She Will Rejoice Read Online Free

again.
                  “I’ll be ready when you are, Naomi,” he moved swiftly from the room.
                  She could not move for some minutes. The only thing that finally set her stubborn feet in motion was the remembrance that she would only see that man again once she was ready to leave.
                  “That was remarkable,” Finn commented as she descended the stairs.
                  She cocked her head in question.
                  “I have never seen a woman get ready so quickly,” he offered his hand as she neared the bottom. “My mother and sister are tediously slow about it.”
                  She took his hand willingly but cautiously. His good mood was a surprise. Was he simply acting a part for the benefit of the other inn patrons or was he truly in a better mood this morning? If it were the former, she should be grateful he was, at least, not causing a scene.
    Finn seated her at a corner table, “Do you become ill on the water?”
                  Naomi frowned at the conversation opener.
                  “If you do, it may be best to take only tea and dry toast right now.”
                  “Oh,” she smiled at him but did not receive an answering grin, “I cannot say as I have never been on the water.”
                  He looked surprised, “Never?”
                  “Unless you count the raft my brother and I made when we were children. We would float it down the trout stream and land on a little island where the fishing was excellent.”
                  The maid approached them with plates of food and cups of tea.
                  Naomi sense Finn was interested in her story, so she continued.
                  “Of course we had not the strength to push ourselves against the current to go back upstream, so we always had to drag it back up the bank.”
                  “Was it very large?”
                  She was pleased that his tone was casual.
                  “No, but we typically had fish to carry as well. On occasion, my father’s tenant, Mr. Pennywinkle, would see us coming and help us to get the raft back to the shed. He was happy to take a fish in payment.”
                  “Did you and your brother clean and cook your own catch then?”
                  Naomi wrinkled her nose, “Cook showed us how to do it when we asked her, but it was not an enjoyable experience. We were content to give her the fish and eat it later.”
                  He chuckled, and Naomi found herself trying to remember other funny things from her childhood just to hear the sound again.
                  “Do you still fish?” he spoke before any more memories could surface.
                  She shook her head, “My father came home from town three years ago and put an end to all unladylike behavior.”
                  “To create a bride, I suppose.”
                  She nodded, “He said my mother had been too permissive, and it was time we children grew up.”
                  “Was Miss Ruth found wanting as well?”
                  Naomi sipped her tea before answering, “Ruth was but eleven at the time. He did not feel so anxious about her situation.”
                  “And the youngest is often coddled,” his voice held a touch of bitterness.
                  “True, but Ruthie was always more ladylike than I. She will probably marry at an earlier age and be happy to sit and embroider all day long.”
                  Finn watched her over the top of his tea cup as if waiting for more, but Naomi found herself afraid to say anything else.
                  “Are you finished eating?” he pointed to her half-finished