The Making Of A Gentleman. Ruth Axtell Morren

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      Critical praise for

       RUTH AXTELL MORREN

       and her novels

      THE ROGUE’S REDEMPTION

      “A beautifully written Regency-era love story.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

      THE HEALING SEASON

      “The author expertly creates an endearing story that will both encourage and delight the reader.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

      DAWN IN MY HEART

      “Morren turns in a superior romantic historical.”

      —Booklist

      “Morren’s tales are always well plotted and fascinating, and this one is no exception. 4½ stars.”

      —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

      LILAC SPRING

      “Lilac Spring blooms with heartfelt yearning and genuine conflict as Cherish and Silas seek God’s will for their lives. Fascinating details about 19th-century shipbuilding are planted here and there, bringing a historical feel to this faith-filled romance.”

      —Liz Curtis Higgs, bestselling author of Whence Came a Prince

      WILD ROSE

       Selected as aBooklist Top 10 Christian Novel for 2005

      “The charm of the story lies in Morren’s ability to portray real passion between her characters. Wild Rose is not so much a romance as an old-fashioned love story.”

      —Booklist

      WINTER IS PAST

      “Inspires readers toward a deeper trust in the transforming power of God…[Readers] will find in Winter Is Past a novel not to be put down and a new favorite author.”

      —Christian Retailing

      The Making of a Gentleman

      Ruth Axtell Morren

      

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      For Frances, a modern day “prison lady”

       and

       Thank you, Allison, for taking this ugly

       duckling and helping turn it into a swan…

      Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die.

      —Psalms 79:11

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      Chapter Twenty

      Questions for Discussion

      Chapter One

      London, 1812

      The hangman’s noose swayed gently in the chill winter breeze, the pale Italian hemp stark in the murky light.

      No matter how many hangings Florence had attended, the sight of a man—or woman—hanging from the noose caused her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shifted her gaze from it, although there was nothing to comfort the eye in the rest of the panorama facing her. Newgate Prison’s classic stone facade, unrelieved by any windows, stared back at her, its walls as gray as the lowering skies above her.

      The February wind bit at her. Shivering, she pulled her cape tighter. Despite the bodies around her, the cold penetrated through to her bones. Perhaps because she’d eaten nothing since yesterday evening, preferring to spend the time in prayer and fasting for the condemned man.

      The crowd pressed against her as new arrivals jockeyed for position. They had been drifting in since last evening when the portable gallows was wheeled in by the team of horses. Two crosslike structures supported a parallel set of bars between them. A lone noose hung from one of these bars, designed to support up to a dozen bodies. But on this rare occasion, only one man would be hanged.

      A few guards stood below the platform, bearing pikes or muskets. Florence glanced over at the one nearest her. His unshaven face and slouched stance showed the effects of having stood watch all night.

      Though the growing audience swelled, waist-high wooden barriers extending out along the walls of Newgate prevented anyone from getting closer than a few feet from the gallows.

      Florence had been attending the hangings for six years now, ever since she’d begun ministering to the inmates of Newgate. She was determined to show them a last friendly СКАЧАТЬ