Critical praise for
RUTH AXTELL MORREN and her novels
THE MAKING OF A GENTLEMAN
âEngaging characters and a smooth, fast-paced story line make this a historical to be savored.â
â Publishers Weekly
THE ROGUEâS REDEMPTION
âA beautifully written Regency-era love story.â
â Romantic Times BOOKreviews
DAWN IN MY HEART
âMorren turns in a superior romantic historical.â
â Booklist
LILAC SPRING
â Lilac Spring blooms with heartfelt yearning and genuine conflict as Cherish and Silas seek Godâs will for their lives. Fascinating details about 19th-century shipbuildingâ¦bring a historical feel to this faith-filled romance.â
âBestselling author Liz Curtis Higgs
WILD ROSE
Selected as a Booklist Top 10
Christian Novel for 2005
âThe charm of the story lies in Morrenâs ability to portray real passion between her characters. Wild Rose is not so much a romance as an old-fashioned love story.â
â Booklist
London, April 1812
ââI have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heartâ.â Damien paused in the reading of the scripture and looked from the pulpit to the congregation below him.
St. Georgeâs Chapel was filled to overflowing. Not due solely to his preaching, unfortunately, although his flock had been growing steadily in the last few years since heâd been curate there.
No, it was not the service or his preaching that brought most people out this Sunday to morning prayer, but scandal.
Damienâs glance strayed to the chancel where his sister sat beside her intended. Jonah Quinn, a man whoâd escaped the gallows and been a fugitive from the law, had only last week received a royal pardon from the prince regent himself.
Overnight, Jonah, Damien and his sister had become objects of notoriety. The fashionable world from nearby Mayfair flocked to catch a glimpse of the man whoâd escaped detection from the magistrates by hiding out in Damienâs own parsonage.
A rustle of someoneâs prayer book pulled Damienâs thoughts back to the sermon at hand. His business was not what had brought people into the house of God that morning, but what they would take with them when they left.
âHow is your heart with God today?â As he asked the question, his gaze roamed over the congregation once again, stopping here and there to make eye contact with a parishioner. Most quickly averted their eyes.
His attention was caught by a young lady in the front pew. For a few seconds, he lost his train of thought. She was looking at him as if drinking in each word.
Clearing his throat, he looked back down at his notes, wishing all his parishioners listened so attentively.
âIs your heart condemning you when you come before the Lord in prayer?â
Damienâs voice grew soft and there was little sound coming from the congregation. He continued to ask the probing questions, questions he himself had dealt with in his earlier life when heâd felt inadequate to fill the shoes of a preacher.
âGodâs word tells us that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.â He grasped the sides of the pulpit, his voice rising. He no longer needed to look down at his notes as his words tumbled forth.
His attention returned time and again to the young lady. Her look never wavered. What had brought her this morning? She certainly didnât behave like those interested in the latest scandal. Not once had her glance drifted toward Jonah, unlike so many of the congregation.
The young lady was sitting beside an older woman. Damien recognized neither. Both were fashionably dressed. Were they part of the Mayfair crowd squeezed into the pews that morning?
As soon as the service was over, Damien went into the vestry to remove his stole and surplice, then made his way to the churchâs entry in his black cassock to greet the parishioners. Thinking of the moment he would face the young lady, he felt a brief qualm as he listened to the tap of his wooden leg against the hard floor. Would a flicker of distaste mar her pretty features? The worry was quickly gone. What did it matter what she thought? Chastising himself briefly for his vanity, he joined his sister and Jonah who were already at the door.
âGood morning, Reverend Hathaway. Wonderful sermon.â He returned handshakes and greetings, thanking those who commended him on the sermon.
Many of those who were strangers hardly gave him a nod before turning an eager eye to Florence and Jonah. Damien glanced their way but saw at once that his future brother-in-law didnât need help from him. Jonah shook hands and smiled broadly at one and all, answering those who were bold enough to ask him about his pardon.