Just Above a Whisper PDF
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All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Cover photo © Allison Miksch/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images Cover by Terry Dugan Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota JUST ABOVE A WHISPER Copyright © 2005 by Lori Wick Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wick, Lori. Just above a whisper / Lori Wick. p. cm.—(Tucker Mills trilogy ; bk. 2) ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1159-7 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 0-7369-1159-6 1. Indentured servants—Fiction. 2. Women domestics—Fiction. 3. Housekeepers— Fiction. 4. New England—Fiction. 5. Bankers—Fiction. I. Title. II. Series. PS3573.I237J87 2005 813.'54—dc22 2005009573 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 /BP-CF/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgments Characters Prologue One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-One Epilogue Glossary Books by Lori Wick Acknowledgments I so enjoy this page. It always gives me great joy to thank the people I love. Abby, for the covered bridge. It’s extremely fun to have it in each book. Also, thanks for all your help with the names. Phil, for the seven Rs and all the hours spent on theocentricity. Jane, you ought to be on the payroll. Your generosity and encouragement are a blessing. Harvest House doesn’t know it, but you might be their best salesperson. If I have my way, Mary, this will be the last time we have to rush. As always, you hung in there with me. All your perseverance does not go unnoticed. My Bob, for hanging in there throughout the process. This is book number 33! How did we do it? I know only this: God has used you in the most amazing way. Do you remember what you said that day long ago? This is good—keep writing. You know better than anyone that I did exactly that. It would never have happened without you. Characters Maddie Randall—pregnant since the end of May Jace Randall—her husband Clara—works for Jace and Maddie Doyle Shephard—Maddie’s uncle, who owns the general store Cathy Shephard—Maddie’s aunt Reese Thackery—an indentured servant Mr. Zantow—the man who owns Reese’s papers Pastor Douglas Muldoon—pastor at one of the meetinghouses in town Alison Muldoon—his wife Their children: Hillary, Joshua, Peter, Martin, and Jeffrey Conner Kingsley—owner of the Tucker Mills Bank Troy Thaden— Conner’s business partner Dalton Kingsley—Conner’s brother Jamie Kingsley—Dalton’s sick daughter Some of the townsfolk: Doc MacKay—the town doctor Mrs. Greenlowe—Mr. Zantow builds a porch for her Mr. Jenness—the bank manager Mrs. Lillie Jenness—his wife Gerald Jenness—their son Mr. Leffler—the bank teller Mr. Hank Somer—the town complainer The Reverend Mr. Sullins— pastor at Commons Meetinghouse Prologue The coach had been built for comfort. It was plush and large and moved easily as the horses pulled it clear of the town limits and onto the road beyond. The two inside were comfortable as well, not only with the seats, but with each other. “I’ll miss Grandmother,” the young man said, his voice changing often these days. “We’ll see her at Christmas,” his sister reminded him, thinking that they’d not gotten out of town as soon as they’d planned. She was regretting there would be no daylight to travel in at all. “Yes, but she looked so sad.” “She did, didn’t she?” “I think she has been since Grandfather died.” “He was her favorite person,” the young woman said, her romantic heart sighing a little. The 12-year-old wasn’t willing to keep his seat any longer. He shifted over to sit next to his sister, never enjoying the dark rides home from Tucker Mills. For a few miles they talked of nothing in particular. They knew their own mother would be looking for them in several hours and would begin to pace when the coach was late getting in. The young man suddenly heard his sister chuckle. “What are you laughing at?” he asked. “I was remembering the other night when Grandmother began—” she started to tell him when she suddenly felt the coach begin to slow. “Are you going to tell me?” he asked. “Shh,” his sister warned, her hand going to his arm with more strength than he expected. “Be quiet,” she said. “Not a word.” By then the coach had stopped. Brother and sister sat very close, holding hands, listening to the conversation outside. “Throw down your gold!” a voice snarled. “We haven’t any,” one of the coachmen called back. “Check inside,” the voice commanded, and the two in the interior cowered in fear. By the time the door was wrenched open, they were terrified. The highwaymen were not long in their work. Within ten minutes, it had started to rain. By then they had taken the goods they sought and left all four people dead or dying.
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