I hear you in the next room, struggling to wake as you lie next to Hannah, overtired from tending well into the night your sister’s terrible burns. So like a little child to pull a scalding pot upon her head, not knowing for what she reaches but desiring above all else to have the very thing that is beyond her grasp. Someday it will be that you will have your own children to tend, though I now fear I will never see them.
You are even now rising from your bed, stretching out your arms, pushing away sleep.
Tell your children your mother was a woman who, with all her multitude of shortcomings, was more ferocious than kind, more contentious than agreeable, more irate than placid; but who cherished her family above all else. And when you are asked, tell them you are Martha Carrier’s daughter; that you had a mother who cared for you beyond reason, beyond tepid courtesies, beyond the brief, struggling hollow that is this life. That you are, and ever will be, loved.
Final Testament
—AUDREY CARRIER HICKMAN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MANY THANKS TO my wonderful agent, Julie Barer, for her constant encouragement, keen editorial eye, and joyful enthusiasm. To Reagan Arthur, a writer’s dream of an editor, I offer my profound gratitude for her expert guidance and sensitivity in shaping this book to its final form. My deep appreciation also to the following people at Little, Brown and Company: David Young, Michael Pietsch, Heather Fain, Luisa Frontino, Terry Adams, Sabrina Ravipinto, and Andrea Walker for all their continuing support. For the second time, I was so very fortunate to work with the sharp-eyed and exacting Pamela Marshall during copyedits.
To my family—my mom, Audrey, Josh, and Mitchell, the Hickmans, Morrisons, Orlowskys, and Muethings—I send all my love. My heartfelt appreciation also goes to my extended family and dear friends who have been cheerleaders, advisors, and sources of comfort. Finally, to Lowell and Sandy, Merci pour tout.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATHLEEN KENT is the author of The Heretic’s Daughter. She lives in Dallas.
Also by Kathleen Kent
The Heretic’s Daughter
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by Kathleen Kent
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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First eBook Edition: November 2010
ISBN: 978-0-316-12205-4