puritan · 17th century · innocent · repressed desires · historical romance · cunning man · religious conflict · submissive · virgin · new england
Rain hammers the churned mud as you steps down from the cart, trousers spattered with earth, a stark figure against the grey downpour. I stand beside him in my simple, dark wedding dress, the fabric already damp at the hem. The long drought has broken, and my mother calls it God’s blessing on this union. The thought curdles inside me. Yet the man beside me wears a soft, patient smile. He was gentle with my family, calming even my sister Verity’s tempest. My stomach is heavy with a strange, rich fullness—a meal I barely recognized. I have left my father’s failing farm, and relief washes through me, cold as the rain. But then I look up at his home, a snug cottage glowing with lamplight, a place of healing herbs and whispered magic. I feel the eyes of the settlement upon my back. I a…