“You should submit your work for publication, Royal. From the small samples I’ve read, you’re quite good.”
“Yeah, maybe someday. I wouldn’t even know where to start with that.”
Lovey sank into Royal so that she could kiss her cheek. She was enjoying the comfort of Royal’s arms around her, but she needed to put a little space between them or she’d be so distracted she wouldn’t be able to focus on their conversation. She turned completely, pulling her skirt around her knees, and leaned back on her arm.
“I only have another couple of months before I start teaching.” Lovey changed the subject and pulled at another clover. She was searching for some luck.
“I didn’t know you had an assignment.”
“My father arranged it. That’s why I came back here. It wasn’t working for me to stay in Chicago by myself, and I guess there’s more of a need for teachers in rural areas.”
“Yeah, because the pay isn’t great and teachers have to be careful not to teach radical notions, like the Earth is round.”
“You can’t be serious.” Lovey leaned back and studied Royal’s face.
“There was this really cute teacher a few years ago who was asked to leave because she taught her students that the Earth was round.”
“I’ll ignore the fact that you said she was cute for a moment. Don’t people in Georgia know the Earth is round?”
“Some do. And you’ll be happy to know I’m one of them, but others follow scripture to the letter. Several local deacons brought in the Bible and showed her the verse about ‘the four corners of the Earth.’ If the Earth were round there’d be no corners and that would be in conflict with the Good Book.”
“In that case, this might be a very short career path I’m on.”
They both laughed.
“I should probably get to some chores or Momma will be after me. Can I offer you a ride home?” Royal stood and extended a hand to Lovey.
“That would be sweet, thank you.” They began walking back toward the way they’d come. Lovey twirled a four-leaf clover between her fingers as they sauntered through the tall grassy field.
When they reached the pole shed where the truck and tractor were parked, Ned was just putting some old weathered boards into the back of the truck. As they drew closer, he gave them a wave and a smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the bee charmer herself.”
“I’ll thank you to keep a lady’s secrets, kind sir. It’s Ned, right?”
Ned bowed deeply. “At your service.”
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride home before Ned here tries to steal you away from me.”
Chapter Twenty
“Who was that?”
Lovey had just stepped through the door and quickly realized that her father had seen Royal drop her off at the end of the gravel driveway. He had pulled his spectacles off and was peering out through a small opening in the drapes to get a better view of the driver. Lovey knew that a vague answer wouldn’t satisfy her father this time, so she decided to answer truthfully and try to seem as nonchalant about it as possible so as not to raise his curiosity further.
“I was out for a walk and Royal Duval offered me a ride home.”
“Royal Duval, you say?”
“Yes. Interesting name, don’t you think?” Lovey flopped into a chair and began to flip through a hardcover book she’d lifted from the small side table nearby. She casually noted the title, The Epistle to the Romans, by Karl Barth. Riveting. But she decided the book might provide a distraction from the discussion of Royal. “Is this an interesting book?”
“It is. It’s a rethinking of our theological heritage from Paul.”
“Which is?” Lovey knew the book of Romans probably as well as her father; she’d read it many times. But she also knew that explaining things to her made him feel needed.
“Barth posits that God is revealed in the cross.” He pulled his glasses off as he dropped into the overstuffed chair across from her. “He rebuffs previous attempts to align God with aspects of human culture.”
Lovey paused on a few pages as she continued to flip through the book. She wasn’t a fan of the apostle Paul, an opinion she kept largely to herself. Hers would not be a welcomed opinion to any Southern Baptist congregation. Where Christ was inclusive and expansive, Paul seemed small to her. And then there was his not so generous view of women. No, Lovey was not a fan of Paul. He was the apostle who came long after Christ’s death. He’d been a Roman, part of the ruling class that persecuted the very sect he now evangelized. Caravaggio’s famous painting of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus was one of her favorites from her art history studies for the emotion of the intimate event it captured, but still she remained suspicious.
“You know I’m not a fan of Paul.” Lovey closed the book and put it back on top of the other books stacked neatly on the small table beside her chair. She gave her father her most sincere look. “I don’t really need to rethink him.”
“Lovey, you know how it bothers me to hear you say this. We’ve been over this before and—”
“Then why don’t we just agree to disagree and I’ll go start dinner.” She smiled at him, hoping that her tone sounded more playful than argumentative.
Her father let out a long sigh. “I’ll let the topic rest for the moment.”
She smiled as she left the room. Royal’s name had not come up again. Her distraction had been a success, for the time being.
❖
Royal stirred the bubbling hot vat of mash with a long wooden stick. The works of the still were shaded from view by a dense canopy of hardwoods. Royal nodded at Ned, indicating for him to spell her. He took the stick and began his turn at the pot. They’d headed up to the still after Royal had driven Lovey home and
