An Unexpected Sin by Sarah Ballance Page A

take quick advantage of a young woman without her defenses.”
    “She most often travels with John, and she knows well the road. Our daughter is not defenseless. She has sound judgment and is thoughtful with her choices. Perhaps she was caught out by the weather and took shelter to wait it out. Why are you so fearful?” Despite his attempt at reassuring words, his voice was strained.
    “But this weather! She should not be out there. She has a love for the road to the village,” Susannah said. “Whenever she is gone so late, she has verily taken for the path. And on this terrible night…”
    Goodman Scudder looked to the darkened world outside the window, and Josiah followed his gaze. A damp fog existed over the storm-drenched land, lending an eerie feel to the black landscape. The clouds erased the moon, and the resulting pitch was enough to make Josiah shiver. Anne was fearful of the dark woods and its rumors. Though he was quickly becoming acquainted with her stubborn independence, he could not help but worry she might be in some kind of trouble.
    “We cannot go after her,” the goodman said to his wife. “You are in no greater position than she, and my health prevents such travel. Have faith. Trust she will return.”
    “I don’t want to sit here in faith! We have already lost—” Susannah’s words cut sharply, and the thick air descended into silence. Her mouth pressed into a thin, firm line, she tightened her arms across her chest. Several strands of hair had fallen from her bun, giving her a disheveled look Josiah suspected uncharacteristic of the otherwise severe, precise woman. The look in her eyes was one of great fear, something confirmed when she looked to her husband with blanched skin and eyes fraught with sorrow.
    “She has never left unannounced,” the goodwife said, “and she would not tarry so late. She is not so careless. Something is wrong, George. I feel it. I cannot lose her.”
    “We can arrange for our neighbors to search—”
    “She will be branded a rogue! And then what will become of her?”
    Josiah blinked. How could she want for Anne’s return and refuse help all the same? Though the goodwife’s earlier words against him still stung, her worry over Anne found firm ground in his own heart. He bit his tongue but for a moment before the words burst forth. “I will find her,” he said.
    Both of the Scudders looked to Josiah with enough surprise to suggest they genuinely had not realized they shared his company. “I can find her,” he said again. “I can return her to you.”
    Susannah wore a tear-stained mask of pain and distrust. In his short time there, she had questioned his intentions. Degraded him. Warned her daughter away. Would she allow him to go after Anne? To bring her home? And did it matter? For even if they denied him, he would risk his own standing to find her.
    Josiah waited in the tense silence. He knew not whether Anne was actually in some kind of trouble or if her mother merely feared she was, but Josiah would risk nothing when it came to her. Only, by speaking up, he might be risking everything. Would Susannah refuse Josiah? Moving forward after such a denial would be difficult, if not expressly forbidden. Perhaps it mattered not. The old woman—whose identity Josiah had yet to learn—knew who he was. Everything teetered on one finely chiseled edge, and it seemed no matter which path he took, he would find himself in desperate freefall.
    He looked into George’s eyes. “I will bring her home,” he said.
    Goodman Scudder looked from his wife—who remained mute—to Josiah. “Thank you. My wife and I would appreciate that very much, son.”
    Anne’s mother opened her mouth, then promptly snapped it shut. Finally, she offered a short nod. It was all Josiah needed.
    He’d find her.
    But when he did, would he be forced to let her go?
    Josiah pushed away the concern and let himself outside. The sky still wept rain, though not as heavily as before. Town