“At least Charity’s much better off,” Gennie said. “She can run the kitchen just as she wishes. So why would she want to leave?”
“She did abandon the kitchen after the public worship service,” Rose said.
“I know,” Gennie said. “I found the kitchen empty when I was searching for Molly.”
“She lost her nerve, ran to hide in her retiring room. She must be able to face such adversity if she is to be a Believer. But it isn’t only that. Charity confessed to me what has been troubling her. Since she is leaving, we agreed that the Society need not know.”
“So you can’t tell me what happened?”
Rose shook her head.
“Not even if I try to guess?”
“Gennie!” Rose scolded, and laughed at the same time. But she said nothing more about Charity. Poor Charity, in love for the first time with Johann Fredericks, who used her for his pleasure and left her with a guilt so profound that it was killing her a moment at a time. She accepted full responsibility for her behavior, she had told Rose. She had broken her vows. She could not stay. Rose sighed. Surely Mother Ann had been right. Celibacy was truly the most blessed way of life.
She felt Gennie’s eyes flash to her face as though reading her thoughts.
“Um, Rose?” Gennie said.
“Hm?”
“Would you explain something to me sometime soon, before I leave?”
“If I can. What is it?”
Gennie bit her lip. “Would you tell me exactly what it means not to be chaste?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“DEBORAH WOODWORTH’S suspenseful exploration of the Shaker way of life—and death—will fascinate mystery readers. Sister Rose Callahan is a marvelous heroine with wisdom and charm to spare. Woodworth writes with grace and intelligence.”
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-97083
ISBN: 0-380-79201-X
EPub Edition December 2014 ISBN 9780062385253
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DEATH OF A WINTER SHAKER. Copyright © 1997 by Deborah Woodworth. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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