The more she watched him, the more she thought of him as grouchy and unfriendly.
You have no right to be so judgmental, Eliza Mills!After all, what would people say abouther? Was she showing others that she knew God?
The preacher pounded the pulpit, and she jolted in her seat. Her hat threatened to shift, and she put a hand up against the weight. Good thing too, because then the preacher began to yell, and she jumped again. Gracious, it made her heart pound. Was it always like this?
She’d heard of these fire-and-brimstone preachers but hadn’t experienced one firsthand. Her ears ached from the tirade of not giving in to sin, keeping their homes in order, and not associating with those of no faith.
But it must work for some people because there were lots of heads bobbing and several amens shouted from the pews.
Not for her though. The only thing it accomplished was making her restless.
She dipped her head back to her Bible and flipped through the pages to find some of her favorite verses. Perhaps if she spent the time memorizing more Scripture, it would be better for her mindset than the pulpit-pounding of this shouting man who grew angrier and louder with every word.
By the time she’d memorized all of First Peter chapter one, rustling sounded around her. Oh! The congregation was standing for a final hymn.
This time, she didn’t even bother to sing along. But she prayed the whole time for her heart to still and soak in whatever it was that God wanted her to leave this place with today.She kept her eyes closed until the final stanza and then lowered her head as a deacon prayed a benediction.
Anxious to be on her way, she had her Bible in her arms and the strings of her purse on her wrist before he said amen.
With a quick dash out of the pew, she hurried out of the small building. The Adamses’ buggy was only twenty feet away. She picked up her pace. Freedom was so close.
A touch to her arm. “Miss?”
Eliza bit back a sigh. Obviously, she hadn’t been fast enough. She pasted on a smile and turned.
Four ladies met her gaze. Where had they come from? And so quick?
Funny, she was inches taller than any of them. There were heels on her kid leather boots, and she was a bit over eight inches above five feet in her stockings anyway. But all of a sudden, she felt like a giant. And with the sun behind her, the shadow of her hat covered all of them. She fought the urge to giggle at thoughts of what Devin would say in this moment.
It wasn’t the time nor the place for her to be laughing, but being able to find the humor in the situation helped her relax. “Good morning.” There. That was pleasant enough.
“Good morning. We wanted to greet you and welcome you to our little church. I don’t believe we’ve met?” The lady in blue studied her. “I’m Mrs. Elvira Manning. And you are?”
“Miss Eliza Mills.” Funny. Their initials were the same.
The others introduced themselves, and she nodded at each.
“Where are you from, Miss Mills?” Mrs. Manning’s pinched lips didn’t give off a friendly welcome.
“Pittsburgh.”
“Oh.” The other three ladies actually spoke in unison, their eyes wide.
But Mrs. Manning wasn’t impressed. Her eyes had narrowed the tiniest bit. “What brings you to our lovely town?”
Now this was a subject she could talk about. She smiled. “Iwork for Mr. Andrew Carnegie. I’m here as a representative of the Hall of Dinosaurs at the Carnegie Institute to help people understand what is happening out at the quarry at Dinosaur National Monument.”
Mrs. Manning stiffened. The frown on her face intensified. “So you are one of those evolutionists, are you?”
“Heavens, no.” Eliza drew back as if she’d been slapped. “I believe in God as Creator and His Son Jesus as Savior.”
Every eye studied her. Disapproving scowls deepened the lines on their sun-weathered faces.
“If that is true then what are you doing out there working with those ... heathens?”
Heathens? Eliza arched an eyebrow at the way the woman spit the word. It was no secret that many in her field of study had chosen to follow Darwin’s theory of evolution. So it was understandable why the woman would be skeptical. But just as many scientists were strong in their faith.
The disdain of these women coupled with the angry sermon...
