anyway.
    Mother chattered on about the many people she hoped to meet once they boarded the Titanic . He pretended to listen, but his thoughts shifted back to his upcoming job with his father. The insurance business captivated his thoughts more often than not lately. Perhaps it had something to do with his desire to care for those less fortunate and tend to folks in their time of need. Wasn’t that the biblical mandate, after all—to defend the defenseless? And working with his father held great appeal. Never had he known a kinder man or one who so exemplified Christlikeness in all he did.
    “Nathan, what do you think of that?” Mother’s voice hinted of displeasure.
    “Hmm?” He glanced up from his cup of lukewarm tea into her narrowed eyes. “Think of what?”
    “I had a feeling you weren’t paying attention.” She almost lost her hold on the slice of beef dangling from the prongs of her fork but managed to catch it just in time and pop it into her mouth. Then she placed her fork on the table and dabbed at her lips with a lace-trimmed napkin. “I asked what you thought about going to the opera tonight. With only four days until we sail, I want to take advantage of every opportunity to get out among people. Once we arrive back in New York, I’ll be shut up in that musty old house without a chance to