This one’s for the evening crowd! How could we resist this stunning little snippet of drama from the amazing Wendy Lozano’s Sweet Abandon? We have literally never felt this much tension in a scene taking place in a beautiful orchard in our lives. The juxtaposition is to die for! But don’t. Have a read:

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He did not appear in the orchard the next morning. Chastity was struck anew with guilt and remorse. He thought her a harlot, she thought with fear. And no wonder; she had acted like one. She would never see him again. She would carry the knowledge of her lust through her lonely life and into her grave.

Chastity gave up waiting and went to the shed to put away the gardening tools. Here the air was heady with the perfume of rose, sweet clover, and wildflower petals stored with salt in a large basket for sachets. When she had gathered enough of the frail blossoms, she would add cinnamon, cloves, and rosemary and sew the mixture into small packets that would keep linens and clothing smelling fresh for months. Usually she loved the fragrance in the shed, but today she found it cloying and oppressive. A sigh escaped her as she stirred the pungent mixture. A shadow fell across the basket, and she looked up to see Edmund in the door.

“You came!” She threw herself into his open arms and pressed her cheek hard against his muscular chest. “I was afraid you would not.”

“Nothing could keep me from my Dancing Fox,” he teased her lovingly. “I saw a young man who looked something like you poking around the orchard. Knowing your desire for secrecy, I decided to meet you here, where no one would see us.” He pushed her gently away and stationed himself where he could see outside and still remain unseen.

“It must have been Joseph. It is well you waited.”

“I have given the matter much thought, my love. It would be easy through my acquaintances to get a letter of introduction to Governor Bradford. He could present me to your family as a man of good birth and standing. As an outsider, I presume that I would need some sort of evidence showing that I can support you.”

“Support me?” Her breath caught in her throat.

“My sweet love, now that we are husband and wife in the eyes of the Lord, shall we not be the same in the eyes of the church? That is, if you will have me as husband.”

“Have you!” She sprang up from the bench upon which she had been sitting. “Dearest Edmund, I would be happy and proud to be your wife.” Eyes aglow, she embraced him, and he kissed her soft lips reverently.

“And my plan? Do you judge it good?” he asked.

“Perfect. I do not see how Father can object to a friend of the governor’s. You will have to take instruction, of course, and then join the church.”

“Not so fast, Chastity. I have no intention of joining your church.”

“Edmund!” she gasped in horror. “You are not a papist!”

“No,” he replied, a worried frown breaking the symmetry of his dark face.

“Then why refuse instruction?” She anxiously searched his troubled expression.

“Much as I love you, I will not be a Puritan. I will not join a church where each member is encouraged to spy out the sins of others, lest God punish you all. You are not allowed to dance or sing or be joyous about anything except your religion. Why, look at your clothing! If God had intended the world to be gray and brown and black, He would have painted it in those colors.”

“You forget that you are speaking of my faith,” she said slowly, a chill creeping across her flesh.

He made a placating gesture with his hand. “Forgive me, I was too vehement. I know it is your faith, and I shall try to respect it. I will never interfere with your beliefs, Chastity, nor ask you to change them. If you truly love me, render me the same respect that I show you.”

She withdrew to the corner of the shed and crossed her arms over his chest. “What are your beliefs?”

“I told you before, I am a product of two worlds. I am a Christian who believes that my God is also the God of the Indians. He is a God of laughter and love, of war and death, of beginnings and endings. I find Him more easily in the mountains and in the recesses of my own heart than I do in meeting house or in Scriptures.”

“That is heresy! You will never be permitted to live in Plymouth! You will be whipped and then banished from the town. They would put you to death if you ever tried to return!” Her trembling voice came from the shadows.

“But I have no intention of living here. This land is huge. The Mohawks tell me of many tribes far to the west. We have a whole continent to explore,” he said with rising enthusiasm.

Chastity drew into the sunlight, but her lovely face was cold. “I was born here, and here I shall dwell, with my people and with my church. I love you, Edmund Night, but I will not marry a heathen.”

“Sweet Jesus, woman! I am no heathen!” Edmund grabbed her and pulled her close. “Chastity, I love you. I am offering you a whole world. Please, please think on it. You cannot turn me away.”

She looked up at his handsome face. Her own was flushed and wet with tears. “Go, Edmund. Leave me. I shall never love another man, nor will I ever marry. I will vow to sleep alone my whole life through. This is God’s punishment for our sinful bliss. Oh that I had died last night in your arms and that this morning had never come!” Sobbing, she thrust him away.

“Chastity, I will not leave you like this. Look at me for a moment.”

“Go!” She could not raise her eyes for fear that her great love would betray her. “Please, I can bear no more of this, my heart will break in pieces!”

He lifted his eyes in anguish to the heavens, his face contorted with pain. “All right, Chastity, it shall be as you wish. I shall leave you now, but I will not be far away. Here…” He took off his gold ring and pressed it into her palm. “Take time to think this through. If your thoughts change, or if you ever need me for anything, anything at all, give this ring to an Indian. The tribe does not matter. Just give this to an Indian and say my name, White Thunder. I swear I will come to you. Will you give me your word on it?”

She nodded but made no sound. She could not trust her voice to speak.

His eyes were a stormy blue as he kissed her tenderly on the forehead. “May you walk in beauty, Little Dancing Fox.”

She watched his back disappear into the bright sunlight, and with it, all the beauty and gaiety in her heart. With sadness too great for tears, she collapsed and lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.”

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