
intensified as she turned away from her. Shame burned through her. How could she call the church
elders, or talk to Mother Stone about something like this? How did a preacher's wife, the first lady of the
church, force her lips to say that her husband, the Reverend Richards, had lost his natural black mind?
Amid the now hiccupping bleats from the nursery, Sarah became very still as she heard movement in the
small clapboard house below her. There were two voices. One soft, seductive; the other was that of her
husband. He'd brought this whore back to his home again! Once was not enough? Did he think she was
so foolish as to run another church errand to an elderly neighbor, at night, again, so he could be doing
God knows what? Couldn't he hear his own child screaming her lungs out—and wouldn't he know that
his wife was upstairs? Did he have so little respect for her, or was it that this whore's pull was that
strong?
Tears of bitter rage and hurt stung Sarah's eyes, the pain of her acknowledgment almost crushing her rib
cage as the muscles around her heart constricted. This woman, this transgressor, had a hold on her
husband that not even the Lord could seem to break . . . because, Father God knew, she'd prayed on it
from the first inkling of doubt. Now, her husband had brought a violator back into his house?Her house.
A home designed for a minister, his wife, and children, across the street from hallowed ground? Sarah felt
her knees begin to buckle as she envisioned the faces of loyal parishioners who hung on the good
Reverend's every word . . . just as she once had. This house was not a home, nor was it a place where
she or her child could find peace.
She resisted her first instinct, which was to barrel downstairs to confront her husband and the heifer that
had crossed her threshold. But something slithered inside Sarah's soul and gave her pause. The
green-eyed monster raised its ugly head. She had to know what this hussy looked like . . . who was this
woman that could break up hearth and home using something that all women had? She wanted to spy
and know the things her hus-
band said to this home-wrecker. What lies had Armand Richards told?
Silently, like a thief in the night, Sarah Richards crept down the hall, hugging the wall. She knew this
house by heart and easily avoided the creaky floorboards. Stretching her body, she clung to the very
paint as she peered around the corner of the landing. The baby's cries escalated, her pulse rising along
with it. She held her breath as she rounded the corner—and froze.
A tall, handsome, male figure the color of cafe au lait and dressed in an impeccable black suit, ran a
palm across her husband's jaw. The caress was sensuality personified. The sight stole the scream from
Sarah's lungs, as her husband closed his eyes and dropped his head back in a display of sheer feminine
submission. Sarah took the stairs one by one, clutching the handrail to keep from passing out. She
couldn't breathe as she watched in abject horror while this man ... a man . . . not a woman . . . embraced
her husband like a lover and lowered his head to Armand's exposed throat.
When she heard her husband groan, something fragile within her snapped.
Everything became a blur. Her feet flew down the stairs; her screams outstripped her infant daughter's.
The words became a chant—"God, no! Not that!" She would crucify this beast, the fouler of her
household! There was no rational thought as she hurled herself forward trying to grab hold of his broad
shoulders. She wanted blood. A pound of flesh! But the agile intruder simply swept her husband up in his
arms as though he were sweeping away his bride, and deftly slipped through the door with him.
Sarah gave chase into the front yard, screaming, crying, hollering behind them, but only the night heard
her. She spun in a crazed circle, searching the darkness for them. Where had this lover taken her
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