halfway to the stables, racing each other down the slope.
“All farm lads do – especially now, during the harvest.”
“They’re quite bright, even if uneducated.”
Matthew frowned at him. “Uneducated? They know their Bible well enough, they know of lands and people far away, they all know their letters and how to cipher, and all the lads write passably.”
“But still, much less than they would know had they gone to school – real school,” Magnus said, ignoring the warning lights in Matthew’s eyes.
“They’re taught as well as we can. Alex and I raise our children to be God-fearing and industrious, and that is no bad thing, is it?”
“God-fearing?” Magnus made a disparaging sound. “Is that the same as narrow-minded? Like believing some people actually consort with the devil?”
“Nay, it’s not. But it is acknowledging his greatness and understanding our own insignificance. I assume you agree with that, being Christian.”
“Christian?” Magnus laughed. “Nominally, I suppose I am. But do I believe in God? I don’t think so.”
Matthew studied him from under a furrowed brow. “In my home you won’t voice such doubts. I’ll not condone it, aye?” He held Magnus’ eyes, and after some moments Magnus nodded.
“Good.” Matthew helped Magnus up onto his feet, handed him his crutches, and set off in the direction of the forest.
“If you see Ian, tell him I’m looking for him,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m at the barley field.”
*
“Touchy, touchy,” Magnus grumbled to Alex a bit later, having recounted the incident. Alex sat down beside him, clasping her hands round her mug of chamomile tea.
“Maybe it’s you coming over high and mighty. It’s quite rude to insinuate that Matthew is narrow-minded.”
“I did no such thing!”
“You think? As you tell it, you more or less laughed at his faith. Our faith,” she added, irritated by the supercilious look on his face.
“Your faith?” Magnus broke out in loud laughter. “Come off it, Alex,” he said once he had calmed down. “You’re not sitting here telling me you’ve developed a belief in God, are you? What happened to my super-rational daughter?”
She gave him a cold look, stood up and moved away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Alex, you can’t believe all that stuff.”
“I can’t? How would you know? You have no idea what my life has been like these last fourteen years or what events have shaped me, do you?” She looked out into the yard where Ruth and Sarah were playing a game of tag, and then turned to face her father. “In this life, God is a constant. Sometimes He’s all we have. So when I say our faith, that’s exactly what I mean: our faith. I may not be quite as much of a Bible reader as Matthew, and there are aspects of his beliefs I don’t agree with, but I’ve learnt the hard way to put my trust in God and hope He’ll keep me and mine safe. And so far He has.”
She fell silent, remembering those awful months ten years and more in the past when she prayed and prayed to God to keep her abducted husband alive, and how she’d known, all the time, that her prayers were being heard and answered.
“You’ve really changed,” Magnus said, breaking into her reverie.
She swept together the crumbs on the table and threw them into the hearth.
“Of course I’ve changed! It’s called adapting to your circumstances, and if you don’t do that you die. Survival of the fittest and all that...” She gave him a direct look. “And I resent your comments regarding our children’s education. We do as well as we can, striving to ensure they all have as good a start as we can give them. In this day and age, education is a prerogative of the higher classes, and that we are not. We’re farmers, and we can’t afford to keep a tutor to educate our children, nor would there be one to find – not in this little corner of the world.” She collected plates and mugs and set them
“All farm lads do – especially now, during the harvest.”
“They’re quite bright, even if uneducated.”
Matthew frowned at him. “Uneducated? They know their Bible well enough, they know of lands and people far away, they all know their letters and how to cipher, and all the lads write passably.”
“But still, much less than they would know had they gone to school – real school,” Magnus said, ignoring the warning lights in Matthew’s eyes.
“They’re taught as well as we can. Alex and I raise our children to be God-fearing and industrious, and that is no bad thing, is it?”
“God-fearing?” Magnus made a disparaging sound. “Is that the same as narrow-minded? Like believing some people actually consort with the devil?”
“Nay, it’s not. But it is acknowledging his greatness and understanding our own insignificance. I assume you agree with that, being Christian.”
“Christian?” Magnus laughed. “Nominally, I suppose I am. But do I believe in God? I don’t think so.”
Matthew studied him from under a furrowed brow. “In my home you won’t voice such doubts. I’ll not condone it, aye?” He held Magnus’ eyes, and after some moments Magnus nodded.
“Good.” Matthew helped Magnus up onto his feet, handed him his crutches, and set off in the direction of the forest.
“If you see Ian, tell him I’m looking for him,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m at the barley field.”
*
“Touchy, touchy,” Magnus grumbled to Alex a bit later, having recounted the incident. Alex sat down beside him, clasping her hands round her mug of chamomile tea.
“Maybe it’s you coming over high and mighty. It’s quite rude to insinuate that Matthew is narrow-minded.”
“I did no such thing!”
“You think? As you tell it, you more or less laughed at his faith. Our faith,” she added, irritated by the supercilious look on his face.
“Your faith?” Magnus broke out in loud laughter. “Come off it, Alex,” he said once he had calmed down. “You’re not sitting here telling me you’ve developed a belief in God, are you? What happened to my super-rational daughter?”
She gave him a cold look, stood up and moved away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Alex, you can’t believe all that stuff.”
“I can’t? How would you know? You have no idea what my life has been like these last fourteen years or what events have shaped me, do you?” She looked out into the yard where Ruth and Sarah were playing a game of tag, and then turned to face her father. “In this life, God is a constant. Sometimes He’s all we have. So when I say our faith, that’s exactly what I mean: our faith. I may not be quite as much of a Bible reader as Matthew, and there are aspects of his beliefs I don’t agree with, but I’ve learnt the hard way to put my trust in God and hope He’ll keep me and mine safe. And so far He has.”
She fell silent, remembering those awful months ten years and more in the past when she prayed and prayed to God to keep her abducted husband alive, and how she’d known, all the time, that her prayers were being heard and answered.
“You’ve really changed,” Magnus said, breaking into her reverie.
She swept together the crumbs on the table and threw them into the hearth.
“Of course I’ve changed! It’s called adapting to your circumstances, and if you don’t do that you die. Survival of the fittest and all that...” She gave him a direct look. “And I resent your comments regarding our children’s education. We do as well as we can, striving to ensure they all have as good a start as we can give them. In this day and age, education is a prerogative of the higher classes, and that we are not. We’re farmers, and we can’t afford to keep a tutor to educate our children, nor would there be one to find – not in this little corner of the world.” She collected plates and mugs and set them
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