Honor in the Dust (44 page)

“Yes, I did. I'd do it again too,” Brandon said defiantly. “He hit me first!”

Stuart stared at his son and could feel his wife watching him. He knew she wanted him to protect Brandon, but there was only so much he could do—or wanted to do, this time. “Mr. Elwald, the boy's guilty. I'll let you decide what to do with him. You've always been a good man. I've been proud of you and your work, and if you want to charge him, I won't fight you in court, and there'll be no hard feelings on my part. But I see no reason for the court, or the sheriff, to be in the middle of this; if you want to settle this matter between the two of us, I'll see you get fair play.”

James Elwald's face softened, and Stuart felt a sense of hope. James had worked for the Winslows for several years, and it was unlikely he would risk endangering that. Still, a man had to stand up for his daughter. Finally James said, “The boy deserves punishment, but I'd get no pleasure, sir, in seeing him in jail. You always treat a man fair. I think we can settle this between us, man to man, father to father.”

Sheriff Fortner nodded. “Well, that's best, I think. I wish you good day.”

James and Stuart left a moment later, leaving Brandon alone with his mother and his uncle.

“You've disappointed your father, and me too, Son,” Heather said.

“Mother, it was nothing. I was just playing.”

“I think it was more than that.”

“Your mother's right, Brandon,” Quentin said. “I think you've gone too far.”

Brandon could rise to any challenge, but he did not want to hurt his mother. He dropped his head, unable to respond.

The three waited until the two men came back, and Stuart said, “Brandon, apologize to Mr. Elwald.”

“No, sir, I won't do it. He hit me first.”

Stuart stared at his son and shook his head. “Can you not see your own culpability? What about Becky? What about—” He paced away and ran a hand through his hair in frustration before turning back. “All right, then. It will have to be the hard way. I'm going to thrash you, and you're going to work for James for one month. If you take one step toward his daughter, or show any insolence to James, or cause him any other difficulty, I've ordered him to tell me. I'll thrash you again, and your thirty days' time will start again at day one. Now, come and take your beating.”

James Elwald watched the two go, and then turned to face Lady Heather and Quentin. “I'm sorry it came to this. I've always gotten along well with your husband, and with you too, Reverend Winslow. But I got to look out for my daughter. She's got a wild streak in her, I'm afraid.”

Heather whispered. “And so has my son.” It hurt her to think of Stuart whipping Brandon. He had not done so for some time now—he had tried kindness and other methods, all to no avail.

Finally the two came back, and Brandon's face, Heather saw, was pale as paste, and he moved like an old man.

Stuart's face was set. “Take him, James. Bring him back in thirty days—not before.”

The two left, and Quentin understood that Stuart and Heather needed no company at this time. “Come and get me if you need me.”

After Quentin left, Stuart turned to Heather. “Do you hate me for whipping him?”

“No, I love you, husband, as I always have. We've tried everything else. Maybe this will change him,” she said sadly.

Stuart chewed his lower lip, a nervous habit he had when he was disturbed. Finally he put his arm around Heather and led her away. As they moved out of the Great Hall, he said, “I thought having a son would be the joy of my life—and it was, when he was small and young—but he's a grief to us now.”

Heather stopped and took his hands in hers. “I gave our son to God on the day he was born. We'll believe that God will bring him out of this. Brandon
will
find God! The good Lord will not let his gifts fall to the ground.”

I've had three careers: Baptist preacher, college professor, and novelist. All of these have been rewarding to me, but I sometimes think I've written too many books. Recently I counted the number of novels I've published and the number of years I've been writing, and was shocked to realize that I've published a book a month for the last 25 years. Sometimes I think I've written the same book 221 times! It doesn't seem fair somehow. The author of
Gone with the Wind
wrote one book and became rich and famous, while I've written more than 200 novels and am still poor and ugly!

When I get tired of writing, I go out to my woodwork shop and make things—mostly sawdust. When I get tired of that, I go to the Gulf, five miles away, sit on the white sand, and think. I have around 45 great ideas a day, with gusts up to 85, and around once every five years, one of them is worth something.

1) Why did you wait so long to begin writing?

I taught literature on all levels, but it never occurred to me that I could write a book. One day I read a bad book and thought, “I can write a better book than that.” I did, and sent it off. It came back. I sent it off again. Twenty-seven rejections later, the novel was accepted. I was 55. Wish I'd started writing when I was 18!

2) What is your basic motive for writing novels?

A very difficult verse in the Bible says, “Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I try to write books for the glory of God, but sometimes I fall. Got to keep trying, though!

3) What do you want your readers to get from your novels?

Entertainment, for if a sermon or a book or a movie isn't entertaining, you lose your audience. But of course, after you've got people caught up in your work, the thing I want to happen is for the reader to be encouraged. I want them to find Christ if they have not, and if they have, I want to encourage them to accept hardships and find ways to serve God where they are; and I want to dramatize the truths of Scripture.

4) What do you feel is the most important element in a novel?

A character. You can get by with weak plots, sloppy writing, inadequate research, or any other weakness—as long as the reader loves the character. Look at Dickens. He had enough bad literary elements in his novels to sink a ship, but those characters! Wow!

1. Mark Twain once said, “If an individual needs to be cut down to size, there's nobody like a relative to do the job.” Claiborn Winslow is treated abominably by his brother Edmund, yet he harbors no bitterness toward his brother. Can you think of a time when you were treated unjustly by a relative or close friend? Have you been able to put all bitterness toward that person away?

2. Early in the novel, Grace's family attempts to force her to marry a man she doesn't love. We all know the scripture that admonishes us to submit to our parents, and sometimes this is simple. But what do you do when, like Grace, you are forced to choose between obeying a parent and taking a course of action that seems wiser and more likely to work out in the long run?

3. Claiborn understood that, in asking her to marry him, he was asking Grace to face a difficult life rather than a comfortable one. Grace made her choice. But is there ever a time when we should refuse to lead a friend or a spouse out of a comfortable life into a difficult one? Under what circumstances would you strongly feel that you
should
suggest a more difficult life?

4. When Claiborn and his family are at the end of their rope, about to be evicted by their landlord and with no resources, Claiborn receives a letter from his grandmother informing him that God has revealed to her that Claiborn is to return to Stoneybrook, the family's estate. Most of us feel uncomfortable when someone tells us, “God told me to do this.” Would you ever step out on faith if someone told you that he or she had received a promise from God? We know that situations like this occurred in Scripture, but do things like this happen in our day?

5. In the novel, Stuart “happens” to meet William Tyndale. It seems a chance meeting, but Stuart's relationship with Tyndale results in his giving his heart to God. Can you think of a time when you just “happened” to meet someone and, looking back later, you realize that God used that encounter to direct your life?

6. When Stuart goes to court, he has great admiration for King Henry, but in time he discovers that the king is a terrible man, not one to be admired. Have you ever discovered that someone you once admired and trusted is not the person you originally thought? Do you cut them out of your life—or do you attempt to change them?

7. Stuart is thrilled at first to join the court of Henry VIII, but over a period of time the immoralities of court life undermine his already shaky spiritual life. Knowing that he is being debased by his surroundings, Stuart realizes that he should heed the good advice he's gotten from his family. Most of us have found ourselves engaging in activities that we know do not honor God—but realizing this and finding the strength to free oneself from these activities are two different things. What do you do when you find yourself in this situation?

8. As a result of his lifestyle in Henry's court, Stuart hits bottom: imprisoned and facing execution. He has no resources and no one who will help except God. Have you ever been in a similarly hopeless situation? For Stuart, this terrible trial is what he needs to get him to surrender to Christ. But how much better not to wait until life collapses, but to seek God before we go down in flames! What things in your life, now or recently, may have been nudges to surrender your will to God's?

9. Stuart devotes his life to serving God by smuggling Bibles into England—in direct violation of Henry's law. Is it ever the right thing to break a law in order to do good? How do we decide?