Who Brings Forth the Wind (Kensington Chronicles) (48 page)

"Buckskin. Made from the hide of a deer."

"It's soft. Do I have buckhide clothes?"

"Buckskin," Tanner corrected him. "I'm not sure that you

do. Would you like some?"

"Yes," Drew's eyes stared into Tanner's. "Then I could

wear them fishing."

"Do you and your mother fish in the rain?" Tanner's voice

was a study in casualness.

"Oh, yes," he answered simply. "Sometimes you catch

more fish."

Tanner nodded. "I think that sounds like good fun, but you

know your mother needs a little extra care these days."

Drew nodded. "She has a baby in her tummy." He held out

small hands, about ten inches apart, to show his father the

baby's size.

"Yes, she does," he said with a smile. "And until the baby is

born, which will be very soon now, she needs to take extra

rest. Most of the time fishing is fine, but in the rain she could

catch a chill."

"And then the baby would catch a chill. The baby feels

what Mum feels and eats what she eats."

"That's right, so maybe for today we had better not fish."

"All right." Drew sounded neither happy nor sad, but

accepting.

Stacy watched Tanner scrutinize Drew, knowing that he

was trying to read his son's thoughts.

"So what shall we play instead?"

Drew's mouth dropped open in a way that shamed Tanner.

"You're going to play with me?"

"Anything you'd like," Tanner stated softly.

339

Delighted with his father's offer, Drew made a lunge for

Tanner's neck, and a moment later they were wrestling on the

nursery room rug, something Tanner had never done with his

own father.

The morning passed in great fun that went from wrestling

to trains, boats, pretend fishing, and back to trains again. They

included Lady Richardson in their play, and although she

didn't wrestle, both of Stacy's "men" laughed when Tanner

helped her to the floor and she groaned all the way down. The

three were not disturbed until just an hour before lunch.

"I'm sorry, my lord." This came from Reece as he soundlessly

opened the door. "Lord and Lady Hawkesbury and their

sons are here to see you."

"Sterling and Preston?" Drew had come to his feet.

"Yes, Lord Drew."

"Go ahead with Reece, Drew," Tanner told his ecstatic son

when he looked to his father. "And tell them your mother and

I will be right down."

Tanner helped Stacy to her feet and then to their room so

she could freshen up.

"You can go ahead, Tanner. I'll be right down."

"I'll wait for you," he told her simply and sprawled in a

chair while she sat before the mirror and repaired her hair.

After just a moment, Stacy caught Tanner's eye in the glass.

"That was quick work on your part when the rain began."

Tanner grinned. "I'll admit it was impulsive, but after your

outburst a few days ago, I thought I stood a better chance with

Drew."

"You make me sound like a shrew." Stacy's voice was dry.

"Maybe it would be easier if you were."

This comment made Stacy take her hands from her hair

and turn to her husband. She watched him for a moment but

didn't know what to say. Tanner finally shrugged

"Don't mind me. It certainly isn't your fault that at times I

forget I have a wife and son."

"Are you trying to tell me you want me to nag you?"

"Maybe just a gentle reminder now and then."

340

Stacy knew this needed no reply, so she turned back to the

mirror and just moments later stood.

"You could have called your maid to do that," Tanner

commented as they moved out the door.

"True. But I didn't mind doing it myself."

"Are you really up to seeing anyone today?"

"Certainly. I feel fine."

They were at the top of the stairs when Stacy looked up to

find Tanner studying her.

"What is it that you expect to see, Tanner?"

"If only I knew," he admitted "You will tell me when your

pains begin?"

"I think you'll know."

Tanner slowly shook his head. "You rarely ask for help, an'd

you never complain. I'm afraid you're going to excuse yourself

from the dinner table some evening, and by the time I get

upstairs it will be all over."

Stacy put a hand on her husband's cheek and stroked softly.

"You probably won't want to be anywhere near me when I'm

giving birth, but I will tell you when things begin. If you're not

here, I'll send word if I know where you are."

"I'll be here," Tanner assured her in a voice that only a fool

would argue with before he captured the hand on his face to

lead his wife downstairs.

"How can you believe the Bible to be God's Word? What in

your opinion gives it merit?" Tanner asked Brandon after

lunch, when both men had settled in the study. The children

were with Mrs. Maxwell, and the women were in one of the

small upstairs salons.

Brandon could not say how they'd come onto this discussion

of God and the Bible, but because it was a first, he wanted

to remain amicable and keep the door of inquiry open.

341

"I'm rather glad you asked that Tanner," Brandon complimented

him.

Tanner stared at him in surprise. Knowing Brandon's

stand on the Bible, he'd been expecting some sort of attack or

rebuke for questioning the Bible's validity. Brandon's openness

caused him to wait almost anxiously for a reply.

"If the Bible is not entirely from God, then the basis of

authority for most of what I believe is cracked and unreliable."

Tanner was clearly listening to every word, so Brandon went

on.

"You asked what gives it merit; I'll tell you. Some 3000

times the Bible specifically, directly, claims to be from God-- not man's word about God, but God's word about man.

"I'm also amazed how so many prophecies made hundreds

of years before their intended fulfillment actually came

to pass."

"What does that prove?"

"Have you read the Bible, Tanner?" Brandon challenged

him quietly. "Written by many men, each author agrees about

problems and themes that are very controversial. For instance,

the world culture in Old Testament days overwhelmingly

believed in many gods; yet the Old Testament authors

unanimously affirm the existence of one God and creator of

all.

"They also affirm the universality of man's sinfulness and

the need for the blood of an unblemished sacrifice to remove

the guilt of sin. One author's theology never contradicts

another's--all contribute to one single system of belief."

This was new to Tanner, and he took time to think about

what Brandon was saying, but he was still not persuaded. After

a minute he asked a question that had long disturbed him.

"What about the inconsistencies?"

"What inconsistencies?" Brandon pressed him.

"Stacy told me once that she takes the Bible literally when

it talks of the whole earth being flooded or Jonah being

swallowed by a huge fish, but the Bible also says God has

feathers. Am I to believe He's a bird?"

342

Brandon smiled and answered gently. "The charge that

the Bible is strewn with inconsistencies is hardly a new one,

Tanner. But I have found it necessary to distinguish between

inconsistencies and problems. There are many problems, to

be sure, but I've found that with objective bias and careful

research, the apparent inconsistencies dissolve in the face of

honest study."

Tanner could not argue with this because he had never put

in any time of "honest study." He was deeply impressed by

Brandon's knowledge, but the real impact came from his deep

conviction and the way he'd spoken of it. However, Tanner

was not convinced. He believed himself more than capable of

handling his own affairs and taking care of his own. Why

would he need God? It was a question he wouldn't have been

so comfortable with if eternity had come to mind

Had Brandon been able to read his thoughts he would

have questioned him on that very subject. But as it was he

could not read his friend's thoughts, and when Tanner changed

the subject, Brandon felt he had little choice but to let the

matter drop.

"You look wonderful," Sunny commented as she took in

Stacy's healthy glow and round figure.

"I look huge," Stacy corrected her. "Sometimes I find

Drew staring at me, and I know he's trying to decide which is

larger, his mother or his pony."

Sunny chuckled, well able to remember how Stacy felt. At

this point in any woman's pregnancy, it felt as if her condition

was going to last forever.

"I'm so glad you felt free to come by," Stacy told her friend

"As you can imagine, I'm not getting out these days."

"We knew you were back, but I wasn't certain if we should

call. Suddenly I couldn't stand it any longer. Was it pretty

awful?"

343

"Yes and no. I never really expected Tanner to be in touch,

so I wasn't surprised when I didn't hear from him. And then

after I'd learned that he didn't even know we were staying at

the Blackwells', it was torture. Roddy told me he came to

Brentwood a week after I'd left."

Sunny nodded. "He came to Bracken, looking beside himself.

We talked for quite some time. I don't know if you'll be

upset, but I told him about how badly the servants treated

you."

"I'm not at all upset, but do you know what he did?" Stacy

asked.

"He told us what he had planned. Did he do it?"

"Yes. Price is still here, and so is cook. That's it. Not even

the stable hands stayed. Sometimes I feel wretched about it,

but then I remind myself that they all made their choices."

"That they did," Sunny agreed, not at all afraid of sounding

harsh. She'd been waited on her entire life and honestly

believed that both lord and servant could make the best or

worst of it. Knowing what an undemanding person Stacy was,

Sunny knew that the original servants at Winslow had been

completely out of line.

"What do you hear from Roddy and Lucinda?" Sunny

asked

"From Lucinda, nothing, but Roddy came to Christ when

he came to see me at the Blackwells', and we've had quite a

bit of communication."

"Oh, Stacy," Sunny exclaimed and hugged her friend. "You

must be thrilled."

"I am that. God had certainly prepared his heart for our

time together. Roddy was so eager to let God fill the void he

felt inside. Now he's like dry ground in the rain with the way

he's reading the Word and growing."

Stacy had no desire to gossip, so she did not go on to say,

that he was also doing amazingly well considering that he and

Lucinda were not living together at the moment.