Chapter Five
Prudence couldn’t believe this was her wedding day.
Despite being in Omaha for almost two weeks, she still marveled at the lack of snow compared to her home in Boston.
Everywhere she went, people were discussing the unusually warm weather and its potential impact on crops.
The faint smell of smoke lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the looming threat of fire.
Today, she would get married surrounded by the friends she had made during her short time in town.
Tomorrow, she’ll begin her move to Colorado with her new husband.
She had meant to ask Hubert about the snow during dinner last night, but the excitement during dinner had made it feel like a dream.
Meeting the man she would spend the rest of her life with was not at all how she had imagined it would be.
It had been easy.
It still surprised her how easy everything had been since meeting Ingrid Chapman.
Prudence’s prayers had changed as well. Prayers, once seeking a rescuer, a helpmate, and an escape from her bleak situation, were now looking for a future that included safety, security, forgiveness, and perhaps even love.
Her relationship with faith was shifting and growing as well.
She carefully rose from the settee, where she had been sleeping, and neatly folded the blankets to return the room to its usual state. So far, no one had suspected anything, but tonight she will have to change her routine.
Hubert would not fit on the settee.
As she thought of him, Prudence could see his brown eyes.
They were warm and reminded her of syrup.
He stood a few inches taller than her, his broad shoulders and muscular form a testament to his good health.
Prior to her passing, Prudence’s mother provided her with an explanation of the events that would unfold on her wedding night.
Back then, there was still hope that Prudence would find a husband.
After her mother’s death, Papa became even colder and more rigid, showing no vulnerability like he used to before. When he issued a decree that Prudence was to remain at home, caring for things, until he passed, her chances at marriage disappeared.
“That will not happen with Hubert. I’ll make him promise me.” Prudence spoke out loud, heading toward the kitchen. She didn’t want a marriage devoid of all emotion.
Quickly, she stirred the coals, adding more wood to the potbelly stove before filling the kettle and setting it on top to heat.
There was much to do, and very little time before she had to head down to the church.
While she hurried through her ablutions, she hummed the song that had been lingering in her mind for several days.
Soon our pilgrimage will cease; soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.
Oh, she wanted that peace, and a happy heart!
She dressed in her nicest dress. A deep blue that made her eyes shine. She brushed her hair until it gleamed and stepped in front of the mounted looking glass she’d found behind the door in the kitchen. Papa, disapproving of vanity, had forbidden her from having a looking glass in Boston.
Quickly splitting her hair in the middle, she plaited it into two braids that wove together in the back.
It was a crown a bride had worn once at a ceremony her father officiated.
Prudence spent many nights secretly practicing the style until she perfected it.
That bit of vanity would most certainly have resulted in her being punished.
When she was done, she pinched her cheeks, smiling as they developed a pink hue.
The kettle hummed gently, and she quickly made her porridge, adding the rest of the honey on top. She sat at the table and bowed her head, giving thanks for the food, Mrs. Chapman, and her soon-to-be husband.
While eating, she considered the two versions of her Hubert that she had encountered the day before.
If she were honest, she quite preferred the man who had walked in on her singing.
He had been relaxed and confident, even while confused as to her presence in the house.
The man who’d come for dinner last night was cautious and hesitant.
Those thoughts made her wonder if he was having the same considerations this morning.
“Please don’t let him change his mind,” she whispered, quickly rinsing the dish.
Setting the bread pans on top of the stove to rise while she was gone, she wrapped her cloak over her shoulders, thankful that it had come clean, and headed out the door. Prudence didn’t have time to consider the old superstitions about his seeing the bride before the ceremony.
As she tiptoed into the back of the chapel, the sound of church bells filled her ears.
Prudence’s eyes darted around, searching for Hubert among the rows of pews, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She felt a flutter in her stomach as she anxiously waited for him to arrive.
Her gaze moved across the room, and she noticed the side door open as the two Fitzgerald men made their way to the altar at the front of the church.
The older Reverend took his place behind the pulpit while the younger slipped into a chair behind it.
“Good morning, my friends!” The room echoed the greeting.
“I know we’ve been studying the Psalms, and I’m sure you’re waiting with bated breath for my next message,” he chuckled.
The congregation laughed. “But my son, Hubert, is in town for the weekend. Last night we were discussing what his sermon was to be this week, and I think you’ll all agree that it is a timely message. ”
Prudence felt her eyes widen. Had she caused this change with her questions the night before? That was not her intention.
“Let’s start by singing ‘Shall We Gather at the River’.” The congregation stood and prepared to sing the song that had been stuck in her head for the last week.
“All right, Lord, I hear you,” she muttered, climbing to her feet.
Once the song ended, Hubert signaled for the congregation to take their seats.
“Thank you for having me. If you’ll turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelations, chapter twenty-one.
” Fear rocked through Prudence; a tingling sensation and heat raced through her body.
Revelations was her father’s favorite book.
“Now I know this book can be quite a controversial conversation. I find something different, however. What I see when I read it is that John builds our confidence in our eternity by emphasizing that we are not asked to fear the future. He encouraged us to have faith. To follow where Christ leads us. And know that accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior guarantees our victory and future.”
Prudence couldn’t control the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
She’d never heard it explained the way Hubert was explaining it.
Instead of fire and brimstone, he was preaching it as a message of hope and assurance.
The weight of her doubts and fears lifted off her shoulders, replaced by a renewed sense of faith.
She looked around the chapel and saw others wiping away tears, their eyes shining with the same realization that she had just experienced.
It was as if his words were specifically chosen to quell the doubts that had been plaguing her heart, soothing them with gentle reassurance. As she listened intently, a sense of peace washed over her, and a melody of hope filled her heart.
The more he spoke, the more certain she became Hubert was truly an answer to her prayers.
When she wiped her eyes once more, her vision cleared, and the pulpit came into view.
He was watching her! She thought to divert her eyes, but something made her continue gazing forward.
She closed her Bible and focused solely on him.
A warmth washed over her, and she could feel her heartbeat and the breath of life flowing through her.
A whisper echoed in her mind. You are safe; you are loved, and you are wanted.
Clearly, she was going mad. Prudence admitted she would willingly lose her sanity if it meant Hubert would continue to gaze at her with such adoration for eternity.
Hubert stood at the pulpit, his hands tightly gripping the edges as he spoke with fervent conviction.
He felt the familiar thrum of the Spirit deep within him, guiding his words and aligning his mind and spirit.
On the last pew, Prudence sat with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Hubert desperately wanted to comfort her, but he stayed focused on delivering his message.
It was one that had come to him in a sudden rush, before he even received the letter from his mother, that confirmed it.
As he spoke, he could see the impact it was having on Prudence.
She needed this message to heal her heart and allow Hubert into it.
To allow the Lord to touch her.
“Thank you all for taking the time to listen to me this morning. I want all of you to go into your week with a spirit of hope, knowing that our futures are assured because of our relationship with Him. Now, if my mother would humor me, I suggest we close with O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Glancing at his mother, she nodded, and soon the first notes of the song rang through the church. His father stepped up to lead the congregation, and Hubert excused himself from the pulpit, making his way to the back of the church to Prudence, who hadn’t taken her eyes off him.
“Hi,” he whispered, filling the space she’d created when he joined her.
“Hi.”
Prudence laced her fingers through his, and together they sang through the beloved hymn as his father led them to repeat it. The older man beamed from the pulpit, giving Hubert the reassurance he hadn’t known he needed.
Once the hymn was done, Reverend Fitzgerald addressed the congregation.
“If you would like to stay, my son is getting married right after services. I’m aware it’s short notice and understand if you have other commitments.
However, I will ask that if you are not staying today, perhaps you can converse outside of the sanctuary. ”
As the room erupted in a symphony of clapping hands, Prudence felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
She turned, burying her face in his shoulder for comfort.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the awkwardness of the moment, his hand gently resting on her waist as they stood amidst the cheering crowd.
Slowly, the room settled back into their seats, and the two of them remained locked in a warm embrace.
The only parishioner to leave was a young mother with a demanding infant.
“I don’t think I can get married in front of these people,” Prudence whispered, standing on her tiptoes to reach his ear.
“It’s just you and me. Don’t take your eyes off me, and we’ll get through this.”
“What if they hate me?”
“Then it’s a good thing we don’t live here.” He tipped her chin up so that their eyes met. “Can you trust me with this? This town raised me. You like my parents. And anyone who may dislike you will not mention it today.”
He watched her blink several times. “Take a deep breath, Pru, and let it out slowly.”
When she followed his direction, he nodded his approval before glancing at his father. “Then let’s get married and get out of here. No one will fault us for wanting to be alone.”
“I can do this,” she murmured, more to herself, but pulled away from him and straightened her skirts.
Slowly they walked to the front together, his mother appearing to hand her a small bouquet of dried baby’s breath, then melted back to her seat at the end of the front row.
His father offered a handshake. Hubert felt his brows scrunch together but took the hand. The weight of something falling into his palm started the self-chastising that he’d been avoiding all day.
He’d forgotten about rings. Prudence deserved a ring. His father had remembered, though.
“We are gathered today to witness the joining of Hubert Montgomery Fitzgerald and Prudence Anne Underwood in holy matrimony.”
Hubert watched the feelings flow over Prudence. His Prudence. She continued to take slow breaths, and her eyes did not waver from his. He could not imagine the amount of effort and commitment that took, but pride in how easily she allowed him to guide was a heady sensation.
They repeated their vows, dedicating their marriage to the church and the Lord. Then it was time to slip the ring onto her finger. Repeating after his father, Hubert opened her hand and slowly placed the gold band against the tip of her finger.
“With this ring, I thee wed, through sickness and health, through struggles and success, until death do us part.”
Prudence’s breath caught when it slid down her finger, symbolizing their commitment to each other and to God. Hubert committed the sound she made to memory, wondering what else would cause her to make that sound. Holding out his hand, he waited.
“With this ring, I thee wed. I will honor and obey you, to stand at your side until death do us part.”
Hubert heard the hesitation in the word obey. Anger at a man he’d never met rushed over him. She would learn soon enough that they were very different people, and that she had nothing to fear from anyone as long as there was breath in his body.
“Son.”
Hubert jerked back, eyes tracking his father.
“You may now kiss your bride.”
The hum of laughter rang in his ears, but he couldn’t think about it. He got to kiss her. He would get to kiss her every day for the rest of his life.
Prudence tipped her head back. His hands settled on her waist, then his head swooped down, settling his lips over hers. It was the sweetest sensation, but Prudence pulled back before he was ready. The shyness he’d fought all his life was nowhere to be found. He wanted to kiss her forever.
His father clapped his hands. “I now present to you, Mrs. and Reverend Hubert Fitzgerald!”
Applause rang out. Hubert scooped Prudence into his arms and raced up the aisle. The others could celebrate with his parents, but he was taking her home.
“We could have stayed.” She laughed into his chest.
He held her closer. “No. We most definitely could not have stayed.”