Written on Silk Read Online Free Page A

Hudson said cheerfully. “And the Dutch Protestants? They are experts in lace, thread, button-making, and all manner of delicate embroidery. I tell you Mesdames, Monsieur, England is the recipient of God’s grace.”
    Rachelle could not restrain her growing frustration. “It is all very well and good for your England, Monsieur Hudson. And I am thankful England opens her doors to us. But it is France I think of. France foolishly robs herself. One would think the king would realize the Huguenots, the middle class of this country, are the backbone of France! Without us, there is naught but nobles on one end and uneducated poor on the other.”
    “Quite the fact, mademoiselle, yes, quite . . . and sad for your country, of course.”
    “Unfortunately,” Idelette said, “those of the religion have small choice except to escape with their lives and the lives of their children.”
    “There is a far greater loss to France than silk and trade secrets,”Bertrand said. “It is the removal of God’s lampstand in France. With every Huguenot family who leaves, with every burning, every arrest and torture, the light of our witness departs. I fear darkness will reign if we as a nation continue to harden our hearts against the light of truth.” He looked at each of them. “France is in danger of forfeiting the greatest of opportunities from God — that of leading the way in Europe as God’s torchbearer. It appears to me that the honneur may pass to England.”
    Rachelle, highly patriotic, felt an unhappy twinge. She had naught against England, but her love was with France. She feared Cousin Bertrand was right.
    “England has also known her years of burnings and delusions,”James Hudson said. “Until Elizabeth came to the throne, we had her sister, Queen Mary. I think we all know that history has recorded many stalwart saints burned at Smithfield through her. Bloody Mary, we call her. Many leaders of the Reformation like Cranmer, Ridley, and Tyndale — all burned at the stake as heretics.”
    “Ah, but England is now embracing the light,” Cousin Bertrand said. “England welcomes the persecuted for His name’s sake with goodwill and a haven of safety. The Lord takes notice of this and the many changes under your present queen.”
    Whereas the Queen Mother , thought Rachelle, uses persecution to maintain her throne and appease Spain.
    Cousin Bertrand seemed to sense the heaviness at the table and smiled. “But! The Château de Silk has not rejected the light. We are all witnesses for God though we stand alone,” he said, his tone encouraging. “And the silk is a gift from our heavenly Father. For without the miracle of His silkworm, there would be no Dushane-Macquinet silk, no name of renown for the cloth. You chère mademoiselles know that this blessing is to be used not for our own ease, but as an open door. And so it is. Arnaut has financed much of the work in Geneva and France, and now in Spitalfields and Holland. The Bibles, the special printing of Scripture portions and books, all in fine leather and gilt edge, have been spread far and near because of our Dushane-Macquinet silk. And this will continue for as long as our good God preserves us. I will be eloquent and say that our witness, our trials and persecutions, are all written on silk!”
    Rachelle’s heart sounded a song of thanksgiving, knowing that eternal good was upheld by her needle and scissors, and even the feeding of mulberry leaves to the silkworms would assist her calling.
    “To our God goes all the honneur,” Madame Clair said. “Château de Silk prospers in order to serve our Lord’s work as well as our own. And, Monsieur Hudson, although my husband is not here to celebrate the beginning of the Dushane-Macquinet-Hudson alliance, I can tell you that our desire is singular. We will support the weavers’ guilds in Spitalfields by making certain they have silk.”
    “Silk and our own designs so they can cut and sew, ma mère.” Rachelle pleaded