Page 288 of Historical Hotties
“I am so terribly sorry,” Caledonia said, helping the child up. “I did not know you were there. Are you injured?”
Jane eyed her mother. “Nay,” she said bravely, rubbing her right elbow. “I am not. It does not hurt in the least.”
Caledonia could see that wasn’t true but didn’t argue with her. Frankly, she was surprised to see the girl at all. Jane made it a policy to avoid her mother at all costs, but more than that, Caledonia had come to see over the past several days that Jane was simply a loner. She was an odd child thanks to Madam Madonna’s care and spent several hours every day preaching to the animals in the stable. They’d all seen her do it. Darius eventried to talk her out of it, but she was firm. It was something she needed to do. Therefore, it was a distinct surprise to see her here.
But Caledonia wasn’t the only one who saw her.
From inside the solar, Janet piped up.
“Summer!” she cried. “Come! We are painting!”
Jane didn’t react at first. She seemed quite indecisive. Caledonia opened the door wider.
“You are most welcome,” she said softly. “We have been having lessons. We would like for you to join us.”
Jane looked between her mother and sisters, unsure what to do. She couldn’t even announce why she’d come in the first place, but she was here. She’d been eavesdropping on her sisters and mother and knew they were having fun and learning. She’d heard about it and even caught glimpses of it, like now. Darius had even tried to talk her into coming, but she was stubborn. This was so very foreign to her.
She couldn’t be part of it.
…could she?
“Nay,” she finally said, backing away. “I… I must go.”
The smile faded from Caledonia’s face as she watched her eldest child back up. “Go where?” she asked.
Jane didn’t have a quick answer because she was nervous. Nervous and scared. She wanted to go in with her sisters, but she knew that was wrong. “I must spread the word of God,” she said. “They must know that Christ loves them. I must go.”
“Jane,” Caledonia said as she began to follow the girl. “You do not have to spread the word of God any longer. You are safe, lass. No one is going to hurt you. We want to love you if you’ll let us. Won’t you join us?”
“Nay!” Jane said as she bumped into the entry door, grabbing for the handle. “I must teach about Christ!”
“Why?” Caledonia was suddenly on her, dropping her knees and grabbing the girl by the arms so she couldn’t get away. “Why must you do this? You are preaching to animals, Jane. Animals who do not understand you, who will never know the love of Christ. I know you must understand this. Why do you do it?”
Jane was trying to pull away, but not too strongly. “Because… because I must!”
“Why, lass?” Caledonia pleaded. “Did Madam Madonna tell you to do this? Did she tell you that you must do this?”
The tears started to come as Jane began to resist more strongly. “Let me go!”
“Not until you tell me why you feel the need to preach to animals,” Caledonia said steadily, though it was becoming a struggle to hold on to her squirming daughter. “Jane, if Madam Madonna told you that you must preach, then she was wrong. It is right that you should love God, but you do not need to preach. You are not a priest or a nun. You are a young girl and, right now, should be learning how to be a woman. You should be learning your letters and how to sew and how to paint. You should be learning things that all girls should learn, and that does not include preaching to the animals.”
Jane managed to get one hand free and began beating on the hands that were holding her. “Let me go!” she demanded, weeping. “You are wrong! I must preach if I am to go to heaven! Madam Madonna said so!”
“Madam Madonna waswrong.”
“Nay!”
Caledonia managed to grab Jane’s free hand and yank on the girl, forcing her onto her knees in front of her, where she couldn’t get leverage to pull away. Caledonia was afraid that if she ran, she would hide forever. The child had been so conditioned by Madam Madonna that she didn’t know right from wrong, love from hate, or anything else. She only knewfear. Caledonia prayed she could break through to her because if she couldn’t, Jane was lost.
And Caledonia wasn’t going to lose her.
“Listen to me,” Caledonia said softly but firmly, mere inches from Jane’s red face. “Jane, I want you to listen to me carefully because I believe you are a bright lass. I believe you can understand what I am saying and not surrender to your fear of Madam Madonna. Listen to me carefully, please. Did Madam Madonna ever show you love?”
Jane was yanking to pull her hands free from Caledonia’s grip. “Letgo!”
“Not until you answer my question.”
Jane was growing frustrated and terrified. She wasn’t going to answer. She was stubborn, and Caledonia knew that must have been something she got from her mother because Caledonia was stubborn, too. Realizing her child wasn’t going to answer her, Caledonia attempted to break through.
