Henry gave him a look that labeled him an idiot. “What do you think?”
Thad sighed and pulled out his navigation charts. He thought he had a whole host of worries that would be waiting for him when he got home, none of which were ever likely to fade. So he had best see about getting them home safely and quickly. And keep his heart inclined toward prayer.
“He said what?”
Gwyneth pressed her lips together, but still she couldn’t hold back the smile. And why should she? Dabbing her brush in the sepia, she added depth onto Emmy’s countenance and then glanced up at her model again. “That you had three noses.”
From behind her, Philly laughed in that full, lively way of hers. “Oh, Emmy, you should see the look on your face. Paint her like that, Gwyn.”
Emmy repositioned her hand on her rounded abdomen and made an unsuccessful attempt to school her features. Though the outrage had faded, now it was a grin that marred the peaceful expression Gwyneth had put to canvas. “He has never forgiven me for besting him in that footrace when we were children, that is all.”
“No, more for your refusal of a rematch after he grew a foot in eleven months.” Laughter colored Philly’s voice, though a moment later she set her cup down with a clatter, and her “Oh, dear” sounded anything but amused.
Emmy abandoned her carefully set pose and rushed to her friend. Gwyneth put her brush down and spun too, to find that Philly had put her head in her hands and was drawing in a series of deep but shaky breaths. “Are you ill, Philly?”
The woman waved off Gwyneth’s question, nearly smacking Emmy in the face as she did so. “It will pass. Give me a moment.”
Emmy eased down beside her with drawn brows. “What is it? You are never ill but for when…are you…?”
Gwyneth looked from one of them to the other, feeling out of the circle. And then dreadfully naive when Emmy’s meaning struck and heat flooded her cheeks. Not that she had any reason to feel embarrassed by a married woman being with child. Especially when the couple obviously wanted a babe so much and had been so long denied one.
Philly whimpered, though it sounded more an emotional response than a physical one. “I am not certain. I think perhaps, but…perhaps not. I almost hope not, much as I hope so. I am…I am so very afraid.”
That was something Gwyneth could well understand. Setting her paints down, she moved to Philly’s other side and slid an arm around her. She was hardly an expert on this, with no wisdom to offer or intelligent questions to ask, but she could sit beside her, and she could pray peace upon her. She could be a friend.
Emmy smoothed a hand over Philly’s hair with all the warm familiarity of a sister. “I know how hard this has been on you, Phil. I do. And for sure and certain, the Lord never promises His children will have no pain. But He does promise He will see us through it. Each and every time.”
“I know.” But Philly kept her hands over her face. “He has, and I know He will. But I still…I was beginning to think I would never again—I am afraid to hope. Because if I hope and am disappointed, it will hurt so much more than if I do not let myself expect anything.”
“Would it?” When both women looked over at her, Gwyneth shrugged, surprised at herself for speaking. “It seems to me that if one does not hope, one does not really have faith. Fear…fear is natural. But Jesus offers to take us beyond that if we keep our eyes trained on Him. Does He not?”
Emmy winked at her and patted Philly’s shoulder. “You listen to the girl. Mama and I have filled her full to bursting with Scripture and prayers this last week and a half, haven’t we, Gwyn?”
“You have.” And in the past six days, since that night when she had heard the whispers of the Lord, clarity had begun to return. Those verses and prayers had filled her mind as she went about her daily tasks. The monsters still lurked; she could sense them. But they daren’t come close, not so long as she remembered those promises of peace and held them tight to her heart.
Philly rubbed at her eyes. “I need to speak to Reggie about my suspicions. I haven’t yet, being not quite certain, but he should know. Whatever comes, we can weather it together.”
“That’s a good idea, and you should speak with your mama too. She always knows what to say when I’m anxious. Besides.” Emmy smiled that stunning smile of hers, directing it to Gwyneth over Philly’s bent head. “We probably oughtn’t talk too much about such things in the presence of a young thing like Gwyn.”
Philly managed a partial smile of her own and eased back up. “She is not so young. I was married by her age, as was Amelia. And I daresay she will be in the near future too, given the way my brother has been looking at her.”